Media Storm

Today is #WorldRefugeeDay - an international day designated by the UN to honour refugees around the globe. World Refugee Day feels especially relevant at Media Storm, because refugees make one of the strongest cases for this podcast’s existence. They are one of the groups characterised most frequently and most voicelessly in our mainstream media, and consequently, clouded by myth. Joining us to bu...

This investigation contains discusses of rape, sexual assault, and suicide which some listeners might find distressing. If you need someone to talk to, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222. Warning: strong language Media Storm’s first series featured an investigation into ‘Rape justice: ‘What happens to the 98%?', when we discovered the fates of the many reported...

This week, Faiza Shaheen announced she has resigned from the Labour Party, after a shock email revealed she had been deselected as a candidate in this year's General Election. The Labour Party candidate selection committee called into question tweets that Faiza had 'liked', some from 10 years ago. But behind the apparent distractions of old tweets is something far more sinister: what Faiza has des...

As South Africans head to the polls, Media Storm is seizing the opportunity to break out of the Western worldview. Last season, former UN Security Council President Kishore Mahbubani criticised the "arrogance" of the UK media and its failure to expose people in 'the West' to how 88% of the world's population see things differently to them. South Africa gives us some clues as to why. Their coverage...

Content warning: mentions of violence against women, rape, and assault. This episode was recorded just before the general election was announced! Register to vote here. This week, it was reported the number of Met police officers being dismissed reached a new peak. A police officer has been handed a guilty sentence for assault, after arresting and handcuffing a Black woman over an apparent bus far...

The climate crisis is wreaking havoc in headlines this week: heatwaves in southeast Asia, flooding in Kenya and Brazil, and exotic spiders smuggling their way into the UK - all this marks a record leap in atmospheric CO2. One climate-related story has haunted UK news cycles for almost five years: The London mayor’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). Yet it's not reported as a climate st...

There’s a morbid theme to Media Storm’s first new weekly format - but that’s ok because it’s Dying Matters Awareness Week so we all need to get talking about death! Our key voices today are people with terminal illnesses - as we discuss the late Kris Hallenga’s legacy beyond 'CoppaFeel!' and the debates on assisted dying laws unfolding across the British Isles. And - we reveal the inside scoop on...

We're back for Series 4! It’s been a while, so here's your refresher episode which tells you everything you need to know about Media Storm - plus, we tell you all about our new format! Media Storm is dedicated to platforming the most important people in the story– the ones living it. Despite them, ironically, being the most absent from mainstream news. Every Thursday, we’ll be using our Media Stor...

Media Storm returns next week! Get a taste for what is to come from your essential guide to today’s chaotic clickbait climate. It's your weekly current affairs round-up - but not as you know it. Featuring cross-platform comparisons, shrewd bullsh*t-radars, and finding the facts behind the fear-mongering, Media Storm is guaranteed to leave you with plenty to talk about. Out weekly, every Thursday f...

This week, the roles are reversed as your Media Storm hosts become the interviewees! Helena Wadia & Mathilda Mallinson sit down in conversation with journalist Masuma Ahuja on Little Revolutions, a podcast by Freeda. Little Revolutions is a series of conversations about the double standards, societal problems, and systemic injustices that feel bigger than any one of us. Every week, guests share re...

Access the episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/4vphsyps Warning: This episode contains mentions of suicide Justyna Wydrzyñska is appealing a criminal conviction in Poland for sending abortion pills to a desperate woman in an abusive relationship. She joins us in an exclusive interview about feminist solidarity, hope in hard times, and the empty promises of political campaigns.   As almost ever...

Support Media Storm’s work from as little as £3 a month on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast  The war in Gaza involves everyone, as the global community is drawn onto a battlefield of competing sympathies - sympathies that should coexist. Propagandists, Islamophobes and antisemites alike are pushing black-and-white narratives that feed violence and hate. The independent press shou...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast This is part three of Media Storm's LIVE SHOW at London Podcast Festival! Join us as we look back at the biggest media storm's from 2023 - this week, we talk about the ongoing sexism row in Spanish football, after Luis Rubiales 'kissed' football player Jenni Hermoso wit...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast This is part two of Media Storm's LIVE SHOW at London Podcast Festival!  Join us as we look back at the biggest media storm's from 2023, including the Titan submersible implosion - and next week, the ongoing sexism row in Spanish football.  With special guests Times jou...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast This is part one of Media Storm's LIVE SHOW at London Podcast Festival! Join us as we look back at the biggest media storm's from 2023, including the Huw Edwards scandal and - in the next two weeks - the Titan submersible implosion and the ongoing sexism row in Spanish...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast A few weeks ago we released an episode about temporary accommodation, social housing, and how the media reports on it - if you haven't heard it, scroll back and search for "Housing crisis: A lifetime in 'temporary' accommodation". In this bonus episode, you'll hear us d...

Content warning: This episode discusses rape, sexual assault, and gender-based violence. If you need support, you can call Rape Crisis for free on 0808 500 2222 This week - though an 'open secret' in the media industry - it was revealed by the Times, the Sunday Times, and Channel 4 Dispatches that Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and emotional abuse.  Four women have alleged...

Episode transcript: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2023/09/14/3-11-the-solutions-undoing-an-institutionally-racist-police-force/ Join Media Storm LIVE at Kings Place, London, Saturday 16th Sep, 7pm: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/   This is the final instalment of Media Storm’s three-part investigation into racially discriminatory police recruitment: and it’s time to talk...

Episode transcript: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2023/09/14/3-10-why-are-so-many-black-people-being-rejected-from-the-police-force/ Join Media Storm LIVE at Kings Place, London, Saturday 16th Sep, 7pm: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/   Last week, Media Storm made national headlines after uncovering proof that UK police recruiters were rejecting ethnic minorities at disc...

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2023/09/04/3-9-an-institutionally-racist-police-force-process-of-elimination-pt-1/ Join Media Storm LIVE at Kings Place, London, Saturday 16th Sep, 7pm: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/   This is the first in a three-part Media Storm investigation into institutional racism in UK police forces. In it, we provide statistical...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast Media Storm will be LIVE at London Podcast Festival, Saturday 16th September at 7pm. BOOK your tickets now: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/ Content warning: This episode features mentions of domestic abuse, self-harm, and addiction. The defini...

Media Storm will be LIVE at London Podcast Festival, Saturday 16th September at 7pm. BOOK your tickets now:  https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/  If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you may know Nazanin Boniadi from her portrayal of Bronwyn in the Rings of Power. If you follow her online, you may be aware of her determined activism.  Since 2008, Nazanin has represented Amnest...

Book Media Storm LIVE at the London Podcast Festival, Saturday 16th Sep at 7pm: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/ Aid budgets have been hit hard by Covid and economic upheaval. But the hardest hit of all are women and girls. Just last week, UK headlines revealed the government’s slashes to humanitarian aid mean hundreds of thousands more women will face unsafe abortions an...

Come to our LIVE SHOW at London Podcast Festival! Saturday 16th September at 7pm https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/ For this week's bonus episode, two podcasts have joined forces: Media Storm and Immigrantly! Immigrantly is a podcast that discusses deeply personal conversations around race, identity, and the immigrant experience, hosted by Saadia Khan. Media Storm host Hele...

LIVE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT: Media Storm will be live at the London Podcast Festival this September, on Saturday 16th at 7pm! Book tickets now to join us as we breakdown the craziest headlines of 2023: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/media-storm-2/ Around the world, El Niño is causing extreme weather events and soaring global temperatures to alarming levels. Meanwhile in the UK, Labour is p...