Media Storm

We recorded this episode in the knowledge that Israel's planned illegal interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla was imminent. Overnight, the abduction of its passengers begun, and at time of upload, it is still ongoing. Israeli military vessels attacked the humanitarian boats with water canons, before boarding vessels and capturing passengers. Captives are expected to be taken to Ketziot prison...

Whether it's the Reform Party weaponising women's safety, Donald Trump diminishing domestic abuse, or worrying stats about girls' safety in schools, you don't have to look far to see that discrimination against women still exists - and is often aided by lazy, misleading, or misinformed reporting. What can we do about this? This week, Media Storm showcases the people and platforms working to end ge...

It's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. This week we start by looking at Trump’s new Caribbean front in the ‘war on terror’, and rising authoritarian usage of “anti-terror” laws in the West. Helena reflects on the unreported stories from a weekend of nationalist protests in the UK: people of colour trapped inside their houses. 100,000 people joined the mar...

This week, co-host Mathilda brings you a report from Tunisia, just before she sets sail on the Global Sumud Flotilla. Ordinary people have made extraordinary sacrifices to make the journey toward Gaza, and establish a humanitarian corridor to get much needed aid into Palestine. Some people have left young children behind, others have risked their livelihoods to make the journey possible. But they...

Media Storm is back! And it's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. This week saw the 10 year anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi, the four-year-old refugee child who died attempting to flee the Syrian war along with his family. A photo of his tiny body washed up on the beach came to symbolise the global refugee crisis as a tragedy of humanity. But 10 year...

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! UK university students pay almost £10,000 per year, and international students about four times the amount. Tuition fees have skyrocketed over the past generation. So has the number of higher-paying, international students attending. So where is all the money going? Has the quality of education improved with the cost? Have more staff been hired to cope with t...

Issy Vine was a staff officer with the Metropolitan Police in South London. A series of incidents with a male colleague in her call handling team back in 2023 has sent her on a two year journey to try and find justice. Issy has not only been fighting for justice, but fighting for media attention for her story. She has since founded community organisation Speak Up Now, which supports whistleblowers...

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Keir Starmer announced earlier this year that he would reduce the aid budget to 0.3% of national income, from 0.5%, to fund increased spending on defence. But according to the government’s own impact assessment, Labour’s deep aid cuts will hit children’s education and reduce spending in women’s health. Why are women worse affected by aid cuts? Because crisis...

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! This week on News Watch: Spot the omissions and exaggerations in right-wing coverage of NHS doctors’ strikes. Why are some outlets pushing misleading narratives, and what has it got to do with the wealth tax? We seek out the voices missing from The Telegraph’s reports (doctors), and revisit our interview with trade union Secretary General Mick Whelan on how cla...

Ever heard of a war reporter? You could probably even name a few… perhaps you’ve even seen them played on the big screen by Hollywood movie stars. Now tell us - have you ever heard of a fixer? Could you name a single one? This episode, Media Storm dives into the complex ethics and murky dynamics of war reporting with former foreign correspondent Phoebe Greenwood and Palestinian journalist and form...

This week, we look at the outcome of the case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the US - and how evidence of domestic abuse, coercive control, and power dynamics were ignored and misunderstood with the help of our media. We also discuss those viral videos of fans queuing to see Chris Brown, a convicted abuser, on the same week he stands trial for Grievous Bodily Harm. After the break, welfare is takin...

'What is a woman?' The question that has plagued British media and politicians over the past decade culminated in a Supreme Court ruling that declared ‘womanhood’ was based on biological sex. Now, finally, WE KNOW WHAT A WOMAN IS. Headlines told us this was a historical moment for women and feminism, but with misogyny becoming more and more mainstream and male violence on the rise, what has the ru...

As the US military intervenes in another Middle East conflict, we’re told it’s because Iran is harbouring weapons of mass destruction (in contradiction to US intelligence). We’re also told forced regime change will ‘liberate’ women from Islamic tyranny. WMDs? Operation Freedom? Haven’t we heard these justifications before? To start, we look at lessons for the media from the 2003 invasion of Iraq,...

This week is Refugee Week, a time to celebrate the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. And here at Media Storm, we can't do it without delving into media hypocrisy when reporting on the group. Why do closed borders not work - and why, in the face of hard evidence, do politicians still continue to ignore the facts and figures on displacement?  We’re jo...

It's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. Locals face-off law enforcement in LA, as Trump sends the military to flatten (or fan up) protests. Meanwhile, Western media are dodging terms like ‘authoritarian’ better than their reporters are dodging police bullets. Assisted dying is back in the headlines as legalisation goes through UK and France’s parliaments....

How do we 'cancel' Fascism without censorship? Can we protect free speech as well as fact-checking? This week, something different: we dive deep into social justice theory and question how to actually achieve it. Media Storm brings missing expert voices into the conversation. These are normally people with lived experience, but as politics becomes evermore polarised, we sought out a world-class ph...

Let’s talk about how the media is fuelling the rise of Reform. This is not a new topic. The News Agents called it a "lefty cop-out" to blame the media for the rise of Reform. But what about the media cop-outs? What about the media's refusal to change, even as the Far-Right returns to the mainstream? The truth, Media Storm argues, is this: our media did not just fuel the rise of Reform, they cashed...

Warning: this episode contains mentions of baby loss. Three years ago, we brought you the story of a Nigerian fishing community suing Shell in UK courts over oil spills. This year marks 10 years since their battle began, and the year it finally goes to trial. The Niger Delta is one of the ten most important wetland ecosystems in the world, home to some 31 million people. But the river that sustain...

LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS! Media Storm is back for SERIES 6! And we’re here to help you get your head around the headlines (however unhinged they are). But this week, we had a little identity crisis… should we be using the term ‘mainstream media’ when it’s become such a conspiracy buzzword? And if not, how do we point out all the mainstream media mishaps?! Let us know your thoughts...

Date: Tue 20 May 2025 Location: The Podcast Show, ⁠Business Design Centre⁠, 52 Upper Street London N1 0QH Doors Open: 18:30 | Show Begins: 19:00 (1hr) GET YOUR TICKETS | ACCESSIBLE TICKETS | AMEX TICKETS The descent to dictatorship, the ‘invasion’ of borders, the war on free speech… what’s a global crisis, and what’s just another media storm? Join co-hosts Helena Wadia and Mathilda Mallinson – and...

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW with special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards - Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available HERE! Kim, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, lives on £7-a-day while supporting a newborn in cockroach-infested accommodation… HOW is she supposed to pay the £10,000 NHS bill she received after giving birth? This week, Kim sh...

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm, @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets available HERE  Time for another weekly news debrief: we pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media, helping you consume the news critically. This week, Katy Perry was blasted - into space, and in the media (4:50). As news broke that the Supreme...

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available at 10am today via AEG Presents HERE! Paid Patreon subscribers get access to tickets ONE HOUR EARLIER at 9am What’s the bigger threat to free speech: the ‘woke mob’, or the MAGA word police? Where’s the line between free speech and hate speech? How can you have free market of...

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm, @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets available at 10am on Friday via AEG Presents HERE  Paid Patreon subscribers get access to tickets ONE HOUR EARLIER at 9am - support us on Patreon and get early access!   Content warning: Rape and sexual assault. If you need support you can contact Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222 Time for an...

Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide. If you need support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 Reports of image-based sexual abuse in the UK have increased tenfold over the past few years. Women are five times more likely to be victims of intimate image abuse. The true scale of the problem is probably larger, as many victims do not come forward. But sensationalist headlines about so-ca...