Media Storm

Warning: strong language and mention of rape 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/ Are trans rights a threat to women? Or is that narrative itself the real threat? Actor, author and...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast Scotland recently joined approximately 30 countries in implementing a progressive gender self-identification law. The Gender Recognition Reform Bill, aiming to streamline the process of transgender people obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate, passed by 86 votes to...

This week, Media Storm went to Parliament!  Helena & Mathilda were in the halls of Westminster to speak to MPs and Parliamentarians about misogyny in the media: how the media can responsibly report on domestic abuse and gender-based violence, and why lived-experience should be at the heart of reporting.  We were invited by Hacked Off (@hackedoffcampaign), the group calling for reform of UK press s...

For the full uncut discussion with Leroy Logan and Chantelle Lunt, subscribe to our Patreon: patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast The Conservatives succeeded in their manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 new police officers by 2023. But with growing awareness of sexism, racism and violent offending within the police, is this for better or worse? Media Storm has uncovered early evidence that racist recruitm...

Support Media Storm’s ethical journalism on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast It’s World Refugee Week and the results are in: join us as we crunch the latest numbers on global displacement, to see how Europe and the UK are ranking on the hospitality charts. Spoiler: it’s not very well. This bonus episode combines new data with lived experience testimonies, as we revisit some of th...

Hey listeners! We've launched a Patreon. If you want to support us for a small monthly fee, head to patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast What words come to mind when you hear the word 'strikes'? Delays, cancellations, chaos? With 'misery for ordinary people!' brandished across our headlines, it’s easy to see strikes as a general nuisance. But this week's episode of Media Storm looks beyond the everyday g...

In this week’s bonus episode, Helena and Mathilda have an announcement to make… they have started a Patreon! You can access it at https://www.patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast This is a chance for us to build a community space for our Media Storm listeners, where we can discuss ideas, share bonus material and get to know you all a little better! It’s also a chance for you to contribute to the work bei...

Chronic pain is a silent pandemic affecting somewhere between 8 and 28 million people in the UK alone. Recent headlines (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65596283) reveal it’s contributing to 2.5 million Brits leaving work. But more alarming still, is our response. The UK prescribes more opioid pain killers per capita than any other country in the world. This is in spite of NHS guidelines warni...

We're back with this bonus episode to give you a little bit more of our conversation from Episode 1 on the rise of far-right extremism, and what role the mainstream media has to play. Our guest, Nigel Bromage, was once a member of a far-right group - and now, he runs Exit Hate UK, the charity helping people walk away from far-right extremism. Here, he tells us how they help to alert victims of rad...

On the 29th April 2021, the Domestic Abuse Bill became law. Many called the Bill 'landmark', or 'transformational'. Others called it discriminatory. Why? Because migrant victims with insecure status have ‘no recourse to public funds’ - meaning they cannot access refuges, income support and other state benefits to help them escape abusers. Meanwhile, 'hostile environment' legislation is used to thr...

Every day in the UK 58 people are diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer. 21 will die. Lack of awareness, late referrals and widespread stigma mean people are being denied life-saving diagnoses and treatments. That's why 12th May shall henceforth be known as Get Lippy day! A campaign by The Eve Appeal is determined to get us talking about gynaecological cancer. So in this bonus investigation episo...

Warning: mentions of sexual violence  As political polarisation stretches us to breaking point, co-hosts Mathilda and Helena head to the shadowy fringes of society to find out what pushes people to the far-right, and how we can pull them back. For its season launch, Media Storm puts these questions to reformed Neo-Nazis, far-right grooming victims and undercover counter-extremists. We investigate...

Media Storm is back on 4 May! Helena and Mathilda take on the mainstream media and embark on new investigations that put people with lived experience back at the centre of the story. Investigations will take us into the worlds of far-right radicalisation and international freedom fighters, elevate the voices of strikers and domestic abuse survivors, and investigate the problematic worlds of medici...

Print is dying. Since the arrival of the internet and fast-paced, free information at the tap of the finger, the news outlets that tell us what’s what have been scrambling to find their footing. Some have been haemorrhaging money for decades, others have become richer than ever. But at what cost? In this special feature to launch our NEXT SEASON, Helena and Mathilda break down the different fundin...

We've been nominated for PODCAST OF THE YEAR at the Visionary Arts Awards 2023! Vote here: https://visionaryarts.org.uk/awards/vote/ From diversity and inclusion, to mental health awareness and the climate crisis, the Visionary Arts Awards showcases that people can create a positive change through arts and culture. So if you think Media Storm has made a social impact, we'd love your vote! Plus, we...

Coming to you from the London Podcast Festival: The Guilty Feminist presents Media Storm’s debut show, live from King’s Place! Presented by journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia, Media Storm is a news podcast that starts with the people who are normally asked last. From migrants to sex workers, trans to indigenous people, convicted criminals to Romani communities— Media Storm puts people...

Media Storm hosts Mathilda and Helena meet their mainstream media matches! In this crossover bonus series with The Guilty Feminist, they interview journalists trying to make an imperfect industry a little bit less so, about their noble goals and - you guessed it - the hypocrisies and insecurities that undermine them! Brought to you by The Guilty Feminist, every other Thursday. This week’s episode...

Warning: Discussions around suicide and assisted dying. If you need someone to talk to, call the Samaritans on 116 123.  It happens to everybody but nobody wants to talk about it: the irony is, it's often the not talking about death that makes it such a terrible thing. For our season finale, we bring you a special-length investigation into the real-life consequences of silence and stigma around dy...

Warning: Some strong language Media Storm hosts Mathilda and Helena meet their mainstream media matches! In this crossover bonus series with The Guilty Feminist, they interview journalists trying to make an imperfect industry a little bit less so, about their noble goals and - you guessed it - the hypocrisies and insecurities that undermine them! Brought to you by The Guilty Feminist, every other...

Warning: Some strong language  Welcome to The Menopause Revolution! A new era for a bodily phenomenon we were once too scared to call by name. Menopause is starting to show its face in our mainstream media, but how accurate is the coverage that has emerged? How much of it is stigma-smashing, and how much of it is scaremongering? And has all this talk resulted in any actual change? This week, Media...

Warning: Some strong language  Following on from Media Storm's episode about polyamory, the law, and the mainstream media, Media Storm co-hosts bring you this bonus episode with Leanne Yau from the hugely popular Poly Philia blog to discuss how non-monogamy is portrayed onscreen - looking at depictions of love triangles, Chandler's polyamorous lover in Friends, and reality TV shows like The Ultima...

Warning: Some strong language  Imagine getting fired for your relationship status. Imagine a nosy neighbour deciding they knew what was better for your children. This is the reality for polyamorous people across the UK and abroad. Should we be legislating against their discrimination, rather than their perceived ‘deviation’? This week, Media Storm speaks to polyamorous people who are trying to lov...

Media Storm’s latest investigation looks at a new, post-Brexit era of exploitation targeting Central and Eastern Europeans in the UK. Today’s bonus episode looks at the attitudes behind this exploitation, and asks why a workforce who have proven invaluable were dismissed as undesirable “low-skilled” workers. Is it just a question of economics, or is it a question of prejudice? This bonus episode f...

A post-Brexit Britain has halted visas to low-paid, so-called “low-skilled,” foreign workers - primarily coming from Central and Eastern Europe. Policymakers hoped to increase wages and decrease unemployment for Britain’s own workforce. Yet in some sectors, demand for labour is now outstripping supply. Official figures show a rise in reports of modern slavery and labour exploitation. While the Hom...

Warning: This episode contains references to mental illness and suicide. If you need someone to talk to, contact Samaritans.org or call 116 123.  Recorded the day after #WorldMentalHealthDay, Media Storm co-hosts sat down with author and activist Scarlett Curtis, and journalist and podcast producer Kamilah McInnis, to discuss how to look after your mental health when you work in - or even just rea...