The Listening Post

A military takeover in Niger as the Kremlin and Russian mercenaries lurk on the sidelines and the airwaves. But would Russia be any less exploitative than Niger’s old colonial masters? Contributors: Alexis Akwagyiram - Managing editor, Semafor Africa Mathieu Oliver - Journalist, Jeune Afrique Aanu Adeoye - West Africa correspondent, Financial Times Delina Goxho - Security analyst On our radar: Chi...

A viral video revealing a shocking case of sexual assault has put the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on the radar and shed light on a place that the mainstream media has paid scant attention to. Contributors: Anubha Bhonsle - founder, Newsworthy Samrat Choudhury - journalist and author, Northeast India: A Political History Patricia Mukhim - editor, The Shillong Times Sushant Singh - consulti...

For the first time in 63 years, Hollywood actors have joined writers in a double strike against studio powerhouses, demanding better pay, fairer working conditions, and protections from present and future AI threats. Contributors: Miranda Banks - Media professor, Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television Daheli Hall - Writer and actor Meg James - Senior entertainment writer, Los...

The United States-China relationship is a complex one. Beneath the diplomatic niceties lies deep mutual suspicion - two governments fully engaged in a bigger battle of narratives. Contributors: Jiayang Fan - staff writer, The New Yorker Brian Hioe - editor, New Bloom Magazine James Palmer - deputy editor, Foreign Policy On our radar: In the United Kingdom, the BBC is in a state of turmoil after a...

In the aftermath of one of the worst Israeli military attacks on the occupied West Bank in 20 years, the Israeli government takes issue with the global media’s coverage of the violence. Contributors: Amjad Iraqi - Senior editor, +972 Magazine Gil Hoffman - Executive director, HonestReporting Sarit Michaeli - International advocacy officer, B'Tselem Tariq Kenney-Shawa - Journalist and US policy fel...

Analysts have been deciphering the Putin-Prigozhin power struggle; how it played out and what’s next for Russian politics and the war in Ukraine. Contributors: Ian Garner - Author, Z Generation Eilish Hart - Editor, Meduza in English Neil Hauer - Journalist Leonid Ragozin - Freelance journalist On our radar: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been hyping his Saudi megaproject in the desert. Prod...

The most recent tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea - a boat of 750 refugees capsizing off Greece - has shed light on the European Union’s anti-immigration policies, the many media outlets reinforcing that message and the few independent ones that push back on the official narrative. Contributors: Giorgos Christides - journalist Andrew Peter Geddes - professor of migration studies, European Universit...

In death, as in life, Silvio Berlusconi dominates the headlines. He was a man whose legacy across media, popular culture and politics is not confined just to Italy. Contributors: Roberto D’Alimonte - professor, LUISS Guido Carli University Serena Danna - deputy director, Open Paolo Gerbaudo - reader in digital politics, King’s College London Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli - Milan correspondent, Financi...

Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) have quickly turned from the excited to the apocalyptic. Are warnings that AI could pose an existential threat valid, or do they distract from the real danger AI is already causing? Contributors: Charlie Beckett - head, Polis LSE JournalismAI Project Yoshua Bengio - professor of computer science, University of Montreal Sarah Myers West - director, AI...

The acclaimed HBO TV series Succession immersed viewers in the world of the Roys, a family fighting for control of their elderly father’s media empire. Art imitates life, and as the series - which was partly, at times largely, based on the Murdochs - winds down, we examine what the hit show tells us about the dangers of corporate media. Contributors: Paddy Manning - Author, The Successor: The High...