The Manchester Briefing from The Mill

In today's episode, staff writers Ophira Gottlieb and Jack Dulhanty recount a recent walking tour of all the places Andy Burnham could set up No.10 North. Jack has been speaking to the people who know Manchester's buildings best - the leaders of its development industry - to get a sense of what buildings would be most suitable to host a Prime Ministerial office. Which of Manchester's building's co...

In today's episode of the Manchester Briefing from The Mill, we're joined by special guest Toby Harnden, author of Bandit Country. For the last three months, Toby and Mill staff writer Jack Dulhanty have been working to unravel the mystery behind the 1996 bombing of Manchester by the IRA. Last week, counter-terror police announced its investigation into the bomb was no longer active, despite no on...

In today's episode, Joshi is joined by Mill staff writer Lucy McLaughlin, who has just spent a few days speaking to Makerfield residents, guided by a handy map we have built predicting which wards are most likely to vote Labour and Reform. She found plenty of people who aren't voting, and several who like Burnham but say they will vote for Reform or won't vote at all. We also discuss Joshi's widel...

In the latest episode of the Manchester Briefing from The Mill, Joshi and Jack discuss what might be in store for Greater Manchester's politics without Andy Burnham in the mayor's office, now that he has found an MP willing to step aside for him in Makerfield's Josh Simons. On top of that, we have a live conversation between Jack and Rob Ford - professor of political science at the University of M...

In a Manchester briefing first, Jack (Dulhanty) and Jack (Walton) discuss the latter's living situation. Jack lives in a shared ownership flat in MediaCityUK, in Salford, a property he part-acquired after being turfed out by his girlfriend. Shared ownership has been in the news recently, as governments national and local push the model as a way for young people to get on the housing ladder. The re...

In today's episode Ophira speaks to Hannah Spencer - Green candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection - about dirty campaign tactics, whether or not she makes a living as an 'aristocratic heat pump installer', and get her response after Refrom's Matt Goodwin challenges her to a one on one debate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Manchester Briefing, Jack Dulhanty and Jack Walton discuss our latest ding-dong with the MEN over it paywalling publicly funded journalism; the exodus of staff at HOME; and Jack Walton's recent piece on the Gorton and Denton by-election. Then they take a look at the other runners and riders vying for the seat, and discuss what they're hearing from campaigners on the ground....

In our first podcast episode of 2026 Joshi and Jack round up the first week back at Mill HQ. They discuss the two major resignations caused by our reporting into the University of Greater Manchester, Manchester City Council and Rochdale Council, and round up Ophira's reporting on a mysterious spate of graffiti targeting Manchester businesses. Thanks to our sponsor, Manchester Museum. If you want t...

In today’s episode, Joshi and Jack sit down to talk about The Mill’s first ever membership campaign. Over the next few weeks, we want 1,000 new members to join The Mill, so we can commit to six pledges to make Manchester a better place. With that new support, we’ll go into schools to talk about misinformation, make subscriptions free for first time voters and open a mentorship program for aspiring...

When news broke about an attack on Jewish worshippers outside Heaton Park synagogue, The Mill's staff writers Jack Dulhanty and Ophira Gottleb were sent to the scene to report. In Ophira's case, she spent the best part of three days straight in the area, interviewing people and vising a community in shock and at prayer. She and Jack discuss what it was like to cover the atrocity, and why Ophira ch...

Backstabbing parents, extortionate private tutoring companies and a 'web of deceit'. This is the world of Trafford Grammar Schools, a highly selective group of schools where each year, desperate families put their children through extensive private tutoring to pass the rigorous 11+ exam. Are they living up to their original promise of delivering exceptional education to working-class children? And...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ophira has a story for you — one about Frank Evans, the 81-year-old Salford-born matador who now splits his time between Seville and Worsley like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Yes, that’s right: matador. While the city proudly boasts of luring the BBC up north, appearing behind the Smiths in That Photo, and producing Paul Scholes’ right foot — somehow, Frank slips through the net. But...

Jack tells the story of his trip to the newly-built Royal Nawaab, the multi-story curry house which has been built in Stockport’s iconic glass pyramid on the Valley of the Kings. But while Mahmood Hussain, the curry maestro with a “strongman’s slab of tache resting on his top lip”, hopes his £15 million renovation will pay off, has he considered the ancient pharaoh's curse which has been said to h...

Our writer Ophira Gottlieb tells the story of the Britannia Coconut Dancers of Bacup, in Lancashire. For over a century the troupe of morris dancers has performed up and down the town’s streets dressed in knitted jumpers, candy-striped kilts, and painted completely black. “I worked in a pub just outside Manchester,” Ophira remembers, “many of the customers felt the practice was racist and badly ou...

In the first of our new series of audio storytelling, Jack tells the story of how the new bike repair shops that have sprung up to offer rapid repairs to Manchester’s legions of delivery riders. “Some Mill stories are the result of months of work and research and planning, and some are born out of necessity,” Jack says, “The story I’m about to tell you was the latter.” But while the story itself w...

Late last year, when the Royal Exchange Theatre was forced to cancel its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the media fallout became one long nightmare. Stef O'Driscoll, the play’s director, accused the theatre of censorship, and its chief executive Stephen Freeman eventually stood down. But there are two sides to every story - over the last month, insiders at the Royal Exchange have been te...

On a cold day in January, our reporters stumbled upon a strange story about Joseph Wheeler, a car marketing executive from Milton Keynes who had been granted extraordinary power at the University of Greater Manchester (formerly the University of Bolton), whose company had received £8 million in the past six financial years for performing marketing and brand management services, and who was accused...

In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack look back on the last two years of reporting on Sacha Lord. With thanks to Manchester Building Society for sponsoring this week's episode. In 2025, Manchester Building Society will be offering a different way to manage your money. We believe in branches, where people can access savings, mortgages and in-person financial advice. We’ll be opening on King Stree...

Tweets by the world's richest man have ignited a furious controversy about CSE. Joshi Herrmann, the founder of The Mill, has been reporting on this story for years now. He talks to the journalist Darryl Morris about the background to the story - and why official inquiries and police investigations have yet to support the theories of an online campaigner called Raja Miah. To read the long read we d...

In this week's episode, the whole Mill team join the podcast to talk about the ever-divisive Christmas Markets. Are they a boon to the city's economy or eyesores tailored to tourists? Jack Walton and Ophira Gottlieb - who recently wrote opposing essays on the subject - expand on their points, with Jack Dulhanty and Mollie Simpson coming in with data and more neutral insight. Thanks to this episode...

How did Afflecks go from a quirky indie bazaar filled with "vulgar tat" to a tourist destination owned by a big property firm? In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack explore the history of a Manchester institution, including the role it played in supporting generations of hopeful artists and entrepreneurs, the myth of two missing Banksys, and the "eccentric hippies" who dreamed it up in 1982. Wit...

In this week's episode, the writer Jordon Francis tells us about Manchester’s African and Caribbean Over 50s clubs in Stretford and Moss Side, where dominoes allow members of the Windrush generation to relax, unwind, and share stories of the old days. It's a lovely story about community building, the importance of storytelling and why it's essential to preserve community spaces, filled with great...

The Carlton Club, a beautiful social club in Whalley Range, is a phenomenal south Manchester success story, drawing in hundreds of attendees at its wellness, foodie and clubbing events every week. So why has an eviction notice been served to the Carlton Club? And how come some of the social club's own members are behind the eviction notice? Mollie and Jack discuss some of the key points from our t...

In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about his recent long-read about Didsbury - "Village people" takes a look at how residents of Didsbury village are handling their area's changing character, as independent shops fall away and a local pub crawl explodes in popularity. From today's sponsor:  Big ambitions for your business? You need much more than just a place to work. Bruntwood SciT...