The Manchester Briefing from The Mill

In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about Fallowfield, the south Manchester neighbourhood that has become a de facto student village for those studying at the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. Local residents, many who have lived in the area for decades, feel like they are being forgotten, and that their local community has been remade to only cater to a tra...

In this episode, Mollie and Jack discuss a very hard-to-access Facebook group  in which Mancunian women warn each other about who  not  to date. The group seems like an important safety mechanism for a generation of women who do a lot of their dating via apps, meeting complete strangers rather than dates who are friends of friends. But does the group always stick to its stated premi...

In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about where Chanel - the French luxury fashion house - is looking to host its next show. We know it's going to be in Manchester, but Mollie and our intern Shikhar did some more digging to find out exactly where. The answer is surprising, until you take a second to think about it. Seeing the brand couldn't have existed without the textiles the city produ...

In this week's episode, we hear from our intern, Shikhar Talwar. He and Mollie discuss his investigation into why Afghan refugees - who came here to escape the Taliban in the summer of 2021 - are now turning up homeless in Manchester, having been evicted from the hotels they were originally housed in. Shikhar met Khooshbo Ali, sat with her back against a dustbin on the Curry Mile. She came to Manc...

In this episode, Mollie and Daniel discuss the biggest headline that came out of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester last week — the scrapping of the Manchester leg of HS2. How much of a big deal is this for Manchester, and what's the situation on our existing, not so high-speed, railways? Many thanks to the Great Northern Craft Fair for sponsoring this episode. The contemporary craft...

In this week's episode, Mollie and Joshi talk about the Old Courts, a beautiful arts and culture institution in Wigan that was showered with public money and held up as an example of how the arts can be spread in towns far from London. However, when ex staff members started reaching out two weeks ago to tell us the organisation was in a financial meltdown, we started asking why that might be... Pl...

In this week's episode, Joshi and Jack talk about Michaela Ali, who has been waiting over a year for her housing association to fix her rat-infested flat. Despite multiple complaints about the infestation, Michaela's housing association, Riverside, didn't get around to properly addressing it until recently. Joshi and Jack talk about how that story came to be - beginning with Michaela's mother, Mar...

LA, Berlin, Miami... Manchester. Soho House is opening its latest private members club in the old Granada building next year. Its founder Nick Jones says he's nervous about the launch — should he be? Joshi and Molie discuss what the launch says about Manchester and what kind of person might join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Joshi and Jack discuss the case of Andrew Malkinson, who was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and wrongly imprisoned for 17 years. Questions have been raised about Greater Manchester Police’s investigation into Malkinson, and whether the force withholding, and in some cases destroying, pieces of evidence contributed to an innocent man going to jail. Jack also talks ab...

In this week's episode, our data and policy reporter Daniel Timms talks about his big weekend read about Manchester's ongoing economic boom. Are the proceeds mainly going to property developers and the wealthy - or are the benefits spreading more widely? Daniel has spent the past few weeks digging into lots of data and speaking to leading economists and experts to try to answer that question - and...

In this week's episode, Jack discusses his long read about Sacha Lord, the man who runs Warehouse Project and Parklife and who advises Andy Burnham. It's a new kind of podcast for us - a conversation in our office about how we did a story and the challenges that we encountered. Why did none of Lord's critics want to speak on the record? And what kind of rumours did we try to stand up? Please let u...

It's an emotional episode as Darryl signs off as our regular co-host and we reflect on some of our favourite moments. We also discuss an amazing long read by three students at the University of Manchester about their experience during the pandemic. Thanks to our sponsor, the Sustainability Show - you can get FREE tickets for the show at this special link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sustaina...

Our special guest on this week's episode is the amazing Daniel Timms, our data and policy reporter, who tells us about what is driving the lack of affordable homes in Manchester. Plus, we talk about his reporting on why all the protected trees are in leafy south Manchester and what is holding back the region's schools. We also discuss homelessness among asylum seekers and the new name for Manchest...

On this week’s episode - sponsored by Manchester Museum - Joshi and Darryl speak to Sam Lee and Daniel Mooney, from the Man City fan podcast Let Me Talk, about the treble victory, the club’s finances and it’s role in the city. Plus, the latest on HS2, homelessness statistics and an update on Dani Cole’s campaign to get Tony Doran a headstone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...

On our 100th episode, Darryl and Jack ask why 45% of Manchester’s children are classed as living in poverty, and what can be done about it. Plus, with so many big gigs in the city this week, why is Manchester’s transport infrastructure struggling to cope? And the latest from the bids to buy Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, and the road back to league football for Bury FC. https://www.eventbri...

In this week's podcast, Darryl, Mollie and Joshi discuss The Mill's revelation about animal testing flights at Manchester Airport. We also cover the demolition of a much loved pub in Rusholme and an awkward moment for Manchester United Women star Alessia Russo. Head to manchestermill.co.uk/subscribe to become a member and get all our reporting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

In this week’s episode, Joshi, Mollie and Jack discuss The Mill’s most recent investigation into underpayment in Manchester’s hospitality industry. The team spent months looking into businesses underpaying or failing to pay their staff. They talk through their reporting process and the way that local media coverage has missed out the plight of Manchester’s hospitality workers. “The owner’s always...

This week's episode comes directly from our Mill Members Event. Listen to our senior editor Sophie Atkinson talk to David Scott about his new book Mancunians: Where Do We Start, Where Do I Begin? It takes an alternative look at the city's cultural history, drawing on Scott's own life and extensive conversations with some of the Manchester's most influential, but often unsung, figures. "It’s more i...

This week, Darryl Morris and Mollie Simpson pick through the local election results, and ask what Arooj Shah returning as Oldham’s council leader means for the town’s fractured politics. Plus, we journey to neighbouring Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest and digest new rules for Greater Manchester’s landlords.  Don’t miss our next Mill Members Club Event: in conversation with author an...

In this week's episode, Darryl and Joshi are joined by Michael Taylor - the editor of The Business Desk - to take a deep dive into the local elections and what to expect from Thursday's vote. Plus, Micheal explains why Manchester company's Open Money have found themselves in trouble and what it tells us about Manchester's fintech industry, and why the city centre is becoming more dense. To get ful...

This week, Darryl and Jack discuss Forest Bank prison, the jail termed the ‘prisoner’s prison, that an investigation suggests is in the hands of the inmates. Plus, new data on Manchester’s rental community and we ask if the ship should be removed from Manchester City and Manchester United’s club crests. And as Rochdale drop out of the football league for the first time in 102 years, read this piec...

With local elections just weeks away whats the latest talk. Over a century since it opened the Oldham Coliseum Theatre closed its doors for the final time and we hear from locals in dismay after another local establishment disappears with the much loved Irish pub Fiddler’s Green closes its doors. To support this podcast and get all of The Mill's journalism, join as a member for £7 a month at manch...

What caused a nationwide debate because of an incident at the Palace Theatre. Reports of a split in the Stockport’s Labour party and is the curry mile at risk? To support this podcast and get all of The Mill's journalism, join as a member for £7 a month at manchestermill.co.uk  To read more of The Mill's long form journalism visit manchestermill.co.uk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...

In this week's episode, we meet Andy Spinoza, whose new book Manchester Unspun provides a fascinating insider's view of a changing city. And raised plenty of thorny questions along the way. To support this podcast and get all of The Mill’s journalism, join as a member for £7 a month at  manchestermill.co.uk To read more of The Mill’s long form journalism visit  manchestermill.co.uk . Hos...

In this week's episode, we discuss a damning report from the Housing Ombudsman about the housing provider at the centre of the Awaab Ishak case. Joshi and Darryl also talk about their accents and the changing Mancunian voice, and consider why the Guardian's decision to highlight its historic links to slavery might have broader repercussions in Manchester. Head to manchestermill.co.uk to read all o...