Media Storm

Introducing: Media Storm's News Watch! Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We'll pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically. This week, it’s farmers (protesting the UK’s new inheritance tax), football fans (bringing the Israel-Palestine conflict to the streets of Amsterdam), and food (sandwich fillings just too woke for the Daily Mail to handle). It’s also Trans Awareness Week - so we’ll highlight some vital stories about transgender rights that the mainstream media must have *accidentally* missed. And finally: things to think about when reading headlines on the murder of Harshita Brella. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia). The music is by Safire (@soundofsamfire). Follow us @mediastormpod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The End of Life Bill being debated in UK parliament marks a historic moment for a country with one of the most punitive approaches to assisted dying people in the liberal world. But here at Media Storm, something confuses us about the debate now unfolding in the news, which is the distinctive lack of voices of people for whom the bill is actually designed. People who are terminally ill. So we bring you back an episode dedicated to platforming people who are dying and their loved ones. Theirs are the testimonies anyone refusing legal reform must answer to. The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We bring back Media Storm's episode on 'terrorism' to reflect on the escalating war in the Middle East, and ask how geopolitical biases are playing into this week's headlines and restricting our understanding of events. The episode features Lebanese reporter Zahera Harb, Afghan refugee Gulwali Passarlay, former UN Security Council President Kishore Mahbubani, South African freedom fighters from the LSWV, and ex-IRA convict Tony Doherty. Hosts: Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia) Music: Samfire (@soundofsamfire) Support Media Storm on Patreon - and help us out by sending your favourite episode to 3 of your favourite people! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nuclear weapons: peace in our times, or destruction in our future? What you think probably depends on where in the world you are - because what journalists write generally depends on where in the world they are. Here in the UK, nuclear weapons are a necessary deterrent, and that’s the end of the story. The coverage is coloured by geopolitical considerations and political voices, while scientific and humanitarian ones are absent. That’s why Media Storm is bringing in a Nobel-winning physicist and a Japanese peace activist to dig deeper. Dr Ira Helfand and Yumiko Sakuma join us for (heads up) our scariest Media Storm episode yet. What would survivors tell us if we gave them a voice? What hidden risks are going unreported? Who gets rich from fuelling the arms race? And what would actually happen if nuclear warfare broke out? Also: is there another way? Plus – your weekly Media Storms: Zombie knives and ninja swords, doubt in the details of a Telegraph article about benefits - and why Boris Johnson knows nothing about Bridget Jones. Also, sausages. Hosts: Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia) Music: Samfire (@soundofsamfire) Assistant Producer: Katie Grant Support Media Storm on Patreon - and help us out by sending your favourite episode to 3 of your favourite people! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices