The Manchester Briefing from The Mill

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

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 to find out more about the Africa Hub's work at the museum, click below:

https://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/galleries/africa-hub
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 young journalists in Greater Manchester. This is about The Mill’s becoming more than just a newspaper, and how you can be a part of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 chose to write a much more personal - and hopeful piece - a few days later. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends to spread the word, or become one of our members with a discount by clicking here. Note: this podcast was recorded on Tuesday 7 October and only published on Sunday 12 October because of an issue we had uploading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.