In our 11th Episode, a few months on from our first look at how Covid affected education and schools, Aarthee is joined by Eva and Shreya who reflect on their last year of school, how their results played out, and the challenges they faced as a result of Covid. From uncertainty, lack of planning, and inconsistency, they discuss the turmoil of the year but also celebrate the resilience and achievements of young people taking external exams in this very unprecedented year.

Follow today's guests: Eva and Shreya

Follow today's host: Aarthee

Edited by: Sanjana 

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

Aarthee and Sanjana are joined by Holly Hostettler-Davies this week to discuss the easing of restrictions in England and Wales. They look at the difference in lockdown easing across the UK and how both nations have responded to COVID-19. With debates about the efficacy of government leadership and whether we should be prioritising the national or international distribution of vaccines, this episode proves to be a lively one!

Follow our guest: Holly

Follow today's hosts: Aarthee and Sanjana

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

In our 9th episode, Eva and Aarthee are joined by Evie Aspinall and Dominic Jones, two delegates to the G7 Youth Summit 2021. From climate change to hypocrisy to youth involvement in global politics, they discuss how the G7 operates and whether this year's summit lived up to expectations. 

Follow our guests: Evie and Dominic

Follow today's hosts: Eva and Aarthee

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here. 

In this episode, Sanjana (she/her) and Cait (she/her) chat to Ria Patel (they/she) and Jessie (they/she) about Pride Month, where Pride month is now, and where we need to go next. Ria is chair of the LGBTIQA+ Greens and also works on the Divest Pride campaign with People and Planet and Jessie is the founder of The Terrarium, a publication that hopes to shed a light on topics that were often underrepresented in formal education.

Follow today's hosts: Cait and Sanjana

Follow today's guests: Ria and Jessie 

Following the recent Local Elections, in this episode, Sanjana and Aarthee chat to Nathan Boroda (he/him), who was recently elected as a Labour councillor for Unsworth. Manchester and Kira Lewis (they/them) who works at Labour To Win, is Chair of LGBTQ+ network at The Cooperative Party and is running for Young Labour’s next LGBT+ Officer about how the Party should respond to and rebuild following the latest results, including the disappointing loss of Hartlepool.

Follow today's guests: Nathan and Kira 

Follow today's hosts:  Aarthee and Sanjana

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

In this special episode, all four of the Opinions Team celebrate Empoword Journalism's first birthday by talking to one of our Editor In Cheif's, Lauren McGaun, and one of our very first workshop guests, News Associate's Lucy Dyer. They discuss the journey this last year has been, both for Empoword and journalism in general, and how the future looks for those keen to break into the media industry.

Please note: This Podcast project is recorded from home over video calls during the Coronavirus pandemic, so please do forgive us for any unexpected background noise or any inconsistent audio quality across the episodes. Thank you!

Follow today's guests: Lauren McGaun and Lucy Dyer

Follow today's hosts:  Aarthee, Eva, Cait and Sanjana

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

In our fourth episode, Aarthee and Sanjana sit down to discuss all things race related, particularly in reference to the Government's recent Race and Ethnic disparities report and also the UK media's coverage of the passing of HRH Prince Philip. They discuss their reactions to both events and how they tie into a bigger discussion on discrimination and how society must move forward in order to tackle existing prejudices.

Follow today's hosts:  Aarthee and Sanjana 

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

In our third episode, Eva and Aarthee are joined by guests Heather and Annaleece to discuss education during the Covid-19 pandemic. From remote learning to an almost non-existent social life, they discuss the turmoil that young people have been thrown into throughout the last year, as well as looking towards the future with optimism and hope. 

Follow today's hosts: Eva and Aarthee

Follow today's guests: Heather and Annaleece

You can find the articles written by Heather and Annaleece below:

Dear British Government: A Message from Your Students by Annaleeece Longmore

How Students are Preparing for School and University after Lockdown by Annaleece Longmore

UK Schools Return: How is it looking one week in? by Heather Davey

COVID-19 one year on, but what about the years ahead? by Heather Davey

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.

CW: Racism, sexism, mental health, comments about mental health and sexual harassment are discussed in this episode 

In our second episode, Eva and Sanjana host a debate with our guests Mads and Brooke about the recent actions of Piers Morgan, whether his platform should have been more regulated and the role of journalists and the media as a whole. 

Follow today's hosts: Eva and Sanjana 

Follow our guests: Mads and Brooke

You can find the articles written by Brooke and Mads below:

Mental Health Matters: The Piers Morgan Story by Maddy Raine 

The Piers Morgan Debate by Brooke Heneghan 

Theme music courtesy of David Hilowitz on The Free Music Archive. Changes were made to this audio. Creative Commons license found here.