On 18th June 1994, Catholic pubgoers in Loughinisland, County Down, were watching a World Cup match when a loyalist paramilitary group burst in and murdered six civilians, wounding five others. To this day, no-one has been charged for the crime.

Produced by journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, No Stone Unturned (2017) told the story of the massacre, revealing how the police had colluded in protecting the gunmen.

When the film disclosed anonymous documents identifying the murder suspects, the Northern Irish police service (PSNI) arrested Trevor and Barry—and both of their homes were raided by armed police—to discover the source of the leak.

Last December, a tribunal found that the PSNI and Met police also unlawfully spied on both journalists, long before the film was even produced.

They join Alan and Lionel to tell their extraordinary story, and ask: could other journalists in the UK be under surveillance by the authorities?

To read more about Northern Ireland’s police spying scandal, head to www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/crime-and-justice/68906/northern-irelands-police-spying-scandal

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

Alan and Lionel are joined by Saad Mohseni, the tycoon who reshaped Afghanistan's media landscape.

In 2001, Saad was forging a career in international banking. But after the invasion of Afghanistan, and the subsequent fall of the Taliban government, he decided to move to Kabul.

There, he co-founded the Moby Group, the country’s largest media company, where he is chairman and executive officer. He also started a radio station, soon spawning a TV station which broadcast the now-banned hit talent show, Afghan Star.

Saad discusses his book Radio Free Afghanistan and what it is like to operate a media empire after the Taliban’s return.

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

Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) has finally admitted that unlawful behaviour was carried out by private investigators working for the Sun and the News Of The World.

They've offered "a full and unequivocal apology" to Prince Harry for illegally obtaining private information about him—and have agreed to a staggering eight-figure settlement. 

So, is that the end of the matter, or is there still more to come? Has Murdoch's company got off lightly? Alan and Lionel chew over the case. 

Meanwhile the fate of the Daily Telegraph is still in limbo, as the paper awaits a buyer.

Former editor of the Telegraph and Thatcher biographer Charles Moore joins Alan and Lionel to discuss who the next owner could be.

To read "The Spy Papers", our exclusive investigation into the phone hacking scandal, go to https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/phone-hacking/65918/the-murdoch-spy-papers

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

The BBC, a broken tape recorder and a fake Meryl Streep. That’s right, it can only mean a new edition of Media Confidential’s Q&A show.

Alan is joined by Janine Gibson, in Lionel’s absence, to tackle questions about their first days as editors, their favourite headlines and the future of the BBC.

One listener asks: do the editors remember a time when they badly messed things up?

From an interview with a massive guest going awry, to retribution in the form of one well-known actress, Alan and Janine share some of the finest stories they’ve gathered in their time as journalists and editors.

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

How do you solve a problem like Elon? The billionaire owner of X controls one of the world's biggest social media channels, treating the platform as his own propaganda machine.

Armando Iannucci—the satirist, writer and producer behind Alan Partridge, The Thick of It and Veep—has, until recently, been using his own Twitter account to fact-check Musk's posts.

He joins Alan Rusbridger and guest host, Janine Gibson, editor of the Weekend FT, to discuss how what happens if we don't take Musk seriously.

Like Donald Trump, Musk has a strong dislike for the mainstream media and has used X to vocalise support for fringe figures like Tommy Robinson. 

But what might have once been dismissed as baseless rants are now driving the news agenda—and even political manoeuvres—in many parts of the USA and Europe.

How will Musk's megalomania end? And how dangerous to global democracy is he, really? Armando, Alan and Janine discuss. 

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

Alan and Lionel kick off the 2025 with a brand-new Q&A episode.

While primetime CNN attracts a mere 400,000 listeners, the Joe Rogan Experience reaches over 17 million subscribers on YouTube. What explains the exponential rise of Joe Rogan’s podcast?

In a world dominated by social media platforms, where fact and fiction are blurred, the editors make the case for traditional, fact-based journalism.

Plus, Alan and Lionel have brushed shoulders with many household names, but who has made them starstruck? The editors share their stories: what question did Alan ask the queen?

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

Alan and Lionel are joined by Janine Gibson, editor of the Weekend FT, to look ahead to what promises to be a “yuge” year for journalists.

As Trump enters his second term in the White House, should we expect authoritarian clamp-downs on the press? And as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg promises free-speech and the end of fact-checking at Facebook, will opinion trump truth?

The editors also discuss new media stars, from Joe Rogan to gamer “ConnorEatsPants”, who has interviewed everyone from Joe Exotic to Sesame Street’s Elmo…and even the mysterious Adrian Dittmann, rumoured to be Elon Musk’s alter-ego.

Plus, will Prince Harry have his day in court to take on Murdoch over phone-hacking? One of our editors receives some tantalising hints that he may not go through with it after all…

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

Would legalising assisted dying end unnecessary suffering? Or would it instead enable the abuse of some of society’s most vulnerable people?

Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill has passed its second reading. Back in September, Prospect invited two of our most profound thinkers—Rowan Williams and Brenda Hale—to debate the issue. As archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams led a Church that publicly opposes any form of assisted dying, while, as a Supreme Court judge, Brenda Hale was involved in life-or-death judgements.

In a moving exchange, Hale discusses her own Christian faith, while Williams shares his pastoral experience in the company of the dying. They joined Prospect’s editor Alan Rusbridger and commissioning editor Emily Lawford for a thoughtful and vitally important conversation.

This episode was first published on Media Confidential's sister podcast, the Prospect podcast. To read this conversation from the magazine, visit our website.

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

For our final episode of 2024, Alan and Lionel look back at their Media Confidential year. They’ve tackled a huge range of stories: from phone-hacking and the rise of AI, to Ofcom’s battles with GB News. They’ve analysed elections on both sides of the Atlantic, were joined by Toby Jones on the Post Office scandal, and heard from courageous reporters working inside Gaza.

There’s been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and a crisis at the Washington Post… but which episodes do they find the most memorable?

Michael Lewis came to Prospect Towers in September to promote his new book about Sam Bankman-Fried, Going Infinite. But when Alan started reading out criticism of the book, the temperature dropped several degrees. The heated resulting exchange is hard to forget.

Ahead of the US election, Rebecca Solnit joined Alan and Lionel to discuss her concerns about the American media “sanewashing” Donald Trump.

Finally, James Harding and Carole Cadwalladr recently appeared on the show to tell-all about Tortoise's controversial decision to buy the Observer. James received a grilling from our hosts. Now, with Observer journalists striking, who’s to say who was right?

2025 promises to be a heck of a ride.

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

Could machine-generated articles replace those created by human beings?

After their series on AI in the media, Alan and Lionel now turn to listeners’ questions.

There's no question that AI could help to make journalists lives easier, but what sort of practical uses will there be on a day-to-day basis? Is there a risk that AI will take over the creative roles of writers and reporters? And what are the main threats to media employees?

Alan and Lionel remain cautiously optimistic about the future of the tools that will become more and more available.

They’re convinced that the subtlety, wit and nuance of real-life journalists will win out and cannot be replaced by machines. At least not yet…

Follow us on BlueSky @prospectmagazine.bsky.social and stay up to date with all our latest stories by signing up to our new daily newsletter Lightbulb—simply click on the newsletter tab on our website and enter your email address to register.

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