Media Confidential

You’ve been listening to the Prospect Podcast, Media Confidential’s sister podcast. To subscribe on Spotify, click HERE.  

For Apple podcasts, click HERE. 

Has Trump's America become an autocracy?

While Media Confidential is on a short break, we’re bringing you the best of our sister podcast, the Prospect Podcast. Back in April, Ellen and Alona were joined by scholar of authoritarianism, Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Ruth analyses the Trump administration’s rapid shift towards authoritarianism. She talks about Trump’s personality cult, how strongmen portray machismo and the potential for a female strongman figure.

She also discusses how autocrats use corruption, violence and propaganda to stay in power, and how ICE roundups echo the past, resembling a “secret police force”. Ruth answers: can the Democrats can learn anything from Trump? What’s the best way to challenge an illiberal president? And how does this end?

Plus, Ellen and Alona discuss their bookshelves for this week's “banger or dud”.

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To subscribe to the Prospect Podcast on Spotify, click HERE.  

For Apple podcasts, click HERE.  

Will AI achieve superintelligence—and, if so, when? 

While Media Confidential is on a short break, we’re bringing you the best of our sister podcast, the Prospect Podcast. 

In June, Prospect’s tech columnist Ethan Zuckerman joined Ellen and Alona to talk about billionaire tech bros, social media, and how to resist the ‘enshittification’ of the internet. He answers: is AI transforming our world for the worse? But he also explains how to seek out better, more wholesome corners of the internet, and why his students give him hope.

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You’ve been listening to the Prospect Podcast, Media Confidential’s sister podcast. To subscribe on Spotify, click HERE.  

For Apple podcasts, click HERE. 

Has mainstream media failed?  

While Media Confidential is on a short break, we’re bringing you the best of the Prospect Podcast. 

Back in February, broadcaster and author Mehdi Hasan visited Prospect HQ. After MSNBC cancelled the Mehdi Hasan Show in November 2023, Mehdi founded the independent media company Zeteo.  

He joined Prospect’s Ben Clark to talk about his departure from mainstream media, Gaza, cancel culture, and the press in an age of Trump.

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

You’ve been listening to the Prospect Podcast, Media Confidential’s sister podcast. To subscribe on Spotify, click HERE.  

For Apple podcasts, click HERE. 

Does the Left need its own Trump? 

While Media Confidential takes a short break, we’re bringing you the best of our sister podcast, the Prospect Podcast. 

In April, Prospect’s Ellen Halliday and Alona Ferber were joined by Slavoj Zizek, the philosopher and public intellectual, who spoke to them about fatherhood, the “obscenity” of Donald Trump, and whether he’s hopeful about the future of the left. 

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Has the media contributed to “tinderbox Britain”? Alan and Lionel discuss in this week’s Q&A episode, in light of protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, as authorities anticipate a summer of unrest.

The hosts also explore whether journalistic freedoms are under threat, and the responsibility of the press when reporting—or speculating on—medical diagnoses. Do we need a UK equivalent of the “Goldwater rule”?

Plus, Media Confidential sets the record straight, having accidentally broadcasted fake news...

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What turns a loyal devotee into a whistleblower seeking revenge? And what would you do if an anonymous source handed over reams of sensitive information on one of the biggest companies in the world?

This week, Alan and Lionel are joined by the co-author of The Tesla Files, Sönke Iwersen, an investigative journalist at Germany’s top business newspaper Handelsblatt.

Sönke reveals exactly what happens at the heart of Elon Musk’s empire: when serious safety concerns were exposed, how did the richest man in the world react?

Plus, the hosts discuss Keir Starmer giving former Sun editor David Dinsmore a senior role overseeing government communications. Lionel shares a “scoop-ette” about why the Washington Post had to publish their Trump-Epstein story, and the hosts examine a Times article and ask “is it really news?”

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In this week’s Q&A episode, Alan and Lionel are asked how much an editor’s personal opinions and politics affect their judgements.

They also discuss Mehdi Hasan’s viral debate against far right Republicans on the latest edition of Jubilee’s ‘Surrounded’.

Plus, which place captures the national mood of the UK? And which publications are doing the most exciting work at the moment?

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This week, Alan and Lionel are joined by Stewart Purvis, formerly editor-in-chief of ITN and content regulator for Ofcom.

Stewart talks about confronting Ofcom about their judgement on GB News. Are current impartiality rules fit for purpose?

Amid mounting pressure over Tim Davie’s leadership, they also discuss the crisis at the top of the BBC—and which candidates might be next in line for the biggest job in broadcasting.

Plus, Alan reveals a telling text he received from a top BBC journalist.

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In this week's Q&A episode, Alan and Lionel are asked about Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for New York mayor, and whether big newspapers have made any impact on his campaign.

The hosts also discuss how to capture people’s attention while reporting on climate change.

Plus, as AI threatens to replace some human jobs, what can journalists do to ensure they’re ahead of the game?

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This week, Alan and Lionel are joined by Tom McTague, former Unherd political editor and recently appointed editor-in-chief at the New Statesman.

Tom explains his vision, both for the magazine and for the UK. He also spills the beans on his interview with Keir Starmer, and shares what he talked about over a drink with Spectator editor and former Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove.

The hosts also discuss the two BBC reports out this week about the corporation’s handling of the documentary Gaza: How to survive in a warzone, as well as an independent review into “inappropriate behaviour” by former MasterChef judge Gregg Wallace.

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