Media Storm

Media Storm presented by Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia.

Warning: Some swearing

Disabled workers are over twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled workers — even not counting those who are ‘economically inactive’ due to health or other reasons. Countless testimonies point to ableism at every stage of the employment game, from applying to jobs to being made redundant. And yet legally-speaking, there is almost no trace of disability discrimination in UK workplaces, with only 72 disability employment tribunals happening in the latest published annual period (2019-20).

If not for discrimination, why are disabled people struggling disproportionately to access work? And if there is discrimination, why is no one paying for it?

This week, we dig up the canyon of workplace ableism that has been buried in confidential settlements, or faced no reckoning at all. We look at the myriad of ways that ableism manifests in workplaces, and the loopholes and limitations of the law designed to prevent it.

Joining us in the studio are two very special guests: Triple Cripples podcast host Jumoke Abdullahi and campaigner-consultant Ellen Jones. We discuss the mainstream media’s coverage of disability, and how the Covid-19 pandemic cast an uncomfortable light on society’s valuation of different people’s lives.

The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia), with Helena Da Silva Merron and Maria Kalinowska as researchers.

Guests:

Sources:

Get in touch by following the show on social media @mediastormpod or emailing us [email protected]

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. Artwork by Simba Baylon @simbalenciaga.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

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Laws that criminalise certain aspects of sex work force people into unsafe, unregulated environments, where they become even more vulnerable. Last week, on International Women’s Day, we joined the Sex/Work Strike and heard the rallying cry from protestors campaigning for the full decriminalisation of sex work.

But what might a 'decriminalised future' look like? This week, Media Storm heads to a new exhibition at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, featuring artwork and installations by sex workers themselves, to find out.

Two of those involved, Yarli Allison and Letizia Miro, join Media Storm to talk about their semi-fictional documentary 'This is Not For Clients', which features in the exhibition, exploring labour conditions and survival. 

Guests:

ICA exhibition 'Decriminalised Futures': https://www.ica.art/decriminalised-futures 

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. Artwork by Simba Baylon @simbalenciaga.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Media Storm presented by Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia. 

Warning: Some strong language and references to sex

Transcript: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2022/07/06/1-9-sex-workers-ignored-and-under-threat/

Online or offline, the stigma that comes with being a sex worker is pervasive. But sex work is not just stigmatised - it's criminalised. Laws that ban certain aspects of sex work force workers into unsafe, unregulated environments, where they become even more vulnerable. 

This week, Media Storm heads to Bristol, where strip clubs face being outlawed by the council - in similar scenes to Chester, Swansea, and Blackpool. Critics of strip clubs seem to blame sex workers for the systematic problems of gender-based violence, yet our data research showed otherwise. Media Storm meets workers in the sexual entertainment industry who feel unheard and stuck in a limbo, following them to the Sex/Work Strike in London's Leicester Square on International Women's Day. Niki Adams from the English Collective of Prostitutes joins us in the studio to talk about decades advocating for full decriminalisation, and the common conflation of sex trafficking and sex work, with headline talk from Ukraine and around the world. 

The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia), with Helena Da Silva Merron and Priyanka Raval as researchers. The voice of the sex worker from Swansea is Kamilah McInnis.

Guests:

Sources: 

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. Artwork by Simba Baylon @simbalenciaga.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since 1971, the US has led a global campaign to criminalise and eradicate certain psychoactive substances: this is known as the war on drugs. On last week’s episode of Media Storm, we looked at the racialised impact of this punitive policy, which - despite aiming for the eradication of drugs - has seen drug-related deaths increase and drug use remain commonplace. 

So if the war on drugs has failed, what comes next?

This week, we look at harm reduction: a different approach to drugs. We’re joined in the studio by Niamh Eastwood, Executive Director of the advocacy group Release, and Juan Fernandez, from the ‘Support. Don’t Punish’ campaign.

The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia), with Helena Da Silva Merron as researcher. 

Guests:

Sources:

Get in touch

 Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. Artwork by Simba Baylon @simbalenciaga.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Read the transcript: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2022/03/17/1-8-the-uks-war-on-drugs-politics-and-prohibition/

Warning: Strong language, drug use

‘DRUG TRAGEDY’, ‘DRUG CRIME’, ‘DRUG FEARS’— these are common tabloid staples. But are drugs the problem? Or is it in fact the war on drugs?

Data that links drug use to crime and death rates are often used to justify militant political crackdowns. But historical trends reveal a disturbing pattern: the more we have pursued a war on drugs, the more drug fatalities have risen.

This week, Media Storm speaks to people who buy and sell illegal drugs. We uncover the true depths of drug culture in the UK and the impact of a 50-year war that has ravished marginalised communities, with analysis from Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Dr Kojo Koram. We’re joined in the studio by Niamh Eastwood - Executive Director of the advocacy group Release - and Juan Fernandez - leader of the ‘Support. Don’t Punish’ campaign - to look at recent headlines on Rylan Clark and our fascination with alleged celebrity drug use, front pages on festival fatalities, and to ask whether the media is trailing behind the cultural conversation.

The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia), with Helena Da Silva Merron as researcher. The voice of the dealer is Josh Finan.

Guests

Sources

Get in touch

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. Artwork by Simba Baylon @simbalenciaga.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Media Storm presented by Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia

Bonus Episode: Homelessness and how to help, by people who've been there

Last episode, Media Storm investigated homelessness behind closed doors: the hidden figures in hostels, cafes, on nightbuses or couch-surfing. This week, we look at the homelessness on our streets: the people we can see, how they get treated, and what we the public could do better. The answers are brought to you by people in the know - people who've been in that position. This is what to do when you see a homeless person, by people who've been homeless themselves.

Your hosts:

Mathilda Mallinson @mathildamall

Helena Wadia @helenawadia  

Speakers:

Kerri Douglas @KerriDouglas18

Earl Charlton @EarlCharlton2

Chase Archer Evans @HomelessAss

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. 

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Warning: Strong language

Official homelessness statistics are a fraction of the numbers that charities claim to exist. Is someone sugarcoating the data? Is it a genuine mistake? Or are we looking in wrong places?

With fines and sentences for sleeping on the streets, the UK and many other countries make no apologies for targeting rough sleeping. Temporary accommodation facilities earn private contractors hundreds of millions in state benefits every year. But are they actually helping, or just keeping the problem behind closed doors?

This week, Media Storm speaks to people who are and have been homeless. They expose some disconcerting truths about these state-supported lodgings, systemic attempts to remove vulnerable people from public view, and the catastrophic levels of homelessness lying hidden in the wings. Comedian Kai Samra joins us in the studio to take a look at some of the latest headlines on homelessness, and discuss what reporting on the topic often gets wrong.

Your hosts:

Your guests:

Sources:

Get in touch

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

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Content warning: Eating disorders

"New Year, New You": that’s the message you've probably heard in the mainstream media for the last month. On last week’s episode Fatphobia: Healthcare by Size, we dissected how the mainstream news media helps the diet industry profit off of our insecurities. But - the conversation doesn’t end here, and that’s because fatphobia doesn’t affect all plus-size people in the same way. Various intersections, such as race, or gender identity, or queerness, can change the way people experience body image. We asked author & journalist Stephanie Yeboah and author & artist Essie Dennis to tell us more about their experiences of body image and intersectionality. Stephanie spoke about the Body Positive movement's erasure of plus-size black women and why she feels the movement no longer represents her, and Essie told us about her new book Queer Body Power and finding positivity in a world that tells you to just be smaller...

Stephanie Yeboah (@stephanieyeboah) is a content creator, journalist, and the author of Fattily Ever After.

Essie Dennis (@khal_essie) is an artist and owner of the art shop Queer In Colour. She is also the author of Queer Body Power, out on March 21st.

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire.

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Media Storm presented by Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia

Read the transcript: https://mediastormpodcast.com/2022/02/08/1-6-fatphobia-healthcare-by-size-with-stephanie-yeboah-and-essie-dennis/

Content warning: Fatphobia, disordered eating

Being told to lose weight is almost unavoidable. The news, TV shows, films, adverts and your family & friends mostly prescribe to the same school of thought: that being fat is 'bad', and that being thin is 'good'. But it turns out: that's not true. This episode, we look into weight bias in healthcare and how fatphobia in medical settings is putting the lives of plus size people in danger - especially those with the reproductive condition endometriosis. Plus, we're joined in the studio by Stephanie Yeboah and Essie Dennis to discuss how the mainstream media depicts plus size people and what needs to change, and how we can stop diet culture from stripping away the joys of everyday life. 

Speakers (in order of appearance): 

Sources:

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. 

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Media Storm presented by Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia

If you’ve read UK news over the past year, you’ll likely have heard of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill making its way through Parliament. It’s a "tough-on-crime" piece of policy - a phrase the government use readily. And it’s back in the headlines this week, as The House of Lords voted against its plans to clamp down on disruptive and noisy protesters.

Part of the Policing Bill's promise is sending more criminals in prison for longer. Yet, judging by some headlines, being locked up isn’t even punishment enough. Prisons are frequently criticised for being too luxurious and too lenient. Is this really the case?

We asked Paula Harriott, who spent four years in prison, to tell us the truth about so-called 'luxury prisons'. 

Paula Harriott (@paula_harriott) is Head of Prisoner Engagement at the Prison Reform Trust (@PRTuk). 

Get in touch:

Music by Samfire @soundofsamfire. 

Media Storm is brought to you by the house of The Guilty Feminist and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices