Media Storm

'What is a woman?'

The question that has plagued British media and politicians over the past decade culminated in a Supreme Court ruling that declared ‘womanhood’ was based on biological sex. Now, finally, WE KNOW WHAT A WOMAN IS.

Headlines told us this was a historical moment for women and feminism, but with misogyny becoming more and more mainstream and male violence on the rise, what has the ruling actually achieved? Three months on, Media Storm compares the real-life impact of the Supreme Court ruling and the impact promised by the British press - and assesses whether this biological definition has brought clarity or chaos.

Bridging the binary divide between cis and trans women presented in mainstream media, Helena and Mathilda are joined by Katy Montgomerie, YouTuber, metalhead, and trans rights activist.

What is a woman? Why is this question so dominant in today’s political climate? When did the obsession begin? Who has gained a lot… and who has gained nothing?

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠⁠⁠) 

Researchers: Lily Erwood and Teagan Gray

The music is by⁠⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠⁠

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As the US military intervenes in another Middle East conflict, we’re told it’s because Iran is harbouring weapons of mass destruction (in contradiction to US intelligence). We’re also told forced regime change will ‘liberate’ women from Islamic tyranny. WMDs? Operation Freedom? Haven’t we heard these justifications before? To start, we look at lessons for the media from the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and re-centre Iranian women in debates about their fates.

After the break: ‘NOTHING IS OFF LIMITS’ in Johnny Depp’s new exclusive with the Sunday Times… except the most important question. How this ‘poor me’ piece legitimises abusers’ victimhood narratives, and attempts to delegitimise the Me Too movement.

And finally, the UK government has moved to proscribe ‘Palestine Action’ as a terrorist organisation for spray-painting RAF planes. Media Storm questions why we need anti-terror laws on top of regular anti-crime laws, and whether politicising justice can ever be in the public interest.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠⁠) 

Assistant producer: Lily Erwood

The music is by⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠

Support us on⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠!

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This week is Refugee Week, a time to celebrate the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. And here at Media Storm, we can't do it without delving into media hypocrisy when reporting on the group. Why do closed borders not work - and why, in the face of hard evidence, do politicians still continue to ignore the facts and figures on displacement? 

We’re joined in the studio by Ugandan model and transgender refugee rights activist, ⁠Amanda Kamanda⁠, and Iranian Refugee Olympic athlete, ⁠Dorsa Yavarivafa⁠. They tell us about the importance of LGBTQ+ refugee protection and the power of sport to create community. In contrast, we cover the rise of homophobia and transphobia in the West, and specifically in media coverage of migration.

After the break, we turn our focus onto the US where anti-ICE protests embody the theme of this week’s Refugee Week: ‘Community as a Superpower’. And as we approach the one-year anniversary of UK riots after the Southport stabbing, our guests also respond to Keir Starmer’s ‘Island of Strangers’ speech. 

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠⁠) 

The music is by⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠

Support us on⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠!

Follow us on⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠ TikTok

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It's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines.

Locals face-off law enforcement in LA, as Trump sends the military to flatten (or fan up) protests. Meanwhile, Western media are dodging terms like ‘authoritarian’ better than their reporters are dodging police bullets.

Assisted dying is back in the headlines as legalisation goes through UK and France’s parliaments. Disabled people and terminally ill people are often pitched on opposite sides of the debate: how do we elevate both communities’ voices, without pitting minorities against each other?

Freedom Flotilla or "selfie yacht"? Humanitarian aid or vanity stunt? Whatever you think of Greta Thunberg and the Madleen crew, it doesn’t change the fact that Gaza is under siege. If the media’s so sick of Greta’s selfies, perhaps they could cover the story behind the ‘stunt’?

ALSO: tune in to hear about Helena’s smear test and the show’s working titles before it became ‘Media Storm’...

Buy Rachel Charlton-Dailey's book, Ramping Up Rights.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠) 

The music is by⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠

Support us on⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠!

Follow us on⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠,⁠⁠ Bluesky⁠⁠, and⁠⁠ TikTok

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How do we 'cancel' Fascism without censorship? Can we protect free speech as well as fact-checking?

This week, something different: we dive deep into social justice theory and question how to actually achieve it.

Media Storm brings missing expert voices into the conversation. These are normally people with lived experience, but as politics becomes evermore polarised, we sought out a world-class philosopher to help us rise above partisanship and understand the core questions driving division.

AC Grayling is Master of the New College of the Humanities and has written and edited over 30 books. But he does not see philosophy as an ivory tower practice, rather a useful subject for real life implementation. We put that to the test.

The episode is produced and presented by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall). The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire).

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Let’s talk about how the media is fuelling the rise of Reform.

This is not a new topic. The News Agents called it a "lefty cop-out" to blame the media for the rise of Reform. But what about the media cop-outs? What about the media's refusal to change, even as the Far-Right returns to the mainstream?

The truth, Media Storm argues, is this: our media did not just fuel the rise of Reform, they cashed in on it.

So on this week's episode, while Mathilda struggles with corrupted live show audio (sorry), we bring you a special audio article on the topic instead, and introduce you to the Media Storm column in Byline Times - out every Friday.

This episode is produced and presented by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall). The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire).

Support Media Storm on Patreon, and follow the column on Byline Times.

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Warning: this episode contains mentions of baby loss.

Three years ago, we brought you the story of a Nigerian fishing community suing Shell in UK courts over oil spills. This year marks 10 years since their battle began, and the year it finally goes to trial.

The Niger Delta is one of the ten most important wetland ecosystems in the world, home to some 31 million people. But the river that sustains so many lives of so many species has become poisoned over decades by oil.

Environmental justice is a long and winding road, but communities are standing firm in their bids to hold the world’s most powerful corporations to account. They rely on media coverage to keep their fights in the limelight, yet they often struggle to be seen. Why is that?

In this episode, we are joined by Lazarus Tamana, UK president of the Movement For The Survival of The Ogoni People , and Dr Emem Okon, Executive Director of community-led NGO Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre. They help us unpick the media’s coverage of the climate crisis - examining undisclosed relationships between news outlets and corporations, a failure to understand national vs. ‘World’ news, and telling choices of media language.

Follow Amnesty UK’s ‘No Clean Up, No Justice’, read Dr Emem Okon’s research, with the Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre and Both Ends.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠@mathildamall⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠@helenawadia⁠) , with Lily Erwood as Assistant Producer.

The music is by ⁠@soundofsamfire⁠

Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠!

Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, and ⁠TikTok

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LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS!

Media Storm is back for SERIES 6! And we’re here to help you get your head around the headlines (however unhinged they are).

But this week, we had a little identity crisis… should we be using the term ‘mainstream media’ when it’s become such a conspiracy buzzword? And if not, how do we point out all the mainstream media mishaps?! Let us know your thoughts...

Stories we delve into this week include: Two post-Brexit trade deals got very different reactions in the UK media. Spoiler: we think race has something to do with it. We look at the UK-India trade deal, and the UK-US trade deal - and ask why one got too much scrutiny, and the other almost none at all.

Next up, Gérard Depardieu was convicted for two counts of sexual assault. So why are much of the media labelling him as a 'legend' - and why is The Telegraph telling us 'all is not lost' for him? And we break down Keir Starmer’s now infamous immigration speech, likened by his own party members to Enoch Powell’s xenophobic ‘rivers of blood’. This is headline politics at its worst.

As usual, we end with Eyes on Palestine. Follow the Committee to Protect Journalists here.

Click here to complain to the BBC about their interview with Palantir.

Read the report by Doctors of the World UK and Médecins Sans Frontières about Wethersfield.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠@mathildamall⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠@helenawadia⁠) 

The music is by⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠

Support us on⁠ Patreon⁠!

Follow us on⁠ Instagram⁠,⁠ Bluesky⁠, and⁠ TikTok

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Date: Tue 20 May 2025

Location: The Podcast Show, ⁠Business Design Centre⁠, 52 Upper Street London N1 0QH

Doors Open: 18:30 | Show Begins: 19:00 (1hr)

GET YOUR TICKETS | ACCESSIBLE TICKETS | AMEX TICKETS

The descent to dictatorship, the ‘invasion’ of borders, the war on free speech… what’s a global crisis, and what’s just another media storm?

Join co-hosts Helena Wadia and Mathilda Mallinson – and special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards – as they storm through the most unhinged headlines of 2025. Come for a brutal biopsy of the big stories, and leave a little wiser about the media’s wily ways.

Natasha Devon is writer, speaker, and broadcaster on LBC. Milo Edwards is a stand-up comedian and host of the podcasts Trash Future, Masters of Our Domain, and Glue Factory.

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Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW with special guests Natasha Devon and Milo Edwards - Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available HERE!

Kim, an asylum seeker from Zimbabwe, lives on £7-a-day while supporting a newborn in cockroach-infested accommodation… HOW is she supposed to pay the £10,000 NHS bill she received after giving birth?

This week, Kim shares her story, and the Media Storm team unpack the mainstream media myths that feed the wider healthcare, migration and gender injustices behind it.

Myths like:

We pick apart some current, culpable headlines, and compare the stories they tell with the first-hand experiences of the people living it.

Also joining us in the studio is Judith Dennis, head of policy at Maternity Action, which works for the rights of pregnant women and new parents irrespective of migration status, and is campaigning for changes alongside the National Childbirth Trust.

The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

The music is by @soundofsamfire

Support us on Patreon!

Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok

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