Media Storm

Welcome to the first episode of Media Storm series 5! Helena questions Mathilda about her motivations in taking part in a Channel 4 documentary about polarised immigration opinions, called Go Back To Where You Came From.

Then it's onto our weekly news debrief: we pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media, helping you consume the news critically.

This week's news - like last week's and probably next week - is the Trump show. But how much are the media playing into his hands by making all world news about Trump's actions? And how do we sort the fascism from the frenzy? We also decipher Trump's call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, which is dressed up as compassion.

Other stories we cover: Why is everything except male violence to blame for the actions of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana? Plus, we look at reporting on the rebel M23 forces who have seized the eastern city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo - and why this reporting under the 'Africa' tab of your news page is not as far from home as you think. Finally, why all reporting corrections should be splashed on the front page...

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

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Media Storm is returning next week! Series 5 will begin on Thursday 6th February - and there are now TWO episodes of Media Storm every week.

Every Thursday, we'll be dropping Media Storm's News Watch - where Mathilda & Helena will run through the main stories of the week, picking apart the most unhinged headlines to help you make sense of the mainstream media.

Every Friday, we'll release our regular episodes - our deep-dives into a topic that we think has been misrepresented in the mainstream media. And we'll do that with the most important (and most overlooked) people in the story - the ones living it. 

Until then, here is one from the archives: Media Storm's first ever investigation about the so-called refugee 'crisis'. With headlines reporting ‘record numbers of migrants’ reaching the UK in dinghies, Media Storm headed across the Channel to find out why they’re coming. The UK claims that accepting asylum seekers creates a ‘pull factor’ and encourages more people to come - we look at whether this is really what’s causing the crisis.

Plus, we've republished our conversation from last series, where we busted the biggest myths about refugees with two people who have lived experience - Journalist Osama Gaweesh, and Afghan journalist, newsreader, and women's rights activist, Zahra Shaheer.

Make sure you have your notifications on so you can join us, TWICE weekly, from Thursday 6th Feb for Series 5!

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Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall)

Media Storm (@mediastormpod)

Support Media Storm on Patreon.

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Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically.

In our final News Watch before Christmas, we pick apart an outrageous claim in The Telegraph that the NHS 'catering to' transgender people is making more pregnant women die - a claim that is an opinion, but presented as fact. Plus, Trump is Time's Person of the Year - and he takes the time to speak about transgender 'bathroom issues' - though what he says might surprise you. Next, a shooting spree in Dunkirk that you probably didn't read about in the media. Is the media ignoring the targeting of two migrants? And finally, we have to talk about Luigi Mangione mania - the man who shot the UnitedHealthcare CEO - which has given cause to criticise across the political spectrum.

Donate to Mobile Refugee Support in Dunkirk

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

Follow us @mediastormpod and support us on Patreon.

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

Content warning: descriptions of violence, mentions of rape, descriptions of transphobia

Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically.

This week, we point out a gaping blind spot in the international press: Georgia, a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia and on the southern border of Russia, is on fire politically. And its people need the world to care. We hear from journalists on the ground, and spotlight how and why this story has been underreported, and its global significance downplayed. Next, serious allegations of sexual misconduct against the founders of PinkNews have been uncovered, thanks to over 30 former and current staff members at the outlet. But some media outlets and personalities have capitalised on victims' testimonies to promote transphobia - and they think they can get away with it. And finally, one day after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the UK has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims. We discuss why this announcement is politically trigger happy: focused on cheap domestic wins, not international emergencies. Also... Helena holds more space for Wicked.

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

Follow us @mediastormpod and support us on Patreon.

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

Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically.

This week, Gregg Wallace turned his back on his target audience ("middle-class women of a certain age") while issuing a statement that will surely go down in history as a top PR nightmare. It's all off the back of multiple serious allegations against him - both uncovered AND undermined by The Telegraph. Next, we step outside of the Western worldview to look at events in Syria, as Aleppo has been captured by the armed rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from government forces. Plus - under a world-first law, sex workers in Belgium will be giving the same rights as any other worker, and is The Times being hypocritical with its article about 'Sickfluencers'?

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

The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire).

Follow us @mediastormpod

Support us on Patreon!

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

Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We'll pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically.

This week, it’s hypocritical calls for another general election (while legitimate calls for another Brexit referendum were ignored), Musk interfering in UK politics (we've moved from X to Bluesky, follow us!), a BBC headline about the ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu that failed to dig deeper, accusations of discrimination against Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities from Greater Manchester Police, and Helena tries (and fails) to explain Wicked to Mathilda.

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

The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire).

Follow us @mediastormpod.

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

Introducing: Media Storm's News Watch!

Join Mathilda and Helena on their weekly news debriefs! We'll pick apart the most unhinged headlines and try to make sense of the mainstream media - helping you consume the news critically.

This week, it’s farmers (protesting the UK’s new inheritance tax), football fans (bringing the Israel-Palestine conflict to the streets of Amsterdam), and food (sandwich fillings just too woke for the Daily Mail to handle). It’s also Trans Awareness Week - so we’ll highlight some vital stories about transgender rights that the mainstream media must have *accidentally* missed. And finally: things to think about when reading headlines on the murder of Harshita Brella.

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

The music is by Safire (@soundofsamfire).

Follow us @mediastormpod.

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The End of Life Bill being debated in UK parliament marks a historic moment for a country with one of the most punitive approaches to assisted dying people in the liberal world.

But here at Media Storm, something confuses us about the debate now unfolding in the news, which is the distinctive lack of voices of people for whom the bill is actually designed. People who are terminally ill.

So we bring you back an episode dedicated to platforming people who are dying and their loved ones. Theirs are the testimonies anyone refusing legal reform must answer to.

The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson.

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We bring back Media Storm's episode on 'terrorism' to reflect on the escalating war in the Middle East, and ask how geopolitical biases are playing into this week's headlines and restricting our understanding of events.

The episode features Lebanese reporter Zahera Harb, Afghan refugee Gulwali Passarlay, former UN Security Council President Kishore Mahbubani, South African freedom fighters from the LSWV, and ex-IRA convict Tony Doherty.

Hosts: Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

Music: Samfire (@soundofsamfire)

Support Media Storm on Patreon - and help us out by sending your favourite episode to 3 of your favourite people!

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

Nuclear weapons: peace in our times, or destruction in our future?

What you think probably depends on where in the world you are - because what journalists write generally depends on where in the world they are.

Here in the UK, nuclear weapons are a necessary deterrent, and that’s the end of the story. The coverage is coloured by geopolitical considerations and political voices, while scientific and humanitarian ones are absent.

That’s why Media Storm is bringing in a Nobel-winning physicist and a Japanese peace activist to dig deeper. Dr Ira Helfand and Yumiko Sakuma join us for (heads up) our scariest Media Storm episode yet.

What would survivors tell us if we gave them a voice? What hidden risks are going unreported? Who gets rich from fuelling the arms race? And what would actually happen if nuclear warfare broke out?

Also: is there another way?

Plus – your weekly Media Storms: Zombie knives and ninja swords, doubt in the details of a Telegraph article about benefits - and why Boris Johnson knows nothing about Bridget Jones. Also, sausages.

Hosts: Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

Music: Samfire (@soundofsamfire)

Assistant Producer: Katie Grant

Support Media Storm on Patreon - and help us out by sending your favourite episode to 3 of your favourite people!

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