Best Mathilda Mallinson Podcasts (2025)

1
News Watch: Behind BBC ‘bias’, Birmingham football ban, and keeping eyes on Sudan 44:17

Play Pause

7d ago44:17

44:17

Welcome to Media Storm's News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. We’re taking on the right-wing hit job on the BBC. Why has one of the world’s most trusted news organisations capitulated to dodgy accusations of lefty, pro-trans and anti-Israel bias, when it gets just as many accusations from the other side? Learn about power str…

1
Fake news! The impact of AI on journalism 40:55

9h ago40:55

40:55

Like this episode? Support Media Storm on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Margaux Blanchard is a widely published journalist. She has written everything from essays about motherhood to investigations about disused mines. But what her editors didn’t realise? Margaux Blanchard doesn’t exist. At least, not as a human being. A company called Inception Poin…

1
‘I want prosecutions’: Should journalists go to prison for Gaza genocide disinformation? 42:41

13d ago42:41

42:41

Survivors of genocide in Gaza have called on the global community to launch criminal prosecutions of Western media professionals who they say carry blame for the murders of their colleagues, families and other victims of Israeli conquest. Is criminal prosecution possible? Would it even be fair? We put these questions to Palestinian and Western jour…

1
What does anti-abortion and white supremacy have in common? 48:49

21d ago48:49

48:49

Funding, for one thing. Political frontmen, for another. The question is why? Money trailing into Far-Right groups connects European aristocrats with US Christian evangelicals and Russian propagandists. Together, these vastly different interest groups support joint campaigns undermining migrant rights with one hand, and abortion rights with the oth…

1
Q&A Special: Ask your hosts anything! 52:30

28d ago52:30

52:30

This week your Media Storm hosts Mathilda and Helena answer all your questions - from hellish headlines to book recommendations to life with or without a fringe. Some current affairs are covered, including the Manchester synagogue attack and an update on the flotilla detainees. But we also dive into personal, professional and even philosophical que…

1
Piracy & propaganda: Israel ILLEGALLY intercepts the Global Sumud Flotilla 50:27

2M ago50:27

50:27

We recorded this episode in the knowledge that Israel's planned illegal interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla was imminent. Overnight, the abduction of its passengers begun, and at time of upload, it is still ongoing. Israeli military vessels attacked the humanitarian boats with water canons, before boarding vessels and capturing passengers. Ca…

1
Tackling media misogyny: Cheer Up Luv and This Ends Now 41:15

2M ago41:15

41:15

Whether it's the Reform Party weaponising women's safety, Donald Trump diminishing domestic abuse, or worrying stats about girls' safety in schools, you don't have to look far to see that discrimination against women still exists - and is often aided by lazy, misleading, or misinformed reporting. What can we do about this? This week, Media Storm sh…

1
News Watch: The UK's radicalised right, Charlie Kirk trans conspiracy, Gaza war is a genocide 58:33

2M ago58:33

58:33

It's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. This week we start by looking at Trump’s new Caribbean front in the ‘war on terror’, and rising authoritarian usage of “anti-terror” laws in the West. Helena reflects on the unreported stories from a weekend of nationalist protests in the UK: people of colour trapped …

1
Reporting from the Global Sumud Flotilla: A people’s movement 23:13

2M ago23:13

23:13

This week, co-host Mathilda brings you a report from Tunisia, just before she sets sail on the Global Sumud Flotilla. Ordinary people have made extraordinary sacrifices to make the journey toward Gaza, and establish a humanitarian corridor to get much needed aid into Palestine. Some people have left young children behind, others have risked their l…

1
News Watch: Reform’s migrant lies, Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail, and is Rylan racist? 48:13

3M ago48:13

48:13

Media Storm is back! And it's time for another News Watch, helping you get your head around the headlines. This week saw the 10 year anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi, the four-year-old refugee child who died attempting to flee the Syrian war along with his family. A photo of his tiny body washed up on the beach came to symbolise the global re…

1
SOAS on strike: Why are university staff refusing to work? 36:58

3M ago36:58

36:58

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! UK university students pay almost £10,000 per year, and international students about four times the amount. Tuition fees have skyrocketed over the past generation. So has the number of higher-paying, international students attending. So where is all the money going? Has the quality of education improved with t…

1
What happened when Issy Vine whistleblew on The Met 27:55

3M ago27:55

27:55

Issy Vine was a staff officer with the Metropolitan Police in South London. A series of incidents with a male colleague in her call handling team back in 2023 has sent her on a two year journey to try and find justice. Issy has not only been fighting for justice, but fighting for media attention for her story. She has since founded community organi…

1
ARCHIVE Women in crisis: Is conflict and disaster sexist? 47:34

4M ago47:34

47:34

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Keir Starmer announced earlier this year that he would reduce the aid budget to 0.3% of national income, from 0.5%, to fund increased spending on defence. But according to the government’s own impact assessment, Labour’s deep aid cuts will hit children’s education and reduce spending in women’s health. Why are…

1
News Watch: Striking doctors' salaries, Islamophobia against Zohran Mamdani, and Japan's far-right surge 56:01

4M ago56:01

56:01

Support us on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! This week on News Watch: Spot the omissions and exaggerations in right-wing coverage of NHS doctors’ strikes. Why are some outlets pushing misleading narratives, and what has it got to do with the wealth tax? We seek out the voices missing from The Telegraph’s reports (doctors), and revisit our interview with tr…

1
War reporters: White saviours or vital journalists? 47:10

4M ago47:10

47:10

Ever heard of a war reporter? You could probably even name a few… perhaps you’ve even seen them played on the big screen by Hollywood movie stars. Now tell us - have you ever heard of a fixer? Could you name a single one? This episode, Media Storm dives into the complex ethics and murky dynamics of war reporting with former foreign correspondent Ph…

1
News Watch: Diddy's domestic abuse, disability-blaming, welfare 'U-turns', Gaza aid traps 49:16

4M ago49:16

49:16

This week, we look at the outcome of the case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in the US - and how evidence of domestic abuse, coercive control, and power dynamics were ignored and misunderstood with the help of our media. We also discuss those viral videos of fans queuing to see Chris Brown, a convicted abuser, on the same week he stands trial for Griev…

1
What is a woman? Common sense vs culture wars 51:24

5M ago51:24

51:24

'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 mainstr…

1
News Watch: Johnny Depp "Me Too victim", Iran "nuclear bomb", Palestine Action "terrorists" 50:44

5M ago50:44

50:44

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 less…

1
Why closed borders don't work: Refugees on community solutions 45:06

5M ago45:06

45:06

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 ignor…

1
News Watch: LA protests, Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and all sides of assisted dying 53:30

5M ago53:30

53:30

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 legal…

1
AC Grayling: Free speech, Wokeism, and how to save democracy 38:06

6M ago38:06

38:06

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 …

1
Is the media responsible for the rise of Reform? 11:06

6M ago11:06

11:06

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…

1
Oil spills in the Niger Delta: Will Shell come clean? 38:38

6M ago38:38

38:38

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 …

1
News Watch: Post-Brexit trade deals, Gérard Depardieu convicted, Starmer's immigration speech 44:35

6M ago44:35

44:35

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 ma…

1
Live show tickets ON SALE! 0:48

7M ago0:48

0:48

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 …

1
S5E10 Female asylum seekers: Healthcare, housing, and the hostile environment 37:42

7M ago37:42

37:42

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 …

1
News Watch: Katy Perry blasted, the rollback of LGBT+ rights, and making sense of the ‘Jihadi jail attack’ 47:30

7M ago47:30

47:30

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm, @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets available HERE Time for another 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, Katy Perry was blasted - into space, and in …

1
S5E9 Free Speech: Is it all talk? 48:35

7M ago48:35

48:35

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets are available at 10am today via AEG Presents HERE! Paid Patreon subscribers get access to tickets ONE HOUR EARLIER at 9am What’s the bigger threat to free speech: the ‘woke mob’, or the MAGA word police? Where’s the line between free speec…

1
News Watch: US protests, Trump's tariffs, and is Lucy Connolly a 'political prisoner'? 47:28

7M ago47:28

47:28

Join us for the Media Storm LIVE SHOW! Tuesday 20th May 7pm, @ the Business Design Centre in Islington. Tickets available at 10am on Friday via AEG Presents HERE Paid Patreon subscribers get access to tickets ONE HOUR EARLIER at 9am - support us on Patreon and get early access! Content warning: Rape and sexual assault. If you need support you can c…

1
S5E8 Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Not your 'revenge porn' 42:12

8M ago42:12

42:12

Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide. If you need support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 Reports of image-based sexual abuse in the UK have increased tenfold over the past few years. Women are five times more likely to be victims of intimate image abuse. The true scale of the problem is probably larger, as many victims do not come…

1
News Watch: ‘Two-tiered justice’ lies, Bournemouth femicide, and blame it on the migrants 44:20

8M ago44:20

44:20

Time for another 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. So many media storm’s blowing up our radar this week! The ICE abduction of a Turkish PhD student in the US (01:17); a coordinated effort by the Times, Telegraph, TalkTV, GB News, and…

1
S5E7 Sanctions: Do they help or harm civilians? 37:11

8M ago37:11

37:11

We live in the age of sanctions - with Trump dishing out punitive foreign policy willy-nilly, and Russia’s war in Ukraine attracting more sanctions then the next top-sanctioned countries combined. It’s time to ask: who are they really helping? Activists often call on their leaders to sanction foreign governments they see as breaking human rights la…

1
News Watch: Adolescence, ICC 'white man's justice', and should ketamine be Class A? 48:44

8M ago48:44

48:44

If you need help with drug addiction, you can find support here. Tickets for Unchained Nights here! Time for another 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, the TV show on everyone's mind: Adolescence. We discuss our reaction to…

1
S5E6 Pregnant in prison: The case to stop births behind bars 40:42

8M ago40:42

40:42

Content warning: baby loss "When a court sentences a pregnant woman to prison, they sentence her to a high risk pregnancy" There are hundreds of pregnant women in UK prisons - a third of them yet to actually be convicted of a crime. Babies born to women in prison are 7x more likely to be stillborn than the norm. In recent years, two babies died whe…

1
News Watch: Labour's benefit-bashing, Gaza & Yemen airstrikes, and a new nuclear era for Europe 38:23

8M ago38:23

38:23

Time for another weekly news debrief: Europe’s surging defence budgets and the hidden realities of the nuclear armament debate (03:09), the attack on benefits in our government and media - which are cutting more disability voices from the debate, than actual costs from the budget (10:07), and the overlooked importance of US airstrikes in Yemen (24:…

1
TRAILER: The News Meeting x Media Storm 2:54

8M ago2:54

2:54

Introducing...The News Meeting from our friends at Tortoise. Your Media Storm hosts Mathilda & Helena were invited on Tortoise's podcast to pitch a story we think should lead the news. Are welfare reforms Labour’s only hope of saving money ahead of the Spring Statement? Who are the hundreds of Venezuelans who have been forcibly removed from the US?…

1
Abuse in academia: Are universities protecting predatory professors? 41:35

8M ago41:35

41:35

This week, Media Storm investigates how universities handle sexual misconduct cases - when their prestigious professors are at the centre of the scandal. It all started when our intern, a student at LSE, told us about student activism stirring at her university, after a dozen sexual misconduct allegations against one male professor resulted in no d…

1
S5E5 Maternity and paternity leave: Why parents are so angry at politics 47:16

9M ago47:16

47:16

This week, Media Storm delves into a vastly underreported topic - and one of the biggest potential barriers to gender equality, child welfare and family security. The UK has the least generous paternity leave entitlement in Europe, currently set at a measly two weeks. On the surface, maternity leave looks generous in length - but compared to OECD c…

1
News Watch: Trump v Zelensky, Gaza ceasefire sabotage, and the law putting Black boys in prison 38:00

9M ago38:00

38:00

Time for another 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. In this episode, we take you through the Media Storm mission: we’re not about conspiracy, we’re about media literacy. THAT Zelensky-Trump press conference set the tone for world news…

1
S5E4 How to fight polarisation: With Jess & Nathan from Channel 4's Go Back To Where You Came From 39:32

9M ago39:32

39:32

Warning: strong language For the first time since they wrapped filming, Mathilda, Jess, & Nathan from Channel 4's four-part documentary Go Back To Where You Came From are reunited! In the documentary, Mathilda traced a common refugee route from Somalia to the UK - alongside Jess, from a small town in Wales, and Nathan, a trucker from Barnsley. At t…

1
News Watch: Palestinian child murder trial, BBC Gaza doc, and is history repeating in Germany? 42:42

9M ago42:42

42:42

Vote for Samfire to perform at Tramlines festival! Time for another 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. One murder trial unfolding in the US has all the ingredients for a media storm: a child’s 'grandfather-like' figure becoming his fa…

1
S5E3 Antisemitism: Israel, Anti-Zionism, and the politics of hate 46:49

9M ago46:49

46:49

Between the rise of the far-right and Israel’s ongoing warfare, today’s world is a feeding frenzy for antisemitism, and many Jewish people are afraid of prejudice and attack. But as many provocateurs turn antisemitism into a political weapon, the root causes of racism are being overlooked and enabled. All the while, the mainstream media has become …

1
News Watch: Chagos Islands, GB News queerphobia, and Sweden's mass shooting victims 29:58

9M ago29:58

29:58

Time for another 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. The UK agreed to hand the Chagos Islands “back” to Mauritius. But colonial history makes this decision complicated - and crucially, Chagossians were excluded from the discussions… mu…

1
S5E2 Why does asexuality make the media so angry? 35:54

9M ago35:54

35:54

It's Valentine's Day! A day full of overpriced chocolates, high expectations, and focus on how much sex you're going to have. So what about those who have no interest in it? 'Ace' is an umbrella term used to describe people who experience little, fluctuating, or no sexual attraction. There are also aromantic people - who experience little to no rom…

1
News Watch: Trump’s ‘war on women’s sports’, hostage handovers, and is Labour Reform-ing? 30:38

9M ago30:38

30:38

! JOIN US AT SAMFIRE’S EP LAUNCH PARTY TONIGHT ! This week’s political news reads like a playbook in fascist propaganda - and rule number 1 is throwing minorities under the bus. Whether it’s Trump’s America, Merz’s Germany or Starmer’s Great Britain, leadership apparently now means bowing to the myths of the masses - myths the media has miserably f…

1
S5E1 Female Genital Mutilation: Can we achieve zero tolerance with zero coverage? 32:50

10M ago32:50

32:50

This week, we’ve decided to cover a topic that’s hugely underreported in the mainstream media: FGM. Yesterday was FGM Zero Tolerance Day, so you may have seen a (very small) flurry of articles about the topic - but this week's guests say that it needs to be covered all year round. FGM stands for Female Genital Mutilation - the deliberate cutting or…

1
News Watch: Trump’s bid for Gaza, Congo’s conflict, Axel Rudakubana's missed misogyny 40:46

10M ago40:46

40:46

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, …

1
ARCHIVE What is the refugee 'crisis'? Plus: Media Storm Series 5 announcement 47:51

10M ago47:51

47:51

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 mains…

1
News Watch: Luigi Mangione mania, Dunkirk shooting, Trump and trans healthcare 36:22

11M ago36:22

36:22

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 …

1
News Watch: PinkNews allegations, Syrian asylum claims, and don't forget about Georgia 35:22

11M ago35:22

35:22

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: Ge…