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 a weapon of mass destruction in the war of words - often failing to spotlight the biggest drivers of hate.

Is it possible to be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic? What does Israel’s war mean for Jewish protection worldwide? Are Elon Musk and Kanye West’s competing for the most “Nazi swag”? These are all questions we’ll put to our guests - Anthony Feinstein, son of a Holocaust survivor and former comrade of Nelson Mandela in the war against Apartheid, white supremacy and antisemitism in South Africa. And Alex Kane, senior reporter at the historic, post-Nazi Jewish Currents in the US.

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

The music is by @soundofsamfire

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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… much like Ukraine this week, who were left out of US-Russia peace negotiations. This news made every front page, except for the Daily Mail who wrote about wokeness and the Daily Star who wrote about... sausages.

Other stories we cover: more than 65,000 people have complained to Ofcom over a GB News comment comparing queerness to (prepare yourself) paedophilia. We discuss this record-breaking number, and the doubled-down defence of the presenter.

And finally, why anti-migrant sentiment led to Sweden's worst mass shooting - and whether the media does a better job at reporting crises, or creating them.

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

The music is by @soundofsamfire

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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 romantic attraction. Asexuality is often widely misunderstood, including within the LGBTQ+ community.

Asexual people are also not recognised in legislation, such as under the UK Equality Act, and Stonewall found asexual people may be at a higher risk of conversion therapy than gay, lesbian and bi individuals. But when asexual activists take to the media to raise these issues, they are met with a chorus of criticism, ignorance, and insults: they're vying for victimhood, or they're offered the enlightening advice to simply "get laid".

Here to help us understand why exactly the media are so angry is Yasmin Benoit, model, academic and activist.

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

The music is by Samfire (@soundofsamfire)

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! 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 failed to correct.

Is there really a ‘migrant crime wave’? We review worldwide data to equip listeners with the facts missing from the mainstream media.

What about ‘the war on women’s sports’? How many transgender athletes does it take for the Trump administration to ceremoniously sign a national ban? (Apparently, just 10 - we wonder what Musk’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ makes of that use of federal funds.)

And guess who predicted Hamas’ hesitation over hostage releases, following Trump’s plans to “take over” Gaza? The families of those hostages. So why did their concerns barely make the press?

We finish News Watch with Eyes On Palestine: new frontiers of war emerge in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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

The music is by Samfire (@samfire)

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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 removal of a female's external genitalia. It is currently documented in 92 countries around the world, the highest share in Africa - countries including Somalia, Egypt, Mali, Sudan and Ethiopia. It is also found in Asian and Middle Eastern countries, and in diaspora communities in the West.

Over 200 million women globally have been subjected to FGM. This should be a media storm. But instead, there’s near silence. So we've asked FGM survivors why the coverage is lacking, what they need from the media, and what we can do to help.

Joining us is Dr Leyla Hussein, psychotherapist and award-winning international campaigner leading the fight against FGM, and Ifrah Ahmed, Somali-Irish humanitarian worker, activist, and founder of the Ifrah Foundation, a charity with the aim of the absolute abandonment of FGM in Somalia.

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

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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.

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.

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