Best WoT In Color Podcasts (2024)

1
Biden: Is the game up for the President? 48:35

3d ago48:35

48:35

Can Biden stay in presidential race or will concern about the state of his health force him out of the running? There are plenty of reporters who say his time is up, but how did the president get to this stage in the campaign without anyone running a health-check on him? Jill Abramson, the first female executive editor of the New York Times, joins …

1
Election 2024: It’s the Sun wot lost it! 47:12

10d ago47:12

47:12

As Britain goes to the polls, what role has the media played in shaping the way that nation votes? Traditionally, the tabloid media, mainly Murdoch’s Sun, had a significant role in influencing the public, simlpy due to the huge swathes of the population that read the paper. But what about this year? Where have the tabloids and the broadsheets put t…

1
Julian Assange: A landmark moment in press freedom? 54:43

17d ago54:43

54:43

After 12 years without freedom—first after seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then as a prisoner in high-security Belmarsh—Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is free and is back on home soil in Australia. Assange’s crime was to publish classified information leaked from the US Army. He was working alongside Chelsea Mannin…

1
Farage’s Reform: the media’s wife—or its mistress? 49:46

27d ago49:46

49:46

Is the UK general election all over even before the first vote is cast? Polls suggest that Labour has an unassailable lead, and so with two weeks of campaigning to go, is there any chance that media coverage could still influence the electorate? Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by two experienced political commentators to discuss how th…

1
The Washington Post: the chaos continues 44:28

1M ago44:28

44:28

This week Alan and Lionel follow the latest twists and turns at the Washington Post. The noisy departure of Sally Buzbee, the paper’s former executive editor, continues to reverberate around the media world, following Buzbee’s bust-up with Will Lewis, the Post’s publisher and chief executive, over an article that she approved about a phone hacking …

1
The British are coming! How editors from the UK are conquering the American media 50:13

1M ago50:13

50:13

Media circles across the pond are abuzz with the news that Robert Winnett is heading to the USA to take up the job as editor at The Washington Post, but not until after the US election. He’s the latest appointment by publisher Will Lewis following the sudden departure of Sally Buzbee. Winnett joins a handful of British journalists who have moved to…

1
Kara Swisher: How big tech squashed the media 45:32

2M ago45:32

45:32

Kara Swisher—maverick, rock star and tech guru—has interviewed some of the highest profile and biggest personalities on the planet, from Mark Zuckerberg to Barack Obama, Rupert Murdoch and Kim Kardashian. Joining Alan and Lionel on the podcast this week, Kara unpicks the relationship between big tech and the media. Big tech, she says, have no inter…

1
The Tory TV Channel 48:54

2M ago48:54

48:54

GB News has repeatedly breached broadcasting regulations, been accused of political bias and featured anti-vax stories—but it got away with such misdemeanors until Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared on a show called “The People’s Forum”, in which he was able to outline key Conservative messages, largely unchallenged. Ahead of the general election …

1
‘Reporting from a horror movie’: Motaz Azaiza and Youmna El Sayed 47:23

2M ago47:23

47:23

No foreign journalists are allowed into Gaza, so the rest of the world relies on those living in area to relay what is happening on the ground—dedicated and determined reporters who have made sure that no-one can look away. For months, photojournalist Motaz Azaiza and Al Jazeera reporter Youmna El Sayed were among those reporting from Gaza. Motaz h…

1
Phone hacking: What did Murdoch know? 43:57

2M ago43:57

43:57

Investigative journalist Nick Davies returns with yet more remarkable insights and analysis about the phone-hacking scandal that engulfed Murdoch’s papers. Having trawled through documents disclosed through a host of court cases, Davies has pieced together information that suggests figures at the top of the Murdoch news empire—including potentially…

1
The phone hacking scandal: new evidence and fresh claims 45:39

2M ago45:39

45:39

Back in 2009, journalist Nick Davies uncovered a scandal: newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch had been hacking the phones of celebrities, public figures and even victims of crimes—notably the missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler—in search of stories. The Leveson inquiry was established to investigate, and the world moved on. For this month’s Prospect mag…

1
Meloni’s Media Clampdown 45:36

3M ago45:36

45:36

Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by Maurizio Molinari, editor of Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica to explore exactly what Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is doing with Italian state media. Renowned historian Antonio Scurati was booked to deliver a monologue on a talk show on Italian broadcaster RAI 3 on 25th April, Italy’s Liberation…

1
The West Bank according to Gideon Levy: Locked inside a living hell 48:59

3M ago48:59

48:59

Tensions in the Middle East ramped up at the weekend with the massive drone and missile attack launched by Iran on Israel. The eyes of the world refocused on the region, particularly Gaza—but what about the other occupied Palestinian territory, the West Bank? Gideon Levy is an award-winning journalist who has been writing a column in Haaretz called…

1
Anne Applebaum on Ukraine, the forgotten war 53:28

3M ago53:28

53:28

The war in Ukraine has been grinding on for over two years now, and the media spotlight on the region has dimmed over the last few months. But Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and writer for the Atlantic, has been following the conflict closely. Because much of the world’s media has turned attention away from Ukraine, with editors…

1
Israel kicks out Al Jazeera 39:28

3M ago39:28

39:28

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has passed a law that will ban foreign media from operating within the country. Al Jazeera is one of the main outlets on the ground providing reportage, and the most watched network in the region—so what impact will the closure of their operations in Israel have on the ability to get news out of the war zone? Alan …

1
The GB News Propaganda Machine 50:18

4M ago50:18

50:18

This week, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber are joined by Gavin Esler and Michael Crick as they get stuck into GB News, broadcaster bias—and what it’s like to watch and appear on the channel. Previously, Alan had tasked Gavin with watching GB News’s output for a month. The outcome? Tory MPs interviewing Tory MPs, “shallow” reporting, and a lack of…

1
Counting the casualties of war 53:12

4M ago53:12

53:12

In any war, counting the number of people killed is challenging. So, too, is understanding how they died. In Gaza, where the still-rising death toll already includes 13,450 children, these figures can be obscured by biases, allegations—and the realities on the ground. In this week’s episode, Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger are joined by leading s…

1
Gary Younge: Dog bites man is the story after all 50:31

4M ago50:31

50:31

Journalists are often taught that “when a dog bites a man, that is not news; when a man bites a dog, that is news.” But, according to former Guardian journalist and professor of sociology at Manchester university Gary Younge, sometimes events are newsworthy because they happen often—journalists just need to get curious about the reasons why. For ex…

1
Trump’s Public Enemy Number One? 57:58

4M ago57:58

57:58

Alan and Lionel sit down with AG Sulzberger, chair and publisher of the New York Times. AG took over as publisher of the New York Times six years ago after many years as a hack. His term coincided with that of Donald J Trump, for whom the Times was public enemy number one. AG stood his ground, telling the president to his face that his anti-press r…

1
The demise of Vice and BuzzFeed: what happened to millennial media? 49:45

5M ago49:45

49:45

Vice and BuzzFeed were once at the forefront of the digital media revolution—Vice alone was once valued at nearly double the New York Times! But now, both firms have shut their news operations, Vice has closed its flagship site, and further cuts to staff numbers are expected. BuzzFeed’s former UK editor Janine Gibson, now weekend editor of the Fina…

1
Bonus episode: Should Paul Marshall be allowed to buy the Telegraph? 21:09

5M ago21:09

21:09

An investigation by Hope Not Hate reported this week that Paul Marshall, owner of GB News and UnHerd and frontrunner in the race to buy the Telegraph, had repeatedly liked and re-tweeted racist and Islamophobic content. In this special bonus episode, Alan and Lionel discuss who decides whether someone is fit to own a major UK newspaper, what Ofcom …

1
Are journalists being targeted in Gaza? 43:42

5M ago43:42

43:42

Does the word “PRESS” on a flak jacket keep a journalist safe or make them a target? In this week’s Media Confidential, we focus on the sobering death toll of reporters covering the war in Gaza, as highlighted by the annual report of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Alan and Lionel hear from the CPJ’s chief executive Jodie Ginsberg and s…

1
Ask the Editors: Ofcom, GB News and Biden on TikTok 47:51

5M ago47:51

47:51

What motivates the media world behind the clickbait? What drives broadcast, print and digital media producers and journalists? In this episode, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber answer listeners’ questions on media bias in an election year, the impact of 24-hour news on mental health, and whether President Biden should be active on TikTok. Plus—do …

1
Is this the future of local news? 47:43

5M ago47:43

47:43

Amid great concern over the provision of local news in the UK and beyond, could organisations such as the Manchester Mill and the Bristol Cable challenge famous old papers in some of Britain’s biggest cities and calm long-term fears of areas becoming “news deserts”? Alan and Lionel hear from Joshi Herrmann and Sophie Atkinson from Manchester Mill a…

1
Is the right-wing media ‘out of control’? 42:17

6M ago42:17

42:17

Can Rishi Sunak still rely on what has often been called the “Conservative media”, or are news organisations on the political right becoming increasingly hostile to the prime minister? Journalist David Aaronovitch helps Alan and Lionel analyse who and what is driving significant cultural and political shifts in some of the UK’s newsrooms and media …

1
How the government captured the BBC 50:11

6M ago50:11

50:11

Alan’s investigation into “Gibb-gate” continues. In a major article for Prospect, he sets out the influence and connections of a tight-knit and largely unaccountable clique which is undermining the political independence and regulation of public service broadcasting. At the centre of that group is Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s director of communicatio…

1
Trump v Biden, Round Two: how to cover the US election 46:02

6M ago46:02

46:02

Is Donald Trump now unstoppable in his quest to secure the Republican presidential nomination, after kicking off caucus season with a decisive win in Iowa? As Trump shapes up for another shot at the White House, Alan and Lionel ask how US media can pitch their coverage and analysis to ensure scrutiny of such an unreliable and divisive figure, witho…

1
The Post Office scandal: Toby Jones on his drama’s impact 49:28

6M ago49:28

49:28

Award-winning actor Toby Jones, who plays Alan Bates in ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, reflects on the drama’s huge public and political impact, alongside its producer Patrick Spence. Alan and Lionel ask why this screen version has cut through in a way that news reporting of the Post Office Horizon scandal did not, with insights from Professor …

1
The media world in 2024 37:03

7M ago37:03

37:03

2024 is a crucial year for liberal democracies around the world, with over 50 nations voting in general elections and up to 4.2bn people casting their votes. In this episode, Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber discuss why media election coverage will be more important than ever, as key campaigns spill over from conventional, legacy formats such as p…

1
Review of the Year with Beth Rigby 42:09

7M ago42:09

42:09

Sky News’s Political Editor Beth Rigby joins Alan and Lionel to reflect on 2023’s key events and to launch the inaugural Media Confidential “awards”, nominating people, stories and news organisations for recognition in these categories: Most important story of the year Most under-reported story of the year Turkey of the year Political scoop of the …

1
Lynsey Addario: how I took the defining image from Ukraine 48:00

7M ago48:00

48:00

One of the world’s leading photojournalists discusses her career in conflict zones and tells the story of how she captured a famous, horrific image while under fire in Ukraine. Lynsey Addario analyses the challenges of war photography in an era when journalists are increasingly likely to be targets and false images on social media make it difficult…

1
Reporting on Gaza: bravery, brutal facts and the need for context 46:45

7M ago46:45

46:45

Alan and Lionel hear Israeli and Palestinian perspectives on how the war in Gaza is being covered and on the continuing fight to control the media narrative. Palestinian-British writer Samir El-Youssef discusses how the conflict and Hamas are reported on by Arabic-language news channels while Esther Solomon, editor-in-chief of Haaretz English, talk…

1
The phone hacking scandal gets an extra dimension 56:38

7M ago56:38

56:38

Award-winning journalist Nick Davies broke the story of phone hacking by UK newspapers back in 2009 and now lays out the startling implications of News Group Newspapers’ major settlement with former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne, which adds a significant extra dimension to the affair. Plus, Alan and Lionel discuss the issue of BBC funding with the f…

1
Legendary photographer Sir Don McCullin “damaged” by his work in war zones 41:34

8M ago41:34

41:34

A remarkable interview with arguably Britain’s greatest living photographer, Sir Don McCullin. He opens up about his career in-and-out of war zones, saying he's been “damaged” by some of the things he saw in Vietnam, Biafra and elsewhere, and that he was “poisoned” by his profession. McCullin talks about some of his most dramatic photos and about f…

1
Mona Chalabi on Gaza, bias and the New York Times 49:43

8M ago49:43

49:43

Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist and artist Mona Chalabi, a contributor to the New York Times, discusses her eye-catching work, her criticism of the paper’s coverage of Israel-Palestine and the current conflict in Gaza, and making a stand about that issue at the recent Pulitzer Prize ceremony. Alan and Lionel also discuss the Silicon Valley b…

1
James O’Brien on the media figures who “broke Britain” 52:18

8M ago52:18

52:18

Alan and Lionel speak to LBC broadcaster and author James O’Brien, who takes aim at Daily Mail chief Paul Dacre, news mogul Rupert Murdoch and journalist, broadcaster and editor Andrew Neil—three media figures he includes in his book about the people he thinks “broke Britain”. O’Brien also reflects on David Cameron’s return to frontline politics an…

1
Should Ofcom get GB News under control? 50:43

8M ago50:43

50:43

With former prime minister Boris Johnson soon joining Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lee Anderson and Nigel Farage as a presenter on GB News, there appears to be little attempt by the channel to provide balance to its roster of right-wing voices and even current Conservative politicians. Should the media regulator insist that it provides that balance, or should …

1
AI and the future of journalism with Mathias Döpfner 54:19

9M ago54:19

54:19

One of the key figures in global media talks to Alan and Lionel about how artificial intelligence will transform the industry. Mathias Döpfner is the CEO of the international media group Axel Springer and he’s a big thinker about how AI will impact news organisations and beyond. He also talks about public trust in media, his friend Elon Musk at Twi…

1
Is there a media bias against Israel? 47:09

9M ago47:09

47:09

The BBC has come under fire for the way it has reported on the war between Israel and Hamas—but is it the only organisation to have made mistakes? Lionel Barber and Alan Rusbridger analyse the way that the massacre of 7th October and subsequent war have been covered, including explosion at Al-Ahli hospital, which some media outlets initially blamed…

1
Disinformation on X, and the power of the Telegraph’s Barclay brothers 44:18

9M ago44:18

44:18

As the Israel-Gaza war boosts concerns about disinformation and misinformation on X, Alan and Lionel speak to Joanna Geary, who used to be Twitter’s Senior Director of Curation. What important checks and filters did Elon Musk strip away when he took over? Plus, author Jane Martinson discusses her new book about the Barclay brothers, two of the most…

1
Israel, Hamas and media in a time of war 46:29

9M ago46:29

46:29

Alan and Lionel discuss how the awful violence in Israel and Gaza is being reported by media there (and elsewhere), and the extent to which local news organisations are able to give a balanced and nuanced account of what is happening. They are joined by Esther Solomon, editor-in-chief of Haaretz English and Sarah Helm, former diplomatic editor and …

1
Legendary US editor Marty Baron on Donald Trump, Edward Snowden and Jeff Bezos 47:48

10M ago47:48

47:48

Alan and Lionel talk to Marty Baron, perhaps the most distinguished and garlanded editor in America since Watergate. Collision of Power is Baron’s book about his time at the Washington Post, which won 10 Pulitzer Prizes under his leadership. He discusses standing up to then-President Donald Trump and the transformative impact of the Post’s new owne…

1
Rupert Murdoch steps back: politics and succession, with Malcolm Turnbull and Michael Wolff 58:59

10M ago58:59

58:59

Alan and Lionel discuss the Murdoch family ‘succession’, after Rupert Murdoch handed control of Fox and News Corp to his eldest son, Lachlan. They analyse the potential implications for media and politics, helped by Malcolm Turnbull, former prime minster of Australia, who tells them that Murdoch Sr has done “enormous damage" to democracy in the US,…

1
Preview Episode 31:47

10M ago31:47

31:47

Welcome to Media Confidential. Who are Alan and Lionel, and what will they be discussing in this brand new show from Prospect Magazine? Our hosts give an overview of their new podcast, why it's important, and their thoughts on the media landscape as they see it today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

1
Episode 17: Life is Life-ing (TEoTW Ch 33 - 34) 1:43:23

11M ago1:43:23

1:43:23

Jambo, Listener Friends, Friend Listeners! We have missed you all! Thank you for being patient as we navigate our personal lives. This episode was actually recorded on July 4, 2023 so please ignore all references to the date lol. While we are (briefly) back, please join us as we discuss chapters 33 and 34 of The Eye of The World. Keba has a few pre…

1
Episode 16: A Bubble of Evil and a Horse Named Clopper (TEoTW Ch 31 - 32) 1:28:45

1y ago1:28:45

1:28:45

Jambo! Yes, you read correctly. This is Episode 16. Unfortunately, a bubble of evil has caused the disappearance of Episode 15. Which is unfortunate because it was a pretty dope episode. We hope you enjoy this episode where we dive into chapters 31 and 32 of The Eye of The World. Besides the bubble of evil, we discuss regional differences, we debat…

1
Episode 14: Keba's Asinine Predictions (TEoTW Ch 27 - 28) 2:13:15

1y ago2:13:15

2:13:15

Jambo, Listener Friends, Friend Listeners! We are FINALLY back with a new episode! We truly apologize for the delay (again) as life just keeps on life-ing for us. We are forever grateful for your support and grace. Please enjoy! Also, HAPPY PRIDE!!!!!!! In this episode, we get into chapters 27 and 28 of The Eye of the World. We also discuss listeni…

1
Episode 13: Jaundiced Darkfriends (TEoTW Ch 25 - 26) 1:43:44

1y ago1:43:44

1:43:44

Lucky Episode 13! The season 2 premier date of Amazon Prime's Wheel of Time has finally been announced and now we can get back to podcasting. In this episode, we dive into chapters 25 and 26 of The Eye of The World. Join us as our Emond's Fielders continue their adventure. Keba still thinks Shar is a Darkfriend, we meet some nomadic monk hippies, a…

1
Episode 12: Sound Effects In Effect (TEoTW Ch 23 - 24) 1:52:32

1y ago1:52:32

1:52:32

We are back (finally; apologies for the delay, life was "lifing") with Episode 12 where Keba and Shar dive into chapters 23 and 24 of Book 1 of The Wheel of Time, The Eye of The World. In this episode, Keba has a new toy so please turn your volume down. We now have limited sound effects and Keba loves pressing those buttons. We also have our first …

1
Episode 11: Nynaeve Needs A Hug (TEoTW Ch 21 - 22) 1:41:16

1y ago1:41:16

1:41:16

In this episode, we are joined by a very special guest, Lezbi Nerdy!! This was truly a treat and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did. We discuss Chapters 21 and 22 where we finally get out of Rand's head. We learn that this world needs therapists more than anything, Keba STILL thinks Shar is a Darkfriend, and most of all, Nynaeve needs…

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