Funding the Future The crisis in the news
Nov 10, 2025
The podcast exposes the media's obsession with spectacle while critical issues are ignored. Richard Murphy highlights alarming child hunger and a housing crisis driven by investment rather than family needs. He addresses the NHS's struggles and the toll on overworked care workers. The conversation extends to the climate crisis and energy inconsistencies. Murphy urges a shift towards a Politics of Care, advocating for new narratives in media that focus on essential public needs instead of flashy distractions.
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News As A Theatre Of Distraction
- The nightly news is a 'theatre of distraction' focusing on personalities rather than systemic failure.
- Richard Murphy argues this spectacle hides the country's real, worsening problems.
Hidden Child Hunger Crisis
- Millions of children in Britain go hungry despite national wealth and limited free school meal eligibility.
- Murphy frames food bank reliance as the true index of national failure that the media largely ignores.
Housing Treated As Speculation
- Housing is treated as an investment asset rather than a social necessity, worsening affordability and squalor.
- Murphy suggests only government-scale buying and provision can solve social housing shortages ignored by commentators.