Byline Podcast

After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke to Oprah Winfrey, two mighty institutions faced allegations of racism - the Royal Family and the British tabloid press. Byline Times editor Hardeep Matharu and Marverine Cole (broadcaster, academic) give their reaction. PLUS - a different take on the monarchy with Phil Miller from Declassified UK about the Royals' many meetings with Middle Eastern dictators who have brutally suppressed the Arab Spring.Byline Times reporter Sian Norris also investigates the gender pay gap with Labour MP Jess Phillips.Made in Birmingham for Byline Times by Adrian Goldberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we examine The Long Shadow of Empire in the company of Sathnam Sanghera (author of Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain) Byline Times editor Hardeep Matharu and Professor Kehinde Andrews (author of The New Age Of Empire).Plus Fire And Rehire - the erosion of workers' rights during the pandemic with Claire Breeze from Unison, and Tim Sharp from the TUC.Funded by subscriptions to Byline Times.Made in Birmingham for Byline Times by Adrian Goldberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nazir Afzal, the tenacious Crown prosecutor credited with bringing perpetrators of child abuse to justice in Rochdale, shares the story of his Coronavirus crowdfunding campaign exclusively with the Byline Times podcast. He wants to hold ministers to account for their failures during the pandemic.PLUS The War on Democracy - is the government blocking legitimate journalistic enquiry? With Mary Fitzgerald who is campaigning to save and strengthen Freedom of Information laws, Sam Bright from Byline Times and Jason Evans from the Factor 8 campaign.Produced and presented by Adrian Goldberg in Birmingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal deal was heralded by the PM as "a present to the nation" but for many it's an unwanted gift - including some of those who were keen to leave the EU, including the Scottish Fishing Federation and Who Roger Daltrey, who have discovered that instead of leaving behind that infamous Brussels "red tape" we are now being wrapped up in more of it than ever. Byline Times writer Mike Buckley talks to one Scottish exporter who can't even sell his goods to Northern Ireland. (Mike is the Director of Campaign Central and Labour For A European Future.PLUS Food Poverty with single mum "Lily", Alyson Walsh from Fare Share UK and Amy Allen from Smethwick Foodbank.AND why did Alexei Navalny return to Russia months after being poisoned in a nerve agent attack which almost killed him. Russia disinformation expert Zarina Zabrisky explains.Supported by subscriptions to the Byline Times. Made in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has become the first US President to be impeached for a second time but Byline Times global correspondent CJ Werleman believes he'll be remembered for something else - inciting a new American civil war. CJ correctly predicted that Donald Trump would try to "steal" the US election and in this wide ranging interview - which also encompasses the Q Anon conspiracy theory - he makes a chilling assessment of the aftermath of the storming of the US Capitol.We also hear from Byline Times co-founder Peter Jukes about the links between Trump, Boris Johnson's government and the Brexit movement in the UK; while Byline Times editor Hardeep Matharu explains her fears for the future of British democracy.Presented and produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.Funded by subscribers to the Byline Times. Thank you to everyone who has taken out a subs already. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite the scale of the Coronavirus pandemic, Covid "deniers" and "lockdown sceptics" enjoy significant access to the airwaves in newspapers, on TV and radio, and on social media. Professor David Oliver, a hospital doctor for 30 years argues that these critics are :"gaslighting" members of the medical profession, who witness the terrible impact of the virus on a daily basis. He's no government mouthpiece, and identifies areas where he believes significant errors have been made in official policy - just don't tell him Covid 19 is exaggerated, or that he and his colleagues are not under unprecedented pressure. You might also want to listen to our previous podcast on this subject, "Scamdemics and Academics".Further reading: Nafeez Ahmed on the Great Barrington Declaration and 55 Tufton Street by Mat Hope.Plus James Doleman reports on the failed US attempt to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sweden's laissez fair response to the Coronavirus crisis has won plaudits from populists in the US and UK, but its death rate from the pandemic is four times greater than in neighbouring Denmark, Norway and Finland combined.In this episode Adrian Goldberg talks to Byline Times writer Kelly Bjorklund about her investigation into guidelines that recommended palliative end of life care rather than potential life saving hospital treatment for residents of residential care homes.We also hear from hospital consultant Dr Anders Jansson, a leading critic of epidemiologist Anders Tegnell who has driven the country's Covid policy, and Susanne Matteuzzi whose elderly mother died after being refused hospital treatment.There are also contributions from Dr Nele Brusselaers who quit Sweden after challenging the official policy and Keith Begg, founder of Media Watchdogs of Sweden.Presented and produced by Adrian Goldberg.Made in Birmingham for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How far was Brexit powered by Britain's yearning for an Imperial past that can never return? And how useful to the populists who promoted it is imagery like the opening credits of Dad's Army, which shows plucky old Blighty being pushed back to the Kent coastline by the advancing German army? Adrian Goldberg hears from Byline Times editor Hardeep Matharu and two of the paper's writers, Otto English and Jonathan Lis about the influence of the past upon the present and the future.Made in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There've been lurid campaigns linking abortion in the UK with Satanism, part of a Europe-wide trend which has seen far right groups and the religious right attempt to commandeer debate around about a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body. Byline Times writer Sian Norris steers us through these murky waters, and helps identify some of the "dark money" funding these campaigns.Plus Byline Times co-founder Peter Jukes and Unbound co-founder John Mitchinson discuss "the Scouring of the Shire", a key moment in Tolkein's epic fantasy Lord Of The Rings, which has modern resonance in the era of Trump and Johnson.Produced and presented in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The saying goes that "it's not what you know but who you know". That certainly seems to have been the case when Boris Johnson's government was handing out contracts for Personal Protective Equipment at the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Sam Bright has been saying as much in his journalism for Byline Times for months - now that view has been corroborated by The National Audit Office. Sam discusses the NAO findings with Labour MP Dawn Butler, who has been asking questions about the issue in parliamenrt.PLUS Adrian Goldberg exposes a potential conflict of interest in the Scottish Football Association's investigation into historic child sex abuse.Funded by Byline Times. Please subscribe at BylineTimes.ComProduced and Presented in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices