Byline Times Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Laila Mickelwait tells Adrian Goldberg how her campaign against sex trafficking and child abuse led to the world's most popular porn site Pornhub taking down more than 80% of its content. Laila's book 'Takedown' is available now. Produced in Birmingham for Byline Audio by Adrian Goldberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adrian Goldberg meets barrister Christian Weaver, the face of 'The Law in 60 Seconds’ on You Tube. Christian has a new book out called ‘Your Right To Protest. Understand It. Use It’, a guide to making your voice heard without breaking the law.  Christian was the barrister in the case of Awaab Ishak, the two year old boy who died as the result of a mould infestation at his family’s council flat in Rochdale…a case which led to a change in the law. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White for Byline Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Rachel Reeves has told the House of Commons in her first major speech as Chancellor that the Conservatives covered up the full extent of the UK’s budget deficit and that since taking office, Labour has discovered a £22 billion black hole in the nation’s finances. She says some unfunded projects will be scrapped altogether, including a road tunnel under Stonehenge; while millions of pensioners will miss out on winter fuel payments which are to become means tested.    Teachers and NHS workers are to receive a 5.5% pay rise; prison and police officer will get an uplift too, while junior doctors have been offered a backdated 22% increase which is – according to Reeves’ predecessor Jeremy Hunt – one of the reasons for the budget gap that she has discovered.   Is Reeves paving the way for prosperity? Or austerity? Adrian Goldberg hears from Dr Lydia Prieg, Head of Economics at the New Economics Foundation; and Pranesh Narayanan, a research fellow at the IPPR think tank.   Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg for Byline Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adrian Goldberg discusses The Sun's headline grabbing and untrue Huw Edwards story and reflects on what it tells us about Rupert Murdoch's media empire, with Nathan Sparkes, CEO of Hacked Of and Francesca Cociani, an Associate at Hodge Jones Allen solicitors.  Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the REAL migrant boat crisis? The British media seem obsessed with small boats crossing the Channel, but there's been far less coverage of the vessels carrying hundreds of migrants from West Africa which have gone missing en route to the Canary Islands. They were seeking the relative safety of Europe, after fleeing instability in Senegal.   A fleet of three boats set sail a fortnight ago on the treacherous journey of more than 1,000 miles from the port of Kafountine. One has been rescued by the Spanish coastguard, but at the time of writing, two are still missing, the fate of their occupants unknown.   This follows the tragedy off the coast of Greece just a few weeks ago. The final death toll in that tragic incident hasn't yet been confirmed, but it’s thought that more than 500 migrants drowned.   The British governmen has made it a defining mission to stop the small boats in the English channel, where 27 people died when an inflatable dinghy capsized in November 2021. The Illegal Migration Bill currently going through parliament will make it illegal to seek asylum to the UK if you've arrived by sea.   Despite the risk and the rhetoric, more than 12,000 people have arrived in the UK so far this year on small boats – a year on year reduction of just 7%.   Adrian Goldberg discusses the issue with Zoe Gardener, migration policy expert. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NHS is 75, but it's birthday that comes with warnings that the institution – like many of the people it serves – is showing signs of ageing badly.  The Health Service is arguably a victim of its own success with people genera living longer than in previous generations, but with conditions that require long term care – including dementia, diabetes and heart disease.   A combination of austerity and the pandemic has left waiting lists for non-emergency operations at record levels – so too is health inequality, which means that a men in parts of Blackpool die on average 17 years earlier than their counterparts in posh areas of London.   Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair is calling for an expanded role for the private sector in a new paper for his think tank.   Adrian Goldberg discusses this with Chris Thomas Head of the Commission on Health and Prosperity at the IPPR think tank and Dr Andrew Meyerson, an A&E doctor in East London. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"My Extinction" is a new documentary by award winning film maker Josh Appignanensi about his conversion to climate activism and the battle against climate denialism.   Adrian Goldberg hears from both Josh and Peter Pomerantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda, a book about disinformation and the denial of objective truth. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time, a new twist Boris Johnson and the Lebedevs…a long running story which has featured extensively in the Byline Times and here on the podcast…   Alexanxder Lebdev is a former senior KGB spy and businessman; Evgeny his son owns the Evening Standard and is an investor in The Independent…Boris Johnson is friends with both men, and as Foreign Secretary attended their 'X Rated parties' in Italy without his security officers who were left at home.   Documentary maker Mark Alden and Tortoise journalist Paul Caruana Galizia now say they have independently verified long standing claims that Evgeny was given a place in the House of Lords against MI5 advice to Johnson after he became Prime Minister. Adrian Goldberg examines the implications of the saga for British democracy and press freedom with Byline Times executive editor Peter Jukes and political editor Adam Bienkov. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June 1948, the HMT Empire Windrush set sail from Jamaica carrying 802 people to Tilbury In Essex. Along with their suitcases they carried dreams of a better life in the 'Mother Country.'   It wasn’t the first migrant ship from the Caribbean to arrive in the UK but it was the largest and most famous – a former troopship which gave its name to a generation of willing workers coming to a country looking to rebuild itself after World War Two.   Between 1948 and 1971 more than half a million people arrived – but the reception they received wasn’t always friendly; they faced endemic racism and in recent years, the ‘hostile environment’ created by then Home Secretary Theresa May Adrian Goldberg discusses the 75th anniversary of the start of the 'Windrush' era with two second generation descendants - Dr Wanda Wyporska, CEO of the Black Equity organisation and anti-racism campaigner Maurice McLeod. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Desi pubs are Indian owned drinking establishments in the UK and they tell two very different but inter-related stories about this country.   One is a story of segregation that most British people would rather forget; the other is a story of communities growing together through a shared love of food and beer.   David Jesudason, author of "Desi Pubs, A Guide to British Indian Pubs Food and Culture" reflects on both elements in conversation with Adrian Goldberg. Produced in Birmingham by Adrian Goldberg and Harvey White.   Funded by subscriptions to the Byline Times.   Made by We Bring Audio for Byline Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices