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cover of episode News Watch: Johnny Depp "Me Too victim", Iran "nuclear bomb", Palestine Action "terrorists"

News Watch: Johnny Depp "Me Too victim", Iran "nuclear bomb", Palestine Action "terrorists"

2025/6/26
logo of podcast Media Storm

Media Storm
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
B
Benjamin Netanyahu
H
Helena Wadia
L
Laura Bush
M
Mathilda Mallinson
Topics
Mathilda Mallinson: 我认为在当前的新闻环境下，做一个正常人非常困难，因为新闻报道经常将非常糟糕的事情常态化，这让我们都在遭受严重的心理伤害。看到Instagram上别人的早午餐和度假照片，然后突然看到有人被炸飞，这种感觉很奇怪，我甚至觉得因为我没有亲身经历这些事情，所以因新闻而感到沮丧是不合理的。 Helena Wadia: 媒体报道的方式存在问题，他们将糟糕的事情常态化，好像这些是地缘政治领域中必要的现实，而你应该接受这种西方世界观。感谢社交媒体，我们不再局限于通过以西方为中心的媒体来看世界。我们收到了听众的消息，他们觉得他们看待战争的方式有问题。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter analyzes the media's role in justifying the conflict between Israel and Iran, drawing parallels to the Iraq War's false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction. It examines the lack of evidence supporting claims of Iranian nuclear weapons and highlights the historical manipulation of intelligence by figures like Netanyahu.
  • Lack of concrete evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons despite claims by Israeli and US leaders.
  • Parallel drawn between the justifications for the Iraq War and the current Iran conflict, both based on questionable claims of WMDs.
  • Netanyahu's history of making false claims about Iran's nuclear capabilities to lobby for war.
  • The role of Rupert Murdoch's media empire in shaping public opinion during the Iraq War.

Shownotes Transcript

As the US military intervenes in another Middle East conflict, we’re told it’s because Iran is harbouring weapons of mass destruction (in contradiction to US intelligence). We’re also told forced regime change will ‘liberate’ women from Islamic tyranny. WMDs? Operation Freedom? Haven’t we heard these justifications before? To start, we look at lessons for the media from the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and re-centre Iranian women in debates about their fates.

After the break: ‘NOTHING IS OFF LIMITS’ in Johnny Depp’s new exclusive with the Sunday Times… except the most important question. How this ‘poor me’ piece legitimises abusers’ victimhood narratives, and attempts to delegitimise the Me Too movement.

And finally, the UK government has moved to proscribe ‘Palestine Action’ as a terrorist organisation for spray-painting RAF planes. Media Storm questions why we need anti-terror laws on top of regular anti-crime laws, and whether politicising justice can ever be in the public interest.

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

Assistant producer: Lily Erwood

The music is by⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠)

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