Six months after the handover of Hong Kong from British rule, Index on Censorship published a special edition: Hong Kong Goes Back. In it various people predicted what the future might hold. Jonathan Mirsky, then East Asia editor of The Times, wrote on how freedom of expression began to crumble in Hong Kong in anticipation of the handover. He described how news channels reported on China in a “vapid or grovelling” manner, democratic politicians spoke of their colleagues no longer wanting to be a...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 27 min
Palestianian novelist Abbad Yahya speaks about the difficult choices for those living in the West Bank and the effects of censorship
May 28, 2021•5 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Index's editorial assistant Benjamin Lynch talks to comedian and author Andrew Doyle about his new book, "Free Speech and Why It Matters". They discuss incitement and his thoughts on why President Donald Trump shouldn't have been removed from Twitter, as well as the state of free speech on the left and right. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care and why y...
Mar 18, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been in prison in Iran for the past five years. He talks about the end of her house arrest, what has got her through solitary confinement and the attitude of the British government to her case and other Britons imprisoned in the country. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in...
Mar 11, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Index’s Benjamin Lynch talks to author, historian and modern China expert Jeff Wasserstrom about why China censors, the Chinese Communist Party's growing influence and what their censorship policies mean for the rest of the world. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care and why you should swear.
Mar 03, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Index's Mark Frary talks to actor and barrister Shereener Browne. Browne talks about the drill music scene and her fight to stop censorship of the genre by the government and Metropolitan Police. She talks about how the black community has been singled out by the authorities and how banning the music, which often has violent lyrics, does not solve the problem of gang violence. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about ...
Feb 26, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Index's Mark Frary talks to Rahima Mahmut, Uighur singer and UK project director of the World Uyghur Congress. She discusses why the world is afraid of China's power and the plight of the Uighur people. She also talks of the importance of cultural memories, including song and poetry, and her concerns for the future. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care an...
Feb 18, 2021•17 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Index's Mark Frary talks to Dr Tunc Aybak, programme leader of the international politics degree at Middlesex University, about the trials of Alexei Navalny in Russia, Putin's Palace and the golden toilet brush revolution. He discusses political technology and the state of the media in the country. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care and why you should s...
Feb 12, 2021•14 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to groundbreaking electro-pop artist LAYKE, who has worked with Snoop Dogg and is an activist fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights. We discuss racial equality in a Black Lives Matter world, the task facing Joe Biden, growing up in Texas and her pansexuality. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care and why you should swear....
Jan 29, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Kirstin McCudden, managing editor of the US Press Freedom Tracker ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States. McCudden talks about attacks on the press during the Black Lives Matter protests, the storming of the US Capitol and Donald Trump's legacy. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you sh...
Jan 18, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Index's head of content Jemimah Steinfeld talks to freelance journalist and Index contributor Issa Sikiti da Silva ahead of the upcoming Ugandan presidential elections which are expected to return President Yoweri Museveni to power once again. Issa talks about the role of social media and the future of the free press in the region. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why yo...
Jan 13, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Index's editorial assistant Benjamin Lynch talks to Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders, Rebecca Vincent. She shares the stories and cases that continue to motivate her today, including the time she was kicked out of Azerbaijan as well as the importance of the Julian Assange case. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrities to talk about the worst things going on in the world, why you should care and why ...
Jan 08, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to singer, poet and writer Amyra about her collaboration with the Tongue Fu collective on the album Boat Building. Amyra talks about Black Lives Matter and her anger over the lack of resources for women, especially women of colour. She talks about how she wants her work to be empowering to others and why she wrote the children's book Freedom, We Sing. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebritie...
Dec 18, 2020•15 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Index's head of content Jemimah Steinfeld talks to Tom Grundy, the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hong Kong Free Press. Grundy talks about how Hong Kong has changed since the publication was founded, media freedom in the shadow of China's National Security Law and the challenges that his journalists work under to get the news out with many critics of the Chinese Communist Party being jailed. Index on Censorship's What the Fuck!? podcast invites politicians, activists, journalists and celebrit...
Dec 09, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In this episode, Index's associate editor Mark Frary talks to Dr Emese Pásztor, director of the Political Freedoms Project at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. Pásztor talks about the Hungarian government’s ban on the freedom of assembly, making it against the law to make political protests. The ban comes as Viktor Orban’s majority government is trying to make changes to the country’s constitution which requires families to bring up their children “in a Christian spirit” and which only protec...
Dec 08, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In this episode, Index’s associate editor Mark Frary talks to musician, poet and activist Penny Rimbaud, who founded anarchistic punk band Crass in the 1970s. He talks about why the battle isn’t against Donald Trump but against all US presidencies and why the British are the most repressed in the world. He says the Sex Pistols and the Clash were only playing at being angry. He also says everyone should change their name, as he did, and why his poetic namesake is the inspiration behind his new al...
Dec 01, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In the latest episode of Index on Censorship’s What the Fuck!? podcast, associate editor Mark Frary talks to actor Natalia Tena, known for playing Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter movies as well as Lana Pierce in the YouTube science fiction series Origin and Osha in Game of Thrones. Tena talks about how she became aware of female genital cutting, a practice that affects more than 200 million girls and women around the world, after reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s book Infidel:My Life . She talks ab...
Nov 26, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In this episode, Index on Censorship’s associate editor Mark Frary talks to photographer and artist Alison Jackson , who is renowned for her explorations into how photography and the cult of the celebrity have transformed our relationship to what is ‘real’. She talks about her latest work, a sculpture of President Donald Trump in a compromising position with Miss Universe, the US elections and why the President needs the oxygen of publicity. Alison discusses the very real challenges of artistic ...
Nov 19, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 1
In the winter 2019 podcast, The Big Noise, we focus on the tactics male macho leaders around the world use to quash criticism, debate and therefore freedom of expression. Orna Herr and Jemimah Steinfeld discuss the latest edition of the magazine, revealing their highlights of the issue and concerns over the collision between social media apps and world leaders trying to spread disinformation. Guests include Richard Hine, who runs a popular Donald Trump parody account on Twitter and explains how ...
Jan 03, 2020•19 min
In the Index on Censorship autumn 2019 podcast, we focus on how travel restrictions at borders are limiting the flow of free thought and ideas. Lewis Jennings and Sally Gimson discuss the latest issue of the magazine and reveal what to expect. Guests include trans woman and activist Peppermint, runner-up of RuPaul's Drag Race season nine, who opens up about a transphobic experience in a Russian airport; San Diego photojournalist Ariana Drehsler talks about her detainment at a Mexican border and ...
Sep 10, 2019•22 min
In the summer 2019 podcast, Judged, we focus on how governments use power to undermine justice and freedom. Lewis Jennings and Rachael Jolley discuss the latest issue of the magazine, revealing their top picks and debating what rating they would be under China's social credit rating system. Guests include best-selling Chinese author Xinran, who delves into surveillance in China; Italian journalist Stefano Pozzebon, who reveals the dangers of being a foreign journalist in Venezuela; and Steve Lev...
Jun 21, 2019•27 min
In this special edition of the Index on Censorship podcast, we celebrate the winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards 2019. Mimi Mefo, a leading voice in exposing the mistreatment of Cameroonian journalists, talks about press freedom in her country; Ritu Gairola, from Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), discusses why it is effective for cartoonists to use humour to convey political messages; Carolina Botero, from Fundación Karisma, reveals the online threats we should all know ab...
Apr 15, 2019•22 min
Is this all the local news? We discuss this in the latest podcast. In the spring 2019 edition of Index on Censorship magazine, we explore what happens when the local news media is not there to hold power to account. Guests on this edition of the podcast are all featured in the latest magazine. Beijing-based reporter Karoline Kan, who writes for this issue, explores whether China's social credit system could impact local journalism; Ian Murray, director of the Society of Editors, discusses a new ...
Mar 25, 2019•18 min•Season 48Ep. 1
What are we afraid to talk about? In the Winter 2018 edition of Index on Censorship magazine, we explore taboos surrounding birth, marriage and death around the world. Author Jieun Baek reveals the difficulties of obtaining interviews with North Korean defectors; Sharon Thompson, senior lecturer at Cardiff Law School, talks gold diggers and prenups; Columnist for The Times Edward Lucas discusses distress purchases; and journalist Irene Caselli lifts the lid on why young women are afraid to talk ...
Dec 12, 2018•17 min
Are facts under attack? We explore this question in the Autumn issue of Index on Censorship magazine. In the podcast, we speak to Academy of Ideas founder and director Claire Fox about why we need to leave our echo chambers; Tanzanian blogger Elsie Eyakuze discusses a current blogging tax in her country pricing writers offline; and journalist Dan Nolan talks of the dangers that currently face scientists in Hungary.
Sep 14, 2018•9 min
