Episode summary Westminster was meant to be projecting calm. Instead, this episode of Mid-Atlantic finds Labour staring into a leadership crisis, with Keir Starmer under pressure after bruising local election results and a party increasingly unsure what, or whom, it represents. The panel weighs whether Starmer can survive, how a Labour leadership contest would work, and why Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and others are being talked up as possible successors. The conversation then mov...
May 14, 2026•52 min
Episode Summary On this week’s Mid-Atlantic , Roifield Brown convenes his transatlantic panel to examine two democracies straining under the weight of power, personality and public distrust. In Washington, President Trump’s State of the Union address is dissected less as governing document and more as performance art, heavy on self congratulation, generous with medals and applause lines, and sharply combative toward Democrats. The panel questions whether such rhetoric represents democratic resil...
Feb 28, 2026•45 min
The Mandelson affair didn’t arrive as a shock so much as a delayed detonation. On Mid-Atlantic , Roifield Brown and his panel argue that the controversy surrounding Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US was neither unforeseeable nor accidental. It was the result of a conscious political decision one that traded judgment and party trust for perceived expediency, and one now threatening to corrode Labour’s credibility as a governing force. Steve O’Neill frames the issue bluntly ...
Feb 06, 2026•32 min
In this episode of Mid-Atlantic , Roifield Brown sits down with Canadian political commentator and host of The O Show , Laura Babcock, to dissect Canada’s unexpected political upheaval and its new identity on the world stage. With Mark Carney now prime minister, what was once unimaginable has become policy: a technocratic, globally respected leader is now seen by many Canadians as their country’s best defense against the growing unpredictability of the United States under Donald Trump. Babcock e...
Feb 04, 2026•28 min
In this week’s episode of Mid-Atlantic , the panel dissects two unsettling scenes of political drama — one on the streets of Minneapolis, the other in the corridors of Westminster. The fatal ICE shooting of a civilian in Minneapolis, initially misrepresented by the Trump administration, has unleashed a bipartisan backlash. Tensions flare as footage shows an unarmed veteran stepping in to aid a protester only to be shot dead. Host Roy Field Brown is joined by panelists Logan Phillips and Mike Don...
Jan 27, 2026•59 min
If you thought the idea of the US buying Greenland was a historical curiosity, think again. In this episode of Mid-Atlantic, Roifield Brown returns to YouTube with geopolitical analyst Pyotr Kurzin of The Global Gambit to peer into the mess that is Trump-era foreign policy is creating in the North Atlantic. Spoiler: It’s not just about a frozen island with more musk oxen than people. It’s a full-blown stress test for NATO, Europe, and what’s left of the post-WWII international order. Kurzin lays...
Jan 20, 2026•33 min
A defection, a photocopied resignation, and an airborne crisis: welcome to politics in 2026. In this week’s episode of Mid-Atlantic , Royfield Brown leads a transatlantic panel through the latest signs of fracture on the British right and a chaotic shift in U.S. foreign policy. Robert Jenrick’s defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK is dissected not as a grand ideological realignment, but as a cynical career move amid a floundering party machine. Corey Bernard and Tanya Altrade offer litt...
Jan 17, 2026•54 min
Host: Roifield Brown Producer: Connor Begley Guests: Mike Donahue, Mike Holden, Tony Alltrade Episode summary This week, Mid-Atlantic looks at what happens when the “rules-based international order” stops behaving like a system and starts behaving like a slogan. The conversation centres on the US seizure/extraction of Venezuela’s president and the eerie normalisation of an act that by the usual standards would be labelled rogue behaviour. From there, the panel widens the lens: spheres of influen...
Jan 08, 2026•48 min
In this week’s episode of MidAtlantic , host Roifield Brown asks whether Donald Trump’s corrosive rhetoric is a momentary blip or a seismic shift in the way American presidents speak and more importantly, lead. Is the bar for political discourse permanently lowered, or are we just watching a uniquely toxic figure dominate a uniquely toxic moment? The transatlantic panel includes Steve Krone in LA, Denise Hamilton in Houston, Mike Donahue in the U.S., and Mike Holden in Preston, UK. Together, the...
Dec 20, 2025•36 min
In this episode, RoyField Brown revisits his Birmingham radio roots with an interview that blends the local and the political. Green Party councillor Julian Pritchard joins from his ward of Druids Heath and Monyhull, a place that even the most civic-minded Brummies might struggle to locate on a map. But that’s the point. Pritchard has been trying to change that for over seven years, turning up, knocking doors, chasing bin collections, and campaigning for a more equitable form of regeneration tha...
Dec 05, 2025•39 min
What do a Democratic Socialist in New York and a Green Party leader in Britain have in common? Charisma, clarity, and, apparently, a hatred of high bus fares. In this episode of Mid-Atlantic , host Roifield Brown and the transatlantic panel tackle the political rise of Manami in NYC and Zack Polanski in the UK—two left-wing politicians who’ve gone from fringe to front page without watering down their message. Manami’s victory over Andrew Cuomo to become New York’s mayor-elect wasn’t just an elec...
Nov 20, 2025•46 min
In this charged episode of Mid-Atlantic , host Roifield Brown is joined by Palestinian analyst Mouin Rabbani , along with regular contributors Cory Bernard in Manchester and Mike Donahue in Los Angeles, to lay bare the harrowing conditions in Gaza and the political cowardice of the West. With over 60,000 Palestinians killed and famine declared by the IPC, the panel asks a blunt question: why does the so-called democratic world continue to stall, excuse, and equivocate? Rabbani underscores the sy...
Sep 05, 2025•59 min
Mid-Atlantic: Gaza—Moral Clarity and Complicity Guests: Dave Smith (North London), Michael Donahue (Los Angeles), Tonye “T” Trade (East London), Safana “Saf” Monajed (East London) Host: Roifield Brown Episode summary Roifield opens with a stark personal statement: Gaza is a genocide, and Britain’s leadership—particularly the Labour government—has failed morally and politically. The panel examines the collapse of a “rules-based order,” Western complicity, media cowardice, the role of the IDF, Net...
Aug 15, 2025•48 min
This week’s Mid-Atlantic served up a blistering transatlantic roundup, with host Roifield Brown and a sharp panel of commentators dissecting political dysfunction from the White House to Westminster. First, Elon Musk’s abrupt departure from the Trump administration drew collective side-eye. Denise Hamilton called it a “planned grift,” while Michael Donahue reminded us Musk’s firms are still swimming in government contracts. As for public perception? Let’s just say Tesla’s aura now smells a lot l...
Jun 03, 2025•58 min
British politics post-local elections resembles less a democracy in action and more a therapy session with occasional shouting. In this episode of Mid-Atlantic , the panel tears into the latest electoral results, with Reform UK bulldozing their way through local councils, Labour sleepwalking through governance, and the Tories doing their best impression of a political hospice. Dave Smith kicks things off with a cold, hard look at Reform UK’s momentum. With council control and a surprise mayoral ...
May 15, 2025•47 min
In this post-election special of Mid-Atlantic , host Roifield Brown and Canadian political analyst Adam Schaan break down what might be the most consequential Canadian election in recent memory—not just for the results, but for what they signal about the country’s identity. In a week where Donald Trump’s bombastic threats of annexation echoed from below the 49th parallel, Canada’s electorate responded with an unmistakable rejection of populist rhetoric, economic fearmongering, and American polit...
Apr 30, 2025•39 min
In Washington, a rare flicker of institutional resistance is lighting up the political gloom. As the Supreme Court sides 7-2 against mass deportations and Harvard takes legal aim at executive power, Roifield Brown and his panel ask the awkward but necessary question: Is the American Republic finally growing a spine? Panelists Denise Hamilton and Mike Donahue agree that while Trump’s pressure tactics aren’t new, the scale of legal and educational defiance certainly is. Meanwhile, they also highli...
Apr 28, 2025•48 min
This week on Mid-Atlantic , Roifield Brown hosts a packed panel to break down Donald Trump's latest economic gamble: a 10% blanket import tariff and steeper levies on select countries, with China squarely in the crosshairs. The result? Global market chaos, retaliatory threats, and international alarm bells over the US’s role in the rules-based economic order. Joining from across the Atlantic and the US are Logan Phillips in D.C., Michael Donahue in L.A., and Cory Bernard in Manchester. The panel...
Apr 11, 2025•53 min
This week’s Mid-Atlantic felt like reading classified memos in the group chat, except the group chat accidentally included a journalist and the memos were about bombing Yemen. Host Roifield Brown and his panel of sharp minds, Aram Fischer in Oakland, Denise Hamilton in Houston, Steve O’Neill in London, and Leah Brown in Broadstairs, looked at two transatlantic absurdities: national security leaks from Team Trump 2.0, and a British Labour government budgeting like it’s still 2010. In the US, cabi...
Mar 29, 2025•47 min
Mark Carney is Canada’s new prime minister, the Liberals are surging in the polls, and the country is locked in an escalating trade war with its unpredictable southern neighbour. At the centre of it all? Donald Trump. Since returning to the White House, Trump has hit Canada with aggressive tariffs and even floated the outrageous idea of annexation. The result? A nationalist backlash, a boycott of U.S. goods, and a shifting political landscape that could redefine Canada’s future. Roifield Brown i...
Mar 20, 2025•46 min
On this episode of Mid Atlantic , host Roifield Brown, broadcasting from sunny Oakland, takes on a transatlantic feast of political intrigue with guests Aram Fischer, Cory Bernard, Denise Hamilton, and Mike Donahue. In the U.S., Kash Patel’s confirmation as FBI director raises alarm bells about the erosion of institutional integrity. Denise calls it “catastrophic,” while Aram points out the grim normalization of political weaponization. The panel digs into Robert F. Kennedy’s new role as health ...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 1 min
This episode of Mid Atlantic tackles two seismic geopolitical issues shaping transatlantic discourse. First, Donald Trump’s alarming suggestion that the U.S. should take control of Gaza sparks global outrage, raising questions about America’s stance on foreign intervention and human rights. The panel—featuring host Royfield Brown , progressive organizer Aram Fischer , polling expert Logan Phillips , mediator Leah Brown , and tech entrepreneur Michael Donahue —dissects the domestic and internatio...
Feb 07, 2025•54 min
This episode of Mid-Atlantic examines the latest political and economic turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, Trump’s sweeping executive orders, including plans for an immigration detention center at Guantanamo Bay, signal a hard-line second-term agenda. His tariffs threaten global trade, while his federal appointments prioritize loyalty over competence. Across the UK, immigration dominates headlines as the population surpasses that of France, fueling debates over national identity, ...
Jan 31, 2025•58 min
The second Trump inauguration was more than just a political spectacle—it was a clear signal of Silicon Valley’s growing entrenchment in American governance. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and other tech moguls sat front and center, ahead of cabinet secretaries, embodying a stark new reality: the marriage of big tech and the state is no longer subtle, it's explicit. This week’s Mid Atlantic dissects what this means for democracy, corporate power, and the growing rift within the American...
Jan 24, 2025•57 min
Labour’s Tulip Siddiq has resigned as Economic Secretary to the Treasury amid corruption allegations, marking the first major scandal to hit Keir Starmer’s government. The panel dissects what this means for Labour’s credibility, with some suggesting it’s merely the growing pains of governance, while others argue it could be an easy attack line for opponents eager to undermine Starmer’s promise of clean politics. Meanwhile, Reform UK is shaking up the political landscape, overtaking the Conservat...
Jan 17, 2025•40 min
Justin Trudeau’s decade-long run as Canada’s Prime Minister is ending, marking a dramatic shift in Canadian politics. Once a symbol of progressive optimism, Trudeau is now grappling with plummeting popularity, a fractured Liberal Party, and mounting challenges from a surging Conservative opposition under Pierre Poilievre. In this episode, Roy Field Brown speaks with political commentators Laura Babcock and Adam Khan to dissect Trudeau’s legacy, his downfall, and the road ahead for Canada. From a...
Jan 09, 2025•33 min
This week’s Mid Atlantic explores the passing of Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, who lived to 100 and left an indelible mark on American politics and humanitarian work. The panel examines his role as a symbol of a bygone era, bridging the post-war optimism of the mid-20th century and the rise of Reagan-era conservatism. Michael Donohue, Zee Cohen Sanchez, and Olisa Jones discuss Carter’s moral leadership and contrast it with today’s more polarised landscape, where figures ...
Jan 04, 2025•48 min
This episode of Mid Atlantic tackled the seismic aftermath of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's assassination in Manhattan—a shocking act that's ignited a visceral debate around corporate greed, healthcare inequality, and public anger in the United States. Panelists Roifield Brown, Steve O’Neill, Mike Donahue, and first-time guest Jimmy the Giant dissected the complex implications of this event and its broader societal resonance. The conversation explored whether the act, dubbed a political ...
Dec 12, 2024•46 min
In this episode of Mid Atlantic , host Roifield Brown sits down with Sangeeta Pillai, feminist changemaker and host of Masala Podcast , to tackle a troubling facet of artificial intelligence: its impact on body image. The conversation centers around AI-generated beauty standards and their capacity to amplify already damaging ideals perpetuated by social media and advertising. Sangeeta's recent article sparked the discussion, highlighting how AI beauty pageants reflect narrow, harmful notions of ...
Nov 29, 2024•35 min
In this episode of *MidAtlantic*, host Roifield Brown, joined by panelists from both sides of the Atlantic, unpacks the political reverberations of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election and shifts in British leadership. From the Democratic Party’s introspection post-Kamala Harris’s defeat to the implications of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, the discussion spans populist movements, neoliberal woes, and institutional complacency. **Kamala Harris’s Loss and Democratic Strategy** The panel critiques t...
Nov 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min
