In 2016, Caroline Dyer and Colette Burroughs-Rose shared frustrations with how the world was becoming more divided. They believed the political developments of the time — the election of Donald Trump and Brexit — had caused more friction in the world and there was a need for more nuanced conversations to help us reconnect. In the aftermath of this division, Heard Storytelling was born. It began with a series of live events in a pub in the Northern Quarter, where people were invited to share thei...
Mar 14, 2024•20 min
Earlier this week, our editor Joshi Herrmann sat down with US Senator Bernie Sanders to discuss the colossal decline of local news in the UK, how that impacts communities and how he imagines the crisis in local news might be resolved. "It is a disaster for democracy," Bernie Sanders told us, a powerful statement about something we all care about. In today's episode, Mollie and Joshi examine that interview and take a deep dive into the crisis in local news in the UK and why we're still optimistic...
Feb 21, 2024•30 min
When Sir Tony Lloyd died last month, his seat in Rochdale looked like a relatively easy hold for Labour. Now, with the party’s candidate disowned for spreading a conspiracy theory about Israel and George Galloway picking up support over the war in Gaza, the by-election has entered uncharted territory. Under the glare of the national media, three former Labour members are on the ballot, but Labour has effectively suspended its campaign. And speaking to The Mill from his campaign HQ in a Suzuki ga...
Feb 15, 2024•13 min
"How did Manchester became the poster-child of neoliberal urbanisation, and what can the people that live there do about it?" That's the subject of tenant organiser and author Isaac Rose's debut book, The Rentier City: Manchester and the Making of the Neoliberal Metropolis . In this week's episode, Joshi Herrmann hears from Isaac Rose about whether the "Manchester model" of property-fuelled growth symbolises where the British economy is going, and what needs to change to make Manchester a more e...
Feb 08, 2024•47 min
Last month, before Mr Bates vs The Post Office created a massive public outcry and elevated Fujitsu to nationwide notoriety as the company that allowed its software bugs to destroy the lives and reputations of hundreds of innocent subpostmasters, Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig were on a bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo, on their way to pay Fujitsu a visit. The central achievement of the trip was secured at the global headquarters of Fujitsu in Tokyo, where a landmark d...
Jan 22, 2024•14 min
For the past year, we've been aware of a bizarre new trend where TikTok creators share videos of women wandering the streets on a night out in Manchester. The video creators claim to be documenting modern life in Manchester, but watch enough of these videos and you’ll start to see an extremely skewed version of the city, where beautiful, drunk women are on every street and there’s a nightclub on every corner. You’ll also notice something else: these women aren’t looking directly at the camera, a...
Jan 09, 2024•15 min
It's nearly the end of 2023! What a year it's been. In our final episode of the year, Joshi, Mollie and Jack round up their favourite stories and take you behind-the-scenes of reporting some of our big investigations and feelgood features. Many thanks to the Hallé for sponsoring this week's episode. Manchester is globally renowned for its bands and its football teams, but we also have — in the words of The Times — “one of the world's best orchestras”. The Hallé have been entertaining Mancunian a...
Dec 21, 2023•42 min
In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about gatecrashing Chanel's exclusive afterparty at Victoria Baths, the importance of the French luxury fashion house coming to the city and the collective hysteria that settled over Manchester as celebrities flocked to the best hotels and restaurants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 09, 2023•16 min
Some say the 'Manchester model' is a cautionary tale about what happens when a city hands over its keys to property investors. Others say it's an example of how the great cities of the UK should regenerate and rebuild their prosperity. Economist Mike Emmerich is closer to the second view and has been a key voice in the city for decades. He used to be an advisor in the Treasury and Downing Street before returning home to Manchester, where he helped to negotiate the first big devolution deal. In a...
Nov 30, 2023•56 min
In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about Fallowfield, the south Manchester neighbourhood that has become a de facto student village for those studying at the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. Local residents, many who have lived in the area for decades, feel like they are being forgotten, and that their local community has been remade to only cater to a transient student population who, ultimately, aren't invested in the area. As it happens, the students ...
Nov 21, 2023•21 min
In this episode, Mollie and Jack discuss a very hard-to-access Facebook group in which Mancunian women warn each other about who not to date. The group seems like an important safety mechanism for a generation of women who do a lot of their dating via apps, meeting complete strangers rather than dates who are friends of friends. But does the group always stick to its stated premise? Many thanks to Brsk for sponsoring this episode. Brsk is a new independent broadband provider whose engineers are ...
Nov 14, 2023•12 min
In this week's episode, Mollie and Jack talk about where Chanel - the French luxury fashion house - is looking to host its next show. We know it's going to be in Manchester, but Mollie and our intern Shikhar did some more digging to find out exactly where. The answer is surprising, until you take a second to think about it. Seeing the brand couldn't have existed without the textiles the city produced, there's an argument that a Manchester show is actually Chanel returning to its roots. Hosted on...
Oct 30, 2023•12 min
In this week's episode, we hear from our intern, Shikhar Talwar. He and Mollie discuss his investigation into why Afghan refugees - who came here to escape the Taliban in the summer of 2021 - are now turning up homeless in Manchester, having been evicted from the hotels they were originally housed in. Shikhar met Khooshbo Ali, sat with her back against a dustbin on the Curry Mile. She came to Manchester from Bhusawal, a small village beside the Kabul river. She told him: “I am not even sure if c...
Oct 19, 2023•28 min
In this episode, Mollie and Daniel discuss the biggest headline that came out of the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester last week — the scrapping of the Manchester leg of HS2. How much of a big deal is this for Manchester, and what's the situation on our existing, not so high-speed, railways? Many thanks to the Great Northern Craft Fair for sponsoring this episode. The contemporary craft fair is back at Victoria Baths this month (Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 October) and will feature beauti...
Oct 10, 2023•17 min
In this week's episode, Mollie and Joshi talk about the Old Courts, a beautiful arts and culture institution in Wigan that was showered with public money and held up as an example of how the arts can be spread in towns far from London. However, when ex staff members started reaching out two weeks ago to tell us the organisation was in a financial meltdown, we started asking why that might be... Plus, we take you behind our reporting to show you how these investigations come together. Hosted on A...
Oct 02, 2023•18 min
In this week's episode, Joshi and Jack talk about Michaela Ali, who has been waiting over a year for her housing association to fix her rat-infested flat. Despite multiple complaints about the infestation, Michaela's housing association, Riverside, didn't get around to properly addressing it until recently. Joshi and Jack talk about how that story came to be - beginning with Michaela's mother, Margaret, coming into The Mill's office to ask us to help publicise her struggle - and what may happen ...
Sep 22, 2023•21 min
LA, Berlin, Miami... Manchester. Soho House is opening its latest private members club in the old Granada building next year. Its founder Nick Jones says he's nervous about the launch — should he be? Joshi and Molie discuss what the launch says about Manchester and what kind of person might join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 23, 2023•28 min
In this week’s episode, Joshi and Jack discuss the case of Andrew Malkinson, who was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and wrongly imprisoned for 17 years. Questions have been raised about Greater Manchester Police’s investigation into Malkinson, and whether the force withholding, and in some cases destroying, pieces of evidence contributed to an innocent man going to jail. Jack also talks about his latest weekend read on the Tyshkul family, who he first met last March when they arrived in ...
Aug 08, 2023•27 min
In this week's episode, our data and policy reporter Daniel Timms talks about his big weekend read about Manchester's ongoing economic boom. Are the proceeds mainly going to property developers and the wealthy - or are the benefits spreading more widely? Daniel has spent the past few weeks digging into lots of data and speaking to leading economists and experts to try to answer that question - and some of his conclusions are surprising. (The episode features a few clips from the BBC documentary ...
Jul 31, 2023•24 min
In this week's episode, Jack discusses his long read about Sacha Lord, the man who runs Warehouse Project and Parklife and who advises Andy Burnham. It's a new kind of podcast for us - a conversation in our office about how we did a story and the challenges that we encountered. Why did none of Lord's critics want to speak on the record? And what kind of rumours did we try to stand up? Please let us know what you thought of this new format by emailing joshi@manchestermill.co.uk. And thanks for li...
Jul 24, 2023•31 min
It's an emotional episode as Darryl signs off as our regular co-host and we reflect on some of our favourite moments. We also discuss an amazing long read by three students at the University of Manchester about their experience during the pandemic. Thanks to our sponsor, the Sustainability Show - you can get FREE tickets for the show at this special link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sustainability-show-manchester-tickets-523717391817?aff=Mill Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
Jun 29, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 103
Our special guest on this week's episode is the amazing Daniel Timms, our data and policy reporter, who tells us about what is driving the lack of affordable homes in Manchester. Plus, we talk about his reporting on why all the protected trees are in leafy south Manchester and what is holding back the region's schools. We also discuss homelessness among asylum seekers and the new name for Manchester's big new venue: Aviva Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 22, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 102
On this week’s episode - sponsored by Manchester Museum - Joshi and Darryl speak to Sam Lee and Daniel Mooney, from the Man City fan podcast Let Me Talk, about the treble victory, the club’s finances and it’s role in the city. Plus, the latest on HS2, homelessness statistics and an update on Dani Cole’s campaign to get Tony Doran a headstone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 15, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 101
On our 100th episode, Darryl and Jack ask why 45% of Manchester’s children are classed as living in poverty, and what can be done about it. Plus, with so many big gigs in the city this week, why is Manchester’s transport infrastructure struggling to cope? And the latest from the bids to buy Manchester United and Wigan Athletic, and the road back to league football for Bury FC. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-mill-turns-3-a-birthday-party-hosted-by-julie-hesmondhalgh-tickets-646112549027?aff=o...
Jun 08, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 100
In this week's podcast, Darryl, Mollie and Joshi discuss The Mill's revelation about animal testing flights at Manchester Airport. We also cover the demolition of a much loved pub in Rusholme and an awkward moment for Manchester United Women star Alessia Russo. Head to manchestermill.co.uk/subscribe to become a member and get all our reporting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 01, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 99
In this week’s episode, Joshi, Mollie and Jack discuss The Mill’s most recent investigation into underpayment in Manchester’s hospitality industry. The team spent months looking into businesses underpaying or failing to pay their staff. They talk through their reporting process and the way that local media coverage has missed out the plight of Manchester’s hospitality workers. “The owner’s always have media representation but the workers don’t. So, if the worker’s not being paid but he sees the ...
May 25, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 98
This week's episode comes directly from our Mill Members Event. Listen to our senior editor Sophie Atkinson talk to David Scott about his new book Mancunians: Where Do We Start, Where Do I Begin? It takes an alternative look at the city's cultural history, drawing on Scott's own life and extensive conversations with some of the Manchester's most influential, but often unsung, figures. "It’s more important than ever that we recognise that we aren’t just the Haçienda." To support this podcast and ...
May 22, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 97
This week, Darryl Morris and Mollie Simpson pick through the local election results, and ask what Arooj Shah returning as Oldham’s council leader means for the town’s fractured politics. Plus, we journey to neighbouring Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest and digest new rules for Greater Manchester’s landlords. Don’t miss our next Mill Members Club Event: in conversation with author and poet Dave Scott about his new book, Mancunians, on Thursday 18th May at the International Anthony Burges...
May 11, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 96
In this week's episode, Darryl and Joshi are joined by Michael Taylor - the editor of The Business Desk - to take a deep dive into the local elections and what to expect from Thursday's vote. Plus, Micheal explains why Manchester company's Open Money have found themselves in trouble and what it tells us about Manchester's fintech industry, and why the city centre is becoming more dense. To get full analysis of this week's local elections direct to your inbox, and support this podcast, join as a ...
May 04, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 95
This week, Darryl and Jack discuss Forest Bank prison, the jail termed the ‘prisoner’s prison, that an investigation suggests is in the hands of the inmates. Plus, new data on Manchester’s rental community and we ask if the ship should be removed from Manchester City and Manchester United’s club crests. And as Rochdale drop out of the football league for the first time in 102 years, read this piece on the battle to save it. https://manchestermill.co.uk/p/they-wanted-control-of-the-club-but To su...
Apr 27, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 94
