The Meridian Podcast The Meridian

On todays episode of the Meridian Podcast, Emilia and Michael sit down with Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford. Crawford is based in Istanbul and her incredible career has spanned over 30 years, and includes reporting from Libya, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, and most recently Ukraine. She was awarded an OBE for her services to journalism, and has won several awards for her reporting, including a BAFTA and two Emmy’s.   We spoke with Alex about her career as a foreign correspondent, and how she initially got into journalism. She also shared stories of her experiences in incredibly dangerous conflict zones, such as sheltering in a mosque whilst under siege in Libya, and also her work in Afghanistan and Ukraine, how civilians have constantly been instrumental to her story-telling, and what she believes are the fundamentals to good journalism.    Hosts: Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie) Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6)  Editor: Michael Gaughan   Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive. Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription.  All credit goes to original owners, The Meridian Podcast is not for profit.

On this week’s episode, Emilia sits down with retired US army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling to discuss the war in Ukraine. They talk about the incredible determination of the Ukrainian army and civilians alike, the state of the Russian Army, and how the conflict may finally come to an end.

General Mark Hertling served in the US army for 37 years, retiring in 2013 as the Commanding General of the US Army Europe and Seventh Army. He also served as the Chief of War Plans on the Joint Staff, and is currently a Military Analyst for CNN.

Hosts:  Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie) Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6) 
Editor: Emilia Hardie

Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive.  Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.  
Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription.

On this week’s episode, Emilia and Michael discuss former President Donald Trump launching his second bid for the Oval Office, what we can expect from his campaign, potential rivals such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and what this means for the Republican Party as a whole. They also take a look at the recent midterm results, asking what this means for President Biden and his agenda over the remaining two years of his term.   Hosts:  Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie) Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6) Editor: Michael Gaughan   Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive.  Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.  Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription.

On this week’s episode, Emilia and Michael discuss the US midterm elections. Joined by two student journalists from the University of Georgia, we ask about the results we know so far, what we are still waiting to find out, and what this all means for the upcoming 2024 presidential elections.   Hosts:  Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie) Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6) Editors: Emilia Hardie and Michael Gaughan Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive. Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription.

On this week’s episode, Emilia and Michael discuss the ongoing protests in Iran, following the death of 22-year-old student Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s “morality police”. Joined by Empoword Journalism’s Beau Roddis, and Iran expert Marzieh Kouhi-Esfahani, we ask what sparked the protests, why they have grown so large, and what the enduring legacy of the movement might be.

Hosts:  Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie)

Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6)

Editor: Emilia Hardie.

Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive. Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription.

On this week’s episode, Emilia and Michael host a discussion on the recent chaotic events of British politics. The panel had a lively, passionate discussion about the events of the past week, the downfall of Liz Truss, and what the future may hold for Britain under the leadership of Rishi Sunak.   The panel is made up of Chair of Wirral Young Labour - Finlay Gordon, Officer for Greater Manchester Youth Conservatives -  Nathan Eckersley, Oliver Hall- Comment Editor of Oxford University's Cherwell newspaper and Jacob Cousens - Politics Editor at Palatinate.   Hosts and Producers:  Emilia Hardie (@emiliahardie)  Michael Gaughan (@mikegaughan6)   Editor: Michael Gaughan   Introduction music courtesy of Soularflair on Free Music Archive. Creative Commons licence can be found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.  Theme music courtesy of Gavin Luke, via Epidemic Sound, with subscription. Introductory clips courtesy of BBC news and Number 10 official twitter account.