Journalism should be fearless - and free of favour. This podcast is about holding the line. <br/><br/><a href="https://seeninjournalism.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">seeninjournalism.substack.com</a>
No Fear. No Favour. The SEEN in Journalism Podcast
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Podcast Overview
Journalism should be fearless - and free of favour. This podcast is about holding the line. <br/><br/><a href="https://seeninjournalism.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">seeninjournalism.substack.com</a>
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9/16/2025
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Recent Episodes
July 24, 2026
Trusted By Whom? The Battle Over British News
<p>Trust in British journalism is declining. Now the Government is proposing to give “trusted” news organisations greater prominence on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram - a move some fear could give it too much influence over the news we see.</p><p>But what actually makes a news source trustworthy? And should established broadcasters automatically be treated as more reliable than independent journalists and smaller publishers?</p><p>In this episode of No Fear, No Favour, Janet Murray talks to Dr Rob Watson, founder of <a target="_blank" href="https://decentered.co.uk/">Decentered Media,</a> about who gets to decide which journalism deserves our trust - and whether the Government’s new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/watch-this-space-a-new-strategic-direction-for-uk-media-green-paper-and-public-consultation">Media Green Paper</a> could provide an opportunity to rebuild it.</p><p>Key moments</p><p>* 00:00 — Why trust in British journalism is declining</p><p>* 04:35 — Who gets to define “trusted” news?</p><p>* 09:20 — Should established broadcasters receive preferential treatment?</p><p>* 15:10 — Accuracy versus “kindness” in journalism</p><p>* 22:40 — Is Ofcom equipped for today’s media landscape?</p><p>* 30:15 — The growing role of independent and citizen journalists</p><p>* 38:05 — Legal protection and support for independent journalists</p><p>* 45:30 — Could the Green Paper help rebuild public trust?</p><p></p><p>Key Links </p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/watch-this-space-a-new-strategic-direction-for-uk-media-green-paper-and-public-consultation">Watch This Space (DCMS Green Paper)</a> Consultation Deadline 31 August 26 </p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-digital-culture-media-sport">Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://decentered.co.uk/">Decentered Media </a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/robwmedia">Rob Watson on X </a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.impressorg.com/">Impress Certification</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/">Ofcom</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ipso.co.uk/">Ipso</a> </p><p></p><p><p><strong>Join a growing community committed to accurate and impartial reporting on sex and gender. Subscribe for free, or support our work by becoming a paid subscriber</strong></p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to SEENinJournalism’s Substack at <a href="https://seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe</a>
January 10, 2026
No Fear No Favour: Professor Robert Winston
<p>In this wide-ranging and candid conversation, we are joined by <a target="_blank" href="https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/r.winston"><strong>Professor Robert Winston</strong></a> — one of the UK’s most distinguished scientists and public communicators — to discuss what happens when scientific reality collides with ideology, institutional caution, and a post-truth media culture.</p><p>Professor Winston reflects on the moment that effectively ended his regular BBC punditry: his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DsMM0U44k">2021 appearance on </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8DsMM0U44k"><strong>Question Time</strong></a>, where he stated that biological sex cannot be changed. What followed, he argues, was not open debate but silence — and a sharp narrowing of who is considered “safe” to platform.</p><p>The conversation expands into far broader territory: how science is communicated, how institutions respond to controversy, and where medicine risks losing public trust.</p><p><strong>Key themes discussed in this episode</strong></p><p><strong>Sex, gender, and scientific reality</strong></p><p>Professor Winston explains — calmly and rigorously — why biological sex is written into every cell of the body, why chromosomes matter, and why medicine must be rooted in diagnosis and evidence rather than belief. He also addresses the risks of medical intervention without long-term data, particularly for children.</p><p><strong>Free speech, media culture, and informal exclusion</strong></p><p>We examine how dissenting voices can quietly disappear from mainstream platforms without any formal “ban,” and what that means for public discourse, scientific progress, and democratic accountability.</p><p><strong>Why Professor Winston now prioritises schools over studios</strong></p><p>Rather than broadcast media, Professor Winston now focuses much of his public engagement on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy80w64ydlgo">visiting schools</a> — often in disadvantaged areas — to demystify science, encourage curiosity, and show young people that scientists are not remote or elitist figures.</p><p>👉 <a target="_blank" href="https://sacksmorasha.org.uk/lord-robert-winston-visits-year-6/">‘Inspiring school visit from Professor Robert Winston’</a></p><p><strong>The failure of institutions to tolerate internal debate</strong></p><p>From universities to professional bodies, including the <strong>British Medical Association</strong>, Professor Winston argues that politicisation and absolutism have replaced inquiry — with serious consequences for medicine, ethics, and trust.</p><p>👉 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15wxn851eqo">Professor Winston quits BMA over strikes</a>’</p><p><strong>Fertility, IVF, and the commercialisation of hope</strong></p><p>As a pioneer of IVF, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.robertwinston.org.uk/about-robert-winston/">Professor Winston</a> delivers a sobering assessment of modern fertility medicine — including egg freezing — warning that women are often sold unrealistic expectations. He explains why IVF success rates are frequently misunderstood and why long-term follow-up data is still lacking.</p><p><strong>Delayed motherhood and social consequences</strong></p><p>We explore how society has failed to adapt structurally to women’s changing lives — instead offering technological “fixes” that may create heartbreak later on.</p><p><strong>Assisted dying and evolving medical ethics</strong></p><p>Professor Winston reflects on how his own views have changed over decades, and why ethical medicine sometimes means acknowledging that not all suffering can — or should — be prolonged.</p><p><strong>On the BBC and “blacklisting”</strong></p><p>We asked the BBC directly whether Professor Winston had been blacklisted following his comments.</p><p>The BBC Press Office responded:</p><p>“We won’t be commenting but please be aware the BBC does not blacklist anyone. The BBC recently reported on Robert Winston<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy80w64ydlgo"> visiting a school</a> which would be odd for someone on a ‘blacklist’. Question Time regularly has discussions about gender identity, with views from a range of perspectives.’</p><p><strong>Why this conversation matters</strong></p><p>This episode is about <strong>what happens when evidence becomes negotiable</strong>, when institutions prioritise risk-avoidance over truth, and when those who ask inconvenient questions are quietly sidelined.</p><p>As Professor Winston makes clear, science does not advance through silence — and medicine cannot function without trust, honesty, and humility.</p><p><strong>About our guest</strong></p><p><strong>Professor Robert Winston</strong> <strong>FMedSci FRSA FRCOG FREng </strong>is a pioneer of fertility science and IVF, and Professor of Science and Society, and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at <strong>Imperial College London</strong>. He is also a familiar media face with landmark BBC series including The Human Body, The Human Mind and A Child of Our Time. None of these are currently available on iPlayer.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to SEENinJournalism’s Substack at <a href="https://seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe</a>
November 28, 2025
No Fear, No Favour: Social Transition, Schools and the Puberty Blocker Trial
<p>Children, and their parents and siblings, are at the heart of the story about the NHS-backed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/pathways"><strong>Pathway</strong></a><strong>s</strong> puberty-blocker <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2k4jg0wkj4o">experiment</a> and the media round of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gmc-uk.org/registrants?text=helen%20webberley&allProfessions=true"><strong>Helen Webberley</strong></a> interviews which shocked so many people. </p><p>In this week’s<strong> Seen in Journalism: No Fear, No Favour,</strong> Cath Leng and <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/charlesworth102?lang=en"><strong>Shelley Charlesworth</strong></a> of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.transgendertrend.com/"><strong>Transgender Trend</strong></a>, speak to <strong>Nicole</strong>, a mother connected to the parent network <a target="_blank" href="https://ourduty.group/"><strong>Our Duty</strong></a><strong>. </strong>She describes<strong> </strong>the real-world consequences of normalising the idea of the ‘trans child’, especially when schools facilitate <a target="_blank" href="https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/what-hilary-cass-needs-to-tell-schools/"><strong>social transition</strong></a> and keep parents at arm’s length.</p><p>Nicole describes discovering that her daughter was being treated as a different identity at school, including a new name and pronouns and the use of a <a target="_blank" href="https://thorax.bmj.com/content/71/Suppl_3/A227.1"><strong>breast binder</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://thorax.bmj.com/content/71/Suppl_3/A227.1">, </a>without the family being told. She sets out what happened next: requests for answers, frustrations with records and processes, and why ‘affirmation-first’ practice can amount to a safeguarding failure, parents are sidelined and distress treated as identity. </p><p>Shelley places Nicole’s experience in a broader pattern she says she’s seen repeatedly: policies that encourage secrecy, a culture in which speaking plainly about biological sex is treated as taboo, and an education system that moves too quickly to validate a child’s declaration. </p><p><strong>Thank you to Nicole for this </strong>detailed first-person account, and a clear case for why transparency, safeguarding and parental involvement should be non-negotiables.</p><p><strong>Links</strong></p><p><strong>Parents’ groups and organisations</strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.transgendertrend.com/">Transgender Trend</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://ourduty.group/">Our Duty</a> (parent support network)</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bayswatersupport.org.uk/">Bayswater Support</a> (parent support group</p><p><strong>Puberty blocker trial </strong></p><p>* UK puberty blocker trials media coverage: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/22/nhs-trans-drug-trial-betrays-our-children/">Telegraph</a> </p><p> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/children-puberty-blockers-nhs-lm53zmrzw">Times</a></p><p> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15333475/NHS-million-puberty-blocker-trial-children-identify.html">Daily Mail</a></p><p> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/nov/22/two-uk-clinical-trials-to-assess-impact-of-puberty-blockers-in-young-people">Guardian </a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/JamesEsses/status/1989391543032320507">Judicial Review </a>sought by <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/KBtheYoungOG?s=20">Keira Bell</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/JamesEsses?s=20">James Esses</a> in attempt to stop the King’s College puberty blocker trial. </p><p><strong>Data / SARs </strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-protection-in-schools/dealing-with-subject-access-requests-sars">GOV.UK: Dealing with Subject Access Requests (SARs) in schools</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/schools/pupils-info/">ICO: Pupils’ information / education records guidance</a></p><p><strong>For more background</strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://juliebindel.substack.com/p/episode-one-we-know-how-you-think">Julie in Genderland</a> Podcast series by Julie Bindel</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehelenjoyce.com/p/from-the-archives-fic-and-trans-identities">Helen Joyce: Fic and trans identities</a> </p><p><strong>Legal / policy / NHS</strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/children-and-young-peoples-gender-services-implementing-the-cass-review-recommendations/">NHS England: Children and young people’s gender services (Cass implementation updates)</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20250310143933/https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/">Cass Review Final Report</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68add931969253904d155860/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_from_1_September_2025.pdf">DfE: </a><a target="_blank" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68add931969253904d155860/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_from_1_September_2025.pdf">Keeping children safe in education</a><a target="_blank" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68add931969253904d155860/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_from_1_September_2025.pdf"> (KCSIE) landing page + 2025 PDF</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/supporting_documents/Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf">DfE draft: </a><a target="_blank" href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/supporting_documents/Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf">Gender Questioning Children</a><a target="_blank" href="https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/supporting_documents/Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf"> (non-statutory guidance PDF)</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to SEENinJournalism’s Substack at <a href="https://seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">seeninjournalism.substack.com/subscribe</a>
15 total episodes available
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