Iain Dale is a broadcaster, political commentator, and presenter on LBC. We discuss his new short biography of Margaret Thatcher, written to introduce the former Prime Minister to a new generation. We explore her fraught relationship with the BBC, her influence on broadcasting policy, and what that legacy means today. We talk about the future of public service broadcasting, the BBC’s dominance, the rise of opinion-led channels like GB News, and whether the market can still deliver trusted journalism in a polarised age.

"The BBC has consistently failed to recognise that there is another point of view, and that point of view exists predominantly outside London."

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John Ware, veteran investigative journalist and former BBC Panorama reporter, with decades of experience covering complex and controversial subjects from the Troubles in Northern Ireland to antisemitism in British politics, discusses Gerry Adams’ defamation case against the BBC, the silence from parts of the Jewish community, BBC coverage of Gaza and the Middle East, the role of public service broadcasting, and the impact of agenda journalism.

"The BBC’s coverage actually is quite timid”

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Jonathan Thompson is Chief Executive of Everyone TV, the organisation that runs free television in the UK.

In this episode Jonathan discusses the launch of the UK's newest streaming platform, Freely, which brings together live and on demand content from the UK's public service broadcasters. We explore what Freely offers, its accessibility, and its role in preserving public service broadcasting. We explore critical issues facing UK television: how to maintain content diversity, attract younger viewers, and ensure public service content remains prominent in an increasingly fragmented digital landscape.

"Somewhere near a third of homes are purely internet TV households."

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Dr. Tom Mills, Chair of the Media Reform Coalition and co-author of the report “Our Mutual Friend: The BBC in the Digital Age”, discusses a detailed proposal for the mutualisation of the BBC—an idea supported by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. He explains what it would mean for audiences to become active participants in the Corporation’s governance, how such a model could work in practice, and what it could offer in terms of accountability, representation, and resistance to political interference.

“I think that the bigger risk actually is if the current governance system is maintained and you're under political pressure from the government and from organised interests in society.”

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Fresh from his BAFTA award, Patrick Spence, executive producer for Mr. Bates vs The Post Office discusses how the series was commissioned, why it was a success, how it was funded, the decline of certain TV drama genres, the crisis in the industry, the need of government support: levy vs tax breaks, the impact of tariffs, regional production, the streamers’ role and his upcoming project The Hack.

“If I was offered Mr. Bates vs the Post Office now as a prospective development, I would not take it on."

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Rozina Breen is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and formerly head of news at BBC Five Live and BBC North.

A speaker at the recent Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, Rozina discusses the event, the growing challenges facing journalism under the Trump administration, the importance of local and regional journalism, the BBC and the role of partnerships, the importance of fact based reporting and why TBIJ is necessary.

“” The fire has always been there. We just haven't been paying attention.” And my belief is that there are fires in almost every constituency across the UK right now, and investigative journalism in the UK is much needed.”

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Jonathan Dimbleby is a veteran British broadcaster known for his long-form interviews on BBC and ITV, and as host of Radio 4’s Any Questions.

In this episode, we discuss his latest book on World War II, the use of a journalistic background in writing history, challenging historical myths, the ‘special relationship’ between the US and Britain, the rise of populism and parallels between current political trends and historical threats to democracy, the critical role of public service broadcasting, the decline of the long-form interview, and why, after an organiser of a meeting of Jews associated with Belsen extended an invitation to Jonathan to speak, “we ended up mutually agreeing that I wouldn't speak at this occasion.”

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Nick Kent is the chief executive and creative director of Oxford Films, which made this week’s BBC Two documentary "Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz". We discuss the challenges making an impactful 60 minute documentary which explores the Holocaust's broader historical context, the role of language and visual imagery, ethical considerations in portraying the Holocaust and the importance of public service broadcasting.

“We're living in a time when the BBC is in jeopardy, and what's at stake now is higher, I think, than it's ever been, in terms of what the BBC can provide.”

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https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/roger-boltons-beeb-watch-podcast

@BeebRoger

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