Jason Arday : When The Press Becomes A Mob

Jason Arday : When The Press Becomes A Mob

From The Trawl by Jemma Forte & Marina Purkiss

August 18, 2026 · 51 min · Episode 395

About this episode

The episode discusses the tragic death of Jason Arday and the media's role in his story, alongside various political topics in the UK.

In this powerful episode of The Trawl, Jemma Forte and Marina Purkiss unpack the tragic death of Jason Arday. Arday was Cambridge’s first black professor, who endured an extraordinary media storm in the final weeks of his life. The Trawl ladies examine the 188 articles published about him in just nine days, the racist and hostile commentary that fuelled the story, and the wider questions it raises about who gets scrutinised, who gets forgiven, and who is allowed to belong in positions of power. They also discuss Nigel Farage’s Clacton victory, Count Binface’s impressive vote share, Lee Anderson’s increasingly surreal defence of Farage, and the UK’s first nationwide emergency alert of the summer.  Plus: some very British flirting, Tolstoy proving that even literary geniuses sometimes can't be bothered, and the usual underrated internet gems. Join The Trawl's Facebook BRAND NEW Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590931382660 Get your tickets for The Trawl Live from  https://thetrawl.tix.to/tickets Thank you for sharing and please do follow us @MarinaPurkiss @jemmaforte @TheTrawlPodcast   Patreon https://patreon.com/TheTrawlPodcast &nbsp…

Topics covered

Keywords

More episodes of The Trawl

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Trawl podcast page.