Tag Archives: politics

Body swap Muslims & playing “The Jew”

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

Had a great discussion with David Baddiel and David Schneider on Front Row this week about why Britain was hosting its first Jewish comedy festival. It  made me revisit  this 2009 news film I made on location at the shoot … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Politics, Religion, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Outrage is cheap: Challenging politicians about Rotherham, race & misogyny

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

  I suppose it’s good to still get agitated about stories I cover. But the amount of political capital that politicans have tried to make out of the Rotherham child sexual grooming scandal left me all the more appalled when … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Crime and Justice, journalism, Media, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wilderness Years: From Rapunzel to Travolta and General Zod

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

A blind prince wanders through a Biblical-looking stony desert. The strange coda to Rapunzel is often forgotten, but it’s what I remember most about reading the Ladybird storybook as a child. And it’s where I chose to start today’s Something Understood … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Politics, Radio, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The only thing I hate more than politicians is puppets: Spitting Image extras

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Samira Ahmed

  This post has the fun extras from my interviews with some of the core Spitting Image team and one of their targets, for a British Film Institute feature, Spitting Image: Still biting after all these years, about the 30th … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Politics, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

LBJ and JFK: Assassination & the struggle for power

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

“The King – the President – is dead. The King has a brother. The brother hates the Vice-President. You have a really Shakespearean struggle for power here.”  Robert Caro, Lyndon B Johnson’s biographer talking to me about the assassination. It … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Oh What A Lovely War Commemoration!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Recently the Prime Minister  spoke of his hopes that events  to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War would be a “commemoration that, like the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, says something about who we are as … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, History, Media, Music, Politics, Radio, Theatre, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Missing news: A tale of an NHS rally, zombies and security guards

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

Should the BBC have given more attention and coverage to a mass protest rally over NHS changes outside Tory party Conference in Manchester on Sept 29th last weekend that attracted over 50,000 marchers? The rally, organised by unions, was mentioned. But like other … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, Media, Politics, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 72 Comments

Ferris Bueller and Me

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

John Hughes died four years ago and I wrote this post that day August 6th 2009 before I had a blog of my own. Just found it again thanks to the interwebs. Four years on things aren’t quite the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Comedy, Culture, Film, Media, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Why Be A Journalist?

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

I spent a curious, but lively morning at News International today. The organisation hosted a one day conference for many state school students on behalf of the Young Journalists’ Academy, encouraging them to consider entering the trade. I was asked … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, Media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Mr Lincoln’s Wild Ride

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Samira Ahmed

I spent a night in the pub playing skittles recently with The Lawmen of Bristol for a radio documentary. They are Wild West enthusiasts, who transport around their home-made saloon town and re-enact historical gunfights for charity. Each has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, History, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment