Dear friends and colleagues, Ben Litherland (Manchester Metropolitan University) and I have just launched a podcast which we think will be of interest to a lot of you. ILL EFFECTS is a bi-weekly research-informed series on media "influences". Each episode focuses on a specific media case study (often a controversial film, video game, artist, TV show, celebrity, toy, etc.) and examines the claims that have been made about its alleged "effects" on audiences/consumers. Can a horror video turn children into murderers? Can a video game cause reckless driving? Does background music make workers more productive? What evidence is there (if any!) behind debates like these? What are the political, economic, social or ideological forces propelling and sustaining them? Ben and I investigate the bad faith arguments, maddening methods, and moral panics behind claims that the media influence our behaviour and manipulate our minds. It's the good podcast about bad media influences. The first two episodes ("Did CHILD'S PLAY 3 turn kids into killers?" and "Does Barbie give girls eating disorders?") are available now. New episodes will be released every other Thursday. Subscribe on Spotify <https://open.spotify.com/show/0QotQZhgYQOsjCvGMefNjl?si=83eab745de7d49f5>, Apple <https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ill-effects/id1733062954>, Amazon Music <https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e055c33d-42f3-4057-9cf8-bb2ccbea3e88/ill-effects>, or wherever you get your podcasts, and find us @illeffectspod across social media platforms. You can also get in touch via email at illeffectspod@gmail.com Finally, if you like what you hear, we'd be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and/or share the podcast with someone you know. Cheers, Rich and Ben -- *Dr. Richard McCulloch* Cultural Analysis • Audience Research Twitter/X: @rjmcculloch