I specialise in making journalistic explainers and online films – often about news and politics. Recent work includes a film about America’s response to Covid-19 for The New York Times and a film about “media panics” for BBC Ideas. I’m the creator of the series Things Not to Say for BBC Three, which has won several awards and built a huge audience on Facebook and YouTube.
What Does America’s Coronavirus Response Look Like Abroad? – New York Times Opinion
For this film, I interviewed people from around the world and showed them charts, facts, photos and videos illustrating the U.S. response to Covid-19. (Spoiler: they weren’t impressed.)
The film was watched millions of times both on The New York Times website and on Facebook and YouTube and is one of the most commented-on videos they have ever published. I produced a similar film in 2019 featuring Europeans reacting to facts about American life which also made a big impact. And in 2021 I worked with the NYT to develop the concept into a repeatable format called “World Reacts” with films on healthcare, climate policy and policing.
I was the producer on this film looking after casting, interviewing and editing. However, the final edit (which was transformative) was the genius work of Adam Westbrook.
Speaking from Experience: Fighting the Pandemic
This is a film featuring the first-hand testimonies of NHS workers. Watched by over 1m people on Facebook. Made for 38 Degrees.
When Landlines Were Dangerous – BBC Ideas
The hysteria around the dangers of social media and phones got me digging into the history of “media panics”.
What all culture war stories have in common – YouTube
How does a parasite, some mind-controlled rats and a mysterious shark explain the culture wars?
What Mindhunter can teach us about crime – YouTube
This film uses the Netflix series Mindhunter as a jumping-off point to discuss how we conceptualise crime. I argue we focus too much on a “bad people” model of criminality, in which we focus on the offender and the root causes of their behaviour (parenting, education, poverty etc). Instead, if we focus on the situation around the offender at the time of the crime we can do a lot more to prevent crime.
Why the ‘Enemy Narrative’ Won’t Fix Climate Change – BBC Ideas
This film presents the argument of campaigner George Marshall, who counsels against using an “enemy narrative” when campaigning on climate change issues. (Also a chance for me to play with an Adam Curtis style of filmmaking!)
Why New Things Can Make Us Sad – BBC Reel
This film tells the unlikely story of what happened when the French philosopher Denis Diderot was given a new dressing gown. Instead of giving him pleasure, the dressing gown made him sad and led to him going on a destructive spending spree. Today, the “Diderot Effect” is studied by marketers and anthropologists and helps explain much of our motivation to buy things.
Why the World Needs Designers – Author Scott Berkun
This film was made to promote the book, How Design Makes the World by Scott Berkun. The film aims to celebrate and demonstrate the value of design and designers. The approach I took was to show the (hilarious) consequences of bad design, and to highlight 25 examples of everyday objects – ranging from the barcode to the ice-cream cone – that demonstrate the importance of good design.
The Dangers of Idolising the Successful – BBC Reel
A film about Steve Jobs, World War 2, gyms and scientific research. Part of a series called “The Unconventional Guide to Success” which featured films about why you shouldn’t plan your life and how to win at tennis (and life). Animation by Robot Ninja.
The Harm Caused By the Gender Binary – YouTube
I made this film as an independent project for YouTube because of a frustration I had with the debate around gender. While many critics of trans rights and non-binary gender identities argue that science is being ignored, I wanted to show that the science doesn’t actually support the rigid two-box model in the way critics might think.
The “Deadly” Food We All Eat – BBC Reel
This was a short explainer about palm oil for BBC Reel.
(Don’t worry, I managed to clean up the orangutan and he now lives on the shelf of my studio.)
James Bond’s Problem With Disability
This film looks at the way James Bond films often have stories featuring villains who are disabled. The idea that physical difference must cause or be caused by evil is an old prejudice, and the James Bond films are a great example of this trope in action. The film was designed for Facebook and uses a square format and on-screen titles to make the most of that platform.
Does the Government Really Have a “Mandate”? – Independent
This was the first independent essay film I made for YouTube. It was made after the 2015 UK election, and explored the way politicians feel they have strong moral authority for their policies, whilst only having the support of a small percentage of the population.
Things Not to Say – BBC Three
Things Not To Say is an award-winning series of films that uses humour to overcome stereotypes and prejudice. The series is very popular and has been viewed tens of millions of times on YouTube and Facebook. Over 90 films have been made to date and the series won a Mind Media Award in 2017, and a Broadcast Digital Award in 2019. (View the full playlist here)
The series was co-created in 2015 by the team on Free Speech (Lee Dalloway, Adam Smith and Anthony Le) which was a debate show I ran from 2014-15. I also produced, directed and edited the first 33 films. The film above is about sexual assault – made with Lucy Allan – and is probably the episode I’m most proud of.
Dark Skinned Girls Explain Colourism – BBC Three
This was a film for BBC Three produced by Sophie Duker and Liv Little which I oversaw and edited. I used contributors a lot on the series Things Not To Say, but for me this film was an attempt to produce a format that was more argued and opinionated than those films. At the time of writing it is one of BBC Three’s most retweeted videos, and has had over 5m views on Facebook.
SISTER – BBC Three
In 2017, I set up a series for BBC Three called SISTER, which aimed to explore modern life from female perspectives. The film above featured conversations between women and their granddaughters about their first kisses, first loves and first sexual experiences. It’s funny and heartwarming, and all credit to the producers Sophie Duker, Maleena Pone, Liv Little and Andrea Spisto.
5 Myths About Self-Harm – BBC Three
A film I produced and directed for BBC Three about the myths surrounding self-harm and its causes.
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