We welcome back our good friend Antony Rotunno—host of Life and Life Only podcast— for a conversation on the BBC's recent self-styled "documentary" entitled "Unvaccinated".

The programme was billed as an "eye-opening investigation" hosted by mathematician and British TV personality Professor Hannah Fry, the aim of which (according to the BBC) was to understand why a significant proportion of the UK population has decided to remain "unvaccinated against covid-19".

"To fully explore" (sic) the "complex and deeply divisive debate" (again, according to the BBC), Hannah Fry (or the BBC) invited seven covid-19-injection-free participants to share a house with her for several days (or part days?) in order to "unpack long-held opinions, beliefs and fears", "meet leading experts", "confront the latest science and statistics" and "dissect how misinformation spreads on social media"—all in anticipation of a final question: Would they change their minds and "take up the vaccine"?

Instead we were treated to a tendentious and patronising piece of establishment propaganda that—while it could have been a lot worse, and was admittedly entertaining and engaging—was essentially aimed at reinforcing the collapsing covid narrative.

Join us as we discuss the "documentary" and dissect its subtle—though, more often, not so subtle—use of propaganda techniques.

(Download Podcast HQ 128 kbps)

[covid-19, vaccines, vaccine hesitant, propaganda, anti-vax, misinformation, disinformation, The Science, safe and effective, Hannah Fry, BBC, Unvaccinated]