# Politics, Platforms and Public Engagement | A discussion with Hannah Ferguson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/oxford-policy-pod-1217253/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/oxford-policy-pod-1217253/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson.md
Podcast: [Oxford Policy Pod](https://stenobird.com/podcast/oxford-policy-pod-1217253)
Published: 2026-04-07T15:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://oxfordpolicypod.captivate.fm/episode/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/639c688c-61de-42f0-84bb-da06e0f0e462.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/oxford-policy-pod-1217253/episodes/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson
Duration seconds: 1081

## Resource

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Pod, MPP students Thenu Herath and Florence Guyomar speak with Hannah Ferguson, co-founder and CEO of Cheek Media Co, an Australian independent news commentary platform reshaping how people engage with politics and culture. Hannah is also the co-host of Big Small Talk and the bestselling author of Bite Back and Taboo. Her work spans journalism, law and media, with writing featured in outlets including The New York Times and The Guardian. The conversation explores how platforms are transforming political engagement and how Cheek Media bridges politics and pop culture to make public discourse more accessible. We explore the role of algorithms in shaping political engagement, the tension between engagement and quality, and the extent to which creators can push back against platform incentives. Hannah discusses the need for greater transparency and accountability in digital platforms, what effective regulation might look like, and her vision for the future of political media. Finally, the discussion turns to Hannah’s decision to run as an independent in the next federal election, including what it means to move from commenting on politics to participating in it.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/oxford-policy-pod-1217253/episodes/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/oxford-policy-pod-1217253/politics-platforms-and-public-engagement-a-discussion-with-hannah-ferguson.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.