Esther Ghey and Liz Hull host podcast exploring keeping children safer

A new limited series podcast, Parents vs The Internet, hosted by Esther Ghey and Liz Hull explores how we can keep our children safer.

Esther’s daughter, Brianna Ghey, was 16 years old when she lost her life in an ambush by her school peers, planned via text and inspired by content the 15-year-olds watched on the Dark Web.

Brianna herself struggled with mental health issues and was secretly accessing pro-anorexia and self-harm sites on her smartphone.

Across the 10-part series, Esther and Liz speak to experts and allies who help listeners understand how we can better protect our children.

Together, they’re campaigning for internet restrictions for all children under the age of 16 and for teachers across the UK to receive training in mindfulness so that they can pass these skills onto the children in their care.

Each episode is a 25-minute conversation with guests including trans activist Jaxon Feely; Ofcom’s policy director for child safety; and the headteacher of Brianna’s school pioneering innovative measures for her pupils, plus therapists, authors, charity CEOs and survivors of mental illness.

The podcast explores how mobile phone companies can take responsibility for safeguarding children; mobile phones to be set up in an age-appropriate way; and stricter controls over under-16’s access to social media apps and unsupervised internet use.

Episodes will also discuss how teachers and carers can include mindfulness training into learning as it has been shown to reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem, increase calmness, self-awareness and empathy.

This series is Esther’s legacy to Brianna and a part of her campaign to create real impact and change.

Esther says: “Parents vs. The Internet is a podcast that we made to support parents, caregivers, teachers and policy makers in our joint mission to keep our children safe.

“Schools are a place that we trust to have our children’s best interest at heart, but sadly there is a world inside of their phones that is not protected from harm.

“This podcast aims to explore how young people can leverage technology for good and be safeguarded from the bad.”

From DMG Media, Parents vs The Internet will be available from Monday 30 September.