AUDIO DOCUMENTARY

In European cities, riders cross roads, borders, and grey areas of labour law guided by an algorithm that promises freedom but creates precariousness.

Riders on the Storm is a two- episode documentary that explores the transformations of migrant labour within the digital platform economy, beginning with the voices of those who deliver food every day in our cities. From post-Brexit London to Milan, via Birmingham, Berlin, Warsaw, and Utrecht, the documentary interweaves the stories of six migrant delivery drivers to illustrate how platform work often serves as a survival infrastructure for individuals with precarious legal status, profoundly reshaping the everyday experience of work.

Through road accidents, algorithmic control, informal solidarity, and collective mobilisations, Riders on the Storm uncovers the strong link between migration policies and labour markets, questioning the notion that economic and legal precariousness are natural conditions. A journey through Europe that invites you to listen to what usually remains invisible behind every delivery.
The documentary was written by Stefano Piemontese, with contributions from Francesca Berardi, Minke Hajer, Kseniya Homel, and Beatrice Salamena. The editorial guide was provided by Francesca Berardi. Sound design and post- production were led by Harry Coade. It features Francesco Bonifacio, Gaetano (pseudonym), Habib Haruna, Ivan Strelbitski, Mykhailo Hlushak, Rayan (pseudonym), and Raul.
Riders on the Storm was developed with support from the European Union and the University of Birmingham,  within the framework of the I- CLAIM research project,  “Improving the Living and Labour Conditions of Irregularised Migrant Households in Europe”,  coordinated by Ilse van Liempt and Nando Sigona.
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EPISODES

Episode 01:  WORKING FOR THE ALGORITHM
What does it mean to work when an app determines time, routes, and earnings? From the streets of Birmingham, Milan, and Berlin, the voices of the riders reveal the human cost of platform work.

Episode 01:  BENDING THE ALGORITHM

Is it possible to resist the algorithm? Daily tactics, mutual aid, and new forms of collective organisation emerge from Milan, Warsaw, and Utrecht.

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