Riders on the Storm – Audio Documentary

Across Britain and Europe, the familiar sight of delivery riders weaving through city streets masks the intricate connections between digital platforms, immigration policies, and human stories that rarely reach public consciousness.

The audio documentary Riders on the Storm provides listeners with unprecedented access to the authentic voices of those who power our on-demand economy whilst navigating precarious immigration status.

Based on comprehensive research spanning across the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Poland, this documentary follows four delivery riders whose lives illustrate how digital platforms are transforming migrant labour and reshaping workers’ experiences.

Featuring expert narration from leading researchers, the documentary examines the innovative ways workers are organising against algorithmic control, reveals the troubling overlap between digital surveillance and immigration enforcement, explores the health and safety implications of platform work, and highlights the increasing regulatory divergence between post-Brexit Britain and EU member states.

Though primarily in English, the documentary preserves crucial multilingual testimonies, creating an intimate soundscape that challenges listeners’ preconceptions about migration and labour in the digital age, revealing the human stories behind every delivery.

Riders on the Storm is part of the research conducted within the EU-funded research projects Improving the living and labour conditions of irregularised migrant households in Europe (I-CLAIM).

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Team Coordinators

• Stefano Piemontese, PhD (Research Fellow, University of Birmingham; UK): [email protected].
• Francesca Berardi (Freelance Journalist, Senior Content Producer and Author at Chora Media; IT): [email protected].

Research and Content Team

• Minke Hajer, PhD (Research Fellow, Utrecht University; NL)
• Beatrice Salamena, PhD (Research Fellow, Catholic University of Applied Sciences; DE)
• Kseniya Homel, PhD (Research Fellow, University of Warsaw; PL)

Technical Production

• Harry Coade (Freelance Music Producer, Sound Designer, Mixer; UK)