Known for his sex and drug addictions, Russell Brand has now turned to analysing the news, educating the people with his new weekly podcasts. He started off recording the Trews - 'true news' - on a handheld camera in a vest and beanie hat, but this soon snowballed into a weekly series gaining thousands of hungry viewers. The Trews was constructed to deliver news to people that the mainstream media is either twisting or ignoring all together.

Brand comments on newspaper headlines or television shows with his own opinion on events. He has a very one-sided view, and includes genuine facts that are helpful in reinforcing his thoughts. However, if you take the YouTube series with a pinch of salt it is very insightful, what with the shocking statistics and spontaneous analysis of current news.

As a man with a celebrity status, Brand tries to expose the tricks of the media to people who normally would have just continued to consume the news mindlessly. It is a nice change to see that someone is using their fame for good which is not seen often enough.

For those that enjoy his humour the constant jokes can break up the harder-to-understand points of the podcast, but for those who do not, it can become somewhat annoying as he does love to get all attention back onto himself. Personally the best episodes are when he plays a Fox interview and devours their presenting techniques, as the UK audience can see how flawed the programme is, and asks the question: Just how they are allowed to act in that way on national television?

With controversy comes questions and Brand deals with this by having a separate video where he reads out viewer comments and answers them in his own unique style. As the show has developed, Brand has started to introduce professionals who bring their expertise along with them and help to create a more reliable and substantial show.

The Trews is a great way to ease someone into understanding how the media showcases news, although I would not rely just on this to create an argument. More research should be done as Brand is only a comedian commenting at the end of the day.