Novara Media is an independent media organisation addressing the issues – from a crisis of capitalism to racism and climate change – that are set to define the 21st century. Within that context our goal is a simple one: to tell stories and provide analysis shaped by the political uncertainties of the age, elevating critical perspectives you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Driven to build a new media for a different politics, our journalism is always politically committed; rather than seeking to moderate between two sides of a debate, our output actively intends to feed back into political action. Follow the team on Twitter – @novaramedia – or hit up the website at novaramedia.com to catch up with our wide range of video, audio and text articles.
Downstream: Would the World Be Better Without Religion? w/ Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar
Twenty years ago, it was taken for granted that on average, people globally were shrugging off the shackles of organised religion. The world was destined for secularism. But with demographics trends in many countries pointing towards a growing religious population and with secular liberal politics failing to offer solace from falling living standards, we should […]
1/29/2024 • 1 hour, 40 minutes, 8 seconds
Novara FM: Who Dares To Rewrite 40,000 Years of History? w/ David Wengrow
This episode was first released in November 2021. In the bestselling book The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, archaeologist David Wengrow and the late anthropologist David Graeber offer a radically different story of our social evolution. Drawing on groundbreaking research gathered over a decade of collaboration, the book challenges just about everything […]
1/25/2024 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 42 seconds
Downstream: Everything You Know About The Global Economy is Wrong w/ Philip Pilkington
We are in a drastically different world from the one most of us grew up in. This has been proven by the rapid escalation in the events in the Middle East over the last six weeks. No longer are we in a world where, essentially, the US run the show. And this has huge global […]
1/22/2024 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 38 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Plugged-in Protest w/ Jeremy Gilbert
Music has the uncanny power to stir up big feelings, which makes it an obvious vehicle for political statements of hope, anger, despair, or how to cast your vote. In this Microdose episode to accompany ACFM’s recent Trip on Protest, Jem takes us through 60 years of plugged-in protest music – no strumming folkies or […]
1/21/2024 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 13 seconds
Novara FM: The Novels That Inspired Class War w/ Mark Steven
What role does literature play in revolution? If the question seems bizarre to you and the answer obvious, you’re not alone. Yet some of the most important revolutionaries in history have turned to literature in times of crisis. Mao Zedong started writing poetry during the Chinese Red Army’s retreat, adopting traditional Chinese forms to do […]
1/19/2024 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 3 seconds
Downstream: We Are in the Post-Climate Change World w/ Gaia Vince
Discussion of climate change mainly focuses on mitigating rising temperatures, de-carbonising and getting to ‘net zero’. Author and broadcaster Gaia Vince argues that we also need to focus on how we’ll deal with with’s already happening and about to get much much worse: huge swathes of the planet becoming uninhabitable and 2 billion people needing […]
1/15/2024 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 35 seconds
Novara FM: Escaping the Tourism Trap w/ Dean MacCannell
January is historically the busiest month of the year for holiday bookings. But if you’ve ever felt uncomfortable with the idea of being a tourist, you’re not the first. Back in 1976, anthropologist Dean MacCannell theorised both our drive to see the world and its manipulation by capitalism in his book The Tourist: A New […]
1/11/2024 • 53 minutes, 20 seconds
Downstream: White Holes and Radical Politics w/ Carlo Rovelli
From his radical youth in 1970s Italy to his research as one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovelli is as comfortable talking politics as he is explaining quantum theory. He sat down with Aaron to talk about the future of Europe, his theory of white holes, and why we’re not actually living in […]
1/1/2024 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 7 seconds
Novara FM: The People Vs Football w/ Juliet Jacques & Tom Williams
Is football the place for political struggle? Is there a limit to the success of fan-owned clubs? How disappointed can we be when pundits and players turn out not to be comrades? Cultural critic Juliet Jacques and Pro Revolution Soccer host Tom Williams unite for a conversation inspired by Mickaël Correia’s book, The People’s History […]
12/28/2023 • 57 minutes, 6 seconds
Downstream: 2023 Year in Review
For this end-of-year edition of Downstream, the Novara Media team look back on the biggest stories of the year. Ash Sarkar is joined by Moya Lothian-McLean, Michael Walker and Owen Jones to talk about the Labour Party, the climate crisis, the rise of AI and the war on Gaza. From clouds brightening to prospects dimming, […]
12/24/2023 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 3 seconds
ACFM Microdose: A Festive 50 For 2023
The ACFM gang get together for the last time this year to deliver a Festive 50. Keir, Jem and Nadia select the best bits of culture and politics from 2023, from music, films, books to games, strikes and actions. Unwrap to find sci-fi blaxploitation, comedy history, gobby glam-punk, Judge Dredd analysis, a fresh angle on Silicon […]
12/22/2023 • 56 minutes, 12 seconds
Novara FM: It’s A Wonderful Life w/ James Butler
Released in 1946, Frank Capra’s fable of Christmas despair in small town America has become – rather improbably – a staple of festive television. Starring Jimmy Stewart as virtuous everyman George Bailey, It’s A Wonderful Life is not just a feelgood tale of moral redemption, but a clue to the shifting social terrain of post-war America. Is […]
12/21/2023 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 59 seconds
Downstream: The Plan To Privatise Everything w/ Brett Christophers
Asset management companies like Blackrock, Vanguard and Macquarie have avoided real scrutiny for decades, but their secretive activities are starting to attract attention from political researchers and academics. What do these companies do, and what risk do they pose to society? Author and academic Brett Christophers sets out to answer this question in his new […]
12/18/2023 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 29 seconds
ACFM Trip 39: Protest
Millions have protested against the bombing of Gaza by taking part in marches, boycotts, sit-ins and other demonstrations. But what difference does it make, either to the world or to ourselves? The gang confront a contentious topic in this Trip. Do “A to B” marches ever achieve anything? What about joining hands around an RAF […]
12/17/2023 • 1 hour, 44 minutes, 2 seconds
Novara FM: Palestine 2048 w/ Basma Ghalayini
Science fiction isn’t a mode usually associated with Palestinian literature, perhaps because dreams of the future seem like a luxury when you can barely hold onto your past, or even present. In 2019, translator and editor Basma Ghalayini asked 12 Palestinian authors to imagine their world in 2048 – a century after the Nakba that […]
12/15/2023 • 54 minutes, 10 seconds
Downstream: This Damage Cannot Be Reversed w/ Daniel Levy
Daniel Levy has had a front row seat at some of the most consequential peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine in the last two decades, as president of the U.S./Middle East Peace Project and as an adviser to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. He sat down with Ash Sarkar to talk about the failure […]
12/11/2023 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 9 seconds
Novara Live Extra: Israel’s Illegal War w/ Norman Finkelstein
On Novara Live this week, Michael Walker spoke to renowned political scientist and activist Norman Finkelstein about Israel’s assault on Gaza and the collapse of the ceasefire. In this extended interview, they discuss the relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah, the use of human shields, and whether US pressure can restrain Israel’s “high-tech massacre”. Subscribe to […]
12/7/2023 • 56 minutes, 20 seconds
Downstream: We Don’t Understand History w/ Blindboy
Blindboy Boatclub is the Irish broadcaster, author and musician behind The Blindboy Podcast, a massively popular podcast mixing short fiction, comedy and interviews. His new short story collection, Topographia Hibernica, is inspired by the human, animal and emotional geography of Ireland. Blindboy sat down with Ash for a freewheeling discussion about everything from Eminem’s ’90s […]
12/5/2023 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 49 seconds
Novara FM: Fascism Is Not The Exception w/ Alberto Toscano
In recent years we’ve spent a lot of time arguing about fascism – what it means, what it looks like, and how we would know if it had returned. That typically brings us back to the European fascism of ’30s and ’40s, with its uniforms, symbols, marches and camps. But the philosopher Alberto Toscano, currently teaching […]
12/1/2023 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 9 seconds
Downstream: The History of Israel’s War on Palestine w/ Rashid Khalidi
To really understand what’s going in Israel, you need to get your history straight. Rashid Khalidi is one of the foremost historians of the Middle East and the author of several books on the region’s history, including The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine. On the day of the ceasefire in Gaza, he guides Ash through […]
11/27/2023 • 53 minutes, 13 seconds
Novara FM: New Cities, Old Scams w/ Quinn Slobodian
Business is booming for architects and property investors right now, with masterplans being unveiled for dozens of new cities around the world. The hi-tech promise of NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s proposed new desert metropolis, is only the most discussed of these visions – others are being drawn up in Indonesia, China and Senegal. What sets these […]
11/23/2023 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 54 seconds
Downstream: Does the Labour Party Care About Palestine? w/ Zarah Sultana
Zarah Sultana is one of the youngest MPs in Parliament and has faced intense hostility from the right of the Labour Party since Keir Starmer’s ascent to leader. The MP for Coventry South sat down with Ash Sarkar to talk about the reality of being a Muslim woman in the Labour Party, her interactions with […]
11/20/2023 • 56 minutes, 35 seconds
Novara FM: Why Posh People Have Bad Taste w/ Nathalie Olah
Dolly Parton was right, as usual, when she revealed that “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap”. But who decided rhinestones were tacky in the first place? Style is a matter of taste, yet taste itself is a a matter of money, morality and identity, as the writer and critic Nathalie Olah […]
11/16/2023 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 58 seconds
Downstream: The Future of Money w/ Brett Scott
We’re heading towards a cashless society. With the dominion of Visa and Mastercard showing no sign of shrinking, it’s becoming increasingly necessary to scrutinise what this shift towards virtual money really means. Brett Scott is an author and former banker who is deeply committed to evaluating the dangers of removing cash as a payment system. […]
11/13/2023 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 22 seconds
Novara FM: Engine of Immortality w/ Jeff Jarvis
For 500 years, societies have been shaped by the authority and permanence of the printed word. What do we have to lose – or gain – when the internet renders print culture obsolete? Jeff Jarvis thinks we should look to the early print era, when Johannes Gutenberg’s invention caused a moral panic across Europe, for clues […]
11/10/2023 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 54 seconds
Downstream: We Must Get Ready For An Emergency w/ Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is perhaps the most famous living Marxist philosopher. This year he will publish three books on topics ranging from the nature of freedom to his deeply pessimistic view of the future. Slavoj sat down with Aaron for a typically provocative, freewheeling and humorous conversation spanning ideas from Stalinism to Zionism to Eurocentrism. He […]
11/6/2023 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 53 seconds
ACFM Trip 38: Movement and Stillness
Ever feel like there’s too much change these days? Don’t worry, you’re not (necessarily) becoming more conservative. On this Trip, Nadia, Jem and Keir think about the ebb and flow of political currents, social movements and our inner lives. What’s the difference between being still and being stuck? When does a campaign turn into a […]
11/5/2023 • 1 hour, 51 minutes, 34 seconds
Novara FM: In Search of Red Africa w/ Kevin Okoth
In the second half of the 20th century, revolutionaries across Africa were striving towards a decolonised future that never fully materialised. Folding together Marxism and Black radicalism, the global project of Third Worldism envisaged complete liberation, not only from colonial powers but from every kind of oppression. Kevin Okoth, a political theorist who grew up […]
11/2/2023 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 40 seconds
Downstream: How Protest Movements Fall Apart w/ Vincent Bevins
The 2010s were a time of mass protest, from the Arab Spring uprisings to Occupy Wall Street, Euromaidan and Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. Many of these movements shared a ‘horizontalist’ or leaderless approach, and most of them ended in failure. Why? American journalist Vincent Bevins talks to Ash about the pitfalls of protest and what […]
10/30/2023 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 46 seconds
Novara FM: Emergency Brake! On The Road With Just Stop Oil
Just Stop Oil is a group focused on climate change. So what were they doing blocking the path of a coachload of migrants last week? It all has to do with the effects of a warming world and predictions about the displacement of millions of people. In this episode, Richard Hames follows JSO activists as […]
10/25/2023 • 55 minutes, 48 seconds
Downstream: Philosophy’s Biggest Pessimist w/ John Gray
John Gray’s writing on political philosophy is not easily pigeonholed. Over the last half century he has explored ideas that span the whole political spectrum, and pissed off just about everybody with his central thesis that growth and progress are not inevitable. In his latest book, The New Leviathans, his attention turns to the changing […]
10/23/2023 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 49 seconds
Novara FM: Truth That Only Fiction Reveals w/ Pankaj Mishra
After 9/11, the writer and essayist Pankaj Mishra found himself losing faith in journalism’s ability to convey the complexity and nuance of the situation. Much of what he knew of the world, he realised, from history to political psychology, had originally been gleaned from fiction. Since then, Mishra has published several novels – including last year’s Run […]
10/19/2023 • 53 minutes, 4 seconds
Downstream: The Left Is Traumatised w/ Gary Younge
From his early career following Nelson Mandela on the campaign trail to his stint as US correspondent for the Guardian, Gary Younge has long been one of the most thoughtful and compassionate voices on the British left. He joins Ash Sarkar to discuss his eventful career in journalism, his experiences of reporting in Soviet Russia, […]
10/16/2023 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 41 seconds
Novara FM: Crossing the Class Divide w/ Lynsey Hanley
Born and raised on an ‘overspill’ estate in Birmingham, the writer Lynsey Hanley has experienced what a politician would call social mobility. In her books on housing estates and the British class system, she uses her own life to think through the psychosocial dimensions of crossing the class divide. In the third episode of our […]
10/12/2023 • 57 minutes, 10 seconds
Downstream: Europe Is Over w/ Yanis Varoufakis
In his new book, ‘Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism’, Yanis Varoufakis explores how giant tech firms, both in the US and China are expanding their control over the planet. His analysis is that, whilst material resources certainly matter, the real battle ground is over digital real estate. Aaron sat down with Yanis to talk about how […]
10/9/2023 • 57 minutes, 10 seconds
ACFM Trip 37: Surrealism
Things get weird on this Trip into Surrealism, a subject of great interest to ACFM and all historians of the weird left. Nadia, Jem and Keir follow a thread of off-kilter expression from Dadaism and André Breton’s manifesto through to Situationism, punk and Afrosurrealism. The gang explore the importance of surrealism to socialist thought and […]
10/8/2023 • 1 hour, 42 minutes, 17 seconds
Novara FM: Trillions of Tiny Flying Particles w/ Jay Owens
Last month it was revealed that 98% of Europeans are breathing toxic air. We’re slowly realising that the modern world is covered in the dust of environmental devastation, from particle air pollution to nuclear fallout and dried-up lakes. And as life on Earth gets hotter and drier, it’s going to get even dustier. As Jay […]
10/5/2023 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 52 seconds
Downstream: Into The Mirror World w/ Naomi Klein
When we were in lockdown, conspiracy theorists went on the march. The emergence of anti-vaccine scaremongering coupled with virulent antisemitism was disconcerting for all of us. But it was even more nuts for renowned journalist and author Naomi Klein, who noticed that she was being constantly getting mixed up with another author: Naomi Wolf. Klein […]
10/1/2023 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 20 seconds
Novara FM: The Other Enlightenment w/ Kenan Malik
For the second episode of our series on class, writer and broadcaster Kenan Malik takes us through three centuries of thought to explain the origins of identity politics. It all starts with Haitian Revolution and its contribution to the radical Enlightenment – a movement that sought to overcome the racism inherent in the other, liberal […]
9/28/2023 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 4 seconds
Downstream: Big Pharma’s Secrets w/ Nick Dearden
Nick Dearden has been an economic justice campaigner for over 20 years, and his attention was on the pharmaceutical industry when Covid-19 hit. But as the world began to sing the praises of pharmaceutical companies, Nick saw an unprecedented PR coup. Giant corporations capitalised on the crisis, tightening their stranglehold over the health of the […]
9/25/2023 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 4 seconds
Novara FM: Is It Time For Post-Doom Politics? w/ Jem Bendell
The politics of ‘deep adaptation’ is as intriguing as it is controversial. Jem Bendell, a former professor of sustainability leadership, launched the Deep Adaptation movement in 2018 by claiming that social collapse is not just a plausible outcome of climate change, but an extremely likely one. He sat down with Richard Hames in Berlin to […]
9/22/2023 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 54 seconds
Downstream: Empire, Austerity and Why Corbyn Was Right About Iraq w/ Rory Stewart
Rory Stewart has led a colourful life: diplomat in Indonesia, governor in post-invasion Iraq, founder of an NGO and a Member of Parliament. He’s also run for London Mayor and leader of the Conservative Party. But his latest occupation is podcaster, hosting ‘The Rest is Politics’ with Alastair Campbell. Rory sat down with Ash Sarkar […]
9/18/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 12 seconds
Novara FM: What Does Class Mean Now?
We’re going back to basics on Novara FM this autumn with a series about the big one: class. What does it mean to look at the world through the lens of class in the 2020s, an era of precarious work, rising inequality and elusive social mobility? Three classy thinkers join FM to investigate: political researcher […]
9/15/2023 • 54 minutes, 43 seconds
Downstream: Here’s How Power Really Works w/ Grace Blakeley
Most people know that the game is rigged. Those who set the rules – win the game. Grace Blakeley has made a career of studying the rules, exposing the exploitative ways in which powerful institutions govern our lives and figuring out ways in which we can beat the banker and resist the game itself. Grace […]
9/11/2023 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 45 seconds
Downstream: Oligarchs Are Ruining This Country w/ Sam Bright
Who exactly is the ruling class? The conspicuous top hat and tailed Bullingdon Club still exert dominance, but their era is waning. There are new folks in town. They can’t beat the obscene wealth of petrostate oligarchs, so they’ve joined them in ransacking the country. Ash is joined by Sam Bright, author of Bullingdon Club […]
9/4/2023 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 11 seconds
ACFM Trip 36: Festivals
Festivals. The perfect embodiment of the ACFM aesthetic, and even social politics… or are they? As the season comes to a close, Nadia, Jem and Keir ask themselves what festivals are really about. Is it music? Camping? The breakdown of everyday hierachies? Or is it just 20,000 people standing in a field? With help from […]
9/3/2023 • 2 hours, 9 minutes, 27 seconds
Novara FM: Will We Still Be Mad After Capitalism? w/ Micha Frazer-Carroll
Mental illness is endemic to life under capitalism, yet it’s still largely talked about as a personal and medical issue. But what if we ditched the campaigns to “raise awareness” and instead turned our attention to criticising the systems that make us mad? Micha Frazer-Carroll is a journalist and the author of Mad World: The […]
8/24/2023 • 52 minutes, 56 seconds
Novara FM: The Art of the Psyop w/ Trevor Paglen
We live in exciting times for ufology. We’re also coming to realise that many of the modern-day myths around visiting spacecraft were in fact planted by our own intelligence services. But how to tell fact from fiction? Trevor Paglen is an American artist known for investigating the invisible through the visible. His practice has taken […]
8/17/2023 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 32 seconds
Novara FM: The Oxygen of Democracy w/ Amy Goodman
“Democratic media is the oxygen of democracy.” That’s the maxim that motivates Amy Goodman, award-winning American journalist and longtime host of Democracy Now!, the daily news show that has blazed a trail for alternative media in its nearly three decades on air. Whether reporting on East Timor’s independence movement or following the pipeline protests at […]
8/10/2023 • 50 minutes, 28 seconds
Downstream: A History of Sex Scandals w/ Steven Methven
The media and the public seem to be fixated on sex scandals this year, from household names in the headlines to salacious rumours spread on social media. But haven’t we always been intrigued by the private lives of those in power? Ash Sarkar is joined by Novara Live researcher Steven Methven to delve into the […]
8/8/2023 • 1 hour, 42 minutes, 18 seconds
ACFM Trip 35: The Internet
In this bumper Trip, the gang survey the totalising modern phenomenon that is The Internet. Nadia, Keir and Jem dredge up their early interactions with a primitive web and explain how the dream of free and open communication was displaced by closed networks of e-commerce and data harvesting. Following Keir’s recent Microdose episode with Malcolm […]
Ahead of an ACFM Trip about the internet, Keir Milburn is joined by Malcolm Harris to talk about the unique political history of his hometown of Palo Alto, the intellectual laboratory for a century of American hegemony. The Kids These Days author tells a story that connects the founding of California, the violent removal of its […]
8/2/2023 • 55 minutes, 34 seconds
Downstream: Social Mobility Is A Lie w/ Dan Evans
Has the left misunderstood the state of our nation? Sociologist and trade unionist Dan Evans thinks so. He talks to Aaron about the unexpected power of the petty bourgeoisie – the insecure class between the working class and the bourgeoisie – and how its Thatcherite values of home ownership and entrepreneurialism have reshaped British politics in the last […]
7/31/2023 • 2 hours, 2 minutes, 34 seconds
Novara FM: The Empty Promise of Ethical Meat w/ Amber Husain
The global meat industry has grown fivefold since the 1960s and is still growing. Yet sales of vegan and so-called ‘plant-based’ alternatives are soaring, as more of us question our relationship with meat and our attitudes towards animal life and the planet’s health. In her provocative new book Meat Love, writer Amber Husain plucks examples […]
7/28/2023 • 50 minutes, 13 seconds
Downstream: Going Undercover With Extremists w/ Julia Ebner
Since 2016 we’ve seen mainstream politics take a turn for the weird, epitomised by the surprise success of populist projects like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. Since then, fringe views have continued to muscle into the middle ground, with conspiracy theories and far-right talking points trickling into political discourse. Julia Ebner has been […]
7/24/2023 • 56 minutes, 47 seconds
Novara FM: We Were Promised Robot Butlers w/ Helen Hester & Nick Srnicek
Once upon a time we dreamed of a world free from household drudgery, helped by robot butlers, self-cleaning appliances and “smart” homes that saved energy and tidied after themselves. Yet despite decades of high-tech innovation in the home, we’ve barely reduced our workload – and no one’s managed to automate the folding of laundry. So why […]
7/20/2023 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 12 seconds
Downstream: What Have We Got Wrong About Antiracism? w/ Arun Kundnani
After the summer of 2020, the liberal consensus was that in order to tackle racism, white people would have to look inside themselves and ‘do the work’. In 2023, this idea has spread from well-meaning allies on Twitter to the HR departments of corporate behemoths – all while the institutions that consolidate and expand systemic […]
7/17/2023 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 42 seconds
Novara FM: Revenge of the Commoners w/ Jon Moses
Several years ago, Jon Moses realised that the stunning nature he could see from his house in rural Herefordshire was inaccessible to him. From the nearby riverbanks to the local oak woodlands, the countryside revealed itself to be a private fortress. Now, as an organiser of the Right To Roam campaign, he’s leading the call […]
7/13/2023 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 39 seconds
Downstream: Is It Time for a Universal Basic Income? w/ Will Stronge
Most people’s lives are defined by the exchange of labour for a wage. But what if the state gave us all a regular wage, with zero strings attached, to spend as we wish? That’s the core idea behind universal basic income, or UBI. With England’s first UBI pilot programme now underway, Aaron talks to Will […]
7/11/2023 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 2 seconds
Downstream: Leaving London’s Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community w/ Izzy Posen
Izzy Posen grew up in London’s Hasidic Jewish community in Stamford Hill, receiving the bare minimum of secular education in a school that still practiced corporal punishment. Even with the strictures of this insular community, he developed an acute curiosity about the world, resulting in him teaching himself English and eventually leaving the community to […]
7/3/2023 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 22 seconds
Downstream: Can The Green Party Transform British Politics? w/ Zack Polanski
The Green Party of England and Wales has made extraordinary gains in the last two decades, especially in the last round of local elections. As well as its one MP – Caroline Lucas – the Greens are also the biggest party on several councils and have a majority on Mid Suffolk District Council. Aaron is […]
6/26/2023 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 16 seconds
ACFM Trip 34: The Outdoors
As the longest day arrives in the northern hemisphere, Jeremy, Nadia and Keir ponder our obsession with the great outdoors. How did parks become political? Why do we seek out the strenuous discomforts of hiking, camping and cold water? And what does Jem have against music festivals? They look back on a century of changing […]
6/25/2023 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 43 seconds
Downstream: How To Predict the Future w/ Peter Turchin
History is not just one thing after another. Historians spend lifetimes figuring out how X event in medieval France impacted Y event in 20th century Polynesia, but none of them have truly ‘done the math’ like this week’s guest. Coming from a background in applied mathematics, Peter Turchin has gathered an unprecedented amount of historical […]
6/19/2023 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 28 seconds
Novara FM: Let’s Go Outside
There are few ideas for addressing climate change more alluring than rewilding: the idea that nature, gently supported at first and then left more or less alone, might be able to heal itself and save us from our planetary woes at once. But even in such verdant visions of the future, the old question of […]
6/15/2023 • 57 minutes, 32 seconds
Downstream: The British Media Is Broken w/ Moya Lothian-McLean & Michael Walker
For a Downstream family special, Ash Sarkar is joined by Moya Lothian-McLean and Michael Walker – both contributing editors at Novara Media – to discuss their lives as journalists, the combustion of media companies Vice and gal-dem, the scandal surrounding Nick Cohen, and why Novara is taking on the mainstream media in the UK.
6/12/2023 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 48 seconds
Novara FM: Wave of Automation w/ Aaron Benanev
We’re living through a rapid acceleration in AI capability, a development that feels as scary as it is stunning. At the end of 2020, James Butler was joined by writer and researcher Aaron Benanev, author of Automation and the Future of Work, to talk about the current wave of automation in the context of a long […]
6/9/2023 • 1 hour, 48 seconds
Novara FM: The Mute Compulsion of Capitalism w/ Søren Mau
Capitalism’s power over us can feel mysterious, abstract. Not only is it baffling that a system rocked by crises can be so robust, but the terms used to describe it in Marxism can also be convoluted. Søren Mau, a young communist philosopher from Denmark, has set out to solve both problems: cutting a clean path […]
6/1/2023 • 55 minutes, 46 seconds
Downstream: How Corporations Control the Government w/ Matt Kennard
Many people would agree that corporations have undue influence over our democracies. But exactly how this influence is exerted is tricky to work out – and that is by design. Behind innocuous-sounding acronyms and worthy-sounding trade agreements are the real cogs that allow the global corporate machine to corrupt societies. Our guest this week Matt […]
5/29/2023 • 1 hour, 24 minutes, 44 seconds
Novara FM: Palestine as Showroom w/ Antony Loewenstein
Israel needs friends. And one of the main tools it has used to get them is its arms industry. The 10th biggest in the world, it increasingly specialises in the kind of digital surveillance technology European governments love to pretend they never use. Such powerful technology has not only forced many of its former adversaries […]
5/25/2023 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 43 seconds
Downstream: God-Like AI Is Closer Than You Think w/ Ian Hogarth
Ian Hogarth has invested in more than 50 artificial intelligence companies and is co-author of the annual State of AI report. And he’s worried. Not only about the disruptive consequences of machine learning for human employment, but about the potential rise of an ‘AGI’: artificial general intelligence. For Hogarth, the prospect of a machine able […]
5/22/2023 • 1 hour, 15 minutes, 59 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Sitcoms At Work
After last week’s look at the politics of comedy, this time the gang turn to the gogglebox for a Microdose about sitcoms. Specifically, we’re watching comedy shows set in the workplace – from shoddy B&Bs to big-box superstores, from Wernham Hogg to Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. What lies beyond the double entendres and cheap sexism […]
5/18/2023 • 1 hour, 28 minutes, 5 seconds
Novara FM: Tout Le Monde Déteste La Police
The French left is in its most explosive state for a generation. In response to the pension reforms pushed through by Emmanuel Macron’s government, the Yellow Vests, unions, students and environmentalists alike are linking up their struggles. The tactical vocabulary has expanded: strikes and official protests have been supplemented by blockades, ‘wild demonstrations’ and power […]
5/17/2023 • 44 minutes, 56 seconds
ACFM Trip 33: Comedy
What’s the point of comedy? Stand-ups were at the forefront of the cultural backlash against Thatcherism, but today’s meme-driven lols are rarely in the service of left-wing politics. Meanwhile, the world’s most powerful people seem intent on having a laugh, from podcasting politicians to presidential comedians. In this Trip, Jeremy Gilbert, Nadia Idle and Keir […]
5/14/2023 • 1 hour, 37 minutes, 34 seconds
Downstream: The Truth about the GDR w/ Katja Hoyer
In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down and the experiment of communist East Germany came to an end. Yet for a while it was a successful project, raising living standards against massive odds and providing stability for the first time in half a century. So is it time to reassess Europe’s most wealthy, and advanced […]
5/8/2023 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 54 seconds
Novara FM: Much More Freedom Is Necessary W/ Sophie K. Rosa
Despite the gains won by a century of feminism, the conveyor belt of normie life still pushes us towards the nuclear family and the picket fence. We can sense that our freedom is still limited by our material conditions – the prohibitive cost of housing, for instance – but is it also limited by our lack […]
5/4/2023 • 56 minutes, 53 seconds
Downstream: How the Media Lies About Palestine w/ Mohammed el-Kurd
Palestinians don’t often get to tell their own stories, and on the rare occasion they do it’s on highly limited terms. Ash Sarkar speaks to writer and poet Mohammed el-Kurd, Palestine correspondent for The Nation, about growing up in occupied territory and why journalists fail to tell the truth about Israel.
5/3/2023 • 1 hour, 27 seconds
Novara FM: Atomic Split w/ Matthew T. Huber and Andrea Vetter
Since the 1950s, nuclear power has been met with a resounding “nein danke!” from many left-wing campaigners, even as it has become a fixture of the energy mix, powering 15% of the UK grid today – down from 25% in the 1990s. Supporters on the left say nuclear is a necessity if we stand a […]
4/27/2023 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 30 seconds
Downstream: Is the World Really Run by a ‘Leftist Elite?’ w/ Matthew Goodwin
Everyone rails against the elite, but who are they? The left would say it’s the billionaires, the media barons, the oil tycoons, and the 1% – those who control our economy, our housing, and basic necessities. However, the right increasingly insists on the existence of a “new elite” of woke corporations, “social justice warrior” celebrities, […]
4/25/2023 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 34 seconds
Novara FM: How to Blow Up The Box Office w/ Jordan Sjol
What if Das Kapital was made into a Marvel movie, with a team of workers fighting the supervillain ‘Capital’? Or if Silvia Federici’s Wages Against Housework had been a kitchen sink drama? That’s roughly the proposition of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, a slick new action movie based on Andreas Malm’s 2021 polemic. Heeding […]
4/21/2023 • 59 minutes, 10 seconds
Novara FM: Eat Sleep Protest Repeat
What’s it going to take to save the planet? After another year of extreme temperatures and limp promises, climate activists are at a strategic crossroads. Extinction Rebellion has declared a shift away from disruptive tactics. Splinter groups like Just Stop Oil remain committed to direct action, even at huge personal cost. And in Germany, the […]
4/14/2023 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 34 seconds
Downstream: How We Ended Up With The Worst Media In The World w/ Ash Sarkar and Aaron Bastani
In The UK, the last few decades have shown the steepest decline in trust in the media globally, second only to Egypt. How did we get here? Is it as simple as Rupert Murdoch wielding his malice more fervently here then elsewhere? Or are there insidious cultural factors that meant our newspapers, and increasingly our […]
4/9/2023 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 3 seconds
Novara FM: On The Frontiers of Deviance w/ Sita Balani
If we don’t believe that race is a scientific fact, why can’t we shake it off? The answer, according to Sita Balani, a lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, has to do with how race is made through sexuality, and sexuality through race – like the two sides of a Möbius strip. Drawing on […]
4/5/2023 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 5 seconds
Downstream: The Housing Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think w/ Vicky Spratt
Vicky Spratt is a London-based journalist and campaigner who writes on housing and the rental crisis. Her book Tenants is out now with Profile Books.
4/3/2023 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 16 seconds
Novara FM: Planet Of The Cops w/ William I. Robinson
The world is drowning in cops. From uniformed guards in supermarkets to private security contractors in war zones, policing is increasingly being carried out by companies, not states. Who are they protecting? William I. Robinson, professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, believes that the root of global over-policing is what he […]
3/29/2023 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 6 seconds
Downstream: We Must Ban Private Schools w/ Richard Beard
Britain is unique in the way that public schools (that’s private schools to anyone outside of Britain) have a stranglehold on the establishment. Alumni of these schools are massively overrepresented in the upper echelons of society – so is it any wonder that the media, the judicial system and the political class treat normal people […]
3/26/2023 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 49 seconds
Novara FM: The Long, Long Arm of the Law w/ Mark Neocleous
In the wake of another report depicting the Metropolitan Police as institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, the idea of reform seems increasingly futile. Can the police ever be held to account? This week on Novara FM, we’re republishing James Butler’s conversation with Mark Neocleous, Professor of the Critique of Political Economy at Brunel University. Through […]
3/23/2023 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 23 seconds
Downstream: Billions Will Die If They Don’t Listen To Us w/ Roger Hallam
Roger Hallam was released from jail a few weeks before this interview. He was held on remand for 109 days after being charged with ‘conspiracy to cause a public nuisance’ – simply for giving a speech. He has been part of some of the most influential activist groups of the last few years including Extinction […]
3/20/2023 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 17 seconds
Downstream: We Are on a Path Towards Authoritarianism w/ Mehdi Hasan
Mehdi Hasan is one of the most prominent political journalists in the US. He talks to Aaron Bastani about the challenges facing the world today: authoritarianism, the role of media in shaping public opinion, and the need for a more equitable society. His new book, “Win Every Argument” is out now.
3/13/2023 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 47 seconds
ACFM Trip 32: Myth
From the epic of Gilgamesh to the archetypes of Carl Jung, the mysterious power of myth is at hand. Is Genesis as mythical as Oedipus? How did the fantasy of Brexit become a reality? And what stories underpin the emerging theory of Gilbertism? In this Trip, Jeremy, Nadia and Keir explore the alternate realities created […]
3/12/2023 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 56 seconds
Downstream: The Truth About Snowflakes w/ Ash Sarkar, Aaron Bastani and Dalia Gebrial
The media is awash with allegations of censorship. The works of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming have been combed through to rid them of offensive tropes and language. Who is this seemingly gratuitous raft of cultural editing in service of? A lot of the media will have you believe that it’s the ‘snowflake’. The younger […]
3/6/2023 • 2 hours, 5 minutes, 11 seconds
Downstream: The Big Con w/ Mariana Mazzucato
The management consultancy industry is worth around a trillion dollars, yet few people on the street could tell you what all that money is for. Much of it is spent by governments, with the UK leading the charge. A huge range of services are contracted out to these huge, opaque companies. And in the long […]
2/28/2023 • 51 minutes, 27 seconds
Novara FM: Liberty, Democracy, Piracy w/ Marcus Rediker
What was the Enlightenment? A time of wigs, books and noble thoughts? Or was it a little more swashbuckling than that, and perhaps wearing an eye patch? The final book by David Graeber is concerned with pirates and their lives: nasty, brutish and short, for sure – but also free and strikingly egalitarian. In Pirate Enlightenment, […]
2/22/2023 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 51 seconds
Downstream: Britain Is Being Scammed by Landlords w/ Michael Walker
Britain is in the grip of a generation-defining housing crisis. Private renters are being forced more and more into living in accommodation of a lower and lower standard – that’s if they can find somewhere to live in the first place. To discuss the problem, and how it can be fixed, Aaron Bastani is joined […]
2/20/2023 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 16 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Strikes On Screen
The ACFM groupmind went into overdrive on last week’s Trip, a wide-ranging conversation about the long and violent history of strikes. This time, Nadia, Jem and Keir take a closer look at cultural representations of worker organisation – that is to say, they sat themselves down with a huge stack of old movies and an […]
2/19/2023 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 1 second
Downstream: The Truth About Conspiracies w/ Nicky Woolf
From covering mass shootings as US Correspondent for The Guardian to investigating QAnon for a year for the podcast ‘Finding Q’, Nicky Woolf has been plumbing the grimmer depths of the American psyche for a long time. He joins Ash to discuss the mysterious ‘Havana Syndrome’, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Making Nazis Afraid Again. You […]
2/14/2023 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 7 seconds
Novara FM: Abolition Pending Revolution w/ Shanice McBean and Aviah Day
Are the police running out of excuses? Police wearing body cameras still kill unarmed Black people. Sexual violence remains rife after inquiries and exposés. As reforms fail, the case for much more than piecemeal change builds. But at the same time, capitalism seems to have run out of other ways to maintain social control. Real […]
2/8/2023 • 56 minutes, 41 seconds
Downstream: Why Britain Needs To Ditch the Monarchy w/ Graham Smith
With Charles’ coronation approaching, it’s time to scrutinise not just the man himself but the monarchy as an idea. Joining Aaron to explore all things royal – from how they fund their luxurious lifestyles to the ways they secretly exert political influence – is Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, a pressure group driven by a […]
2/7/2023 • 1 hour, 30 minutes, 58 seconds
ACFM Trip 31: Strikes
In the midst of Britain’s biggest wave of industrial action in years, the gang turn their attention to the long and bloodied history of strikes. Who do we find on the picket line? Nadia, Keir and Jeremy explore a lineage that stretches back hundreds of years, from matchgirls to miners, from 1840s century Chartists to […]
2/5/2023 • 2 hours, 6 minutes, 13 seconds
TyskySour: Britain’s Energy Nightmare
From Shell’s record profits to British Gas breaking into poor peoples’ homes, energy companies are taking us all for a ride. Plus: Rishi Sunak is epicly unpopular 100 days into his premiership; and economists aren’t heeding Hunt’s calls for positivity about the British economy. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for […]
2/3/2023 • 48 minutes, 21 seconds
TyskySour: Half A Million On Strike
500,000 public sector workers have taken part in the biggest strike action in a decade. Michael Walker speaks to Daniel Kebede from the NEU on why teachers are on strike, and to Dalia Gebrial about the significance of the day. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
2/1/2023 • 52 minutes, 46 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak’s NHS Pay Lies
Rishi Sunak has promised more beds and ambulances for the NHS, but until he pays NHS workers properly he’ll have no-one to staff them. Plus: Sunak desperately tries to claim decisive strength after finally sacking Nadhim Zahawi; and we speak to Dr Yara Hawari on further violence in Palestine. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. […]
1/30/2023 • 52 minutes, 34 seconds
Downstream: Science Isn’t Truth w/ Adam Rutherford
One of the most powerful justifications for racism in the 20th century was eugenics. Based on pseudo-scientific certainties cherry-picked from the messy world of genetics and behaviour, belief in eugenics led to some of the most profound horrors humans have ever experienced. So why are so many aspects of race science coming back alive today? […]
1/30/2023 • 1 hour, 44 minutes, 42 seconds
TyskySour: Hunt’s Economy Speech
Jeremy Hunt has today begged businesses and journalists to cheer up about the British economy. Can a positive attitude really save us all from 13 years of Tory-induced decline? Plus: Nadhim Zahawi gets slammed by everyone over his tax affairs; and Michael takes on a landlord. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
1/27/2023 • 55 minutes, 51 seconds
TyskySour: Asylum Seeker Children Kidnapped
The Home Office has allowed hundreds of children seeking asylum to go missing. We speak to refugee and aslyum specialist Lou Calvey to find out what’s going on. Plus: the Richard Sharp scandal at the BBC gets worse; and Sunak faces yet more criticism over Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. […]
1/25/2023 • 59 minutes, 6 seconds
TyskySour: Zahawi On The Ropes
Nadhim Zahawi’s political career is on the ropes, and Rishi Sunak is not enjoying a renewed focus on super-rich people who try and avoid tax. Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar discuss the latest Tory scandals. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
1/23/2023 • 57 minutes, 37 seconds
Downstream: The Sexual Marketplace w/ Annie Lord
Dating might seem a trivial subject in an era of rising inequality and climate crisis. But finding romantic love – or learning how to live without it – is a big part of all of our lives, and how that happens, from the rise of dating apps to the liberalisation of divorce, has been transformed […]
1/23/2023 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 1 second
TyskySour: Starmer At Davos
Keir Starmer has spent the week schmoozing big banks in Davos. Michael Walker & Aaron Bastani discuss his love affair with the world’s elites. Plus: Gary Stevenson calls out the Tories economic record; and Aaron Bastani talks at TED. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
1/20/2023 • 57 minutes, 19 seconds
Novara FM: Havens in a Heartless World
The work that keeps us clean, fed, clothed and ready to go to work each day is known as social reproduction. Without this unwaged labour, capitalism would collapse. Yet the daily drudgery of cooking, cleaning and raising children is underpinned by our most sincere expressions of love and care. Writer and organiser Alva Gotby refers […]
1/19/2023 • 58 minutes, 1 second
TyskySour: Nurses On Strike
Rishi Sunak’s deflections from the NHS crisis aren’t fooling anyone. On the day of another nurses strike, Michael Walker and Rivkah Brown discuss Britain’s Tory-created mess. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: novaramedia.com/support
1/18/2023 • 52 minutes, 22 seconds
Downstream: Tories Don’t Think w/ Peter Hitchens
Peter Hitchens is something of an iconoclast. Among his colleagues on the right, the Mail on Sunday columnist stands out as a heterodox thinker – yet he’s perhaps one of the few who could be described as a genuine conservative. Aaron Bastani meets him to discuss his previous life as a Trotskyist and a Moscow […]
1/18/2023 • 1 hour, 45 minutes, 1 second
TyskySour: Anti-Strike Law Showdown
As MPs debate new strike laws – and trade unionists protest them – we ask a legal expert whether the government’s arguments for minimum service rules stack up. Plus: Sunak blocks the new Scottish gender reform; and another Met Police officer has admitted to countless horrific crimes. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support […]
1/16/2023 • 56 minutes, 51 seconds
TyskySour: Doctors Tear Into The Tories For NHS Collapse
With the NHS at breaking point, Junior doctors attack the government on BBC Question Time, while the Tory minister present denies the health service is in crisis. Plus: Shocking recordings of Andrew Tate’s misogyny are revealed as the internet celebrity faces sex trafficking charges in Romania. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
1/13/2023 • 52 minutes, 8 seconds
TyskySour: Ambulance Workers On Strike
After a decade of Tory under-investment, ambulance workers are the latest group to strike to defend the NHS. We speak to one of them on the show. Plus: Two Tory MPs go on mad rants; and Mick Lynch tells a Tory MP the reality of Britain’s railways. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gerbil. __________________________________________ Support […]
1/11/2023 • 53 minutes, 43 seconds
TyskySour: Union Talks Break Down
Meetings between government ministers and union leaders have ended in deadlock. Have the Tories quashed any hope of avoiding months of public sector strikes? Plus: Supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro storm Brazil’s Congress. We speak to David Adler in Sao Paulo. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little […]
1/9/2023 • 54 minutes, 13 seconds
TyskySour: Right To Strike Under Threat
Rishi Sunak’s proposed new anti-strike laws have provoked outrage from the labour movement. Tonight we speak to Riccardo La Torre from the FBU. Plus: Prince Harry’s has drawn criticism after saying he killed 25 people in Afghanistan; and Keir Starmer makes a bizarre election pledge. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for […]
1/6/2023 • 55 minutes, 51 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak’s Lame Duck Speech
Rishi Sunak’s promise of more maths education is a pitiful response to Britain’s new status as an international basket case. Plus: Mick Lynch calls out more Tory lies regurgitated by transport secretary Mark Harper; and shocking reports arrive of record breaking temperatures across Europe. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for […]
1/4/2023 • 56 minutes, 5 seconds
Downstream: Novara’s 2022 Roundtable Review
Ash is joined by Novara’s own Aaron Bastani, Moya Lothian-McLean, Michael Walker and James Butler to talk about what was bugging them in the year 2022. From landlordism to normativity and a nasty turn in identity politics and from the declining fortunes of Europe to the absolute state of the discourse, the Novara team summarises […]
12/28/2022 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 57 seconds
TyskySour: The Year of Strikes
2022 saw three prime ministers, two monarchs and a shed load of industrial action. Michael Walker and Owen Jones discuss the year that was. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
12/23/2022 • 58 minutes, 24 seconds
TyskySour: Massive Strike Wave
With more strikes announced, December is now the biggest month for walkouts since 1989. Plus: the Scottish parliament debates historic gender recognition reforms and Piers Morgan platforms Andrew Tate. With Aaron Bastani and Nihal El Aasar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
12/21/2022 • 48 minutes, 8 seconds
Novara FM: A Christmas Carol W/ James Butler
Cutting-edge research has recently revealed that festive movie The Muppet Christmas Carol is actually based on a book. Many are now speculating that there may even be historical context at play. But what could it be? To unwrap the politics of A Christmas Carol, Eleanor Penny is joined by James Butler, co-founder of Novara Media […]
12/20/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 15 seconds
TyskySour: High Court Rules Rwanda Plan Legal
Britain’s High Court has ruled that it is legal for the government to send migrants to Rwanda. Will it now actually happen? Plus: Twitter users want Elon Musk gone and Jeremy Clarkson makes a vile attack on Meghan Markle. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Explainer: What Does Qatar Really Want? https://youtu.be/oZelNG85va4 __________________________________________ Support […]
12/19/2022 • 44 minutes, 20 seconds
Downstream: Our Own Cynicism Is the Left’s Biggest Enemy w/ Billy Bragg
Throughout his 30-year career, Billy Bragg has never shied away from politics. From playing benefit gigs for miners in the 1980s to clashing with the BNP in his hometown of Barking, he has always used his influence to help those who need it. Ash recently sat down with Billy to discuss his 2006 book, The […]
12/19/2022 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 12 seconds
ACFM Trip 30: Gifts
Adam Smith claimed that “the propensity to truck, barter and exchange… is common to all men”, but anthropologists know that this isn’t the case. In fact, humans tend towards the opposite. So why do we feel compelled to give away our wealth? Nadia, Jem and Keir unwrap the cultural and economic pressures on doing pressies […]
12/18/2022 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 47 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 5: Where Do We Go From Here?
As the Qatar World Cup draws to a close, Tom Williams and Keir Milburn wonder about the future of international football and ask the most important question of all: what is to be done? On the final episode of Pro Revolution Soccer, they’re joined by David Wearing, political journalist and lecturer in international relations at […]
12/16/2022 • 48 minutes, 55 seconds
TyskySour: Four Die In Channel Tragedy
Four tragic migrant deaths in the Channel, a Qatar corruption scandal and the London Fire Brigade in ‘special measures’. Plus: an exclusive interview with Mick Lynch. With Moya Lothian-McLean, Aaron Bastani & Polly Smythe. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
12/14/2022 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 22 seconds
Downstream: Twitter’s Toxic Downfall w/ Richard Seymour
What is it about Twitter that turns us into such objectionable creatures? What has social media done to the language we use and the way we interact with each other? Ash Sarkar talks to Richard Seymour, author of The Twittering Machine, about the state of social media: tweets, memes, grief trolling, outrage porn, duckface, Spidermen […]
12/13/2022 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 5 seconds
TyskySour: Army Called In To Break Strikes
Instead of negotiating with striking workers, the Tories are calling in the army. A report backed by Michael Gove takes aim at Novara Media. Plus: Jonathan Portes debunks Tory economic lies. With Michael Walker & Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
12/12/2022 • 55 minutes, 56 seconds
TyskySour: More Strikes
As Rishi Sunak threatens to crack down on striking workers, he’s giving a bung to millionaires in the city. Plus: renters getting screwed and the right wing backlash to Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary. With Michael Walker & Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
12/9/2022 • 56 minutes, 57 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 4: Why Do We Love Football So Much?
Football elicits some of the most intense emotions we’re capable of feeling, from the hug-a-stranger joy of winning trophies to the phone-in misery of relegation. At the end of the day, it’s only a game – but maybe games are more serious than we think? To discuss the emotional and social meaning of football, Keir […]
12/9/2022 • 41 minutes, 32 seconds
TyskySour: Christmas Strikes Announced
Another day, another wave of strikes. UK Border Force, the Fire Brigades Union and ambulance workers are just some of the many strikes set to clash with Christmas. Plus: Rishi Sunak U-turns on his pledge not to build onshore wind farms. With Michael Walker & Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
12/7/2022 • 51 minutes, 50 seconds
Novara FM: 1971, the Year Britain Became White
What if all of Britain is stolen goods? In the 1970s and 80s, a series of Acts of Parliament defined who did and who didn’t count as a citizen. ‘The Law of Patriality’ might sound like an obscure detail in a dusty tome, but, argues legal scholar Nadine El-Enany, it’s fundamental to modern Britain. These […]
12/7/2022 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 31 seconds
Downstream: Everything We Think We Know About Human History Is Wrong w/ David Wengrow
New research shows our distant ancestors enjoyed a far more complex – and creative – existence than we had ever imagined. If humans have always experimented with ways of being, why are we told all the problems of our world are the result of inevitable progress? David Wengrow is an archaeologist and the co-author, with […]
12/7/2022 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 3 seconds
TyskySour: Labour’s Plan to Abolish House of Lords
Keir Starmer has today committed Labour to abolishing the House of Lords. How radical will Labour be when it comes to the UK constitution? Plus, Nadhim Zahawi hits a new low and we ask Aghileh Djafari-Marbini if Iran will follow through with disbanding the morality police. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
12/5/2022 • 50 minutes, 1 second
TyskySour: Tories Stare Into Defeat
After a by-election trouncing for the Tories, Sajid Javid is the latest MP to announce he’ll be standing down. Are MPs already fleeing from Sunak’s sinking ship? Plus: Kanye West goes full-blown Nazi and a GB News host’s defence of royal racism falls flat on Question Time. With Michael Walker & Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support […]
12/2/2022 • 48 minutes, 48 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 3: Should You Support Your National Team?
As Wales crash out of the World Cup after defeat against England, Keir Milburn and Tom Williams question their dedication to international football. After all, how can you support a national team if you don’t believe in borders? On the third episode of Pro Revolution Soccer, Keir and Tom are joined by writer and broadcaster […]
12/2/2022 • 46 minutes, 50 seconds
Novara FM: From Plantation to Platform w/ Dalia Gebrial
After the 2008 financial crisis, a vast number of people were booted from the formal labour market. Many of them ended up in the gig economy: Uber, Deliveroo, Fiverr. Their exploitation at the hands of these platforms is well known, but often overlooked are the processes of racialisation that contribute to this reorganisation of labour […]
12/1/2022 • 1 hour, 11 minutes, 2 seconds
TyskySour: Strike Wave Britain
Royal Mail workers, lecturers and sixth-form teachers are all taking industrial action today. We speak to Polly Smythe about Britain’s latest strike wave. Plus: Rishi Sunak defends private schools, racism at Buckingham Palace and the far right freak out over census data. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little […]
11/30/2022 • 57 minutes, 20 seconds
Downstream: How to Hide a Billion Pounds w/ Oliver Bullough
Imagine you had a few million ill-gotten pounds, dollars or rubles. Where would you stash it? You’d need to make sure no one knew it was yours, or where you’d nabbed it from. It turns out that the best place in the world for these money-stashing services is the UK. Oligarchs from all over the […]
11/29/2022 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 37 seconds
TyskySour: Protests In China
Opposition to zero-COVID policies has sparked the biggest wave of protests in China in decades. We speak to Yuan Yang about their significance. Plus: Rishi Sunak faces Tory rebels, Matt Hancock leaves the jungle and Just Stop Oil’s latest protests. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 […]
11/28/2022 • 59 minutes, 6 seconds
ACFM Trip 29: Sleep
We don’t get enough of it. We take drugs all day to fend it off. We’ll do it when we’re dead. And it’s our last line of defence against 24/7 capitalism. Sleep, the main course in life’s feast! The ACFM crew rouse themselves from slumber to wokeness in this month’s Trip, exploring the political and […]
11/27/2022 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 3 seconds
TyskySour: Nurses To Go On Strike
After a decade of falling pay, nurses have announced dates for their first national strikes in 106 years. Can they take on the Tories and win? Also on the show, the glamorous Tory peer secretly profiting from a PPE company and the latest in Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ […]
11/25/2022 • 54 minutes, 33 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 2: What Does Qatar Want?
Trophies. Glory. Trade deals. Kudos. What does Qatar really want from the World Cup? In the second episode of Pro Revolution Soccer, Keir Milburn and Tom Williams reflect on the opening week of the tournament and dig deeper into the political and sporting flashpoints so far. They’re joined by Kate Mason from the Football Ramble, […]
11/25/2022 • 43 minutes, 36 seconds
TyskySour: Supreme Court Rules Against Indyref
The Supreme Court have today confirmed that Scotland can’t legally hold an independence referendum without Westminster’s permission. Will this simply increase the case for independence? Plus: Suella Braverman crumbles under pressure. Meanwhile, Mick Lynch keeps his cool. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebriel. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
11/23/2022 • 1 hour, 41 seconds
Novara FM: There Was No Theory, It Was All Action W/ Sarah Schulman
The Aids Coalition To Unleash Power, better known as ACT UP, is one of the most effective social movements in American history. New York City author and activist Sarah Schulman has returned many times to the lessons and provocations of this radically decentralised, unapologetically confrontational direct action group, which was founded in 1987 with one […]
11/23/2022 • 58 minutes, 10 seconds
TyskySour: World Cup Controversy
From bizarre FIFA speeches to LGBT wristband bans, Qatar 2022 continues to be marred by controversy. Plus: Labour’s “corrupt” reselection process and Joe Lycett’s challenge to David Beckham. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
11/21/2022 • 59 minutes, 2 seconds
TyskySour: Hunt Won’t Save Britain’s Economy
Jeremy Hunt has blamed tax rises & spending cuts on the war in Ukraine and Covid-19. In reality, it’s the result of 12 years of economic failure. Plus: Twitter in chaos & World Cup controversy. With Michael Walker & Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
11/18/2022 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 42 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer: Should We Boycott the Qatar World Cup?
Welcome to Pro Revolution Soccer, a football podcast that doesn’t leave politics at the turnstile. In the first episode of a five-part series, Keir Milburn and Tom Williams confront the most corrupt, rapacious and deadly World Cup in sporting history. Repulsed by football’s hyper-capitalism but compromised by their desire to watch Wales v England, Keir […]
11/18/2022 • 39 minutes, 5 seconds
TyskySour: Inflation Highest In 41 Years
Rishi Sunak is using record inflation to justify austerity 2.0. We ask James Meadway if that makes economic sense. Plus: Trump launches his 2024 presidential election bid; and the shameful neglect by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing that led to the death of a 2-year-old. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as […]
11/16/2022 • 45 minutes, 38 seconds
Downstream: Labour are as Bad as the Tories on Immigration w/ Maya Goodfellow
We’re told by the Conservatives and their acolytes in the media that the Labour Party is — and always has been — soft on immigration. Little could be further from the truth. Ash Sarkar meets Dr Maya Goodfellow to talk about New Labour’s inhumane immigration policies, the problem with the term ‘economic migrant’ and how […]
11/16/2022 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 25 seconds
Pro Revolution Soccer: Coming This Friday
On Sunday, the World Cup kicks off in Qatar. How did a tiny dictatorship with a dismal human rights record, deadly summer temperatures and barely any football infrastructure end up hosting the world’s biggest tournament? And what’s a leftwing fan going to do about it? Keir Milburn (Leeds United) and Tom Williams (Southampton) tackle the […]
11/15/2022 • 56 seconds
TyskySour: UK-France Deal
Suella Braverman’s headline-grabbing migrant deal is a re-heated version of policies that have already failed. Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar discuss the farcical nature of migration politics in Britain. Plus: Keir Starmer plots to block Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
11/14/2022 • 39 minutes, 21 seconds
TyskySour: Musk Creates Twitter Chaos
Is Elon Musk trying to kill Twitter? Moya Lothian-McLean and Ash Sarkar discuss the company’s public meltdown – and what this means for politics. Plus: Kwasi Kwarteng attempts to re-write history and Dominic Raab makes the Westminster pest list. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
11/11/2022 • 48 minutes, 49 seconds
TyskySour: Surprising US Midterm Results
Pro-Trump candidates fall short and abortion wins big in the US midterm elections. We discuss the results with Sarah Jaffe. Plus: Gavin Williamson resigns from Rishi Sunak’s government after his abusive texts are leaked; and nurses are set to go on strike in Britain for the first time ever. With Dalia Gebrial and Michael Walker. […]
11/9/2022 • 43 minutes, 22 seconds
Novara FM: History’s Biggest Benefits Cheat
The welfare state was founded in the postwar period, seemingly as payment for a profound national sacrifice. Strengthening it has been a goal of the left for decades. The argument is as simple as it is radical: the wealth of the nation must be shared among its people. But where did that wealth come from? […]
11/9/2022 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 19 seconds
Downstream: It’s Now or Never w/ Chris Packham
Chris Packham is a national treasure. A naturalist, photographer and author, he’s best known for bringing nature into our living rooms as host of The Really Wild Show, Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch. He’s also an environmental campaigner and an anti-hunting advocate who has been targeted by threats and arson for his views. Aaron Bastani talks […]
11/8/2022 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 22 seconds
TyskySour: Hunt Plans Extreme Austerity
Sunak’s flip-flop on attending COP-27 has already embarrassed Britain, but what’s really at stake during at the climate talks? We speak to Simon Lewis at the conference in Egypt. Plus: Keir Starmer says the NHS employs too many foreign workers; and is Jeremy Hunt is set to unleash austerity 2.0? With Michael Walker and Ash […]
11/7/2022 • 52 minutes, 13 seconds
TyskySour: Tories Defend Immigration Abuses
Tory minister Chris Philp has said it is “a bit of a cheek” or asylum seekers to complain about conditions at processing centres. Plus: Elon Musk’s twitter takeover hits stumbling blocks; and the World Cup sees FIFA try to silence critics of Qatar. With Ash Sarkar and Michael Walker. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as […]
11/4/2022 • 55 minutes, 51 seconds
TyskySour: Tories Defend Manston Conditions
As Sunak continues to defend Braverman’s decisions over Marston, the Home Office is dumping asylum seekers in London without anywhere to stay. How low can this government go? Plus: Netanyahu is back in power after general elections in Israel; and Matt Hancock’s decision to go on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. With […]
11/2/2022 • 43 minutes, 11 seconds
Novara FM: Identity Politics Hijacked w/ Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
What is identity politics? Recent definitions have strayed some distance from the ideas laid out by the Black radical feminists of the Combahee River Collective. In their original 1977 statement, the Boston collective established a simple but undeniable truth: what you know depends on who you are. The problem, as American philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò […]
11/2/2022 • 59 minutes, 56 seconds
TyskySour: Lula Wins Brazil Election
After Lula’s close re-election as president of Brazil, we speak to Vincent Bevins in São Paulo about a historic political comeback. Plus: Liz Truss and Suella Braverman are criticised for security leaks; and a migrant detention centre in Kent is hit by a shocking terrorist attack. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
10/31/2022 • 52 minutes, 44 seconds
ACFM Trip 28: Horror
ACFM reunite for spooky season with one thing on their minds: the horror, the horror! Nadia, Jeremy and Keir embark on a historical, literary and cinematic exploration of scary stuff. Why do (some) humans love to be terrified? What can horror teach us about the nature of the universe? What do the latest crop of […]
10/30/2022 • 1 hour, 29 minutes, 3 seconds
TyskySour: Musk Buys Twitter
Elon Musk has finalised his purchase of Twitter. What does it mean for free speech, corporate power, and the next US presidential election? Plus: Julia Hartley-Brewer spouts climate denial nonsense on BBC Question Time; and Rishi Sunak is challenged by an elderly woman on nurses pay. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
10/28/2022 • 58 minutes, 21 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak’s First PMQs
Rishi Sunak has defended his appointment his appointment of Suella Braverman as home secretary during his first PMQs. Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial discuss how Sunak fared against Starmer. Plus: Nadine Dorries makes car-crash debut on TalkTV; and Richard Murphy explains how Rishi Sunak’s economic agenda is dangerous. __________________________________________ Read Richard Murphy’s analysis on Sunak’s […]
10/26/2022 • 52 minutes, 32 seconds
Novara FM: The Unfinished Fight w/ Camilla Fitzsimons
In 2018, Ireland voted to repeal the 8th Amendment of its constitution, which stated that a person and the foetus living inside their body had an equal right to life. Yet the struggle around abortion is not over in Ireland, or indeed anywhere else – a fact underscored by the dramatic overturning of Roe v. […]
10/26/2022 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 38 seconds
TyskySour: Robo-Rishi Becomes PM
Rishi Sunak has made his first speech as prime minister and picked his cabinet. What have we learned about how he’ll govern? Michael Walker and Owen Jones discuss. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
10/25/2022 • 32 minutes, 47 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak Is New PM
After Johnson and Mordaunt bailed, Rishi Sunak will become Britain’s next prime minister. Are we about to be hit by austerity 2.0 from an unelected technocrat? Plus: Welsh actress is Rakie Ayola hits back on ridiculous ‘woke’ questioning; and Nadhim Zawahi is left high and dry by Johnson With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ […]
10/24/2022 • 51 minutes, 25 seconds
TyskySour: Boris Plots Comeback
Less than two months after leaving office in disgrace, Boris Johnson is plotting his return to Downing Street. Could it really happen? Plus: Britons want a general election now; and the controversial exit payment, expenses, and Lord’s appointments that Liz Truss will get after leaving Number 10. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support […]
10/21/2022 • 57 minutes, 47 seconds
TyskySour: Braverman Resigns
In less than five days, Liz Truss has lost her chancellor and now her home secretary. Will Suella Braverman’s downfall hasten the end of the prime minister? Plus: As the show is live the Tory party descends into chaos amid a Commons vote on fracking. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media […]
10/19/2022 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 31 seconds
Novara FM: Time to Say the F-Word? w/ David Broder
In October 1922, fascists came to power in the March on Rome. 25,000 Blackshirts swarmed through the streets and the King invited their leader — Benito Mussolini — to form a cabinet. Now, almost exactly a century later, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) is about to become the next […]
10/19/2022 • 48 minutes, 30 seconds
TyskySour: Hunt Reverses Mini Budget
Jeremy Hunt has overseen a decisive u-turn on the Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. How long can Truss last as prime minister? Plus: Maurice McLeod talks about his experience being blocked by the Labour party to stand as a candidate. With Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
10/17/2022 • 39 minutes, 47 seconds
Downstream: Food Culture Is Making Us Anxious w/ Ruby Tandoh
Eating is supposed to be fun, so why does food culture – from our table manners to the promise of “clean eating” – trigger so much anxiety? Ash Sarkar meets Ruby Tandoh, former Great British Bake-Off contestant and author of Cook As You Are, to talk about the new wave of food writing and her […]
10/17/2022 • 43 minutes, 43 seconds
TyskySour: Truss Makes Humiliating U-Turn
Kwasi Kwarteng has become the second shortest serving Chancellor in Britain’s history. Is Liz Truss about to become the shortest serving Prime Minister? Plus: Just Stop Oil throw a can of soup at a Van Gogh painting; the shady right-wing think-tanks who broke Britain. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for […]
10/14/2022 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 48 seconds
TyskySour: More Chaos In UK Economy
As the Bank of England’s mixed messages have spooked the markets, Liz Truss’s contradictory statements in parliament have spooked just about everyone. We speak to James Meadway to make sense of the chaos. Plus: will Kwasi Kwarteng have to resign as chancellor; and Jacob Rees-Mogg lies through his teeth to defend the government. With Michael […]
10/12/2022 • 49 minutes, 49 seconds
NovaraFM: Choose Your Own Family Adventure w/ Sophie Lewis
Are families, like prisons, obsolete? Even if we might baulk at the comparison, the question can be illuminating. To choose one’s own family was long the dream of radicals. What if, instead of those we happen to be biologically related to, we could surround ourselves with care, freely chosen and freely given? After a thirty-year […]
10/12/2022 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 3 seconds
Downstream: The Plan is to Make You Permanently Poorer w/ Gary Stevenson
In 2011, while working as a City trader, Gary Stevenson joined the ranks of the ultra-rich with a single bonus cheque. Not long after, he was named one of Citibank’s highest-performing traders worldwide. Stevenson made millions for his employer by betting on one thing: that inequality would worsen and living standards would fall. It made […]
10/11/2022 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 58 seconds
TyskySour: Sturgeon’s Conference Speech
In her party conference speech today, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon trashed the Tories and re-affirmed her commitment to a second independence referendum. We speak to Jonathon Shafi about the next potential earthquake to hit UK politics. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
10/10/2022 • 51 minutes, 9 seconds
ACFM Trip 27: Magic
We live in irrational times. From the resurgence of interest in astrology, tarot and occultism to the deepening influence of conspiracy theories and positive thinking, culture is experiencing a turn towards the magical. What does that mean for those of us on the “weird left”? Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn gather round the […]
10/9/2022 • 1 hour, 34 minutes, 2 seconds
TyskySour: Truss’s Energy Faceplant
With the National Grid warning of energy shortages this winter, Liz Truss is refusing to act. Will Tory libertarianism lead to black-outs? Plus: Joe Biden issues federal pardon for possession of marijuana; and the government taking a whacking on BBC Question Time for their energy crisis failure. With Michael Walker and Gary Stevenson. __________________________________________ Support […]
10/7/2022 • 51 minutes, 16 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Fantasy and Conspiracy With Wu Ming 1
In 1999, an anonymous Italian collective published a novel called Q. Imagined by its left-wing authors as an “operation manual for cultural disruption,” the book has had a bewildering political afterlife, with its story arc and the collective’s media pranks around Satanic ritual and paedophilia seemingly providing the basis for alt-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Did […]
10/6/2022 • 1 hour, 1 second
TyskySour: Greenpeace Heckle Truss
Aaron Bastani and Dalia Gebrial discuss Liz Truss’s first conference speech as Prime Minister. Plus: Suella Braverman praises the British empire and dreams of deportations; Rees-Mogg’s fusion fantasies & the latest on the Chris Kaba killing. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
10/5/2022 • 56 minutes, 45 seconds
TyskySour: Kwarteng Performs Screeching U-turn
After a mini-budget that spooked the markets and outraged the public, Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have been forced into a humiliating U-turn. Are the wheels already coming off their government? Plus: Joana Ramiro reports from São Paulo on the Brazilian presidential election. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as […]
10/3/2022 • 59 minutes, 49 seconds
TyskySour: Tories In Freefall
Liz Truss’ premiership has set the Tories into freefall, but how much damage can the Conservatives do before we get the chance to kick them out? Plus: Vladimir Putin annexes whole swathes of Ukrainian territory; and the third episode of the Al Jazeera ‘Labour Files’ documentary. With Michael Walker and Maurice Mcleod. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
9/30/2022 • 52 minutes, 18 seconds
Downstream: Can Lula Take Brazil Back From Bolsonaro? w/ Sabrina Fernandes
On 2nd October, Brazil will be faced with a stark choice. The incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro, has overseen economic calamity and nearly 700,000 Covid deaths in his first term. His challenger, Lula Da Silva, is hoping to regain the presidency – just three years since being freed from prison. To discuss the state of Brazilian […]
9/29/2022 • 1 hour, 32 seconds
TyskySour: Britain Faces Financial Crisis
The Bank of England have been forced to intervene as Kwarteng’s mini-budget continues to cause economic meltdown. We ask economist and former market trader Gary Stevenson what it all means. Plus: Keir Starmer’s conference speech analysed; and Labour MP Rupa Huq loses the Labour whip for comments about the chancellor. With Michael Walker and Dalia […]
9/28/2022 • 55 minutes, 35 seconds
Downstream: People Used Anything to Attack Me w/ Jeremy Corbyn
Two years after resigning as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn catches up with Aaron Bastani to dissect Corbynism and its aftermath. On the table: the Islington North MP’s suspension from the party, the fallout from the anti-semitism crisis, his previous interactions with new Tory leader Liz Truss, and what he thinks of the royal family.
9/27/2022 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 56 seconds
TyskySour: The Pound Plummets
Michael Walker interviews economist Jo Mitchell on the pound’s plunge, David Broder on Italy’s new far-right government, and is joined by Aaron Bastani to go through the latest from Labour Party conference and Al Jazeera’s ‘Labour Files’ documentary. __________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
9/26/2022 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 2 seconds
TWT22: Is Political Journalism Broken?
From Dominic Cummings’ cosy texts to Laura Kuenssberg to Boris Johnson having the Telegraph’s editorial board on speed dial, the cohort of journalists who make up the ‘Lobby’ have got a bad rap. Is mainstream political journalism in terminal decline? Or will the rise of independent and alternative media redefine ‘political journalism’ forever? And how […]
9/26/2022 • 57 minutes, 24 seconds
TyskySour: A Budget For The Rich
Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget gives the rich their biggest tax cut in 50 years. It’s also tanked the pound. Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani discuss the Tory’s latest gamble. Plus: Putin’s escalation of the war in Ukraine sees him mobilise more of his country; Apsana speaks exclusively to Novara Media on how Keir Starmer has failed […]
9/23/2022 • 57 minutes, 28 seconds
Downstream: Labour Weaponised My Domestic Abuse to Get Rid of Me w/ Apsana Begum
Three months after being signed off sick following a “sustained campaign of misogynistic abuse” from both her ex-husband and her local Labour party, Apsana Begum is returning to politics. In an exclusive interview with Novara Media, Britain’s first hijabi MP tells Rivkah Brown about escaping an abusive marriage, her suspension from the Labour party, and […]
9/22/2022 • 1 hour, 17 seconds
TyskySour: Economic Policies Announced
Liz Truss wants the rich to get richer, and if you don’t like it, she doesn’t care. We speak to economist James Meadway about Trussonomics. Plus: Women are protesting by burning their hijabs in Iran after a 22-year-old woman was beaten to death by morality police. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________ Support Novara […]
9/21/2022 • 55 minutes, 5 seconds
TyskySour: The Queen’s Funeral
The queen’s state funeral had been planned for decades, with millions spent and thousands involved. Will the pomp of it all save the monarchy? Plus: Fake Royals rock up to the Queen’s funeral; the most surreal moments from the lying-in-state queue; and Scottish football fans mock the royals. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________ […]
9/19/2022 • 48 minutes, 54 seconds
Downstream: The Truth About the Monarchy w/ Aaron Bastani & Ash Sarkar
On the eve of the Queen’s funeral, Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar look around at a nation in mourning to analyse the emotional and political impact of the death of a monarch. How did Elizabeth’s 70-year reign help to neutralise Britain’s colonial legacy? What do the UK’s grieving royalists look like to foreign media? And […]
9/19/2022 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 2 seconds
TyskySour: Truss’s Plan To Uncap Banker’s Pay
While the BBC & Sky deliver wall-to-wall royal coverage, Liz Truss is planning a package of handouts to the rich. Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani discuss bonus caps, fracking and sugar taxes. Plus: Therese Coffey’s obsessions with commas; David Beckham appears in the queue to see the Queen lying in state; and the prime minister […]
9/17/2022 • 53 minutes, 34 seconds
TyskySour: The Queen Lies In State
With the queen lying in state, the level of public enthusiasm for the monarchy is being measured in a line along the Thames. Michael Walker and Owen Jones discuss what’s driving people to queue. Plus: King Charles fires his staff; A columnist for the Times thinks we should be ‘frugal’ like the Queen; and we […]
9/14/2022 • 52 minutes, 11 seconds
TyskySour: Ukraine Gains Key Ground
Ukrainian forces have made lightning advances, pushing back Russian forces near Kharkiv. How decisive could this prove to the course of the war? We speak to Professor Paul Rogers Plus: the killing of unarmed man Chris Kaba by the metropolitan police; and the latest royal weirdness. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. ________________________________________________ Support Novara […]
9/13/2022 • 50 minutes, 31 seconds
Downstream: Silicon Valley Fraudsters Are Lying to Us w/ Paris Marx
It’s one of the few things that the late anarchist anthropologist David Graeber and tech billionaire Peter Thiel agreed on: the sci-fi future we were promised has not materialised. Where are the flying cars? Where are the teleportation machines? And why, instead, do we just have 15 different ride-hailing apps to choose from? In this […]
9/12/2022 • 53 minutes, 59 seconds
TyskySour: Britain’s New King
King Charles III has given his first address to the nation following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Plus: Truss’s energy plan comes as news of her Oil company donations; and a Scottish chip shop owner gets attacked for posting a video celebrating the Queen’s death. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. ________________________________________________ Support Novara […]
9/9/2022 • 51 minutes, 36 seconds
TyskySour: The Queen Is Dead
Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
9/8/2022 • 38 minutes, 19 seconds
TyskySour: Truss’ First Day As PM
Michael Walker and Owen Jones discuss the key events of Truss’s first full day as prime minister and her first PMQs against Keir Starmer. Plus: Why Suella Braverman as the new home secretary could be even worse than Priti Patel; Liz Truss hires a climate disaster as an advisor; and bye bye bye Nadine Dorries. […]
9/7/2022 • 50 minutes, 32 seconds
TyskySour: Liz Truss Is Now Britain’s PM
On the day that Liz Truss wins the Tory leadership content and thus becomes Britain’s next Prime Minister, Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar discuss what a Truss premiership means. ________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
9/5/2022 • 49 minutes, 28 seconds
Downstream: The Moral Crisis of Corporate Britain w/ Dave Ward
In the middle of a grave cost of living crisis, bosses at Royal Mail, BT and across corporate Britain are imposing pay rises for workers way below inflation. On Downstream, Aaron Bastani speaks to CWU General Secretary Dave Ward about corporate greed, the shadowy world of CEOs, the return of the working class and how […]
9/5/2022 • 48 minutes, 21 seconds
TyskySour: The End Of Boris Johnson
In one of his last speech’s as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has blamed “short-termism” for the fact that nothing works in Britain. There’s a simpler answer though: We keep being governed by Tories! With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
9/2/2022 • 44 minutes, 54 seconds
TyskySour: Climate Catastrophe Liz Truss
As climate change induced floods devastate Pakistan, Liz Truss has committed to expanding UK oil and gas fields and – apparently – is set to make the climate-skeptic Jacob Rees-Mogg her energy secretary. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________________________________ Read about the Reach journalists strike: https://novaramedia.com/2022/08/23/daily-mirror-journalists-striking-over-low-pay-were-offered-advice-on-side-hustles-by-publishing-giant/ _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
8/31/2022 • 51 minutes, 29 seconds
NovaraFM: Deep Medicine: Caring Against Capitalism w/ Rupa Marya and Raj Patel
Is colonial capitalism making us sick? From the vast outdoors to the depths of our guts, centuries of colonialism have reordered life on the planet. In its wake have come the dubious efficiencies of big agribusiness and the uneven advances of modern medicine. And our bodies have responded to this colonial condition, in many cases, […]
8/30/2022 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 36 seconds
TyskySour: Truss’ Terrible Tax Plan
As the Tory leadership race enters its final week, neither candidate looks willing to take sufficient action on the cost of living crisis. Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar discuss the latest Truss proposal to cut VAT. Plus: Laura Kuenssberg back is back to present the BBC’s new Sunday morning show. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for […]
8/29/2022 • 45 minutes, 3 seconds
TyskySour: Tory Energy Cap Meltdown
As record energy bills come into view this autumn, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has advised people to use less energy. Plus: the fightback against soaring costs and Emily Maitlis’ hypocrisy on BBC impartiality. With Aaron Bastani and Harriet Protheroe-Soltani. _________________________________________________________ Watch Aaron Bastani’s latest video on the postal workers strike: _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as […]
8/26/2022 • 46 minutes, 40 seconds
TyskySour: Liz Truss Wants To Cut The NHS
The NHS is in crisis and the likely next PM Liz Truss wants to slash funding even further. What does the future holds for our healthcare service. With Ash Sarkar and Dalia Gebrial. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
8/24/2022 • 46 minutes, 35 seconds
TyskySour: Truss’ Useless Future Cabinet
Is there more to Liz Truss than meets the eye? On tonight’s TyskySour, Ash Sarkar is joined by Moya Lothian-McLean to discuss just what we can expect from our probable next Prime Minister. Plus: UK shores are being flooded with sewage amid the failure of water privatisation. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
8/22/2022 • 37 minutes, 32 seconds
ACFM Trip 26: Care
How can we care for each other within a system that doesn’t care about us? In this episode, Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn get to grips with birth, death and all the social reproduction in between. When did we start putting our elders in care homes instead of our own homes? What happens […]
8/20/2022 • 1 hour, 40 minutes, 31 seconds
TyskySour: Chaos On Britain’s Railways
Despite what Grant Shapps might believe, London to Manchester train timetables have been cut by 66%. Can the reputation of Britain’s privatised services get any lower? Plus: Truss & Sunak take aim at solar power. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
8/19/2022 • 53 minutes, 23 seconds
TyskySour: Starmer Ignores Abuse Of Apsana Begum
Keir Starmer failed to stop a campaign to deselect a left wing MP despite an expert warning that the process was an “extension of [her] abuse” With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. _________________________________________________________ Read more here: https://novaramedia.com/2022/08/17/a-domestic-violence-expert-warned-keir-starmer-that-labour-was-complicit-in-apsana-begums-abuse-he-did-nothing/ _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
8/17/2022 • 46 minutes, 15 seconds
TyskySour: Starmer’s Energy Price Plan
Keir Starmer has ended his period of silence to announce that Labour would freeze energy bills. Is the policy worth the wait? Plus: One year on from the Taliban taking power in Afghanistan; and the cabinet office are trying to ban critics of the government. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media […]
8/15/2022 • 45 minutes, 54 seconds
TyskySour: The Tories Have Broken Britain
The NHS is at breaking point, barely anyone can afford their energy, and now we’re running out of clean water. After 12 years of Tory rule, is there a single thing in Britain that works? Plus: Owen Jones demolishes Tory lines on energy prices; and Liz Truss comes out with more complete nonsense. With Michael […]
8/12/2022 • 56 minutes, 33 seconds
TyskySour: Cleverly Has No Answers
While Martin Lewis sounds the alarm on energy bills (again), James Cleverly and the Tories are asleep at the wheel. Why is the political establishment failing to offer solutions as prices soar? Plus: Polling shows the Don’t Pay campaign have the public on their side; and workers at Royal Mail announce strikes later this month. […]
8/10/2022 • 56 minutes, 5 seconds
Downstream: The World’s Biggest Political Streamer w/ Hasan Piker
Since Bernie Sanders’ failed attempt to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, there has been a reinvigoration of the left in the USA. This uptick has also been visible in the media, and nowhere more so than with the rise of Hasan Piker – arguably the most influential political voice on livestreaming service Twitch. Aaron […]
8/9/2022 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 31 seconds
TyskySour: Israel Bombs Gaza
Israeli airstrikes In Gaza this weekend have killed 44 people, including 15 children. Will the ceasefire hold? Plus: Liz Truss’ addiction to U-turns and a new left mobilisation on the cost of living crisis. With Ash Sarkar and Moya Lothian-Mclean. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
8/8/2022 • 54 minutes, 32 seconds
TyskySour: The Incoming Recession
The coming recession will dwarf everything else in British politics this year. We speak to economist James Meadway about the hardship to come, and the government’s response. Plus: Starmer’s campaign pledges catch him out again; Alex Jones screw himself over in court; and Sunak says the quiet part loud. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. […]
8/5/2022 • 52 minutes, 42 seconds
TyskySour: Pelosi Sparks Diplomatic Row In Taiwan
Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has intensified tensions between the US and China, but what does it mean for Taiwan itself? We speak to Brian Hioe of New Bloom magazine. Plus: Liz Truss performs a humiliating U-turn and offends the nation of Scotland; Sunak announces a barmy ‘extremism’ policy; and an Australian senator gets rebuked […]
8/3/2022 • 54 minutes, 10 seconds
TyskySour: Football Comes Home
Football has finally come home. But will the Lionesses’ victory be a watershed moment for women in sport? Plus: an interview with CWU’s Dave Ward, Johnson plans to pack the Lords with his mates; and the Don’t Pay UK campaign picks up steam. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
8/1/2022 • 50 minutes, 32 seconds
TyskySour: Sam Tarry Interview
With a summer of strikes continuing to escalate, Michael Walker is joined by Labour MP Sam Tarry to discuss his breach with Keir Starmer. Plus: Martin Lewis latest shocking prediction for the October energy price cap rise; and live reaction to Rishi Sunak’s interview with Andrew Neil. _________________________________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
7/29/2022 • 55 minutes, 22 seconds
TyskySour: RMT On Strike
As the Tories threaten to ban rail strikes, Keir Starmer has sacked a frontbencher for turning up to a picket line. Is it now the unions vs the government *and* the opposition? Plus: Starmer sacks shadow transport minister Sam Tarry; and Jamie Hale speaks on the dangers that still remain for disabled people and Covid-19. […]
7/27/2022 • 55 minutes, 51 seconds
TyskySour: Truss & Sunak’s Refugee Racism
This weekend Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak embarked on a racist race to the bottom. Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar discuss how low it could get. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/25/2022 • 55 minutes, 49 seconds
TyskySour: Britain’s Next Joke PM
Boris Johnson’s demise meant Britain could have had a serious Prime Minister. Instead, we’re likely to get Liz Truss. Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani discuss her campaign. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/22/2022 • 50 minutes, 50 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak & Truss Make Final Two
It’s official – the next Prime Minister will either be Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss. Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial discuss what that means for Britain. Plus: Aaron Bastani on the findings of the Forde Report, and Martin Lewis issues a stark warning to Tory leadership candidates. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
7/20/2022 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 4 seconds
TyskySour: Tory Debate Cancelled
The third televised Tory leadership debate has been cancelled after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out. Plus: The third ballot of Conservative MPs sees Tom Tugendhat knocked out; and effects of climate change are seen in Britain’s heatwave. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a […]
7/18/2022 • 36 minutes, 7 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Tabletop Role-Playing Games
In a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), a group of people take a trip into an imaginary world, guided by an MC or ‘dungeon master’. Not limited to the Tolkien-esque themes of the famous Dungeons & Dragons, TTRPGs range from gritty sci-fi scenarios to steampunk heist fantasies, and from everyday life to magic, monsters and vampires. […]
7/17/2022 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 25 seconds
TyskySour: C4 Tory Leader Debate
All the remaining candidates to the be the next Conservative party leader and Prime Minister take part in their first televised debate. Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani give their live reactions and analysis. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/15/2022 • 1 hour, 39 minutes, 24 seconds
ACFM Trip 25: Games
Games are all around us. They let us escape from drudgery and experiment with other worlds and ways of being. But they can be traps too: apps designed to be addictive, producing only the most hollow sense of achievement. In this Trip, Nadia, Jeremy and Keir throw their polyhedral dice to explore how games shape […]
7/14/2022 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 10 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak And Mordaunt On Top
The first round of voting by Tory MPs has knocked Hunt and Zahawi out of the race, with Sunak and Mordaunt on top. So who’s set to make it to the final members ballot? With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/13/2022 • 56 minutes, 3 seconds
TyskySour: Tory Leadership Race
As the race to be next Prime Minister heats up, Ash Sarkar and Michael Walker run through the latest candidates to launch. Plus: Rishi Sunak’s privilege is exposed by a resurfaced documentary clip and Penny Mordaunt releases a bizarre campaign launch video. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/11/2022 • 46 minutes, 41 seconds
Downstream: An Era-Defining Political Comeback w/ Lutfur Rahman
In the 2022 Tower Hamlets local elections, something unprecedented happened. The borough elected a mayor previously banned from taking part in politics. That’s not all. His party, Aspire, not only took the council from Labour but gained more seats than Labour across the whole of England. At the centre of all of this was Lutfur […]
7/11/2022 • 49 minutes, 58 seconds
TyskySour: Tory Leadership Bids
Boris Johnson hasn’t even booked the moving van yet, but Rishi Sunak has already announced his pitch to take over his job. Ash Sarkar and Aaron Bastani go through the runners and riders lining up to be our next prime minister. Plus: Labour leader Keir Starmer is cleared over ‘Beergate’ lockdown breaches. __________________________________ Support Novara […]
7/8/2022 • 45 minutes, 39 seconds
TyskySour: Boris Has Broken At Last
Boris Johnson is gone – but he’s not out of office. What happens next? Plus: the first Tory MP to launch their leadership campaign. With Ash Sarkar and Michael Walker. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as £1 a month: https://novaramedia.com/support
7/7/2022 • 42 minutes, 11 seconds
TyskySour: Time’s Up For Boris
Boris Johnson’s premiership is hanging by a thread after 24 hours of mass government resignations and MPs breaking ranks. After a day of massive reckoning for the Prime Minister, we bring you the key events and the latest news. With Barnaby Raine, Dalia Gebrial and Aaron Bastani. __________________________________ Support Novara Media for as little as […]
7/6/2022 • 1 hour, 18 minutes, 6 seconds
Downstream: Drugs Have Shaped the Last 500 Years w/ Michael Pollan
Over the last few centuries, the global spread of a vast array of different drugs has reshaped how we work, experience pleasure, fight wars, and explore our inner worlds. And from Richard Nixon’s ‘War on Drugs’ to the opium wars to the scuppering of the hippie movement, those drugs have been entangled with politics and […]
7/6/2022 • 57 minutes, 12 seconds
TyskySour: Boris Unravels Over Pincher
All weekend, No.10 have denied Boris Johnson knew of “specific allegations” against Chris Pincher when he promoted him. By lunchtime, that story unravelled. Plus: Ed Balls compares climate activists ‘terrorists’; Covid-19 cases are on the rise; and declining birth rates become the latest moral panic. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar. __________________________________ Support Novara Media […]
7/4/2022 • 56 minutes, 47 seconds
TyskySour: Pincher Loses The Whip
Another day, and another Tory MP has had the whip removed for alleged sexual misconduct. What the hell is going on in the UK parliament? Plus: CWU members at BT vote for strike action; Finland & Sweden sell out the Kurds to join NATO; Douglas Murray goes full fascist. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani. […]
7/1/2022 • 1 hour, 15 seconds
TyskySour: Sturgeon Sets IndyRef2 Date
After Sturgeon announced her intention to hold IndyRef2 in October 2023, on TyskySour we ask whether it will happen or if it’s just a political play before the next election? Plus: Starmer rips up the Labour party manifesto; and Tory MPs give their shocking views on abortion rights. With Michael Walker and Moya Lothian-McLean.
6/29/2022 • 56 minutes, 7 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 6: One Last Job
By the 1990s, a faction of Irish republicans were turning away from militancy and setting their sights on peace. A political future for the campaign would require more money, more lobbying, and even deeper engagement with the United States – though not with Irish Northern Aid, now tainted by its long association with the IRA. […]
6/28/2022 • 56 minutes, 10 seconds
TyskySour: Johnson’s Protocol Bill
MPs are debating proposed legislation which would allow the UK to breach the Northern Ireland protocol that Boris Johnson negotiated. But would it put the Good Friday Agreement at risk? Plus: David Lammy gives lame excuses for why he won’t back workers, Criminal Barristers go on strike and Mick Lynch gives a barn-storming speech. With […]
6/27/2022 • 53 minutes, 36 seconds
TyskySour: Johnson’s Double Defeat
After suffering two huge byelection losses, how damaged is Johnson’s premiership? And what does the result mean for Labour and the Lib Dems? Plus: Mick Lynch’s media rampage continues, and a landmark ruling in the US supreme court overturns Roe V Wade – removing federal abortion rights for women across America. With Aaron Bastani and […]
6/24/2022 • 59 minutes, 12 seconds
NovaraFM: How to Be a Good Ancestor w/ Roman Krznaric
We live in a time of short-term imperatives and long-term consequences for our actions, with just a few years left to avert climate catastrophe but a planet transformed for millennia if we fail. Philosopher Roman Krznaric’s work reflects on these vast timescales and on our place within them. How can we navigate the tension between […]
6/23/2022 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 29 seconds
TyskySour: Eddie Dempsey On Strikes
As rail strikes take place across the country, we speak to the RMT’s Eddie Dempsey on why solidarity with railway workers is required. Plus: Mick Lynch’s impressive broadcast tour, and Starmer’s Labour party fail to back the workers. With Barnaby Raine and Moya Lothian-McLean.
6/22/2022 • 49 minutes, 51 seconds
Foreign Agent Bonus Episode 2: Hollywood and the IRA’s American Connection
*Corrected file* Noraid has been portrayed on screen many times, usually in the background of stories about terrorism and gunrunning. While TV shows and movies like Columbo, Patriot Games and The Devil’s Own aren’t exactly high art, they do reveal how the class politics of Irish America were understood (and misrepresented) by Hollywood. In this […]
6/21/2022 • 22 minutes, 1 second
TyskySour: Colombia Elects Leftist
Gustavo Petro has become Colombia’s first ever leftist President. We speak to David Adler from Progressive International about what comes next. Plus, all the latest on the RMT strikes, and the disappearing story in the Times about yet more dodgy dealings from Johnson. With Michael Walker and Barnaby Raine. Read Charlotte England on the Colombian […]
6/20/2022 • 54 minutes, 17 seconds
TyskySour: Assange Extradition Approved
With Priti Patel approving Julian Assange’s extradition, on tonight’s #TyskySour we discuss what options are left to stop him being tried for espionage in the United States. Plus: England is hit with the hottest day of the year; he government publish their renting white paper; and the Conservative candidate in Wakefield invokes a serial killer. […]
6/17/2022 • 50 minutes, 53 seconds
NovaraFM: Truncheons at Dawn w/ Morag Livingstone and Matt Foot
Everyone who’s ever been to a protest in the UK knows it: the police are not there as neutral facilitators of your democratic rights, but to squeeze the joy out of protest and make it invisible to those in power. Recently, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act has given the police even more power […]
6/16/2022 • 1 hour, 13 minutes, 8 seconds
Downstream: Working Class is Not an Identity w/ China Miéville
Each generation must encounter the Communist Manifesto anew, deciphering Marx and Engels’ text for their own era. So what gives this short book its enduring power? In his new book A Spectre, Haunting: On The Communist Manifesto, China Miéville explains how its various facets – being part political treatise, part gothic literature, and part spell to […]
6/16/2022 • 1 hour, 25 minutes, 25 seconds
TyskySour: Patel’s Deportations Blocked
The Tories are furious after their first Rwanda deportation flight was grounded. What happens next, and is leaving the ECHR next on Priti Patel’s agenda? Plus: it’s five years since the fire at Grenfell Tower claimed 72 lives, but has anything changed since the tragedy? With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani.
6/15/2022 • 57 minutes, 51 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 5: Our Day Will Come
As the Troubles dragged on, IRA volunteers at the Maze Prison decided to go on hunger strike in 1980 and 1981. Their decision would change everything for the IRA — and for Noraid. The protest garnered sympathy from around the world and sparked outrage in the Irish American community. Noraid rallied outside the British embassy, […]
6/14/2022 • 53 minutes, 25 seconds
TyskySour: Patel’s Rwanda Deportations
An appeal court judge has ruled that Priti Patel’s Rwanda flight can go ahead. Is it now too late to be stopped? Plus: Keir Starmer bores the nation, and Carole Cadwalladr defeats Arron banks in a Brexit libel trial. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.
6/13/2022 • 50 minutes, 4 seconds
TyskySour: Johnson’s Trash Housing Plan
Boris Johnson’s Right-To-Buy plans won’t fix our broken housing system – they’ll only make it worse. Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani explain why. Plus: Paul Mason’s map of so-called ‘Pro-Putin’ influence on the left, and Wes Streeting’s leadership ambitions lead him to pretend he’s more left-wing than he is.
6/10/2022 • 1 hour, 4 minutes, 54 seconds
NovaraFM: Abolishing Prisons Is Only the Start W/ Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Even as police budgets and powers have expanded, ordinary workers are being called to carry out more and more policing functions themselves. Whether as an assistant manager in a McDonald’s or as a teacher or doctor, workers are expected to take on extra ‘guard duty’ in addition to their usual tasks, keeping watch for their […]
6/9/2022 • 1 hour, 32 minutes, 45 seconds
TyskySour: Tories Want Tax Cuts
Boris Johnson keeps insisting he wants to move on from Partygate to focus on policy. With growing calls for tax cuts from his MPs, should we expect another shift to the right? Plus: James Meadway on why Britain needs the £15 minimum wage; YouGov are accused of suppressing Corbyn-positive polls; and the RMT announce three […]
6/8/2022 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 14 seconds
Downstream: Animal Agriculture is the New Oil w/ George Monbiot
Since the 1990s, decarbonisation has been the primary goal for many environmentalists. But there is another threat to life on Earth, one that could be just as dangerous as runaway climate change: the farming of animals for human consumption. In his new book Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet, George Monbiot warns that […]
6/8/2022 • 1 hour, 26 minutes, 17 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 4: Lawyers, Guns and Money
For decades, a quiet armored truck driver living in Brooklyn ran thousands of guns to the IRA. He was born in Ireland and dedicated to the Republican cause. He was also a committed socialist, who believed the anti-imperial struggle in Ireland was connected to the struggle of African-Americans, Cubans and Vietnamese. When he wasn’t handing […]
6/7/2022 • 50 minutes, 22 seconds
TyskySour: Johnson Suffers Massive Rebellion
Judgement Day has arrived for Boris Johnson. Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Aaron Bastani react to the results of the no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson by conservative MPs.
6/6/2022 • 1 hour, 20 minutes, 47 seconds
Foreign Agent Bonus Episode: The IRA’s Technical Support
For over 100 years, Irish revolutionaries hoping to drive the British out of Ireland looked to the United States for money and support. They also looked across the Atlantic for new technology that might give them an advantage, including homemade surface-to-air missiles and even the world’s first modern submarine. In this bonus episode, we explore […]
6/2/2022 • 17 minutes, 32 seconds
TyskySour: Tory Rebellion Against Boris
Conservative politicians have said Boris Johnson could face a vote of no confidence as soon as next week. Are we about to see the back of Boris Johnson? Plus: Keir Starmer is handed a questionnaire by Durham police and Justin Welby says Prince Andrew should be forgiven. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial.
6/1/2022 • 56 minutes, 57 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 3: Agents of the State
After Bloody Sunday in 1972, Irish Northern Aid saw its power, influence and donations increase dramatically — but a higher profile brought new enemies. Secretly, the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned its sights on Noraid: auditing their books, cultivating informers and staking out meetings. On the public stage, Irish American politicians like Ted Kennedy, who […]
5/31/2022 • 41 minutes, 38 seconds
TyskySour: Britain’s Racist Windrush Laws
As Priti Patel sends leaflets to asylum seekers warning of imminent deportation to Rwanda, a leaked Home Office report has admitted UK migration policy is steeped in racism. We speak to immigration barrister Zehrah Hasan. Plus: Starmer gets called out by the boss of the RMT; Liverpool fans are attacked by french police; and Carrie […]
5/30/2022 • 51 minutes, 23 seconds
Downstream: What Does It Mean to Be Free? W/ Lea Ypi
Lea Ypi’s life is awash with instances that question what it means to be free. From growing up in communist Albania to teaching at the London School of Economics, her story is a window onto the complex connections between freedom and sovereignty, and between the personal and the political. Aaron Bastani speaks to Ypi on […]
5/30/2022 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 27 seconds
TyskySour: Sunak’s Giant U-turn
Rishi Sunak’s belated cost-of-living package has been welcomed by Labour. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? We ask chief executive of the New Econimcs Foundation Miatta Fahnbulleh. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.
5/27/2022 • 50 minutes, 21 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 2: The New World and the Old Country
In 1927, the Irish republican Michael Flannery emigrated from the quiet backroads of Tipperary to the crowded streets of New York City, swapping a life of rebellion for a humdrum career in life insurance. But the Irish American community hadn’t forgotten about the old country, and as the Troubles began in Northern Ireland, Flannery found […]
5/26/2022 • 53 minutes, 21 seconds
TyskySour: Sue Gray Report
The Sue Gray report reveals a culture in Downing Street of rule-breaking, cover-ups, and disrespect towards lower paid staff. Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial dig into the details.
5/25/2022 • 1 hour, 7 minutes, 13 seconds
Foreign Agent Episode 1: The American Front
When six suitcases full of guns are discovered on an Irish dock in 1971, suspicion falls on a newly founded organisation of Irish Americans known as Noraid. For nearly 30 years, the US, British and Irish governments accused the group of being a front for the Provisional IRA and of funnelling weapons and cash from […]
5/24/2022 • 50 minutes, 53 seconds
TyskySour: Boris Party Pics
After the police cleared Boris Johnson of all but one rule breach, photos have emerged of the PM drinking booze at a separate gathering during lockdown. How have the Met let him get away with it? Plus: Australia has a new PM and the Tories are still all over the place on an energy company […]
5/23/2022 • 55 minutes, 52 seconds
ACFM Trip 24: Technology
What defines each era? Historians often lean on terms that point to technology: bronze, steam, carbon, silicon. So is technology a fundamental aspect of being human? On this wide-ranging Trip, the gang take on one of their biggest topics yet. Starting from the basis that technology is an application of knowledge for a practical purpose, […]
5/22/2022 • 1 hour, 43 minutes, 19 seconds
TyskySour: PartyGate Fines Fiasco
With a police investigation into PartyGate ending with no additional fines for the Prime Minister, has a Met stitch up saved Boris Johnson’s skin? Plus: Rishi Sunak is the first politician to appear in the Sunday Times Rich List; George W Bush jokes about the Iraq War; and Palestine Action get arrested. With Michael Walker […]
5/20/2022 • 56 minutes, 12 seconds
ACFM Microdose: Women and Technology w/ Katrine Marçal
Throughout history, countless good ideas have been side-lined or dismissed because they were put forward by women. That’s the frustration which motivates historian Katrine Marçal, who delves into her myth-busting research for a Microdose all about technology’s missed turnings. With ACFM host Nadia Idle, the author of Mother of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored […]
5/19/2022 • 58 minutes, 19 seconds
TyskySour: Inflation Hits 40 Year High
With inflation at 9% and business profits surging, the Tories still want the poor to pay for the cost of living crisis. We speak to James Meadway about whether workers should be demanding higher pay. Plus: A Tory MP has been arrested on suspicion of rape, and Ed Miliband calls out Rishi Sunak at the […]
5/18/2022 • 54 minutes, 41 seconds
Downstream: What Does Keir Starmer Actually Believe? w/ Oliver Eagleton
The election of Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party was met with euphoria across the mainstream media. But despite winning the leadership with a huge majority, Starmer had only been involved in politics for five years – having previously worked as a barrister, a pro bono lawyer and director of public prosecutions – […]
5/10/2022 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 25 seconds
NovaraFM: A Simple Plan to Save The World w/ Drew Pendergrass & Troy Vettese
We’re entering an era of climate disaster and mass extinction, yet most of the proposed solutions to our predicament amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. What we need, propose environmental scholars Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese, is a totally different vision of life on Earth. Joining Aaron Bastani, the authors of Half-Earth Socialism […]
5/5/2022 • 1 hour, 16 minutes, 14 seconds
Downstream: Something Sinister is Happening in the Labour Party w/ Len McLuskey
Known for his steadfast support of Jeremy Corbyn whilst heading up the biggest private sector union in the country, Len McLuskey has a unique and intimate knowledge of both Labour Party politics and the organised labour movement. Aaron Bastani speaks to the most important trade unionist of his era on the publication of his memoir, […]
4/19/2022 • 1 hour, 14 minutes, 45 seconds
NovaraFM: How We Normalised the Apocalypse w/ Srećko Horvat
We’re reaching an eschatological tipping point, says Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat. Can humanity turn back from the brink? Joining Eleanor Penny on NovaraFM, the author of After The Apocalypse explains how the end of the world has been normalised and commodified. What can we do to break the spell of end-times nihilism, “ruin porn” and […]
4/6/2022 • 54 minutes, 51 seconds
Downstream: Liberalism is in Trouble w/ Francis Fukuyama
Few political thinkers exert such influence that their work becomes synonymous with a historic era. Francis Fukuyama’s declaration of “the end of history” after the fall of the Soviet Union made him one of those thinkers – but 30 years on, has he reassessed his own claim? And what events since then have shaken his […]
3/30/2022 • 53 minutes, 40 seconds
Downstream: Vegan Propaganda w/ Earthling Ed
Ed Winters, AKA Earthling Ed, is a vegan activist with an enormous presence on social media. His arguments range from outlining the ecological and economic consequences of relying on animal products to scrutinising society’s moral and spiritual relationship with animals in a way you might not expect from a YouTube activist. Aaron Bastani speaks to […]
3/21/2022 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 20 seconds
Downstream: Did Empire Really End? with Kojo Koram
Throughout the 20th century, as countries gained independence from the British Empire, there was a rightful sense of renewed agency. And yet, in the world of finance and global capital, many corporate structures of empire continue to exist. Ash Sarkar finds out why with Kojo Koram, author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of […]
3/16/2022 • 50 minutes, 20 seconds
#NovaraFM: Putin’s Philosopher and the Global Far Right
At the beginning of the century, as Russia’s economy stabilised under Vladimir Putin, a once-great power began to engage in military conflicts abroad: Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, and now in 2022, the invasion of Ukraine. This renewed assertiveness and expansionism is the product of more than just one irascible leader, however. Russia’s political […]
3/11/2022 • 52 minutes, 30 seconds
What Can Art Galleries Teach Us About Class Oppression? w/ Nathalie Olah
At a time when galleries and museums are caught in the middle of a culture war about representations of history, Nathalie Olah’s short volume Class – recently published as part of the Tate’s Look Again book series – offers a fresh take on the relationship between “great” art and systems of power. In conversation with […]
2/28/2022 • 1 hour, 11 seconds
#NovaraFM: Who Has the Right to Sex?
Is there a politics of sex? One hundred years of feminist thought has shown that this question can give us a close-up view on the issues that shape our lives: power, equality, ownership, justice and the way we organise our societies. As part of Doing It Right: Sex on the Left, Novara Media’s exploration of […]
2/21/2022 • 1 hour, 27 minutes, 38 seconds
Downstream: Why the Trojan Horse Affair is a Very British Scandal
In 2014, a mysterious letter detailing a plot by Muslim extremists to take over Birmingham schools caused a national scandal. No one seemed to know, or even care, who actually wrote the letter – but in The Trojan Horse Affair, rookie reporter Hamza Syed and S-Town producer Brian Reed go looking for answers. Ash Sarkar asks […]
2/17/2022 • 54 minutes, 33 seconds
#NovaraFM: Sex Sells
Missing from a lot of leftist discussions of sex work are sex workers themselves. When it comes to developing a radical politic of sex work, this invisibility makes it difficult to adhere to the principle of “nothing about us, without us.” So for this episode of #NovaraFM, we decided to do something at once out-of-the-ordinary […]
2/14/2022 • 1 hour, 17 minutes, 49 seconds
The Age of Endless War w/ Samuel Moyn
With the arrival of armed drones and unmanned vehicles, the world has entered a new era of warfare, one which purports to be more humane. But what if our efforts to make war more ethical – without torture, war crimes or vast casualties – have led us into an age of endless war? Yale law […]
2/4/2022 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 27 seconds
Downstream: Influencers, Exploitation and Capitalism w/ Symeon Brown
How far would you go to get famous and escape poverty? Ash Sarkar is joined by Symeon Brown, Channel 4 News reporter and author of ‘Get Rich or Lie Trying: Ambition and Deceit in the New Influencer Economy’, to discuss how the democratic promise of the internet has reinvented the pyramid scheme. From cryptocurrencies to […]
1/31/2022 • 39 minutes, 36 seconds
Downstream: Were Trans People “Born This Way”? w/ Julia Serano
In debates around the rights of transgender people, a charge often levelled at those fighting for trans inclusion is that their arguments rest on a denial of biological facts. In this episode of Downstream, Michael Walker speaks to biologist Julia Serano about what so-called gender critical thinkers get wrong about sex and gender, and whether […]
1/6/2022 • 32 minutes, 55 seconds
Disability: It’s Political
Novara’s latest focus series is about the disability politics the left usually ignores. Over the last two weeks we’ve published articles on subjects like mental health, toxic work culture, sex worker rights, sign language, the philosopher Peter Singer and why autism is not a disease. This podcast contains eight of these articles in audio form, […]
12/2/2021 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 38 seconds
#ACFM Microdose: Organising for Revolution with Rodrigo Nunes
What should political organisation in the 21st century look like? Wiggly? Lumpy? Diagonal? Something rather like that, suggests political theorist and author Rodrigo Nunes, who joins Keir Milburn and Jeremy Gilbert on this additional revolutionary Microdose. Focusing on the last few decades of radical left politics, the trio reflect on on their own experiences in […]
12/1/2021 • 1 hour, 33 minutes, 26 seconds
Downstream: Why Are All The Baddies Disabled?
From ancient myths to the Batman trilogy, our storytelling culture is littered with villains embodied by disabled people and those with facial differences. Why does disability feature so heavily in our literary and cinematic traditions, and how has this hypervisibility had the ironic effect of erasing the experiences of disabled people? Ash Sarkar is joined […]
11/25/2021 • 45 minutes, 49 seconds
Planet B: Esther Stanford-Xosei on the Case for Climate Reparations
No vision of climate justice is complete without a roadmap towards reparations, argues Esther Stanford-Xosei in the final bonus episode from Planet B: Everything Must Change. Speaking to Harpreet Kaur Paul, the Indigenous reparationist, activist and advocate explains how histories of colonial injustice and racial discrimination have resulted in the twin crimes of genocide and […]
11/24/2021 • 1 hour, 31 minutes, 40 seconds
Downstream: The Capitalist War Being Waged on Disabled People w/ Ellen Clifford
Do progressives spend enough time challenging the multiple oppressions disabled people face? Have we taken the time to properly understand the models and frameworks that disabled activists use to guide their action, and comprehend the world? And have we properly considered how an exploration of the experience and treatment of disabled people could enhance our […]
11/22/2021 • 33 minutes, 15 seconds
Planet B: Jayati Ghosh on Escaping the Debt Trap
When poorer countries face unpayable debts, their ability to mount a defence against climate breakdown is drastically weakened. That’s why any attempts to prevent ecological disaster must involve ending debts and co-operating on global tax measures, says Indian development economist Jayati Ghosh. In an extended interview with Harpreet Kaur Paul, Ghosh breaks down the fundamentals […]
11/20/2021 • 44 minutes, 8 seconds
Downstream: Are Veterans Right-Wing or Radical? w/ Joe Glenton
They are claimed from all sides and by all parties – but who are Britain’s ex-service personnel? What do they want? And what do their politics – whether conservative, liberal or socialist – tell us about Britain as a post-imperial country? Aaron Bastani speaks to Joe Glenton, journalist and author of Veteranhood.
11/19/2021 • 54 minutes, 52 seconds
Planet B: Debt
When we think about debt, we often think of money owed by countries in the Global South to institutions like the World Bank and IMF. But there is another kind of debt – the climate debt owed by the most polluting nations in the global north to those who have contributed the least to climate […]
11/18/2021 • 1 hour, 3 minutes, 56 seconds
Planet B: Asad Rehman on the Making of the Climate Refugee
A global Green New Deal must enshrine people’s right to move – and also their right to stay, says Asad Rehman, executive director of anti-poverty charity War on Want. In an extended interview, Rehman talks to Dalia Gebrial about the emergence of the ‘climate refugee’ – and how this narrow definition will help countries in […]
11/15/2021 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Planet B: Harsha Walia on Border Violence and Eco-Fascism
The fight against climate breakdown requires us to imagine a world without borders, says activist and writer Harsha Walia in this extended interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. The Canadian author, whose books include Undoing Border Imperialism and Border and Rule, tells Dalia Gebrial why borders are themselves products of capitalism, in stark opposition […]
11/13/2021 • 32 minutes, 49 seconds
#NovaraFM: History, Humanity, Heresy
Who dares to rewrite 40,000 years of history? Archaeologist David Wengrow and the late anthropologist David Graeber offer a radically different story of our social evolution in their new book, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. Drawing on groundbreaking research gathered over a decade of collaboration, their mighty 700-page tome upends just […]
11/11/2021 • 1 hour, 36 minutes, 33 seconds
Planet B: Migration
In the fifth episode of Planet B: Everything Must Change, Dalia Gebrial explores the countless ways in which climate breakdown is driving the displacement of people, from the destruction of homes and subsistence livelihoods to the increasing scarcity of work in drought-afflicted countries. Who benefits from the idea of the ‘climate refugee’? Why does gender […]
11/11/2021 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 3 seconds
Downstream: Climate Change Is Violent, That’s Why We Need Sabotage w/ Andreas Malm
From food scarcity to extreme weather, climate change will affect the lives of billions around the world. At what point are its future horrors unacceptable? And how should that shape climate politics now? Aaron Bastani speaks to Andreas Malm, author of How To Blow Up A Pipeline and White Skin, Black Fuel, about the limits […]
11/10/2021 • 56 minutes, 28 seconds
Planet B: Laleh Khalili on Sovereignty and Seafarers
Worker exploitation and environmental degradation are both rife and invisible in the shipping networks on which global capitalism depends, explains professor and author Laleh Khalili in this bonus interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. The writer of Sinews of War and Trade, an investigation into the secretive world of maritime trade, tells Harpreet Kaur […]
11/9/2021 • 32 minutes, 58 seconds
Planet B: Tina Ngata on Decolonising Oceans
Māori activist Tina Ngata explains why the fight against climate breakdown must involve a radical rethink of our relationship with the ocean in this extended interview from Planet B: Water. More than a commodity or an infinite resource, water is part of our genealogy, argues Ngata, who works as an advocate for environmental, Indigenous and […]
11/7/2021 • 35 minutes, 30 seconds
#ACFM Trip 20: Revolution
The #ACFM gang square up a suitably momentous topic for their milestone 20th Trip: revolution! Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn wonder how the idea of political revolution ever became thinkable, and if it’s still thinkable today. Was the sexual revolution a real revolution? How did disillusionment with Soviet communism affect our political imagination? […]
11/7/2021 • 1 hour, 10 minutes, 20 seconds
#ACFM Microdose: Revolution from Cromwell to Castro
In anticipation of the next Trip, the ACFM trio deliver a condensed but essential history of revolution from Oliver Cromwell to Fidel Castro, with stop-offs in France, America, Haiti, China, Spain and Russia. What does it take to cook up a revolution? Is the French Revolution still relevant to our idea of radical social upheaval? […]
11/5/2021 • 1 hour, 19 minutes, 44 seconds
Planet B: Water
How have we come to see our oceans as either a vehicle for trade or a site of limitless resources? In the fourth episode of Planet B, we ask why water, the most basic necessity of life, always has a price. Harpreet Kaur Paul finds out how capitalism has fundamentally changed our relationship with water, […]
11/4/2021 • 57 minutes, 21 seconds
Planet B: Kate Aronoff on What America’s Climate Role Should Be
Climate journalist Kate Aronoff explores the power – and limitations – of the Green New Deal in this extended interview from the Planet B series. Why are large-scale infrastructure projects seen as pivotal to the political success of any climate strategy? And what would happen if we looked at our infrastructure needs – from housing […]
11/2/2021 • 39 minutes, 30 seconds
Planet B: Yanis Varoufakis on Bringing Down the Bankers
Yanis Varoufakis explains why the fight against climate breakdown requires us to bring down the bankers and the oligarchs in an extended interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. Speaking to Dalia Gebrial, the Greek politician and economist argues that we have run out of time to tax the rich and calls on younger generations […]
10/31/2021 • 48 minutes, 25 seconds
Planet B: Infrastructure
Who builds? Who benefits? Who pays? In the third episode of Planet B: Everything Must Change, host Dalia Gebrial finds out why infrastructure has become a touchstone for climate movements across the global north. From Bernie Sanders’ Green New Deal for public housing to Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge of a green industrial revolution, this kind of […]
10/28/2021 • 59 minutes, 22 seconds
#ACFM Microdose: Space Forces with Fred Scharmen
In this #ACFM Microdose to accompany the gang’s recent Trip into space, Keir is joined by Fred Scharmen, author of Space Forces: A Critical History of Life in Outer Space. Drawing on his background in architecture and spatial design, Scharmen unpacks the human desire to go into space and create new worlds from scratch. How […]
10/27/2021 • 53 minutes, 8 seconds
Planet B: Julian Brave NoiseCat on Apocalypse and Indigenous Resistance
Activist and journalist Julian Brave NoiseCat explains the importance of land rights and sovereignty in the fight against climate breakdown in an extended interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. Speaking to Harpreet Kaur Paul, he explores the long history of Indigenous resistance to land colonialism and argues that the Indigenous experience of genocide as […]
10/27/2021 • 30 minutes, 39 seconds
Planet B: Noam Chomsky on Roosevelt’s Legacy and Indigenous Demands
Noam Chomsky warns against a Green New Deal that would save capitalism rather than dismantling it in an extended interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. The eminent activist and political writer talks to Dalia Gebrial about his vision of a Green New Deal and the lessons we can take from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s original […]
10/24/2021 • 36 minutes, 43 seconds
Planet B: Land
In the second episode of Planet B: Everything Must Change, Harpreet Kaur Paul investigates how the way we’re using land is accelerating the climate crisis and violating the rights of local communities. How has the logic of extraction and commodification shaped the land we live on? And how can we reorient our relationship with the […]
10/21/2021 • 1 hour, 4 seconds
Planet B: Sarah Jaffe on Green Work or No Work
Sarah Jaffe contrasts the demand for green jobs with the growing resistance to work in an extended interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. The author of Work Won’t Love You Back talks to Dalia Gebrial about the “good, green union jobs” and why there won’t be enough of them to go round, and explains […]
10/19/2021 • 37 minutes, 30 seconds
Planet B: Jeremy Corbyn on Green Industrial Revolution (Bonus interview)
Jeremy Corbyn lays out his hopes for the global fight against climate breakdown in this bonus interview from Planet B: Everything Must Change. The Labour MP talks to Dalia Gebrial about environmental reparations, a just transition in the North Sea oil sector, the influence of lobbyists and his belief in the power of grassroots organisation. […]
10/17/2021 • 27 minutes, 56 seconds
Planet B: Work
Commute. Pollute. Repeat. What are we working for? In the first episode of Planet B: Everything Must Change, host Dalia Gebrial tackles the future of work. As the climate changes, what kinds of work will we find ourselves doing? Which of our jobs will be valued, and which will become obsolete? What would a “just […]
10/14/2021 • 1 hour, 6 minutes, 4 seconds
Downstream: If Neoliberalism Is Over, What Next? w/ Paolo Gerbaudo
If neoliberalism is over, what comes after? Could this new political and economic moment end up turning right rather than left? Aaron Bastani speaks to sociologist Paolo Gerbaudo about his new book The Great Recoil, examining how ideas of protection, control and state intervention are replacing the previous orthodoxy of free market capitalism.
10/7/2021 • 1 hour, 2 minutes, 32 seconds
Downstream: Could Donald Trump Win in 2024? w/ Nina Turner
Aaron Bastani meets Nina Turner, co-chair of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, to discuss the American left under Biden, the prospect of Donald Trump running in 2024 and how American workers can build a more progressive politics.
10/6/2021 • 21 minutes, 25 seconds
Downstream-on-Sea: Ash Sarkar meets Zarah Sultana
At the Labour Party Conference last week, Ash Sarkar shared fish and chips on Brighton seafront with Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South. They talked about why being in the Labour Party is so hard right now, their experiences as Muslim women of colour on the left, how trans rights are dividing the party, and what’s […]
10/4/2021 • 25 minutes, 19 seconds
Downstream: How Violence Shapes Our Sex Lives w/ Rachel Thompson
Is ‘consent’ the only dividing line between good sex and bad sex? Ash Sarkar is joined by Rachel Thompson to discuss her new book Rough and the politics of pornography, kink, and sex-ambivalent feminism.
9/16/2021 • 42 minutes, 5 seconds
#NovaraFM: Revenge of the Real w/ Benjamin Bratton
Just like COVID-19, climate breakdown is an anthropogenic crisis that requires an anthropogenic solution, according to Benjamin Bratton, author of Revenge of the Real: Politics for a Post-Pandemic World. In a conversation touching on Foucault, eschatology, China’s future and the archetypal “Karen”, Bratton tells Aaron Bastani why we need a new, positive biopolitics on a […]
8/13/2021 • 1 hour, 46 seconds
Downstream: Love In This Club w/ Jeremy Gilbert
Has the left forgotten how to have fun? Ash Sarkar is joined by #ACFM’s Jeremy Gilbert to discuss euphoria, liberation and wisdom in the rave.
8/11/2021 • 47 minutes, 16 seconds
TyskySour: New Covid Variants – How Scared Should We Be?
A SAGE report has warned that new variants could take us back to square one in tackling the Covid pandemic. How seriously should we take that risk? We speak to Deenan Pillay of Independent Sage. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.
8/3/2021 • 50 minutes, 55 seconds
TyskySour: Are Covid Cases Actually Falling?
The ONS, ZOE App, and PHE are all giving different accounts of whether Covid cases are rising, falling, or levelling off. So what is actually going on? We ask biomedical researcher at Queen Mary University Alex Crozier.
8/1/2021 • 39 minutes, 50 seconds
#NovaraFM: Notice Me!
Log on to any social media and you’ll be plunged into a whirlwind of demands for recognition, each voice trying to shout louder than the others. And for decades, political theorists have thought that the demand for recognition is one of the most powerful forces driving popular discontent – on right and left. But what […]
7/30/2021 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 45 seconds
TyskySour: England Begins Reopening The Borders
The government have announced double vaccinated people from the EU and USA won’t need to self-isolate on entry to England. We ask Gabriel Scally whether the move is sensible or reckless. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial.
7/30/2021 • 1 hour, 9 minutes, 59 seconds
TyskySour: Extreme Floods And Fires
In the past two weeks we’ve seen heatwaves and wildfires in North America and extreme floods in Europe, India and China. We speak to climate scientist Simon Lewis about just how bad this could get. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.
7/27/2021 • 59 minutes, 32 seconds
#NovaraFM: Riots and The Red Flag with Keir Milburn
#ACFM host Keir Milburn takes #NovaraFM producer Chal Ravens on a tour of Leeds, one of northern England’s historic epicentres of industry, trade and capital. From trouble at the flax mill to face-offs with fascists, Keir maps out a working class history that’s as much about violence as it is about solidarity. We meet Chartists […]
7/23/2021 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 34 seconds
Downstream: The Stories of Transgender Britain w/ Juliet Jacques
Ash Sarkar speaks to Juliet Jacques about her new book ‘Variations’ – a collection of short stories inspired by real-life events that explore the history of transgender Britain.
7/19/2021 • 35 minutes, 19 seconds
Downstream: The Fight for Unite w/ Steve Turner
Since 2010 Len McCluskey has been the general secretary of Unite, one of Britain’s largest trade unions. That changes this year with the election of his successor, a three-way race between Gerard Coyne, Sharon Graham and today’s guest on Downstream, Steve Turner.
7/1/2021 • 29 minutes, 57 seconds
#NovaraFM: NO ONE WAY WORKS: Political Organisation for the 21st Century
The cycle of struggle that erupted in 2011 – from the Arab Spring to the movement of the squares to the anti-austerity demonstrations in Britain – was characterised by stress on horizontalism and decentralised leadership. But as that movement grew and changed, it found itself running into the limits of that form, and entered into […]
6/25/2021 • 1 hour, 8 minutes, 38 seconds
#NovaraFM: Sex, Dissidence, Desire
Desire. It takes a young, working-class man out of the car factory, through the academy, and out of it again. It takes him through nightclubs and seminar rooms, cruising grounds and bathhouses, through intense relationships – both enduring and transient – and into a restless, enduring inquiry into human life as condensed in our greatest […]
6/18/2021 • 1 hour, 22 minutes, 13 seconds
Downstream: The Daniel Morgan Murder Inquiry
In 1987, private detective Daniel Morgan was found murdered with an axe to the head in a pub car park in south London. Despite the brutal circumstances of his death and multiple investigations, the case remains unsolved, prompting suspicion of corruption and cover-ups. Ash Sarkar speaks to Alastair Morgan as he awaits the results of […]
6/10/2021 • 35 minutes, 28 seconds
#NovaraFM: Police State of Mind
Why is it so hard to imagine a world without coppers? In this special episode, Novara Media reporter Rivkah Brown examines how the blue tentacles of police power creep into our daily lives and invade our minds. We hear the shocking stories of Bea, a left-wing activist who discovered her ex was a police spy, […]
6/4/2021 • 1 hour, 12 minutes, 40 seconds
Downstream: How Britain’s Police Spied On The Left w/ Tom Fowler
The Undercover Policing Inquiry, which started in December last year, is examining the infiltration of more than 1,000 political groups by British police since 1968. How much has been disclosed? Will more revelations come to light? And what does justice look like for those whose lives have been destroyed by ‘spycops’? Aaron Bastani is joined […]
6/3/2021 • 35 minutes, 9 seconds
#NovaraFM: Afterburn
In the next decade, all politics will be climate politics. But climate politics isn’t always progressive. In the US, outright pseudoscientific denialism has been replaced by a softer, economist-led denialism: there might be a problem, but we just can’t afford to do anything serious about it. And there are darker possibilities lurking in the shadows. […]
5/28/2021 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 41 seconds
Downstream: What White People Can Do Next w/ Emma Dabiri
Check your privilege. Google it. Stay in your lane. Though Black Lives Matter has politicised a new generation into antiracism, it’s not actually clear what white people are meant to do next. Ash Sarkar is joined by Emma Dabiri to talk about why liberal identity politics are a dead end, why allyship is a nonsense, […]
5/26/2021 • 37 minutes, 4 seconds
#NovaraFM: Get Free
What if everything you thought you knew about freedom was wrong? For generations of political activists, revolutionaries, utopians and dreamers, freedom has been the watchword of political struggle. People have stood on barricades and in front of tanks demanding it, wasted in prisons in defence of it and stood in front of firing squads for […]
5/21/2021 • 1 hour, 19 seconds
Downstream: How Britain Supports Israel’s War on Palestine
In March this year the UK’s new military strategy declared that Israel remains a ‘key strategic partner’. But what does that mean, and where does it sit in relation to Israel and its war on Palestine? Aaron Bastani is joined by Mark Curtis, editor and co-founder of Declassified UK.
5/19/2021 • 45 minutes, 14 seconds
#NovaraFM: From War to Constitution – and the Problem of England
Who decides how we’re governed? What can’t a government do? And who gets to vote – or who doesn’t? And where is it all written down? In a constitution, of course. At the end of the 18th century, in a time of war and revolution, a spate of constitution-writing broke out across the globe. They […]
5/14/2021 • 1 hour, 5 minutes, 53 seconds
Downstream: How Labour Wins Back The Red Wall
While Labour lost council seats across the North and Midlands in last week’s local elections, it held firm in Preston. Can municipal socialism and the ‘Preston Model’ now save the party? Aaron Bastani is joined by Matthew Brown, Labour leader of Preston Council.
5/12/2021 • 28 minutes, 27 seconds
Downstream: Is Line Of Duty ‘Copaganda’?
Between a fifth and a quarter of scripted network TV shows involve police or law enforcement. From Paul Blart: Mall Cop to A Touch of Frost, ‘copaganda’ has our pop culture bang to rights. What impact does the ubiquity of police dramas on our screens have on the real criminal justice system? And – mother […]
5/5/2021 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 44 seconds
Downstream: How Radical is President Joe Biden? w/ Adam Tooze
For some, Joe Biden has already exceeded expectations. For others, his economic programme is nowhere near enough to address the climate crisis and American decline. While the president’s Covid relief package has seen billions dispensed immediately, his Jobs Plan proposes to invest $35 billion in green R&D over eight years – less than Americans spend […]
5/4/2021 • 57 minutes, 23 seconds
Downstream: Why It’s Eco-Socialism or Collapse
Climate change is better understood as climate systems breakdown, and it’s only through the lens of the latter that we can grasp the scale of the crisis ahead. Aaron Bastani is joined by Mat Lawrence and Laurie Laybourn-Langton to discuss their new book, Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown.
4/29/2021 • 48 minutes, 28 seconds
#NovaraFM: A Plague of Blue Locusts: On Police Power
Blue Devils! A little band of tyrants! A plague of blue locusts! So the Northern radical press reacted to attempts to impose a new police force in the 1840s. But today that tradition of scepticism and hostility to the police is largely forgotten. As new movements against racist violence in the US raise the slogan […]
4/23/2021 • 1 hour, 1 minute, 26 seconds
Downstream: A Super League for the Super Rich w/ Laurence McKenna
Following the shock announcement of a European Super League, Ash Sarkar talks to podcaster Laurence McKenna about how a sport created by the poor was stolen by the rich – and what can be done to take football back.
4/21/2021 • 47 minutes, 49 seconds
Downstream: ‘Dodgy Dave’? The Facts on the Greensill Saga
Political scandal no longer seems to cut through the conversation, but is the unfolding saga around Max Greensill and David Cameron an exception? Aaron Bastani is joined by Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund to discuss the implications of a story which is only set to grow.
4/15/2021 • 41 minutes, 59 seconds
Downstream: Why The Tories Keep Winning w/ Sam Earle
Excluding Tony Blair’s back-to-back victories, the Conservative Party has governed the UK for all but 18 of the last 100 years. While the media often presents elections as Labour’s to lose, the truth is that Britain is a one-party state that occasionally lets the other side have a go in the interest of fairness. With […]
4/7/2021 • 45 minutes, 12 seconds
Downstream: When Will China Be The World’s Most Powerful Country?
Will the 2020s be the decade when power decisively shifts from the United States to China? How important is China’s rise in a broad historic context – and is that why we are seeing an emerging Cold War between Washington and Beijing? Do appeals to a ‘civilisation-state’ undermine the power of universal values and human […]
