Novara Media

Latest Episodes:

Novara FM: Time for a New Left Party? w/ Oliver Eagleton, Rachel Godfrey Wood and Joe Todd Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

It’s been five long years since the decisive defeat of Corbynism at the ballot box.

How, if at all, should the left reconstitute itself? Should everyone join the Greens? Or do we just need Mick Lynch to start a new party?

In this episode, Richard Hames is joined by Rachel Godfrey Wood, Joe Todd, and Oliver Eagleton to thrash it all out and arrive at the One True Answer.

We’re keen to hear from you on this topic! Lets us know your comments, criticisms and key strategic insights at fm@novaramedia.com

Downstream: Everything They Tell You About the Economy Is Wrong w/ Gary Stevenson Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

Fourteen years ago Gary Stevenson was one of Citibank’s best performing traders. The bet that brought him success was one few foresaw: that despite record low interest rates, Britain’s economy would stay in the doldrums.

He wrote about that, and his time at Citi, in his bestselling memoir ‘The Trading Game’. In this, his third Downstream with Aaron, Gary talks about the rise of Reform, why the political establishment could be facing extinction; why Elon Musk’s wealth is a threat to democracy; and how the plan is to make you poorer – forever.

ACFM Trip 49: Debt Jan 26, 2025

Show notes

The concept of debt is as slippery as it is powerful. In this Trip episode, Keir, Nadia and Jem explain why debt is more like a belief than a calculation, and wonder how to imagine a society without it.

From credit cards to dowries, they discuss the reality and fantasy of debt, with ideas from David Graeber and Deleuze and music from Crass and Gwen Guthrie.

Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm
Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters
Follow our ever-expanding playlist on Spotify by searching “ACFM”.

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Novara FM: What Will ‘Technoking’ Elon Musk Do in the White House? w/ Quinn Slobodian Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

Elon Musk is the most symptomatic capitalist of our era: obsessed with publicity, by many accounts a fanatical workaholic, and increasingly in bed with the far right.

But how did he go from Obama-era liberal darling to giving a Nazi salute at Trump’s second inauguration?

Historian of ideas Quinn Slobodian has traced the relationship between big tech and the far right for years. His books include Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism and Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy.

He speaks to Eleanor Penny about the world that made Elon Musk possible.

Quinn Slobodian previously appeared on Novara FM in late 2023.

Downstream: Who’s Behind the Institute of Economic Affairs? w/ Kristian Niemietz Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

The Institute of Economic Affairs is one of the most powerful and secretive think tanks in the UK, known for promoting free-market Thatcherism as a solution to all of our economic woes. Who’s behind it?

This week, Kristian Niemietz, a director at the IEA and a long-time Novara Media hater, sits down with Aaron for a debate about trickle-down economics, why he’s a neoliberal, and who really funds his employer.

And who funds Novara Media? That’s easier to answer: you. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Downstream: Woke Capitalism Just Collapsed. Here’s Why w/ Brett Christophers Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump is the next president. Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s have forsaken their diversity policies. Elon Musk is demanding that Keir Starmer be removed as PM. Why is this all happening at the same time? And why do progressives have so little to offer when it comes to the economy and people’s everyday lives?

Brett Christophers is a geographer, author and former management consultant. According to him, it’s the commitment of parties like Labour and the US Democrats to the prevailing economic orthodoxy that has brought about the collapse of ‘woke capitalism’.

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

ACFM Microdose: The Communist Manifesto Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

The ACFM gang gather for a midwinter reading of one of the most influential political tracts ever written. Download a version online and follow along as Nadia, Keir and Jem reassess The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Help us build people-powered media – pledge your support from as little as £1 a month: https://novara.media/support

Novara FM: Why The Left Needs To Care About Crypto w/ Sam Hart Jan 02, 2025

Show notes

Having long promised to decentralise power, Bitcoin is looking more and more like it will end up as a tool of American power under Trump.

But blockchains could also be used to empower local economies. And why should the left stay attached to a money system controlled by the state?

Sam Hart is a developer, writer, and editor of the Cryptoeconomic Systems journal. He spoke to Richard Hames about the promises and perils of the new era of blockchain technologies.

Comments, questions, corrections? fm@novaramedia.com

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Novara FM: Love Actually w/ Nathalie Olah Dec 24, 2024

Show notes

In Richard Curtis’ Love Actually, a selection of mainly white and middle-class Londoners seem to be living in a parallel universe – one in which the war on terror never happened and the ’90s never ended. What kinds of love are really on offer in this misty-eyed vision of modern Britain?

Following Novara FM’s investigation into Die Hard, Eleanor Penny tackles another festive Alan Rickman vehicle with Nathalie Olah, author of Bad Taste and Steal As Much As You Can.

Comments, questions, corrections? fm@novaramedia.com

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media.com/support

Downstream: 2024 Round Up: Gaza, Starmer and the Death of Woke Dec 23, 2024

Show notes

On 10 December, Ash Sarkar, Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani discussed an epoch-defining year and its implications for the future. Is Starmer screwed? Are expansionist wars back? Has ‘woke’ died? Find out in our end-of-year Downstream special.

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected