

Novara Media
Novara Media
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 13, 2023 • 1h 9min
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.

Mar 12, 2023 • 1h 32min
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 […]

4 snips
Mar 6, 2023 • 2h 5min
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 […]

11 snips
Feb 28, 2023 • 51min
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 […]

Feb 22, 2023 • 1h 8min
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, […]

Feb 20, 2023 • 1h 32min
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 […]

Feb 19, 2023 • 1h 36min
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 […]

6 snips
Feb 14, 2023 • 1h 12min
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 […]

Feb 8, 2023 • 57min
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 […]

Feb 7, 2023 • 1h 31min
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 […]


