The World Unspun

This episode is brought to you by New Internationalist's very own Ethical Shop. Use the code ETHICAL for 10% off online orders on a range of ethical and fairtrade goods.We are at a critical crossroads. A global wave of far-right authoritarianism is threatening human rights, climate action and democracy – steering the world toward disaster. From Donald Trump in the White House to Javier Milei in Argentina, ideologies that were once confined to the fringes are now dictating the agenda from inside the halls of power. What are the roots of the right’s rise? What networks enable it? What are social movements around the world doing to offer real alternatives to the politics of hate and division?In September, we hosted a special Ask Us Anything event with contributors to our magazine to answer these questions and many more. This episode is an edited version of that discussion.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor, Producer), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guests: Kim Kelly, Josefina Salomon, Balasz TurcsanFurther reading from this episode:Read NI557: The Global Far RightA time of monsters (Bethany Rielly, New Internationalist)Shop Fair Trade at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical Shop, using the discount code ETHICAL for 10% off yourNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

The French activist, author and film producer joins us to talk about the Together for Palestine concert in London as well as his other major projects in support of Palestinian liberation.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor, Producer), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guest: Frank BaratFurther Reading from this episode:Read more of Frank's writing for New InternationalistItalian dockworkers threaten to shut down Europe in solidarity with Global Sumud Flotilla (Tommaso Gori, New Internationalist)I oppose genocide. Is that ok? (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist)Poll: Nearly 80% of Israeli Jews 'not troubled' by Gaza starvation (The New Arab)South Africa: 30 Years Later (New Internationalist)Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical ShopNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

New Internationalist co-owner Kiran Gupta presents The Long Read from NI554: Treaty: Indigenous Sovereignty in AustraliaFurther reading from this episode:Revolutionary Aid in Sudan (Eiad Hisham in New Internationalist)Support independent media by becoming a New Internationalist co-ownerNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today using the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

In this episode we speak to Adele Zeynep Walton, a journalist, digital safety campaigner and author of the new book ‘Logging Off: The Human Cost of our Digital World’, about online harms, Big Tech accountability, and how to make the digital world safer.To send a GDPR objection email to Meta to exercise your rights against unwanted direct marketing and data misuse, visit; https://wwwdot.org/. You can find out more about Adele and her work at: www.adelesnotes.co.uk/Read NI552: DisinformationHost: Paula LaceyCredits: Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant, Producer), Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design), Thomas Barlow, Impress (Media Consultant)Guest: Adele WaltonFurther Reading from this Episode:Entering the matrix of misinformation with Nanjala Nyabola (The World Unspun Podcast)The issue with social media blocking apps? They’re now just as addictive (Adele Zeynep Walton, The Observer)‘Meta must be held liable for Facebook abuse that killed my father’ (Mukanzi Musanga, Open Democracy)How to Fix the Online Safety Act: A Rights First Approach (Open Rights Group)Disinformation and disorder: the limits of the Online Safety Act (Alexandros Antoniou, Lorna Woods and Maeve Walsh, Online Safety Act Network)No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. To help us continueSubscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print or digital subscription.Sign up to Currents for dispatches from the frontlines of global progressive movements. 30 days FREE then £3/month. Learn more

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.Considered persona non-grata by Israel, Francesca Albanese is perhaps one of the most hated – and admired – figures in the United Nations today.Unlike many Western diplomats, the Italian human rights lawyer and UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories has called Israel ’s assault on Gaza a genocide, and she has urged Israel ’s suspension from the UN. This stance has made her a target of smear campaigns, with the US mission to the UN accusing Albanese of ‘antisemitic hatred and impartiality’ when her term was renewed in April.For our latest issue on the UN at 80 co-editor Bethany Rielly interviewed Albanese, who appears to place more faith in grassroots power than in the UN’s headquarters.Hosts: Maxine Betteridge-Moes, Bethany RiellyGuest: Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territoriesCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Producer, Digital Editor), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Read NI556: Disunited NationsFurther reading from this episode:To end the Gaza genocide, the Global South takes justice into its own hands (Kate McMahon, New Internationalist)Fiddling while Gaza burns (Hamza Yusuf, New Internationalist - subscribe to read)Global leadership vetoed (Conrad Landin, New Internationalist)Criminalized on campus: The UK students taking action for Gaza (Paula Lacey, New Internationalist)Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical ShopNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

Corruption, pollution and child labour have long blighted the Democratic Republic of the Congo's cobalt industry. But is there any way of turning the country’s critical mineral wealth into a blessing rather than a burden?In the final episode of our mini series, Dig, Baby, Dig! we spoke to Alaka Lugonzo a senior civil society adviser at Global Witness and Jean Pierre Okenda, the executive director of Sentinel Natural Resources.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesGuests: Alaka Lugonzo and Jean Pierre OkendaCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Producer, Digital Editor), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Isabella Poderico (Editorial Intern) Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Read NI555: Dig, Baby, Dig! Can Critical Minerals Save the World?Further reading from this episode:Congo's cobalt curse (Cat Rainsford, New Internationalist - subscribe to read)Can mining save the world? (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist)Women’s agency in the DRC (Sophie Neiman, New Internationalist)It’s time to hold Big Tech accountable for violence in the DRC (Passy Mubalama, New Internationalist)Transition Minerals Tracker: 2025 Global Analysis (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre)In numbers: Critical mineral production, ownership and social unrest (Global Witness)Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical ShopNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

New Internationalist co-owner Kiran Gupta presents The Long Read from NI552: DisinformationFurther reading from this episode:Women’s agency in the DRC war (Sophie Neiman in New Internationalist) Reporting for this story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Neiman was awarded the prestigious Gaby Rado Award from the Amnesty International Media Awards in June 2025 as a result of this story.Support independent media by becoming a New Internationalist co-ownerSign up to Currents for dispatches from the frontlines of global progressive movements. Sent straight to your inbox, twice a week.No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today using the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

'Why do we care about the climate crisis unless it is to save natural spaces that are exactly like the Jadar Valley?'The second episode in this mini series takes you to Serbia, where the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is trying to dig for lithium in the Jadar Valley in spite of widespread public protests.We speak to actor and activist Bojana Novakovic of Marš sa Drine about how people power has delayed the project by two years – and what other resistance movements can learn from Serbians.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesGuest: Bojana NovakovicCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Producer, Digital Editor), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Read NI555: Dig, Baby, Dig! Can Critical Minerals Save the World?0:28 Introduction to critical minerals2:45 Welcoming Bojana Novakovic4:04 What’s at stake in the Jadar Valley?6:01 Introducing Mars sa Drine7:00 The beginning of protests against lithium mining8:09 Why Serbia?10:13 Vucic’s re-election12:28 Student-led protests after deadly disaster14:20 Knock on effects for the rest of Europe15:43 Mass arrests and criminalisation17:13 Using direct action18:45 Can we afford collateral damage in the climate crisis?23:10 Has lithium had a capitalist glow up?Further reading from this episode:Can mining save the world? (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist - subscribe to read)White flamingos and lithium frenzy (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist - subscribe to read)Once upon a Rio Tinto mining project (Andrej Ivančić and Sergey Steblev, New Internationalist)Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical ShopSign up to Currents for dispatches from the frontlines of progressive movements. Sent straight to your inbox, twice a week.No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

Katie Fallon is the Advocacy Manager at Campaign Against the Arms Trade, while Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe is a lawyer at Global Legal Action Network, tackling UK arms exports to Israel. Saeed Taji Farouky represents Palestine Action, and Maaz Salih Idres is a peace builder from Sudan. They discuss the arms trade's devastating impact on global conflicts and the importance of grassroots activism. The conversation highlights legal challenges, UK complicity, and the urgent need for accountability and international solidarity in the fight against the arms trade.

Hosted by New Internationalist digital editor Maxine Betteridge-Moes. Every two weeks, we bring the pages of our award-winning print magazine to life through fascinating conversations with our global contributors.