Novara Media Podcasts

Join us at Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield on 4th July 2026 – tickets are available now from https://crossedwires.live/ now!

Ash and Moya debate the pros and cons of feeling shame after Ash reveals that her own moral universe is governed by guilt. Plus: what to do about a best friend with a mean streak.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Two gunmen have opened fire on a crowd of people celebrating Hanukkah on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15.

Plus: Resident NHS doctors have voted to go on strike.

With Michael Walker, Cody Dahler & Em Hilton.

Since Hamas launched its assault on October 7th, 2023, the group has become synonymous with evil in large parts of the Western media. Condemnation has come at the expense of critical engagement with the group’s actions, objectives, and history, leaving a vacuum that has been filled with racist assumptions and conspiracy theories.

Tareq Baconi is a Palestinian scholar whose doctoral thesis on Hamas was published in 2018 as a book, ‘Hamas Contained’. The book drew on interviews with the organisation’s leaders and their archives. Tareq’s goal when writing it was to ‘get out of the way’ and let the gr...

Reform UK is now the country’s largest party, following the collapse of Labour’s membership.

Plus: The Guardian has revealed that last year Britain threatened to defund the International Court of Justice if it prosecuted Benjamin Netanyahu.

With Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani & Juan David Rojas.

Venezuela accuses the U.S of ‘piracy’ after they seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast.

Plus: Starmer’s House of Lords reform, and Bonnie Blue Says She “Stands With Nigel Farage”

With NoJusticeMTG, Curtis Daly & Luna Doom.

Starmer wants tougher policing of Europe’s borders and reforms of the ECHR.

Plus: “High risk of death” for Palestine Action prisoners on hunger strike, and Australia introduces a minimum age for social media use.

With: Michael Walker, NoJusticeMTG & Charlie Winstanley.

In an interview with Politico, Donald Trump has dismissed Europe as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” and “politically correct” people.

Plus: Tony Blair has been removed from the Gaza peace plan following objections from Arab and Muslim nations.

With Aaron Bastani & Kieran Andrieu.

NEW LIVE SHOW! Join us at Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield on 4th July 2026. Presale tickets available at 11AM on 10th December – go to crossedwires.live and use the code CW26EARLY.

After watching the Wicked sequel, Moya wonders if politeness is stopping us from seriously addressing women’s shrinking bodies and changing faces. Are we allowing extreme thinness to be normalised? Plus: can you mould your partner into someone better?

CN: From 15:30, eating disorders. From 50:00, rape.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Zelenskyy in Downing Street as peace talks continue.

Plus: The failed coup in Benin, Paramount interferes in the potential Netflix/Warner Bros deal, and Zack Polanski’s somewhat controversial reasons for why migration is needed…

With Michael Walker & Barry Malone.

Did you know that the standard of Google searches has actually gotten worse over recent years? Once you think about it, it makes sense. Highly effective search means fewer searches overall. And fewer searches means less ad revenue. The financial basis of Alphabet, which is Google’s parent company, is, of course, digital advertising. Which means that undermining the quality of the company’s cornerstone product actually makes money. That’s how crazy the modern internet has become. There are, as the saying goes, many such cases.

Cory Doctorow, this week’s Downstream guest, has a word for this...

Jem, Nadia and Keir debate the meaning of ‘mainstream’ – something none of them could ever possibly be, of course.

Is ‘woke’ the new mainstream? Can there be a mainstream if we don’t all have access to the same culture? Is Tommy Robinson shifting the Overton Window? Why is nonconformity associated with coolness? And who engineers the ‘typical girl’? The gang answer these questions and more, with ideas from Raymond Williams and Perry Anderson, and music from Pulp and The Slits.

Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm
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Twenty-eight of Nigel Farage’s former classmates and teachers have said that they witnessed racist or anti-Semitic behaviour by Nigel Farage during the 1970s and 1980s.

Plus: The tech boss who wants to profit from your opinions.

With Aaron Bastani and Michael Walker.

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Plus: Reform Party receives £9m donation, Pete Hegseth accused of a war crime, and Valentina Gomez stuns Piers Morgan with her extreme views.

With: Helena(NoJusticeMTG), Dalia Gebrial & Meg De Meo

Could Reform and the Tories create a pact?

Plus: The final Hillsborough report allows those responsible for the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans to face no consequences, the case for decolonising economics, and Hillary Clinton blames TikTok for young people’s views on Israel/Palestine.

With: Michael Walker, Tadhg Hickey, Charlotte Hennessy & Surbhi Kesar.

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David Lammy is expected to announce reforms that would see jury trials ended for sentences of three years or less.

Plus: Rachel Reeves is under pressure over budget “lies”, and we discuss Zack Polanski’s economic influences.

With Aaron Bastani and Kieran Andrieu.

Last chance! We’re at EartH in East London on 16 December with guest Jordan Stephens – a handful of tickets are still available from Dice.

Ash and Moya tackle a mystery question about ethical consumption with a conversation about the urge to beautify and shopping as a numbing mechanism. Plus: advice for a special one wondering why men won’t watch ethical porn.

CN: The dilemma contains discussion of sexual violence at 35:00.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Your Party members are in favour of collective leadership.

With: Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar and Steven Methven.

Whether you love or loathe his tactics, it’s hard to deny the disruptive impact that Roger Hallam has had on British politics via the activist organisations he has led, Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.

He joins Ash Sarkar fresh from his latest stint in prison, where he wrote a treatise for Your Party that sets out his vision for an emancipated future, and strategies for how to get there. But does Your Party still have potential? Does he still believe in sending activists to prison? And will Zoom calls be part of the revolution?

...

Labour have been accused of breaking another manifesto pledge after watering down their workers rights bill.

Plus: The right-wing press are now panicking about emigration as well as immigration, and Rachel Reeves has been accused of misleading the public.

With Michael Walker & Aaron Bastani.

Rachel Reeves’ budget seems to have appeased the markets, but voters are less convinced.

Plus: Net migration has fallen to a four-year low, and we discuss the generational divide in UK politics.

With NoJusticeMTG & Dalia Gebrial.

Rachel Reeves’ Budget unveils all-time high tax rises

Plus: The government is preparing to scrap jury trials for most criminal cases in England and Wales, and the ‘deeply alarming’ Palestine Action case gets new judges.

With: Michael Walker, James Meadway & Steven Methven.

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https://novaramedia.com/2025/11/25/a-stitch-up-palestine-action-case-gets-new-judges/

A new report into the Department for Work and Pensions blames repeated Tory failures for pushing hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers into debt and distress.

Plus: Why right-wing slop is taking over social media.

With Aaron Bastani, NoJusticeMTG, Dale Vince & Chris Bratt (PeopleMakeGames).

We’re in Manchester tonight (25 November) with Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There – final tickets available from Contact Theatre! Then EartH in East London on 16 December with Jordan Stephens – get tickets from Dice.

This week Moya and Ash talk to Dr Annabel Sowemimo about STI stigma, period-tracking apps, being disconnected from our bodies, and how to afford a second child. Plus: which hospital department has the sexiest staff?

Annabel’s book, Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare, is out now.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by...

A revised Ukraine peace plan has been announced.

Plus: Looking at Wednesday’s budget – tax rises might be inevitable, Zack Polanski and Andy Haldane trade blows on the BBC, and Trump’s alliance with Mamdani is the only surprise from the weekend…

With: Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Daniela Gabor.

Support for the Green party in Britain has been steadily rising for the past few decades. However, few predicted that when Zack Polanski took office as Green party leader in September, membership would surge from 70,000 to 150,000 members in a matter of months. According to the latest polling, the party’s share of the vote has soared too: growing from 10 to 17 per cent.

In front of a live audience at EartH Hackney, Zack tells the story of his first few months in office, and how the party’s plans from two months ago are already outdated. What are the...

Rachel Reeves’ long-awaited budget is looming, as some speculate that bond markets could force her to revise it.

Plus: The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting Russian bribes.

With Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani, Jayati Ghosh & Carole Cadwalladr.

Pressure continues to mount for Keir Starmer as Andy Burnham won’t rule out a leadership challenge.

Plus: New exclusive data shows how climate protesters, not the far-right, are being silenced, and Aditya Chakrabortty on whether a wealth tax will make much of a difference in dealing with inequality in Britain.

With: NoJusticeMTG, Steven Methven, Ayeshah Nashua & Aditya Chakrabortty.

Starmer seems to be fighting for leadership survival.

Plus: Has the world already admitted defeat on climate change?, Donald Trump defends the Saudi Crown Prince over the Khashoggi killing, and is the whole truth finally going to come out about Jeffrey Epstein?

With: Michael Walker, Barry Malone, Murtaza Hussain & Laurie Laybourn-Langton

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended Labour’s controversial new asylum plans, with much of the opposition coming from within the party.

Plus: The Renters’ Rights Act is set to become law, Zack Polanski hits back at Labour, and we speak to British journalist Sami Hamdi about his detention by ICE.

With Michael Walker, Freddie Feltham, Tom Darling, Sami Hamdi, and Beth Gardiner-Smith.

LAST CALL for our Manchester event on 25 November with Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There – get tickets from Contact Theatre! Then we’ll be at EartH in East London on 16 December with Jordan Stephens – tickets are selling fast on Dice.

This week a mystery question leads Ash and Moya into conversation about whether their politics are changing as they age – including their takes on Your Party, Zack’s Greens and why the UK left hasn’t produced a Zohran. Plus: how to escape a situationship.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxl

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced what she’s described as the biggest shake-up in British asylum policy since WW2.

Plus: MP Adnan Hussein has left ‘Your Party’, citing ‘persistent infighting’ as his reason.

With Michael Walker, Michelle Pace,  and NoJusticeMTG.

At Novara, we focus on the trends that are remaking the world and affecting our lives: technological development and automation, multipolarity, the demise of an American-led world order and the rise of China. On Downstream this week is a man whose work draws together all of these themes: former World Bank macroeconomist and leading expert on global inequality, Professor Branko Milanovic.

In conversation with Aaron Bastani, Branko answers all of Aaron’s burning questions about modern economic history and where things are heading. How significant is the rise of Asia today, compared to the seismic historic shift of...

As part of a series of economics specials in the run-up to the Autumn Budget, Michael Walker speaks to Professor Steve Keen, who thinks that mainstream economics has got everything disastrously wrong.

We speak to absconded Palestine Action prisoner Sean “Shibby” Middlebrough.

Plus: The collapse of Starmer’s Labour continues, Kamala Harris is back on the airwaves, and a Tory MP has his feelings hurt by Aston Villa fans.

With NoJusticeMTG and Steven Methven.

Keir Starmer’s position is looking shaky

Plus: Huge protests at the COP summit in Brazil, inside Sudan’s civil war and the role of the UAE, and revelations in Trump’s relationship with Epstein.

With: Michael Walker, Barry Malone & Joseph Sikulu

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The gloves are off as Keir Starmer accuses Reform UK of bringing racism back to UK politics.

Plus: A new ITV documentary features shocking testimony from IDF soldiers, and the BBC bias row continues.

With: Aaron Bastani & Kieran Andrieu.

Investigative journalist Paul Holden has spent the last four years digging into the political machinations that brought Keir Starmer’s Labour Party into office – findings that propel his powerful 2025 book, The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Labour Together and the Crisis of British Democracy.

He tells Ash Sarkar about the cache of leaked emails that revealed the secret dealings of Morgan McSweeney – an adviser who’s risen through the ranks to become perhaps the most powerful man in the Labour party – and explains how McSweeney’s faction, Labour Together, sabotaged the Corbyn project.

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Come and see us live! We’re in Manchester on 25 November with Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There – get tickets from Contact Theatre. Then we’ll be at EartH in East London on 16 December with Jordan Stephens – actor, author and one half of Rizzle Kicks! Tickets are available from Dice.

This week, after listening to the new album by Lily Allen – the patron saint of oversharing – Moya and Ash debate the pros and cons of spilling your guts in public. Do we owe a level of privacy to those that have wronged us? Plus: when was the best tim...

BBC Director General resigns after “error of judgement” over Trump speech.

Plus: Jailed climate activist faces deportation, and Lisa Nandy stands firm on her stance surrounding the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

With Kieran Andrieu, Ash Sarkar and Simon Lewis.

The much politicised Aston Villa football match against Maccabi Tel Aviv has gone ahead with fans of the Israeli team absent from the event. 11 people have been arrested at protests surrounding the event.

Plus: Four British prisoners accused of offences related to Palestine Action are on hunger strike over the conditions in which they are being held.

With Steven Methven, Aaron Bastani, Francesca Nadin of Prisoners for Palestine and Simon Childs.

The wife of British ICE detainee Sami Hamdi raises concerns for his health.

Plus: How Elbit Systems planted a story about Palestine Action, and the backlash over John Lewis’ latest Christmas ad.

With NoJusticeMTG, Dalia Gebrial & Soumaya Hamdi.

A special announcement: Moya and Ash will host a festive edition of If I Speak on 16th December. Joining us at EartH in East London will be special guest Jordan Stephens – actor, writer, one half of Rizzle Kicks and the author of a bestselling memoir, Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs! Tickets are available now from Dice.

Our north-west special ones can still grab tickets to If I Speak live at Contact Theatre in Manchester on 25th November, where we’ll be talking to journalist Lanre Bakare about Black British culture beyond the capital, as explored in his book...

Zohran Mamdani Elected NYC Mayor

Plus: Bhaskar Sunkara on the work that Mamdani can do now, and, would Labour have given Mamdani the chance to run for London Mayor?

With: Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar, and Bhaskar Sunkara

The ‘heroic’ rail worker who risked his life to save passengers from a mass stabbing on a train has been named as 48-year-old Samir Zitouni.

Plus: A leaked report into BBC Panorama says that footage of Donald Trump’s January 6th speech was edited to make the case that he was encouraging the Capitol Hill riot, and New Yorkers head to the polls for what could be the election of the city’s first democratic socialist mayor.

With Aaron Bastani & Kieran Andrieu.

Come and see us live on 25th November in Manchester with special guest Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There! Tickets are available now from Contact Theatre.

Inspired by a famous pop psychology quiz, Moya and Ash tackle a quiz about the culture that shaped them, from celebrity crushes to memorable quotes. Plus: advice for a young fiancé who’s losing interest in his partner.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

A suspect has been charged following Sunday’s horrific knife attack on a train.

Plus: Wealthy Britons fleeing the UK to avoid tax may face a new settling-up fee, and the Campaign against Zohran Mamdani.

With: Steven Methven & Barry Malone

In 1989, Francis Fukuyama, then a very young political scientist, declared that history was over. He wrote a book with the same title just a couple of years later. The Cold War had finished, the USSR had collapsed, liberal democracy and market capitalism reigned supreme, and it wasn’t going to change. And yet in the last few years, the script has moved quite significantly. History has returned. Emblematic of that has been the conflict between Russia and Ukraine which began in 2022, although of course, you can date that back to 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea.

On Downstream this we...

After last week’s episode on Parties, this time ACFM exposes the predicament facing Your Party, the new leftwing faction led by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn.

What expectations do leftwing voters have for Your Party? Does the Corbyn faction distrust the membership? Is Zarah a politician or a poster? And does ‘Yorp’ stand a chance of overtaking the ascendant Greens? Nadia, Jem and Keir analyse a turbulent few months in British left politics.

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In tonight’s special episode of Novara Live we’re taking a break from the news cycle for a deep dive on Britain’s economy with world-leading financial journalist Martin Wolf.

Calls For Rachel Reeves To Be Sacked

Plus: Wilders’ far-right party and centrist D66 tie in Dutch elections, is the Labour Party dead? And the ‘Your Party’ drama continues.

With: @NoJusticeMTG & Dalia Gebrial

The ceasefire in Gaza has been broken, again.

Plus: The devastation from Hurricane Melissa hits Jamaica, and The historian who thinks culture made capitalism.

With: Michael Walker, Mouin Rabbani, Mikaela Loach, Faiza Shaheen &

Anton Howes.

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Green Party membership has surpassed 150,000 – more than that of the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. Meanwhile, Labour is polling at their lowest in history.

Plus: Agency workers hired to cover the Birmingham bin strikes may now go on strike themselves, and Elon Musk could leave Tesla over a $1 trillion pay dispute.

With: Aaron Bastani and Kieran Andrieu.

We’re coming to Manchester! On 25th November we’ll be at Contact Theatre for a live show with special guest Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There. Tickets are available now from the Contact website!

This week, Moya and Ash offer a thought for spooky season: why do love hearing other people’s horror stories? Plus: Moya spills on a dating disaster, and a dilemma about a mentoring relationship gone wrong.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

The bizarre accidental release of the Epping sex offender shows Britain’s institutions are failing.

Plus: British journalist Sami Hamdi, arrested by ICE for criticising Israel, Javier Milei wins in Argentina’s midterm elections, and Reform MP’s anger towards diversity in TV adverts.

With: Michael Walker, Curtis Daly & Ernesto Seman.

Iran has been in the news a lot in 2025. Over recent decades, it has been a variable in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. But during the Twelve Day War with Israel in June of this year, Iran very much took centre stage. People started asking questions, chief among them being: What does Iran really want?

On Downstream this week is Vali Nasr, professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, and author of a new book, Iran’s Grand Strategy. In conversation with Aaron Bastani, Nasr traces the roots of Iran’s fo...

Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle has taken a historic Labour stronghold in the Caerphilly by-election.

Plus: Ireland goes to the polls to elect a new President, why Zack Polanski’s brand of eco-populism is infuriating the right, and we speak to Times Columnist James Marriott about the decline of reading.

With: Michael Walker & Aaron Bastani.

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Trump rejects Israel’s plan for West Bank annexation.

Plus: New polling shows that ‘wealth tax’ is gaining momentum, KCL withdraws a student’s visa sponsorship after pressure from a pro-Israel lobby group, and Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo clash in the final Mayoral debate

With NoJusticeMTG , Ash Sarkar & Harriet Williamson.

A fourth survivor quits the grooming gangs inquiry

Plus: Reform faces big test in Welsh By-Election, the warnings about superintelligence are getting louder, and Andrew Marr gets hit by reality

With: Michael Walker, Helena(NoJusticeMTG), Dan Evans and Ben Cumming

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The Gaza Strip, home to 2.2 million people, is a tiny land mass about the same size as the Isle of Wight. Yet in terms of munitions by weight, Gaza has been subjected to more than all of the bombs dropped on Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined, over the whole of World War II. Another even more terrifying statistic: in Ukraine, after two years of conflict, there were around 30 cases of child amputees. In Gaza, there were a thousand cases of child amputation in two months.

This October marked two years since the high-intensity genocidal assault on the...

Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir has been published in the UK, putting Prince Andrew and his links to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein back in the spotlight.

Plus: The row over Maccabi Tel Aviv continues, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy goes to jail, and Zack Polanski takes on Robert Peston as the Green Party continues to rise in the polls.

With Aaron Bastani and Kieran Andrieu.

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Moya and Ash are joined by Kemi Alemoru, editorial director of Glamour UK, to analyse the current state of pop culture, from Taylor Swift to A24. Has pop turned to slop? Or is it on us to fix our algorithmic intake? Plus: advice on a workplace crush.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Israel violates Gaza ceasefire… again.

Plus: The ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans continues to prove divisive, and Prince Andrew gives up royal titles as Epstein links increase.

With Ash Sarkar and NoJusticeMTG.

Just over two years after the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, and just days after the announcement of a ceasefire, Aaron Bastani spoke to three Palestinian writers in front of a live audience at EartH in Hackney.

Ahmed Alnaouq is the host of Palestine Deep Dive and the co-founder of ‘We Are Not Numbers’, an organisation that provides international mentors for Palestinian writers.

Yara Eid is a war journalist, born and raised in Gaza, who has worked for Amnesty International and been published in The New Arab.

Tareq Baconi is the former seni...

Amid the bumpy launch of a new left-wing party and the rise of the Greens and Reform, the ACFM crew turn their attention to parties. Do we still need them? Do parties work by drawing people together, or by excluding the uninvited? And should a political party have anything in common with a dance party?

Nadia, Keir and Jem discuss, with reference to the Paris Commune, Unite the Right, Abigail’s Party and Jem’s own party, Beauty and the Beat, and music from Fred Wesley and The Beastie Boys.

Find the books and music ment...

Keir Starmer has leapt to the defence of Israeli football hooligans, condemning a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending an upcoming Europa League game against Aston Villa.

Plus: The government have failed to stop a legal challenge against the controversial proscription of Palestine Action.

With Aaron Bastani and NoJusticeMTG.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is looking shaky.

Plus: Investigating the US and UK military industrial complex, and the union leader accused of harassment and heading up a ‘sexist boys club’.

With Michael Walker, Dalia Gebrial, Khem Rogaly & Simon Childs.

Two men accused of spying for China

Plus: Trump’s trade war with President Xi, Piers Morgan sells himself to the highest bidder, and OpenAI delves into… erotica.

With: Michael Walker, Barry Malone & Kyle Chan

Cracks have begun to show in the peace deal between Israel and Hamas as the Israeli military continues to kill Palestinians.

Plus: Rachel Reeves is under pressure to raise income tax in the upcoming autumn budget, and the government is accused of covering up evidence pertaining to a Chinese spying trial.

With NoJusticeMTG and Kieran Andrieu.

*Flag your Special One status with a massive foldable Baggu bag, available from shop.novaramedia.com*

Are you a stranger dater or a fan of the ‘indeterminate hang’? Moya and Ash explain their very different approaches to a first date. Plus: advice for an unhappy house-sharer.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Palestinian and Israeli captives have been released.

Plus: Israel refuses to release Marwan Barghouti, and the Green Party reaches 100,000 members.

With Michael Walker, NoJusticeMTG, Andreas Krieg and Milena Ansari.

Artificial intelligence is set to be one of the most disruptive technologies this century. For some, a machine capable of augmenting its own intelligence is a matter of time — and could even arrive within a decade.

This week’s guest is philosopher and author William MacAskill. One of the leading thinkers in the Effective Altruism movement, MacAskill is the author of several highly influential books, including Doing Good Better and What We Owe The Future.

His work explores not only on how to live a life of purpose, but how we also shouldn’t discount the in...

Thousands of displaced Palestinians are returning to the North of Gaza as Israel says a ceasefire is now in effect.

Plus: Donald Trump’s big Nobel Peace Prize disappointment, Keir Starmer’s trade mission to Mumbai, and the showdown between Zack Polanski and Zia Yusef on BBC Question Time.

With Michael Walker, Omar Rahman, Arjun Ramani and Curtis Daly

Initial stages of the Gaza ceasefire begin.

Plus: Millions in the UK to pay even more for water bills, and guess who Robert Jenrick didn’t see on his trip to Birmingham?

With NoJusticeMTG, Trita Parsi, and Dalia Gebrial.

The UK to hike drug prices to fight tariffs

Plus: Kemi’s speech at Tory Conference, and is Nigel Farage a fascist?

With: Michael Walker, Helena(@NoJusticeMTG), Nick Dearden & James Meadway

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Two years on from October 7th, we discuss how the world has changed.

Plus: The disaster that is the Tory conference, and why a Gen Z protest movement in Madagascar is taking on the government.

With Steven Methven and Barry Malone.

*We’ve got merch! It’s a big foldable bag just for Special Ones, available from shop.novaramedia.com*

Prompted by Elena Ferrante’s novel My Brilliant Friend, Ash wonders what makes Moya jealous. Can friendships survive a power imbalance? What happens when YOU are the brilliant friend? And is jealousy a crucial part of desire?

Reading: Wounded Attachment by Wendy Brown

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Trump urges “fast” Gaza deal as famine and airstrikes intensify.

Plus: French PM resigns after less than a month, Greta Thunberg deported from Israel, and the Trump goon squads the UK Right wants to copy.

With Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar, Daniel Levy and Olly Haynes.

Economist, and former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis joins Aaron to discuss his most recent book Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance, a memoir about the women in Yanis’ family who raised him, and gave him his political conscience.

They discuss the Hegelian Master-Slave dialectic, is patriarchy harmful to the perpetrators, as well as women? Did Tony Blair do more to privatise Britain than Margaret Thatcher? Does Keir Starmer have a plan?

And how does fascism end up destroying not just those it deems to be its enemies, but the motherland as we...

Britain’s Jewish community is still reeling from the vicious terrorist attack on a Manchester Synagogue while worshippers celebrated Yom Kippur.

Plus: We speak to Green Party leader Zack Polanski, and the last boat from the Global Sumud Flotilla has been illegally intercepted by Israel.

With Michael Walker and Curtis Daly.

Following the illegal interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by the Israeli military, protests have erupted all over the world in solidarity with the activists now held by Israel

With Steven Methven and Dalia Gebrial.

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US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have appeared at a joint press conference in Washington, where they unveiled Trump’s latest Gaza peace plan.

Plus: Keir Starmer delivers conference speech amid dismal polling, and Owen Jones is banned from Labour conference.

With Ash Sarkar, Steven Methven and Paul Holden.

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Moya wants to stop hating men and start building trust, which means a dialogue about all the things that make that difficult: objectification, racist over-sexualisation, degrading comments, and rape (TW: 27m; 40m).

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Keir Starmer has labelled Reform UK’s pledge to abolish indefinite leave to remain for migrants as “immoral” and “racist”.

Plus: The latest from Labour conference, including the arrest of 66 people demonstrating in support of Palestine Action.

With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.

In the summer of 2024, hotels sheltering Muslim asylum seekers across Britain were attacked by violent mobs. A year later, as the summer of 2025 drew to a close, a far-right demonstration of 100,000 people marched through London, bearing St George’s flags and led by Tommy Robinson.

On Downstream this week is Myriam François, a broadcaster and journalist, whose conversion to Islam 20 years ago has profoundly shaped her life in Britain. In conversation with Ash Sarkar, she tells the story of how she was politicised by a trip to Palestine in the early 2000s.

Does she thi...

After last week’s ACFM Trip to the Future, Jem and Keir reconvene to talk about science fiction. Is sci-fi a reaction to the “time-space compression” of the present? Is it inherently progressive? How did dystopian and paranoids visions of the future come to dominate sci-fi? Was Arthur C. Clarke an early acid communist?

Find all the books and films mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm
Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters

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Keir Starmer has announced plans to introduce mandatory digital ID cards as a measure against illegal immigration.

Plus: The US backs Tony Blair to run the transitional authority in Gaza, and terrorism charges have been dropped against Kneecap’s Mo Chara.

With: Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani, Jasleen Chaggar (Big Brother Watch), Morgan Wild (Labour Together), and journalist Peter Geoghegan

Buy tickets for Downstream IRL – Gaza: The Story of a Genocide: https://dice.fm/event/eoappd-novara-medias-downstream-irl-gaza-the-story-of-a-genocide-with-aaron-bastani-13th-oct-earth-london-tickets

Andy Burnham’s surprise bid to replace Starmer

Plus: Political violence is on the rise in the US, Trump shoots down Netanyahu’s bid to annex the West Bank, Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to 5 years in prison.

With: Helena(NoJusticeMTG), Dalia Gebrial & Aseel Baidoun.

Italy sends help to the Global Sumud Flotilla. 

Plus: Trump’s dramatic Ukraine switch, Your Party looks to re-launch their membership portal, and Nigel Farage can’t seem to detach from Trump.

With: Michael Walker & Barry Malone

Israel is ‘burning Gaza to the ground’

Plus: Epping hotel asylum seeker set for 12 months in prison after sexual assault, and thousands attend the funeral service of Charlie Kirk.

With: Aaron Bastani & Harriet Williamson

*We’ve got merch. Gift yourself the If I Speak x Baggu bag, only from shop.novaramedia.com*

A mystery question from producer Chal prompts a conversation about secrets in romantic relationships – from watching porn to cheating with an AI boyfriend. Plus: advice for an autistic dater who’s been banned from Hinge.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Plus: Reform’s plan to cancel indefinite leave to remain for migrants, Yanis Varoufakis on Israel’s attempt to smear the flotilla, TikTok replaces its entire UK safety team with AI, and Corbyn & Sultana hint at unity after legal row

With: Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Yanis Varoufakis

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It’s almost 10 years since Britain voted to leave the EU, and we’re still dealing with the consequences. In his new book, Between The Waves, Politico’s chief UK political correspondent Tom McTague argues that the journey to Brexit really began with Enoch Powell, before be taken up by his political heir, Nigel Farage.

He talks to Aaron Bastani about how the dissolution of empire shape Britain’s relationship to Europe, how the Labour party switched from Eurosceptic to Europhile, and what Farage learned from Powell. Between The Waves: The Hidden History of a Very British Revoluti...

What if we stopped treating the future like a speculative asset and started trying to actually build and prepare? The ACFM gang look to the horizon in this Trip episode.

Did young people always worry so much about their futures? Has the currency of emergency been devalued? Does conservatism have an idea of the future? Nadia, Jem and Keir wonder what’s next with ideas from Max Weber and Kate Raworth, and music from LTJ Bukem and FKA twigs.

Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm
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The division between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana grows over the botched launch of a new left party.

Plus: TikTok has fired its entire UK online safety team, and we speak to Clive Lewis about the mainstreaming of far-right politics.

With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani.

‘Your Party’ is in chaos over its membership launch.

Plus: The revolution that shook Nepal, the British tourist who became front and centre of it, and Jimmy Kimmel’s Charlie Kirk comments sees him taken off air ‘indefinitely’.

With: Steven Methven, Dalia Gebrial, Harry (Wehatethecold), Dr Chandani Thapa and Nepali rapper OMG Spark.

Trump arrives in the UK for a historic second state visit

Plus: Israel opens route for fleeing Gaza City, and messages from Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer are released.

With: Michael Walker, Will Sommer,  Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan, and Mike Bankole

The United Nations has definitively ruled that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Plus: More Tories defect to Reform, and Keir Starmer absconds from an emergency debate on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

With: Aaron Bastani and Steven Methven.

*Flag your Special One status with our official tote bag, only from shop.novaramedia.com*

Moya has a simple proposition: September is the best month for fresh starts. But why do we always want a clean slate? Plus, a straight white man who’s trying to be good and getting flak for it anyway.

Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com
Music by Matt Huxley.

Over 100,000 people take part in Far-Right protests over the weekend.

Plus: Danny Kruger leaves the Tories for Reform, Starmer aide resigns after sending horrific messages about Diane Abbott, and a wild call from a Fox News host on dealing with homelessness.

With: Michael Walker, Harriet Williamson, Sangita Myska and Georgie Laming.

What were the ancient alternatives to democracy? Did people in the Bronze Age forget how to write – or deliberately stop? And what’s the use in studying ancient languages?

In a Downstream IRL recorded at EartH Hackney, Aaron Bastani speaks to Josephine Quinn, Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge University, about some lesser-known aspects of the ancient world, as explored in her book How the World Made the West.

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