Downstream – Novara Media Podcasts

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 understanding of capitalism itself? El...

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.

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 of today’s activism and what is to be done in a world of runaway warming.

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.

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.

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 on Zarah’s playlist.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 the fifth police inquiry into his brother’s death.

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 by Tom Fowler, host of the Spy Cops Info podcast.

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, and what today’s generation of activists can learn from the Black Panthe...

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.

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.

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 of god! – has Line of Duty been feeding us pure ideology all this time...

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 annually on pet food. So how rad...

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.

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.

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.

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 the Hartlepool by-election just a month away, Ash Sarkar is joined by journalist...

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 rights? Aaron Bastani speaks to Martin Jacques, author of the best-...

In recent years Scottish and Welsh independence, as well as Irish unification, have become increasingly plausible, with Britain’s departure from the EU highlighting major points of difference, as well as economic imbalances, across the home nations. But could the break up of the UK ever include the North of England? And what would a sovereign ‘Northumbria’ actually look like? Aaron Bastani speaks...

The criminalisation of drugs has almost no impact on drug use, denies access to proven medical treatments and disproportionately targets people of colour. Yet the idea that drugs are ‘evil’ and that drug users are criminals is entrenched in international and domestic law. How can we begin to shift this point of view? What are the first steps towards decriminalisation? Ash Sarkar speaks to David Nu...

Will Harry and Meghan bring down the monarchy? Ash Sarkar is joined by gal-dem political editor Moya Lothian-Mclean and Novara Media’s very own James Butler to discuss how we ended up with a family of dysfunctional aristocrats at the very top of British society, why republicanism is still so marginal, and the collision course between celebrity culture and 1200 years of feudalism.