Novara FM – Novara Media Podcasts

What is it to face reality as it really is? The alt-right claim that means seeing through democracy, equality and human rights as cons, and exploit the crumbling foundations of liberalism’s worldview. Hari Kunzru ‘s new novel, Red Pill , explores the crisis-upon-crisis cataclysm of the contemporary world, as it tells the story of a writer’s catastrophic encounter with an alt-righ...

‘Freedom is always and everywhere the freedom of dissenters.’ So said Rosa Luxemburg, champion of revolutionary democracy and icon of socialist struggle. Since her murder in 1919, she has been discovered anew: as a champion of freedom of thought, a socialist martyr, a pioneer in ecological awareness, a brilliant economic thinker, an icon for feminists and critic of conservative feminis...

There are few sectors as broad and diffuse as the care sector, and there are few forms of work that have to struggle so hard for recognition – leaving some workers “tired from the heart”. We ask: why do political responses to care work seem to fall short? How should the needs of support workers and support recipients be balanced? And what would it mean to advance an alternative v...

Democracy has triumphed: even authoritarians and dictators now clothe themselves in the rhetoric of democracy. And our basic vocabulary for politics – including the word itself – is derived from ancient Greek. But to ancient eyes, what we call ‘democracy’ would look very odd indeed. And to many of the thinkers of the ancient world, the idea that this peculiar Hellenic concept might eve...

There is no more fundamental form of work than work that provides us with food. Yet most of us have only a vague sense of the round-the-clock work done to put food on our plates – which some workers say is like ‘sacrificing your life’ to feed the rest of society. Can that last? As part of Novara Media’s Future of Work focus, Sophie Hemery and Craig Gent have been out talking to w...

David Graeber’s life and work leaves an indelible mark on thinkers and activists from London through New York, from Rojava to Quebec. To celebrate his life and work Novara Media are hosting a live stream with academics, activists, and politicians who have been influenced by, and who were an influence on, his intellectual endeavours and activist pursuits. With Molly Crabapple | John McDonnell | Dav...

Elitism? Surely that’s a dirty word? Just about every side of the political spectrum claims to hate the elite – though no-one can agree exactly who they are. But is the left just playing by the right’s rules? Could there ever be such a thing as a ‘good elitism’? Haven’t elitists hated democracy since its very beginnings? James Butler is joined by Eliane Glaser to navigate through elitism, culture,...

The pandemic has brought a sudden stop to some of the fundamentals not just of neoliberalism, but economic activity itself. What might this ‘holiday of exchange value’ tell us about the system we live in? Can economics be a ‘moral science’? And what next for the world system? James Butler is joined by Will Davies, Professor of Political Economy at Goldsmiths, to discuss. ht...

James Butler is joined by James Meadway to discuss the brewing economic crisis. With unemployment claims surging to 3.2 million in the US, and forecasts of global contraction, how serious could it get? What might the world look like on the other side of the pandemic? And how will it feed through into politics? https://novaramedia.com/?p=18713

For a Novara Media Special Broadcast, James Butler is joined by David Renton for an explainer on housing law, the eviction process and tenants’ rights – and what might happen during the coronavirus period. Resources: Legal 500’s list of firms who act only for tenants. Shelter’s advice on Section 21 notices. N244 forms on the gov.uk website. ACORN Community Union London Renters’ U...

James Butler is joined by Paolo Gerbaudo, head of the Centre for Digital Culture at King’s, to draw up a balance sheet of left populism over the past five years: its successes, its failures, and what’s yet to come. Plus, a discussion of the politics of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Italian lockdown, and what that crisis might mean for European politics in the coming years. https://novaram...

James Butler is joined by Owen Hatherley, culture editor of Tribune Magazine and prolific author on housing, cities and architecture. We often talk about housing in the abstract – estates, regeneration, expenditure. But what about the kinds of houses people live in? Is there a politics of architecture? Plus, we ask: does culture matter to politics? And if there’s a culture war, shouldn...

James Butler is joined by Owen Jones to take stock as the Left faces 2020. What will five years of Boris Johnson bring? Are the far right emboldened – and can they be defeated? And is it right to complain about the British press? https://novaramedia.com/?p=17343

James Butler is joined by James Schneider, until recently Jeremy Corbyn’s Head of Strategic Communications, to discuss the aftermath of Labour’s defeat, the Corbyn period, and the next steps for the left. https://novaramedia.com/?p=17184

One month after Labour’s catastrophic defeat, James Butler is joined by Richard Seymour to dig into attempts to understand the loss, and how the left moves on from it. https://novaramedia.com/?p=16881

James Butler is joined by Maya Goodfellow, author of Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats, to discuss the history and politics of migration in the UK, what Windrush tells us about the migrations system, and whether migration will play a key role in this election. https://novaramedia.com/?p=15964

James Butler is joined by Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for the Green New Deal, to discuss the relationship between ecology and economics, to explore Keynes’s proto-localism, and discuss what the latest batch of economic figures tell us about the UK. https://novaramedia.com/?p=15811

James Butler is joined by Anna Minton, author of Ground Control and Big Capital. Drawing from her work encompassing the decline of council housing, the rise of capital-led ‘regeneration’ and growing precarity and homelessness, they ask: could this be a housing election? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15640

James Butler is joined by Richard Seymour to discuss his book ‘The Twittering Machine’. Are we all digital narcissists now? What has the rise of the social industry done to our politics? And can we break free of its emotional lures? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15280

James Butler is joined by Callum Cant to discuss his new book Riding for Deliveroo, which draws from his experience as a worker militant in the gig economy, and discusses the implications of new forms of work for worker resistance. http://novaramedia.com/?p=15232

James Butler is joined by Jack Shenker to discuss his new book, Now We Have Your Attention. They explore the new politics birthed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, from grassroots trade unionism to migrant solidarity, and the gradual transformation of the Labour Party. http://novaramedia.com/?p=15154

James Butler is joined by James Meadway and Adrienne Buller to break down the outcome of Labour Conference: will radical policy translate to radical action? And what next for the Green New Deal? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15082

James Butler is joined by political theorist Lea Ypi (LSE) to discuss socialist internationalism in the 21st century: from the democratic tensions of Brexit in the UK, to the roots of the EU in the 18th century, through to the virtues of partisanship. http://novaramedia.com/?p=14973

James Butler and Aaron Bastani look back over the summer’s political drama, and discuss the ideological transformation of the Tory Party, the constitutional crisis and the forthcoming Labour Party conference. http://novaramedia.com/?p=14780

On #NovaraFM James Butler and Aaron Bastani contemplate the future under Boris Johnson. Johnson rode into Downing Street on the passions of the Tory base. Now in power, he has installed a hard-right cabinet, but confronts serious obstacles for his vision of Brexit and desire to remake the country. How will he govern? http://novaramedia.com/?p=14057