Novara Media

Die Hard is a perennial of festive TV, but is it really a Christmas movie? James Butler and Eleanor Penny explore what the 1988 action comedy reveals about corporate power, class antagonism, mid-century terrorism and women in the workplace. Who is Bruce Willis’ shoeless cowboy cop out to rescue? And what is Hans Gruber’s vague European accent supposed to tell us? Comments, questions, corrections?...

Moya and Ash swerve the fuzzy festive feelings in order to get some things off their chest. Plus, advice for a listener who feels trapped in their happy relationship. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

What has 2024 taught us? Ash and Moya reflect on a year of discomfort and grief, from personal challenges to political setbacks. Plus: what classic dance track does Ash have stuck in her head? Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Almost 140 or so years ago, Germany invented the car. In the subsequent century, it was central to two world wars; its manufacturing was the envy of much of the world, and in the latter half of the 20th century, it was vital to European integration. Now, just 2 months before a general election, Germany finds itself in a much more precarious position. The European project is fragile, innovation has...

Moya and Ash talk to writer and director Amrou Al-Kadhi about his brilliant debut film, Layla, which follows a young drag queen in chaotic pursuit of self-expression. Plus, advice on how to handle a partner with a porn addiction. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Novara FM: We Need a New Wikileaks w/ Stefania Maurizi by Novara Media

When the Taliban retook all of Afghanistan in 2021, it came as a shock to much of the west. The day after the last American soldier left, journalist and filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at flew into Kabul to spend a year filming with the Taliban's senior military leadership. What he found was a regime drunk on power, in control of far more territory, and with better weaponry than ever – courtesy of the Amer...

Moya has a theory for Ash about unhappy couples who will do anything except break up. Why are we sometimes so hesitant to pull the plug? Plus, advice for a special one dealing with guilt after the end of a relationship. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Which side are you on? Keir, Nadia and Jem consider the ebb and flow of political commitment with ideas and music from Jodi Dean, Gramsci, John Coltrane and the Raincoats. Is cultural production the same as political action? What’s the difference between an ally and a comrade? And why do some communists end up as right-wing turncoats? Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara....

In 1891, the French drew the borders of what became Mali. Like many colonial borders, they were arbitrary, absurd to the many nomads who supposedly lived within them. Now climate change is ravaging the Sahel region, and many of those nomads are being forced to settle down. And Russia and China have arrived to replace the long tail of French colonial domination. As has Al-Qaeda. So what does this a...

Humanity has long pursued an elixir of youth, and dreamed of eternal life. For the Abrahamic faiths physical immortality was lost in the Garden of Eden, with only the soul remaining of permanence. More recently, futurists and thinkers have speculated about the possibilities of radical life extension. For neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston there is another alternative, however. He believes th...

Moya and Ash tackle a mystery question about breaking bad habits, with a frank discussion about open relationships, exercise and disordered eating (content warning). Plus, a listener with a question about cross-racial dating, and verdicts on Gladiator II and GNX. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Imagine a person arrested for keeping a brothel. Who are they? An abusive pimp? Such people exist, no doubt, but the law isn't set up just to catch abusers: it also targets sex workers working together to stay safe. With Labour in power, big changes could be afoot, but legalising sex work could harm sex workers as well. That's the view of the English Collective of Prostitutes, one of the leading s...

Moya has a big theory for Ash about aesthetic trends as a harbinger of the US election results, which prompts a very adult discussion (read: argument) about the purpose of the podcast. Plus a bundle of your Missed Connections, including hotties spotted in Glasgow, Manchester, at the Palestine protest and – where else! – an NTS street party. Moya’s favourite print is from Headway East London: https...

In October 2024, SpaceX caught a rocket. An astonishing feat of engineering, it took humanity one giant leap closer to the era of everyday space travel – and possibly one small step closer to its own obliteration. Despite a long list of treaties attempting to prevent it, space is now a militarised zone. Nuclear-laden ICBMs and weapons systems on satellites are just the tip of a secretive iceberg o...

Ash and Moya tackle another bumper crop of your dilemmas, including a special one who wants to stop mothering her friends, a burned-out student struggling to get back on track, a self-confessed slacker looking for a meaningful career, and an expat looking for laughs. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

In 2016, the alt-right seemed to come from the internet and infest politics. In 2024, the internet and politics have become identical. Are we swimming in the world the alt-right built for us? Perhaps no one knows the world of online politics better than Joshua Citarella, an artist and political theorist whose 2018 book Politigram and the Post-Left kickstarted a flurry of investigations into new po...

Disruption is a byword for success in the tech industry, but when it affects our daily routines – say, because Just Stop Oil are slow-marching down the high street – disruption becomes nothing short of criminal. In this Trip, Jem, Nadia and Keir try to make sense of the harsh sentences handed down to climate activists this year while unpacking the political uses of disruption and the 'creative des...

Downstream: What the Roman Empire Tells Us About the Collapse of the West W/ Peter Heather and John Rapley by Novara Media

Moya and Ash are joined by the authors of Clown World, a new book exposing influencer Andrew Tate’s grip on his followers around the world, to talk about why patriarchy is so seductive. Plus, advice for a special one who is drowning under their workload. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

The rise of artificial intelligence will bring about an irreversible, planetary-scale shift in human life and politics. But for all the grand pronouncements from techno-utopians and pessimists alike, the reality is that there's still much to be decided about the future that AI portends. At the forefront of those investigations is Marek Poliks, a composer, theorist and co-host of the Disintegrator...

War is spreading throughout West Asia, a situation understood by many observers as an outgrowth of Israeli expansionism. In a return visit to Downstream, historian Ilan Pappé provides a century’s worth of context to the unfolding crisis. He talks to Aaron to talk about the lack of a viable left in Israel, why nation-states haven't worked in the Middle East, and why the British Empire is ultimately...

The veil is thin at this time of year, so Moya and Ash tackle a mystery question about the spirit realm. Plus, neighbourhood cat panics and advice for a listener who can't stand that her friend is a police officer. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

The left needs more people. Our progressive movements have to grow if we want to win, but the recent tendency towards cancel culture has not broadened our appeal – and nor has the contrarian response on the 'dirtbag left'. In adrienne maree brown's new book, Loving Corrections, one of America's most energetic progressive thinkers poses a crucial conundrum: how do we liberate people from bad ideas?...

Ash and Moya wonder why women still shoulder the burden of housework, even when they're #leaningin to their careers. Plus, a listener who doesn't know how to deal with his cheating ex-partner. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.