Novara Media

George Bernard Shaw once joked that the US and the UK are "two countries divided by a common language." Can the same be said of their conservatives? As we brace for a joint election year, Eleanor Penny talks to Sam Adler-Bell and Matthew Sitman, two expert guides to US conservatism via their podcast Know Your Enemy , to analyse the special relationship between right-wingers on both sides of the po...

George Galloway has been elected as a member of parliament for four separate constituencies – with only Winston Churchill beating him. Perhaps more remarkably still, he won on three of those occasions while not being a member of a major political party. Most recently he became the MP for Rochdale, in the north of England. That success was, in no small part, because of Galloway’s position on Gaza –...

How do mainstream politicians and pundits contribute to the normalisation of far-right ideas, even as they claim to reject racism and populism? That's one of many vital questions asked by Aaron Winter and Aurelien Mondon in their book Reactionary Democracy. Following ACFM's recent Trip about Fascism, Keir and Jem speak to Aaron and Aurelien about the making of the "woke conspiracy", how illiberal...

In the ’00s, animal rights protestors nearly won their battle to ban vivisection in the UK, shutting down multiple breeding farms that were supplying laboratories with cats, dogs and guinea pigs. But at the last moment, the government made a dramatic U-turn, blocking their attempt to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences and throwing activists in jail. How did this winning campaign fall apart? Why wa...

The exhortation to "read some effing Orwell!" is an old chestnut of the online left, whether ironic or sincere, or somewhere in between. But if we're looking for a writer whose body of work truly anticipates the world we live in now – globalised, postcolonial, postmodern – we might instead turn to the American Marxist thinker Fredric Jameson. He's just turned 90 and, in characteristically producti...

It’s not what you know; it’s what you can prove. For years, Forensic Architecture has exposed state crimes against civilians, nature, and humanity. This week on Downstream, Ash Sarkar meets its director Eyal Weizman to discuss Israel’s settler colonial project, the police killing of Mark Duggan, and how the testimony of blindfolded torture victims helped construct a model of Bashar al-Assad’s most...

A lot of people are saying that fascism is on the rise. But what are we pointing to when we call a system, or a person, fascist? On this Trip, Nadia, Keir and Jem map out a complicated ideology, from its roots in 19th century industrialisation to its resurgence in ethnonationalism and eco-apartheid. Exploring how different political traditions try to explain fascism, they look for signs of the f-w...

London is a foodie metropolis: undoubtedly one of the best places to eat in the world. But eating in London is also, like everything else in the city, shaped by its history as the capital of a globe-spanning empire. How did the contraction of this formal empire change infamously terrible British cuisine? How did multiculturalism become an excuse for underpaid racialised labour? And how did landlor...

Centuries of colonial capitalism have reordered life on the planet and inside our bodies, from industrial farming and the uneven advances of modern medicine, to night shifts, chronic stress and inflammation. Has the system made us sick? That's the concern of Rupa Marya and Raj Patel, who join Eleanor Penny to talk about the history of medical injustice and environmental toxicity, and what can be d...

Abby Martin is an American journalist and activist, host of the interview series The Empire Files, and a co-founder of the citizen journalism website Media Roots. She joins Ash Sarkar to discuss her political journey after 9/11, working for the state broadcaster Russia Today, how Israelis really talk about Palestinians, and why she believes the west doesn't care about Ukraine. Help us build people...

Rishi Sunak is facing increasing calls to ban weapons sales to Israel after three British aid workers were killed by an IDF drone strike. Plus: we speak to artificial intelligence expert Professor Noel Sharkey about the news that the Israeli military have been using the technology to target Palestinians. With Moya Lothian-McLean and NoJusticeMTG.

Why is it so expensive to rent in the UK? In a divisive new book, barrister Nick Bano places the blame squarely on price-gouging landlords, rejecting the conventional wisdom that calls for more new housing as a solution to the crisis. He goes head to head with Novara Live’s Michael Walker to explain the Marxist thinking behind Against Landlords: How to Solve the Housing Crisis, out on Verso Books....

The three British citizens killed in an Israeli airstrike on a humanitarian convoy in Gaza have been named, as pressure mounts on the government to end arms sales to Israel. Plus: We speak to surgeon Nick Maynard about his experiences as a volunteer medic in Gaza; and Krishnan Guru-Murthy puts Israel's new UK spokesperson through his paces. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial.

Seven international aid workers, including three British citizens, have been killed in an Israeli air strike. Plus: We examine the reaction to the Iranian consulate bombing in Iran; and Labour can't say they'll stop selling arms to Israel. With Aaron Bastani and Mike Bankole.

After a two-week long assault and occupation, Israeli forces have pulled out of Gaza’s largest medical centre. Meanwhile, Tory MP Alicia Kearns has alleged the government have received legal advice that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. We speak to Paul Rogers emeritus professor of peace studies at Bradford University. With Michael Walker and Ash Sarkar.

British Eurovision entrant Olly Alexander has rejected calls to boycott the contest over Israel's participation. Plus: how artificial intelligence continues to be a topic on the future of work; and we look at the record numbers of asylum seekers risking their lives to cross the Channel. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken out for the first time about the UN security council voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. Plus: Eylon Levy has officially been terminated as an Israeli spokesperson; and new figures show there is now a record amount of sewage in Britain's seas, lakes and rivers. With Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial.

Hamas have said that Israel is losing global support following the UN security council's vote for a ceasefire in Gaza. Plus: Julian Assange wins more time to prevent his extradition to the United States; and the Labour party are facing allegations of vote rigging over candidate selection. With Aaron Bastani and NoJusticeMTG.

The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Following the U.S. abstention from the vote, Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled an Israeli delegation’s planned visit to Washington. Plus: Over 130 killed in a terrorist attack on a Moscow theater; and the Telegraph blames Russia and China for propagating Kate Middleton memes. With Michael Walker an...

With hindsight, the wars waged by the US and Britain in Afghanistan and Iraq look like terrible failures, both strategically and politically: the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan, and living standards are worse in Iraq than they were before Saddam Hussein. In his book The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the United States and the Middle East, 1979-2003, veteran American journalist Steve Coll...

Russia and China have vetoed a US-written ceasefire resolution at the United Nations. Plus: the Princess of Wales is receiving cancer treatment; and politicians weigh in on the new England football kit. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani.

The US has submitted draft resolution to United Nations, but it stops short of demanding a Gaza ceasefire. Plus: Child poverty in the UK has hit a record high; and Labour race adviser Doreen Lawrence has slammed Keir Starmer's handling of racism in the party. With Moya Lothian-McLean and Ash Sarkar.

Immediacy, according to Anna Kornbluh, is the link between flow-states and Fleabag, between food delivery apps and a mistrust of political systems. She joins Richard Hames to explain the thinking behind her new book – Immediacy: Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism – and what the effects of immediacy both reveal and conceal about our world. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/...

From fecal transplants to the yoghurt-industrial complex, we’ve never been more absorbed in the workings of our gut. But can we trust it? Nadia, Jem and Keir investigate the mysterious connections between mind and body, reason and instinct. How did capitalism separate our minds from our bodies? Is a belief in intuition filling the gap left by religion? And will reclaiming our biomes be a win for a...

Researching Black British history "often feels like a rescue effort, a race against time," writes Jason Okundaye. In his first book, he narrates the mingled histories of seven astonishing lives in the Black gay community of South London during the 1980s. The narrative he pieces together from oral history, archival research and even gossip (a vital historical record in its own right, he argues) is...