Novara Media

Read any of the mainstream press at the moment and you'll hear the same thing: major things are happening in America. But what if this sudden shift was an illusion? David Adler is Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International, a group that brings together forces from across the progressive left. He told Richard Hames that far from being radical change, Trumpism is the culmination of deca...

For almost six centuries Europe has been at the centre of world affairs. While the days of Empire are long gone, over the last several decades the importance and comparative wealth of Europe has declined at an extraordinary pace. Indeed for many countries, from Britain to Germany and Greece, living standards have stagnated or even declined. Now, in what seem like the final months of the war in Ukr...

When did we all start 'getting the ick'? And why does it mainly seem to be women who get it? Ash and Moya unpack the gender politics behind the 'ick-course'. Plus: when is the right time to have the big money chat with your partner? Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

This part two of our discussion about a new left party. You can listen to part 1 here: https://novaramedia.com/2025/01/30/time-for-a-new-left-party/ James Schneider, Jeremy Corbyn’s former Director of Comms, argues for a new party. But who would it speak to? Would it be democratic and in what ways? And what could it actually achieve in the volatile terrain of British Politics? Zack Polanski, Deput...

One whole year of If I Speak! Moya and Ash celebrate with an #AMA, tackling your questions on career growth, love songs, role models, Irish politics and whether they’re friends in real life. Plus: listener feedback on last week’s “return of the slur”. Send us your dilemmas: ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Your death should be your own, as much as possible. That’s one of the principles behind the Assisted Dying Bill. It lets adults with less than 6 months to live end their lives. But disability campaigners fear that people who don't want to die might be pressured to let themselves be killed. Ellen Clifford is the author of The War on Disabled People: Capitalism, Welfare and the Making of a Human Cat...

Love is supposed to be the most universal human experience after death and taxes. So why do so many people feel like they’re failing in it? Ash Sarkar is joined by Shon Faye, author of the bestselling book The Transgender Issue, to discuss her new book, Love In Exile. They talk about how marriage has changed since their grandmothers’ day, the crisis of lonely young men, and whether secularism is t...

Ash and Moya respond to a mystery question about femininity with a chat about desire, agency and sexual politics. Plus: advice for a listener tangled up in their in-laws' finances. Send in your questions for If I Speak’s birthday AMA episode on 18th February! ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

After hearing the R-word on a comedy podcast, Moya offers an intrusive thought about the limits of language policing. Plus: what to do about a horrible housemate. Send in your questions for If I Speak’s birthday AMA episode on 18th February! ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

Following last week's ACFM on the meaning and morality of personal debt, Keir and Nadia return to investigate the macroeconomics of debt. Joining them to make sense of concepts like sovereign debt, structural adjustment and international ratings agencies is Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice. She explains how and why countries borrow money, why Global South countries end up mired in de...

It’s been five long years since the decisive defeat of Corbynism at the ballot box. How, if at all, should the left reconstitute itself? Should everyone join the Greens? Or do we just need Mick Lynch to start a new party? In this episode, Richard Hames is joined by Rachel Godfrey Wood, Joe Todd, and Oliver Eagleton to thrash it all out and arrive at the One True Answer. We’re keen to hear from you...

Fourteen years ago Gary Stevenson was one of Citibank’s best performing traders. The bet that brought him success was one few foresaw: that despite record low interest rates, Britain’s economy would stay in the doldrums. He wrote about that, and his time at Citi, in his bestselling memoir ‘The Trading Game’. In this, his third Downstream with Aaron, Gary talks about the rise of Reform, why the pol...

Ash and Moya discuss women’s changing faces on screen and the intensifying obsession with ageing. Plus: tough love for a Special One who’s getting in their own way. Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

The concept of debt is as slippery as it is powerful. In this Trip episode, Keir, Nadia and Jem explain why debt is more like a belief than a calculation, and wonder how to imagine a society without it. From credit cards to dowries, they discuss the reality and fantasy of debt, with ideas from David Graeber and Deleuze and music from Crass and Gwen Guthrie. Find the books and music mentioned in th...

Elon Musk is the most symptomatic capitalist of our era: obsessed with publicity, by many accounts a fanatical workaholic, and increasingly in bed with the far right. But how did he go from Obama-era liberal darling to giving a Nazi salute at Trump's second inauguration? Historian of ideas Quinn Slobodian has traced the relationship between big tech and the far right for years. His books include G...

Prompted by Kendrick’s anthemic Drake diss, Ash claims it's the summer of the hater. But what does it mean to hate so hard? Plus: a listener who feels rejected by her English in-laws. Email your missed connections and dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Got your tickets for If I Speak IRL yet? We're at the London Podcast Festival on 15 September. Tickets available from kingsplace.co.uk/ now. Musi...

The Institute of Economic Affairs is one of the most powerful and secretive think tanks in the UK, known for promoting free-market Thatcherism as a solution to all of our economic woes. Who's behind it? This week, Kristian Niemietz, a director at the IEA and a long-time Novara Media hater, sits down with Aaron for a debate about trickle-down economics, why he's a neoliberal, and who really funds h...

Donald Trump is the next president. Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s have forsaken their diversity policies. Elon Musk has demanded that Keir Starmer be removed as PM. Why is this all happening at the same time? And why do progressives have so little to offer when it comes to the economy and people’s material conditions? Brett Christophers is a geographer, author and former management consultant. Acco...

Ash and Moya tackle a mailbag full of dilemmas, including a committed couple disagreeing over money, a daughter considering cutting off her dad, and a student struggling to overcome the trauma of rape. Plus: Ash blushes her way through your emails about gay porn. CW: suicide, rape. Resources: https://thesurvivorstrust.org/support-in-your-area Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music b...

Recorded live at London Podcast Festival last September, Ash and Moya are joined by Yomi Adegoke – author of The List and Slay In Your Lane – to talk about public shaming. Is the era of the online pile-on over? Plus, our audience of special ones help to solve some listener dilemmas. Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

What happens when sex becomes an online stunt? Ash and Moya discuss OnlyFans creator Lily Phillips, who challenged herself to have sex with 100 men in one day, and wonder if the radical feminists were right about porn. Plus: advice for a listener struggling to build deeper friendships. Email your dilemmas to ifispeak@novaramedia.com Music by Matt Huxley.

The AFCM gang gather for a midwinter reading of The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Download a version online and follow along as Nadia, Keir and Jem reassess of one of the most influential political tracts ever written. Help us build people-powered media – support us from as little as £1 a month: https://novara.media/support

Having long promised to decentralise power, Bitcoin is looking more and more like it will end up as a tool of American power under Trump.  But blockchains could also be used to empower local economies. And why should the left stay attached to a money system controlled by the state? Sam Hart is a developer, writer, and editor of the Cryptoeconomic Systems journal. He spoke to Richard Hames about th...

Following Novara FM's investigation into Die Hard, Eleanor Penny tackles another festive Alan Rickman vehicle with Nathalie Olah, author of Bad Taste and Steal As Much As You Can. In Richard Curtis' Love Actually, a selection of mainly white and middle-class Londoners seem to be living in a parallel universe – one in which the war on terror never happened and the '90s never ended. What kinds of lo...

On the 10th of December, Ash Sarkar, Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani discussed an epoch-defining year and its implications for the future. Is Keir Starmer screwed? Are expansionist wars back? Has 'woke' died? Find out in our end of year Downstream special.