The English language is full of pejoratives for large groups of people: mob mentality. Herd behaviour. Crowd contagion.

Much of this apprehension stems from one of the most influential works of psychology ever written, Gustave Le Bon’s The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. Unfortunately, Le Bon’s big idea – that crowds produce derangement and violence in even the most rational subject – was not based on any actual research.

So why the lingering suspicion? In his new book, Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World, journalist and author Dan Hancox traces our fear and attraction to mass gatherings.

He talks to Eleanor Penny about how mass crowds take shape – from Nazi rallies and student protests to urban riots and insurrections – and how the state tries to stamp them out.

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Moya and Ash turn the weapon on themselves with a Mystery Question about the lows of being on the left – haters and losers, pyrrhic victories, strategic balls-ups and the rest. Plus, a listener who's falling out of love just as their partner needs support.

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Music by Matt Huxley.

The Palestine Movement is the largest movement in British politics for a century. Yet it has been vilified and policed as if it were a tiny group of extremists.

In this investigative episode of Novara FM, series producer Richard Hames is joined by Simon Childs, commissioning editor at Novara Media, to expose the authoritarian turn inside the British state that is driving the crackdown on Palestine solidarity.

From Suella Braverman's use of draconian 'Henry VII' powers to Michael Gove's attempts to redefine extremism, and from Britain's collusion with Israeli arms manufacturers to its special treatment for accused war criminals, this is a story about how the supposedly neutral institutions of the state have been used to silence a movement.

Featuring Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Kevin Blowe from police monitoring organisation Netpol, and Tim Crosland from the Defend Our Juries campaign.

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Inspired by Moya’s big move, Ash wonders what the necessary ingredients are to turn a house share into a home. Plus, advice for a listener whose friend is infatuated with her lecturer.

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Music by Matt Huxley.

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How can we resist exploitation when our boss has been replaced by a computer? That's the premise of Cyberboss, a new book by Craig Gent, North of England editor for Novara Media, explaining how "algorithmic management" is being tested on Amazon packers, Deliveroo drivers and supermarket shoppers.

He talks to NM's head of audio Chal Ravens about the strange forms of resistance that emerge when even your boss has no idea how the system actually works. Cyberboss: The Rise of Algorithmic Management and the New Struggle for Control at Work is available now through Verso Books.

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Guy Shrubsole is an author and campaigner whose new book The Lie of the Land seeks to expose the history of the British elite’s relationship to the land they own and debunk the myths that they perpetuate. He sat down with Aaron to talk about grouse moors, planning permission and exactly what we should do about The Fens.

Moya and Ash argue over a big theory about our need for surprise. Has modern life killed off spontaneity in everything from dating to holidays? Plus: advice for a listener who’s wondering why an old friend isn’t more excited to be his best man.

Email your missed connections and dilemmas to [email protected]

Music by Matt Huxley.

Are you sitting comfortably? Because Moya has come to a big realisation – and some new rules for dating etiquette. Plus: a new batch of your Missed Connections! Get in touch if you recognise any of these objects of our affection.

Send your dilemmas and missed connections: [email protected]

A month after racist riots engulfed the country, the ACFM crew ask what fascism – and antifascism – look like in Britain today.

Do the riots and counter-protests mark a return to "street politics"? Why didn't the Labour party align itself with opponents of the pogroms? And how popular are extreme rightwing views among Britain's frustrated youth? Jem, Nadia and Keir take a closer look at the make-up of the rioters and the reaction from the public, the media and politicans.

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Produced by Matt Huxley.

"Don’t mourn, organise" were the final words of American labour activist Joe Hill before his execution in 1915. But sometimes our feelings of grief don't lend themselves to good organising – sometimes we might just want revenge.

In her forthcoming book, critic and journalist Sarah Jaffe looks at the many kinds of grief that shape our social and political lives, from family bereavement and mass death during a pandemic, to factory closures and the spectre of climate breakdown.

She joins Eleanor Penny to talks about the ghosts of the industrial worker, the fate of capital's "sacrifice zones", how Israel tries to weaponise Jewish grief, and what to do when we are denied the means of mourning our lost futures.

From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire is out in the UK on 10 October.

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