Ash and Moya are reunited and ready to answer a mystery question, inspired by Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick: do we need more women mentors? Plus: a homesick ex-pat struggling to stay in contact with his family.

Come to see us at Crossed Wires in Sheffield on 4th July! Tickets available now: https://crossedwires.live

Send us your dilemmas: [email protected]

The two-party system has defined British politics for centuries, but the status quo is under attack from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and an insurgent Green party – both looking to clean up in the local elections on 7 May.

This week Aaron Bastani speaks to economist James Meadway about the disruptive new progressive party on the block. Meadway was an economic advisor to John McDonnell during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of Labour, and is now chief economist of Verdant, a new think tank set up to craft the Green party’s strategy for 2029.

But who are the Greens? What is their vision for Britain? How can they build a broad coalition of voters, big enough to win elections? And what mistakes can Zack Polanski learn from the Corbyn era?

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

A decade and a half ago, the British far right was a fringe concern. But since then, the ruling party – whether it be The Conservatives or Labour – has played into their hands over and over again. Whether through appeasement or ineptitude, more than a decade of rightward drift has put Reform within reach of Downing Street.

Can anyone stop them? Is anyone actually in control? Or are the emotional forces that the far right have unleashed in the UK now too powerful for them to rein in?

Daniel Trilling is the author of If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable. He argues that to understand the ever-worsening political state of Britain, we have to look not just to the far right themselves, but to the systems of establishment power that have enabled them.

Do Your Own Research is a new show from Novara Media about the systems that make the modern world possible.

Music by Iglooghost.

Zack Polanski has apologised to the Metropolitan Police for a retweet he made in response to the horrific knife attack on two Jewish men in North London.

Plus: King Charles has got on the wrong side of two famous New Yorkers, for May Day – we take a look at the history of the weekend and the workers’ movements behind it, Francis Fukuyama weighs in on the rise of China, and Bernie Sanders continues his campaign against AI.

With Michael Walker, Michael Mezzatesta, and Joe Ryle.

Keir Starmer has been accused of failing to combat antisemitism following a horrific knife attack on two Jewish men in North London.

Plus: The US plans further military action in Iran, Israel detains 175 activists from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla off the coast of Crete, and Reform’s Scottish leader has been branded “tone-deaf” for boasting about his multiple yachts.

With NoJusticeMTG & Banseka Kayembe.

King Charles is charming Trump in Washington, and two men have been stabbed in an antisemitic attack in Golders Green, London.

Plus: We speak to Green party deputy Mothin Ali, economist Laurie MacFarlane about rent caps and the UAE is leaving OPEC… Is this the end of the oil cartel?

Keir Starmer could face an inquiry into whether he deliberately misled Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson. 

Plus: We speak to Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman about running a left-wing local council, and Welsh campaigner Elbashir Idris speaks about his recent run-in with Reform UK’s Arron Banks.

With Aaron Bastani & James Butler.

Donald Trump survives a third shooter assassination attempt.

Plus: Green MP Hannah Spencer ignites an almighty row over MPs’ drinking culture, Russell Brand gets lost in the bible on Piers Morgan’s show, and we ask: can stealing be an act of political resistance?

With Steven Methven & Ash Sarkar.

With the manosphere back in the headlines, we’re republishing our 2024 interview with the authors of Clown World – the book that exposed Andrew Tate’s cult-like grip on young men around the world. Jamie Tahsin and Matt Shea explain how they infiltrated Tate’s inner circle and what they found inside.

Ash and Moya will be back from their well-earned break next week. Send us dilemmas: [email protected]

Remember our show in Sheffield is coming up on 4th July. Tickets: https://crossedwires.live

Music by Matt Huxley.

The 21st century runs on batteries: from phones and laptops to electric vehicles, drones and clean energy. Embedded in these batteries are rare earth minerals, drawn from a brutal supply chain that begins in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The race to electrify the global energy system is underway, but most people know almost nothing about how the necessary batteries are made – even those of us with green politics.

Aaron Bastani finds out more with Nicholas Niarchos, author of The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth.

Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support