Novara Media Podcasts

Andy Burnham has laid out major reforms to social care, pensions, and public utilities in his speech to Labour conference.

Plus: Ed Miliband has changed the conversation on Palestine Action – but can he deliver?

With Aaron Bastani, Michael Walker & Steven Methven

Moya and Ash get their nerd on with a conversation about the rise of convenience and the loss of enchantment. How can we access feelings of wonder in a world of quick fixes? Is friction the spice of life? (With reference to LOTR, Jaws and Tony Stark.) Plus: when a so-called friend can’t do the bare minimum.

The book Moya mentions is Gabe Bullard’s Against Convenience.

Send us your dilemmas: [email protected]

Palestine is topping the agenda of The Labour Party conference with speeches inside and protests out – our correspondents are on the ground to bring you the latest developments.

Plus: We speak to Secretary of State Yvette Cooper and the Irish football team have thrashed Israel, but should they have boycotted instead? 

With Steven Methven, NoJusticeMTG & Michael Walker.

The effect of pornography on the people who consume it is often moralised about, generally due to its influence over the nascent sexuality of young men. But the business model, technological innovations and broader, parasexual, cultural effects go crucially underexamined.

This week’s guest, investigative reporter for the Financial Times, Patricia Nilsson, has written a new book unearthing exactly the ways in which these underexamined forces emerged and how they continue to exert influence on society.

She spoke to Ash about pioneering camgirl entrepreneurs, the sado-masochistic-inflected rise of Andrew Tate, and how algorithms have entered the bedroom.

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Following their recent Trip episode on Situationism, the gang offer a close reading of The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord, first published in France in 1967. Nadia, Jem and Keir explore the layered references and subversions throughout Debord’s extremely quotable aphorisms, focusing on the first three chapters of the book.

Find a PDF of the book at Libcom.org

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Israel’s Prime Minister delivers a tirade to a thin crowd at the UN General Assembly.

Plus: Polanski faces down hecklers while calling out Israel’s genocide, Mamdani wins back wages for Doordash workers and our very own Ash Sarkar takes the fight to BBC’s Question time.

With NoJusticeMTG & Barry Malone.

A new Yougov poll predicts that Reform would win fewer seats than Labour and the Tories – with the UK heading for a hung parliament.

Plus: The US and China have agreed to extend their trade war truce, Australia launches an investigation after a medical database was hacked by a rogue OpenAI agent, and Abdul El-Sayed pours cold water on the claims that Israel is not committing a genocide in Gaza.

With Michael Walker, Dalia Gebrial & Elizabeth Ingleson.

More drama at the UN General Assembly as the US delegation storms out of the Iranian President’s defiant speech.

Plus: A former SPAD to Starmer’s government gives us his take on Burnham’s first meeting with Trump, London is running out of kids to teach and can Trump and Xi agree on an AI slow-down deal?

With Michael Walker, Ben Judah, David Krueger & Banseka Kayembe.

Andy Burnham heads to New York for his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, following a filibuster speech to the UN by the US President.

Plus: Former chancellor and now OpenAI employee George Osborne weighs in on the backlash to UK data centres, and Zohran Mamdani delivers a barnstorming speech to a mayoral summit.

With Aaron Bastani & Ash Sarkar.

What if we still haven’t processed what the pandemic did to us? Was Covid a permanent turning point for our social lives and mental health? Ash and Moya identify an ongoing yearning for connection amid the scare stories and the manic bounceback. Plus: is it your fault you’re still single?

Send us your dilemmas: [email protected]