Downstream – Novara Media Podcasts

Few political thinkers exert such influence that their work becomes synonymous with a historic era. Francis Fukuyama’s declaration of “the end of history” after the fall of the Soviet Union made him one of those thinkers – but 30 years on, has he reassessed his own claim? And what events since then have shaken his […]

Ed Winters, AKA Earthling Ed, is a vegan activist with an enormous presence on social media. His arguments range from outlining the ecological and economic consequences of relying on animal products to scrutinising society’s moral and spiritual relationship with animals in a way you might not expect from a YouTube activist. Aaron Bastani speaks to […]

Throughout the 20th century, as countries gained independence from the British Empire, there was a rightful sense of renewed agency. And yet, in the world of finance and global capital, many corporate structures of empire continue to exist. Ash Sarkar finds out why with Kojo Koram, author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of […]

In 2014, a mysterious letter detailing a plot by Muslim extremists to take over Birmingham schools caused a national scandal. No one seemed to know, or even care, who actually wrote the letter – but in The Trojan Horse Affair, rookie reporter Hamza Syed and S-Town producer Brian Reed go looking for answers. Ash Sarkar asks […]

How far would you go to get famous and escape poverty? Ash Sarkar is joined by Symeon Brown, Channel 4 News reporter and author of ‘Get Rich or Lie Trying: Ambition and Deceit in the New Influencer Economy’, to discuss how the democratic promise of the internet has reinvented the pyramid scheme. From cryptocurrencies to […]

In debates around the rights of transgender people, a charge often levelled at those fighting for trans inclusion is that their arguments rest on a denial of biological facts. In this episode of Downstream, Michael Walker speaks to biologist Julia Serano about what so-called gender critical thinkers get wrong about sex and gender, and whether […]

From ancient myths to the Batman trilogy, our storytelling culture is littered with villains embodied by disabled people and those with facial differences. Why does disability feature so heavily in our literary and cinematic traditions, and how has this hypervisibility had the ironic effect of erasing the experiences of disabled people? Ash Sarkar is joined […]

Do progressives spend enough time challenging the multiple oppressions disabled people face? Have we taken the time to properly understand the models and frameworks that disabled activists use to guide their action, and comprehend the world? And have we properly considered how an exploration of the experience and treatment of disabled people could enhance our […]

They are claimed from all sides and by all parties – but who are Britain’s ex-service personnel? What do they want? And what do their politics – whether conservative, liberal or socialist – tell us about Britain as a post-imperial country? Aaron Bastani speaks to Joe Glenton, journalist and author of Veteranhood.

From food scarcity to extreme weather, climate change will affect the lives of billions around the world. At what point are its future horrors unacceptable? And how should that shape climate politics now? Aaron Bastani speaks to Andreas Malm, author of How To Blow Up A Pipeline and White Skin, Black Fuel, about the limits […]

If neoliberalism is over, what comes after? Could this new political and economic moment end up turning right rather than left? Aaron Bastani speaks to sociologist Paolo Gerbaudo about his new book The Great Recoil, examining how ideas of protection, control and state intervention are replacing the previous orthodoxy of free market capitalism.

Aaron Bastani meets Nina Turner, co-chair of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, to discuss the American left under Biden, the prospect of Donald Trump running in 2024 and how American workers can build a more progressive politics.

At the Labour Party Conference last week, Ash Sarkar shared fish and chips on Brighton seafront with Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South. They talked about why being in the Labour Party is so hard right now, their experiences as Muslim women of colour on the left, how trans rights are dividing the party, and what’s […]

Is ‘consent’ the only dividing line between good sex and bad sex? Ash Sarkar is joined by Rachel Thompson to discuss her new book Rough and the politics of pornography, kink, and sex-ambivalent feminism.

Has the left forgotten how to have fun? Ash Sarkar is joined by #ACFM’s Jeremy Gilbert to discuss euphoria, liberation and wisdom in the rave.

Ash Sarkar speaks to Juliet Jacques about her new book ‘Variations’ – a collection of short stories inspired by real-life events that explore the history of transgender Britain.

Since 2010 Len McCluskey has been the general secretary of Unite, one of Britain’s largest trade unions. That changes this year with the election of his successor, a three-way race between Gerard Coyne, Sharon Graham and today’s guest on Downstream, Steve Turner.

In 1987, private detective Daniel Morgan was found murdered with an axe to the head in a pub car park in south London. Despite the brutal circumstances of his death and multiple investigations, the case remains unsolved, prompting suspicion of corruption and cover-ups. Ash Sarkar speaks to Alastair Morgan as he awaits the results of […]

The Undercover Policing Inquiry, which started in December last year, is examining the infiltration of more than 1,000 political groups by British police since 1968. How much has been disclosed? Will more revelations come to light? And what does justice look like for those whose lives have been destroyed by ‘spycops’? Aaron Bastani is joined […]

Check your privilege. Google it. Stay in your lane. Though Black Lives Matter has politicised a new generation into antiracism, it’s not actually clear what white people are meant to do next. Ash Sarkar is joined by Emma Dabiri to talk about why liberal identity politics are a dead end, why allyship is a nonsense, […]

In March this year the UK’s new military strategy declared that Israel remains a ‘key strategic partner’. But what does that mean, and where does it sit in relation to Israel and its war on Palestine? Aaron Bastani is joined by Mark Curtis, editor and co-founder of Declassified UK.

While Labour lost council seats across the North and Midlands in last week’s local elections, it held firm in Preston. Can municipal socialism and the ‘Preston Model’ now save the party? Aaron Bastani is joined by Matthew Brown, Labour leader of Preston Council.

Between a fifth and a quarter of scripted network TV shows involve police or law enforcement. From Paul Blart: Mall Cop to A Touch of Frost, ‘copaganda’ has our pop culture bang to rights. What impact does the ubiquity of police dramas on our screens have on the real criminal justice system? And – mother […]

For some, Joe Biden has already exceeded expectations. For others, his economic programme is nowhere near enough to address the climate crisis and American decline. While the president’s Covid relief package has seen billions dispensed immediately, his Jobs Plan proposes to invest $35 billion in green R&D over eight years – less than Americans spend […]

Climate change is better understood as climate systems breakdown, and it’s only through the lens of the latter that we can grasp the scale of the crisis ahead. Aaron Bastani is joined by Mat Lawrence and Laurie Laybourn-Langton to discuss their new book, Planet on Fire: A Manifesto for the Age of Environmental Breakdown.

Following the shock announcement of a European Super League, Ash Sarkar talks to podcaster Laurence McKenna about how a sport created by the poor was stolen by the rich – and what can be done to take football back.

Political scandal no longer seems to cut through the conversation, but is the unfolding saga around Max Greensill and David Cameron an exception? Aaron Bastani is joined by Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund to discuss the implications of a story which is only set to grow.

Excluding Tony Blair’s back-to-back victories, the Conservative Party has governed the UK for all but 18 of the last 100 years. While the media often presents elections as Labour’s to lose, the truth is that Britain is a one-party state that occasionally lets the other side have a go in the interest of fairness. With […]

Will the 2020s be the decade when power decisively shifts from the United States to China? How important is China’s rise in a broad historic context – and is that why we are seeing an emerging Cold War between Washington and Beijing? Do appeals to a ‘civilisation-state’ undermine the power of universal values and human […]

In recent years Scottish and Welsh independence, as well as Irish unification, have become increasingly plausible, with Britain’s departure from the EU highlighting major points of difference, as well as economic imbalances, across the home nations. But could the break up of the UK ever include the North of England? And what would a sovereign […]

The criminalisation of drugs has almost no impact on drug use, denies access to proven medical treatments and disproportionately targets people of colour. Yet the idea that drugs are ‘evil’ and that drug users are criminals is entrenched in international and domestic law. How can we begin to shift this point of view? What are […]

Will Harry and Meghan bring down the monarchy? Ash Sarkar is joined by gal-dem political editor Moya Lothian-Mclean and Novara Media’s very own James Butler to discuss how we ended up with a family of dysfunctional aristocrats at the very top of British society, why republicanism is still so marginal, and the collision course between […]

Should we all be vegan or vegetarian? Does climate change require a new relationship to nature and non-human animals? And will Covid-19 be the moment when we realise industrial farming carries devastating, unacceptable risks? Aaron Bastani speaks to the author of ‘Animal Liberation’ and professor of bioethics at Princeton University, Peter Singer.

Does the right actually care about free speech? Why do many think Britain has a unique history of defending freedom of expression when evidence suggests otherwise? And why should free speech matter to the left? Aaron Bastani speaks to the editor of Tribune magazine, Ronan Burtenshaw.

Can the BBC be trusted to fight for its own survival? Television has become ground zero in the reactionary backlash against liberal norms and, for some reason, current affairs comedy has found itself in the crosshairs. This week on Downstream, Ash Sarkar meets Nish Kumar – comedian and host of The Mash Report – to […]

What can the Apollo missions teach us about dealing with the major crises of the 21st century? And why are politicians so eager to dwell on caricatures of the public rather than engage in problem-solving – from climate change to housing and education? Aaron Bastani speaks to author and academic Mariana Mazzucato to find out.

A year after the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic, with Britain enduring more than 100,000 deaths since, major questions remain unanswered. Why was the response of the UK among the worst in the world? How is it possible that the death toll of countries in Europe and North America is so much higher […]

The last few years have heralded the rise of the influencer: social media users who have, in essence, found a way to get paid for being themselves on the internet. But has this commodification of the self poisoned the public sphere? Or are we witnessing the end of gatekeeping – and the beginnings of a […]

RuPaul has turned drag into a multi-million dollar industry and a global TV franchise, but has that meant that the art of drag has lost its claim to being punk? Ash Sarkar is joined by Divina De Campo, first runner up from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 1, to talk about drag, gender identity, and […]

Was the Corbyn leadership a complete failure for the left – and what can be learned for next time? What are the chances of a socialist Labour government implementing the kinds of policies seen in the 2017 and 2019 manifestos? And can the left trust Keir Starmer as party leader after a disappointing first year? Aaron […]

On Monday a British judge ruled that Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States on charges of espionage and computer hacking. Yet despite that verdict the judgment arguably represented a blow to freedom of the press – with the judge accepting the substance of the case made by the US state department. […]

Nearly 12 months ago some said that we were on the verge of entering a new Roaring ’20s. How prescient they turned out to be. One pandemic and a global economic freefall later, all the assumptions we started out with in January have turned to dust. In their place are pressing questions. Did Boris Johnson’s […]

After Singapore became the first country in the world to legislate for cultured meat, it’s time to ask whether cellular agriculture, and meat without animals, is the future of food. Is it really possible that lab grown beef, chicken and fish could replace the ‘real’ thing? And could cellular agriculture be a major weapon in […]