Shows / Novara Media
Episodes
Novara Media98: Are we obsessed with having our feelings validated?
Have we become reliant on having our feelings validated instead of taking valid criticism? Ash and Moya offer their own strategies for worrying less about what…
Novara MediaDownstream: 2008 Whistleblower on the Next Big Crash w/ Ann Pettifor
This week, Donald Trump continued his streak of threatening tariffs against any country that opposes him, increasing the odds of an escalating trade war and…
- Novara Media
97: When will I start feeling like a grown-up?
Ash has a big theory about what makes someone into a proper adult – and it’s less about age or wisdom than the experiencing of caring for someone else. Plus: a…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Exposing the Lies of the 20th Century w/ Tariq Ali
Our guest this week was born in 1943, in what was then British India – modern day Pakistan. Unlike most, who have learned history through books and second-hand…
- Novara Media
96: Why are women choosing looks instead of books?
Sure, you look great – but can you spell pharaoh? Ash and Moya start the year with a tough conversation about the beauty regime that rules over us all. Has…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Venezuela, China and the End of the Dollar w/ Glenn Greenwald
It has been a bellicose start to 2026, with the US army kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and threatening to annex Greenland, putting many more…
- Novara Media
95: Does British culture need saving? w/ Lanre Bakare
Culture writer Lanre Bakare joins Ash and Moya in Manchester to talk about Black cultural identity outside of London, the precarious state of arts and…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Exposing the Israeli Capture of British Politics w/ Peter Oborne
After ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ on October 7th, a specific narrative quickly emerged and pervaded the entire Western mainstream media. Namely, that…
- Novara Media
Downstream: 2025 – What Actually Happened? w/ Ash Sarkar and Aaron Bastani
Ash Sarkar and Aaron Bastani joined each other on 17th December for a special end-of-year Downstream, wrapping up the year in politics.
- Novara Media
94: Resentment, hostility, scarcity… is this modern dating? w/ Jordan Stephens
Ash and Moya are joined by author, musician and podcaster Jordan Stephens to talk about changing attitudes to gender, dating and relationships. Are we…
- Novara Media
Downstream: ‘Gaza Is Over, It’s Gone. There’s Nothing Left’ w/ Norman Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein is one of the west’s leading anti-Zionist scholars. The son of Holocaust survivors, he has spent his life studying and critiquing Israel’s…
- Novara Media
93: I’m addicted to guilt. What’s wrong with me?
NEW: Join us at Crossed Wires festival in Sheffield on 4th July 2026. Tickets are available now from crossedwires.live! Ash and Moya debate the pros and cons…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Truth About Hamas, October 7th & Israel’s Ongoing Genocide w/ Tareq Baconi
Since Hamas launched its assault on October 7th, 2023, the group has become synonymous with evil in large parts of the Western media. Condemnation has come at…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Plan is to Make the Internet Worse Forever w/ Cory Doctorow
Did you know that the standard of Google searches has actually gotten worse over recent years? Once you think about it, it makes sense. Highly effective search…
Novara MediaACFM Trip 56: The Mainstream
In this Trip episode, Jem, Nadia and Keir debate the meaning of 'mainstream' – something none of them could ever possibly be, of course. Is 'woke' the new…
- Novara Media
91: If there's no 'ethical consumption', can just I buy what I want?
Last chance! We're at EartH in East London on 16 December with guest Jordan Stephens – a handful of tickets are still available from Dice. Ash and Moya tackle…
- Novara Media
90: Are rightwing politics affecting my sex life?
Moya and Ash talk to Dr Annabel Sowemimo about STI stigma, period-tracking apps, being disconnected from our bodies, and how to afford a second child. Plus…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Zack Polanski Is Coming for Starmer and Farage
Support for the Green party in Britain has been steadily rising for the past few decades. However, few predicted that when Zack Polanski took office as Green…
- Novara Media
89: Am I doomed to get more conservative as I get older?
Come and see us live! We're in Manchester on 25 November with Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There – get tickets from Contact Theatre. Then we'll be at EartH…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Ex-World Bank Insider on Western Decline & the Chinese World Order w/ Branko Milanovic
At Novara, we focus on the trends that are remaking the world and affecting our lives: technological development and automation, multipolarity, the demise of…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Dark Truth About Starmer’s Rise to Power w/ Paul Holden
Investigative journalist Paul Holden has spent the last four years digging into the political machinations that brought Keir Starmer's Labour Party into office…
- Novara Media
88: What are the ethics of oversharing?
Come and see Ash and Moya live this winter. If I Speak hits Manchester's Contact Theatre on 25 November with special guest Lanre Bakare, author of We Were…
- Novara Media
87: I'm losing interest in my fiancée. Should she make more effort?
Come and see us live on 25th November in Manchester with special guest Lanre Bakare, author of We Were There! Tickets are available now from Contact Theatre…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Putin’s 1,000 Year War in Ukraine Has Ancient Roots w/ Serhii Plokhy
In 1989, Francis Fukuyama, then a very young political scientist, declared that history was over. He wrote a book with the same title just a couple of years…
Novara MediaACFM Microdose: What's Going On Inside Your Party?
After last week’s ACFM episode on Parties, this time we expose the predicament facing Your Party, the new leftwing faction led by Zarah Sultana and Jeremy…
- Novara Media
86: Why do we lap up other people’s horror stories?
We're coming to Manchester! On 25th November we'll be at Contact Theatre for a live show with special guest Lanre Bakare. Tickets are available now from the…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The West Misunderstands Iran w/ Vali Nasr
Iran has been in the news a lot in 2025. Over recent decades, it has been a variable in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. But during…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Kidnapped at Sea by the Israeli Military. The Full Story w/ Kieran Andrieu
The Gaza Strip, home to 2.2 million people, is a tiny land mass about the same size as the Isle of Wight. Yet in terms of munitions by weight, Gaza has been…
Novara Media85: Has pop culture turned to slop?
*Display your Special One status with our only piece of merch so far, available from shop.novaramedia.com* Moya and Ash are joined by Kemi Alemoru, editorial…
- Novara Media
Downstream: What Really Changed on 7th October w/ Ahmed Alnaouq, Yara Eid and Tareq Baconi
Just over two years after the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, and just days after the announcement of a ceasefire, Aaron Bastani spoke to three Palestinian…
- Novara Media
ACFM Trip 55: Parties
Amid the bumpy launch of a new left-wing party and the rise of the Greens and Reform, the ACFM crew turn their attention to parties. Do we still need political…
Novara Media84: How to ace a first date (by two very different daters)
84: How to ace a first date (by two very different daters) by Novara Media
- Novara Media
Downstream: Democracy Is Under Massive Threat From AI w/ William MacAskill
Artificial intelligence is set to be one of the most disruptive technologies this century. For some, a machine capable of augmenting its own intelligence is a…
Novara Media83: Is jealousy the spice of life?
*We've got merch! It’s a big foldable bag just for Special Ones, available from shop.novaramedia.com* Prompted by Elena Ferrante’s novel My Brilliant Friend…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Was the 20th Century a Catastrophe, or a Miracle? w/ Yanis Varoufakis
Economist, and former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis joins Aaron to discuss his most recent book Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of…
Novara Media82: Help! I can't stop hating men
*Join the Baggu believers: it’s a huge foldable bag just for Special Ones, available from shop.novaramedia.com* Moya wants to stop hating men and start…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Right Is Stirring up Anti-Muslim Hate – and It’s Getting Worse w/ Myriam François
In the summer of 2024, hotels sheltering Muslim asylum seekers across Britain were attacked by violent mobs. A year later, as the summer of 2025 drew to a…
Novara MediaACFM Microdose: Sci-Fi
After last week's ACFM Trip to the Future, Jem and Keir reconvene to talk about science fiction. Is sci-fi a reaction to the "time-space compression" of the…
- Novara Media
81: Is it wrong to love my AI boyfriend?
*We've got merch. Gift yourself the If I Speak x Baggu bag, only from shop.novaramedia.com* A mystery question from producer Chal prompts a conversation about…
Novara MediaDownstream: How Brexit Paved the Way for Farage's Bid for Downing Street w/ Tom McTague
It's almost 10 years since Britain voted to leave the EU, and we're still dealing with the consequences. In a new book, Between The Waves, Politico's chief UK…
- Novara Media
ACFM Trip 54: The Future
What if we stopped treating the future like a speculative asset and started trying to actually build and prepare? The ACFM gang look to the horizon in this…
- Novara Media
80: September is the real new year. Will your resolution stick this time?
*Flag your Special One status with our official tote bag, only from shop.novaramedia.com* Moya has a simple proposition: September is the best month for fresh…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Political Possibilities of the Ancient World w/ Josephine Quinn
What were the ancient alternatives to democracy? Did people in the Bronze Age forget how to write – or deliberately stop? And what's the use in studying…
- Novara Media
79: Help! I’ve moved back home and now my mum hates me
*Get your If I Speak merch from shop.novaramedia.com* Moya and Ash tackle your dilemmas, featuring a middle-class mum who’s become distant and critical, an…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Are We Living Through the End of an Empire? w/ Lea Ypi
What can the collapse of the Ottoman Empire teach us about the danger of the current discourse around migration? ‘Re-migration’ is not a new concept conjured…
- Novara Media
78: What does it take to feel safe?
*Get the If I Speak Baggu bag from shop.novaramedia.com* A shocking real-life incident prompts a conversation about feeling safe, trusting your gut and the…
- Novara Media
Downstream: Infinite Growth Will Lead to Collapse w/ Jason Hickel
Our politicians don’t agree on much, but one thing most of them agree on is that growth is universally good. Grow the pie, they assure us, and there will be…
- Novara Media
ACFM Microdose: Gardening
Are gardens a sanctuary or an enclosure? The ACFM gang sketch out a weird-left history of gardening, from the walled gardens of paradise to the tarmacked lawns…
- Novara Media
Downstream: China Is Building While the West Crumbles w/ Dan Wang
Dan Wang is a technology analyst and author whose life experience, spent partly in North America, partly in China, sets him up as an authoritative observer of…
Novara Media76: How porn went mainstream and changed everything w/ Sophie Gilbert
*Support the show by copping the If I Speak Baggu bag – it's ethically made, comes in two colours and is available from shop.novaramedia.com* Ash and Moya talk…
- Novara Media
Downstream: A Reckoning Is Coming For The Establishment Over Gaza w/ Owen Jones
Owen Jones is a journalist and the author of ‘Chavs’, ‘The Establishment’, and ‘This Land’. He has spent the last 21 months relentlessly reporting and…
Novara Media75: The world needs more flirting. Here's how
*Support the show by copping the If I Speak Baggu bag – it's ethically made, comes in two colours and is available from shop.novaramedia.com* Moya and Ash…
- Novara Media
Downstream: The Ancient Indian History Our Schools Don't Teach w/ William Dalrymple
Ash Sarkar sat down at EartH Hackney with acclaimed historian and author William Dalrymple. Picking up where they left off last time they spoke on Downstream…
Novara MediaNovara FM: Where Did Novara Media Come From? w/ Aaron Bastani, James Butler and Ash Sarkar
Novara FM was Novara Media's first show – it's now coming to an end. On the final episode, Richard Hames sat down with Aaron Bastani, James Butler and Ash…
- Novara Media
74: Can your racial identity change over time?
*Flag your special one status with the If I Speak Baggu bag – it's ethically made, comes in two colours and is available now from shop.novaramedia.com* Ash has…
Novara MediaDownstream: The Real Reason Millennials Are Screwed w/ Eliza Filby
Dr Eliza Filby is a historian and author of the bestselling book Inheritocracy: It’s Time to Talk About the Bank of Mum and Dad. In conversation with Ash…
Novara MediaACFM Trip 53: Growth
Keir Starmer claims that growth is the only cure for a country in decline. But why is it the central obsession of modern capitalist economies? And can we think…
- Novara Media
73: Where did it all go wrong on the dancefloor?
*Flag your Special One status with the If I Speak Baggu bag – it's ethically made, comes in two colours and is available now from shop.novaramedia.com* Having…
Novara MediaDownstream: Ash Sarkar meets Gerry Adams
This interview would once have been illegal to broadcast in the UK. For many, Gerry Adams is a peacemaker, but for others he remains inseparable from the…
- Novara Media
Novara FM: Does the Palestine Action Ban Signal the Decline of Liberalism in Britain? w/ Simon Childs
Is the UK still a liberal country? With terrorism laws criminalising speech around Palestine Action, it’s a serious question. A growing gulf between public…