It's cleaners all the way down!

How can we care for each other within a system that doesn't care about us? In this episode, Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn get to grips with birth, death and all the social reproduction in between.

When did we start putting our elders in care homes instead of our own homes? What happens when childcare is socialised instead of privatised? And why do we seem to be talking about "self-care" more than caring for others?

The gang consider these questions and more in a suitably extended episode, with help from Foucault, feminist theory and caring tunes by Kate Bush, Bill Withers and Rihanna.

Music: Vashti Bunyan - 'Lately' / Bill Withers - 'Lean On Me' / Kate Bush - 'The Man With the Child In His Eyes' / George McRae - 'Rock Your Baby' / The Beatles - 'When I'm 64' / Sam and Dave - 'Hold On I'm Coming' / Rihanna - 'Umbrella'

Books, podcasts & videos: Joan Tronto - Caring Democracy / Michel Foucault - The Care of the Self / The Care Collective - The Care Manifesto / David Graeber on Novara FM / Plan C - WTF is Social Reproduction?

Novara Audio: Radio for a Different Politics

ACFM Trip 26: Care

With the queen lying in state, the level of public enthusiasm for the monarchy is being measured in a line along the Thames. Michael Walker and Owen Jones discuss what's driving people to queue.

Plus: King Charles fires his staff; A columnist for the Times thinks we should be 'frugal' like the Queen; and we look at how the devolved nations are taking the cost of living crisis more seriously than Liz Truss.

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Novara Audio: Radio For A Different Politics

TyskySour: The Queen Lies In State

In 1999, an anonymous Italian collective published a spy novel called Q. Imagined by its left-wing authors as an "operation manual for cultural disruption," the book has had a bizarre political afterlife, with its story arc and themes of Satanic ritual and paedophilia seemingly providing the basis for alt-right conspiracy theory QAnon. Did a '90s literary prank foment an American insurrection?

In a Microdose to accompany an ACFM Trip episode about magic, Keir Milburn speaks to Wu Ming 1, one of Q's co-authors and a founding member of the Wu Ming collective, about the universal appeal of conspiracies. 

Books: Q – Luther Blissett / La Q di Qomplotto – Wu Ming 1 / The Tyranny of Algorithms – Miguel Benasayag / The Critique of Judgement – Immanuel Kant

The stage magician mentioned by Wu Ming 1 is Mariano Tomatis and the walking tour of Leeds mentioned by Keir is a NovaraFM podcast called Riots and the Red Flag.

ACFM Microdose: Fantasy and Conspiracy with Wu Ming 1

We live in irrational times. From the resurgence of interest in astrology, tarot and occultism to the deepening influence of conspiracy theories and positive thinking, culture is experiencing a turn towards the magical. What does that mean for those of us on the "weird left"?

Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn gather round the cauldron for an episode that will challenge believers and rationalists alike, with music from Siouxsie, Queen and The KLF. Up for discussion: Sigmund Freud, the I Ching, Puritanism, crop circles, Psychic TV, modern macroeconomics, the Pendle Witches, the fake religion of Discordianism and much more.

An ever-expanding playlist of all the music discussed on the show can be found on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Wv61PS6qItwCBUluNcSFx">Spotify</a>.

Music: The KLF - 'Justified &amp; Ancient (Stand By The Jams)' / The KLF - '3AM Eternal' / A Guy Called Gerald - 'Voodoo Ray' / Miles Davis - 'Miles Runs The Voodoo Down' / Screamin' Jay Hawkins - 'I Put A Spell On You' / Queen - 'It’s A Kind of Magic' / Siouxsie &amp; The Banshees - 'Spellbound' / MC 900ft Jesus - 'Truth Is Out Of Style' / Lisa King - 'You’ve Got Magic'

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley and Chal Ravens. PRS Licence Number: LE-0016481

Books and films: Sigmund Freud – The Unconscious / John Higgs – The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned A Million Pounds / The KLF – The Manual: How to Have A Number 1 The Easy Way / K Foundation Burn a Million Quid / Ben Myers - The Perfect Golden Circle / Robert Shea &amp; Robert Anton Wilson – The Illuminatus! Trilogy

ACFM Trip 27: Magic

In 2011, while working as a City trader, Gary Stevenson joined the ranks of the ultra-rich with a single bonus cheque. Not long after, he was named one of Citibank’s highest-performing traders worldwide. Stevenson made millions for his employer by betting on one thing: that inequality would worsen and living standards would fall. It made him rich, but miserable. Stevenson left his job to campaign on inequality. In this interview with Aaron Bastani, he tells the story of his ascent to the peak of the financial world and reveals the plan to destroy the middle class.

Downstream: The Plan is to Make you Permanently Poorer w/ Gary Stevenson

Welcome to Pro Revolution Soccer, a football podcast that doesn't leave politics at the turnstile. In the first episode of a five-part series, Keir Milburn and Tom Williams confront the most corrupt, rapacious and deadly World Cup in sporting history. 

Repulsed by football's hyper-capitalism but compromised by their desire to watch Wales v England, Keir and Tom bring together political and tactical analysis in an episode of two halves. 

They're joined this week by Novara Media's Ash Sarkar and writer and tactician Alex Stewart, formerly of Tifo Football, to talk sporting boycotts, World Cup players-to-watch and the missing England song.

Catch a new episode of PRS every Friday until the end of the World Cup. 

Music by Matt Huxley. Produced by Chal Ravens. Design by Pietro Garrone. Name by Tim Burrow.

Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 1: Should We Boycott the Qatar World Cup?

Trophies. Glory. Trade deals. Kudos. What does Qatar really want from the World Cup? In the second episode of Pro Revolution Soccer, Keir and Tom reflect on the opening week of the tournament and dig deeper into the political and sporting flashpoints so far.

They're joined by Kate Mason from the Football Ramble podcast, who talks about her years in the Gulf and what she learned while making her new series, Inside the Qatar World Cup. Tom also speaks to Lebanese writer and activist Ali Reda about why Gulf petrostates are investing billions into football – particularly in the north of England – and what the British state gets out of the deal.

Pro Revolution Soccer is out every Friday until the World Cup Final. Find more World Cup coverage, including Ali's article, at novara.media/football

Music by Matt Huxley. Produced by Chal Ravens. Design by Pietro Garrone.

Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 2: What Does Qatar Want?

We don't get enough of it. We take drugs all day to fend it off. We'll do it when we're dead. And it's our last line of defence against 24/7 capitalism.

Sleep, the main course in life's feast! The ACFM crew rouse themselves from slumber to wokeness in this month's Trip, exploring the political and cultural aspects of shut-eye. How has a biological necessity been manipulated by everything from mechanical clocks, electric lighting, screen addiction and the insatiable needs of capitalism?

Nadia Idle lives up to her name and argues we should all be spending more time in bed, Keir Milburn worries about an insomniac culture obsessed with productivity, and – despite his sideline as a party organiser and DJ - Jeremy Gilbert rails against the culture of all-night dancing. Plus, music from Faithless, The Fall and The Beatles.

An ever-expanding playlist of all the music discussed on the show can be found on Spotify.

Music: The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping / Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night / John Coltrane - Russian Lullaby / Alex De Grassi - Luther's Lullaby / Faithless - Insomnia / The Beatles - I'm So Tired / Flowered Up - Weekender / The Fall - Rowche Rumble

Books & articles: E. P. Thompson - Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism / Paul Lafargue – The Right to Be Lazy / Jonathan Crary - 24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley and Chal Ravens. PRS Licence Number: LE-0016481

ACFM Trip 29: Sleep

In the midst of Britain’s biggest wave of industrial action in years, the gang turn their attention to the long and bloodied history of strikes. Who do we find on the picket line? Nadia, Keir and Jeremy explore a lineage that stretches back hundreds of years, from matchgirls to miners, from 1840s century Chartists to 2020s university lecturers, and from smoggy cities to leafy suburbs.

Along the way they ask whether 18th century sailors were the original tech workers, why Britain’s only general strike was a failure, and if civilisation itself might have started with a sex strike. Plus, the gang discuss their favourite pro-union hits from Paul Robeson, Judy Collins, The Flying Pickets and more.

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Music: Strawbs - 'Part of the Union' / Florence Reece - 'Which Side Are You On?' / Judy Collins - 'Bread and Roses' / Bev Grant - 'We Were There' / The Flying Pickets - 'Only You' / Paul Robeson - 'Joe Hill'

Books and pamphlets: William Benbow - Grand National Holiday, and Congress of the Productive Classes / E. P. Thompson - The Making of the English Working Class

Films: Pride / Made in Dagenham

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley and Chal Ravens. PRS Licence Number: LE-0016481

ACFM Trip 31: Strikes

What’s the point of comedy? Stand-ups were at the forefront of the cultural backlash against Thatcherism, but today’s meme-driven lols are rarely in the service of left-wing politics. Meanwhile, the world’s most powerful people seem intent on having a laugh, from podcasting politicians to presidential comedians.

In this Trip, Jeremy Gilbert, Nadia Idle and Keir Milburn put together an ACFM theory of humour. Does satire make us more cynical? Is there such a thing as a national sense of humour? Are men funnier than women? Where did all the comedy songs go?

The gang consider theories of laughter from Lauren Berlant, Freud and Bergson and the efforts of jokemongers like Phyllis Diller, Larry David and Alexei Sayle. Brace yourself for musical humour from The Wurzels, Afroman and Half Man Half Biscuit.

Subscribe to the newsletter: novara.media/ACFMnewsletter

Books & articles: Juvenal – The Satires / Lauren Berlant and Sianne Ngai – Comedy Has Issues / Christopher Hitchens – Why Women Aren’t Funny / Henri Bergson – Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic / Sigmund Freud – Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious / Thomas Hobbes - Human Nature / Alenka Zupančič – The Odd One In: On Comedy / Todd McGowan – Only a Joke Can Save Us

Music: Benny Hill – Ernie / The Wurzels – The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) / The Commentators – N-N-Nineteen Not Out / The Tiger Lillies – Gin / Spinal Tap – Big Bottom / Calimar White – Never Do S#!t At Work / Chumbawamba – Bigmouth Strikes Again / Half Man Half Biscuit – Joy Division Oven Gloves / Bob Dylan – Lenny Bruce Is Dead / Afroman – Because I Got High / The Beat – Tears of a Clown / Monty Python – Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

TV & film: The Thick of It / Brass Eye / Have I Got News For You / Spinal Tap / 30 Rock / Curb Your Enthusiasm

Produced and edited by Matt Huxley and Chal Ravens. PRS Licence Number: LE-0016481

ACFM Trip 33: Comedy

Several years ago, Jon Moses realised that the stunning nature he could see from his house in rural Herefordshire was inaccessible to him. From the nearby riverbanks to the local oak woodlands, the countryside revealed itself to be a private fortress.

Now, as an organiser of the Right To Roam campaign, he's leading the call for free and fair access to land and water throughout England, via political advocacy and planned trespasses on private estates.

Jon tells Eleanor Penny about the traumatic history that separated commoners from the land, the dangers of a rural monoculture, and why the left needs to get comfortable with ideas about place and belonging.

ACFM Trip 26: Care

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