What is identity politics? Recent definitions have strayed some distance from the ideas laid out by the Black radical feminists of the Combahee River Collective. In their original 1977 statement, the Boston collective established a simple but undeniable truth: what you know depends on who you are.

The problem, as American philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò points out, is that the most privileged members of marginalised groups can end up speaking for the group as a whole. Identity politics has been captured by elites, says Táíwò, and the effect can either be brazenly cynical – like the CIA implementing a diversity policy – or vastly more subtle.

On Novara FM, the professor of philosophy at Georgetown University talks to Eleanor Penny about his recent book, Elite Capture and Reconsidering Reparations, and how we can get back to the radical promise of identity politics: socialism.

Novara Audio: Radio For A Different Politics

Novara FM: Identity Politics Hijacked w/ Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

As Sunak continues to defend Braverman's decisions over Marston, the Home Office is dumping asylum seekers in London without anywhere to stay. How low can this government go?

Plus: Netanyahu is back in power after general elections in Israel; and Matt Hancock's decision to go on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

With Dalia Gebrial and Ash Sarkar.

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TyskySour: Tories Defend Manston Conditions

The welfare state was founded in the postwar period, seemingly as payment for a profound national sacrifice. Strengthening it has been a goal of the Left for decades. The argument is as simple as it is radical: the wealth of the nation must be shared among its people. But where did its wealth come from?

Gurminder K. Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies at the University of Sussex, argues that the wealth of the welfare state was plundered from the British Empire. Colonial subjects were made to pay taxes and give it their work and resources, but they were then refused its help. And now, migration politics in Britain assumes that the descendants of colonial subjects are entitled to nothing.

So if the wealth in the welfare state was stolen, what should the Left now try to do with it?

In this week's Novara FM, Gurminder K. Bhambra takes Eleanor Penny from a history of global plunder to a future of global justice.

Novara FM: History's Biggest Benefits Cheat w/ Gurminder K. Bhambra

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?

Imagine you had a few million ill-gotten pounds, rubles or dollars. Where would you stash it? You'd need to make sure no one knew it was yours, or where you'd nabbed it from. It turns out that the best place in the world for these money-stashing services is the UK. Oligarchs from all over the world use British financial services, overseas territories and even tube stations to hide their wealth.

Ash meets Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World: The book the oligarchs don’t want you to read – how Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals.

Downstream: How to Hide a Billion Pounds w/ Oliver Bullough

After the 2008 financial crisis, a vast number of people were booted from the formal labour market. Many of them ended up in the gig economy: Uber, Deliveroo, Fiverr. Their exploitation at the hands of these platforms is well known, but often overlooked are the processes of racialisation that contribute to this reorganisation of labour power.

In this episode, Eleanor Penny talks to TyskySour co-host Dalia Gebrial about her PhD research into what she terms 'racial platform capitalism'. Looking at Uber drivers and nannies in particular, Dalia explains how 'the racial fix' is used to justify the surveillance and punishment of a disposable workforce, and how Britain's imperial past has produced a lineage of exploitation stretching 'from plantation to platform'.

Dalia's paper, 'Racial platform capitalism: Empire, migration and the making of Uber in London', is available to read online at Sage Journals.

Novara FM: From Plantation to Platform w/ Dalia Gebrial

As Wales crash out of the World Cup after defeat against England, Keir Milburn and Tom Williams question their dedication to international football. After all, how can you support a national team if you don't believe in borders?

On the third episode of Pro Revolution Soccer, Keir and Tom are joined by writer and broadcaster David Goldblatt, author of acclaimed football history tome The Ball Is Round, to discuss football as a national culture. Is cheering for England inherently jingoistic? Or can football be the bedrock of a popular progressive identity – one that no longer feels the need to mention the war when England play Germany? David explores the political potential of the current squad and reflects on the varied responses to Qatar '22 around the world.

Pro Revolution Soccer is out every Friday until the World Cup final.

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

Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 3: Should You Support Your National Team?

It's not a matter of life and death – it's much more important. Football elicits some of the most intense emotions we're capable of feeling, from the hug-a-stranger joy of winning trophies to the phone-in misery of relegation. At the end of the day, it's only a game – but maybe games are more important than we think.

To discuss the emotional and social meaning of football, Keir and Tom are joined by writer, filmmaker and Clapton CFC centre-forward Juliet Jacques. They also speak to Novara's labour movement correspondent Polly Smythe about the trade union leader who's become an unlikely cheerleader for the Qatari government.

Keep up with Pro Revolution Soccer, the football podcast that doesn’t leave politics at the turnstile, every Friday until the World Cup final.

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

Pro Revolution Soccer Ep 4: Why Do We Love Football So Much?

Cutting-edge research has recently revealed that festive movie The Muppet Christmas Carol is actually based on a book. Many are now speculating that there may even be historical context at play. But what could it be? To unwrap the politics of A Christmas Carol, Eleanor Penny is joined by James Butler, co-founder of Novara Media and a contributing editor at the London Review of Books. 

Together they discuss the hungry 1840s, deflationary economics, Scrooge's miserly capitalism and why Charles Dickens' conversion story is our most enduring ghost of Christmas past.

Happy Christmas from everyone at Novara Media!

Novara FM: A Christmas Carol w/ James Butler

Ash is joined by Novara's own Aaron Bastani, Moya Lothian-McLean, Michael Walker and James Butler to talk about what was bugging them in the year 2022.

From landlordism to normativity and a nasty turn in identity politics and from the declining fortunes of Europe to the absolute state of the discourse, the Novara team summarises the year that was and looks forward to another bumper year of fighting back.

Happy New Year!

Novara FM: From Plantation to Platform w/ Dalia Gebrial

Novara Media

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