A podcast about the ideas, people and movements that wield power in our lives.

Novara FM

Once upon a time we dreamed of a world free from household drudgery, helped by robot butlers, self-cleaning appliances and "smart" homes that saved energy and tidied after themselves. Yet despite decades of high-tech innovation in the home, we've barely reduced our workload – and still no one's managed to automate the folding of laundry.

So why is household labour stuck in the past? If technology won't save us, what kind of political fix will? And why does the list of chores just keep getting longer? These are some of the questions explored by Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek in their new book, After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time.

Eleanor Penny visited Helen and Nick at home in Surrey to discuss the impact of automation on our domestic lives, the neoliberal fixation on the nuclear family, the possibility of public luxury, and how raising their own family has informed their thinking on the promise of the post-work society.

Novara Audio: Radio For A Different Politics

Novara FM: We Were Promised Robot Butlers w/ Helen Hester & Nick Srnicek

James Butler is joined by Cat Hobbs of We Own It and Andrew Towers of the CWU to discuss public ownership in the 21st century. 'When We Own It' can be found on the We Own It website.   http://novaramedia.com/?p=13461

Novara Media Podcast

#NovaraFM: When We Own It: the Politics of Public Ownership

James Butler is joined by Paul Mason to discuss his new book, Clear Bright Future. In a time of political repression and looming technological dystopia, can resistance be found in a renewed understanding of humanity itself? Can the left talk about what it means to be human – and should it? And what does it mean to live an anti-fascist life? http://novaramedia.com/?p=13511

#NovaraFM: Clear Bright Future: Paul Mason on Radical Humanism

Immediately in the wake of Theresa May's resignation speech, James Butler is joined by Aaron Bastani and Michael Walker to talk about the wake of the European elections, the rise of the Brexit Party and the decline and fall of Theresa May. http://novaramedia.com/?p=13547

#NovaraFM: She's Gone: After Theresa May

James Butler is joined by Bhaskar Sunkara, founder of Jacobin, to discuss the past and future of socialism. From the travails of German Social Democracy, through the Bolshevik insurrection to the Meidner plan, what does the history of the socialist movement have to teach the movements behind Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders? http://novaramedia.com/?p=13666

#NovaraFM: The Socialist Manifesto: Bhaskar Sunkara

James Butler is joined by Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism. Where does neoliberalism come from? What did the original neoliberals really think about the world? Is the European Union really a 'neoliberal project' – and what would it mean if it were? http://novaramedia.com/?p=13736

#NovaraFM: Globalists: the Origins of Neoliberalism

In light of Labour's evolving Brexit stance, James Butler is joined by Richard Seymour to take a broad look at Brexit politics. What did we miss last time? Was the outcome predictable? Will the Tory party tear itself apart – and was this inevitable? And how is Britain's class structure reflected in its politics? http://novaramedia.com/?p=13819

#NovaraFM: The Next Referendum?

James Butler is joined by Geoff Mann, co-author of Climate Leviathan, to discuss the political consequences of climate change. In a warming world, fundamental political assumptions change profoundly: what kind of global order will be brought about by those changing priorities? Is a 'Green New Deal' sufficient to deal with the challenges posed by climate change? http://novaramedia.com/?p=13865

#NovaraFM: Climate Leviathan

US war drums beat for Iran: but what drives politics inside the Islamic Republic? James Butler is joined by Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, author of 'Revolution and its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran', to discuss Iranian politics and history: from British and American imperialism and the coup against Mossadegh, to the political theology of the post-1979 clerical regime, and the fate of the Iranian left. http://novaramedia.com/?p=13929

#NovaraFM: Revolution and Its Discontents: Politics in Iran

Ash Sarkar is joined by Michael Walker and James Meadway to discuss the future of the Labour Party - in government, in the EU, and on the global stage. 

http://novaramedia.com/?p=13972

Novara Audio: Radio for a Different Politics

#NovaraFM: The Cause of Labour?

On #NovaraFM James Butler and Aaron Bastani contemplate the future under Boris Johnson. Johnson rode into Downing Street on the passions of the Tory base. Now in power, he has installed a hard-right cabinet, but confronts serious obstacles for his vision of Brexit and desire to remake the country. How will he govern? http://novaramedia.com/?p=14057

#NovaraFM: How Will He Govern?

James Butler and Aaron Bastani look back over the summer's political drama, and discuss the ideological transformation of the Tory Party, the constitutional crisis and the forthcoming Labour Party conference. http://novaramedia.com/?p=14780

#NovaraFM: What the Hell Happened? What's Next?

James Butler is joined by political theorist Lea Ypi (LSE) to discuss socialist internationalism in the 21st century: from the democratic tensions of Brexit in the UK, to the roots of the EU in the 18th century, through to the virtues of partisanship. http://novaramedia.com/?p=14973

#NovaraFM: Perpetual Peace? Lea Ypi on Brexit, Sovereignty and Partisanship

James Butler is joined by James Meadway and Adrienne Buller to break down the outcome of Labour Conference: will radical policy translate to radical action? And what next for the Green New Deal? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15082

#NovaraFM: The Debrief

James Butler is joined by Jack Shenker to discuss his new book, Now We Have Your Attention. They explore the new politics birthed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, from grassroots trade unionism to migrant solidarity, and the gradual transformation of the Labour Party. http://novaramedia.com/?p=15154

#NovaraFM: Now We Have Your Attention

James Butler is joined by Callum Cant to discuss his new book Riding for Deliveroo, which draws from his experience as a worker militant in the gig economy, and discusses the implications of new forms of work for worker resistance. http://novaramedia.com/?p=15232

#NovaraFM: Riding for Deliveroo: Platform Capitalism and Resistance

James Butler is joined by Richard Seymour to discuss his book 'The Twittering Machine'. Are we all digital narcissists now? What has the rise of the social industry done to our politics? And can we break free of its emotional lures? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15280

#NovaraFM: Screen Capitalism: the Twittering Machine

James Butler is joined by Anna Minton, author of Ground Control and Big Capital. Drawing from her work encompassing the decline of council housing, the rise of capital-led 'regeneration' and growing precarity and homelessness, they ask: could this be a housing election? http://novaramedia.com/?p=15640

#NovaraFM: Where Will We Live?

James Butler is joined by Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for the Green New Deal, to discuss the relationship between ecology and economics, to explore Keynes's proto-localism, and discuss what the latest batch of economic figures tell us about the UK. https://novaramedia.com/?p=15811

#NovaraFM: Paying for the Planet? Ann Pettifor on the Green New Deal

James Butler is joined by Maya Goodfellow, author of Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats, to discuss the history and politics of migration in the UK, what Windrush tells us about the migrations system, and whether migration will play a key role in this election. https://novaramedia.com/?p=15964