Novara Media

From pollinating crops to managing organic waste on a continental scale, insects are vital to life on Earth. They are also disappearing. Dave Goulson is an entomologist and ecologist whose books communicate the majesty of insects and arthropods – along with a grave warning about their demise. He talks to Aaron to Bastani talk about the critical lack of scientific expertise in government, the allure of dung beetles, and how to make your garden a haven for insect life. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

What does Israel hope to achieve this time, nearly 20 years after its last failed ground offensive in Lebanon? And how should we understand its adversary, a political party that also functions as a fighting force, a historical movement, and a regional power? Richard Hames is joined by Elia Ayoub, a Lebanese-Palestinian researcher and writer based in the UK, to sketch the political roots and strategic goals of Hezbollah. He explains the group’s complex links with Iran and Syria, why the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah was a PR win, and how Hezbollah became Israel’s ‘best enemy’. Elia is the author of the Hauntologies [https://www.hauntologies.net/] newsletter, the founder of The Fire These Times [https://thefirethesetimes.com/] podcast and a co-founder of the From the Periphery [https://fromtheperiphery.com/] media collective. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

Stephanie Kelton is an author and economist, and subject of the new film ‘Finding The Money’. Her work as a proponent of Modern Monetary Theory and as an advisor to Bernie Sanders has put her front and center of the debate around government debt, taxation and the potential green industrial revolution. She sat down for a remote conversation with Ash to discuss debt, Liz Truss and whether you really need to tax the rich. You can watch the trailer for ‘Finding The Money’ here. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R47h_ux-nE8] And you can learn more about the film and watch it in it’s entirety here.  [http://www.findingmoneyfilm.com/]

Of all the unseen forces that shape human society, could death be the most powerful? The ACFM crew take a leftwing look at mortality in this Trip, asking how capitalism has altered our approach to the inevitable. Jem, Nadia and Keir think about how industrialised workers were taught to prepare for death, why powerful men are obsessed with their legacies, why we failed to ritualise or remember the Covid dead, and their fear of being desensitised to killing. Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Follow our ever-expanding playlist on Spotify by searching “ACFM”. Help us build people-powered media: https://novara.media/support

The English language is full of pejoratives for large groups of people: mob mentality. Herd behaviour. Crowd contagion. Much of this apprehension stems from one of the most influential works of psychology ever written, Gustave Le Bon’s The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. Unfortunately, Le Bon’s big idea – that crowds produce derangement and violence in even the most rational subject – was not based on any actual research. So why the lingering suspicion? In his new book, Multitudes: How Crowds Made the Modern World [https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3176-multitudes], journalist and author Dan Hancox traces our fear and attraction to mass gatherings. He talks to Eleanor Penny about how mass crowds take shape – from Nazi rallies and student protests to urban riots and insurrections – and how the state tries to stamp them out. Help us build people-powered media: http://novara.media/support