ACFM: #ACFM Trip 12: The Cosmic Right
The crew discuss the rise of conspiratorial thinking within New Age, spiritual and 'wellness' communities, and the implications this has for the left.
Report: ‘It’s All Performative, They Don’t Care’: Why Tate Workers Are Going on Strike
Sophie K Rosa
Facing redundancy during a national recession and global pandemic, Tate workers are going on strike, arguing that, despite the art institution’s socially conscious image, it is the lowest-paid and most diverse workers who will be worst impacted. Sophie K Rosa reports.
Opinion: Private Schools Have Always Let Wealthy Students Jump the University Queue
Mark Jago
A-level downgrading has made clear the class discrimination that has always been inherent in the schooling system, writes Mark Jago. Universities should take this chance to amend admissions procedures to reduce rather than exacerbate inequality.
Novara Live: Classroom Warfare
Dishing out A-level results in the midst of a pandemic was always going to be hard. That doesn’t excuse a process which has turned into an unprecedented disaster, thrown up arbitrary grades, and dashed the hopes of thousands of young people. But with the poorest hit hardest, is this a case of government incompetence, or of […]
Opinion: Paranoid Hysteria is a Near-Constant Feature of Modern Conservatism
David Wearing
The right’s shrill panic about an ‘invasion’ of migrants reached new heights this week over a handful of refugees in barely seaworthy dinghies. In order to understand the forces we’re dealing with, we need to examine this hysteria itself, argues David Wearing.
Opinion: The Worst Recession on Record. The Highest Death Toll in Europe. Make No Mistake – the Government Led Us Here
James Meadway
The UK has entered its worst recession since records began and has the highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe. The government has led us here, writes James Meadway, and shows no sign of realising the scale of the crisis we're facing.
Opinion: NHS Workers Are Saying No, Now It’s Time for Unions to Step Up
Jack MacBean
Excluded from a recent public sector pay rise, nurses and healthcare workers have begun mobilising in their thousands to demand a pay increase. Last weekend over 40 demonstrations coalesced around a demand for a 15% pay rise for all NHS workers; now it's up to the unions to show some leadership, writes Jack MacBean.
ACFM: #ACFM Microdose: Erik Davis on the Cosmic Right
Jeremy Gilbert talks to Erik Davis, scholar of weird culture, mysticism, and the fertile crossover between esoterica and politics
Analysis: How Progressive Is Joe Biden’s New Vice President?
Freddie Stuart and Aaron White
After months of anticipation, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has finally announced that his running mate will be junior senator Kamala Harris. Freddie Stuart and Aaron White take a closer look at Harris’ record and what her selection means for the future of a surging progressive movement in the United States.
Ash Wednesday: Ash Sarkar Debunks Anti-Migrant Myths
While establishment media jumps at the chance to go on refugee safari in the Channel, Ash Sarkar debunks the myths behind anti-migrant sentiment.
Novara Live: Kamala Calling (with Nomiki Konst)
Nomiki Konst joins Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial to discuss Kamala Harris being picked as Joe Biden’s running mate. Plus, Professor Simon Lewis on climate change heatwaves and Commonwealth Director Mathew Lawrence on Britain’s record breaking recession.
Opinion: Italy is Being Governed By the Politics of Resentment
David Broder
With centrist parties integrating former enemies into the ‘anti-populist’ camp and hard-right parties waging a culture war against ‘communists’ and immigrants, Italy is being governed by the politics of resentment. This is what happens when politicians lack any real plan to reboot the economy, argues David Broder - all they can do is manage the decline.
Opinion: It’s Not Just Brexiteers Who Deal in British Exceptionalism – Centrists Do Too
Aaron Bastani
Liberal centrists are quick to accuse right-wing Brexiteers of being prone to nostalgia and exceptionalism. But by appealing to a mythical past where Britain was an open, tolerant country, centrists show they're not actually all that different, argues Aaron Bastani.
Novara Live: Driving While Black (with Dawn Butler)
We speak to Labour MP Dawn Butler about institutional racism in Britain’s police. Plus, BBC breakfast go on a ‘migrant safari’, Andrew Neil is reportedly in the running as the next chair of the BBC, and David Miliband brands Corbyn and the Labour left ‘wreckers’.
Opinion: Trump’s Attack on ‘Anarchists’ Is Just the Latest Red Scare
Ruth Kinna, Matthew S Adams and Thomas Swann
The spectre of anarchism, invoked by Donald Trump and repeated without challenge in the mainstream media, reinforces the strategic demonisation of movements like Black Lives Matter that expose and mobilise against persistent injustices, write Ruth Kinna, Matthew S Adams and Thomas Swann.
Novara Live: Right Wing Migrant Freakout
Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani debunk the latest right-wing freakout about migration. Plus, Government corruption on PPE, submissions close for the Labour Leaks inquiry and why we all need Joe Biden to stop talking.
International: Kerala’s Pandemic Response Owes Its Success to Participatory Politics
David Jenkins and Lipin Ram
Kerala's response to the Covid-19 crisis has received worldwide praise. What’s been missed, however, is the importance of the state’s ‘politics of participation’ and the role of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in engendering this politics, argue David Jenkins and Lipin Ram.
Ash Wednesday: Are Right-wingers an Oppressed Minority?
Ash Sarkar explores how the language of minoritarian grievance has been appropriated by the most powerful people in political media.