Novara Media

Peter Mertens, general secretary of Belgium’s Workers' Party and a Marxist sociologist who built a powerful grassroots movement. He explains how the party grows through community clinics, disciplined organizing and living modestly. They combine industrial and precarious workers, counter the far right, train leaders from working-class backgrounds, and prioritize slow, strategic growth and practical projects.

They tour the revival of Weird Britain from ley lines and standing stones to folk horror and weird walks. They trace pagan revivals, invented rituals and the rise of megalith pilgrimage in music and counterculture. They map internet‑widened niches, hauntological vibes and the long lineage linking Blake, free festivals and contemporary pastoral aesthetics.

David Harvey, Marxist geographer and author of The Story of Capital, offers decades of teaching and research in plain terms. He talks about capital as a moving process, city politics and housing as arenas of struggle. He weighs mayoral strategies, urban infrastructure, surplus use, and how AI and finance reshape power.

James Meadway, economist and former advisor to John McDonnell now chief economist at Verdant, discusses the Greens' rise and strategy. He covers UK political realignment, how Greens can scale from local wins to national power, and the need for realistic defence, industrial and resilience policies. Conversations span immigration politics, procurement savings and climate-led diplomatic leverage.

Daniel Trilling, journalist and author focused on migration and the far right. He maps how resentment, immigration narratives and online ‘‘swarm’’ dynamics propelled right‑wing ideas into the mainstream. He traces respectability strategies, establishment enablement and the political shifts that made radical positions routine.

Nicholas Niarchos, author and journalist on resource extraction and supply chains, walks through the dirty trail from Congo mines to Chinese refineries. Short scenes cover which minerals power our phones, why lithium‑ion batteries matter for tech and geopolitics, corporate recycling claims, China's battery dominance, and the human and environmental costs of extraction.

Luke Kemp, research affiliate at Cambridge and author of Goliath's Curse, studies societal collapse and existential risk. He maps collapse types and interacting dangers like AI and nuclear war. He explores how states concentrate power, why elites drive instability, and argues for democratic fixes like citizen juries to rebalance dangerous trends.

Roderick Beaton, historian and author specializing in Greek studies and European intellectual history, joins to trace how ancient stories and institutions shaped Europe’s boundaries and identity. They discuss Rome’s unifying power, Herodotus’ Europe-versus-Asia framing, Islam’s role in defining frontiers, Reconquista and expulsions, Russia’s ambiguous Europeanness, and whether Europe can defend itself strategically.

Stephanie Brobbey, former private wealth lawyer turned ethical wealth campaigner. Peter Geoghegan, investigative journalist probing dark money and offshore influence. They discuss hidden wealth shaping British politics, why professionals enable secrecy, links between vacant properties and poverty, and practical civic tools to expose and challenge offshore power.

Yi-Ling Liu, China analyst and author of The Wall Dancers, reflects on growing up between Hong Kong, the US and Beijing. She explores how China built a separate internet, the rise of WeChat as a super-app and surveillance tool, and digital activism from feminist and LGBTQ+ communities. She also traces entrepreneurial shifts from Jack Ma to AI founders and how users creatively navigate censorship.