The World Unspun

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.Despite its documented dangers, algorithmic biases and dire environmental consequences, AI is being pushed into every corner of our lives. But who benefits from framing it this way – and at what cost?For our latest issue, co-editor Decca Muldowney takes an in-depth look at the people behind the AI hype machine.Further reading from our issue AI: The People Behind the Machine:AI and its discontents (Decca Muldowney)'Pennsylvania is perfect' (Maia Woluchem and Livia Garofalo)The myth of inevitability (Paula Lacey)The kill chain (Chris Cole)The janitors of the internet (Adio-Adet Dinika)Approaching infinity (Rémy Ngamije)Subscribe to New Internationalist magazine to read the full archive of Letter From columns, dating back to 1973. Use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.Addis is a city at a crossroads. A massive redevelopment project is reshaping Ethiopia’s capital into what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called the ‘Dubai of East Africa’. His vision of a glistening metropolis of skyscrapers, wide roads and bike lanes aims to draw in investors and tourists alike.So what does this transformation feel like from the inside? For the past year, journalist Maya Misikir has been trying to answer that question through her Letter from Addis Ababa series - one of New Internationalist’s longest running columns. Traditionally, these letters have been written by women based in the Global South, changing hands every year, and offering perspectives that rarely make the headlines.Subscribe to New Internationalist magazine to read the full archive of Letter From columns, dating back to 1973. Use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.Fertile Ground (Bethany Rielly, Maxine Betteridge-Moes and Maya Misikir in New Internationalist)Cover photograph by Amanuel Sileshi

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.New Internationalist co-owner Kiran Gupta presents The Long Read from NI559: The New Nuclear Arms RaceFurther reading from this episode:Necolonialism in Gaza (Yara Hawari in New Internationalist)The Long War for Meaning (Ramzy Baroud in New Internationalist)Support independent media by becoming a New Internationalist co-owner.No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today using the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

This episode is sponsored by Path Financial.Share your thoughts on this series by filling out our listener survey.You may not have heard of it, but West Papua is an extraordinary place. It is home to one of the world’s most important rainforests – third only to the Amazon and Congo basins – teeming with species found nowhere else on the planet. Civilizations here stretch back tens of thousands of years.But it’s a region that is increasingly under threat from Indonesia’s military occupation. Rapid deforestation, resource extraction and deadly human rights crackdowns are on the rise.So who's behind the violent plunder – and who's profiting?Read all New Internationalist's coverage of West Papua and IndonesiaBritain's complicity in the tragedy of West Papua (David Whyte, Samira Saunders, New Internationalist)West Papua: A Green State Vision (Danny Chivers, New Internationalist)'Every signature was an act of courage' (Danny Chivers, New Internationalist)The world's largest deforestation project (Douglas Gerrard, London Review of Books)Free West Papua CampaignGet 20% off a print and/or digital subscription to New Internationalist using the code THEWORLDUNSPUN and you'll receive digital access to our dedicated issues 'West Papua: Freedom in sight?' (2017) and 'West Papua: We will be free!' (2002).No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. To help us continue

A nostalgic tour of vibrant 1980s organising hubs and why physical spaces mattered for solidarity. A look at the decline of radical bookshops, women’s centres and other infrastructures. Debates over identity politics and misrepresentations of left movements come up. Practical examples and tools for reclaiming city space and rebuilding collective organising are highlighted.

This episode is sponsored by Path Financial.Share your thoughts on this series by filling out our listener survey. Despite the latest ‘ceasefire’, Israel’s genocide and engineered famine continues to devastate Gaza. The latest issue of New Internationalist confronts the history of Israeli violence and the Palestinian resistance to war, displacement and annihilation, giving space to voices that are too often sidelined and allowing Palestinians to define their own struggle.The magazine was guest edited by Gaza-born historian and writer Ramzy Baroud, editor of the Palestine Chronicle. For Ramzy, compiling this issue was highly personal, having lost over 110 family members in Gaza, including his sister. For The World Unspun, Ramzy sits down with New Internationalist co-editor Decca Muldowney to discuss the process of creating the magazine and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of genocide.Read NI558: Gaza and ResistanceHost: Decca MuldowneyCredits: Decca Muldowney (Host) Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor & Producer), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guest: Ramzy BaroudFurther Reading from this Episode:The Long War for Meaning (Ramzy Baround, New Internationalist)Palestine: From Accord to Apartheid (Zoe Homan, New Internationalist)Fiddling While Gaza Burns (Hamza Yusuf, New Internationalist)Singing in Dark Times: Cultural Resistance in Palestine (Decca Muldowney, New Internationalist)The Interview: Leila Khaled (Marta Vidal, New Internationalist)No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. To help us continueSubscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print or digital subscription.

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.New Internationalist co-owner Kiran Gupta presents The Long Read from NI557: The Global Far Right.Further reading from this episode:You've got issues, mate: Kneecap and the war on the Irish language (Decca Muldowney in New Internationalist)Gaza: Genocide and ResistanceSupport independent media by becoming a New Internationalist co-owner.No billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today using the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

This episode is brought to you by Shared Interest.Share your thoughts on this series by filling out our listener survey. Fascism in 2025 isn't just swastikas and flags.Joe Mulhall, the research director at the anti-fascist organization Hope Not Hate says we should be more worried about the erosion of liberal democracy and universal human rights.In this episode, co-editor Bethany Rielly speaks to Mulhall about why the far right is gaining ground around the world, where resistance can take root and what communities are doing to resist the UK’s own far right party, Reform.Host: Bethany RiellyCredits: Bethany Rielly (Co-Editor, Host), Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor, Producer), Amy Hall, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guest: Joe MulhallFurther reading from this episode:Read NI557: The Global Far RightA time of monsters (Bethany Rielly, New Internationalist)Shop Fair Trade at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical Shop, using the discount code ETHICAL for 10% off your orderNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

This episode is brought to you by New Internationalist's very own Ethical Shop. Use the code ETHICAL for 10% off online orders on a range of ethical and fairtrade goods.Share your thoughts on this series by filling out our listener survey. We are at a critical crossroads. A global wave of far-right authoritarianism is threatening human rights, climate action and democracy – steering the world toward disaster. From Donald Trump in the White House to Javier Milei in Argentina, ideologies that were once confined to the fringes are now dictating the agenda from inside the halls of power. What are the roots of the right’s rise? What networks enable it? What are social movements around the world doing to offer real alternatives to the politics of hate and division?In September, we hosted a special Ask Us Anything event with contributors to our magazine to answer these questions and many more. This episode is an edited version of that discussion.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor, Producer), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guests: Kim Kelly, Josefina Salomon, Balasz TurcsanFurther reading from this episode:Read NI557: The Global Far RightA time of monsters (Bethany Rielly, New Internationalist)Shop Fair Trade at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical Shop, using the discount code ETHICAL for 10% off your orderNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.

Share your thoughts on this series by filling out our listener survey. The French activist, author and film producer joins us to talk about the Together for Palestine concert in London as well as his other major projects in support of Palestinian liberation.Host: Maxine Betteridge-MoesCredits: Maxine Betteridge-Moes (Digital Editor, Producer), Amy Hall, Bethany Rielly, Conrad Landin, Nick Dowson (Co-Editors), Paula Lacey (Editorial Assistant), Samuel Rafanell-Williams (Sound Design), Nazik Hamza (Audio Editor), Mari Fouz (Logo Design)Guest: Frank BaratFurther Reading from this episode:Read more of Frank's writing for New InternationalistItalian dockworkers threaten to shut down Europe in solidarity with Global Sumud Flotilla (Tommaso Gori, New Internationalist)I oppose genocide. Is that ok? (Vanessa Baird, New Internationalist)Poll: Nearly 80% of Israeli Jews 'not troubled' by Gaza starvation (The New Arab)South Africa: 30 Years Later (New Internationalist)Avoid Amazon by shopping at New Internationalist’s very own Ethical ShopNo billionaires. No media moguls. No corporate ads. Just truly independent, co-operative media. Subscribe today and use the code THEWORLDUNSPUN for 20% off your first year of a print and/or digital subscription.