Donald Trump has promised a $5000 check to every American if the Republicans win the mid-terms. Now, JD Vance has appeared to walk back that offer.
Plus: Kemi Badenoch defends massive proposed cuts to benefits, we speak to a Palestine Action activist’s mother who was denied a mortgage by her bank, new far right poster boy Danny Tommo embarrasses himself in front of his footsoldiers, and two of the Inbetweeners declare intergenerational war.
00:00 Intro
1:03 Is Trump Trying To Bribe The Electorate?
19:32 Austerity Is Back On The Menu
37:41 Palestine Action Mum Denied Mortgage
53:17 The Inbetweeners VS The Boomers
With NoJusticeMTG & Dalia Gebrial, & Emma Kamio.
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The ‘Godfather of AI’ has supported the claim that there is a 10% chance that artificial intelligence will kill all humans within 10 years.
Geoffrey Hinton, who won the Nobel Prize for computer science, told Victoria Derbyshire on Newsnight that the 10% prediction is “not an unreasonable estimate”, leaving Derbyshire visibly shaken.
He explained that AI could build biological viruses or orchestrate cyber-attacks, adding that the ways it could harm humanity are “countless”.
It follows an X post on Wednesday from Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, who said that the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.
As the UK’s Chief Rabbi decries the new settler sanctions, we speak to Palestine’s UK ambassador for his reaction.
Plus: England’s youth are (nearly) leading the western world in reading, science & maths, and Anthropic loses an employee over their reckless race to AIG.
With Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani, Husam Zomlot & Garrison Lovely.
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Ed Miliband led a diplomatic shift between the UK and Israel yesterday, announcing a trade ban on goods with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank while describing the actions of "settler terrorists” as the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians".
While many recognised the shortcomings of the announcement — such as continuing arms sales and the sharing of British intelligence with Israel — Banseka Kayembe argues on Novara Live that it's still important to celebrate this moment as a win.
Watch the full conversation and interviews with political analyst Daniel Levy and Amnesty International’s Tom Guha on Novara Media's YouTube channel.
"In 500 years, our distant descendants will look back and say... 'Boy, was it a f*cking mistake to put all that carbon in the atmosphere to make chatbots.' "
Michael Walker in conversation with technology critic and author, Cory Doctorow.
Watch the full episode of Downstream on our YouTube channel.
Foreign secretary Ed Miliband has announced new economic sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Plus: Billionaire Chris Rokos makes headlines as he plans to leave for Greece, but is the UK tax system really to blame?
00:00 Intro
01:21 New Sanctions On Illegal Settlements
10:24 Interview With Daniel Levy
24:17 -Interview With Amnesty’s Tom Guha
53:01 Netanyahu Was Warned About October 7th
1:06:27 Billionaire Tax Row
With Steven Methven, Banseka Kaymebe, Daniel Levy & Tom Guha.
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Hundreds of men decked out in balaclavas doesn’t make women and children feel safer.
On Novara Live, Ash Sarkar points out that some of the far-right agitators behind the weekend’s protests in Dover and Portsmouth reportedly have criminal convictions for violent acts, including violence against women.
The story told by Reform is that portions of society hold its members in contempt – and now is the time to get back at them.
On Novara Live, Ash Sarkar says that the “latent misogyny” shown towards a protester from Climate Resistance at the Reform UK conference last weekend was like “an outpouring of revenge”.
Masked far right thugs gathered in Portsmouth to intimidate a group of asylum seekers last night, organised by a close connection of Tommy Robinson.
Plus: A shock win for the AfD in German elections has rattled the incumbents, we speak to a climate protestor who helped organise the action at the Reform conference & we stand in solidarity with a great British pint!
00:00 Intro
01:15 Portsmouth Unrest
20:37 The European Far Right
54:15 Reform Conference Protest
01:13:39 Standing Up For Pints
With Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Isabella Weber.
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“We have to be smart, to be critics of this disgusting, harmful, anti-worker, fascist project, so that we attack it at its material roots and detonate it as quickly as possible, rather than letting this bubble run its course.”
Michael Walker in conversation with technology critic and sci-fi author, Cory Doctorow.
Watch the full episode of Downstream on our YouTube channel.
AI is set to take all of our jobs. It will irrevocably transform our relationships - and it might even kill us all. These are some of the big claims made about artificial intelligence today. And they are claims that on Novara, we take seriously. This week's Downstream guest thinks that giving weight to those grand concerns is a mistake. He believes that by talking up the possibility that AI could replace significant amounts of labour - or develop an agency of its own - only serves to exaggerate the capacity of AI - and therefore just helps tech CEOs drive more investors to buy their already overpriced stocks.
Cory Doctorow is a writer and activist - who’s written 36 books - spanning non-fiction and science fiction. He famously coined the term “ensh*ttification” to describe the modern trajectory of the internet. And he has a new book on AI - it’s called the “The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI”. As Aaron Bastani takes time off on paternity leave, Michael Walker, host of Novara Live, sat down with Cory to ask one of the world's leading tech writers his burning questions about AI.
Is Cory surprised at the speed of AI's so-called "evolution"? What does the latest AI "Hugging Face" tell us about AI? Does the AI presented to us in 2026 present a threat to life on Earth, or is that just hype? Is it really intelligent, or just a simulacrum of intelligence? Does it matter?
0:00 Intro
2:23 Ensh*ttification: Word of the Year
13:51 How to Critique AI
17:19 Don't Believe the AI Hype
29:34 So Is It Stupid to be Worried About AI?
33:29 The Bubble: Why AI Companies Are Losing Money
40:27 Roman Metallurgy to Spaceships: Path Dependency
41:44 Addicted to Growth: Why Companies Are Pursuing the Economics of a Bubble
52:47 Are LLMs Better than Good Google?
1:00:25 Should We Let AI Replace Radiologists?
1:11:59 The Case for Agnosticism on AI Versus Deep Scepticism
1:16:13 The Hugging Face Debate: Is AI Really Thinking?
1:36:40 Is AI "Evolving" So Fast It Could Pass Us By?
1:44:16 How Can You Be Sure the AI Isn't Dangerous?
1:49:37 Is ShoddyCyber Sec the Real Problem?
1:54:05 The Beauty of the Double Pendulum
1:54:56 What Is the Reverse Centaur and How Does It Explain AI?
1:58:45 Fordist Factory Lines to AI: How Workers Use - And Are Used By - Technology
2:05:04 The Climate, Fully Automated Luxury Communism, and the Work We Have to Do
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Tickets for Downstream IRL with Catherine Liu and Loki at EartH Hackney
https://dice.fm/event/bb9wxv-novara-medias-downstream-irl-trauma-farming-21st-sep-earth-london-tickets
Tickets for Downstream IRl with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor in Brighton
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US politician Thomas Massie has read out a list of 14 prominent people who he says should be investigated over their alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Being named in the Epstein files does not imply guilt. Many who Massie named have not been charged with a crime and deny all wrongdoing.
Ex-Barclays boss Jes Staley has denied having sex with someone dressed as Snow White after an email showed Epstein asking him: "What character would you like next?" He has said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
Billionaire Leon Black has said he was unaware of Epstein’s “nefarious activity” until 2019 and denied any wrongdoing.
Former Victoria's Secret CEO Les Wexner has denied wrongdoing, describing himself as "naive” for trusting Epstein.
Ferrari board member Lapo Elkann said he crossed paths with Epstein only twice in public and that he has been unfairly associated with him based on “wholly unfounded information”.
Magician David Copperfield was investigated by the FBI over an alleged rape, a 2019 document showed, adding that the case was closed because prosecutors were “intimidated” by his financial resources. He denies all wrongdoing.
Ex-Hyatt Hotels boss Thomas Pritzker stepped down from the role after his affiliation with Epstein was made public this year. He said he “exercised terrible judgment” in keeping in contact with Epstein.
Billionaire Glenn Dubin was accused of having sex with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. He and his wife have called the allegation “demonstrably false and defamatory”.
Hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai was accused of sexually assaulting one of Epstein's former aides in 2000. He denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
Ex-Maserati director Eduardo Teodorani is named in the files. He has not been charged with a crime or commented on the matter publicly.
Modelling scout Jean-Luc Brunel died in jail in 2022 awaiting trial for rape and trafficking. Modelling scout Daniel Siad died in July while being investigated for rape and trafficking.
Musician Ramsey Elkholy has said he was not aware Epstein was abusing women. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has denied all wrongdoing, as has Epstein’s ex-assistant Lesley Groff, who said she was manipulated by him.
Richard Hames reports from Reform UK's 2026 conference in Birmingham, the morning after a report released by Verbatim alleged that senior members of Reform had committed electoral fraud.
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