Best Jeremy Chow Podcasts (2025)

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ACFM Microdose: Gardening 1:41:13

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9d ago1:41:13

1:41:13

Are gardens a sanctuary or an enclosure? The ACFM gang sketch out a weird-left history of gardening, from the walled gardens of paradise to the tarmacked lawns of suburban Britain. Find the books, music and Dunmore Pineapple mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Help us …

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ACFM Trip 53: Growth 1:22:18

1M ago1:22:18

1:22:18

Keir Starmer claims that growth is the only cure for a country in decline. But why is it the central obsession of modern capitalist economies? And can we think our way out of it before our planet runs out of resources? Nadia, Keir and Jem offer their weird-left take on growth, degrowth, radical abundance, ecomodernism and personal productivity, wit…

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ACFM Microdose: Social Reproduction 1:08:16

2M ago1:08:16

1:08:16

Following their Trip episode about Cleaning, the ACFM crew take a closer look at the hidden labour that keeps the economy running. Would public canteens solve 80% of our problems? Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Help us build people-powered…

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ACFM Trip 52: Cleaning 1:59:34

2M ago1:59:34

1:59:34

In the socialist utopia of our dreams, who exactly is doing the cleaning? Nadia, Jem and Keir confront a tricky topic in this ACFM Trip. With music from X-Ray Spex, The B-52s and more, they offer their weird-left perspective on everything from dirty dishes and bodily secretions to circumcision, pollution and the caste system. Find the books and mus…

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ACFM Microdose: Superheroes 2:01:01

3M ago2:01:01

2:01:01

Following the recent Trip episode on Heroes, Keir and Jem return with a Microdose focusing on the masked, the winged and the mutated. Why are superheroes such a cultural mainstay? What psychological and political desires do they fulfil? Are they inherently reactionary? From Superman to Batman, Wonder Woman to 2000AD, it’s a weird left reading of su…

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ACFM Trip 51: Heroes 1:49:39

4M ago1:49:39

1:49:39

The ACFM crew offer a weird-left perspective on the role of the hero (and heroine) in politics and culture. Nadia, Jem and Keir assess theories of Great Men, the myth of the hero’s journey and the lure of the anti-hero with ideas from Weber and Hegel and music from Tina Turner and Sonic Youth. Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https:/…

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ACFM Microdose: Make Way For Winged Eros! 1:42:51

5M ago1:42:51

1:42:51

The ACFM gang gather for a springtime reading of a prototype acid-communist text by Russian revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai. Download the text and follow along as Nadia, Keir and Jem get their teeth into Make Way for Winged Eros! A Letter to Working Youth, published in 1923.Check out the AK-47 podcast mentioned in this show: https://kristenghodse…

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ACFM Trip 50: Fifty Shades of Acid 1:37:46

5M ago1:37:46

1:37:46

The gang present a milestone 50th Trip all about acid: a drug, a genre, a political concept, a mental tool and a thought corrosive. Looking back on six years of the podcast, Nadia, Keir and Jem decide if ‘acid’ is still a useful way of thinking about left-wing politics. Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm Sign …

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ACFM Microdose: Making Art in a World on Fire w/ Amber Massie-Blomfield 1:10:03

6M ago1:10:03

1:10:03

What’s the point of the arts when the world is on fire? To follow the pipeline from creativity to activism and back again, Nadia Idle is joined by Amber Massie-Blomfield, former chief of theatre company Complicité and the author of Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art to Create Better World. They discuss Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell’s Power Stati…

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ACFM Microdose: Making Sense of Sovereign Debt w/ Heidi Chow 1:09:08

7M ago1:09:08

1:09:08

After last week’s ACFM on the meaning and morality of personal debt, Keir and Nadia zoom out to the macroeconomics of debt. Joining them to make sense of concepts like sovereign debt, structural adjustment and international ratings agencies is Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice. She explains how and why countries borrow money, why Globa…

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ACFM Trip 49: Debt 1:51:51

8M ago1:51:51

1:51:51

The concept of debt is as slippery as it is powerful. In this Trip episode, Keir, Nadia and Jem explain why debt is more like a belief than a calculation, and wonder how to imagine a society without it. From credit cards to dowries, they discuss the reality and fantasy of debt, with ideas from […]By Novara Media

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ACFM Microdose: The Communist Manifesto 1:31:32

8M ago1:31:32

1:31:32

The ACFM gang gather for a midwinter reading of one of the most influential political tracts ever written. Download a version online and follow along as Nadia, Keir and Jem reassess The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Find the books and music mentioned in the show: https://novara.media/acfm Sign up […]…

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ACFM Trip 48: Political Commitment 1:43:47

9M ago1:43:47

1:43:47

Which side are you on? Keir, Nadia and Jem consider the ebb and flow of political commitment with ideas and music from Jodi Dean, Gramsci, John Coltrane and the Raincoats. Is cultural production the same as political action? What’s the difference between an ally and a comrade? And why do some communists end up as […]…

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ACFM Trip 47: Disruption 1:28:13

10M ago1:28:13

1:28:13

Disruption is a byword for success in the tech industry, but when it affects people’s daily routines – say, when JSO activists are slow-marching down a road – it becomes nothing short of criminal. On this Trip, Jem, Nadia and Keir unpack the political uses and abuses of disruption and the ‘creative destruction’ inherent to capitalism. […]…

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ACFM Trip 46: Death 1:43:36

11M ago1:43:36

1:43:36

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 […]…

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ACFM Microdose: The Joy Of Fascism 1:26:36

12M ago1:26:36

1:26:36

A month after racist riots engulfed the country, the ACFM crew ask what fascism – and antifascism – look like in Britain today. Do the riots and counter-protests mark a return to “street politics”? Why didn’t the Labour party align itself with opponents of the pogroms? And how popular are extreme rightwing views among Britain’s frustrated […]…

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ACFM Trip 45: Holidays 1:48:57

1y ago1:48:57

1:48:57

Everybody hates a tourist, as Jarvis Cocker once pointed out, and the ACFM gang are no exception in this ACFM Trip exploring the allure of holidays. Keir, Jem and Nadia consider all the different ways we avoid work, from holy days and vay-cays to grand tours and gap yahs. Does travel make fools of us all, or […]…

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ACFM Trip 44: Humility 1:16:40

1y ago1:16:40

1:16:40

What happens when you lose? In this Trip, the ACFM crew explore the role of humility – and humiliation – in politics. Should we cultivate humility to cope with political weakness? Is fear of humiliation a product of patriarchy? Can humility help us be better political thinkers and organisers? And who’s the humblest ACFM host of them […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Election ’24 Vibecheck 1:00:50

1y ago1:00:50

1:00:50

The ACFM crew offer their first reactions to Labour’s landslide election win. Can Starmer’s government rescue the public sector? Where will the money come from? And can they make it to a second term? Sign up to the ACFM newsletter: https://novaramedia.com/newsletters Produced and edited by Matt Huxley and Chal Ravens. Help us build people-powered m…

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ACFM Microdose: Notes on Camp 1:29:03

1+ y ago1:29:03

1:29:03

After investigating the politics of cool on the last Trip episode, the crew turn their attention to another distinctly modern sensibility: camp. Digging into Susan Sontag’s formative 1964 essay on the camp aesthetic, Nadia, Keir and Jem think about how elements of the artificial, the theatrical and the sentimental come together in camp objects, fro…

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ACFM Trip 43: Cool 1:38:42

1+ y ago1:38:42

1:38:42

What exactly is cool? Well, if it was that easy to describe, it obviously wouldn’t be cool. In this Trip, Keir, Jem and Nadia wonder if cool can ever be politically useful, and what happens when cool is used as a disciplining force. With ideas from Pierre Bourdieu, Norman Mailer and Paul Gilroy, and music […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Reactionary Democracy w/ Aaron Winter & Aurelien Mondon 1:06:48

1+ y ago1:06:48

1:06:48

How do mainstream politicians and pundits contribute to the normalisation of far-right ideas, even as they claim to reject racism and populism? That’s one of many vital questions asked by Aaron Winter and Aurelien Mondon in their book, Reactionary Democracy. Following ACFM’s recent Trip about Fascism, Keir and Jem speak to Aaron and Aurelien about …

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ACFM Trip 42: Fascism 1:52:49

1+ y ago1:52:49

1:52:49

A lot of people are saying that fascism is on the rise. But what are we pointing to when we call a system, or a person, fascist? On this Trip, Nadia, Keir and Jem map out a complicated ideology, from its roots in 19th century industrialisation to its resurgence in ethnonationalism and eco-apartheid. Exploring how […]…

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ACFM Trip 41: Trust Your Gut 1:20:22

1+ y ago1:20:22

1:20:22

From fecal transplants to the yoghurt-industrial complex, we’ve never been more absorbed in the workings of our gut. But can we trust it? Nadia, Jem and Keir investigate the mysterious connections between mind and body, reason and instinct. How did capitalism separate our minds from our bodies? Is a belief in intuition filling the gap […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Aliens On Screen 1:42:06

1+ y ago1:42:06

1:42:06

Last time on ACFM, the gang explored the impact of UFOs on politics, from deep-state conspiracies to the Posadists. But to really understand how aliens influence our thought – and what our belief in E.T. says about ourselves – we have to go to the movies. In this Microdose, Keir, Jem and Nadia sweep through a […]…

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ACFM Trip 40: UFOs 1:25:35

1+ y ago1:25:35

1:25:35

Should the left care about the existence of aliens? The ACFM gang explore the impact of UFOs on political thought in this Trip. Keir, Jem and Nadia discuss the connections between UFO conspiracies and right-wing thought, why some communists think aliens will bring about world revolution, and whether Fermi’s paradox means we’re not alone, with […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Plugged-in Protest w/ Jeremy Gilbert 1:12:13

1+ y ago1:12:13

1:12:13

Music has the uncanny power to stir up big feelings, which makes it an obvious vehicle for political statements of hope, anger, despair, or how to cast your vote. In this Microdose episode to accompany ACFM’s recent Trip on Protest, Jem takes us through 60 years of plugged-in protest music – no strumming folkies or […]…

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ACFM Microdose: A Festive 50 For 2023 56:12

1+ y ago56:12

56:12

The ACFM gang get together for the last time this year to deliver a Festive 50. Keir, Jem and Nadia select the best bits of culture and politics from 2023, from music, films, books to games, strikes and actions. Unwrap to find sci-fi blaxploitation, comedy history, gobby glam-punk, Judge Dredd analysis, a fresh angle on Silicon […]…

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ACFM Trip 39: Protest 1:44:02

1+ y ago1:44:02

1:44:02

Millions have protested against the bombing of Gaza by taking part in marches, boycotts, sit-ins and other demonstrations. But what difference does it make, either to the world or to ourselves? The gang confront a contentious topic in this Trip. Do “A to B” marches ever achieve anything? What about joining hands around an RAF […]…

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ACFM Trip 38: Movement and Stillness 1:51:34

2y ago1:51:34

1:51:34

Ever feel like there’s too much change these days? Don’t worry, you’re not (necessarily) becoming more conservative. On this Trip, Nadia, Jem and Keir think about the ebb and flow of political currents, social movements and our inner lives. What’s the difference between being still and being stuck? When does a campaign turn into a […]…

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ACFM Trip 36: Festivals 2:09:27

2y ago2:09:27

2:09:27

Festivals. The perfect embodiment of the ACFM aesthetic, and even social politics… or are they? As the season comes to a close, Nadia, Jem and Keir ask themselves what festivals are really about. Is it music? Camping? The breakdown of everyday hierachies? Or is it just 20,000 people standing in a field? With help from […]…

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ACFM Trip 35: The Internet 1:53:36

2y ago1:53:36

1:53:36

In this bumper Trip, the gang survey the totalising modern phenomenon that is The Internet. Nadia, Keir and Jem dredge up their early interactions with a primitive web and explain how the dream of free and open communication was displaced by closed networks of e-commerce and data harvesting. Following Keir’s recent Microdose episode with Malcolm [……

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ACFM Microdose: Californian Capitalism w/ Malcolm Harris 55:34

2y ago55:34

55:34

Ahead of an ACFM Trip about the internet, Keir Milburn is joined by Malcolm Harris to talk about the unique political history of his hometown of Palo Alto, the intellectual laboratory for a century of American hegemony. The Kids These Days author tells a story that connects the founding of California, the violent removal of its […]…

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ACFM Trip 34: The Outdoors 1:22:43

2y ago1:22:43

1:22:43

As the longest day arrives in the northern hemisphere, Jeremy, Nadia and Keir ponder our obsession with the great outdoors. How did parks become political? Why do we seek out the strenuous discomforts of hiking, camping and cold water? And what does Jem have against music festivals? They look back on a century of changing […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Sitcoms At Work 1:28:05

2+ y ago1:28:05

1:28:05

After last week’s look at the politics of comedy, this time the gang turn to the gogglebox for a Microdose about sitcoms. Specifically, we’re watching comedy shows set in the workplace – from shoddy B&Bs to big-box superstores, from Wernham Hogg to Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. What lies beyond the double entendres and cheap sexism […]…

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ACFM Trip 33: Comedy 1:37:34

2+ y ago1:37:34

1:37:34

What’s the point of comedy? Stand-ups were at the forefront of the cultural backlash against Thatcherism, but today’s meme-driven lols are rarely in the service of left-wing politics. Meanwhile, the world’s most powerful people seem intent on having a laugh, from podcasting politicians to presidential comedians. In this Trip, Jeremy Gilbert, Nadia …

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ACFM Trip 32: Myth 1:31:56

2+ y ago1:31:56

1:31:56

From the epic of Gilgamesh to the archetypes of Carl Jung, the mysterious power of myth is at hand. Is Genesis as mythical as Oedipus? How did the fantasy of Brexit become a reality? And what stories underpin the emerging theory of Gilbertism? In this Trip, Jeremy, Nadia and Keir explore the alternate realities created […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Strikes On Screen 1:36:01

2+ y ago1:36:01

1:36:01

The ACFM groupmind went into overdrive on last week’s Trip, a wide-ranging conversation about the long and violent history of strikes. This time, Nadia, Jem and Keir take a closer look at cultural representations of worker organisation – that is to say, they sat themselves down with a huge stack of old movies and an […]…

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ACFM Trip 31: Strikes 2:06:13

2+ y ago2:06:13

2:06:13

In the midst of Britain’s biggest wave of industrial action in years, the gang turn their attention to the long and bloodied history of strikes. Who do we find on the picket line? Nadia, Keir and Jeremy explore a lineage that stretches back hundreds of years, from matchgirls to miners, from 1840s century Chartists to […]…

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ACFM Microdose: A Ghost Story For Christmas 1:13:21

2+ y ago1:13:21

1:13:21

Ghosts have already got their own festival: Halloween. So why do they spook us at Christmas too? Do they represent forces of goodness and charity, or some nameless demonic evil? And what gifts have they brought? Jeremy Gilbert shields his eyes from the ghostly apparitions of Jacques Derrida, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and M.R. James as […]…

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ACFM Trip 30: Gifts 1:34:47

2+ y ago1:34:47

1:34:47

Adam Smith claimed that “the propensity to truck, barter and exchange… is common to all men”, but anthropologists know that this isn’t the case. In fact, humans tend towards the opposite. So why do we feel compelled to give away our wealth? Nadia, Jem and Keir unwrap the cultural and economic pressures on doing pressies […]…

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ACFM Trip 29: Sleep 1:09:03

3y ago1:09:03

1:09:03

We don’t get enough of it. We take drugs all day to fend it off. We’ll do it when we’re dead. And it’s our last line of defence against 24/7 capitalism. Sleep, the main course in life’s feast! The ACFM crew rouse themselves from slumber to wokeness in this month’s Trip, exploring the political and […]…

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ACFM Trip 28: Horror 1:29:03

3y ago1:29:03

1:29:03

ACFM reunite for spooky season with one thing on their minds: the horror, the horror! Nadia, Jeremy and Keir embark on a historical, literary and cinematic exploration of scary stuff. Why do (some) humans love to be terrified? What can horror teach us about the nature of the universe? What do the latest crop of […]…

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ACFM Trip 27: Magic 1:34:02

3y ago1:34:02

1:34:02

We live in irrational times. From the resurgence of interest in astrology, tarot and occultism to the deepening influence of conspiracy theories and positive thinking, culture is experiencing a turn towards the magical. What does that mean for those of us on the “weird left”? Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn gather round the […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Fantasy and Conspiracy With Wu Ming 1 1:00:01

3y ago1:00:01

1:00:01

In 1999, an anonymous Italian collective published a novel called Q. Imagined by its left-wing authors as an “operation manual for cultural disruption,” the book has had a bewildering political afterlife, with its story arc and the collective’s media pranks around Satanic ritual and paedophilia seemingly providing the basis for alt-right conspiracy…

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ACFM Trip 26: Care 1:40:31

3y ago1:40:31

1:40:31

How can we care for each other within a system that doesn’t care about us? In this episode, Nadia Idle, Jeremy Gilbert and Keir Milburn get to grips with birth, death and all the social reproduction in between. When did we start putting our elders in care homes instead of our own homes? What happens […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Tabletop Role-Playing Games 1:05:25

3y ago1:05:25

1:05:25

In a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), a group of people take a trip into an imaginary world, guided by an MC or ‘dungeon master’. Not limited to the Tolkien-esque themes of the famous Dungeons & Dragons, TTRPGs range from gritty sci-fi scenarios to steampunk heist fantasies, and from everyday life to magic, monsters and vampires. […]…

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ACFM Trip 25: Games 1:27:10

3y ago1:27:10

1:27:10

Games are all around us. They let us escape from drudgery and experiment with other worlds and ways of being. But they can be traps too: apps designed to be addictive, producing only the most hollow sense of achievement. In this Trip, Nadia, Jeremy and Keir throw their polyhedral dice to explore how games shape […]…

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ACFM Trip 24: Technology 1:43:19

3+ y ago1:43:19

1:43:19

What defines each era? Historians often lean on terms that point to technology: bronze, steam, carbon, silicon. So is technology a fundamental aspect of being human? On this wide-ranging Trip, the gang take on one of their biggest topics yet. Starting from the basis that technology is an application of knowledge for a practical purpose, […]…

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ACFM Microdose: Women and Technology w/ Katrine Marçal 58:19

3+ y ago58:19

58:19

Throughout history, countless good ideas have been side-lined or dismissed because they were put forward by women. That’s the frustration which motivates historian Katrine Marçal, who delves into her myth-busting research for a Microdose all about technology’s missed turnings. With ACFM host Nadia Idle, the author of Mother of Invention: How Good I…