The Rebel Citizens

From pubs and football clubs to housing and music venues, community shares are a way for ordinary people to pool their resources and take ownership of the places and services that matter most. Dave Boyle has spent years helping groups do just that, proving that another way of running our economy is not only possible, but already happening.---00:00 Co-ops & Community Shares05:53 The power of co-ops08:28 What are community shares?14:09 Bad landlords20:28 Non-private ownership models24:17 Invisible inequalities28:13 Co-operative movements are the political form for the neurodivergent36:39 How-to: Community Shares40:36 Get an irish passport; get a flag---📩 News Club – newsletter , podcast @newsclubuk_ 🔥 Dave Boyle – co-operative advisor; community shares expert📖 Ian Adderley – Co-operatives: Linking practice and theory🤝 Co-ops UK – empower and support co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise#podcast #newsclub #rebelcitizens #episode10 #newsclubs #communityshares #daveboyle #coops #coopmovement #communityownership #cooperativeeconomy #solidarity

This week we’re joined by Manasa Narayanan, a journalist and researcher looking into issues at the intersection of politics and technology, including Big Tech/AI, misinformation, online hate and misogyny, surveillance and data rights. In this episode, we unpack the stories we’re told about Big Tech and AI, and why so many of them are misleading by design.---00:00 Big Tech Narratives02:00 Tech complicity in violence05:54 Palantir is evil11:07 Mainstream misrepresentation17:26 AI: an ethical consumer choice25:35 Technological determinism27:12 Missing context – check out Migrants Organise32:33 Independent media consortium---📅 NEWS CLUB LIVE – 20 September, register here📩 News Club – newsletter & podcast @newsclubuk_✒️ The Citizens – nonprofit journalism and campaigning organisation with a focus on technology and politics.🏘️ Migrants Organise – provides a platform for refugees and migrants to organise for power, dignity and justice.💼 Independent Media Association (IMA) – co-operative dedicated to promoting the work of independent media in the UK.📰 Independent Community News Network (ICNN) – supporting the development of community news hubs.📻Independent Publishers Alliance (IPA) – championing, advocating for, and interconnecting independent publishers.

This week we’re joined by Johnbosco Nwogbo from We Own It to ask: what can 21st century public ownership look like? From buses to rivers, health to food, we get into why privatisation sucks, and how we can build services that put people (and planet) first.---00:00 21st Century Public Ownership 04:51 Goodbye to PFI 08:18 Why privatisation sucks 13:31 What can public ownership look like? 18:24 Wins wins wins 22:31 Check out Signalise Co-op 26:13 Better buses!! Better everything 31:00 Reform want to steal all your money---📅 NEWS CLUB LIVE – 20 September, register here📩 News Club – newsletter & podcast @newsclubuk_ ✊ We Own It – campaigns against privatisation and for 21st century public ownership @weownit_campaign📖 Radical Abundance – Kai Heron, Keir Milburn and Bertie Russell💧 Windrush Against Sewage Pollution – making the River Windrush safe for all🌊 River Action – rescuing Britain’s rivers👍 Compass – building a Good Society---#podcast #newsclub #rebelcitizens #episode8 #newsclubs #weownit #publicownership #commons #coopsnotcorps #privatisation #betterbuses #climatejustice #movementmedia #waterjustice #nhs

Our Rebel Citizens this week are Dan Edelstyn and Leonie Rousham from Power Station: the East London art-activism project turning rooftops into solar stations and neighbours into co-owners of their own energy future.---00:00 Community Energy & Ownership01:03 Who are Power Station? 06:38 Bank Job: Creditocracy 08:30 Stop murdering everyone in Gaza13:52 How to set up your local power station20:46 Financial sustainability: The Green Back30:05 An energy commons36:26 The time Debs saw Angela Davis38:57 Power Station, coming to a cinema near you…44:27 NEWS CLUB LIVE: 20 SEP ‘25 50:03 Project 2029---📩 News Club – newsletter & podcast @newsclubuk_ 💪 Power Station – art-activism project turning rooftops into solar stations for the community @power.film.art ✊ The United Families and Friends Campaign – coalition of those affected by deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody @uffcampaign 🚌 Inter-Action's Fun Art Bus – routemaster bus giving free rides and hosting a variety of entertainments on board @the_lcva---#podcast #newsclub #rebelcitizens #episode7 #newsclubs #powerstation #energycommons #powerstationfilm #climatejustice #communitypower #solarenergy #coopenergy #energytransition #artactivism #thewarofart #greenback #greennewdeal #sunflowers #vodkanation #bankjob #soildecontamination #autonomy

This week, your dedicated PhD-holding, newsletter-writing, Dr. Tom Chivers finally gets his own episode on how we turn the BBC into a democratic media mutual, and why the time to act is now (...with the BBC Charter review looming and whatnot). 00:00 The Mutualisation of the BBC 01:13 Dr. Thomas Chivers 03:13 The “syphilitic” academic loan system 06:23 What should be headline news but isn’t? 09:00 The BBC’s communicative violence 15:16 What motivates Dr. Chivers? 28:09 What does mutualisation even mean? 35:16 What does that look like in practice? 45:42 Another -tion: The federalisation of the BBC? 55:56 Collective wellbeing 01:03:15 A media commons? 01:08:32 NEWS CLUB LIVE: register here! 01:10:12 What is the one thing everyone should do leading up to 2029?---📩 News Club – Newsletter here (thank you, Chivers!) 📄 Media Reform Coalition – Our Mutual Friend: The BBC in the Digital Age ✒️ Media Reform Coalition – Who Owns the UK Media? 📻 Media Revolution – campaign to transform the global media landscape. ---#podcast #newsclub #rebelcitizens #episode6 #newsclubs #journalism #independentmedia #mediapower #publicmedia #rebelmedia #movementmedia #mutualisation #bbc #mediacommons #movementmedia #mediaforthepeople #democracy #mediajustice

British-Palestinian journalist and writer Hamza Yusuf joins us to talk fearless reporting on Palestine, the power of our collective conscience, and the need to create infrastructure that sustains real change.00:00 Fearless and Committed Journalism05:52 What should be headline news and isn’t?10:56 Not interested in the Guardian15:05 Building power, building structures18:19 How to do an interview 10125:47 Tokenism and performance29:42 What should we be doing? Tldr: Building and sustaining alternative ecosystems37:35 NEWS CLUB LIVE: Start a news club!!!40:43 Hamza Yusuf: First Minister of Scotland42:31 Project 2029: Start talking, start doing---✒️ Hamza Yusuf – British-Palestinian writer and journalist; fearless and committed activist. (X) (IG)📰 News Club – Newsletter here!📻 Media Revolution – campaign to transform the global media landscape.🍉 PSC – people working together for peace, equality, and justice and against racism, occupation, and colonisation.📝 Declassified UK – media organisation uncovering the UK’s role in the world.💼 IMA – co-operative dedicated to promoting the work of independent media in the UK.Remember the phone blocking tactic we mentioned? Full list of phone-ins here.---#podcast #newsclub #rebelcitizens #episode5 #newsclubs #journalism #independentmedia #independentjournalism #mediapower #rebelmedia #movementmedia #palestine #altmedia #justice #declassifieduk #mediarevolution #ima

From tackling monopoly to defending media freedom, Dr. Courtney Radsch, Director of the Center for Journalism at Open Markets Institute, joins us to unpack the global state of AI, tech regulation, and why democracy depends on it.00:00 AI: means everything and nothing02:18 What should be headline news, but isn’t?07:55 The need for regulation10:55 Errors, not hallucinations16:47 What motivates Dr. Courtney Radsch?24:39 Debs is cool36:17 Two truths39:32 The current state of big tech regulation45:00 Big up Brazil53:04 Denmark: hopeful resistance55:15 Liverpool AI charter58:14 NEWS CLUB LIVE01:00:50 Organise, resist, live, talk📝 Open Markets Institute – a policy organisation challenging monopoly power and promoting open markets that strengthen democracy, equity, and innovation.📰 News Club – Newsletter here📻 Media Revolution – campaign to transform the global media landscape.🗞️ Impress – press regulator who set the highest regulatory standards for news providers to publish with integrity.💼 INMA – provider of best practices for news media companies globally.

00:00 - Who is Irrational Technology?02:50 - The leftist guide to AI06:34 - Seemful vs seemless design10:48 - What about social media?14:58 - Big tech fascism18:08 - Artificially engineered serendipity23:15 - Co-design and the future28:54 - Autonomy🤖 Irrational Technology – they make sense of technology so that you don’t have to.📄 Media Reform Coalition – Our Mutual Friend: The BBC in the Digital Age – full report & briefing via common-wealth.org📰 News Club Newsletter here!

00:00 - Think Global, Act Local00:12 - What should be headline news?04:51 - Doing, not just talking11:42 - The ideal refugee15:15 - Connection in struggle and movements21:38 - Who is Maxine Betteridge-Moes?26:48 - What can we do? (News Clubs!)28:49 - NI News Clubs in practice37:44 - Project 2029: how we prepare 🗞️ New Internationalist – a multi-stakeholder co-operative owned by its workers and approximately 4,600 co-owners

00:00 - Community Media & Ownership04:28 - Govanhill, Glasgow07:39 - Community Interest Companies are cool!10:41 - Lessons from the USA: Civic media & rethinking journalism16:32 - Community needs us to listen20:08 - Building up & building out26:58 - Launch your own community-centred media project!Mentions to check out!📜 A manifesto for Greater Community Media – media as social infrastructure, rooted in trust and relevance🔊 The Scottish Beacon – a network of local media amplifying community voices across Scotland.📰 Documented NY – reporting with and for immigrant communities in NYC🔎 The Ferret – a non-profit, subscriber-owned co-operative for investigative journalism in ScotlandAnd remember...Start with community needsBreak free from traditionWho gets to tell the story mattersCollaboration is the futureImpact over outputBetter newsroom cultures are neededThink of journalism as an ecosystemFunding must be sustainablePublic funding for journalism is essentialPolicy change is necessary

🎙️ What connects Welsh independence, a music mogul’s decades-long abuse, and BBC coverage of Gaza? Keep listening to find out. 00:00 - It Was Capitalism All Along00:28 - An independent Wales?03:21 - An independent Scotland?07:57 - Devolved broadcasting & Welsh telly14:29 - From Cardiff to Combs21:41 - Exploitation in the arts27:25 - CfMM Report31:55 - Media as a mouthpiece for state violence 38:50 - Think Global, Act Local43:59 - Start a news club!46:26 - The Master's Tools...49:21 - Do nothing.Check out...📄 @cfmmuk Report – BBC On Gaza-Israel: One Story, Double Standards 📩 Catch the full breakdown (and even more links) in this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the News Club crew (Chivers, it's Chivers).•#podcast #episode15 #newsclub #gotnews #independentmedia #mediacriticism #politics #wales #independence #scotland #devolution #broadcasting #media #bbc #palestine #iran #diddy #exploitation #state #violence #audrelorde #nap

🎙️ Can a socialist magazine survive multi-millionaire ownership? Should planning a protest land you in jail?This week, we cover two stories: The takeover of Tribune, Britain’s oldest democratic socialist magazine, by the multi-millionaire founder of Islam Channel, and the jailing of four Just Stop Oil activists before they could even glue themselves to the Airport runway. We're talking ownership, repression, agency, and how we keep each other safe in a landscape that increasingly punishes those who dissent and co-opts those who resist. 00:00 - Smaller Carrots & Bigger Sticks 00:18 - Tribune’s New Millionaire Owner 09:53 - Buy In Or Sell Out? 13:30 - The MDF, Referendum & Big Boi 'Stani 16:10 - Collaborative Media 19:32 - Manchester Airport Protesters Jailed 21:11 - White Bodies On The Runway 25:43 - "I very rarely mobilise out of this chair" 32:37 - Navigating Authoritarianism 36:00 - "Sometimes doing random shit is a good idea" 40:26 - Papier Mâché Rhino HeadCheck out... 📻 Independent Media Association (IMA) – democratising news & supporting independent media 📰 Independent Community News Network (ICNN) – supporting the development of community news hubs 🖤 Green & Black Cross – providing legal support & training 🪧 Article 11 Trust – defending the right to freedom of assembly 🐽 The Network for Police Monitoring (netpol) – supporting social movements and communities to defend human rights ✊ #freetoprotest – highlighting the range of police surveillance tools to monitor and identify you if you attend a protest 📬 ProtonMailTo read... 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Femme Futures: Abolitionist Ethics for Transfeminist Worlds – Nat Raha & Mijke van der Drift 📚 Empire's Endgame: Racism and the British State - Bhattacharyya, Elliott-Cooper, Balani, Nişancıoğlu, Koram, Gebrial, El-Enany & de Noronha 📄 Media Reform Coalition Report: Who Owns the UK Media? 📩 Full newsletter breakdown on Substack (thank you, Chivers!)

🎙️ This week, we speak plainly: what's happening in Gaza is genocide.Thousands of children in Gaza are dying of starvation under a brutal blockade. Hospitals are constantly bombed. Entire families are being (and have been) erased by the Israeli state. The 77th anniversary of the Nakba is marked not only in memory, but in the ongoing reality of ethnic cleansing. And yet, our media remains silent.We sit with the horror and look to the people who are taking action – on the streets, in their workplaces, through divestment, disruption, and collective resistance. We talk about what you can do in the face of these violent institutions enabling this brutality, and how to build new ones rooted in care, justice, and humanity: ethical banks, democratic media systems, credit unions, co-operatives, and alternative economies.00:00 - The Palestine Episode 07:54 - Gary Lineker's controversial post 09:33 - Wildcat Strikes – they work 19:43 - Racism, anti-semitism & the state 26:34 - Co-ops are cool 28:52 - Motion 13 & boycotts – they work 39:06 - There are over 7k co-operatives in the UK 42:55 - Nakba Week Check out...🍉 Action for Palestine: The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) | Palestine Action | The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)🤝 Co-operatives to support & join: The Co-operative Bank | The Co-operative Group | Suma | Greencity Wholefoods | Triodos Bank | Unity Bank | workers.coop | Co-ops UK Case Studies📩 Don't forget to read this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the iconic Chivers (who, unfortunately, couldn't join us this episode, but is always with us in spirit).

🎙️ Rebel Citizens: Ask Me Anything00:00 - Rebel Citizens: A Toby Jug Full of Piss00:12 - Will Farage end the two party system?06:36 - How do I effectively chair a meeting without sounding like a dictator or worse, a massive dick?12:16 - Am I just collecting CV brownie points by joining a board of trustees?19:02 - Can 'political' art actually count as activism if the artist is basically a recluse?23:16 - How do we culturally organise as a take over of society?34:50 - Is the such a thing as green migration targets?📩 News Club: Newsletter (on Substack)📰 News Club: Got News? Podcast (listen on your favourite platform)

🎙️ What if the BBC wasn’t just public in name, but actually shaped by the public? This week, we talk disability rights, proposed welfare cuts, and what it means to radically democratise our media and culture. From people's assemblies to mutualism, we explore what dignity, care, and creative freedom look like when built from the bottom up.00:00 - What is it to be human?00:38 - Welfare cuts: state-sanctioned suffering08:37 - What you can do about it...22:10 - The three kingdoms & DPAC32:17 - Why give a shit about the BBC?48:13 - A devolved and democratised BBC57:53 - The state...01:06:08 - B's 7 questions01:21:07 – Building our own public media – tell us what you think!!Check out...✊ Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – justice and human rights for all disabled people📄 Our Mutual Friend: The BBC in the Digital Age – full report & briefing via Commonwealth.org📩 Catch the full breakdown in this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the News Club crew (specifically, Chivers).

May 05, 2025 | 🎙️ Everyone’s talking about change — but not all “change” is created equal. While Reform UK cosplays as anti-establishment (with billionaire backing and prep school flair), maybe (just maybe) the Green Party's leader-in-waiting — Zack Polanski — should elevate his suit game.00:00 - So Shit Even Trump Can't Save 'Em00:27 - Be the wind, not the weathervane34:21 - Anti-woke barmcakes48:17 - M discovers the wonders of football📩 Catch the full breakdown in this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the News Club crew.

Apr 28, 2025 | 🎙️ What if Google wasn’t a tech monopoly but a global commons? What if organising meant more than selling newspapers and referencing dead Russians? This week, we dig into the digital and political cartels we’re stuck with — from the enshittification of the internet to the Socialist Workers Party's long shadow over the UK left.00:00 - Cartels & Commons00:16 - Google: Natural Monopoly, Unnatural Owner32:20 - Sneakcret: Media Bias 101 - Sourcing Bias34:52 - All Roads Lead to the Paper StallShoutout to these brilliant mentions keeping people safe and fed:🖤 Green & Black Cross – for legal support & training🍲 Food Not Bombs – who feed people, not profits📩 Catch the full breakdown in this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the News Club crew.

Apr 21, 2025 | 🎙️ In light of the Supreme Court’s nonsense ruling, solidarity with the queer and trans community has never been more crucial — Queer AF breaks it down further here. Meanwhile, behind the curtain, the BBC is on life support — but what if we actually got to control it? Oh, and the Pope is dead. Long live the Pope.We talk solidarity, media collapse, and building something better. From dyke chat to transforming public infrastructure.1. Hold onto your trans siblings2. Kill all the woke baddies (interpret as you will)3. And yes, we still need our bread and our roses📩 Catch the full chaos in this week’s newsletter (on Substack) from the News Club crew.

Apr 14, 2025 |🎙️ What do overflowing bins, skyrocketing water bills, and 24/7 media chaos have in common? They’re all signs it’s time to stop coping and start organising (aka reaching out to your friends).From collective non-payment campaigns pushing back against water privatisation, to the psychological warfare of media saturation, to the lessons learned from Birmingham’s bin strikes — this episode dives deep into the mess. We’re talking privatisation, information overload, and the power of collective action — all with a carne asada at the picket line, of course.And don't forget to check out the fantastic campaigns and orgs mentioned @takeback.water @weownit_campaign @ boycottwaterbills.com @ thecanaryuk @ imapress @ Acorn the Union @ iwgbunion @ unitedvoicesoftheworldKeep listening and catch up with this week's newsletter (on Substack) for even more from the News Club cru!

Apr 06, 2025 |🎙️Trump promised to drain the swamp — and now it looks like he might do it by blowing the whole thing up, with the rest of us in it. Closer to home, the Hillsborough Law has been quietly gutted by a Labour government intent on breaking its promise to tackle corruption. But don’t worry — we might still have a chance to drain the swamp in our own backyard… with a bit of Blue Steel.Keep listening and catch up with this week's newsletter (on Substack) for even more from the News Club cru!

Mar 31, 2025 |🎙️We’re back with a long one this week. Not sure if you noticed, but a hell of a lot of news happened while we were away.But we weren’t just twiddling our thumbs—we were in the lab, working on the perfect product. And now? We’re back. We’re here every week. No more month-long gaps, no more cramming a ton of stories into one episode.This week, we’re tackling:1. Is America a fascist state? And if so, what the hell do we do about it?2. Why Chivers hates Adolescence.3. The cost of being a pro-Palestine protester in the UK.Let’s get into it.Keep listening and catch up with this week's newsletter for even more from the News Club cru!

Feb 10, 2025 | 🎙️ Deportation, immigration raids, trans rights, moral panic and Uruguay. This week we got into some pretty heavy and tough topics. Look into your local anti-raids groups (via the Anti-Raids Network) and check out @wearequeeraf_, @migrantsorganise, @whatthetrans, @theabigailthorn, Trans Writes and The Trans Agenda by Lee Hurley on Substack, to name a few of the brilliant mentions from the podcast.Keep listening and catch up with this week's newsletter for even more from the News Club cru."the moral panic side...it doesn't give people a house, it doesn't make the NHS better" ~ S 00:28:45

Feb 03, 2025 | 🎙️ If taking back control means taking back our energy then why is GB energy so shit? Is David Mitchell really the defender of democracy we need? And does the media actually love Trump and if so should tell them to get a room?Keep listening and read up on this week's newsletter for even more from the News Club cru."sit on the sidelines, let things happen to you, here's a pat on the head, thanks for trying, but you're too dumb to understand it so just sit it out and let the adults decide for you (C)...yeah and then they wonder why they lose (B)" ~ 00:20:59

Jan 27, 2025 | 🎙️ Overborne metaphors, non-consensual doom and clapping for growth. Keep listening and check out this week's newsletter (Grow, you bastard, grow!) for even more from the News Club cru."All of these AI and Bitcoin miners are stealing the graphics cards I need to play my video games and they're burning the planet in the proccess" ~ C

Jan 20, 2025 | 🎙️ Welcome to: Got News?News Club: A place to talk about the news and how to change it.These last few weeks have shown the catastrophic consequences of our broken news media. Corporate news outlets are emboldening the far-right. The online platforms we use to communicate with one another are controlled by egotistical billionaires. And mainstream journalists are cheering on governments’ attacks on the poor, the disadvantaged and anyone who opposes their authoritarian and neoliberal policies.Interested? Stay up to date with our weekly podcast and read our newsletters on our Substack!This week?Big tech, authoritarianism, TikTok, mutualisation and more. Keep listening and check out this week's newsletter (Introducing News Club) for even more from the News Club cru."I want our bread, I want our roses... I want our rent lower but I'd like to have culture produced by British people that lifts us up, that moves us" ~ B