Bungacast
273 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 171 ratingsThe global politics podcast at the end of the End of History. From a left perspective. Join us as we chart a course beyond the age of ’bunga bunga’.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
/250/ Oil & Disorder ft. Helen Thompson
March 29, 2022 06:00 - 47 minutes - 59.1 MBOn energy, the material basis for all our politics? Helen Thompson, podcaster and professor of political economy at Cambridge and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, joins us to talk about the geopolitics of oil, stretching from the 1956 Suez Crisis to the Fracking Revolution of today. How does US energy independence help explain shifting politics in Europe and the Middle East? Plus, did the End of History stay afloat on a sea of cheap oil? Part 2 of the interview, plus...
/249/ Dances with Truckers ft. Ashley Frawley
March 22, 2022 06:00 - 1 hour - 80.5 MBOn the Freedom Convoy, the indigenous question, and 'anti-socialist socialism'(?) Sociologist and commentator Ashley Frawley is back on the pod to talk about the situation in Canada. With family members involved in the protests, we asked her what she made of the truckers and the way demands were framed as 'anti-socialist'. We move on to debate how to understand popular resistance to 'social engineering' today, as well as the uses of 'emotionalism' to undermine political agency. Readings...
Excerpt: /248/ Aufhebonus Bonus
March 15, 2022 06:05 - 8 minutes - 10.7 MBIn which we respond to listener questions & criticisms. A bumper episode, featuring plenty on Canadian truckers, Swedish populists, ideas of justice, hyperpolitics and much more. The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
/246/ Why Isn’t There Revolution? ft. Vivek Chibber
March 08, 2022 07:01 - 1 hour - 97.3 MBOn class & material self-interest. We talk to Vivek Chibber about his new book, The Class Matrix: Social Theory After the Cultural Turn, which seeks to answer why capitalism has proven remarkably stable. Vivek explains why classical Marxism does not need 'ideological supplements' to explain why there hasn't been revolution; instead, structural class theory already provides the answers. We go back to basics, looking at the role of interests, debate what the real role of ideology is (not 'f...
Excerpt: /245/ Reading Club: Emergency Politics II - Agamben
March 07, 2022 11:49 - 10 minutes - 12.7 MBOn Giorgio Agamben's State of Exception (2005). How did a darling of the left during the War on Terror become a resource for the right during Covid? Is Agamben right to blur the boundary between fascism and liberal democracy? And if we are in a 'permanent state of exception', what is the right response? And we discuss your questions. The full episode is for $10+ subscribers. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Other links: The Crisis of the Crisis: Is Covid politics the real emergency?, G...
/244/ Bunga NYC: Live Debate ft. Adam Tooze
March 01, 2022 12:16 - 1 hour - 121 MBOn The End of the End of History On 22 February 2022, at The People's Forum in Manhattan, Alex Hochuli and Adam Tooze were in conversation on the themes of the Bunga book and what comes next. The event was moderated by Christie Offenbacher (Damage Magazine). Buy the book: linktr.ee/bungacast
/236/ Green Nazi Paedos ft. Lily Lynch (UNLOCKED)
March 01, 2022 10:46 - 1 hour - 88.1 MBOn the German Greens' shady history. Journalist Lily Lynch, editor of Balkanist, joins us to talk about her recent investigations into the Green Party, who are now back in power in Germany. The 68ers attempted to combat authoritarianism and Nazi legacies through sexual liberation, building on the work of Wilhelm Reich. How did this lead some small groups associated with the Greens to advocate paedophilia – and even to accept former Nazis into their ranks? Later the Greens would fully...
/242/ Bureaucracy Rules OK ft. Michael Lind
February 22, 2022 14:02 - 1 hour - 93.5 MBOn class wars, new and old. Michael Lind, Professor of Practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, joins us to talk about what it might take to restore working class power in Western states. He explains some of the arguments in his book The New Class War (2020) in greater depth, as well as discussing his intellectual debt to the ex-Trotskyist theorist turned Cold War conservative, James Burnham. Plus, Michael talks about how his Texan background and upbringing shaped his ou...
Excerpt: /241/ Three Articles: Peace & Social War in North America
February 15, 2022 13:18 - 6 minutes - 8.79 MBOn dovish conservatives, Trumpist coup-mongers and Canadian truckers. - - - Live debate/book launch in NYC, Feb 22nd: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-debate-book-launch-the-end-of-the-end-of-history-tickets-261000468427 - - - We examine what arguments 'pro-worker conservatives' are making in an aim to rid the GOP of warmongers and what this says about their vision of politics. In that light we also look at the Trumpist wing and ask what they might have in common, if anything, with th...
/240/ Populist Interventions: Örebro Party ft. Malcolm Kyeyune
February 08, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBThe first in an occasional series on new initiatives. We speak to Malcolm Kyeyune of Sweden's Örebro Party about its origins, analysis and goals. Is a new working class politics to be found in direct opposition to the PMC or the 'transferiat'? How does this local party intend to scale up? What sort of issues are on its agenda? And how does it aim to go beyond the impasses of other populist initiatives?
/239/ Against Justice ft. Ross Wolfe
February 01, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 101 MBOn the critique of egalitarian ideology. We talk to writer Ross Wolfe about his essay "Marxism Contra Justice". Given that struggles for justice have been central to all sorts of radical movements, why is it important to cleave Marxist politics away from this notion? How are contemporary notions of 'social justice' already degraded versions of earlier egalitarian ideology on the left? Is it possible to conceive of any popular working-class movement that doesn’t begin with people’s sense of ...
/238/ Reading Club: Emergency Politics I (Extended Excerpt)
January 28, 2022 17:44 - 32 minutes - 41.4 MBOn Carl Schmitt's Political Theology (1922). We ask why people are scared of sovereignty – as opposed to state power per se, and analyse what is significant about the way in which Schmitt defines sovereignty. And what is the meaning of 'political theology'? And we discuss your questions. This is an extended excerpt of the first 30 mins of the episode. For the full thing, go to patreon.com/bungacast Other links: The shibboleth of sovereignty, Martin Loughlin and Stephen Tierney, Modern ...
Excerpt: /237/ Three Articles: Italy, Ukraine, Matrix
January 25, 2022 07:05 - 7 minutes - 9.81 MBWe take on Italy's election of a new president and what that tells us about permanent crisis, the EU and the curtailing of democracy; we ask how serious the risk of war in Ukraine actually is; and review a film we haven't seen. The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast 3 Articles: As war looms larger, what are Russia’s military options in Ukraine?, The Economist How the EU destroyed Italian democracy, Thomas Fazi & Paolo Cornetti, Unherd Boringly pos...
Excerpt: /236/ Green Nazi Paedos ft. Lily Lynch
January 18, 2022 07:16 - 8 minutes - 10.4 MBOn the German Greens' shady history. Journalist Lily Lynch, editor of Balkanist, joins us to talk about her recent investigations into the Green Party, who are now back in power in Germany. The 68ers attempted to combat authoritarianism and Nazi legacies through sexual liberation, building on the work of Wilhelm Reich. How did this lead some small groups associated with the Greens to advocate paedophilia – and even to accept former Nazis into their ranks? Later the Greens would full...
/235/ Political Ritalin ft. Anton Jäger
January 11, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 97.3 MBOn our current attention-deficit and hyperpolitical disorder. In our book, The End of the End of History, we discuss the move from post-politics to anti-politics; from consensus to rejection; from apathy to anger. In a new article, Anton Jäger argues we've now moved into a hyperpolitical age. Is everything being politicised...except the really important stuff? We discuss some examples of hyperpolitics in Europe and North America and ask if what's going on is just a hot culture war, ...
Grand Reset
January 05, 2022 19:55 - 5 minutes - 9.54 MBBungacast is back for 2022, refreshed and reloaded. We've got a completely revamped Reading Club, arranged along three themes: Emergency Politics & Control; Cynical Ideology; and Techno-Feudalism. And there will be plenty of deep dives on national politics around the globe and discussions of big ideas with top guests. Buy The End of the End of History Subscribe on Patreon Follow us on Facebook (and after clicking like, select us as favourites) Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Ins...
Excerpt: /234/ Three Articles: Restoration?
January 04, 2022 07:00 - 10 minutes - 12.8 MBOn Millennial homeowners, the USA falling apart, and restoration in the UK. As better-off 30-somethings start to get on the property ladder, does this put paid to 'Generation Left'? Will American decline be accompanied by a second civil war - as China serenely watches on? And does Britain represent a return to the 'End of History'? Is everything becoming boring again? This is an excerpt. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Articles: Millennials Are Supercharging th...
Excerpt: /233/ Aufhebonus Bonus
December 21, 2021 22:21 - 9 minutes - 12.4 MBFor the last time in 2021, we take your questions, comments and criticisms. As always, lots of debate about Covid - and we start by remarking upon a possible u-turn on the issue on the British left. Answer the Bungacast Listeners' Survey: surveymonkey.com/r/NN6SPD9 Buy the Bunga book: linktr.ee/bungacast This is a sample. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast
Excerpt: /232/ Reading Club: Cold, Hard / Warm, Soft
December 20, 2021 16:17 - 13 minutes - 17.2 MBOn Eva Illouz's Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism How has the cold and hard world of bureaucratic, instrumental rationalism penetrated the intimate sphere of love and relationships? And how has open communication and emotional understanding been used to advance economic interests? –– We want to hear what you're thinking: fill out our Bunga Listeners' Survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NN6SPD9 –– This is a free sample. For the full episode, sign up at patreon.com/bu...
/232/ Reading Club: Cold, Hard / Warm, Soft
December 20, 2021 16:17 - 13 minutes - 17.2 MBOn Eva Illouz's Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism How has the cold and hard world of bureaucratic, instrumental rationalism penetrated the intimate sphere of love and relationships? And how has open communication and emotional understanding been used to advance economic interests? –– We want to hear what you're thinking: fill out our Bunga Listeners' Survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NN6SPD9 –– This is a free sample. For the full episode, sign up at patreon.com/bu...
/231/ New Class Analysis ft. Catherine Liu
December 14, 2021 08:09 - 1 hour - 67.1 MBOn Thursday 9 November, George Hoare and Alex Hochuli took part in a conversation with Catherine Liu about their recent books – The End of the End of History and Virtue Hoarders, respectively. The focus was on the social and political role of the Professional-Managerial Class in historical context. The webinar was hosted and presented by the UCI Humanities Center, as part of their Ideas with Impact series and we're reposting the conversation as a podcast here.
Excerpt: /230/ Repetition Compulsion ft. Doug Lain, pt. 2
December 14, 2021 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.74 MBOn the left outflanked. We continue our discussion with Douglas Lain, formerly of Zer0 Books and now of Diet Soap Media. Has the left been overtaken by events - yet again? And we propose a typology of a left divided between progressives, populists and Marxists – progressives who are authoritarian, populists who are opportunists, and Marxists who are lonely. Hey listener - why not tell us how you see Bunga and the world? Fill out our listener survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NN6SPD...
/229/ Repetition Compulsion ft. Doug Lain, pt. 1
December 07, 2021 15:00 - 56 minutes - 69.1 MBOn branding and the left. Douglas Lain, until recently publisher of Zer0 Books and now of Diet Soap Media, joins us to talk about what happened with Zer0. Mainly, we discuss the left at the End of History, revisit No Logo and the anti-branding stance, and compare Gen X and Millennial lefts - is it just a continual story of decline? Links: Diet Soap Media: Patreon | YouTube OK Bunger! The Problem of Generations
/228/ Three Articles: Popular Backlash in Chile, India, Europe
November 30, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 82.5 MBOn people power on three continents. We discuss Chile's landmark elections, the first after the uprising of 2019-20, which see a face-off between left and far-right; Modi's repeal of controversial laws that provoked a huge mobilisation of farmers in India last year; and protests and riots against new lockdowns and vaccine mandates across Europe. Articles: Has the Backlash to Progressivism Come to Chile?, Lili Loofbourow, Slate In Rare Show of Weakness, Modi Bows to India’s Farmers, Vario...
Excerpt: /227/ Reading Club: All That Is Solid
November 29, 2021 18:23 - 11 minutes - 13.9 MBOn modernity's contradictions. In this month's Reading Club, we discuss the introduction to Marshall Berman's marvellous All That Is Solid Melts Into Air. This is an excerpt. For the full episode, subscribe for $10/mo at patreon.com/bungacast Can we revive, as Berman intends, the truly dialectical, 19th century attitude to modernity? What value is there in talking about "modernity" rather than “capitalism”? And how to we recognise possibilities for transcending today's impasses, wher...
Excerpt: /226/ Science Says: No Woke
November 23, 2021 07:00 - 6 minutes - 6.15 MBOn the Jacobin & YouGov survey of the US working class. A study (pdf) carried out by YouGov on behalf of Jacobin magazine and the Center for Working-Class Politics has learned that "working-class voters prefer progressive candidates who focus primarily on bread-and-butter economic issues, and who frame those issues in universal terms." What can we learn from the study, beyond the obvious? What are its limitations, who is it for, and what does the survey say about those who commissioned it...
/225/ Wokeistan & Lebanonworld ft. Karl Sharro
November 16, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 96.1 MBOn sectarianism & identitarianism. Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) is back on Bunga to talk to us about his essay "The Retreat from Universalism in the Middle East and the World". Lebanon has been used as a model for other Middle Eastern countries, even though its confessional system is a disaster. But Lebanese-style sectarianism isn't a form of 'feudal' backwardness – in fact it represents a precursor of the multicultural and identitarian politics in the West. Who are the enemies of universa...
Excerpt: /224/ Three Articles: Labour Revolts?
November 09, 2021 11:34 - 6 minutes - 6.01 MBOn rising wages after the pandemic. Workers are quitting their jobs and not going back. Restricted supply is seeing wages go up. Does this signal a new militancy, or are workers just deciding to make do with less? How has the pandemic shaped people's outlooks? Articles: Wages are surging across the rich world, The Economist The Revolt of the American Worker, Paul Krugman, NYT US Workers Are in a Militant Mood, Alex N. Press, Jacobin The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign ...
/222/ Nukes 4 Kids ft. Emmet Penney, pt. 1
November 02, 2021 06:00 - 53 minutes - 64.9 MBOn the global energy crisis. Nuclear energy advocate Emmet Penney (@nukebarbarian) joins us to discuss the growing energy crunch in Europe, the US and beyond. Nuclear power is opposed by an unholy alliance of environmentalists and neoliberals - yet it seems the best solution for providing plentiful, reliable, and clean energy. As a demand, it seems an open goal for the left - so why are so many resistant? Part 2 is available here for patreon subscribers. Links & Readings: Nuclear ...
Excerpt: /221/ Reading Club: Truth About Class
October 28, 2021 07:00 - 3 minutes - 2.86 MBThis month we discuss GM Tamas' essay "Telling the Truth About Class" published in the Socialist Register. Is Tamas' division between Marxist and Rousseauian socialism useful? Does it help us to understand the Left today? And is Tamas right that "authentic proletarian revolution... has never occurred in its anti-capitalist purity anywhere"? Reading Clubs are for patrons $10+, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Additional readings: Why the left must abandon the myth of British decline, Da...
Excerpt: /220/ Aufhebonus Bonus
October 26, 2021 06:00 - 5 minutes - 7.42 MBResponding to your questions, comments & criticisms. It's a big mailbag this time round, including plenty on Covid (lockdowns, vaccines, etc), incels and dating culture, breaking out of neoliberalism's clutches, and much much more. –– Bungacast will be live in New York on 19 November. Come see Alex Hochuli in conversation with Adam Tooze & Amber A'Lee Frost. Tickets at Eventbrite –– The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
Excerpt: OK Bunger! The Problem of Generations, pt. 5
October 22, 2021 00:36 - 20 minutes - 28.4 MBThe fifth and final part of a series on generational consciousness and conflict. This is an excerpt. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast In this episode, we examine the Millennials and Generation Z. Uniquely, generation war today seems to be a conflict over resources more than over values. Is there any basis for this, and what do Millennials actually want? With generational and class conflict seemingly bound together today, we analyse 'Generation Left' and 'Millennial ...
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 4
October 12, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 109 MBThe fourth in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we examine Generation X – the generation of the End of History. How was this generation overshadowed by the Boomer's failures? In the Eastern Bloc, the fall of Soviet regimes was a traumatic moment – how did this shape consciousness? And how did the Iranian Revolution – and subsequent war – shape the political perspectives of Iranians? Guests include: Maren Thom, film scholar Alexei ...
Excerpt: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 3
October 05, 2021 06:05 - 23 minutes - 36.5 MBThe third in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict. This is an excerpt. For the full 1h40min episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast In this episode, we examine the Baby Boomers – myth and reality. The revolt of the '60s has been misunderstood in many dimensions. Was it betrayed or did it always express capitalist ideology? Were the Boomers the ones who really did the 1960s anyway? And what world have the Boomers created as they passed through life – ...
/218/ Stability Über Alles ft. Wolfgang Streeck
September 30, 2021 00:51 - 57 minutes - 71.1 MBOn German's elections – and the costs of stability. Wolfgang Streeck is back on the podcast to round-up Germany's elections last Sunday (26 September). What's behind the emphasis on continuity and competence? Is Germany stuck in the 2000s? We also discuss the importation of US-style culture wars into Germany, the country's role in the Eurozone, and strategic relations with France. The second part of the conversation – where we debate the end of neoliberalism and capitalist crisis – is ov...
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 2
September 28, 2021 06:00 - 29 minutes - 49.5 MBThe second in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we look at the emergence of 'youth' as political concept in the age following the French Revolution, and its shifting meanings. How important was generational consciousness in the Young Italy movement and its imitators in the 19th century, and how should we understand the so-called 'Lost Generation' of 1914? Guests include: Niall Whelahan, Chancellor’s Fellow in History, Strathclyde Unive...
Excerpt: /217/ Reading Club: Intersectional Stalinism
September 24, 2021 06:00 - 4 minutes - 6.14 MBThis month's Reading Club is on Mike McNair's "Intersectionalism, the highest stage of western Stalinism?" from the journal Critique (pdf attached on Patreon). How convincing is his genealogy in which he traces intersectionalism back to the 1930s Popular Front and 1960s soft Maoism? What function does intersectionalism play on the Left - and for the ruling class? And is McNair right that intersectionalism is self-defeating on its own terms? Or is it self-perpetuating? Bungacast's monthl...
/216/ Goodbye Mutti! Election Preview ft. Dominik Leusder
September 22, 2021 14:09 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBOn Germany's election this week. Merkel has led Germany since 2005, outlasting any number of politicians across the West. What accounts for her longevity? How has such a non-ideological, post-political figure lasted so long? Germany is finally leaving her motherly embrace. But why is continuity on the cards, despite the many global crises Germany has passed through?
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 1
September 21, 2021 06:00 - 38 minutes - 61.5 MBThe first in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we look at the current, vexed discourse around generations, and analyse competing theories on how to understand generational cleavages. Guests include: Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin Jennie Bristow, sociologist at Canterbury Christ Church University Joshua Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Ori...
Excerpt: /215/ Organize the Incels?! ft. Alex Gendler
September 14, 2021 06:05 - 7 minutes - 9.11 MBOn the long history of involuntary celibates. Alex Gendler talks to us about his essay in American Affairs, "The New Superfluous Men". With growing global concern about incels and increasing anti-terrorism focus on the supposed risks posed by lonely, angry men, we discuss why this discussion has emerged today and why it's gone global. Why do our societies seem no longer to find use for young men? Do they benefit from patriarchy? And how does this all relate to class? The full episod...
/213/ The Leopard Lockdown ft. Adam Tooze
September 07, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 97.8 MBOn Covid and the end of the end of history. Adam Tooze joins us to discuss his new book, Shutdown. In 2020 everything changed... so that everything might remain the same. What were the reasons behind the global shutdown? Was it a result of over-protection, a policy of repression, or the result of structural tensions? Has China been the winner of the pandemic? How have central banks been victims of their own success? And does this represent the end of neoliberalism? The latter part of th...
Excerpt: /212/ Three Articles: Middle-Class Anxieties
August 31, 2021 06:00 - 7 minutes - 6.63 MBOn net-zero, CCP nanny state, and optimised dating. We start off discussing the HBO series "The White Lotus" before tackling three articles on middle-class anxieties: climate change and pressures on UK living standards; the Chinese state's crackdown on private tutoring; and women's attempt to avoid crappy men through 'Female Dating Strategy'. The full episode is available to patrons only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Articles: Boris Johnson’s push for net zero plunged into chaos...
/211/ Unlocking the Lockdown Left ft. @galexybrane
August 24, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 100 MBOn lockdowns, education, and the left. California middle-school teacher and social critic Alex Gutentag (@galexybrane) joins us to talk about the depredations of lockdown in California and the wider world. How has lockdown affected different segments of society, and how damaging have school closures been on education? Why has the professional middle class been so in favour of widespread restrictions – and how did the left go from backing Medicare 4 All to cheering on lockdowns in the space...
Excerpt: /210/ Reading Club: Psychoanalysis & Spirit of Capitalism
August 21, 2021 20:26 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBWe discuss Eli Zaretsky's essay, "Psychoanalysis and the Spirit of Capitalism" (also available as a chapter in his book Political Freud). How convincing is Zaretsky’s idea that, as capitalism was becoming more organized and systematic, it also liberated relations between the sexes and enhanced a sense of individual subjectivity? Was Freudianism a victim of its success? Did it ‘win’ and thereby make itself obsolete - socially if not intellectually? And what is today’s "spirit of capital...
Excerpt: /209/ Aufhebonus Bonus + Kabul Falls
August 17, 2021 06:10 - 8 minutes - 7.13 MBOn the Fall of Kabul, plus responding to your questions & comments. On this Aufhebonus Bonus, we take your critical comments on 'positive biopolitics' and authoritarian responses to Covid. Plus, whether neoliberalism is really ending, the usefulness of using 'PMC' or 'clerisy', and much more. We start by discussing what's happening in Afghanistan, the 20 years of failure, and what happens next. The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at pateron.com/bungacast for access.
/207/ Pangolin vs Lobster, pt 1 ft. Paolo Gerbaudo
August 10, 2021 06:00 - 59 minutes - 88.3 MBWhat comes after neoliberalism - the protective state? We talk to Paolo Gerbaudo about his new book, The Great Recoil, in which Paolo argues we are now turning inwards – globalisation is no longer a sea of opportunity and instead fear dominates. How convincing is his notion of an emerging 'protective state', and do either the left or right variants of it really promise us much at all? Part two of the interview is available for subscribers only. Sign up and listen at patreon.com/bungacast ...
Excerpt: /206/ Three Articles: Post-Liberalism
August 03, 2021 06:12 - 7 minutes - 11.3 MBOn post-liberalism: loving the state, crushing the individual? For this 3A, articles from different 'conservative' outlets - but how conservative, and of what kind? Articles: The real danger is insurgency on the right, William Hague, The Times (pdf attached in patreon) To curse social media is to exonerate society, Janan Ganesh, FT (pdf attached in patreon) We are all Britney now, Mary Harrington, Unherd Full episode for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
/205/ The World In One Country: The Final ft. Many Guests
July 27, 2021 08:24 - 1 hour - 112 MBWhat country best captures 20th and 21st century history? For our 200th episode special, we posed the question: "If you had to study the history of only one country from 1900-2020, and thereby understand the history of the whole world, which would you pick?" You voted on the ten submissions and now we invited the top 3 back on the pod to discuss in more depth: Dominik Leusder on Germany; David Broder on Italy; and David Adler on India. Then Phil and Alex choose a winner (it's a "managed ...
/204/ Three Articles: People's Republic of Fleeing
July 20, 2021 09:36 - 45 minutes - 67 MBOn Chinese investment, Swiss democracy, and fleeing from Afghanistan. In this Three Articles, we discuss flight or departure in various ways: China opening the gates for its huge savings to spill onto world markets; Switzerland leaving (or remaining outside) the EU; and the US's sudden departure from Afghanistan, without telling anyone. 'Three Articles' episodes are normally for subscribers only - but this one's free. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast for regular access. London book launc...
Excerpt: /203/ Positive Biopolitics? ft. Benjamin Bratton
July 13, 2021 06:00 - 9 minutes - 11.7 MBOn pandemic & post-pandemic politics. We talk to Benjamin Bratton about his new book, The Revenge of the Real, and its argument for a "positive biopolitics". What does an "epidemiological view of society" look like, and why should we let go of the idea that unmediated social relations are the most authentic kind? We touch on the work of Foucault and Agamben and why they are or aren't relevant to our conditions and critique "boomer theorists". The full episode is for subscribers only. Sig...