Bungacast

By Bungacast

What's Bungacast about?

The global politics podcast at the end of the End of History. Politics is back but it’s stranger than ever: join us as we chart a course beyond the age of ’bunga bunga’. Interviews, long-form discussions, docu-series.

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Bungacast episodes:

04.30.2024
/408/ Was It Raining When You Fled Paris? ft. Peter Gourevitch
On the earth-shaking events of the 20th century, through a personal lens. Regular contributor Alex Gourevitch sits down with political scientist Peter Gourevitch to talk about their shared family history. Why did their grandparents/great-grandparents become Mensheviks? How did one half of the family...
04.26.2024
/407/ Beyond Bare Life ft. Dustin Guastella
On saving society from the antisocial-ists. In partnership with Damage magazine. [Patreon Exclusive] Trade unionist and researcher Dustin "Dino" Guastella joins us to talk about the deficiencies of a libertarian or antinomian approach to social problems. We start off with Dino telling us...
04.23.2024
/406/ AufheBonus Bonus (sample)
On Euro censorship + your comments and criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive] We discuss censorship in Brussels and Berlin, and put it in the context of the incorporation of right-populism. How will European politics come to look as national-conservatives become part of the establishment?...
04.19.2024
/405/ Size Queen Nation ft. Christie Offenbacher & Benjamin Fife (sample)
On the Big Hard Dick industry. [Patreon Exclusive] Clinicians and Damage authors & editors, Christie and Benjamin, tell us why the market for penis enlargement and hardness has exploded. What is the "penis anxiety industry" How does it serve individual, cultural and unconscious demands? How...
04.16.2024
/404/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (IV) ft. Catherine Liu (sample)
On melodrama and the bourgeois subject. [Patreon Exclusive] We're back with the next installment of our series on the "emotional turn". Alex talks to Catherine Liu about whether politics is staged in a "melodramatic" fashion today. What is the bourgeois subject, why was...
04.10.2024
/402/ Revolution and Conservatism, e.g. in Mexico ft. Roger Lancaster (sample)
On President AMLO and the rebuilding the working class. [Patreon Exclusive] We continue our discussion with anthropologist Roger Lancaster who has lived and researched in Mexico for decades, on the past and present of Mexican radicalism. How has popular conservatism served as a...
04.09.2024
/403/ Reading Club: Habermas on Social Media (sample)
On A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics [Patreon Tier III & IV Exclusive] Continuing our theme of "the intelligentsia & the public," we discuss German critical theorist Jürgen Habermas's 2023 book, asking what sort of political culture...
04.02.2024
/401/ Modernity is Very Gay ft. Roger Lancaster
On Mexico, class, and sexuality. We welcome anthropologist Roger Lancaster onto the pod to talk about his new book, The Struggle to Be Gay – in Mexico, for Example. We discuss: How much is being gay tied to being modern? And conversely, how...
03.27.2024
/396/ Enough Carnations? Portugal Decides, ft. Catarina Príncipe
On Portugal's elections, 50 years since the revolution Catarina Príncipe, a long-time activist on the Portuguese left and a doctoral student of political economy, is back on the podcast to talk through what happened as Portugal went to the polls. How does...
03.27.2024
/400/ The Political Oppositions of the Next Decade ft. Frost, Gourevitch, Liu, Phillips
On what comes next: in politics, ideas, economy, subjectivity To commemorate seven years of the podcast and four-hundred episodes, we got all our new Contributors in to examine the oppositions and tensions that we think will characterise the next decade. We...
03.22.2024
/399/ From ADHD to Let Me Be (Emotion Sickness, pt III) [sample]
On the withdrawal from hyperpolitics and hypermodernity. [Patreon Exclusive] What comes after a decade of populism? Alex Hochuli talks through his new essay in Damage, issue 2. This is episode is the third part of our Emotion Sickness series on the politics...
03.19.2024
/398/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (II) ft. Ashley Frawley (sample)
Part II of the series: on therapy and vulnerability. [Patreon Exclusive: subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast] Sociologist Ashley Frawley (and COO of Sublation Press) is back on the podcast to talk about her new book, Significant Emotions. What is behind the seeming rise of...
03.15.2024
/397/ Reading Club: Imagined Communities (sample)
On Benedict Anderson's classic Imagined Communities. [Patreon Exclusive. Subscribe: patreon.com/bungacast] Originally published in 1983, Anderson's account of the origins of nations is one of the most cited books in English in the humanities. In what ways does this diverse and inventive book...
03.12.2024
Big news: Bungacast is getting bigger, better
Turbulent times, ideological confusion. Politics is back, but it's stranger than ever. All the more reason for unflinching critique of the current moment. That's why Bungacast is expanding.Regular contributors are coming on-board: Catherine Liu, Amber Frost, Alex Gourevitch, and Leigh...
03.05.2024
/395/ A Coup From Within the Computer ft. Benjamin Studebaker (excerpt)
On media and the Millennial Left. [Patreon Exclusive: for full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast] Continuing the retrospective on the millennial left's failures, we invite political theorist Benjamin Studebaker back on. We discuss: Was left-populism a media event? Was the Millennial Left just a moment...
02.27.2024
UNLOCKED /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone
On the missed opportunity of the 2010s. Chris Cutrone of Platypus joins us to talk about his collection of essays, The Death of the Millennial Left. We discuss: Why define it as the "Millennial" Left? Was the anti-Stalinism of leaderless protests a good...
02.20.2024
/393/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (I) ft. Nina Power
On the politics of emotions and emotionalism. Philosopher Nina Power (an editor and columnist at Compact Magazine) kicks off this series by talking to us about anger, hate, and evil. Do we complain too little or too much? Should we be more...
02.16.2024
/392/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About (II) ft. Michael Vann
On Indonesia's new president and the End of History. For the full episode: patreon.com/bungacast Michael Vann, Indonesia expert and history professor at Sacramento State, joins us to talk through the election results. How did Prabowo go from wannabe fascist dictator to cuddly populist...
02.13.2024
Excerpt: /391/ Aufhebonus Bonus - Feb 2024
On our '1914 vibes'. And your questions & comments. [Patreon Exclusive] We discuss the parallels between our age (the end of globalisation, the threat of war) with the end of the Belle Epoque in the early 20th century. What might Lenin have...
02.09.2024
/390/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About ft. Vedi Hadiz
On Indonesia: a country without a Left. Foremost scholar of Indonesian politics and political economy, Vedi Hadiz of the University of Melbourne, joins us to talk through the country's politics in advance of the elections next week. What was the authoritarian order...
02.06.2024
/388/ Betting on Bukele (I) ft. Nelson Rauda / Juan Rojas
On El Salvador and mass incarceration. Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, has just been re-elected on a landslide. His trademark policy is a state of emergency and the locking-up of tens of thousands of suspected gang members. He also made Bitcoin...
01.30.2024
/387/ Get Fungal to Save Culture ft. Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family)
On how to respond to conformity. Lias Saoudi, frontman of the British band Fat White Family, joins us to talk about rock, popular culture and contemporary unfreedom. We discuss: Why are the kids taking less drugs? Can we respond to our nihilistic times...
01.29.2024
Excerpt: /386/ Reading Club: Globalisation (III & IV)
Double episode! On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing. [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] We wrap up the 2023 syllabus by taking on the second half of Arrighi's book, in which he analyses the over-reach and decline of the US empire,...
01.23.2024
/384/ Millennial Rule ft. Amber A'Lee Frost
On Dirtbag and the Millennial Left. Bungacast regular Amber A'Lee Frost is back to talk about her new book, Dirtbag — part memoir, part critical essays on millennial socialism. In this episode we discuss: Why "millennial"? Does it make sense to talk...
01.16.2024
/383/ Stare into the Abyss with Us ft. Juliano Fiori
On what comes after human rights. Juliano Fiori, essayist and director of Alameda Institute, joins us to talk about catastrophism and organising around "the end". We discuss: What was humanitarianism, and why was it the "last utopia"? What does humanitarianism look like in...
01.09.2024
Excerpt: /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone
On the missed opportunity of the 2010s. [Patreon Exclusive] Chris Cutrone of Platypus joins us to talk about his collection of essays, The Death of the Millennial Left. We discuss: Why define it as the "Millennial" Left? Was the anti-Stalinism of leaderless protests a...
01.02.2024
UNLOCKED: /373/ Take a Stand: Be Neutral! ft. Lily Lynch
On NATO expansion and the end of neutrality Previously a Patreon Exclusive. For more like this, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Lily Lynch is back on the pod to talk about Northern and Eastern Europe and growing hawkishness. We discuss: Why did Sweden and Finland...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /136/ Banana Monarchy ft. David Edgerton
FROM THE VAULT: PHIL'S PICK (1)On British decline.Much ink has been spilled over the Britain’s fate since the end of its empire. Could it be that decline has been overstated? And what will happen to Britain as it leaves the...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /46/ Exiting Capitalist Realism
FROM THE VAULT: PHIL'S PICK (2)The third in our Neoliberal Breakdown series. In which we discuss the late Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism, 10 years on. Does his analysis still hold? The mood music of the time - the age of 'TINA'...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /161/ Culture is Bad for You ft. Mark Taylor
FROM THE VAULT: GEORGE'S PICK (1) On “culture”. We discuss who produces culture and who consumes it – and what those inequalities reveal about culture today. Also, we ask what’s the ploblem with culture anyway and end up defending “low culture” from...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /74/ Order Not Freedom ft. Quinn Slobodian
FROM THE VAULT: GEORGE'S PICK (2) On the unexpected origins of neoliberalism. We talk to Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists, about how neoliberals look back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the League of Nations. Why does neoliberalism talk about freedom, but promote order?...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /44/ Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome (N.O.B.S.)
FROM THE VAULT: ALEX'S PICK (1) In which we lay the liberal establishment down on the shrink's sofa. It's a systematic analysis of liberal derangement: of the inability to accept, explain, or respond to the breakdown of the current order. Why can't...
12.28.2023
[FROM THE VAULT] /104/ The Aristocracy of Finance ft. Alexander Zevin
FROM THE VAULT: ALEX'S PICK (2)On The Economist and the contradictions of global liberalism. Alexander Zevin joins us to discuss his work on the 176 year history of the magazine that has accompanied liberalism's global expansion. Has it just reflected the world...
12.19.2023
/381/ Contemporary Art: Inane Spectacle & Pompous Discourse, ft. JJ Charlesworth
On contemporary art. Critic and editor at Art Review, JJ Charlesworth, joins us to talk about why so much contemporary art is bad. We discuss: Why is art no longer about beauty? Are we stuck between art that is either superficial or hyperpolitical? Why...
12.12.2023
Excerpt: /380/ Josephine’s Body Count
On Ridley Scott's Napoleon. [Patreon Exclusive] We couldn't avoid discussing the new biopic about the "world soul" himself, Napoleon Bonaparte. The film isn't great, but what can we learn from it? And how does it sit in a context in which most...
12.05.2023
/379/ Sexy Pictures of Taylor Swift (Not Brexit)
On taking control. The Netherlands has elected an anti-EU rightist, but he won't take the Netherlands out of the European Union. Britain left the EU, but net migration to the UK has soared to its highest levels. What's going on? In this...
12.02.2023
Excerpt: /378/ Reading Club: Globalisation (II)
On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] We discuss the Part 2 of this landmark book from 2008, debating theories of Western economic decline: Robert Brenner's, and Arrighi's critique of it. Points...
11.28.2023
/377/ The Locked-Up Country ft. Shahar Hameiri & Tom Chodor
On Australia's lockdown. We welcome back Shahar Hameiri and Tom Chodor to talk about their new book, The Locked-Up Country, to try to learn some lessons from Australia's response to Covid-19. We also talk about the country's recent Indigenous Voice referendum...
11.20.2023
Excerpt: /376/ AufheBonus Bonus - Nov 2023
On your criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive - subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast] We respond to your points made in the comments on Patreon over the past few months. The first section is of course dedicated to the Gaza war, followed by discussion on hyperliberalism, neutrality,...
11.14.2023
Excerpt: /375/ From Hyperliberalism to the Grayzone
On John Gray's The New Leviathans. [Patreon Exclusive - for the full episode, follow the link] We discuss the British post-liberal philosopher's new book, looking at his background, ideological journey, and why he might be of interest. We also ask: How does John...
11.07.2023
/374/ You’re Gonna Need Representation ft. Vincent Bevins
On a decade of protest around the world. Journalist Vincent Bevins is back on the podcast to talk about his new book, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution. We discuss the 2010s protest wave across countries...
10.31.2023
Excerpt: /373/ Take a Stand: Be Neutral! ft. Lily Lynch
On NATO expansion and the end of neutrality [Patreon Exclusive - for the full episode, sign up @ patreon.com/bungacast] Lily Lynch is back on the pod to talk about Northern and Eastern Europe and growing hawkishness. We discuss: Why did Sweden and Finland...
10.30.2023
Excerpt: /372/ Reading Club: Globalisation (I)
On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] We discuss the Introduction and Part 1 of this landmark book from 2008 and ask if Arrighi's vision of China, the West and the...
10.24.2023
/371/ The Milei Massacre Didn’t Happen ft. Ernesto Seman
On Argentina's historic election. Historian of populism and anti-populism Ernesto Seman tells us what is happening in Argentina amidst severe economic crisis. The radical libertarian madman Javier Milei failed to win, and a second-round runoff will be needed, but politics has...
10.20.2023
/370/ Dead Ends in Israel & Palestine ft. Alex Gourevitch
On violence and the lack of political resolution. Regular guest Alex Gourevitch joins us to discuss why the Israel/Palestine conflict is so intractable – and why it draws so much attention. Alex then explains why, lamentably, there is no side worth...
10.17.2023
/369/ Information-War and War-Politics ft. Jacob Siegel
On the war on disinformation and the war in Gaza. Jacob Siegel, senior editor at Tablet, joins us to talk about Hamas's attack on Israel and Israel's assault on Gaza. We also discuss how the US crusade against 'disinformation' has led...
10.10.2023
/367/ Don’t Pay Them Back ft. Jerome Roos
On sovereign debt and taking back control. The leading candidate in Argentina's election this month wants to avoid defaulting on the country's debt at all costs. But back in 2001, after a mass revolt, Argentina reneged on its debts – one...
10.09.2023
/366/ Reading Club: Legitimacy (IV)
On polycrisis. [Patreon Tier II and III Exclusive - subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast] We reflect back on Jurgen Habermas' Legitimation Crisis as a whole, having gone through it section by section in previous episodes, before exploring what the idea of 'polycrisis' is about....
10.03.2023
/365/ It’s So Over (Again) ft. Ryan Zickgraf
On the end of politics. Is the craziness of the past years, since 2016, ebbing away? Is the establishment back in charge? Journalist Ryan Zickgraf joins us to argue that, yes, the period of 'hyperpolitics' has passed. Trump has lost his edge,...
09.28.2023
UNLOCKED: /361/ A Nightmare on the Brains of the Living ft. Benjamin Studebaker
On US politics being stuck. [This was originally a subscriber exclusive. Sign up now at patreon.com/bungacast] We talk to political theorist Benjamin Studebaker about his new book, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut. Studebaker holds that hope is a problem because...

What's Bungacast about?

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Bungacast episodes:

/408/ Was It Raining When You Fled Paris? ft. Peter Gourevitch

/407/ Beyond Bare Life ft. Dustin Guastella

/406/ AufheBonus Bonus (sample)

/405/ Size Queen Nation ft. Christie Offenbacher & Benjamin Fife (sample)

/404/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (IV) ft. Catherine Liu (sample)

/402/ Revolution and Conservatism, e.g. in Mexico ft. Roger Lancaster (sample)

/403/ Reading Club: Habermas on Social Media (sample)

/401/ Modernity is Very Gay ft. Roger Lancaster

/396/ Enough Carnations? Portugal Decides, ft. Catarina Príncipe

/400/ The Political Oppositions of the Next Decade ft. Frost, Gourevitch, Liu, Phillips

/399/ From ADHD to Let Me Be (Emotion Sickness, pt III) [sample]

/398/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (II) ft. Ashley Frawley (sample)

/397/ Reading Club: Imagined Communities (sample)

Big news: Bungacast is getting bigger, better

/395/ A Coup From Within the Computer ft. Benjamin Studebaker (excerpt)

UNLOCKED /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone

/393/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (I) ft. Nina Power

/392/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About (II) ft. Michael Vann

Excerpt: /391/ Aufhebonus Bonus - Feb 2024

/390/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About ft. Vedi Hadiz

/388/ Betting on Bukele (I) ft. Nelson Rauda / Juan Rojas

/387/ Get Fungal to Save Culture ft. Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family)

Excerpt: /386/ Reading Club: Globalisation (III & IV)

/384/ Millennial Rule ft. Amber A'Lee Frost

/383/ Stare into the Abyss with Us ft. Juliano Fiori

Excerpt: /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone

UNLOCKED: /373/ Take a Stand: Be Neutral! ft. Lily Lynch

[FROM THE VAULT] /136/ Banana Monarchy ft. David Edgerton

[FROM THE VAULT] /46/ Exiting Capitalist Realism

[FROM THE VAULT] /161/ Culture is Bad for You ft. Mark Taylor

[FROM THE VAULT] /74/ Order Not Freedom ft. Quinn Slobodian

[FROM THE VAULT] /44/ Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome (N.O.B.S.)

[FROM THE VAULT] /104/ The Aristocracy of Finance ft. Alexander Zevin

/381/ Contemporary Art: Inane Spectacle & Pompous Discourse, ft. JJ Charlesworth

Excerpt: /380/ Josephine’s Body Count

/379/ Sexy Pictures of Taylor Swift (Not Brexit)

Excerpt: /378/ Reading Club: Globalisation (II)

/377/ The Locked-Up Country ft. Shahar Hameiri & Tom Chodor

Excerpt: /376/ AufheBonus Bonus - Nov 2023

Excerpt: /375/ From Hyperliberalism to the Grayzone

/374/ You’re Gonna Need Representation ft. Vincent Bevins

Excerpt: /373/ Take a Stand: Be Neutral! ft. Lily Lynch

Excerpt: /372/ Reading Club: Globalisation (I)

/371/ The Milei Massacre Didn’t Happen ft. Ernesto Seman

/370/ Dead Ends in Israel & Palestine ft. Alex Gourevitch

/369/ Information-War and War-Politics ft. Jacob Siegel

/367/ Don’t Pay Them Back ft. Jerome Roos

/366/ Reading Club: Legitimacy (IV)

/365/ It’s So Over (Again) ft. Ryan Zickgraf

UNLOCKED: /361/ A Nightmare on the Brains of the Living ft. Benjamin Studebaker