PODCAST

Bungacast (Patreon feed)

The global politics podcast at the end of the "End of History". Join us as we chart a course beyond the age of "bunga bunga". [Listeners on Spotify and other apps will only be able to access episodes in line with the tier you are subscribed to]

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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/20

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 choosing.We also delve into various other key points: why Hamas was becoming irrelevant and how the 7 October attack was an attempt to combat that; why violence is necessary but the Palestinians are in a catch-22; how the West is implicated in the

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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/17

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 it to apply counterinsurgency tactics to its own citizens.Why did Hamas attack when it did? Has it been successful in stopping Israeli-Saudi rapprochement? How much will this change Israeli society? And what does Israel want to achieve in bombing - and soon invading -

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/368/ Don't Pay Them Back (II) ft. Jerome Roos

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/10

On the structural power of global finance.[Patreon Exclusive]This is the continuation of our interview with scholar Jerome Roos about his book, Why Not Default? How can we break apart the power of international institutions that act as executor of the interests of global capital? Is a Republican in the White House preferable to a Democrat for this reason? What is China's modus operandi with regard to debt, and how are sovereign debt negotiations getting more complicated in a multipolar world?In the

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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/10

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 of the very rare cases over the past 70 years of unilateral default. Why are nations so eager to pay back creditors nowadays, especially when it means endless austerity and little prospect of economic development?We talk to scholar Jerome Roos about his book, Why Not

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/366/ Reading Club: Legitimacy (IV)

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/09

On polycrisis.[Patreon Tier II and III Exclusive]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. Everyone from Adam Tooze to the FT to the World Economic Forum think we're in a polycrisis. How does this notion compare to Habermas' understanding of crisis? We also explore some related themes: cynical ideology and how it deflects criticism; whether we are more or

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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/10/03

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, BLM has imploded, boring Biden rules, the Proud Boys are nowhere to be seen. Fewer protests, fewer small campaign donations, fewer news articles shared.What is the implication of this? It seems that people are exhausted by the politicisation of everything. The

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/364/ The Eternal Sunshine of the Bourgeoisie

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/09/26

On satire of the bourgeoisie.[Patreon Exclusive]We discuss Luis Buñuel's "deranged masterpiece" from 1972, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and debate the social ritual of dinner, and why the guests in the film never get to eat theirs.How does this early 70s surrealist film – which in many ways set the template for cinematic satires of the bourgeoisie – compare to more recent portrayals such as The Menu or Triangle of Sadness? Ultimately, who are the bourgeoisie and do they still exist, in a

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/363/ Outsourcing the State

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/09/12

On the politics of consultancyThe past 40 years have seen a whole range of things the state used to do itself outsourced to third parties. Now there is a turn against these practices. But can the state actually get stuff done, or is it doomed for its prior reliance on consultants?It's not just the left the criticises outsourcing - the right now does too. How do these positions differ? And how are these questions related to another critique – that of 'bullshit jobs'?Readings & Links: In Clover,

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/362/ Life Doesn't Have to Zuck ft. Cory Doctorow

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/09/05

On the internet being sh*t.Tech critic, author and blogger Cory Doctorow joins us to talk about his new book, The Internet Con. He tells us his ONE SIMPLE TRICK to fix the internet: interoperability. Breaking down the tech giants' walled gardens is the first step to dethroning them. How does Big Tech depend on intellectual property to cement their monopolies? How can their grip be loosened? How do we make tech work for us?In the After Party, the boys debate Doctorow's anti-monopolist arguments, and

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/361/ A Nightmare on the Brains of the Living ft....

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/29

On US politics being stuck.[Patreon Exclusive]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 it's used by professionals to keep people engaged in a system that simply doesn't deliver. Hence the culture wars and the focus on various 'vices'.How are both left and right complicit in this situation? What's the solution? Are we dependent on oligarchs going rogue to shake the

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/360/ Reading Club: Legitimacy (III)

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/25

On the 3rd and final part of Jurgen Habermas' Legitimation Crisis.[Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]We wrap up this challenging book by debating some key points. Habermas already felt we lived in a post-truth society. How does his notion differ from the contemporary one concerned with misinformation? And is it possible to get beyond the notion of political authority grounded in (arbitrary) rules and laws – to an order rooted in truth and meaning?Habermas also discusses his Frankfurt School

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/359/ Apollo Gets High ft. Benjamin Fong

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/22

On the American drug binge.Forget all the stereotypes – drug use is no longer confined to particular subcultures. US Americans are taking world-historic levels of drugs. Benjamin Fong tells us about his new book, Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge, which covers everything from morphine to mushrooms, SSRIs to speed, caffeine to cocaine.Ultimately, is all this drug-taking about reckless abandon, or about control?For more, go to patreon.com/bungacastSubscribe to

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/358/ Lucky, Meaty Nations (II) ft. Shahar Hameiri &...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/15

On Australia and New Zealand at the end of the end of history.[Patreon Exclusive]The second part of George's interview with Shahar and Tom in which they explore why Australia and New Zealand have avoided the turbulence of the end of the end of history. Is it as simple as uninterrupted growth and high wages? How well is the political system able to respond to people's frustrations, and have there been any populist breakthroughs there? And what happens if China's slowdown brings the Antipodes down? We

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/357/ Lucky, Meaty Nations ft. Shahar Hameiri & Tom...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/15

On Australian and New Zealand at the End of History.Antipodean political scientists Shahar Hameiri and Tom Chodor join us to discuss the history and politics of Australia and New Zealand. If Australia is the “lucky country”, what about New Zealand? What explains the courses both countries took economically and politically over the twentieth century? And where do the two countries find themselves today - did they escape the end of the End of History?Part 2: patreon.com/bungacastReadings: Australian

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/356/ Land of the Unfree ft. Sohrab Ahmari

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/08

On everyday, private tyranny.Sohrab Ahmari, one of the editors of Compact Magazine, joins us to talk about his book, Tyranny, Inc. We discuss the sorts of private coercion that are found in the US workplace and marketplace, rather than originate with the state – and how relatively uncommon it is for a conservative like Ahmari to follow that line of critique.Also: the NY Post's scathing front covers, alliances between socialists and conservatives, the world of JG Ballard's Super Cannes, and

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/355/ F***ing and shooting are not the same

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/08/01

On film and left-wing terrorism.[Patreon Exclusive]We talk about Uli Edel’s 2008 film The Baader Meinhof Complex, which tells the story of the Red Army Faction in 1960s and 70s Germany. What sorts of myths do films create? Is the attempt to break down myths in fact a way of re-making those myths? Is a Red Army Faction response possible today - and what does terrorism at the End of the End of History look like?We also discuss the image-sausage-grinder theory of film and reflect on six years of

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/354/ Reading Club: Legitimacy (II)

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/07/28

On Jürgen Habermas' Legitimation Crisis.[Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]What made postwar capitalism 'organised'? And why did many believe it had overcome economic crisis?In this second episode on Legitimacy, we go through part 2 of Habermas' book, where its main concerns reveal themselves. How does the role of the state in managing the economy transfer crises into the realm of politics and society? Bourgeois ideology seems pretty thin on its own and doesn't provide enough motivation, so what

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/353/ Bunga Sells Out ft. Jason Myles

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/07/25

On music, pop culture, and the politics of the spectacle.Musician, host of This is Revolution and Sublation columnist, Jason Myles joins us to talk about how every podcast is a failed band, if pop music is dead, and whether the contemporary left is a lifestyle brand feeding into the all-encompassing politics of the spectacle. We also discuss the music of De La Soul and the role of what Jason calls “underclass ideology” in contemporary America. Finally, we reflect on selling out: it used to be a

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/352/ Cold War Marxism, East & West ft. Sean Sayers

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/07/18

On China, Russia, the US and UK.Professor Emeritus and one of the founders of ‘Radical Philosophy’, Sean Sayers, joins us to talk about Marxist philosophy, how it’s developed and changed over the course of the twentieth century and into this one. We talk about Sean’s background and experience in the radical academy of the 1960s, and how the New Left fed through into the founding of ‘Radical Philosophy’, and more recently, the Marx and Philosophy Review of Books. Sean talks about what’s happened to

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/351/ Eating the Left's Lunch? ft. Cecilia Lero &...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2023/07/11

On the radical right in the global periphery.[Patreon Exclusive]Erdogan, Modi, Orban, Bolsonaro, Duterte. Though the latter two are gone, the first three are still going strong, in government for a decade or more. What unites these figures? They’re all right wing and authoritarian, but also popular and anti-establishment.How similar are these politicians to their analogues in the core of global capitalism? Might they even be seen to be forerunners of developments in the rich world? And to what

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Bungacast (Patreon feed)

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