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PODCAST

Bungacast

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.

news politics

All Episodes

01:23:59

/445/ How I Hacked the US Election ft. Alex Gourevitch

Bungacast ·

2024/10/18

On the left-wing case for freedom. Regular contributor Alex Gourevitch is back on to talk about how the Democrats are approaching the US presidential election. Alex talks us through an influential and widely-read article that he wrote in 2020 with Corey Robin on how the left needed to reclaim freedom as its own. We discuss: Why is the left suddenly talking about freedom? When did it abandon freedom in favour of human rights, welfare, or identity? What are the consequences of leaving "freedom"

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01:14:40

/444/ Opportunism & Revenge in the Middle East ft....

Bungacast ·

2024/10/15

On Israel's invasion of Lebanon and beyond. Karl Sharro (Lebanese-Iraqi architect and satirist @KarlreMarks) and Iranian writer and historian Arash Azizi join us to discuss war in the Middle East. We ask: Is Israel finally waging the great war that will rid it of all enemies? Does Israel have any real plan? What motivates its actions in Gaza and Lebanon? What is the impact on Hezbollah of losing its leadership layers? How will Iran respond and what is the balance between moderates and

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04:17

/443/ Nations, Globalisation & De-development:...

Bungacast ·

2024/10/08

On Nations & Nationalism since 1870. [Patreon Exclusive] We start by dealing with your questions regarding last month's RC, on Stalin, Zhukhov and WWII. Then we read and discuss Eric Hobsbawm's classic work in which he emphasises that nations are exclusively modern constructions. We discuss: How succulent Hobsbawm's account is Whether he was wrong about globalisation eclipsing nationalism – and why he argued this Whether the revolutionary-democratic aspects of nationalism can be rescued

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08:22

/442/ The Unique French Capacity for Disappointment...

Bungacast ·

2024/10/01

On France's permacrisis.[Patreon Exclusive] French sociologist Nathan Sperber talks to George and Alex about his new essay in the New Left Review, "The French Crisis: Organic or Conjunctural". We catch up with what has happened in France since Macron gambled and called impromptu elections in the summer. We discuss: Why does France always seem to be more in crisis than its neighbours? How has France ended up with hollow "leaderist" parties? Is Macron a true neoliberal or a reactive emergency

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26:04

/441/ Original Source End of End of History

Bungacast ·

2024/09/29

On liberal takes on the end of the End of History. [Patreon Exclusive] We start by discussing Yasha Mounk's dismissal of an end to the End of History. Does he underestimate liberal democracy's inability to legitimise itself anymore? Is the talk of populism a way of deflecting from liberalism's undoing? We then deal with your comments and questions [for patrons only, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast]

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04:34

/440/ Dear Tradmother, Why Are You Sad? ft. Amber...

Bungacast ·

2024/09/24

On tradwives, influencers, and boys.[Patreon Exclusive] Amber is back on the pod, talking to Alex and George about her forthcoming piece on neo-traditionalism and women, in Damage issue 3, which will be on Mothers. We discuss: What are the models of 'tradwives' out there? If homemakers make homes, do tradwives make content? Does the tradwife phenomenon speak to sense of exhaustion with being a neoliberal girlboss? When does internet crap start being real? Do influencers actually

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01:03:42

/439/ We Can Shape Our Own Environment ft. Ted Nordhaus

Bungacast ·

2024/09/19

On "eco-modernism". Ted Nordhaus, co-founder and executive director of the Breakthrough Institute, talks to Leigh and Alex the 20th anniversary of "The Death of Environmentalism" and the 10th anniversary of "The Ecomodernist Manifesto". We discuss: The fundamental philosophical differences between "building-out" and "restraint". Whether industrial policy like the Inflation Reduction Act is in line with the ecomodern approach Why environmentalism differs in the US versus Western Europe Why

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01:20:41

/438/ You Are Being Enlisted into the Culture War ft....

Bungacast ·

2024/09/17

On the US culture wars, then and now.Historian Andrew Hartman, author of A War for the Soul of America, talks to Alex about how US Americans have been sorted into cultural camps over the past fifty years. We discuss: Who started it? And who perpetuates it? What is the "culture" in the culture war? And is it a war, or a series of skirmishes? Is there something particularly American about culture wars? The culture wars have followed the breakup of liberalism – so, what comes next? Do culture

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05:41

/437/ Climate Change Is Not an Information Problem...

Bungacast ·

2024/09/12

On disinformation, misinformation and the popular will. Holly Jean Buck, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo, joins us to talk about her recent pieces arguing that the climate movement's focus on disinformation is misguided. We discuss: What is disinformation and misinformation in the climate context? Are there parallels to be drawn with anti-disinfo campaigns on vaccines during the pandemic? How is the deterioration in trust in elites and

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01:17:34

/436/ Slovakia's Four World Directions ft. Dominik...

Bungacast ·

2024/09/10

On corruption, charisma, populism & assassination in Slovakia.Slovak sociologist Dominik Zelinksy joins us to discuss Slovakia's positioning between East and West. We discuss: Why was Prime Minister Robert Fico a target of an assassination attempt? Whether Fico – not a zany outsider but a competent insider – is a "populist" Why Slovaks are not so anti-Russian, and why they are sceptical of NATO How has anti-corruption politics played a role What is "charismatic mimicry" and why have

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01:17:23

UNLOCKED: /419/ Who Owns Power ft. Fred Stafford

Bungacast ·

2024/09/05

On the electricity grid and the institutions involved.[Episode originally released only to subscribers on 20 June 2024. Join us at patreon.com/bungacast] Fred Stafford, a STEM professional, a writer on energy and power, and an editor at Damage, talks to Alex and regular contributor Leigh Phillips about the utility of utilities and his recent essay in the second print issue of Damage, "Deinstitutionalized"./ What actually is a utility: is it a question of ownership, structure, purpose..? How did

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05:40

/435/ Reading Club: Stalin's General – Winning WWII...

Bungacast ·

2024/09/03

On Geoffrey Roberts’ 2013 biography of Field Marshal Zhukov.[Patreon Exclusive] Who was the Soviet general and architect of Soviet victory on the Eastern Front during the Second World War? We discuss: What does Zhukov’s life tell us about modern warfare? What can we learn about the life and fate of the Soviet regime? How should we view the Ukraine war and renewed geopolitical rivalry between the West and Russia today? What are the popular perceptions and folk memories of world war

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04:46

/434/ Bodiless Bodies ft. Matthew Thompson & Jonny...

Bungacast ·

2024/08/29

On the NGO-isation of the state.[Patreon Exclusive] Researchers and writers Matthew Thompson and Jonny Gordon-Farleigh join us to discuss their recent Damage article with George Hoare. Civil society was once occupied by popular forces that could function as a bulwark against both capitalist marketization and state authoritarianism. Today, it has been colonized by the NGO, which, in turn, colonizes our hollowed-out politics. We ask: What are 'private NGOs', and what are quangos? How has

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05:32

/433/ Aufhebonus Bonus – August 2024 (sample)

Bungacast ·

2024/08/27

On your questions & criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive] We respond with comments on episodes 420 to 432 and various other points you wanted to us to discuss. In this episode: Does our politics lack self-critique? When did the breakdown of the UK's political system begin? How hegemonic is "settler" discourse? Will there be a coup in France? Do we need more analysis of the PMC? How did victimhood become a means for the expression of political demands? Links: The Making of a New

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31:24

/432/ Median Left Thought and its Monsters ft. Ben...

Bungacast ·

2024/08/20

On Naomi Klein & Naomi Wolf and "political diagonalism"Episode in association with Damage magazine. Patreon Exclusive. Ben Burgis talks to Alex and George about his review in Damage of Naomi Klein's Doppelgangers. We discuss: Whether Naomi Klein is representative of the average left-wing position this century What Klein's trajectory and that of Naomi Wolf tell us about contemporary politics What is "pipiking" – Philip Roth's term for making everything a farce? What role do conspiracy

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01:01:01

/431/ The Myth of Monolithic China ft. Lee Jones &...

Bungacast ·

2024/08/15

On the structure of the Chinese state and its external relations. [Patreon Exclusive: for the full episode, go to patreon.com/bungacast] We welcome back Lee Jones and Shahar Hameiri to reflect on the outcome of the recent plenum of the Chinese Communist Party and to ask who, if anyone beyond Xi Jinping, is calling the shots. How will the CCP respond to the US election? Why is China not a monolithic, integrated state in the way some think? How important is the the Sino-Russian alliance? Does it

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01:28:47

/430/ Welcome to the Tourist Age ft. Marco d'Eramo

Bungacast ·

2024/08/13

On the tourist city, the tourist industry, and its critics. Renowned Italian journalist Marco d'Eramo joins us to talk about his wide-ranging inquiry into the age of tourism, The World in a Selfie. We also discuss how migration is the obverse of tourism, and take a look at Marco's most recent book, Masters, on the neoliberal revolution from above. Why is hating tourists the main characteristic of being a tourist? Why is the tourist/traveller dichotomy a false one? What is the threshold for a city

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09:09

/429/ Reading Club: Treason of the Intellectuals...

Bungacast ·

2024/08/06

On Julien Benda's famous 1927 work.[Patreon Exclusive] We continue on the theme of 'Intellectuals and the Public' by discussing the often cited by little read The Treason of the Clerks. We ask: If Benda was responding to the intellectuals' role in the Dreyfus Affair and WWI, was he already a man out of his time? What are intellectuals' proper role in society? Can they be abstract universalist moralists? Benda laments the end of humanism – can we endorse this lament, even if things are too far

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46:58

/428/ The First Poaster (Vice) President? ft. Ryan...

Bungacast ·

2024/08/01

On JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, and arresting decline.[For the full episode: patreon.com/bungacast] We discuss the Netflix adaptation of vice-presidential nominee JD Vance's memoir – and the memoir itself – and what it tells us about the direction of US politics, Trump, and MAGA. We ask: What is Ryan's own anti-hillbilly elegy, drawn from his experience in Central Illinois? How far does the character in the film correspond with Vance’s public persona today? How do we account for Vance’s

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01:18:46

/427/ Why Do We Make Our Emotions Match the Market?...

Bungacast ·

2024/07/30

On emotional capitalism + Israeli politics. Renowned sociologist Eva Illouz joins us to talk about her recent book on the emotions of populism, and her work on the sociology of emotions in general. We discuss: Why have emotions become such a collective obsession? Where can you buy emotional commodities? What are influencers really selling? What emotions accompany victim culture? How is identity and victimhood linked in a way that allow us never to forgive or forget? Plus: How has Netanyahu

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534 results

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