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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/08/01

On JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, and arresting decline.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 political pivot – at least in rhetoric – from “lift yourself

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

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

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 failed even on

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/426/ Expropriate the Canon ft. Catherine Liu

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/23

On the disaster of the culture wars.[Patreon Exclusive]Regular contributor Catherine Liu is back on to talk about her essay in Damage, issue 2, "Professional Populists in the Culture Wars". We discuss:What were the original 'culture wars' and how are they different to today?Was there a need in the 1980s to "disrupt" the humanities? Is everyone an “academic populist” now?Why does conservatism now need to wear "populist" clothes?How should we defend the "canon"?What is the "Catherine Liu Foundation

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/425/ Reading Club: Russia's Imitation Democracy

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/16

On the late Dmitri Furman's account of post-Soviet Russia.We continue our discussions along this year's themes (rise and fall of nations; Russia past and present) by tackling Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System. Why has there been a revival in interest in the late Soviet and early post-Soviet period? And in the global 1990s in general?What does it really mean to be without-alternative?Why didn't democracy take hold in Russia? And why did it become an

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/424/ Aufhebonus Bonus - July 2024

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/12

On your questions & criticisms about fertility, culture war, and more.[Patreon Exclusive]In our monthly mailbag episode we take points from the discussion on patreon, including on futuristic music, holocaust movies, german populism, whether culture war can be global, and the link between modernisation, productivity and birth rates.

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/423/ Who Wants the 'Worst Job' in France? ft....

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/08

On France's surprise parliamentary election.The left-wing 'New Popular Front' came a surprise first, for now putting a halt to expectations that the far-right Rassemblement National would soon enter government. We talk to political scientist and commentator Charles Devellennes, and ask:What was Macron's gamble in calling this early election? Is becoming Prime Minister actually a bad thing for your future prospects?Is the Left actually 'far left' and the Right 'far right'? Is Le Pen a fascist?Did the

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/422/ Meat the New Prime Minister: UK Election Rundown

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/07

On Labour's landslide and sandcastle majority.We unpick what happened in the UK's general election, discussing:How did Labour get such a large majority with so little enthusiasm for them?Is the UK now a multiparty democracy, and will there be demands for serious electoral reform?What accounts for low turnout and the fragmentation of the vote (Reform, Greens, Independents, etc)?What is Keir Starmer's electoral base and how will he govern? What is their electoral programme? Is Nigel Farage's reform

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/421/ Who Are the Wrong Ukrainians? ft. Volodymyr...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/07/02

Ukraine, from Maidan to war.[Full episode is a Patreon exclusive]Berlin-based Ukrainian sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko joins us to talk about his new book, Towards the Abyss: Ukraine from Maidan to War and his dissection of the war and the underlying political crisis in Ukraine. We discuss:class conflict in Ukraine as a legacy of the collapse of the USSR and the stagnation of the Brezhnev regime in the 1970s. The role of the Ukrainian professional classes in the conflict and oversize influence of

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/420/ Fertility Freefall & Gender Strife in South...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/25

On baby bust, feminism and male resentment.[Patreon Exclusive]Alex and regular contributor Leigh Phillips call up Korean sociologist Hyeyoung Woo, director of the Institute for Asian Studies at Portland State University, to talk about demography, family and gender in the Republic of Korea.How urgent is the national debate on fertility?What policy measures have been introduced to reverse the decline?How is work organised and how do long hours contribute to the lack of family formation?What has been

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/419/ Who Owns Power ft. Fred Stafford

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/20

On the electricity grid and the institutions involved.[Patreon Exclusive]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 the 70s energy crisis, neoliberal economics, and environmentalism create a perfect storm

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/418/ Neoliberal Order Breakdown System, German-Style...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/18

On German political derangement.[Patreon Exclusive]Independent researcher and writer Gregor Baszak joins us to talk about German centrism being squeezed under pressure from both left and right — Sahra Wagenknecht and the AFD. Meanwhile the German economy is getting squeezed between the US and Russia, and NATO pressures Germany to up its defence spending. Is German public life remilitarising? What are the prospects for Sahra Wagenknecht’s new ‘left-conservative’ politics? What was the original

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/RE-RELEASE/ Silvio Berlusconi: An Oral History

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/12

On the one-year anniversary of the death of our evil patron saint, Silvio Berlusconi, we are re-releasing our audio obituary. RIP Silvio.Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi died on 12 June 2023 at the age of 86. In this special episode, we say goodbye to the towering figure of the End of History, and explore how the contradictions he exemplified spoke to our age. Contributions in order of appearance:Mattia SalviaAlice OliveriNadia Urbinati Carlo Invernizzi-AccettiPaolo Gerbaudo Thomas

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/417/ Has India passed peak Modi? ft. Achin Vanaik

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/11

On India's election and a blow for the BJP.Esteemed writer and social activist Achin Vanaik is back on Bungacast to unpick India's monumental, seven-week-long electoral process in which over 600m people took part.How did the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP lose its majority?Is there really a cult of personality around Modi?How does the BJP differ in important ways from Western 'national conservatives'?Does the BJP losing seats reflect a loss of support for Hindutva ideology?Modi claims India will reach

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/416/ Aufhebonus Bonus

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/06

On your questions & criticism regarding pro-Palestine protests.[Patreon Exclusive]In this episode we focus on the discussion generated by our episode that came out in early May on the protests on US campuses. We discuss the issues along a few axes:How do ideas of victimhood relate to the material reality of international politics?What really are the aims of the protesters and how likely are they to achieve them?Are we cynical in our approach or conclusions?How do the protests relate to populism

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/415/ Left-Populism That Works? (II) ft. Juan David...

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/06/04

On MORENA and Claudia Sheinbaum's huge victory.Mexico has elected its first woman president, tasked with extending the hugely popular AMLO'S legacy. What are her prospects and challenges? We ask:What was the effect of NAFTA on Mexico, and particularly manufacturing?How is US-China competition playing out in Mexico?Why did Trump and leftist AMLO get along? What about Scheinbaum and Trump?How does the politics of migration play out in Mexico?How come there is no hardline Mexican right, especially

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/414/ Zone of Banality or the Authority of Evil?

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/05/31

On Zone of Interest and Holocaust film.[Patreon Exclusive]We discuss the winner of the Oscar for Best International Feature Film – one that split opinion, among critics and on the pod too!How does the film fit in the pantheon of Holocaust films? Is it a Holocaust film?How well does it deal with its obvious subject matter: the banality of evil?Is the film neutral and detached or preachy, condescending, moralising?What to make of the commentary around the film, including director Jonathan Glazer's

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/413/ Left-Populism That Works? (I) ft. Roger Lancaster

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/05/30

On Mexico's elections.[Patreon Exclusive]Mexico goes to the polls this Sunday with the ruling centre-left MORENA party holding a commanding lead. Anthropologist Roger Lancaster joins us to preview the election and look at outgoing President AMLO's record.What are the stakes in this election?Has Mexico bucked the trend of class realignment? Where is the 'Brahmin Left'?What is "republican austerity" and has this actually combatted corruption?What do make of AMLO's use of the military? Militarising

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/412/ No Future But Future Music ft. Simon Reynolds

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/05/28

On Futuromania and closing and opening of musical horizons. We talk to renowned music critic Simon Reynolds about his new book. A counterpart of sorts to his famous Retromania (2011), Futuromania looks at the exciting futuristic music of the past and present. We discuss its themes to try understand whether the culture is still about to throw up something new.Is talk about popular music stuck between the poles of “rockism” and “poptimism”?How did Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder invent "electronic

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/411/ What Kind of American Are You?

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/05/16

On Alex Garland’s new film, Civil War.[Patreon Exclusive]The boys discuss a film that seems designed to say something in the context of a US election year. But what? We ask:What kind of film is this: a dystopian fantasy, a war movie, a road movie?Why the focus on the media? Does the film celebrate or satirise journalists?Does Garland’s dystopia tell us anything about the landscape of US politics today?Why is political polarisation between liberals and populists seen in terms of civil war? What would

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/410/ Reading Club: Deutscher's Stalin

Bungacast (Patreon feed) ·

2024/05/14

On Isaac Deutscher's classic Stalin: A Political Biography.[Patreon Tier III & IV Exclusive]We start off dealing with your questions from the first two Reading Clubs of the year, before Phil takes us through the famous biography of the Soviet leader. We discuss:Deutscher's work in historical contextStalin’s parents' experience as serfs and the significance of his boyhood education in an Orthodox seminaryHow the oppression of the Russian Empire and the promises of Soviet industrialisation shaped

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Bungacast (Patreon feed)

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