Bungacast

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 structure of the global economy was correct.   Points discussed: What's at stake in thinking of East Asian growth as a renaissance, or correction of the his...

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 changed irreparably. The establishment right has been outflanked, while the left-populism of 'Kirchnerismo' is in crisis....

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 then delve into various key points:  why Hamas was becoming irrelevant and how the 7 October attack was an attempt to combat that;  wh...

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...

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 endles...

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. Everyone from Adam Tooze to the FT to the World Economic Forum think we're in a polycrisis. How does this notion com...

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....

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 it's used by professionals to keep people engaged in a system that simply doesn't deliver. Hence the cult...

On satire of the bourgeoisie.   [ Patreon Exclusive . Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast ]   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 bourge...

On the radical right in the global periphery.   [This was originally a  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 a...

On the politics of consultancy   [ Patreon Exclusive . Sign up @ patreon.com/bungacast ]   The 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...

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?...

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...

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 (arbitra...

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 al...

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 themselve...

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...

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...

On geopolitical competition over Africa.   This episode was originally for subscribers only. To join, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast   In light of the 'new Cold War', we look at what the US, Europe, Russia and China's respective "pitches" are to African countries – what are they selling? And we examine the factors that contribute to Africa's place in geopolitics today: Chinese hunger for raw mat...

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 pol...

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 ca...

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 Phil...

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 o...

On Jürgen Habermas' Legitimation Crisis.   [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive - sign up at patreon.com/bungacast ]   We are in crisis, no doubt about that. But what kind? And what is the relation between economic, political and socio-cultural crisis?   In this first episode on Legitimacy, we go through part 1 of Habermas' book, to try to understand some key concepts: system integration versus social...

Live event at Housman's Bookshop .   George Hoare hosts Dan Evans (author of A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petite Bourgeoisie ) and Bungacast regular Catherline Liu (author of Virtue Hoarders: The Case against the Professional Managerial Class ) in a conversation about the middle class.    How should we conceptualise the middle class, how has it come to dominate politics, an...