Bungacast

Latest Episodes:

/290/ Cassoulet of Disruption ft. Nathan Sperber Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

On La Macronie, or Macronistan
Is France in perma-crisis? We talk to Nathan Sperber, independent researcher on political economy based in Paris and the author of a recent piece on Macronistan in American Affairs. Does Macron evince a neo-statist turn, away from the entrepreneurial, neoliberal rhetoric of 2017? And what about the anti-establishment forces, left and right – how much of a chance do they have to shake La Macronie, or will they be co-opted?
Readings:

Muddling Through in Macronia: How Populism and the Establishment Intertwine, Nathan Sperber, American Affairs
Emmanuel Macron announces the “end of abundance”, Katherine Bayford, Unherd

Listenings:

Excerpt: /289/ Aufhebonus Bonus (September) Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

On your questions and criticisms.

[Patreon Exclusive]

We discuss the Chinese Dream, speculation and horizontal politics, foreign fighters and spies, Dune, and killing Phil.

Excerpt: /288/ Feudal Limpets (Bunga Goes Royal) Sep 13, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Exclusive] On the death of Queen Elizabeth, a 20th century figure To our own surprise, we are doing an episode on the Queen of England. How will her death impact the UK when she was basically the only institution that still retained popular trust? Will Britons be made to face up to the question of what kind of country they want? We revisit the Nairn-Anderson theses about how and why Britain had so many seemingly feudal remnants, and ask whether there is still something to bourgeois modernisation. And we look globally at the response to the Queen's death and ask why so many people care? Readings:

The Revolutionary Monarchy of Elizabeth II, Adrian Wooldridge, Bloomberg
The House of Windsor, Tom Nairn, NLR
'London Bridge is down': the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death, Sam Knight, The Guardian

/286/ What Was Communism? ft. Branko Milanovic Sep 06, 2022

Show notes

On Communism's historic role. We talk to renowned Serbian-American economist Branko Milanovic about growing up in Yugoslavia and how, in much of the world, History never ended. We then dedicate much of the episode to discussing Branko's claim that communism was essentially an engine of economic convergence, allowing developing countries to haul themselves into the industrial age. We also talk about Branko's work on inequality and why growth still matters. Readings:

Capitalism, Alone, Branko Milanovic, Harvard UP
The Aloofness of Pax Sinica, Branko Milanovic, Global Policy Journal

/284/ Bungazão 2022 ft. Alcysio Canette Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

On Brazil's elections and the military. A month away from the first round showdown between former president Lula and current president Jair Bolsonaro, lawyer, podcaster and communist Alcysio Canette joins us to look at the features that have shaped the past years. How did Bolsonaro's response to the Covid pandemic – denialism, essentially – tarnish his image? What role is the military playing in Brazilian politics and what is its history of political interference since the 1964-85 dictatorship? Part two available at: patreon.com/posts/71560313 Readings:

Will Bolsonaro Be Held Responsible for Brazil’s COVID-19 Disaster?, Alcysio Canette, Jacobin
Cálice podcast, Atabaque Produções (in Portuguese)
Pro-Bolsonaro Protests Were Supposed to Show His Strength. Instead, They Showed His Weakness, Alex Hochuli, Jacobin (on last year's 7 September protests)
From Anti-Politics to Authoritarian Restoration in Brazil, Alex Hochuli, Jacobin

Excerpt: /283/ Reading Club: Trust & Mistrust Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

On Anthony Giddens' The Consequences of Modernity (ch.3)

[Patreon Tier 2&3 Exclusive]

In the second episode of the Cynical Ideology section of the 2022 Reading Club, we look at what trust is and why it has declined so precipitously in recent decades, especially in relation to institutions.

Is the opposite of trust mistrust, or is it existential angst? What's the link between the absence of trust and a sense of impending apocalypse? Is money or the market the only abstract entity we still trust? And what about the state?

Reading:

The Consequences of Modernity, Anthony Giddens (1990), ch. 3

Bunga Holiday Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

Just a short announcement about what's coming up, while we're off on summer holidays.

Subscribe to the podcast to support us and get two new, original, paywalled episodes a month ($5/mo). For $10/mo you also get access to the Reading Club. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

/281/ Foreign Fighters, Left & Right (I) ft. Stefan Bertram-Lee Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

On Rojava and Ukraine.
We talk to Stefan Bertram-Lee, former volunteer fighter for the the YPG in Rojava, about whom a Hollywood movie is being made. We ask him about the type of person who volunteers, and how this compares to those who have gone to Ukraine. How does this stop you "being a teenage nihilist"? And who would win in a fight: ISIS, Azov or the YPG?
Part two of this episode is available at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/70597308
Reading:

Ukraine the Day after Tomorrow, Stefan Bertram-Lee, Sublation
The Nazification of Ukraine, Stefan Bertram-Lee, Sublation
‘Stefan Vs. ISIS’ Pic In Works, Deadline

Excerpt: /280/ Three Articles: Liberal Nationalism Aug 09, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Exclusive]
With European liberals waving Ukraine flags, how might the war and escalating geopolitical tensions between major power be prompting a return to nationalism and patriotism? Is it just a means for elites to extract sacrifices from the people? And how 'real' are nations anyway?
Articles:

As we unite for the jubilee, let’s believe Britain’s best days are ahead, not behind, Lucy Powell, The Guardian
The Return of Liberal Nationalism, Sohrab Ahmari, Compact
What Putin and liberals share, Aris Roussinos, Unherd

/279/ Society of the Speculative ft. Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

On our financialised world.

We talk to Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou about his new book, Speculative Communities. How has speculation become the very practice around which modern societies coalesce? And how does speculation actually give voice to the waning legitimacy of neoliberalism?

Do dating apps, Tik Tok and other social media give birth to 'speculative communities'? And is populism a speculation on the future, a leap into the unknown?

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