Bungacast

Latest Episodes:

/268/ Emergency vs Emergency ft. Geoff Shullenberger Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

[Live events in Germany: Berlin / Munich]

On emergency politics today.

We talk to Geoff Shullenberger about competing emergency politics, left and right. Should politics be enjoyable and provide a frisson of transgression, or not? Is bare life all that's on offer? And is declaring the predominance of 'emergency politics' itself an emergency a problem?

Readings:

How We Forgot Foucault, American Affairs
The Crisis of the Crisis, The New Atlantis

/267/ South Africa Mafia State ft. Benjamin Fogel May 31, 2022

Show notes

On crumbling state authority. Benjamin Fogel is back on the podcast to talk us through how South Africa has gone from the hopes of post-apartheid to the Durban riots of 2021. How have corruption, criminal networks, Indian oligarchs, and political forces combined to shatter any sense of a national project? We also discuss the role of xenophobia and particularist and racial politics in today's South Africa. Readings & Links:

/27/ After Zuma ft. Sean Jacobs
The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma, Benjamin Fogel, Al Jazeera
Dons have KZN in their grip — and Don of Dons Jacob Zuma has the tightest grip, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick
No two elephants are alike, Ryan Brunette, Africa Is A Country
Rising vigilantism: South Africa is reaping the fruits of misrule, Landau & Misago, The Conversation

Excerpt: /266/ Reading Club: Foucault & Biopolitics May 26, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] On neoliberalism and biopolitics. In the fifth session of the "Emergency Politics & Control" theme of the 2022 Reading Club, we take on The Birth of Biopolitics, Michel Foucault's 1978-9 lectures at the College de France (no's 4-6, 9-10). How does Foucault trace a line between German ordo- and American neo-liberalism to biopolitics? What role does human capital play? Is 'biopolitics' a critique or a manual? And how useful a tool is it to understand the management of the Covid pandemic?

Excerpt: /265/ Three Articles: Inflation! May 24, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Exclusive] On the economic drivers and political choices of inflation. In the absence of workers demanding higher wages, where is inflation coming from? Is there more to it than pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and the Ukraine war? How responsible is Biden's spending package? And how can generations who have never known serious inflation respond? Three Articles:

Chartbook #122: What drives inflation?, Adam Tooze, Substack
Inflation Is No Accident, Christopher Caldwell, Compact
Britain is drifting towards economic oblivion, Ben Marlow, Telegraph

Excerpt: /264/ Aufhebonus Bonus May 19, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Exclusive]

On your comments & criticisms.

We tackle ideological realignments over the use of history; conspiracy theorising; a game-show called The Last True Marxist; whether we've had any progress over the last 50 years; and much more.

/262/ The Useless Past ft. Matt Karp May 10, 2022

Show notes

On liberals' embrace of the past and history wars.

We talk to Matthew Karp about his essay, "History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past". It seems as if there's an ideological inversion going on, where liberals see history in terms of original sin and cycles of injustice, or at best, want to relitigate the past in order to fight battles of the present. Meanwhile conservatives have abandoned the past. What does this say about current attitudes to capital-h History and making the future?

Readings:

History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past, Matt Karp, Harpers
Ends in Sight: Marx/Fukuyama/Hobsbawm/Anderson, Gregory Elliott
The End of the End of History, Bungacast

Excerpt: /261/ Three Articles: Macronistan May 03, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Exclusive] We analyse the French presidential election results, the country's geographical and class divides, and what a second term for Macron means for the EU. Three Articles:

Emmanuel Macron Is Forming a New Right-Wing Bloc, Interview with Bruno Amable, Jacobin
Why Macron is invincible, Christopher Caldwell, Unherd
Le Pen was doomed from the start, Nathan Pinkoski, Compact

Other readings:

Waking Up from Anesthesia: Decline and Violence in France, Alexis Moriatis, Brooklyn Rail
Macron, Le Pen and France’s long battle between order and dissent, Sudhir Hazareesingh, FT
Jean-Luc Mélenchon's new supporters: the young, urban working class, Julie Carriat, Le Monde

Excerpt: /260/ Reading Club: Fear II - Furedi Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

[Patreon Tier 2 Exclusive]

On Frank Furedi's How Fear Works.

Following on from last month's discussion of Corey Robin's Fear, we examine a differing attempt to demystify the politics and culture of fear.

To join a local Reading Club where you are, email info@bungacast.com

/258/ Conformist Rebellion ft. Elena Lange & Joshua Pickett-Depaolis Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

On Marxism & the Left.
We talk to Elena & Joshua about their new edited collection, The Conformist Rebellion: Marxist Critiques of the Contemporary Left. Who or what is "the Left" today – merely the left wing of Capital? And what distinguishes a specifically Marxist critique of the Left? How has Marxism and the question of exploitation been sidelined in favour of a libera concern with discrimination?
Over on Patreon you can hear the second part of the interview, plus our After Party debating the contemporary Left's connection to Marxism, the history of social democracy, and moral versus materialist critique.
Readings:

/257/ How to Boil a Frog (2) ft. Chris Bickerton Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

The second part of our double ep on France's presidential election.
Ahead of the second round, we discuss how likely a Le Pen victory could be and the effect of Zemmour’s candidacy – which appears to have made her seem more centrist. We also debate how the French deep state and EU might react to a Le Pen victory.
We also ask Chris, co-author of Technopopulism, whether this is a classically 'technopopulist' election.
Reading:

Technopopulism: The New Logic of Democratic Politics, Chris Bickerton
The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide, Chris Bickerton

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