Bungacast

Latest Episodes:

/181/ Juche in North Britain? ft. Cat Boyd & David Jamieson Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

On the socialist case for Scottish independence.

David Jamieson and Cat Boyd, writers and hosts of Conter, the Scottish anti-capitalist website and podcast, join us to to talk about the prospects for Scottish independence in advance of the Scottish parliamentary elections in May. Would an independent Scotland within the EU be a contradiction in term? How would an independent Scotland fare - and what would it mean for the "national question" across Europe? And what's up with the factional strife among Scottish nationalists? Readings:

Contercast, podcast hosted by Cat & David
Independence Beyond Salmond and Sturgeon, David Jamieson, Conter
The Origins of Scottish Nationhood, Neil Davidson, Pluto Press

/180/ Bunga Bunga (but Gay) ft. Mark Simpson & River Page Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

On gay liberation and sexual politics.

After big advances over the past decades, we can now ask, did the gays win? And if so, so what? Mark Simpson in the UK and River Page in Florida join us to discuss whether something was lost in that victory.

We ponder whether gay politics was the original identity politics and what happens when a narrow focus on equality triumphs over liberation. Do sexual liberation politics have any future? Plus: how Blairism was the biggest drag act of all.

Readings:

Anti-Gay, Mark Simpson (Bloomsbury, 1996)
Being Gay in the Thirties (Gay Life), documentary mentioned by Mark
Trading in the Past: Queer London, Mark Simpson
The Standpoint Bureaucracy, River Page, TwinkRev
The Woke Resurrection of a Gay Sex Panic, River Page, TwinkRev

Excerpt: /179/ The Hobbyist Left ft. David Swift Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

How to address the political problems of leftwing parties today? Liverpudlian historian David Swift argues that the problem is hobbyism - people for whom politics constitutes their identity rather than expressing their interest in social and political change. He joins us to take us through his arguments about hobbyism, and how he thinks the Left might change for the better. This is a sample. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Readings:

A Left For Itself, David Swift, Zer0 Books
How the Left lost all purpose, James Bloodworth, Unherd
How not to be a white anti-racist, David Swift, Unherd

/173/ Reading Club: Left Case for Brexit (UNLOCKED) Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

We've exceptionally unlocked one of our recent Reading Clubs. For access to all the monthly Reading Clubs - as well as our ~2 patreon episodes a month - subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast for $10.

––

On Richard Tuck's The Left Case for Brexit, a book composed of essays written throughout the Brexit process, providing a diary of Brexit of sorts, as well as political and historical arguments around sovereignty. We also take the opportunity to debate its global implications - what are the possibilities for popular sovereignty in a globalised world? On the final deal and its implications, see: The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Minimum Brexit

Excerpt: /178/ Reading Club: Societies of Control Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

We discuss Gilles Deleuze's short essay, Postscript on the Societies of Control and ask whether his understanding, according to which society has changed from one where discipline is exercised in institutions to one where control is implemented across society, holds water.

The monthly Bungacast Reading Club is for patrons $10+. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

Excerpt: /177/ AufheBonus Bonus ft. Catherine Liu Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

We respond to your questions and comments from the past two months. Plus a continuation of our chat with Catherine Liu (from 55mins onwards) - on PMC unions, PMC child-rearing and the culture industry. This episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Readings:

The PMC Gets Organized, Dominic King, Damage
Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional-Managerial Class, Catherine Liu, University of Minnesota Press, 2021

/176/ The Worst Class ft. Catherine Liu Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

On the Professional-Managerial Class. Catherine Liu joins us to talk about the worst class in history (the PMC), and how and why they hoard all forms of secularised value. We discuss the development of the PMC as a class, figure out when it stopped being "heroic", and debate who the PMC'S leader might be. We conclude by asking whether the Left needs the PMC (or vice versa?). The discussion will continue next week – focusing on recent unionising in professional workplaces, how the PMC brings up its children, and whether the "culture industry" is still a thing – in a subscriber-only episode on our patreon. Readings:

Virtue Hoarders: The Case Against the Professional-Managerial Class, Catherine Liu, University of Minnesota Press, 2021
Moral Minoritarianism from the Ashes of Left Populism, George Hoare, Damage
Saving Britain's Universities report, Lee Jones & Phillip Cunliffe, Cieo

Excerpt: /175/ Psychoanalysis Against Adaptation ft. Benjamin Fong Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

On the relevance of psychoanalysis. In a continuation of our talk with Benjamin Fong, editor of Damage Magazine, we discuss the relevance of psychoanalysis today. What happened to the marriage of Marx and Freud – and what does the decline of both say about our times? We criticise social media as the latest instance of the culture industry as well as the growth of the US as a 'drugged society'. How can psychoanalysis be wielded against therapy culture, against a psychology that just helps us adapt to the world, and in favour one that makes us more free? This episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Readings:

The Method and Function of Analytic Social Psychology, Erich Fromm (pdf attached on Patreon)
Adorno’s critique of the revisionist psychoanalysis: An introduction to ‘The Revisionist Psychoanalysis’, Nan-Nan Lee, Discussion and translation of Adorno (attached as pdf on Patreon)
Therapy Without Therapists, Briana Last, Damage

/174/ Social Ungluing ft. Benjamin Fong Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

On American breakdown. Editor of Damage Magazine, Benjamin Fong, joins us to talk about the lack of shared narratives in contemporary America. We discuss QAnon and conspiracy theories, Biden's authoritarian liberalism, and "pro-worker" conservatives. We also interrogate the use of psychological analyses of politics and reaffirm the value of psychoanalysis, in a preview of a more detailed forthcoming discussion on our patreon. Readings: