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UNLOCKED /115/ Singapore Shangri-La ft. Lee Jones Jul 16, 2020

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Singapore is held up as a free-market utopia: rich, orderly and clean. But the reality is quite different. Why does Singapore exert such a magnetism for neoliberals, when its reality strays from orthodox prescriptions? What and who made this model 'global city', and how does its communist and anti-colonial past lead to its hyper-capitalist present?

Excerpt: /135/ Aufhebonus Bonus (June) Jul 14, 2020

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This episode is for patrons only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Mailbag + bonus content ft. Corey Robin In this new semi-regular slot, we feature bonus recordings (here, 20mins of additional discussion with Corey Robin from episode 129) and respond to your comments and criticisms received over the past month.

Excerpt: /134/ The Call - Afterparty Jul 08, 2020

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This is a sample. For the full episode, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

The three of us discuss some of the themes that emerged from our interview with Krithika Varagur (ep.133) - the entanglement of the US state with Islamism, the Americanisation of the Middle East, and especially the Gulf States, and Wahhabism as religious justification for the Saudi state project.

/133/ The Call ft. Krithika Varagur Jul 07, 2020

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On Saudi religious proselytism.

Saudi Arabia has actively sought to export Salafism. How has it done this - and what have been its effects, in countries like Indonesia, Nigeria and Kosovo? Why was fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s such a formative experience for jihadists? And why has appeal of secularism faded?

Readings:

The Call: Inside the Global Saudi Religious Project, Krithika Varagur
How Saudi Arabia's religious project transformed Indonesia (Long excerpt from the book)
The Coronavirus Threatens Saudi Arabia’s Global Ambitions, Krithika Varagur, Foreign Affairs
Saudis and Extremism: 'Both the Arsonists and the Firefighters', Scott Shane, NYT
China as the New Frontier for Islamic Daʿwah, Mohammed Turki al-Sudairi, Journal of Arabian Studies

/132/ Partial to Slavs ft. Lily Lynch Jun 30, 2020

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Aleksandar Vučić's coalition won the recent (21 June) Serbian parliamentary elections amidst a mass boycott. We talk to Balkanist editor Lily Lynch about what Vučić represents - violent ultranationalist or technocratic centrist? We also take time to discuss geopolitical rivalries over Kosovo.

Plus: cigar socialism, Yugoboomers and the enduring appeal of Balkan orientalism. According to Julian Assange, the future always comes to Serbia first - what does this mean?

Intro clip: Vučić's very creepy virtual rally | Outro clip: The Big Z

Readings:

Abramović, Žižek and Milanović: Yugoslavia’s First and Last Global Public Intellectuals, Srdjan Garcevic, The Nutshell Times
The Tito–Castro Split and the End of Cigar Socialism, Lily Lynch, Balkanist
Vucic’s nationalist party wins landslide victory in Serbian poll, Valerie Hopkins, FT
West is best: How ‘stabilitocracy’ undermines democracy building in the Balkans, Srda Pavlovic, LSE blog

Excerpt: /131/ Reading Club: The PMC Jun 26, 2020

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This episode is for patrons $10 and up. Please sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

On the Ehrenreich's re-evaluation of the Professional-Managerial Class.

We discuss Barbara and John Ehrenreich's "Death of a Yuppy Dream". Also attached are the Ehrenreichs' analyses from the late 70s, also referenced in the discussion.

Thanks again for all your questions!

Excerpt: /130/ Three Articles: BLM Jun 23, 2020

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Full episode is for patrons only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast On this latest Three Articles, we discuss the global Black Lives Matter protests. Reading:

The Triumph of Black Lives Matter and Neoliberal Redemption, Cedric Johnson, NonSite
‘As soon as I saw the slaveowner’s statue being toppled in Bristol, I knew the real anti-racism protest was OVER’, Lisa McKenzie, RT
The Triumph of American Idealism, Alex Hochuli, Damage
Alex's additional notes on his blog

/129/ The Right Is Weak ft. Corey Robin Jun 22, 2020

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On the left case for freedom.

We talk to Corey Robin about how the left has sacrificed the realm of freedom to the right. And why the Left's weakness is also the Right's. Plus, why is it clear that Trump is not a fascist? And insight into the BLM protests in NYC and responses to the pandemic.

Reading:

What People Power Looks Like in a Pandemic Democracy, Corey Robin, NYRB
Symposium on the Challenges Facing Democrats: Freedom Now, Corey Robin & Alex Gourevitch, Polity
If authoritarianism is looming in the US, how come Donald Trump looks so weak?, Corey Robin, Guardian

/128/ BACKLASCH! ft. Anna Khachiyan Jun 16, 2020

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On culturally conservative critics of capitalism.

Neoliberalism’s fragmentary and atomising tendencies have gone too far. In response, some right-wingers have turned against the market. At the same time, there’s a (marginal) tendency on the left turning against cultural liberalism. Are we witnessing a major political realignment underway? What is the substance of these "culturally conservative" critiques, and do they offer anything new, beyond what people like Christopher Lasch advanced decades ago?

Readings: