Bungacast

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Excerpt: /106/ The Endless Scrolling of Cinema ft. Maren Thom Feb 04, 2020

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On film in 2019/20. This is a sample only. For the full episode, sign up at patreon.com/BungaCast We saw yet more sequilitis the past year, the endlessness and onwardness of contemporary cinema. So what were the worst films of the year and did their badness represent something wider? If 2018 saw the arrival of Trumpian cinema, what did 2019 bring? Has there been a backlash against 'woke' cinema criticism centred around representation? And are streaming services having an effect on how we view cinema?

Excerpt: /105/ The Lorax & the AK-47 ft. Leigh Phillips Jan 28, 2020

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This is a sample. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/BungaCast

On ecofascism.

Both the shooters in the Christchurch and El Paso massacres were declared 'ecofascists'. Now, a new governing coalition in Austria brings together Greens and the hard right in an unconventional union.

How does Malthusianism link the far right and ecology? What are the dangers of 'lifeboat politics', and how can the Left resist this logic? Is the Green New Deal a solution?

Readings:

Eco-fascism: The ideology marrying environmentalism and white supremacy thriving online, Sarah Manavis, New Statesman
First as Tragedy, Then as Fascism, Alex Amend, The Baffler
Austria’s new government includes the pro-environment Greens. That’s a first., The Washington Post
Why White Supremacists Are Hooked on Green Living, Sam Adler-Bell, TNR
What Is Eco-Fascism, the Ideology Behind Attacks in El Paso and Christchurch?, Luke Darby, GQ
Only a Green New Deal Can Douse the Fires of Eco-Fascism, Naomi Klein, The Intercept

/104/ The Aristocracy of Finance ft. Alexander Zevin Jan 21, 2020

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On The Economist and the contradictions of global liberalism.

Alexander Zevin joins us to discuss his work on the 176 year history of the magazine that has accompanied liberalism's global expansion. Has it just reflected the world or has it actually influenced politics? How has The Economist balanced democracy against the interests of finance and the needs of empire? And is the magazine suffering from N.O.B.S.?

Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast

Running order:

(06:02) Overview & early days
(29:52) 19th century & empire
(34:18) 20th century, esp 1930s and '40s
(48:08) End of the Cold War and NOBS
(01:02:19) Liberalism & its enemies

Excerpt: /103/ Three Articles: The Future! Jan 14, 2020

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This episode is for Patrons only. Go to patreon.com/bungacast for access. On forecasts for the next decade. In this month's 'Three Articles' - in which we each bring to the table a key article to unpick and unpack - we take apart mainstream predictions of the future, over the next decade, the next couple of years, and 2020. Readings:

25 Ideas That Will Shape the 2020s, Various, Fortune
Boris Johnson is reinventing one-nation Conservatism, Bagehot, The Economist
Forecasting the world in 2020, Various, Financial Times

[UNLOCKED] /77/ CaliBunga: Tech, Drugs & Capitalist Soul, Pt. 2 Jan 07, 2020

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On drugs and mental health.

In part two, we chat about recreational drugs and mental states in a Hollywood bar with friends of the podcast, Amber A'Lee Frost and Alex Gendler. But mostly, we delve deeper into capitalism and depression with the 'States of Wellness' group at UC Irvine (Catherine Liu, Thomas Williams, Michael Mahoney, Benjamin Kruger-Robins).

#CaliBunga is a special multipart series on the Californian Ideology: the seemingly paradoxical hybrid of New Left and New Right ideas - the synthesis of hippies with yuppies, all tied together with the promise that technology might liberate us.

Thanks to UC Irvine School of Humanities for sponsoring this series.

/101/ UK Election: A Disaster Foretold Dec 16, 2019

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On how Labour lost.

Was it Brexit that did for Labour? In what sense? What now for the British Left - and for democracy?

Running order:

(02:40) Opening chat
(05:15) The electoral map, the generational divide
(21:46) Class
(33:52) The leadership and the media
(48:10) Holding our prediction to account
(53:30) Reaction of various Labour factions
(01:03:10) Future of left-populism

Readings:

How class, turnout and the Brexit party shaped the general election result, Financial Times
The Failure of the Left to Grasp Brexit, Michael Wilkinson, Verfassungs Blog
Anti-politics & the last gasp of British Labourism, Tad Tietze, Left-Flank
Hate to say it, but #BrexitWouldveWon, Alex Hochuli
Don’t blame Corbyn or Brexit: Labour failed to rage against the hated political system, Adam Ramsay, openDemocracy

Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast

/100/ What Was the End of History? ft. Many Guests Dec 10, 2019

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On the 30 years since 1989.

For our 100th episode, we invited our favourite guests to reflect on the question: “What one event, personal or political, most captures for you the past thirty years, since 1989?”

Are we still living in the death throes of the 20th century, or is something new emerging?

Guests:

(00:07:42) - Maren Thom
(00:14:14) - David Broder
(00:21:33) - Ashley Frawley
(00:26:11) - Catherine Liu
(00:33:05) - Angela Nagle
(00:40:49) - Benjamin Fogel
(00:46:25) - Alex Gourevitch
(00:51:31) - BungaCast hosts
(00:59:22) - David Adler
(01:04:05) - Amber A’Lee Frost
(01:08:48) - James Heartfield
(01:16:17) - Anton Jaeger
(01:23:24) - Leigh Phillips
(01:30:25) - Lee Jones
(01:36:03) - Karl Sharro

Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast

Excerpt: /99/ Proof in the Pudding Dec 03, 2019

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UK general election preview.

Go to patreon.com/BungaCast for the full episode

Is is really the Brexit election, if Labour doesn't want it to be? We survey the parties' positions, and promises, and ask some big what ifs. Could there be a major realignment in the offing? And we make some predictions - which you can hold us to account for later on...

/98/ Painful Politics ft. Jennifer Silva Nov 28, 2019

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On working class pain and politics.

We talk to Jennifer Silva about her most recent book, and working class Americans' experience of and perspectives on pain. We discuss racial, gender and class identities and sense of relative losses and gains. If the American Dream has been 'stolen', how can the working class dream again? What are the prospects for socialist politics when distrust of politics predominates?

/97/ Bungacast Analytica ft. João Magalhães Nov 21, 2019

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On algorithms and politics.

Can we "blame the media" today for political outcomes? Who's responsible for The Discourse in a fragmented landscape? It seems like there's increasing polarisation today, driven by social media 'filter bubbles'. Are they real? Who's responsible?

Plus: we talk about the media portrayal of Jeremy Corbyn; culture wars vs class politics; Brazil's craziness; and why arguments and interaction matter. Readings:

Have the mass media fuelled Brazil’s turmoil?, João Magalhães, Politike  
My lovely useless Facebook bubble, João Magalhães

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