Bungacast

On Euro censorship + your comments and criticisms.   [Patreon Exclusive]   We discuss censorship in Brussels and Berlin, and put it in the context of the incorporation of right-populism. How will European politics come to look as national-conservatives become part of the establishment? What's up with these "sovereigntists" who are unserious about sovereignty?   Also we discuss your comments: If cultural production is already monopolistic, can it be democratically planned? Should we problematise "mental health"? Is love a dangerous political emotion? What happens if you leave the left? How do we kill the ghosts of the 20th century? Is a generational analysis of left-populism wrong? How do we get beyond a world of media and images? Links: NatCon: are centrists the real threat to free speech?, Alex Hochuli, UnHerd

On the Big Hard Dick industry.   [Patreon Exclusive]   Clinicians and Damage authors & editors, Christie and Benjamin, tell us why the market for penis enlargement and hardness has exploded. What is the "penis anxiety industry" How does it serve individual, cultural and unconscious demands? How does 'Big Hard Dick' provide a brittle solution to a deep social problem? Is the Freudian analysis passé? Is it phallus-obsessed? Does a making your penis bigger and harder help deal with imposter syndrome? Does neoliberal capitalism make us feel "small"? Does the liberal elite want you to accept your smallness? How might we be big – make ambitious, large-scale change – without falling for fake solutions? Links: Size Queen Nation, Christie Offenbacher & Benjamin Fife, Damage /215/ Organize the Incels?! ft. Alex Gendler The New Superfluous Men, Alex Gendler, American Affairs On masquerade vs imposture: How Should a Woman Look?: Scopic Strategies for Sexuated Subjects, Jennifer Friedlander Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings: The Emotional Costs of Everyday Life, Mari Ruti, Columbia UP

On melodrama and the bourgeois subject.   [Patreon Exclusive]   We're back with the next installment of our series on the "emotional turn". Alex talks to Catherine Liu about whether politics is staged in a "melodramatic" fashion today. What is the bourgeois subject, why was it good, and where did it go? What is melodrama? Does public crying make us feel connected? Is it all Oprah's fault? Why is psychoanalysis the solution to, not the cause of, therapy culture? How is indignation used today? Is the political scene just villains and victims? Links: Emotion Sickness I ft. Nina Power Emotion Sickness II ft. Ashley Frawley Emotion Sickness III ft. Alex Hochuli Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery, Eva Illouz Interview with Christine Gledhill, from the book Melodrama After the Tears 

On President AMLO and the rebuilding the working class.   [Patreon Exclusive]   We continue our discussion with anthropologist Roger Lancaster who has lived and researched in Mexico for decades, on the past and present of Mexican radicalism. How has popular conservatism served as a boost for radicalism and revolution  Is there any basis for a 'romantic' anti-capitalism, in Mexico, or in the Global North? Is President AMLO synthesising a new politics?  Has he “ended neoliberalism” or on the way to it? How socially conservative is AMLO really?

On A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics   [Patreon Tier III & IV Exclusive]   Continuing our theme of "the intelligentsia & the public," we discuss German critical theorist Jürgen Habermas's 2023 book, asking what sort of political culture is required for democracy. What role do the institutions of the public sphere and the media have in producing, sustaining or undermining this culture? How does Habermas' account contrast with B. Anderson on print capitalism? Is 'deliberative' democracy a trap? Who sets the rules of deliberation? Is a good media structure a 'constitutional imperative'? How do interests fit into Habermas' model? Do we need to leave our interests at the door?   Links: A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics, Jurgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas is a major public intellectual. What are his key ideas?, Duncan Ivison, The Conversation /362/ Life Doesn’t Have to Zuck ft. Cory Doctorow - on social media

On Mexico, class, and sexuality.    We welcome anthropologist Roger Lancaster onto the pod to talk about his new book, The Struggle to Be Gay – in Mexico, for Example.     We discuss: How much is being gay tied to being modern? And conversely, how much of globalized culture is itself "gay"? Do you need to be middle class to be gay? Why did neoliberalism provide more sexual freedom than corporatism in Mexico?  How was Mexico ahead of the US in introducing ‘progressive neoliberalism’? Is now a time of freedom, or should we think of it differently? In part two, we discuss AMLO's "synthetic" presidency, and the way peasant conservatism in central America has traditionally provided a boost to radicalism – and ask whether this is still the case.   Only available at patreon.com/bungacast.   See also: /180/ Bunga Bunga (but Gay) ft. Mark Simpson & River Page

On Portugal's elections, 50 years since the revolution   Catarina Príncipe, a long-time activist on the Portuguese left and a doctoral student of political economy, is back on the podcast to talk through what happened as Portugal went to the polls. How does Portugal see itself, with regard to Europe, and its own history? How did the right-populist Chega party break through amid high turnout? What kind of anti-politics did Chega bring to the table? Is there nostalgia for the dictatorship? How did immigration become an issue in a country where emigration is the big problem? What is going on with Portugal's huge housing crisis? Why has the EU disappeared as a political issue, 10 years on from the peak of the crisis? Bungacast is expanding, with new regular contributors, partnership with Damage magazine and more. Read about it here or see the video. Links: In Portugal’s Election, the Center Left Struggles to Hold On, João Murta & Guilherme Rodrigues Europe After Brexit, Bungacast live event, ft. Catarina Principe + others

On what comes next: in politics, ideas, economy, subjectivity   To commemorate seven years of the podcast and four-hundred episodes, we got all our new Contributors in to examine the oppositions and tensions that we think will characterise the next decade. We say hello to Amber A'Lee Frost, Alex Gourevitch, Catherine Liu, and Leigh Phillips.   For all Bungacast shows, including our Contributors, the Damage magazine episode, Reading Club and more, go to patreon.com/bungacast     Politics Right-populism: insurgency or incorporation The Left: engagement or reclusion Multipolarity: opportunity or restriction War: inertia or action Industry & Economy Work: precarity or militancy Green Capitalism: industry or austerity Tech: exhaustion or enchantment Ideas & Art Truth: the image or the word Belief: reason or romanticism Individual & Society Subjectivity: vulnerability or resilience Sex: liberation or puritanism Sociability: virtuality or embodiment

On the withdrawal from hyperpolitics and hypermodernity.   [Patreon Exclusive]   What comes after a decade of populism? Alex Hochuli talks through his new essay in Damage, issue 2. This is episode is the third part of our Emotion Sickness series on the politics of feelings. Click here for part 1 and part 2. If we are disengaging from politics, what is the associated feeling - resentment or resignation? Why are our times "hypermodern" – and why is this exhausting? What can the examples of the 'great resignation', 15-minute cities, and postliberalism all tell us about the ways people are withdrawing from modernity? Why do we need to decelerate to save modernity? How might we gain control of time? This episode is in partnership with Damage. Bungacast subscribers ($7+) automatically get a digital subscription to the magazine. Go to patreon.com/bungacast.   Links: From ADHD to Let Me Be: Taking Control of Time, Alex Hochuli, Damage Damage issue 2: "Deinstitutionalized" (subscribe for Alex's essay + more) /365/ It’s So Over (Again) ft. Ryan Zickgraf (see also the links in show notes) Hypermodern Times, Gilles Lipovetsky Social Acceleration, Hartmut Rosa Scorched Earth, Jonathan Crary

Part II of the series: on therapy and vulnerability.   [Patreon Exclusive: subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast]   Sociologist Ashley Frawley (and COO of Sublation Press) is back on the podcast to talk about her new book, Significant Emotions. What is behind the seeming rise of public emotionalism and the focus on mental health? How was “happiness” a policy concern – and when did it disappear and why? What’s going on with universities and their focus on the mental health of students? Is there much emotion about, in a romantic sense of deep feeling? Or is it emotion ersatz, instrumentalised, superficial, sentimentalised? How does affect polarise politically Left and Right? Can we solve the crisis of subjectivity by focusing on the self? And who is the Big-Ass Subject? Links: Significant Emotions: Rhetoric and Social Problems in a Vulnerable Age, Ashley Frawley, Bloomsbury Sublation Media Ashley's YouTube channel

On Benedict Anderson's classic Imagined Communities.   [Patreon Exclusive. Subscribe: patreon.com/bungacast]   Originally published in 1983, Anderson's account of the origins of nations is one of the most cited books in English in the humanities. In what ways does this diverse and inventive book still explain the world? How is imagined different from imaginary? Did nations emerge first in Latin America? Does Anderson's account of print capitalism still apply – and is it more valid than ever? Are we really in a post-national era? Does Anderson underestimate the political side – the project of achieving your 'own' state? Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (pdf)   The Reading Club this year is dedicated to three themes: the rise and fall of nations; intellectuals and the public; Russia: past and present.

Turbulent times, ideological confusion. Politics is back, but it's stranger than ever. All the more reason for unflinching critique of the current moment. That's why Bungacast is expanding. Regular contributors are coming on-board: Catherine Liu, Amber Frost, Alex Gourevitch, and Leigh Phillips   We're partnering up with Damage Magazine   There'll be many more exclusive episodes – see patreon.com/bungacast   And a new Reading Club, with new themes!

On media and the Millennial Left.   [Patreon Exclusive: for full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast]   Continuing the retrospective on the millennial left's failures, we invite political theorist Benjamin Studebaker back on. We discuss: Was left-populism a media event?  Was the Millennial Left just a moment in internet history? Having bought into the internet's possibilities, can we abandon it? Does it make sense to speak of a "millennial" left?  Faced with so many dead ends, do we need to "go monastic"? Links: The Millennial Left as a Moment in Internet History, Benjamin Studebaker Omelets with Eggshells: On the Failure of the Millennial Left, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs. Additional comments on Alex's Substack 

On the missed opportunity of the 2010s.   Chris Cutrone of Platypus joins us to talk about his collection of essays, The Death of the Millennial Left. We discuss: Why define it as the "Millennial" Left? Was the anti-Stalinism of leaderless protests a good thing? Did the talk of "winning" from 2015 onwards represent maturity? Should the turn to a more public, statist capitalism make us more optimistic? How will the 'lawfare' used against Trump play out? Links: The Millennial Left is dead, Chris Cutrone, Platypus The Death of the Millennial Left: Interventions 2006-2022, Chris Cutrone, Sublation

On the politics of emotions and emotionalism.   Philosopher Nina Power (an editor and columnist at Compact Magazine) kicks off this series by talking to us about anger, hate, and evil. Do we complain too little or too much? Should we be more repressed? Political passions were meant to be dead. Has anger overtaken apathy? Should we hate our enemies? Is that okay? Has contemporary society become hysterical? Why does everyone want to be a victim today? How does this relate to self-interest? Is evil a psychological concept? For part two, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: What Do Men Want?: Masculinity and Its Discontents, Nina Power, Penguin Books Nina's columns at Compact Magazine Political Ponerology, Andrew Lobaczewski, Red Pill Press (pdf)

On Indonesia's new president and the End of History.   For the full episode: patreon.com/bungacast   Michael Vann, Indonesia expert and history professor at Sacramento State, joins us to talk through the election results. How did Prabowo go from wannabe fascist dictator to cuddly populist grandpa? Why is Jokowi "Indonesia's Obama"? What is Indonesia's Trump/Hunter Biden ticket? What's up with the $32bn new capital being built in Borneo? What is the Museum of Anticommunism, and how successfully has Indonesia's ruling class rewritten its history? Plus: why is metal so popular in Indonesia? Links: Suharto’s Old Guard Is Still Calling the Shots in Indonesia, Michael Vann, Jacobin Shadow Puppets and Special Forces: Indonesia’s Fragile Democracy, Michael Vann, The Diplomat (on police v military clashes) Indonesia state apparatus is preparing to throw election to a notorious massacre general, Allan Nairn, The Intercept Prabowo's 'fashy' 2014 campaign video Prabowo's 'cuddly' 2024 persona /391/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About ft. Vedi Hadiz

On our '1914 vibes'. And your questions & comments.    [Patreon Exclusive]   We discuss the parallels between our age (the end of globalisation, the threat of war) with the end of the Belle Epoque in the early 20th century. What might Lenin have to teach us?    We then turn to your questions and comments on: Palestinians as surplus population Peripheral countries as 'imitators' Whether Brexit has led to greater political accountability Why Ridley Scott sucks Why contemporary art sucks Bonapartism and techno-populism Romanticising dead workers - and old social-democrats Esoteric knowledge about how the world *really* works Readings: Lenin's Lesson for Western Liberals, Philip Cunliffe, UnHerd Why the Tories Are Blowing Brexit, George Hoare, The Northern Star

On Indonesia: a country without a Left.   Foremost scholar of Indonesian politics and political economy, Vedi Hadiz of the University of Melbourne, joins us to talk through the country's politics in advance of the elections next week. What was the authoritarian order that followed the 1965 anti-communist massacres? How did the Asian financial crisis lead towards democratisation – and how did the old oligarchy manage to retain much of its power? How has Indonesia become "Islamified", and what is "Islamic populism"? How do class and ethnicity/religion interact in Indonesia? Who speaks for the "downtrodden"? Is the upcoming election a contestation between oligarchic populisms? Links: /121/ Those Murdering Bastards ft. Vincent Bevins, Bungacast Marketing Morality in Indonesia's Democracy, Vedi Hadiz, East Asia Forum The demise of the left and the Islamisation of dissent in Indonesia, Vedi Hadiz, Melbourne Asia Review (video) Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election Could Be the Last Battle of the Titans, Carnegie Endowment The Act of Killing, dir. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012

On El Salvador and mass incarceration.    Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, has just been re-elected on a landslide. His trademark policy is a state of emergency and the locking-up of tens of thousands of suspected gang members. He also made Bitcoin legal tender. What is 'Bukelismo', will it last, and will it spread?    First, we talk to Nelson Rauda, an editor at investigative outlet El Faro about the mood in El Salvador, what the state of emergency has been like, who the main gangs are and whether Bukele has secretly been negotiating with them, and what opposition there is to Bukele's subversion of democracy and civil liberties.    Then, Juan Rojas, Latin America columnist at Compact Magazine, joins us to discuss why such 'mano dura' (iron fist) policies have failed elsewhere but why they continue to appeal across the region – including among the poor and working class.    For part two, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast   Readings: El Salvador’s Bitcoin Paradise Is a Mirage, Nelson Rauda, NYT Behind Bukele's Revolution, Juan Rojas & Geoff Shullenberger, Compact On Security, Bukele and Petro Have a Problem in Common, Juan Rojas, Americas Quarterly In response to killings, El Salvador’s bitcoin president attacks civil liberties, Nelson Rauda, LA Times The Rise of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's Authoritarian President, Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker Chaos in Ecuador, Guillaume Long, Sidecar/NLR ¡Viva la ‘eficracia’!, Martin Caparrós, El País

On how to respond to conformity.   Lias Saoudi, frontman of the British band Fat White Family, joins us to talk about rock, popular culture and contemporary unfreedom. We discuss: Why are the kids taking less drugs? Can we respond to our nihilistic times with nihilistic art? What is the nature of conformity today? How to challenge conformity without sneering at the masses? Is there a romantic revival going on? Why is Lias interested in Ivan Illich? If living cheaply in big cities is now very difficult for artists, will something new emerge from the provinces? Links: Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family & the Miracle of Failure, Lias Saoudi & Adelle Stripe, White Rabbit Books Punk's spirit is broken, Lias Saoudi, UnHerd Is modern medicine making us sick?, Lias Saoudi, UnHerd Forthcoming album: Forgiveness Is Yours /353/ Bunga Sells Out ft. Jason Myles - on music and the spectacle /359/ Apollo Gets High ft. Benjamin Fong - on drugs in America