Aufhebunga Bunga

/257/ How to Boil a Frog (2) ft. Chris Bickerton

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. 2022-04-20 06:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Bungacast is five!

It's five years since our first episode came out and we wanted to thank you all for the engagement and support - both with the podcast and the wider intellectual project. 

Since April 2017, we've put out over 250 episodes and hosted over 100 guests. 

We marked our 100th episode by asking contributors " 2022-04-19 18:53:59 +0000 UTC View Post

/256/ How to Boil a Frog (1) ft. Charles Devellennes

On France's presidential elections.

We talk to Charles Devellennes to digest the first round, which saw centre-right Macron and far-right Le Pen come out on top, with leftist Mélenchon missing out. How similar are Macron and Le Pen's proposals act...

/254/ Three Articles: Ukraine

[Patreon Exclusive]

On US proxy wars, Russia's elite, Ukrainian neutrality.

'Three Articles' aims to provide serious political discussion on current affairs that we feel is lacking elsewhere, drawing out the logical conclusions of the three pieces' arguments. 

Articles:

• 2022-04-12 06:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post

/253/ Technopopulism & Toxic Politics pt.2, ft. Carlo Invernizzi Accetti

[Patreon Exclusive]

On toxic politics.

We continue our interview with Carlo Invernizzi Accetti on his Technopopulism (co-authored with Chris Bickerton).&...

/252/ Technopopulism & Toxic Politics ft. Carlo Invernizzi Accetti

On the fusion of technocracy & populism.

Carlo Invernizzi Accetti talks to us about his book, Technopopulism, co-authored with Chris Bickerton. This is the "new log...

/251/ Oil & Disorder, pt 2 ft. Helen Thompson

[Patreon Exclusive]

The second part of our discussion with Helen Thompson, including our After Party. Helen explains why she is sceptical about the promise of green energy and discusses how energy might tie into renewed efforts to build nations.

Readings:

• 2022-03-29 07:01:04 +0000 UTC View Post

/250/ Oil & Disorder ft. Helen Thompson

On energy, the material basis for all our politics?

Helen Thompson, podcaster and professor of political economy at Cambridge and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, joi...

/249/ Dances with Truckers ft. Ashley Frawley

On the Freedom Convoy, the indigenous question, and 'anti-socialist socialism'(?)

Sociologist and commentator Ashley Frawley is back on the pod to talk about the situation in Canada. With family members involved in the protests, we asked her what she made of the truckers and the way demands were framed as 'anti-socialis...

/248/ Aufhebonus Bonus

[Patreon Exclusive]

In which we respond to listener questions & criticisms.

A bumper episode, featuring plenty on Canadian truckers, Swedish populists, ideas of justice, hyperpolitics and much more.

Next Reading Club (March)

The next Reading Club will be on Corey Robin's Fear: The History of a Political Idea. 

This will be part of a sequence of two readings on the politics of fear. The recording da...

/247/ Why Isn't There Revolution pt. 2, ft. Vivek Chibber

[Patreon Exclusive]

On nostalgia, populism and postmodernism.

In the second part of the interview, we deal with contemporary political questions. Why is everyone nostalgic for the postwar era - and can there be a radical politics that seeks to 'go back'? Can the organisational vehicles of the past be revived? ...

/246/ Why Isn't There Revolution? ft. Vivek Chibber

On class & material self-interest.

We talk to Vivek Chibber about his new book, The Class Matrix: Social Theory After the Cultural Turn, which seeks to answer why capitalism has proven remarkably stable. Vivek...

/244/ Bunga NYC: Live Debate ft. Adam Tooze

On The End of the End of History

On 22 February 2022, at The People's Forum in Manhattan, Alex Hochuli and Adam Tooze were in conversation on the themes of the Bunga book and what comes next. The event was moderated by Christie Offenbacher (Damage Magazine).

Buy the book: 2022-03-01 11:55:40 +0000 UTC View Post

Livestream: Bunga in NYC - Debate + Book Launch

Alex Hochuli & Adam Tooze in conversation, chaired by Christie Offenbacher (Damage Magazine). 7pm ET. 

/243/ Bureaucracy Rules OK pt. 2, ft. Michael Lind

[Patreon Exclusive]

Part two of the interview with Michael Lind + the After-Party 

Is geopolitical conflict the only way the working class can extract concessions from states? And what might it take to break the power of the PMC? The discussion concludes with Michael telling us about why he thinks ‘Big U’...

/242/ Bureaucracy Rules OK ft. Michael Lind

On class wars, new and old.

Michael Lind, Professor of Practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, joins us to talk about what it might take to restore working class power in Western states. He explains some of the arguments in his book 2022-02-22 14:02:02 +0000 UTC View Post

/241/ Three Articles: Peace & Social War in North America

[Patreon Exclusive]

On dovish conservatives, Trumpist coup-mongers and Canadian truckers.

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Live debate/book launch in NYC, Feb 22nd: 2022-02-15 13:18:18 +0000 UTC View Post

Bunga in NYC

Hey friends in the New York area, come join us for a live debate/book launch on Tuesday February 22nd at 7pm, at The People's Forum.

And we'll be going for drinks afterwards nearby. 

Tickets are free but you just need to register: 2022-02-09 18:12:12 +0000 UTC View Post

/240/ Populist Interventions: Örebro Party ft. Malcolm Kyeyune

The first in an occasional series on new initiatives.

We speak to Malcolm Kyeyune of Sweden's Örebro Party about its origins, analysis and goals. Is a new working class politics to be found in direct opposition to the PMC or the 'transferiat'? How doe...

February Reading Club

The next Reading Club will be recored on Friday 4 March, so get your questions and comments in by then. We will be discussing Giorgio Amamben's State of Exception (2005). 

Local RCs:

There are groups already going in Ber...

/239/ Against Justice ft. Ross Wolfe

On the critique of egalitarian ideology.

We talk to writer Ross Wolfe about his essay "Marxism Contra Justice". Given that struggles for justice have been central to all sorts of radical movements, why is it important to cleave Marxist politics away from this notion? How are contemporary notions of 'social justice' alre...

/237/ Three Articles: Italy, Ukraine, Matrix

We take on Italy's election of a new president and what that tells us about permanent crisis, the EU and the curtailing of democracy; we ask how serious the risk of war in Ukraine actually is; and review a film we haven't seen. 

3 Articles:

• 2022-01-25 07:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Reminder: RC on Schmitt this Thursday

The recording of the first 2022 Reading Club will be this Thursday (27 Jan, 15h00 GMT). 

If you want to send us questions or points to discuss (either from yourself individually or collectively from your local RC), please do so by then s...

/236/ Green Nazi Paedos ft. Lily Lynch

On the German Greens' shady history.

Journalist Lily Lynch, editor of Balkanist, joins us to talk about her recent investigations into the Green Party, who are now back in power in Germany.

The 68ers attempted to combat authoritarianism and Nazi legacie...

Reading Club: January - Emergency Politics I

We'll be discussing Carl Schmitt's 1922 work Political Theology. 

The recording will be on 27 January, so get your questions in by then.