Aufhebunga Bunga

On living with modernity. Richard J Williams talks to Alex and George about his new book, The Expressway World and how cities have adapted to the infrastructural legacies of the mid-20th century. We talk about New York, London, São Paulo, Madrid, Glasgow and Seoul. Why do people hate expressways – and who actually loves them? What are Big Man cities? How do expressways bring together populism, authoritarianism, and capital? Why is the antidote to 20th century car-centricity always gentrified and sanitised public space? What are the class struggles that emerge over the expressway world? Is there a basic lie behind many "ecological" infrastructure projects? Links: The Expressway World, Richard J Williams, Polity Intersections, Owen Hatherley, Sidecar /113/ Globoville ft. Richard Williams

On the Bolsonaros, Milei and MAGA. Alex talks to Guilherme Casarões, Associate Professor of Brazilian Studies at Florida International University, about Bolsonaro's sentencing, Trump's tariffs on Brazil, and the bailout of Milei. Is the motivation behind the tariffs on Brazil just partisan interest? How has Jair Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, become point-man for the Latin American radical right's connection to MAGA? Is Bolsonarismo the closest to MAGA among the global radical right? Will a "Populist International Order" follow the Liberal International Order? Why is the nationalist Trump bailing out the libertarian Milei? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Then George, Alex and Ryan Zickgraf discuss the global radical right and whether Charlie Kirk's killing was its "George Floyd moment". Finally, the boys take listener questions & comments from the past month. (NB recorded 25 September)

On Göran Therborn's article, "Dreams and Nightmares of the World's Middle Classes". The penultimate episode of this block on the middle class, we discuss the differing fortunes and politics of the global North and South middle-classes – as well as ways they may be similar. Subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Is the middle-class dream increasingly only a dream? Can the "ever-rising middle-class wave" in China and India sustain itself? Is being middle-class defined by one's consumption? By income? By something else? How have fears changed: from being politically "squeezed" between to proletariat and bourgeoisie, to being economically "squeezed" and fearing falling? What politics do the middle-classes generate? What kind of populism?

On the UK's working-class unrest. Sociologist Lisa McKenzie talks to Alex and contributing editor Lee Jones about why the country feels like a powder-keg. What's behind protests like Unite the Kingdom? How responsible are far-right agitators? Why are threats posed to women and children such an explosive issue? What is the type of nationalism that is behind the proliferation of English and British flags? What are Farage's Reform promising and will they deliver? What of the immigration question? How is Corbyn's "Your Party" going, and why can't the Left seem to speak for or to the working class? Links: Getting By: Estates, Class and Culture in Austerity Britain, Lisa McKenzie, Bristol UP Lockdown Diaries of the Working Class, Lisa McKenzie James Treadwell thread on raising of flags, X

On critiques of entertainment. New contributing editor Ryan Zickgraf joins Alex and George to talk about the history of media critique and contemporary cases. How does consensus-age comedy like King of the Hill deal with hyperpolitics today? Is the reliance on archetypes a problem, or inherent to all comedy? Why is Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death still relevant? Is the Gen X critique of 'couch potatoes' and TV-watching similar to today's techlash? Have we become insensible to contradiction? Links: We’re still distracting ourselves to death, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd  King of the Hill reboot is ill-suited to the Trump age, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd

On slavery, racism, and the politics of freedom. Renowned sociologist Orlando Patterson talks to contributing editor Alex Gourevitch about themes brought up by his recent The Paradox of Freedom as well as his works as a whole. Why is the study of slavery too affected by the exceptional US American experience? In what way is violence a constitutive feature of slave relations that aren’t true of others? Are we still mired in a politics of ethnic chauvinism? What does it mean for ethnic minorities to engage in self-criticism? Is there a politics of freedom that is hopeful today or has it been eclipsed?

The fifth and final part of a series on generational consciousness and conflict. In this episode, we examine the Millennials and Generation Z. Uniquely, generation war today seems to be a conflict over resources more than over values. Is there any basis for this, and what do Millennials actually want? With generational and class conflict seemingly bound together today, we analyse 'Generation Left' and 'Millennial Socialism'. And we ask what the effect of the pandemic may be on the creation of a Gen Z consciousness. Guests include: Paul Taylor, former director, Pew Research Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative Clive Martin, journalist who has written for VICE Magazine Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Jennifer Silva, assistant professor in sociologist, Indiana University Original music by: Jonny Mundey Additional music: Cacti / I Will Be Waiting / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Fi

The third in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.   In this episode, we examine the Baby Boomers – myth and reality. The revolt of the '60s has been misunderstood in many dimensions. Was it betrayed or did it always express capitalist ideology? Were the Boomers the ones who really did the 1960s anyway? And what world have the Boomers created as they passed through life – and institutions?   Guests include: Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow Jeffrey Alexander, professor of sociology at Yale University Holger Nehring, chair in contemporary European history at the University of Stirling Kristin Ross, professor emeritus of comparative literature at New York University Original music by: Jonny Mundey   Additional music: Medité / A Change in My Heart / courtesy of epidemicsound.com Ondolut /

On disruption, disturbance, decline, decay. We continue our attempt to conceptualise the present moment by looking at Silicon Valley-style disruption, geopolitical disturbances and 'polycrisis', and decline & decay along two axes: normative vs descriptive, and geopolitical and universal. Then we deal with your questions and comments over the past month on: religious authority; Russia, imperialism, and the USSR; and the limitations to 'the national interest'. Subscribe for the full episode: patreon.com/bungacast

[Bungacast is on holiday, so we're unlocking/re-releasing a July 2021 episode that was previously only available to higher-tier subscribers] We discuss Michael Lind's The New Class War. Lind identifies new lines in the class war, between working class and managerial overclass, between those in the "heartlands" and those in the "hubs". How convincing is this account? What is his critique of technocratic managerialism and its symptom, populism? How convincing - and realistic - is his solution of "democratic pluralism"? And is this only achievable as a result of a new cold war with China?

On The National Interest. Aufhebunga Bunga co-founder and contributing editor Phil Cunliffe joins us to talk about his new book about politics after the age of globalisation. We ask questions about his book – and then put him on trial for wrongthink. SUBSCRIBE: PATREON.COM/BUNGACAST Who is the 'national interest' good for? Is it a domestic or a foreign policy concern? Why did the 'national interest' disappear from our political vocabulary? Is the national interest an abstraction anyone can rhetorically claim? Is that not dangerous? What happens if leading politicians – or elites in general – adopt the national interest? Would this be good or bad? Will Trump's re-assertion of US interests push others to defend theirs? Does the national interest stand against class interests? Is this anti-socialist? Was Stalin-style socialism-in-one-country actually correct? Has Phil come around to supporting Roosevelt-style social democracy? Links: The National Interest: Politics After Globalization, Philip C

On image-enhancing drugs. Jason Myles of This Is Revolution is back on, talking to George and Alex H about his article in Damage on increasing steroid use. What does the discourse around 'fake natties' tell us about authenticity? Do SSRIs provide "fake happy"? If steroids are a short-cut, how do we understand the "work" in "working out"? Is the taboo on drug use completely gone? Are we medicating to counter the side-effects of other meds? How do issues such as steroids and trans reveal contradictory attitudes to the body? Have the links between body, image, sex, and eroticism been erased? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Self-Catfishing with Steroids, Jason Myles, Damage  Shedeur Sanders and the Marketization of College Sports, Jason Myles, Damage  /359/ Apollo Gets High ft. Benjamin Fong

On Franz Jakubowski's Ideology and Superstructure in Historical Materialism. We focus on a very short section from Jakubowski's 1936 book, and delve into wider questions regarding ideology, social totality, and the middle classes. Is ideology “false, partial consciousness”? Is Jakubowski right that capitalism is the least ideological social form so far? Is it true that the middle classes only come into contact with the commodity when it is in circulation? How is the middle class' social position reflected in its worldview? How has this changed over 100 years? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Ideology and Superstructure in Historical Materialism, Chapter: “Ideology and the Classes of Bourgeois Society” (pp. 49-52) OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations (FULL) The Middle-Class Leviathan: Corona, the "Fascism" Blackmail, and the Defeat of the Working Class, Elena Lange & Joshua Pickett-Depaolis The Rise of the Professionals, George Hoare, Compact  

On resistance and reform in southeast Asia. Historian Sean Fear talks to Alex H and Lee Jones about Vietnam on the 50-year anniversary since the end of the war. How is Vietnamese identity wrapped up with the notion of resistance? Is Chinese influence as great as resistance to China? How is the ‘American War’ thought about in Vietnam today? How similar is Vietnam to China: defying Fukuyama’s thesis by retaining a state-socialist political system while adopting capitalism? Why has Vietnam achieved rapid growth and development while neighbours have failed? How is Vietnam reacting to being at the centre of Trump tariff disputes? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: The Republic of Vietnam, 1955–1975: Vietnamese Perspectives on Nation Building, Sean Fear, Tuong Vu (eds.), Cornell UP /115/ Singapore Shangri-La ft. Lee Jones Post-Cold War Vietnam: stay low, learn, adapt and try to have fun – but what about the party?, Adam Fforde

On the end of the end of history and what comes next. Phil is back on the pod, talking with George and Alex about the big themes of the podcast. In particular, we look at a recent essay in Foreign Policy by historian Christopher Clarke called "The End of Modernity". To what extent was the 1989 moment as significant in Beijing as Berlin? Is Trump actually Stalin (but in a good way)? Is Russia the revisionist power? And if so, in what regard and what are the consequences? Who says the choice is between "liberal democracy" and "authoritarian populism"? Then, we take your questions and comments from the past month. For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: The End of Modernity, Christopher Clarke, Foreign Policy The End of the End of History: Politics in the Twenty-First Century, Bungacast, Zer0 Books Into the Abyss, Ed McNally, Tribune

On the "return of religion" in Britain. [Patreon Exclusive] Journalist Lamorna Ash talks to George and Alex about how and why young people might be turning to religion today. Have things moved on from the New Atheists and their critique of religion? What are the divides in Christianity today? How do culture wars over sexuality play out? Why do ritual, quiet, and the 'new monasticism’ hold appeal today? Is Gen Z's pessimism a type of apocalyptic thinking? Is it related to environmentalism? The After Party, following the interview, is at 00:51:30. Links: Don't Forget We're Here Forever, Lamorna Ash, Bloomsbury The Tyranny of Structurelessness, Jo Freeman, Damage Reading Club on Martin Hägglund’s This Life: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

On Arno Mayer's "The Lower Middle Class as Historical Problem". We kick off the third block of the 2024/25 Reading Club, which is dedicated to the question of the middle class: The abatement of class struggle between workers and owners has shone a light on the role of the middle classes. Beyond the resurgence of the debate around the much-maligned professional-managerial class (PMC), what is the true role of the middle class in politics and society? Who rules today – and how would we go about answering that question? In this episode we discuss: Is the lower middle class still the main recipient/consumer of popular culture? Is the condition of the lower middle class in fact universalised across society today? Is the lower middle class a "classless class"? Is this class united or in fact divided? Is is the main site of political contestation today? Of culture wars? For access, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: The Lower Middle Class as Historical Problem, Arno Mayer Regime Crisis: The Pers

We celebrate 500 episodes of Aufhebunga Bunga with a cold, hard look at the decay around us. Alex and George plus contributing editors Lee Jones and Alex Gourevitch wrangle with four principal questions: What does it mean to say our era is one of decay or decline? How does this relate to the non-death of neoliberalism – its intellectual destitution, its practical weakening, but also its mutation and perpetuation? How does neoliberal decay relate to the decline of a unipolar world under total US hegemony, and the decline of the liberal globalist order? To what extent is the decay of representative democracy cause or consequence of the above? And finally, as we have been asking since we started this podcast in 2017: what comes next? For all Bungacast content, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast, and for our monthly newsletter, click here. Readings: Geopolitics at the End of the End of History, Lee Jones, The Northern Star Technofeudalism vs Total Capitalism, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs (forthcom

On shame, guilt and responsibility. Taylor Hines, an editor at Damage magazine, talks to George and Alex about his essay "Fool Me Twice" in Issue 4 of the magazine, which deals with the theme Responsibility. Remember, subscribers to Bungacast get a complimentary online subscription to Damage! We discuss: Why is Robert Eggers' Nosferatu about shame? What about the Rape of Lucretia? What can Frédéric Gros’ A Philosophy of Shame tell us? What's the difference between shame and guilt? Do psychoanalytic thinkers like Christopher Lasch and Melanie Klein clarify the matter? Why do we need to Make Guilt Great Again – but not as affect, as a sense of responsibility? For the full episode subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Fool Me Twice, Taylor Hines, Damage Issue 4: Responsibility, Damage Do you often feel ashamed? Maybe you should, Nina Power, Daily Telegraph

On Iran and its Axis of Resistance. Historian Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi talks to Alex about the leadup and aftermath of the so-called "12-Day War between Iran and Israel and the US. Hamas and Hezbollah have been humbled, Assad is gone from Syria – how weakened is Iran? Did the 12-Day War actually happen? What prevented it becoming a wider war? What is the meaning of Israel's maximalist aims of regime change and regional dominance? Why is Iran now leaning into Iranian nationalism, even using pre-revolutionary symbols? Is a nuclear Iran now inevitable? What lessons will it draw? How has the region been reconfigured over the past two years? What about Saudi and the Gulf states? Subscribe to this podcast at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Iran and the ‘Axis of Resistance’: A Brief History, Eskandar Sadeghi, Jadaliyya Culmination, Eskandar Sadeghi, Sidecar The Failson and the Flag, Golnar Nikpou & Eskandar Sadeghi