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The global politics podcast at the end of the End of History. Politics is back but it’s stranger than ever: join us as we chart a course beyond the age of ’bunga bunga’. Interviews, long-form discussions, docu-series.a’.
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/398/ Emotion Sickness: The Politics of Feelings (II) ft. Ashley Frawley (sample)
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 -
/397/ Reading Club: Imagined Communities (sample)
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. -
/396/ Enough Carnations? Portugal Decides, ft. Catarina Príncipe
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 -
Big news: Bungacast is getting bigger, better
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! -
/395/ A Coup From Within the Computer ft. Benjamin Studebaker (excerpt)
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 -
UNLOCKED /382/ Death of the Millennial Left ft. Chris Cutrone
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
Customer Reviews
The real deal
Sharp political analysis from the left, surprisingly free of sadomasochistic sanctimony.
A rising star on the podcast scene.
Transatlantic left political analysis and critique.
Awesome podcast, a must listen
A great and insightful listen. Breathes new life into political podcasts