

Bungacast
Bungacast
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 7, 2025 • 59min
/418/ The Expressway World ft. Richard Williams
Richard J Williams, a Professor of contemporary visual cultures at the University of Edinburgh, discusses his new book, The Expressway World. He explores how expressways influenced urban life, revealing why many despise them while others admire their utilitarian beauty. The conversation delves into class struggles, the tension between ecological initiatives and gentrified public spaces, and how expressways can reflect social inequalities. Williams highlights the complexity of these infrastructures, urging a nuanced understanding of modern cities.

Sep 30, 2025 • 48min
/513/ Global Right: LATAM Division ft. Guilherme Casarões
Join Guilherme Casarões, an Associate Professor of Brazilian Studies and expert on the far right, as he delves into the fascinating interplay between Brazil and the U.S. He discusses Bolsonaro's sentencing and the strategic motives behind Trump's tariffs on Brazil, revealing limited economic rationale. Casarões highlights Eduardo Bolsonaro's role in connecting Latin America's radical right with MAGA. Explore how Bolsonarismo mirrors MAGA and what a potential Populist International Order might look like in today's political landscape.

8 snips
Sep 26, 2025 • 26min
/512/ Reading Club: Middle-Class Dreams & Nightmares
The discussion dives into Göran Therborn's analysis of the world's middle classes, questioning the sustainability of middle-class dreams in a changing economic landscape. Is being middle-class defined by consumption rather than income? The hosts explore shifting fears of economic stagnation and the evolving role of political populism among middle-class communities. They also debate the impact of automation on white-collar jobs and whether the professional managerial class will define the 21st century.

Sep 23, 2025 • 1h 19min
/511/ Britain's Tinderbox ft. Lisa McKenzie
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

Sep 16, 2025 • 26min
/510/ Couch Potatoes to Screen Sausages ft. Ryan Zickgraf
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

Sep 9, 2025 • 1h 18min
/509/ The Revenge of Ethnic Chauvinism ft. Orlando Patterson
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?

Sep 2, 2025 • 1h 6min
RE-RELEASE: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, 5
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
Filthy the Kid / Vampire / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

Sep 2, 2025 • 1h 9min
RE-RELEASE: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, 4
The fourth in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.
In this episode, we examine Generation X – the generation of the End of History. How was this generation overshadowed by the Boomer's failures? In the Eastern Bloc, the fall of Soviet regimes was a traumatic moment – how did this shape consciousness? And how did the Iranian Revolution – and subsequent war – shape the political perspectives of Iranians?
Guests include:
Maren Thom, film scholar
Alexei Yurchak, professor of anthropology at Berkeley
Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University
Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
Arash Azizi, historian of Iran at New York University
Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin
Original music by: Jonny Mundey
Additional music:
Kit Kruger / Freakin' Freefall / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

Sep 2, 2025 • 1h 43min
RE-RELEASE: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, 3
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 / Blumen / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
Elliott Holmes / Bull Chase / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
Kick Castle / Kick Down / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
T. Morri / Nuthin' but Nuts / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
Other Clips:
American Pastoral Trailer © 2016 - Lionsgate
Mai 1968 © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France
Imitation de Daniel Cohn-Bendit © C'est Canteloup
Baader Meinhof Complex © 2008

Sep 2, 2025 • 30min
RE-RELEASE: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, 2
The second in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.
In this episode, we look at the emergence of 'youth' as political concept in the age following the French Revolution, and its shifting meanings. How important was generational consciousness in the Young Italy movement and its imitators in the 19th century, and how should we understand the so-called 'Lost Generation' of 1914?
Guests include:
Niall Whelahan, Chancellor’s Fellow in History, Strathclyde University
Original music by: Jonny Mundey
Additional music:
Leimoti / Don't Leave It Here / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Leimoti / The Small Things / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Philip Ayers / Trapped in a Maze / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Walt Adams / Dark Tavern / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Other Clips:
Black 47 Trailer © 2018 - WildCard Distribution
Arracht Trailer © 2019 - Break Out Pictures
The Sun Also Rises © 2019 - 20th Century Fox
Mr Lloyd George Speaks To The Nation (1931) British Pathé