Bungacast

On the endgame to war in Ukraine.   Eminent Russian expert, Putin and Gorbachev biographer and ex-Sovietologist, Prof Richard Sakwa, joins us in advance of his imminent retirement from the University of Kent. We talk about the geopolitics of NATO expansion and the dynamics of the Ukraine war reaching back to 2014. How high is the risk of nuclear war now, and how might the Ukraine war play out? Readings: Whisper it, but Putin has a point in Ukraine, Richard Sakwa, The Spectator The Dual State in Russia, Richard Sakwa, Post-Soviet Affairs A Review of 'Frontline Ukraine' by Richard Sakwa, Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday Putin Redux: Continuity and change, Richard Sakwa, openDemocracy

[Patreon Exclusive]   On the whatever decade.   People are turning back to reinterpret the 1990s. Clearly, they were peak End of History years. But does that mean that no politics actually happened? If it's the period of the cultural turn, does that mean we should seek to understand that decade culturally?   And what are the political consequences of how we interpret the 1990s?   Readings: The 1990s: An age without qualities, Gavin Jacobson, New Statesman (attached) Were the 1990s Really Devoid of Politics?, Ryan Zickgraf, Jacobin The ‘90s: The decade that never ended, Jason Farago, BBC

If the End of History was characterised by post-politics, and the 'populist decade' of the 2010s dominated by anti-politics, then how should we understand more recent phenomena? Are the following of a qualitatively different nature to anti-politics, namely: the intensification of culture wars, growing polarisation that does not always align neatly with class, of increasingly hysterical and personalised politics, and of the competition between escalating emergency politics?  To commemorate the publication of the German edition of The End of the End of History, co-author Alex Hochuli was in conversation with historian of political thought, Anton Jäger at the Monacensia in Munich.

To commemorate the publication of the German edition of The End of the End of History, co-author Alex Hochuli was in conversation with David Broder, Europe editor of Jacobin Magazine at Spike Magazine, Berlin.   The crumbling of the liberal, technocratic order over the past decade has led to a variety of hysterical reactions from the establishment. Faced with new challenges to their authority, they have reacted by calling their opponents "fascist", blaming misinformation or adopting conspiracy theories of their own. How are we to understand these reactions and the apparent conflict between neoliberal technocracy and "populism"?

[Live events in Germany: Berlin / Munich] On emergency politics today. We talk to Geoff Shullenberger about competing emergency politics, left and right. Should politics be enjoyable and provide a frisson of transgression, or not? Is bare life all that's on offer? And is declaring the predominance of 'emergency politics' itself an emergency a problem? Readings: How We Forgot Foucault, American Affairs The Crisis of the Crisis, The New Atlantis

On crumbling state authority.   Benjamin Fogel is back on the podcast to talk us through how South Africa has gone from the hopes of post-apartheid to the Durban riots of 2021. How have corruption, criminal networks, Indian oligarchs, and political forces combined to shatter any sense of a national project? We also discuss the role of xenophobia and particularist and racial politics in today's South Africa.   Readings & Links: /27/ After Zuma ft. Sean Jacobs The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma, Benjamin Fogel, Al Jazeera Dons have KZN in their grip — and Don of Dons Jacob Zuma has the tightest grip, Chris Makhaye, Daily Maverick No two elephants are alike, Ryan Brunette, Africa Is A Country Rising vigilantism: South Africa is reaping the fruits of misrule, Landau & Misago, The Conversation

[Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]   On neoliberalism and biopolitics.   In the fifth session of the "Emergency Politics & Control" theme of the 2022 Reading Club, we take on The Birth of Biopolitics, Michel Foucault's 1978-9 lectures at the College de France (no's 4-6, 9-10).   How does Foucault trace a line between German ordo- and American neo-liberalism to biopolitics? What role does human capital play? Is 'biopolitics' a critique or a manual? And how useful a tool is it to understand the management of the Covid pandemic?

[Patreon Exclusive]   On the economic drivers and political choices of inflation.   In the absence of workers demanding higher wages, where is inflation coming from? Is there more to it than pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and the Ukraine war? How responsible is Biden's spending package? And how can generations who have never known serious inflation respond?   Three Articles: Chartbook #122: What drives inflation?, Adam Tooze, Substack Inflation Is No Accident, Christopher Caldwell, Compact Britain is drifting towards economic oblivion, Ben Marlow, Telegraph

[Patreon Exclusive] On your comments & criticisms. We tackle ideological realignments over the use of history; conspiracy theorising; a game-show called The Last True Marxist; whether we've had any progress over the last 50 years; and much more. 

On liberals' embrace of the past and history wars. We talk to Matthew Karp about his essay, "History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past". It seems as if there's an ideological inversion going on, where liberals see history in terms of original sin and cycles of injustice, or at best, want to relitigate the past in order to fight battles of the present. Meanwhile conservatives have abandoned the past. What does this say about current attitudes to capital-h History and making the future? Readings: History As End: 1619, 1776, and the politics of the past, Matt Karp, Harpers Ends in Sight: Marx/Fukuyama/Hobsbawm/Anderson, Gregory Elliott The End of the End of History, Bungacast