

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 12, 2021 • 1h 9min
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 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

Oct 5, 2021 • 23min
Excerpt: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 3
The third in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.
This is an excerpt. For the full 1h40min episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast
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 30, 2021 • 57min
/218/ Stability Über Alles ft. Wolfgang Streeck
On German's elections – and the costs of stability.
Wolfgang Streeck is back on the podcast to round-up Germany's elections last Sunday (26 September). What's behind the emphasis on continuity and competence? Is Germany stuck in the 2000s?
We also discuss the importation of US-style culture wars into Germany, the country's role in the Eurozone, and strategic relations with France.
The second part of the conversation – where we debate the end of neoliberalism and capitalist crisis – is over at patreon.com/bungacast.
Readings:
Will it Be Enough?, Wolfgang Streeck, Sidecar
“Order” Prevails in Berlin, Gregor Baszak, The Bellows
Things Can’t Go on Like This for the German Left, Alexander Brentler, Jacobin

Sep 28, 2021 • 30min
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 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
For access to all Aufhebunga Bunga content, including the entirety of this series, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Sep 24, 2021 • 5min
Excerpt: /217/ Reading Club: Intersectional Stalinism
This month's Reading Club is on Mike McNair's "Intersectionalism, the highest stage of western Stalinism?" from the journal Critique (pdf attached on Patreon).
How convincing is his genealogy in which he traces intersectionalism back to the 1930s Popular Front and 1960s soft Maoism? What function does intersectionalism play on the Left - and for the ruling class? And is McNair right that intersectionalism is self-defeating on its own terms? Or is it self-perpetuating?
Bungacast's monthly Reading Clubs are for subscribers $10+
Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

Sep 22, 2021 • 1h 8min
/216/ Goodbye Mutti! Election Preview ft. Dominik Leusder
On Germany's election this week.
Merkel has led Germany since 2005, outlasting any number of politicians across the West. What accounts for her longevity? How has such a non-ideological, post-political figure lasted so long?
Germany is finally leaving her motherly embrace. But why is continuity on the cards, despite the many global crises Germany has passed through?

Sep 21, 2021 • 38min
OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 1
The first in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.
In this episode, we look at the current, vexed discourse around generations, and analyse competing theories on how to understand generational cleavages.
Guests include:
Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin
Jennie Bristow, sociologist at Canterbury Christ Church University
Joshua Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
Original music by: Jonny Mundey
Additional music:
Peter Kuli / OK Boomer / courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group, Inc.
Liru / For the Floor / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
For access to all Aufhebunga Bunga content, including the entirety of this series, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Sep 14, 2021 • 7min
Excerpt: /215/ Organize the Incels?! ft. Alex Gendler
On the long history of involuntary celibates.
Alex Gendler talks to us about his essay in American Affairs, "The New Superfluous Men". With growing global concern about incels and increasing anti-terrorism focus on the supposed risks posed by lonely, angry men, we discuss why this discussion has emerged today and why it's gone global.
Why do our societies seem no longer to find use for young men? Do they benefit from patriarchy? And how does this all relate to class?
The full episode is available to subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

Sep 7, 2021 • 1h 2min
/213/ The Leopard Lockdown ft. Adam Tooze
On Covid and the end of the end of history.
Adam Tooze joins us to discuss his new book, Shutdown. In 2020 everything changed... so that everything might remain the same.
What were the reasons behind the global shutdown? Was it a result of over-protection, a policy of repression, or the result of structural tensions? Has China been the winner of the pandemic? How have central banks been victims of their own success? And does this represent the end of neoliberalism?
The latter part of the interview continues over on patreon.com/bungacast

Aug 31, 2021 • 7min
Excerpt: /212/ Three Articles: Middle-Class Anxieties
On net-zero, CCP nanny state, and optimised dating.
We start off discussing the HBO series "The White Lotus" before tackling three articles on middle-class anxieties: climate change and pressures on UK living standards; the Chinese state's crackdown on private tutoring; and women's attempt to avoid crappy men through 'Female Dating Strategy'.
The full episode is available to patrons only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
Articles:
Boris Johnson’s push for net zero plunged into chaos, Edward Malnick & Emma Gatten, The Telegraph (attached in patreon)
China’s nanny state: why Xi is cracking down on gaming and private tutors, Tom Mitchell & Thomas Hale, FT (attached in patreon)
‘Sales funnels’ and high-value men: the rise of strategic dating, Katie Cunningham, The Guardian