
Politics Theory Other
A podcast on radical politics, critical theory, and history. Hosted by Alex Doherty.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
Contact: politicstheoryother@gmail.com
Latest episodes

Jul 16, 2025 • 3min
Owen Hatherley responds to listener questions
Owen Hatherley responds to listener questions by Politics Theory Other

Jul 10, 2025 • 47min
Fake work and Y2K w/ Leigh Claire La Berge
Leigh Claire La Berge, a Professor of English at CUNY and author of Fake Work, shares her insights from her time at a major communications conglomerate during the Y2K crisis. She explores the absurdity of corporate culture and disillusionment with capitalism. Leigh dissects the socio-cultural dynamics of the late 1990s, the impact of the dot-com boom, and the unique challenges faced by women in the workplace. With a humorous take on Marxism, she calls for a deeper understanding of worker experiences and the cycles of economic belief and disillusionment.

Jul 5, 2025 • 1h 13min
[UNLOCKED] Look back in anger w/ Jeremy Gilbert
Jeremy Gilbert on the Oasis reunion and the britpop phenomenon more generally. We talked about the music that britpop marginalised, why 90s nostalgia is so prevalent, and why it was that of the various guitar groups of the time it was Oasis who became so successful in the mid 1990s.

Jul 1, 2025 • 47min
Aftermath of the Israel-Iran war w/ Séamus Malekafzali
Journalist Séamus Malekafzali joins PTO to talk about the aftermath of the Israel-Iran war. We chatted about where the cessation of hostilities leaves the two states militarily, and whether Iran's strategy of reliance on ballistic missiles and a loose regional alliance was wholly misbegotten or just poorly implemented. And we talked about why the Trump administration shifted from their red line of opposition to the weaponisation of Iran's nuclear programme to the hardline Israeli position that opposed enrichment entirely.In the interview we touched on Séamus' recent article in Parapraxis which you can read here:
https://www.parapraxismagazine.com/articles/axes-of-resistance

Jun 26, 2025 • 1h 14min
[UNLOCKED] Owen Hatherley on the Manic Street Preachers
Owen Hatherley returns to discuss his New Left Review article on the Welsh guitar band, the Manic Street Preachers. We talked about the particular appeal the group seemed to hold for working class kids from non-metropolitan backgrounds in the 1990s, and about the forbearance and occasional embarrassment that is the lot of fans who've followed their work in the subsequent decades. We also talked about why such an avowedly left wing and politicised group have shown such little regard for contemporary left movements such as the Corbyn moment in the UK.
Show notes:
Music:
Owen's acceptable Manics playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/53GV8dNKLZlo72Wp3GOdy5?si=e25a5413ece248ed&pt=8393e6591814e26432a7fd35670b2d43
Alex's reluctant Manics playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/55IG8eV1kVH3kwAfEo9Z2y?si=ee8bcba703fc437a&pt=9a1779265389af95dcd44445656ef4c8
Videos:
Faster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0f9qUheits
Faster TOTP performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5PI7k_ZiQ0
You Love Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgKXBJ2LZKo
A Design for Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ
Enjoyably angry Design for Life TV performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbdsc-YxGB4
4st 7lb acoustic MTV performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXrzttSPlc0
Motorcycle Emptiness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gavcjNniIvk
The Love of Richard Nixon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_G_R_1gMfc
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYvbtSTamRc
Further Reading:
Owen's New Left Review article
https://newleftreview.es/sidecar/posts/mislaid-plans
Everything (A Book about Manic Street Preachers) by Simon Price
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780753501399/Everything-Book-Manic-Street-Preachers-0753501392/plp
Triptych: Three Studies of Manic Street Preachers’ The Holy Bible by: Daniel Lukes, Larissa Wodtke, Rhian E Jones
https://repeaterbooks.com/product/triptych-three-studies-of-manic-street-preachers-the-holy-bible/

Jun 23, 2025 • 3min
Excerpt - Richard Seymour on the US attack on Iran
If you'd like to hear the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! Please consider becoming a £5 supporter of the show on patreon at patreon.com/poltheoryother

Jun 19, 2025 • 42min
Israel's war on Iranian society w/ Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, an insightful author on Iranian political thought, joins the discussion to unpack Israel's strategies against Iran. He argues that Israel's aims extend beyond nuclear threats to the undermining of Iranian society itself. The complexities of Iranian identity, resilience in the face of aggression, and the diaspora's role are examined. Additionally, Sadeghi-Boroujerdi explores the dynamics of U.S. foreign policy in relation to Iran and the contentious alliances within the region, highlighting the intricate geopolitical landscape.

Jun 11, 2025 • 4min
Excerpt - Owen Hatherley on the Manic Street Preachers
If you'd like to hear the rest of this episode please consider becoming a £5 p/m PTO supporter at patreon.com/poltheoryother

May 22, 2025 • 1min
Excerpt - Richard Seymour on the logic of the Gaza genocide
Richard Seymour discusses the abrupt increase in Western criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, China's energy transition, and how to understand the Trump administration.
If you'd like to hear this episode in full please consider becoming a £5/pm PTO supporter on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother

May 20, 2025 • 34min
The India-Pakistan conflict w/ Radhika Desai
Radhika Desai returns to PTO to talk about the latest round of violence between India and Pakistan, following the terrorist attack that killed 26 tourists in Indian administered Kashmir on April 22nd. We discussed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019, when the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi revoked the territory's special status under the Indian constitution and brought it under direct rule amid a wave of violent repression. We also talked about fears in Kashmir about the Indian government seeking to change the demographic balance in the territory, and about the scale of the fighting Pakistan and India - which far exceeded the previous round of the conflict in 2019.
Show notes: Our previous conversation can be listened to here:
https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/peak-hindutva-w-radhika-desai
Read more about Radhika's work here:
https://radhikadesai.com/
And Radhika's 2002 paper on India, Pakistan and the war on terror can be read here:
https://www.academia.edu/281710/Tryst_with_Fate_India_and_Pakistan_in_the_War_on_Terrorism_2002_