Politics Theory Other

Richard Seymour returns to answer listeners' questions on the history of Yemen and the emergence of the Houthi militia, comparisons made between Israel's actions in Gaza and the Nazi Holocaust, and on the way in which the Trump presidency has influenced the current situation in the Middle East. Listen to the full episode by becoming a £5 patron at https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Potential escalation in the Middle East due to Israel's assault on Gaza. Strategic calculations of Iran, Hezbollah, Houthi militia, and Israel. Possibility of US involvement. Impact on Egypt. Proceedings at the International Court of Justice. Israel's potential expansion of war to Lebanon. Iran's proxy escalation and Israeli response. Dissent within Biden administration. President Biden's age and pro-Israeli politics. Progress of Israel's assault on Gaza.

Sai Englert, an authority on settler colonialism, provides an overview of its history and resistance movements. They discuss economic logics behind genocidal campaigns, complex racialization processes, and Israel's place in the settler colonial tradition.

Around 2010 I became somewhat obsessed with Japanese pop and ambient music of the 1980s - in particular the Yellow Magic Orchestra, the solo records of the members of the group: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi and music by Akiko Yano, Yasuaki Shimizu and Hiroshi Yoshimura amongst many others. Last year I discovered that this was an enthusiasm shared with architectural historian, and very occasional pop music writer, Owen Hartherley who has since written an article partially on the topic: https://www.jencksfoundation.org/explore/text/japan-at-number-one-ryuichi-sakamoto-s-riot-in-lagos Although much of the episode is on the music itself, we also touch on the politics - particularly how these artists were influenced by and reacting to the culture of the 1960s New Left, during the extraordinary economic boom of the 1980s, and how some of these musicians reintegrated the memory of 20th century Japanese imperialism in Asia into their music. If you'd like to explore some of the music we discuss in the episode you can find an accompanying playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1eM8f2mq7vJYtYuTDq2EKW?si=7dd8d970fb8d4ad2 As well as tracks from the 80s, the playlist also includes some records from the folk rock era of the 1970s, as well as from Vaporwave and Future Funk genres - both of which were influenced by much of the 1980s work that Owen and I discuss. Unfortunately, there are plenty of fantastic records from this era that aren't currently available on the streaming services - including Akiko Yano's best work (especially the album Tadaima) Paradise of Replica by After Dinner, Ichiko Hashimoto's Beauty album, Miho Fujiwara's Heartbeat, Untotooku by Chiemi Manabe and the soundtracks to the animated films Akira and the Wings of Honnêamise amongst others. Do check those out too if you can - many of them are available on YouTube or to purchase from Bandcamp and other such outlets. Owen's article, 1980 in Parallax: Japan at Number One, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Riot in Lagos’: https://www.jencksfoundation.org/explore/text/japan-at-number-one-ryuichi-sakamoto-s-riot-in-lagos Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1eM8f2mq7vJYtYuTDq2EKW?si=7dd8d970fb8d4ad2

Richard returns to answer listener's questions on the situation in Gaza, the extent to which Joe Biden's support for Israel is about electoral calculations, the anti-Deutsch tendency and the pro-Israel current on the German left, and the threat of a global war, amongst other topics. Thanks as ever for your continued support for PTO.

Palestinian writer and academic Leila Farsakh joins the show to talk about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the parallels Leila sees between the current situation and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. We also talked about the revival of the idea of the one state solution and why Leila believes a two-state resolution to the conflict is no longer feasible. In the interview we touch on Leila's article in The London Review of Books, ‘The Refugee Problem’ and on her book, 'Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-determination beyond Partition'.

Richard Seymour responds to the arguments of Jonathan Freedland and other liberal Zionists who, despite the marginalisation of the liberal Zionist tradition within Israel itself, continue to produce talking points for supporters of Israel and the Western media in their coverage of Israel-Palestine.

Expert on Israel's high-tech industry and techno-solutionism, Sophia Goodfriend, discusses Israel's reliance on technology in waging war and its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The podcast explores flaws in Israel's security systems, the synergy between high-tech industry and military, and the impact of recent events on Tel Aviv's social atmosphere.

A 'start-up country', the world's first 'AI superpower', an 'innovation nation', those are some of the breathless descriptions used by Israeli politicians, security officials, journalists and business leaders to hail Israel's high-tech industry and its synergy with the Israeli military. But on October 7th, Israel's obsession with what Sophia Goodfriend describes as 'techno-solutionism' came back to haunt the country as Hamas succeeded in breaching the Gaza barrier at eighty different points and disabling many of Israel's automated weapons and surveillance systems. In today's episode of PTO Extra! I spoke with Sophia about her recent articles in The Baffler and Foreign Policy regarding Israel's high-tech methods of waging war and how it conducts its illegal and brutal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Amjad Iraqi, a Palestinian writer, discusses Israel's assault on Gaza and the future of the territory. They explore Israel's goal to eliminate Hamas, the concept of liberal Zionism, and the illusion of a viable Palestinian state. The podcast also analyzes the potential outcomes of defeating Hamas, Israel's objectives in the conflict, and the prospects of escalation and uncertainty. Additionally, they discuss Prime Minister Netanyahu's precarious position and the urgent need for rectification in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.