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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.

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36 episodes
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Avg 57 min
English

Episodes 36

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#589
Yesterday · 1 hr 19 min
/568/ Is There a 'Meloni Model' for Europe? ft. David Broder
On Italy, right-wing culture war, and hegemony. David Broder is back on the pod, talking to Alex and Lee about how Giorgia Meloni has managed to become Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister. What accounts for Meloni’s longevity? Has she ruled on 'pure ideology' alone? Does her moderation and Atlanticism tell us something about what the new right does in power? Is there a moral economy the radical right has managed to mobilise, beyond the culture wars? Producers versus parasites? Is European politics still liberal technocrats versus right-wing populists? How will European governments fare over the next year as the 'cost-of-living' crisis bites? Links: Giorgia Meloni Has Finally Suffered a Defeat, David Broder, Jacobin The Extreme Center Survives, David Broder, Catalyst Mussolini’s Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy, David Broder Silvio Berlusconi: An Oral History, Bungacast /153/ Repubblica di Bunga ft. David Broder, Bungacast
#588
Friday · 1 hr 4 min
/567/ Did They Dump Trump on Blue Tuesday? ft. Ryan Zickgraf
On the US midterms and the beginning of the end of Trump. Ryan Zickgraf talks to Alex about an election of real import, and whether it is an endorsement of the Democrats or mere anti-incumbency. --> Subscribe: patreon.com/bungacast How much was this about affordability? The Iran war? Is woke coming back? What will happen to the Trump administration in its final two years? Will MAGA fragment or will someone assume leadership over it? Will the Democrats move "left" and what would that mean? Is this a win for the DSA? Was this the first ever election over Artificial Intelligence? Links: Get ready for Left populism: Democratic centrism just died, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd America turns on Donald Trump’s tech cheerleaders, FT Identity Politics Have Entered a New Phase, Jia Lynn Yang, NYT /558/ Sewer Socialism, or Left in the Toilet? ft. Ross Barkan
#587
November 3 · 48 min
/566/ The Last Big French Crisis ft. Charles Devellennes
On the pupils' protests and wider riots. Charles Devellennes, author of books on Macron and French protests, is back on the pod, talking to Alex about a month of insurrection in France. –> For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Why are these types of revolts so common in Macron's France? Are things that bad – or do the French have higher standards? Why did the secondary school pupil's protests explode into something bigger? Are the demonstrations "anti-French"? Even anti-civilisation? Can the radical left profit or is it Le Pen's presidency to lose? Links High school protests met with unparalleled repression, Charles Devellennes substack The Gilets Jaunes and the New Social Contract, Charles Devellennes France: between the bond market and the barricades, FT France's riots: revolution without utopia, Muriel Zagha, Engelsberg Ideas France’s long history of revolt, Julian Jackson, Engelsberg Ideas
#586
October 27 · 1 hr 27 min
/565/ New Right Modernizers? ft. Orlando Lima [in Portuguese]
On Brazil and national reconstruction. In our first ever episode in Portuguese, Alex speaks to Orlando Lima (editor of Valete, in-house magazine of new right-wing party, Missão) about the party and how Orlando came to be a "right-wing Zizekian". Video with English subtitles and AI dubbing available at YouTube Are left and right still meaningful identifiers? Is Brazil actually "pre-modern"? What does modernization entail? What is patrimonialism and how can it ever be good? How can a War on Crime not lead to repression and gangsterism? What about inequality? How is Missão similar or different to radical-right parties in Europe or North America? Links: Can Anyone Save Brazil, Alex Hochuli, UnHerd The Duck-Billed Platypus, Chico de Oliveira, NLR The Brazilianization of the World, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs Valete magazine /461/ Welcome to the World of the Right ft. Michael C. Williams /532/ Is This a Paleocon Foreign Policy? ft. JF Drolet
#585
October 20 · 34 min
/564/ The Wealth of Those with No Wealth ft. Joscha Abels
On infrastructure – who owns and who controls it. Scholar Joscha Abels talks to Lee and Alex about global infrastructure, from satellites to cloud computing to undersea cables. --> For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast What, actually, is infrastructure How has public versus private provision of infrastructure changed? How much do tech oligarchs actually control the infrastructure we depend upon? Are we leaving neoliberalism behind? Have state and corporations fused into one? How vulnerable is global infrastructure to sabotage?
#584
October 13 · 58 min
/563/ Kingly Contradictions in Morocco ft. Merouan Mekouar
On migration, monarchy, and legitimacy. Merouan Mekouar, professor of development studies at York University in Toronto, gives Alex and Lee an in-depth view of a country at the centre of multiple tendencies. –> Subscribe for more like this, at patreon.com/bungacast What actually happened with the stream of migrants at the Moroccan border with Ceuta (Spain)? How much of a pressure valve does outward migration provide in Morocco? What does Moroccan neoliberalism look like? What is elite cooptation? How has Morocco avoided mass protest ,and what does the monarchy's legitimacy rest on? How it Morocco pursuing "polyalignment", between China, US, EU...? What's up with the massive infrastructure push ahead of the 2030 World Cup which Morocco will co-host? Links: Beyond the Model Reform Image: Morocco’s Politics of Elite Co-Optation, Merouan Mekouar, GIGA Doing Research as a Native: A Guide for Fieldwork in Illiberal and Non-Democratic States, Kira D. Jumet and Merouan Mekouar (eds), OUP
#583
October 6 · 1 hr 18 min
/562/ No More Populist Shortcuts? ft. Daniel Tutt & C. Derick Varn
On dead ends and new beginnings. Socialist writers, teachers and podcasters, Daniel Tutt and C. Derick Varn, talk to Alex and George about their pamphlet, The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism, which came out this year. Is left populism not dead and buried? What's wrong with trying to unite people against the elite? What is the 'populist method' of class analysis? Are professionals and managers a class, and are its interests always opposed to the working class? Where did post-Marxists go wrong? Links: The People Are Not One: Socialist Strategy After Left Populism, Revol Press, 2026 Varn Vlog Emancipations podcast
#582
September 29 · 58 min
/561/ Who Actually Rules Brazil? ft. Juliano Fiori
On sovereignty and Brazil's election. Juliano Fiori, Alameda Institute director, talks to Alex about Lula versus (Flávio) Bolsonaro through the lens of internal and external threats to sovereignty. Is this an election about nothing? What is at stake? How did the Left reappropriate the defence of Brazilian interests? What's behind US interference in Brazil? Is it economic or political? How does the state reflect social fragmentation? Does Brazilian territory suffer from a deficit or an excess of sovereignty? For the full episode, subscribe: patreon.com/bungacast Links: Sovereigns of Brazil, Juliano Fiori, Alameda Soberanos de um Brasil fragmentado, Juliano Fiori, piauí At the UN, Brazil's Lula warns against foreign interference in upcoming election, Reuters
#581
September 22 · 1 hr 17 min
Nowhere Everywhere? Place in a Digital World. Part four.
A docu-series from Bungacast. This sequence of interviews, conversations and meetings were recorded mostly in New York – the capital of the 20th century – in order to ask what the future of place is in the 21st century. In part four, we finish off by digging into New York itself to look at the great contradictions of modernism. We conclude by asking what the capital of the 21st century is, and who, if anyone, is planning it. This fourth episode features: Catherine Liu, Professor of Film & Media Studies, UC Irvine Damage summit participants Nick Burns, writer, editor Miodrag Mitrašinović, Professor of Urbanism and Architecture, The New School This documentary was made with the collaboration of our friends at Damage magazine.
#580
September 22 · 1 hr 12 min
Nowhere Everywhere? Place in a Digital World. Part three.
A docu-series from Bungacast. This sequence of interviews, conversations and meetings were recorded mostly in New York – the capital of the 20th century – in order to ask what the future of place is in the 21st century. In part three, we explore the political economy of place: what produces the city, and what the city produces. We also ask whether place-based cultural scenes are still possible. This third episode features: Christie Offenbacher, psychologist Greg Gabrellas, psychiatrist Damage summit participants Pierre d'Alancaisez, critic and curator Matthew Gasda, playwright This documentary was made with the collaboration of our friends at Damage magazine.
#579
September 22 · 1 hr 33 min
Nowhere Everywhere? Place in a Digital World. Part two.
A docu-series from Bungacast. This sequence of interviews, conversations and meetings were recorded mostly in New York – the capital of the 20th century – in order to ask what the future of place is in the 21st century. In part two, we explore "non-places", and ask whether their proliferation presents a challenge to the development of democratic politics. We also inquire into junk spaces and hyper-places. And ask what kind of politics and ideologies a digital life throws up. This second episode features: Amber Trotter, psychologist Damage Summit participants Alex Gendler, writer Joshua Citarella, artist, writer, host, Doomscroll This documentary was made with the collaboration of our friends at Damage magazine.
#578
September 22 · 54 min
Nowhere Everywhere? Place in a Digital World. Part one.
A docu-series from Bungacast. This sequence of interviews, conversations and meetings were recorded mostly in New York – the capital of the 20th century – in order to ask what the future of place is in the 21st century. Over this multi-part documentary, we examine public space and non-places; privatisation, gentrification and digitalisation; the role of rent and of local scenes. The ultimate question is, is politics possible without a sense of place? This first episode features: Richard J Williams, Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures, University of Edinburgh Miodrag Mitrašinović, Professor of Urbanism and Architecture, The New School This documentary was made with the collaboration of our friends at Damage magazine.
#577
September 15 · 33 min
/560/ Indonesia's Putin ft. Vedi Hadiz
On oligarchy and the end of reform. Vedi Hadiz is back on to talk to Lee and Alex about Indonesia, amidst severe economic instability in the country. What does the ascendancy of Prabowo Subianto represent? What is going on with the erratic economic policymaking? How is Prabowo bullying other oligarchs, and is it working? What similarities are there between Prabowo and Putin, or even Trump? – For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Oligarchy and the End of Reformasi in Indonesia: Power Reorganised, Vedi Hadiz & Richard Robison Prabowo’s Clampdown on Indonesian Tycoons Fuels Capital Flight, Bloomberg /391/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About ft. Vedi Hadiz
#559
September 8 · 31 min
/559/ Global Jihad: 9/11 at 25 ft. Philip Cunliffe
On the complex connections between globalisation and political Islam. The OG Bunga Boys reflect on the quarter-century since that spectacular terrorist attack, and talk about Phil's recent essay on the waning of Islamism. Whatever happened to 'solving' Islamic radicalism through moderate conservatism? Is the end of globalisation also the end of global jihad? Why? Why did Islamism fail in pursuit of state power? Will the Left back 'Islamopopulism'? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: The Man Who Was Friday: Global Islamism after Unipolarity, Philip Cunliffe, American Affairs The Interventionist Future of the DSA, Philip Cunliffe, Compact NOW UNLOCKED: /355/ F***ing and shooting are not the same
#576
September 1 · 1 hr 11 min
/558/ Sewer Socialism, or Left in the Toilet? ft. Ross Barkan
On Zohran Mamdani. Writer Ross Barkan, author of The Revolutionary on the New York mayor, talks to Ryan Zickgraf and Alex Hochuli about what Mamdani means for the Left. How did Mamdani mute cultural progressivism to focus concentrate on rent, transport, childcare and food? Is municipal socialism part of a strategy to rebuild national power, or is it a retreat to the cities after the failure of Bernie? Is the New York strategy replicable elsewhere in the US? How is Mamdani different from AOC? Is Mamdani a populist, not a socialist? Is the rentier, rather than the worker, the subject of politics? Links: Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics, Ross Barkan Ross Barkan on Mamdani and where DSA goes from here, Current Affairs The New Socialist Revolution, Ross Barkan NYC-DSA endorsement and platform overview How Mamdani used social media to build a movement, The Washington Post Brandon Johnson: Sewer Bill socialist, Ryan Zickgraf
#575
August 25 · 35 min
/557/ Letters to the Editors: Aug 2026
We deal with your questions, comments and criticisms from the past month. Key issues: How big a deal, historically, is the US's failure in Iran? Is populism rooted in resentment and/or cynicism? Why is fascism not the right label for Trump? How to debate immigration? Are NGOs and international organisations actually relevant? For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: /152/ I Can't Believe It's Not Weimar ft. David Broder Debating the F-Word, Bunk History The National Interest in Women’s Freedom, The Northern Star The Civic Foundations of Fascism in Europe, Dylan Riley
#574
July 21 · 4 min
Where's Bungacast? Nowhere...Everywhere
Taking a short break – back in late August.
#573
July 13 · 1 hr 43 min
/556/ World Cup 2026: Stick to Politics ft. Many Guests
On politics and football. Alex is joined by Karl Sharro, Juan David Rojas, Tim Abrahams, and Euan Marshall to pick over the stories of this World Cup. If the World Cup is a branding exercise for the hosts, what exactly is the USA selling here? And Mexico? Canada? Are conspiracy theories good, actually? Is Argentina evil? Should you support the global South against the colonisers? Are evangelicals responsible for Brazilian failure? Do you need central planning to become good at football? When 23% of players at the WC are foreign born, how can globalisation be ending? >> For more like this, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast << Links: Football won’t rescue the nation, Alex Hochuli, Africa Is a Country Note to Leftists, Do Not Squander The World Cup!, Juan Rojas, Substack Blood ties and opportunity: Why more World Cup players than ever are not representing their birth nations, BBC
#572
July 7 · 43 min
/555/ Who Denies US Empire? ft. Daniel Bessner
On 'imperialist realism'. Daniel Bessner, historian, is back on to discuss the relation between US foreign policy and ideology. He talks to Alex and Lee about his forthcoming book and other writings. Why has acceptance of imperialism accompanied declining support for empire? What is the US's sense of mission and how does this coexist with cynicism? Is US politics stuck between liberal guilt and conservative suprematism? Does nothing ever actually change? Is the US even a democracy? What would an effective anti-imperialist politics look like? The full episode is for subscribers only, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast Links: Power without Ideology, Daniel Bessner, The Ideas Letter Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century, Daniel Bessner, Zer0 Books /464/ Decline Under The Donald ft. Daniel Bessner
#571
June 23 · 1 hr 30 min
UNLOCKED: /551/ Reading Club: Mythologies ft. Catherine Liu
On Roland Barthes' Mythologies. (This is an unlocked episode from our Reading Club. Subscribe for more like this.) Alex, George, and contributing editor Catherine Liu delve into Barthes' 1957 classic to understand the form of ideology critique it proposes – and particularly as it relates to left and right. If the bourgeoisie generates myth, is revolution a cathartic act that gets us beyond myth? Is the direct producer also unable to speak myth, or is this a romanticisation? What are predominant left-wing myths today? Is "left vs right" a myth of sorts? Is the critic of myths condemned to live a "theoretical sociality"? Should people just be allowed to enjoy things?

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