Aufhebunga Bunga

On media and the Millennial Left.   [Patreon Exclusive: for full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast]   Continuing the retrospective on the millennial left's failures, we invite political theorist Benjamin Studebaker back on. We discuss: Was left-populism a media event?  Was the Millennial Left just a moment in internet history? Having bought into the internet's possibilities, can we abandon it? Does it make sense to speak of a "millennial" left?  Faced with so many dead ends, do we need to "go monastic"? Links: The Millennial Left as a Moment in Internet History, Benjamin Studebaker Omelets with Eggshells: On the Failure of the Millennial Left, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs. Additional comments on Alex's Substack 

On the missed opportunity of the 2010s.   Chris Cutrone of Platypus joins us to talk about his collection of essays, The Death of the Millennial Left. We discuss: Why define it as the "Millennial" Left? Was the anti-Stalinism of leaderless protests a good thing? Did the talk of "winning" from 2015 onwards represent maturity? Should the turn to a more public, statist capitalism make us more optimistic? How will the 'lawfare' used against Trump play out? Links: The Millennial Left is dead, Chris Cutrone, Platypus The Death of the Millennial Left: Interventions 2006-2022, Chris Cutrone, Sublation

On the politics of emotions and emotionalism.   Philosopher Nina Power (an editor and columnist at Compact Magazine) kicks off this series by talking to us about anger, hate, and evil. Do we complain too little or too much? Should we be more repressed? Political passions were meant to be dead. Has anger overtaken apathy? Should we hate our enemies? Is that okay? Has contemporary society become hysterical? Why does everyone want to be a victim today? How does this relate to self-interest? Is evil a psychological concept? For part two, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast Links: What Do Men Want?: Masculinity and Its Discontents, Nina Power, Penguin Books Nina's columns at Compact Magazine Political Ponerology, Andrew Lobaczewski, Red Pill Press (pdf)

On Indonesia's new president and the End of History.   For the full episode: patreon.com/bungacast   Michael Vann, Indonesia expert and history professor at Sacramento State, joins us to talk through the election results. How did Prabowo go from wannabe fascist dictator to cuddly populist grandpa? Why is Jokowi "Indonesia's Obama"? What is Indonesia's Trump/Hunter Biden ticket? What's up with the $32bn new capital being built in Borneo? What is the Museum of Anticommunism, and how successfully has Indonesia's ruling class rewritten its history? Plus: why is metal so popular in Indonesia? Links: Suharto’s Old Guard Is Still Calling the Shots in Indonesia, Michael Vann, Jacobin Shadow Puppets and Special Forces: Indonesia’s Fragile Democracy, Michael Vann, The Diplomat (on police v military clashes) Indonesia state apparatus is preparing to throw election to a notorious massacre general, Allan Nairn, The Intercept Prabowo's 'fashy' 2014 campaign video Prabowo's 'cuddly' 2024 persona /391/ The Bigg

On our '1914 vibes'. And your questions & comments.    [Patreon Exclusive]   We discuss the parallels between our age (the end of globalisation, the threat of war) with the end of the Belle Epoque in the early 20th century. What might Lenin have to teach us?    We then turn to your questions and comments on: Palestinians as surplus population Peripheral countries as 'imitators' Whether Brexit has led to greater political accountability Why Ridley Scott sucks Why contemporary art sucks Bonapartism and techno-populism Romanticising dead workers - and old social-democrats Esoteric knowledge about how the world *really* works Readings: Lenin's Lesson for Western Liberals, Philip Cunliffe, UnHerd Why the Tories Are Blowing Brexit, George Hoare, The Northern Star    

On Indonesia: a country without a Left.   Foremost scholar of Indonesian politics and political economy, Vedi Hadiz of the University of Melbourne, joins us to talk through the country's politics in advance of the elections next week. What was the authoritarian order that followed the 1965 anti-communist massacres? How did the Asian financial crisis lead towards democratisation – and how did the old oligarchy manage to retain much of its power? How has Indonesia become "Islamified", and what is "Islamic populism"? How do class and ethnicity/religion interact in Indonesia? Who speaks for the "downtrodden"? Is the upcoming election a contestation between oligarchic populisms? Links: /121/ Those Murdering Bastards ft. Vincent Bevins, Bungacast Marketing Morality in Indonesia's Democracy, Vedi Hadiz, East Asia Forum The demise of the left and the Islamisation of dissent in Indonesia, Vedi Hadiz, Melbourne Asia Review (video) Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election Could Be the Last Battle of

On El Salvador and mass incarceration.    Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, has just been re-elected on a landslide. His trademark policy is a state of emergency and the locking-up of tens of thousands of suspected gang members. He also made Bitcoin legal tender. What is 'Bukelismo', will it last, and will it spread?    First, we talk to Nelson Rauda, an editor at investigative outlet El Faro about the mood in El Salvador, what the state of emergency has been like, who the main gangs are and whether Bukele has secretly been negotiating with them, and what opposition there is to Bukele's subversion of democracy and civil liberties.    Then, Juan Rojas, Latin America columnist at Compact Magazine, joins us to discuss why such 'mano dura' (iron fist) policies have failed elsewhere but why they continue to appeal across the region – including among the poor and working class.    For part two, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast   Readings: El Salvador’s Bitcoin Paradise Is a Mirage, Nelson Rauda, NY

On how to respond to conformity.   Lias Saoudi, frontman of the British band Fat White Family, joins us to talk about rock, popular culture and contemporary unfreedom. We discuss: Why are the kids taking less drugs? Can we respond to our nihilistic times with nihilistic art? What is the nature of conformity today? How to challenge conformity without sneering at the masses? Is there a romantic revival going on? Why is Lias interested in Ivan Illich? If living cheaply in big cities is now very difficult for artists, will something new emerge from the provinces? Links: Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family & the Miracle of Failure, Lias Saoudi & Adelle Stripe, White Rabbit Books Punk's spirit is broken, Lias Saoudi, UnHerd Is modern medicine making us sick?, Lias Saoudi, UnHerd Forthcoming album: Forgiveness Is Yours /353/ Bunga Sells Out ft. Jason Myles - on music and the spectacle /359/ Apollo Gets High ft. Benjamin Fong - on drugs in America

Double episode! On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing.   [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]   We wrap up the 2023 syllabus by taking on the second half of Arrighi's book, in which he analyses the over-reach and decline of the US empire, and whether China's rise and role in world affairs presents a different model, one that might be more peaceful. We discuss: How important was the neo-cons' Project for a New American Century? What were the long-term consequences of the Iraq invasion? What do we make of Arrighi's theoretical account of imperialism and the tension between territorial and capitalistic logics? Did the USA represent a "world state" after WWII, and how did it fail? What is the world-historic meaning of China’s development? Do we buy Arrighi’s attempt at a Smithean vision of inter-civilizational harmony? Links: Adam Smith in Beijing:Lineages of the Twenty-First Century, Giovanni Arrighi /305/ Techno-Feudal Unreason - on 'political' capitalism and plunder /250/ Oil & Disorder ft.

On Dirtbag and the Millennial Left.   Bungacast regular Amber A'Lee Frost is back to talk about her new book, Dirtbag — part memoir, part critical essays on millennial socialism. In this episode we discuss: Why "millennial"? Does it make sense to talk in generational terms? What are the left's "perversions" as Amber sees them? 'Occupy' was all leaderless, horizontalist crap. Why did Amber stick around? Bernie Sanders did not leave an organizational legacy – why? After the failure of left-populism, in US and Europe, was it all worth it? At patreon.com/bungacast we continue discussing the problems of DSA, as well as look forward to the US election and ask whether there's a vibe-shift at Davos.  Links: Dirtbag OK Bunger! The Problem of Generations (5-part Bungacast docu-series on generations)  

On what comes after human rights.   Juliano Fiori, essayist and director of Alameda Institute, joins us to talk about catastrophism and organising around "the end". We discuss: What was humanitarianism, and why was it the "last utopia"? What does humanitarianism look like in an era of multipolarity? Does Western liberal democracy have any gas left in it? What should we defend? What politics are generated by the prevailing sense of anxiety and melancholia? If modernity is over, do we need to reject all progressivism? And how do we orient around catastrophe without falling into the trap of emergency politics? Links: "Notes on our Melancholy Present" in Amidst the Debris: Humanitarianism and the End of Liberal Order, Juliano Fiori Towards a strategic catastrophism - a radicalism for catastrophic times, Juliano Fiori About Alameda

On the missed opportunity of the 2010s.   [Patreon Exclusive]   Chris Cutrone of Platypus joins us to talk about his collection of essays, The Death of the Millennial Left. We discuss: Why define it as the "Millennial" Left? Was the anti-Stalinism of leaderless protests a good thing? Did the talk of "winning" from 2015 onwards represent maturity? Should the turn to a more public, statist capitalism make us more optimistic? How will the 'lawfare' used against Trump play out? Links: The Millennial Left is dead, Chris Cutrone, Platypus The Death of the Millennial Left: Interventions 2006-2022, Chris Cutrone, Sublation

On NATO expansion and the end of neutrality   Previously a Patreon Exclusive. For more like this, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast   Lily Lynch is back on the pod to talk about Northern and Eastern Europe and growing hawkishness. We discuss: Why did Sweden and Finland give up decades of neutrality - and why now? What happens with an enlarged alliance in light of the conflict in Ukraine? How does the current moment compare to the apogee of the Non-Aligned Movement? Why were the realists right? How is tech mythology helping to build 'digital nationalism'? Why is there beef over grain between Poland and Ukraine? And what the hell are the "skin suit of social democracy" and the "Waluigi of neutrality"? Links: Joining the West, Lily Lynch, Sidecar The realists were right, Lily Lynch, New Statesman The EU’s great power delusions, Lily Lynch, New Statesman Guns, grain, and history, Lily Lynch, New Statesman Tech-Mythologies, Lily Lynch, Sidecar Imperfect Unity, Lily Lynch, Sidecar

FROM THE VAULT: PHIL'S PICK (2) The third in our Neoliberal Breakdown series. In which we discuss the late Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism, 10 years on. Does his analysis still hold? The mood music of the time - the age of 'TINA' and the end of history - was acutely described by Fisher. But did it only really describe Britain? And has the world now entered a new period? Readings: Capitalist Realism http://www.zero-books.net/books/capitalist-realism  'Exiting the Vampire Castle' https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/mark-fisher/exiting-vampire-castle  Mark Fisher's k-punk blog https://k-punk.org/    Cover image:

FROM THE VAULT: ALEX'S PICK (1) In which we lay the liberal establishment down on the shrink's sofa. It's a systematic analysis of liberal derangement: of the inability to accept, explain, or respond to the breakdown of the current order. Why can't the liberal establishment accept that the 2008 crisis would eventually have political consequences? Why can't liberals explain why they keep losing? Why can't they offer anything but more of the same? Symptoms: Incredulity and denial of political change Unwillingness to take responsibility Moralisation No belief in political causation (things just happen) Fetishising disinformation Elite persecution complex Hysteria & catastrophism Nostalgia for a very recent past & rewriting history Repetition compulsion  

On contemporary art.   Critic and editor at Art Review, JJ Charlesworth, joins us to talk about why so much contemporary art is bad. We discuss: Why is art no longer about beauty? Are we stuck between art that is either superficial or hyperpolitical? Why has there been a turn towards the mystical and irrational in art? How are ideas of the indigenous and the ecological represented in art today? Is there a romantic revolt against reason and is it new? Links: Criticism, Art and Theory in 1970s Britain: The Critical War, JJ Charlesworth The Return of Magic in Art, JJ Charlesworth, Art Review Gabriel Massan’s Decolonial Games, JJ Charlesworth, Art Review The naked truth about Marina Abramović – her ‘art’ is a joke, JJ Charlesworth, Telegraph

On Ridley Scott's Napoleon.   [Patreon Exclusive]   We couldn't avoid discussing the new biopic about the "world soul" himself, Napoleon Bonaparte. The film isn't great, but what can we learn from it? And how does it sit in a context in which most biopics today are about musicians, business leaders and scientists?   We discuss: Why did Scott choose to focus on Napoleon's relationship with Josephine? What is Scott trying to say, if anything, about Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars? Where are the depictions of youth, revolution and modernity? Are there any redeeming aspects to the film? What do we make of Phoenix's portrayal? Are we seeing the return of films about Great Men of History?

On taking control.   The Netherlands has elected an anti-EU rightist, but he won't take the Netherlands out of the European Union. Britain left the EU, but net migration to the UK has soared to its highest levels. What's going on?   In this special episode, Alex treats Phil and George as interview guests and grills them over their book, Taking Control: Sovereignty and Democracy after Brexit. We discuss: Why all the fuss for Brexit, when things have ended up the same as they were before? Why Brexit when the same politicians are still in charge? Why was no section of society able to lead Brexit with a positive vision of the future? Did Brexiteers need a more concrete proposal beyond "democracy"? What lessons can be learned from Brexit by others in the EU?

On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century   [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive]   We discuss the Part 2 of this landmark book from 2008, debating theories of Western economic decline: Robert Brenner's, and Arrighi's critique of it.   Points discussed: Are you 'Team Brenner' or 'Team Arrighi'? Was neoliberalism a counter-revolution? A passive revolution? A restoration? How does the depression of the 1870s compare to that of the 1970s or the post-2008 period? What are the characteristics of our own Belle Époque (1993-2007) What matters more in explaining the downturn: inter-capitalist global competition? Upward wage pressure? The role of the global South? Links: Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century, Giovanni Arrighi, Verso (2008)

On Australia's lockdown.   We welcome back Shahar Hameiri and Tom Chodor to talk about their new book, The Locked-Up Country, to try to learn some lessons from Australia's response to Covid-19. We also talk about the country's recent Indigenous Voice referendum and ask whether it was Oz's "Brexit Moment".   In the episode we ask: Was the pandemic another success for the 'lucky country'? How was the Australian state transformed from the 1970s to the 2020s? Why was Australia's pandemic planning inadequate? What was up with the hotel-based quarantines? Why did the public largely support these measure? And what can the rest of the world learn from the experience?