Episodes
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
/162/ Gaming & Politics ft. Jonas Kyratzes
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Tuesday Nov 24, 2020
Game writer & designer Jonas Kyratzes joins us to talk about the art of games, the culture of gaming, the gamification of society, and the identity politics of gamer culture. How far has Jonas’ own philosophy influenced his writing for games, such as “The Talos Principle”? We also talk politics in both Greece, focusing on Syriza failure. Plus, could Bunga co-host Philip Cunliffe’s book ‘Lenin Lives!’ ever be made into a game?
Readings:
- Games & Politics, Centre for Art & Media, Karlsruhe
- Jonas Kyratzes website
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Excerpt: /161/ Culture Is Bad For You ft. Mark Taylor
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
/160/ Enemies of the People (Large & Very Small) ft. Wolfgang Streeck
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
On Germany, the hegemon of Europe.
We are joined by leading German public intellectual Wolfgang Streeck to discuss the role of Germany at the end of the End of History. How is it and the EU faring under the assault of Covid-19? We cover Germany’s economic miracles - postwar and post-2008 -, Merkel’s tactical brilliance and strategic ignorance, and how France retains more of a sense of history.
Also: why democracy sometimes needs an AK47.
Readings:
- Critical Encounters, Wolfgang Streeck, Verso (2020)
- Letters from Europe, Wolfgang Streeck (in EN & ES)
Saturday Nov 07, 2020
/159/ Biden Time ft. Amber A'Lee Frost & Alex Gourevitch
Saturday Nov 07, 2020
Saturday Nov 07, 2020
On the US election, a huge turnout and the end of Trump.
We survey the results of the presidential and legislative elections, peer through the exit polls and discuss some counterintuitive facts: Florida goes Trump but opts for a $15 minimum wage; California goes Biden while Uber gets its way; Trump did protectionism but it didn't help him win the Rustbelt; the Republicans win over more Latinos – but do Latinos even exist?
And the big questions: Will Biden and the Democrats have any authority now that they don't have anti-Trumpism to drive them? Is a Biden administration to be a Silicon Valley dictatorship? And will the GOP be Trumpism without Trump?
Readings:
- Are the Democrats losing on purpose? Amber Frost & Daniel Bessner, Jacobin
Tuesday Nov 03, 2020
Excerpt: /158/ Three Articles: Cosmopolitan Austerity & Control
Tuesday Nov 03, 2020
Tuesday Nov 03, 2020
Full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
In this latest Three Articles, we discuss cosmopolitanism, the end of austerity (maybe?) and social control in the pandemic.
Readings:
- Is cosmopolitanism our destiny?, Aris Roussinos, Unherd
- Meet the Philosopher Who Is Trying to Explain the Pandemic, Christopher Caldwell, NYT
- Global economy: the week that austerity was officially buried, Chris Giles, FT
Monday Nov 02, 2020
UNLOCKED /152/ I Can't Believe It's Not Weimar ft. David Broder
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
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We Don’t Live in Weimar Germany, David Broder, Jacobin
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The Trap The Democrats Walked Right Into, Andrew Sullivan
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The End of Anti-Fascism, David Broder, Jacobin
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What Is Trump?, Dylan Riley, NLR
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Excerpt: /157/ Reading Club: Emancipation After Hegel
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
This is a sample. For full access, go to patreon.com/bungacast
This month we discuss Todd McGowan's Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution - an introduction to, defence and radical re-interpretation of Hegel emphasising the importance of contradiction to thought and being. We try to tease out the political consequences of the book, focusing on authority, freedom, and identity.