Episodes
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
/147/ The Past Doesn't Go Away ft. Benjamin Moser
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
Tuesday Sep 15, 2020
On modernism and its end.
We're joined by 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser to discuss the tensions between hating your national culture and wanting to leave it behind, and the effacement of national culture by postmodern homogenisation.
We talk about his biography of Susan Sontag, plus a range of other questions: Brazil, USA, literature, architecture, sex, imperialism, Freud, the image and representation, and contemporary wokeness.
Moser's Books:
Tuesday Feb 25, 2020
/109/ Bunga Goes Ballard ft. Simon Sellars
Tuesday Feb 25, 2020
Tuesday Feb 25, 2020
On Applied Ballardianism.
Is it J.G. Ballard's world? Bunga talks Ballard with Simon Sellars, author of a new book on the great British sci-fi novelist J.G. Ballard. Urban decay, social breakdown, consumerism as social control and the Interzone.
Opening passage is taken from Ballard's 2000 novel 'Super-Cannes'.
Reading:
Applied Ballardianism, Simon Sellars, Urbanomic
Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Excerpt: /106/ The Endless Scrolling of Cinema ft. Maren Thom
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Jan 07, 2020
[UNLOCKED] /77/ CaliBunga: Tech, Drugs & Capitalist Soul, Pt. 2
Tuesday Jan 07, 2020
Tuesday Jan 07, 2020
On drugs and mental health.
In part two, we chat about recreational drugs and mental states in a Hollywood bar with friends of the podcast, Amber A'Lee Frost and Alex Gendler. But mostly, we delve deeper into capitalism and depression with the 'States of Wellness' group at UC Irvine (Catherine Liu, Thomas Williams, Michael Mahoney, Benjamin Kruger-Robins).
#CaliBunga is a special multipart series on the Californian Ideology: the seemingly paradoxical hybrid of New Left and New Right ideas - the synthesis of hippies with yuppies, all tied together with the promise that technology might liberate us.
Thanks to UC Irvine School of Humanities for sponsoring this series.
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
/100/ What Was the End of History? ft. Many Guests
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
Tuesday Dec 10, 2019
On the 30 years since 1989.
For our 100th episode, we invited our favourite guests to reflect on the question: “What one event, personal or political, most captures for you the past thirty years, since 1989?”
Are we still living in the death throes of the 20th century, or is something new emerging?
Guests:
- (00:07:42) - Maren Thom
- (00:14:14) - David Broder
- (00:21:33) - Ashley Frawley
- (00:26:11) - Catherine Liu
- (00:33:05) - Angela Nagle
- (00:40:49) - Benjamin Fogel
- (00:46:25) - Alex Gourevitch
- (00:51:31) - BungaCast hosts
- (00:59:22) - David Adler
- (01:04:05) - Amber A’Lee Frost
- (01:08:48) - James Heartfield
- (01:16:17) - Anton Jaeger
- (01:23:24) - Leigh Phillips
- (01:30:25) - Lee Jones
- (01:36:03) - Karl Sharro
Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Excerpt: /87/ Berluscoming
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Thursday Sep 05, 2019
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
/80/ CaliBunga: Tech, Drugs & Capitalist Soul, Pt.5
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
Thursday Jul 11, 2019
Excerpt: /79/ CaliBunga: Tech, Drugs & Capitalist Soul, Pt. 4
Thursday Jul 11, 2019
Thursday Jul 11, 2019
Thursday Jun 20, 2019
/76/ CaliBunga: Tech, Drugs & Capitalist Soul, Pt. 1
Thursday Jun 20, 2019
Thursday Jun 20, 2019
Special multipart series on the Californian Ideology: the seemingly paradoxical hybrid of New Left and New Right ideas - the synthesis of hippies with yuppies, all tied together with the promise that technology might liberate us.
In part one, we talk to Richard Barbrook about the Californian Ideology today before discussing health and mental illness with the 'States of Wellness' group at UC Irvine (Catherine Liu, Benjamin Kruger-Robins, Michael Mahoney, Thomas Williams).
Thanks to UC Irvine School of Humanities for sponsoring this series.
Readings:
- Natural Causes, Barbara Ehrenreich
- The Happiness Industry, William Davies
- Coming Up Short, Jennifer Silva
Subscribe: patreon.com/BungaCast
Thursday Feb 21, 2019
/63/ The Oscars Have Canceled Themselves ft. Maren Thom
Thursday Feb 21, 2019
Thursday Feb 21, 2019
On the 2019 Academy Awards. Maren Thom joins us again to see what we can learn from the Oscar nominations. We debate when exactly Hollywood's 'end of history' was, and take film criticism to task for its literal-minded desire for representation. Has Hollywood - like so many other liberal institutions - tried so hard to be relevant that it has made itself irrelevant?
Like what we do? Consider giving us money: PATREON.COM/BUNGACAST
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
/50/ On The Market ft. Anna Khachiyan
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
In which we discuss (post)modern relationships: dating, narcissism and capitalism. Are we all scared of each other? Are we trying to quantify the interpersonal? What does #MeToo et al suggest about contemporary womanhood?
Plus assorted stuff on Russophobia, fascism and anti-fascism, and how great Lana del Rey is.
Readings:
Christopher Lasch on narcissism: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1976/09/30/the-narcissist-society
The Last Psychiatrist: https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2010/11/a_generational_pathology.html
Friday Oct 12, 2018
/49/ Kids & Confessions ft. Amber A'Lee Frost
Friday Oct 12, 2018
Friday Oct 12, 2018
In which we talk to Amber about the limitations of liberal feminism and why socialism is better (duh). Personal trauma as a form of political argumentation is critiqued. And we debate the unfashionable topic of parenting and families. Maybe, beyind so much beyond subcultural squabbling and posturing on the Left, is actually a deep-rooted individualism. So we discuss how to get beyond that.
Readings:
Confession Booth: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/confession-booth-frost
Daddy Issues: https://thebaffler.com/all-tomorrows-parties/daddy-issues-frost
It's Okay to Have Children https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/08/its-okay-to-have-children
Thursday Sep 13, 2018
/47/ Woke Consumerism
Thursday Sep 13, 2018
Thursday Sep 13, 2018
In which we ask whether political consumerism is still a thing. We chart its course from 90s Adbusters-style anti-branding, to 2000s ethical consumerism, through to today's woke outrage economy. Has commodification and cynicism overwhelmed all consumer activism?
Plus, we catch up with election results from Sweden and look forward to next month's Brazilian elections.
Readings:
Adbusted https://jacobinmag.com/2013/10/adbusted
The Philanthropy Racket https://jacobinmag.com/2018/08/the-philanthropy-racket
Wednesday Jun 13, 2018
/39/ Geopolitics of the World Cup ft. Karl Sharro & Euan Marshall
Wednesday Jun 13, 2018
Wednesday Jun 13, 2018
In which we talk about the politics of hosting the World Cup + the sublots & intrigues that will animate the tournament: hot and cold wars, Salah's revenge, Brazil after the 7-1. Featuring lots of hating on Sergio Ramos.
Wednesday Feb 07, 2018
/28/ Cinema & Hopelessness ft. Maren Thom
Wednesday Feb 07, 2018
Wednesday Feb 07, 2018
In which we discuss the Oscar nominees. Also lame battles over representation & why hopelessness has replaced catastrophism.