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.
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
Tuesday Jan 20, 2026
On Southeast Asia's scam compounds.
Mark Bo, organised-crime researcher and co-author of Scam, talks to Alex and Lee about his book, his experiences and why this fusion of gangsterism and speculation has taken root in the contemporary economy.
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What is the scale of the scam industry?
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How do scams like pig butchering, fish butchering, or law-enforcement impersonation work?
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How does organised crime structure itself on corporate lines? How does this fit with modern slavery?
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Do illicit zones signal the coming of a kind of "compound capitalism"? Is scamming a symptom of the death of the developmental state?
The full episode is only available to subscribers. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast
Links:
Scam: Inside Southeast Asia’s Cybercrime Compounds, Ivan Franceschini, Ling Li, and Mark Bo, Verso
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