Bungacast

OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 4

The fourth in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.

 

In this episode, we examine Generation X – the generation of the End of History. How was this generation overshadowed by the Boomer's failures? In the Eastern Bloc, the fall of Soviet regimes was a traumatic moment – how did this shape consciousness? And how did the Iranian Revolution – and subsequent war – shape the political perspectives of Iranians?

 

Guests include:

• Maren Thom, film scholar
• Alexei Yurchak, professor of anthropology at Berkeley 
• Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University
• Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
• Arash Azizi, historian of Iran at New York University
• Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin

Original music by: Jonny Mundey

 

Additional music:

• Kit Kruger / Freakin' Freefall / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

 

Excerpt: OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 3

The third in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.

 

This is an excerpt. For the full 1h40min episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

 

In this episode, we examine the Baby Boomers – myth and reality. The revolt of the '60s has been misunderstood in many dimensions. Was it betrayed or did it always express capitalist ideology? Were the Boomers the ones who really did the 1960s anyway? And what world have the Boomers created as they passed through life – and institutions?

 

Guests include:

• Jennie Bristow, senior lecturer in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University
• Helen Andrews, senior editor at The American Conservative
• Josh Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow
• Jeffrey Alexander, professor of sociology at Yale University
• Holger Nehring, chair in contemporary European history at the University of Stirling
• Kristin Ross, professor emeritus of comparative literature at New York University

Original music by: Jonny Mundey

 

Additional music:

• Medité / A Change in My Heart / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
• Ondolut / Blumen / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
• Elliott Holmes / Bull Chase / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
• Kick Castle / Kick Down / courtesy of epidemicsound.com
• T. Morri / Nuthin' but Nuts / courtesy of epidemicsound.com

Other Clips:

• American Pastoral Trailer © 2016 - Lionsgate
• Mai 1968 © France 3 Paris Ile-de-France
• Imitation de Daniel Cohn-Bendit © C'est Canteloup
• Baader Meinhof Complex © 2008

/218/ Stability Über Alles ft. Wolfgang Streeck

On German's elections – and the costs of stability.

Wolfgang Streeck is back on the podcast to round-up Germany's elections last Sunday (26 September). What's behind the emphasis on continuity and competence? Is Germany stuck in the 2000s?

We also discuss the importation of US-style culture wars into Germany, the country's role in the Eurozone, and strategic relations with France. 

The second part of the conversation – where we debate the end of neoliberalism and capitalist crisis – is over at patreon.com/bungacast.

Readings:

• Will it Be Enough?, Wolfgang Streeck, Sidecar
• “Order” Prevails in Berlin, Gregor Baszak, The Bellows
• Things Can’t Go on Like This for the German Left, Alexander Brentler, Jacobin

OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 2

The second in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.

In this episode, we look at the emergence of 'youth' as political concept in the age following the French Revolution, and its shifting meanings. How important was generational consciousness in the Young Italy movement and its imitators in the 19th century, and how should we understand the so-called 'Lost Generation' of 1914?

Guests include:

• Niall Whelahan, Chancellor’s Fellow in History, Strathclyde University

Original music by: Jonny Mundey

Additional music:

• Leimoti / Don't Leave It Here / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
• Leimoti / The Small Things / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
• Philip Ayers / Trapped in a Maze / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
• Walt Adams / Dark Tavern / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other Clips:

• Black 47 Trailer © 2018 - WildCard Distribution
• Arracht Trailer © 2019 - Break Out Pictures
• The Sun Also Rises © 2019 - 20th Century Fox
• Mr Lloyd George Speaks To The Nation (1931) British Pathé

 

For access to all Aufhebunga Bunga content, including the entirety of this series, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Excerpt: /217/ Reading Club: Intersectional Stalinism

This month's Reading Club is on Mike McNair's "Intersectionalism, the highest stage of western Stalinism?" from the journal Critique (pdf attached on Patreon).

 

How convincing is his genealogy in which he traces intersectionalism back to the 1930s Popular Front and 1960s soft Maoism? What function does intersectionalism play on the Left - and for the ruling class? And is McNair right that intersectionalism is self-defeating on its own terms? Or is it self-perpetuating?

 

Bungacast's monthly Reading Clubs are for subscribers $10+

Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

/216/ Goodbye Mutti! Election Preview ft. Dominik Leusder

On Germany's election this week.

Merkel has led Germany since 2005, outlasting any number of politicians across the West. What accounts for her longevity? How has such a non-ideological, post-political figure lasted so long? 

Germany is finally leaving her motherly embrace. But why is continuity on the cards, despite the many global crises Germany has passed through?

OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 1

The first in a special five-part series on generational consciousness and conflict.

In this episode, we look at the current, vexed discourse around generations, and analyse competing theories on how to understand generational cleavages.

Guests include:

• Felix Krawatzek, political scientist at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin
• Jennie Bristow, sociologist at Canterbury Christ Church University
• Joshua Glenn, semiotician, author, and publisher of HiLoBrow

Original music by: Jonny Mundey

Additional music:

Peter Kuli / OK Boomer / courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group, Inc.

Liru / For the Floor / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

 

For access to all Aufhebunga Bunga content, including the entirety of this series, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Excerpt: /215/ Organize the Incels?! ft. Alex Gendler

On the long history of involuntary celibates.

 

Alex Gendler talks to us about his essay in American Affairs, "The New Superfluous Men". With growing global concern about incels and increasing anti-terrorism focus on the supposed risks posed by lonely, angry men, we discuss why this discussion has emerged today and why it's gone global. 

 

Why do our societies seem no longer to find use for young men? Do they benefit from patriarchy? And how does this all relate to class?

 

The full episode is available to subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

/213/ The Leopard Lockdown ft. Adam Tooze

On Covid and the end of the end of history.

Adam Tooze joins us to discuss his new book, Shutdown. In 2020 everything changed... so that everything might remain the same.

What were the reasons behind the global shutdown? Was it a result of over-protection, a policy of repression, or the result of structural tensions? Has China been the winner of the pandemic? How have central banks been victims of their own success? And does this represent the end of neoliberalism?  

The latter part of the interview continues over on patreon.com/bungacast

Excerpt: /212/ Three Articles: Middle-Class Anxieties

On net-zero, CCP nanny state, and optimised dating.

 

We start off discussing the HBO series "The White Lotus" before tackling three articles on middle-class anxieties: climate change and pressures on UK living standards; the Chinese state's crackdown on private tutoring; and women's attempt to avoid crappy men through 'Female Dating Strategy'.

 

The full episode is available to patrons only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

 

Articles:

• Boris Johnson’s push for net zero plunged into chaos, Edward Malnick & Emma Gatten, The Telegraph (attached in patreon)
• China’s nanny state: why Xi is cracking down on gaming and private tutors, Tom Mitchell & Thomas Hale, FT (attached in patreon)
• ‘Sales funnels’ and high-value men: the rise of strategic dating, Katie Cunningham, The Guardian 

 

/211/ Unlocking the Lockdown Left ft. @galexybrane

On lockdowns, education, and the left.

California middle-school teacher and social critic Alex Gutentag (@galexybrane) joins us to talk about the depredations of lockdown in California and the wider world.

How has lockdown affected different segments of society, and how damaging have school closures been on education? Why has the professional middle class been so in favour of widespread restrictions – and how did the left go from backing Medicare 4 All to cheering on lockdowns in the space of a few months?

Readings:

• The War on Reality, Alex Gutentag, The Tablet  
• The Great Covid Class War, Alex Gutentag, The Bellows

Excerpt: /210/ Reading Club: Psychoanalysis & Spirit of Capitalism

We discuss Eli Zaretsky's essay, "Psychoanalysis and the Spirit of Capitalism" (also available as a chapter in his book Political Freud).

 

How convincing is Zaretsky’s idea that, as capitalism was becoming more organized and systematic, it also liberated relations between the sexes and enhanced a sense of individual subjectivity?

 

Was Freudianism a victim of its success? Did it ‘win’ and thereby make itself obsolete - socially if not intellectually? And what is today’s "spirit of capitalism"? Are we still within the spirit that was reshaped in the 1960s - the world of the New Left?

 

Reading Clubs are only for patrons $10 and up. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

Excerpt: /209/ Aufhebonus Bonus + Kabul Falls

On the Fall of Kabul, plus responding to your questions & comments.

On this Aufhebonus Bonus, we take your critical comments on 'positive biopolitics' and authoritarian responses to Covid. Plus, whether neoliberalism is really ending, the usefulness of using 'PMC' or 'clerisy', and much more. 

We start by discussing what's happening in Afghanistan, the 20 years of failure, and what happens next.  

The full episode is for subscribers only. Sign up at pateron.com/bungacast for access. 

/207/ Pangolin vs Lobster, pt 1 ft. Paolo Gerbaudo

What comes after neoliberalism - the protective state?

We talk to Paolo Gerbaudo about his new book, The Great Recoil, in which Paolo argues we are now turning inwards – globalisation is no longer a sea of opportunity and instead fear dominates. How convincing is his notion of an emerging 'protective state', and do either the left or right variants of it really promise us much at all? 

Part two of the interview is available for subscribers only. Sign up and listen at patreon.com/bungacast

Links:

• The Great Recoil, Verso Books
• On the 'digital party', Bungacast

Excerpt: /206/ Three Articles: Post-Liberalism

On post-liberalism: loving the state, crushing the individual?

 

For this 3A, articles from different 'conservative' outlets - but how conservative, and of what kind?

 

Articles:

• The real danger is insurgency on the right, William Hague, The Times (pdf attached in patreon)
• To curse social media is to exonerate society, Janan Ganesh, FT (pdf attached in patreon)
• We are all Britney now, Mary Harrington, Unherd

Full episode for subscribers only. Sign up at patreon.com/bungacast