Bungacast16 Touko 2023

/340/ How to Grow a Backbone ft. Russell Jacoby

On utopia and individualism.

Renowned intellectual historian and critic Russell Jacoby joins us to talk about his lifetime of left critique. We discuss his early criticisms of psychology in light of the advance of therapy culture over the past 50 years, before moving on to the question of utopianism.

Will the breakdown of the neoliberal era lead to new utopian thinking? Does enthusiasm for a universal basic income signal serious thinking about the nature of work? Or are we still in a world where only dystopian thinking is permitted?

The episode concludes by discussing how all the talk of diversity today obscures the reality of increasing homogeneity. What does this say about the individual? Is the way children are brought up today killing the capacity for imagination and making us all conformists?

Part two of the interview, and our After Party, is available at patreon.com/bungacast

Selected books by Jacoby:

Social Amnesia: A Critique of Contemporary Psychology (Beacon Press, 1975; Transaction, 1997)
The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe (Basic Books, 1987; new edition with new Introduction, Basic Books 2000)
The End of Utopia: Politics and Culture in the Age of Apathy (Basic Books, 1999)
Picture Imperfect: Utopian Thought for an Anti-Utopian Age (Columbia University Press, 2005)
On Diversity: The Eclipse of the Individual in a Global Era (Seven Stories Press, 2020)

Jaksot(400)

Where's Bungacast? Nowhere...Everywhere

Taking a short break – back in late August.

21 Heinä 4min

/556/ World Cup 2026: Stick to Politics ft. Many Guests

On politics and football. Alex is joined by Karl Sharro, Juan David Rojas, Tim Abrahams, and Euan Marshall to pick over the stories of this World Cup. If the World Cup is a branding exercise for the...

13 Heinä 1h 43min

/555/ Who Denies US Empire? ft. Daniel Bessner

On 'imperialist realism'. Daniel Bessner, historian, is back on to discuss the relation between US foreign policy and ideology. He talks to Alex and Lee about his forthcoming book and other writings. ...

7 Heinä 43min

UNLOCKED: /551/ Reading Club: Mythologies ft. Catherine Liu

On Roland Barthes' Mythologies. (This is an unlocked episode from our Reading Club. Subscribe for more like this.) Alex, George, and contributing editor Catherine Liu delve into Barthes' 1957 classic ...

23 Kesä 1h 30min

/554/ Capitalism Is When the State... ft. Corey Robin

On writing the history of capitalism. Political theorist Corey Robin talks to Alex H and Alex G about what is wrong with Sven Beckert's monumental new Capitalism: A Global History. Have historians r...

16 Kesä 1h 14min

/553/ Energy Sovereignty = Political Independence? ft. Benjamin Bradlow

On global shortages and their political consequences. Benjamin Bradlow, assistant professor of sociology and international affairs at Princeton, talks to Alex and Lee about the world-historic impact o...

9 Kesä 41min

/552/ Bunga Live: Is History Back (Baby)?

Audio from the live event held at Verdurin, London, on 28 May 2026. The OG Bunga Boys - Alex, George, and Phil - present their takes, followed by responses from contributing editor Lee Jones and frien...

1 Kesä 2h 15min

/551/ Reading Club: Mythologies ft. Catherine Liu

On Roland Barthes' Mythologies. Alex, George, and contributing editor Catherine Liu delve into Barthes' 1957 classic to understand the form of ideology critique it proposes – and particularly as it re...

26 Touko 31min