Bungacast16 Maj 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)

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/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 Juni 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 Maj 31min

/550/ The New Dollar Imperialism ft. Costas Lapavitsas

On world money and war. Costas Lapavitsas, professor of economics at SOAS, London, talks to George and Alex about financialisation, arrested development, and the Strait of Hormuz. What is the state-...

19 Maj 1h 14min

History’s back, baby! (Event in London)

History’s back, baby! Thu 28 May, Verdurin, London Tickets: https://verdur.in/store/historys-back-baby-admission/ It is obvious today that the “end of history”, postulated by Francis Fukuyama in 19...

15 Maj 1min

/549/ Why Has Politics Genderised? ft. Ashley Frawley

On angry young women. Ashley Frawley, sociologist and senior editor at Compact, joins Alex and George to delve more deeply into young people's political polarisation on gender lines. Why is there a ...

12 Maj 32min

/548/ Post-Legitimate Society ft. Will Charles

On the gig economy, big tech, and ideology. Sociologist Will Charles talks to Alex about a form of social organisation that has stopped trying to justify itself. How should the gig economy work and ...

5 Maj 36min

/547/ What Are the Politics of Stagnation? ft. Dylan Riley

On political capitalism and divided workers. Sociology professor at UC Berkeley, Dylan Riley, talks to Alex and Lee about economic stagnation, the state propping up capitalism, and class politics. W...

28 Apr 1h 20min

/546/ Reading Club: Are We All Post-Liberal Now? ft. Geoff Shullenberger

On postliberalism, MacIntyre and Gray. How was the 1950s "end of ideology" (Bell, Lipset) different from the Fukuyaman 1990s "end of history"? Is John Gray correct in his characterisation of Alasd...

21 Apr 38min