Bungacast

On Italy, right-wing culture war, and hegemony.

David Broder is back on the pod, talking to Alex and Lee about how Giorgia Meloni has managed to become Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister.

What accounts for Meloni’s longevity?

Has she ruled on 'pure ideology' alone?

Does her moderation and Atlanticism tell us something about what the new right does in power?

Is there a moral economy the radical right has managed to mobilise, beyond the culture wars? Producers versus parasites?

Is European politics still liberal technocrats versus right-wing populists?

How will European governments fare over the next year as the 'cost-of-living' crisis bites?

Links:

Giorgia Meloni Has Finally Suffered a Defeat, David Broder, Jacobin 

The Extreme Center Survives, David Broder, Catalyst

Mussolini’s Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary Italy, David Broder

Silvio Berlusconi: An Oral History, Bungacast

/153/ Repubblica di Bunga ft. David Broder, Bungacast

On the US midterms and the beginning of the end of Trump.

Ryan Zickgraf talks to Alex about an election of real import, and whether it is an endorsement of the Democrats or mere anti-incumbency.

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How much was this about affordability? The Iran war?

Is woke coming back?

What will happen to the Trump administration in its final two years?

Will MAGA fragment or will someone assume leadership over it?

Will the Democrats move "left" and what would that mean? Is this a win for the DSA?

Was this the first ever election over Artificial Intelligence?

Links:

Get ready for Left populism: Democratic centrism just died, Ryan Zickgraf, UnHerd 

America turns on Donald Trump’s tech cheerleaders, FT

Identity Politics Have Entered a New Phase, Jia Lynn Yang, NYT

/558/ Sewer Socialism, or Left in the Toilet? ft. Ross Barkan

On the pupils' protests and wider riots.

Charles Devellennes, author of books on Macron and French protests, is back on the pod, talking to Alex about a month of insurrection in France.

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Why are these types of revolts so common in Macron's France?

Are things that bad – or do the French have higher standards?

Why did the secondary school pupil's protests explode into something bigger?

Are the demonstrations "anti-French"? Even anti-civilisation?

Can the radical left profit or is it Le Pen's presidency to lose?

Links

High school protests met with unparalleled repression, Charles Devellennes substack

The Gilets Jaunes and the New Social Contract, Charles Devellennes

France: between the bond market and the barricades, FT

France's riots: revolution without utopia, Muriel Zagha, Engelsberg Ideas

France’s long history of revolt, Julian Jackson, Engelsberg Ideas

On Brazil and national reconstruction.

In our first ever episode in Portuguese, Alex speaks to Orlando Lima (editor of Valete, in-house magazine of new right-wing party, Missão) about the party and how Orlando came to be a "right-wing Zizekian".

Video with English subtitles and AI dubbing available at YouTube

Are left and right still meaningful identifiers?

Is Brazil actually "pre-modern"? What does modernization entail?

What is patrimonialism and how can it ever be good?

How can a War on Crime not lead to repression and gangsterism?

What about inequality?

How is Missão similar or different to radical-right parties in Europe or North America?

Links:

Can Anyone Save Brazil, Alex Hochuli, UnHerd

The Duck-Billed Platypus, Chico de Oliveira, NLR

The Brazilianization of the World, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs

Valete magazine

/461/ Welcome to the World of the Right ft. Michael C. Williams

/532/ Is This a Paleocon Foreign Policy? ft. JF Drolet

On infrastructure – who owns and who controls it.

Scholar Joscha Abels talks to Lee and Alex about global infrastructure, from satellites to cloud computing to undersea cables.

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What, actually, is infrastructure

How has public versus private provision of infrastructure changed?

How much do tech oligarchs actually control the infrastructure we depend upon?

Are we leaving neoliberalism behind? Have state and corporations fused into one?

How vulnerable is global infrastructure to sabotage?