Bungacast

On Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity [For access, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast/membership] We continue working through the 2024/25 syllabus with the first theme, The Future of Place, asking, is politics possible without a sense of place. We discuss Marc Augé's much-referenced 1992 work on 'non-places': airports, shopping malls, corporate hotels, motorways... We discuss: Are non-places proliferating, and what would this mean for society and politics? Are non-places the spatial accompaniment to post-politics, to the foreclosure of political contestation? Is the distinction between non-places and places/spaces useful? Is there anything to the notion of a hyper- or super-modernity? Is Augé too deterministic? Does he miss how non-places can be places for culture or politics? Links: 2024/25 Bungacast Syllabus (with links to readings)

On immediacy, representation, and anti-politics. Anna Kornbluh, professor of English and author of Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism talks to Alex about the cultural, political, and economic changes she refers to as 'immediacy'. We discuss: Is 'immediacy' just a vibe, or is vibe itself non-mediated? How does anti-representation in film, TV and books relate to anti-representation in politics? And can we relate culture immediacy to the 'material base'? How do Fleabag, Uncut Gems, and the turn to memoirs and autofiction exemplify immediacy? Why does self-disclosure fit so well with the data economy? In what way is contemporary anti-theory nihilistic and apologetic? How does the style of immediacy relate to Frederic Jameson's understanding of postmodernism? Is the desire to put everything private on show a response to alienation? And is the professionalisation of 'theory' a problem or solution? Links: Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism, Anna Kornbluh, Verso Has culture become pure vibe?, Anna Kornbluh, Spike Art Magazine The Theory of Immediacy or the Immediacy of Theory?, Jensen Suther, Nonsite Embracing Alienation: Why We Shouldn't Try to Find Ourselves, Todd McGowan, Repeater

On your questions, comments & criticisms. [Patreon Exclusive] We're back with a final letters to the editor episode of 2024 in which we discuss: the universalisation of 'anti-fascism' as a kind of politics whether there are any actual 'family abolitionists' out there humanitarian intervention in Palestine the hard and less hard facts of US imperial decline the legitimacy of 'existential' politics whether anti-corruption politics are good, actually and why Phil loves Hillary

On Taiwan, semiconductors, and war. [Full episode for subscribers only] James Lin, Assistant Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington at Seattle, talks to Phil about Taiwanese politics and the country's place in the world, in terms of the global economy and Sino-American geopolitical rivalry. We talk about Taiwanese history and politics, from Japanese occupation and colonisation across the Cold War, to the present day, including:  Taiwanese politics in the shadow of the geopolitical crisis The paradox of political divergence and economic convergence between China and Taiwan since the 1980s How did Taiwan corner the market for manufacturing computer chips?  How successful is the ongoing US reshoring of chip production? Will there be a Marco Rubio/Elon Musk divide on China in the Trump White House?  How might a war over Taiwan play out?  Links: In the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan, James Lin, UC Press What Works in Taiwan Doesn’t Always in Arizona, a Chipmaking Giant Learns, John Liu, NY Times Will Trump take the Musk path or the Rubio path on Taiwan?, Lev Nachman, Nikkei Asia