
Where's Bungacast? Nowhere...Everywhere
Taking a short break – back in late August.
The global politics podcast at the end of the End of History. Politics is back but it’s stranger than ever: join us as we chart a course beyond the age of ’bunga bunga’. Interviews, long-form discussions, docu-series.
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Taking a short break – back in late August.

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 hosts, what exactly is the USA selling here? And Mexico? Canada? Are conspiracy theories good, actually? Is Argentina evil? Should you support the global South against the colonisers? Are…

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. Why has acceptance of imperialism accompanied declining support for empire? What is the US's sense of mission and how does this coexist with cynicism? Is US politics stuck between liberal guilt and…

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 to understand the form of ideology critique it proposes – and particularly as it relates to left and right. If the bourgeoisie generates myth, is revolution a cathartic act that gets us beyond myth?…

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 returned to writing about big themes and grand narratives? Why does Beckert date capitalism's emergence to 12th century Arabia? Is capitalism essentially about free markets and free trade – or about the…

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 of the Hormuz Strait closure. How will shortages – beyond oil and gas – reverberate through global supply chains? Why are markets so sanguine about all this? Are financial economic elites too insulated…

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 friend-of-the-pod Nina Power - and audience questions.

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 relates to left and right. If the bourgeoisie generates myth, is revolution a cathartic act that gets us beyond myth? Is the direct producer also unable to speak myth, or is this a romanticisation? What…

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-led stabilisation of finance capital? How does today's imperialism differ from prior versions – even if they also inhibited development outside the core? What is the "liquidity tribute" that developing…

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 1992, is over. Liberal democracy as the final form of human organisation? Pah! The arc of history tending towards justice? Pah! Will the end of twentieth-century modernity be the start of something new?…