Politics Theory Other

Interregnum - The Israel-Hamas conflict

Richard Seymour returns to PTO to discuss the crisis and background to the crisis in Israel-Palestine. A little over a week ago US national security advisor Jake Sullivan, speaking at the the Atlantic festival, rattled off a list of positive developments in the Middle East which he argued had allowed the Biden administration to focus on issues elsewhere in the world. Referencing the truce in Yemen, a decline in hostility in the US's relationship with Iran and what he characterised as America'...

Unnatural city - Owen Hatherley on the music of 1980s Japan

Around 2010 I became somewhat obsessed with Japanese pop and ambient music of the 1980s - in particular the Yellow Magic Orchestra, the solo records of the members of the group: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi and music by Akiko Yano, Yasuaki Shimizu and Hiroshi Yoshimura amongst many others. Last year I discovered that this was an enthusiasm shared with architectural historian, and very occasional pop music writer, Owen Hartherley who has since written 2023-09-26 05:46:00 +0000 UTC View Post

The roots of the new cold war w/ Gilbert Achcar

In 1999 in the wake of the Kosovo conflict Gilbert Achcar published a book titled The New Cold War: The World After Kosovo. At the time, describing tensions between the United States, Russia and China in terms of "a cold war" seemed to many to be outlandish hyperbole, or very premature at best. Now, of course the use of the term to describe the global situation is increasingly commonplace, but if we are indeed in a cold war - the question arises - when did it begin? Should it be date...

Adam Tooze responds to listener's questions

Adam Tooze returns to PTO to respond to the many excellent questions sent in by listeners. We talked about Perry Anderson's take on Adam's work in the New Left Review, why Adam - despite his engagement with Marxist thought and frequent appearances in left media and events - defines himself as a left liberal rather than a socialist. We also talked about his view of the significance of the US inflation reduction act, and the dire state of the UK economy. We went on to talk about the ec...

The Plague: Living Death in Our Times w/ Jacqueline Rose

Jacqueline Rose returns to the show to discuss her new book, The Plague: Living Death in Our Times. We talked about what the Covid-19 pandemic revealed about contemporary society and whether the the initial wave of global solidarity provoked by the crisis was purely a mirage. We also talked about the Ukraine crisis - how Jacqueline connects the themes of war and pandemic in the book - and how Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion has had the troubling consequence of appearing to redeem th...

Interregnum - listener's questions

Richard Seymour responds to the excellent questions sent in by listeners on subjects ranging from conspiracy theory, the ferocity of anti-communist rhetoric on the right - in spite of the absence of a global communist movement - to the history of the eastern European left since the end of the Cold War.

Adam Tooze listener's questions episode

On the 16th of this month Adam Tooze will be returning to PTO to answer your questions. Adam's writing is famously wide-ranging so feel free to throw some curveballs - but some topics you might want to ask questions related to might include the Ukraine war, the nature of Bidenomics which Adam recently discussed on his podcast 2023-08-04 15:45:04 +0000 UTC View Post

An ideology of the flesh w/ Amber Husain

Amber Husain joins PTO to talk about her new book, Meat Love: An Ideology of the Flesh. We talked about whether it's possible for there to be such a thing as 'ethical meat', why Amber thinks veganism need not be solely about lifestyle and personal consumption choices - as is commonly argued by left critics of veganism, and we also talked about King Charles, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalll and other lovers of small scale animal farming, and how they invoke notions of love and care, class...

Writers and missionaries w/ Adam Shatz

Adam Shatz joins PTO to talk about his new book, Writers and Missionaries: Essays on the Radical Imagination.

We talked about why Adam, though a huge admirer of Edward Said and his classic work Orientalism, feels that some of the work subsequently inspired by Said has failed to give a well rounded picture of middle eastern societies in all their complexity. We also talked about why Adam thinks that there can be value in reading reactionary writers whose politics we m...

Listener's questions for Richard Seymour

Richard Seymour will be returning to answer your questions soon. You might like to ask him something on the recent episode on Prighozin, Putin, the Wagner group and the abortive rebellion.  Richard's also happy to answer questions on the situation in France following the police murder of Nahel M - and how the left has responded. Richard has also recently written on "2023-07-11 09:14:39 +0000 UTC View Post

Interregnum - The meaning of Prigozhin's rebellion

On the 23rd of June, following months of increasing tension between the Wagner Group and the Russian Ministry of Defence, Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his rebellion. Prigozhin's forces quickly took control of the head quarter's of Russia's Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, after which an armoured column of Wagner troops advanced towards Moscow.

In today's episode of Interregnum I asked Richard Seymour about Prighozin's background in crime and his early business ve...

The myth of the reforming monarch - Britain and the Gulf w/ David Wearing

David Wearing joins PTO to discuss his article 'The myth of the reforming monarch: Orientalism, racial capitalism, and UK support for the Arab Gulf monarchies'

We talked about the nature of Britain's relationship with the Gulf states, and why it's a mistake to see Western support for brutal, absolutist authority in the region as simply self-consciously cynical realpolitik. And we also talked about the nature of the Sportswashing debate and what's missing from mainstream discussion of th...

The anti-woke grift w/ Aurelien Mondon

The recent National Conservatism conference in Britain brought together an array of politicians, journalists, and academics of varying stripes of conservatism, but united by their hostility to so-called woke politics. I spoke to Aurelien Mondon about his recent article in Jacobin, Right-Wing Grifters Love to Say They’re “Canceled” — but Get All the Elite Support They Want,...

The backlash against Palestine solidarity w/ Hil Aked

Hil Aked joins PTO to talk about their new book, Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity, the first book length treatment of the pro-Israel lobby in Britain.

We talked about the strategies that Israel and pro-Israel organisations in Britain have adopted to deflect criticism of the ongoing occupation and the dispossession of the Palestinian people, and their efforts to undermine the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. Hil explained why they character...

Interregnum - Israel's radicalising ethnonationalism

Richard Seymour discusses the protest movement in Israel that has emerged in response to the plans of the most right-wing Israeli government in history to dramatically curtail the power of the judiciary and further empower the executive. We discussed the makeup, social base and ideology of the parties in the coalition government, why the Israeli protest movement and liberal Israelis remain anchored to an ethno-nationalist politics (in spite of their opposition to the government) and we also t...

PTO Extra! Why China is capitalist w/ Eli Friedman

In this sneak preview of the forthcoming China series Eli Friedman talks about how to make sense of China's political and economic system, and why in Eli's view it makes sense to describe China as capitalist and not as a socialist market economy - as the Chinese Communist Party describes the system - nor as some other hybrid model that retains both socialist and capitalist features. We also talked about how to periodise Chinese history and whether or not China was ever a socialist society. Fi...

PTO Extra! France's social explosion w/ Sebastian Budgen

Sebastian Budgen returns to PTO to talk about the protest movement in France, sparked by Emmanuel Macron's pension reform bill. We talked about why the new bill has encountered such broad opposition in the country, and why it is that Macron has been so intransigent over a policy that is opposed by around two thirds of the French public. We also discussed the tactics of the French unions, the increasing involvement of young people in the protest movement, and the extent to which Marine Le Pen'...

Fascist echoes w/ Adam Tooze

Adam Tooze returns to PTO to discuss the key causal factors that allowed fascism to emerge in the early twentieth century and whether conditions that would enable fascism on the interwar model exist today. We also talked about whether describing the Bolsanaros, the Le Pens and the Orbans of this world as fascist may be analytically wrong but tactically effective, and about how close the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and 80s are to the fascist model.

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Richard Seymour responds to listener's questions

Richard Seymour returns to respond to listener's questions on the so-called lockdown sceptics. We talked about the leaking of former UK health secretary Matt Hancock's pandemic WhatsApp messages, and whether they vindicate the arguments of lockdown critics such as Isabel Oakeshott. Amongst the other excellent questions sent in, Richard responded regarding the widely cited Cochrane study that challenged the efficacy of mask wearing, the motivation of self-described socialists who are apparentl...

The Ukraine war: one year on w/ Paul Rogers

Paul Rogers returns to talk about the Ukraine war, one year after the beginning of the Russian invasion. We discussed why the Russian military have been so unsuccessful in their aims and whether the extraordinary scale of Russian casualties will undermine support for Putin within Russia. We also talked about whether Ukrainian strategic goals align totally with those of the US and NATO states, and if there is any plausibility to the idea of a negotiated settlement. Finally, we talked about why...

The man who killed Gandhi w/ Dhirendra K. Jha

Dhirendra K. Jha joins PTO to talk about his book, Gandhi's Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India. We talked about Godse's childhood and how is belonging to the elite Brahmin class facilitated his shift from an anti-imperialist position in the decades before independence, to a visceral hatred of Muslims and of Gandhi, who the Hindu nationalists blamed for partition and the creation of Pakistan.

We also discussed Godse's relationship with Vinayak Sawarka...

Questions for Richard Seymour on the lockdown sceptics

The recent episode on the lockdown sceptics, and Toby Green's The Covid Consensus certainly stirred up plenty of debate on social media. If you have a question for Richard on the recent episode, his perspective on Green and Fazi's work (or on the lockdown sceptic literature more broadly) or what Richard describes as the 'alt style of reasoning' then please post your question below. Alternatively you can email politicstheoryother@gmail.com with 'Seymour listener's questions' in the su...

Interregnum - on the lockdown 'sceptics'

Richard Seymour discusses his recent blogpost on the so-called lockdown sceptics, and in particular the work of Toby Green and his book The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left. We talked about the straw man arguments, factual inaccuracies and conspiratorial thinking that characterise the book and the lockdown sceptic literature more generally. We also talked about why parts of the left have been receptive to some of this work and a...

James Meadway responds to listener's questions

James Meadway returns to the show to answer listener's questions. James responded on the relationship between humans, nature and the production of value on a finite planet, the causes of inflation, Modern Monetary theory, and Oliver Eagleton's recent New Statesman article that countered James' argument that the left can try to shape the political agenda of Keir Starmer's labour party. 

Macrodose - Dedollarisation, Bretton Woods III, and a global wealth tax?

In this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the shift away from the dominance of the dollar (0:41), what this means for US economic power (3:13), and a call from noble-prize winning economist Jospeh Stiglitz to tackle wealth inequality (11.26).

Can the unions win? w/ Polly Smythe

Polly Smythe, the labour movement correspondent for Novara Media joins PTO to talk about how strikes achieve their aims and the importance - or otherwise - of public support. We also discussed the new anti-strike law being brought in by the Conservative government, what its consequences may be, and whether it will have the chilling effect on industrial action that the Sunak government hopes for. Finally, we talked about the prospects for the current public and private sector strikes in Britai...

Macrodose - Davos, US in debt, and deadly heatwaves

On this week’s episode of Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down talk of a “poly crisis” at the World Economic Forum in Davos (00:50), the threat of default as the US breaches it’s debt ceiling (06:03), and a new report from the think tank Autonomy exploring the future of work in an era of climate breakdown (12:38).

Listener's questions for James Meadway

James will be returning next week to answer your questions on the recent episode on his economic predictions for the coming year. From the polycrisis to the UK's poor productivity, from MMT to the politics of the labour party - do send in your questions on all things economic or political and James will do his best to respond.   

Please comment below the line or email politicstheoryother@gmail.com wi...

2023 Crisis is the new normal w/ James Meadway

James Meadway returns to discuss his predictions for the world economy in the year ahead, and why the notion of the polycrisis - while in some ways useful -  fails to reckon with the fact that in a world of increasingly frequent severe weather events, climate disasters, and greater interstate rivalry, the notion of any kind of time-bounded crisis is increasingly at odds with reality. We talked about the prospect of debt defaults in the global south, why mainstream economics is failing to...

Macrodose - China’s downturn, Blackrock’s predictions and the struggling tech billionaires

In the latest episode of MACRODOSE, James Meadway breaks down a new IMF forecast that predicts China’s economic downturn, a set of predictions for our economic future from multinational asset manager Blackrock, and asks what’s happening to the wealth of the tech billionaires?