Dorit Geva joins PTO to talk about the recent re-election victory of Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Dorit's article, 'Orban’s Ordonationalism as Post-Neoliberal Hegemony' which is published in the journal Theory, Culture and Society. We discussed why Orban secured such a convincing electoral victory in spite of the opposition's highlighting of government corruption and Orban's friendly relations with Vladimir Putin. We went on to talk about the innovative character of Orban's post-neoliberal rule w...
Apr 21, 2022•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sebastian Budgen returns to PTO to talk about the first round of the French presidential election, and the prospects for the second round vote later this month. We discussed what Marine Le Pen may have learned from her heavy defeat in 2017, how Eric Zemmour's far-right candidacy affected the campaign and why the left can take some heart from the impressive result for Jean-Luc Melenchon - that came close to pushing Le Pen and the national rally into third place.
Apr 12, 2022•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Seymour responds to the excellent questions sent in by listeners - on topics ranging from the left's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the relationship between psychological injury and physical ailments, and the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy.
Apr 05, 2022•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kojo Koram returns to PTO to talk about his new book, Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. We chatted about how the British empire and its legacy continues to structure the UK and world economies, and why the supposed opposition between critics of Britain's imperial inheritance and the material concerns of ordinary working class people - ignores the way the economic innovations of empire and decolonisation - from tax havens and outsourcing, to the corporate form, itself - contin...
Apr 01, 2022•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the second episode of Interregnum Richard Seymour discusses his recent article, 'The cruelties of self-help culture'. We talked about the magical thinking propagated by what Richard calls "the success wing of self-help literature" and why its claim that success depends almost solely on individual effort is so appealing. We also talked about the history of self-help culture and the significance of Samuel Smiles, the Victorian liberal reformer and author of the 1859 book Self Help: Illustration...
Mar 20, 2022•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite India's deepening alliance with the United States, and the country's regional rivalry with China, the Indian government has refused to join condemnation of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ravinder Kaur joins PTO to talk about India's tacit alliance with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, how Russian weaponry continues to be the primary source for India's military, and why there is a striking degree of support for Russia within the country.
Mar 13, 2022•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast James Meadway returns to PTO to talk about his recent article on the economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the Putin regime's invasion of Ukraine. We discussed the special significance of targeting the Russian central bank, and the likely consequences for the Russian economy. We also talked about the extraordinary dangerousness of the situation, given the raising of the alert status of Russia's nuclear forces, and the apparent absence of any face-saving way in which Vladimir Putin ...
Mar 01, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the first episode of Interregnum, a new fortnightly show with author Richard Seymour, we talked about the objectives of the Russian invasion, and what Vladimir Putin's broader geo-strategic goals are. And we also discussed his extraordinary claim that the invasion is in part aimed at the "denazification" of Ukraine. Finally, we talked about the risk of direct Western military intervention.
Feb 25, 2022•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Rogers joins PTO again to talk about his recent article in Open Democracy: Who would benefit from Russia going to war with Ukraine? We chatted about the Russian military build up on Ukraine's borders and whether this portends an imminent invasion. We also talked about the arms industry and how the nexus between arms companies, states, and research institutions encourages policy makers to see military solutions to all security problems. Finally, we discussed Labour leader Keir Starmer's rece...
Feb 12, 2022•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Camila Vergara joins PTO to talk about Chile's new left wing government and the new president elect, former student leader Gabriel Boric. We talked about what to expect from the new government in the context of a divided congress, how the protest movements that first emerged in 2011 has given rise to both the election of the new government and the constitutional convention - which has been tasked with re-rewriting the Pinochet era constitution. We also talked about the presidential campaign of B...
Feb 11, 2022•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sebastian Budgen joins PTO to talk about the rise of Eric Zemmour - the new star of the French far right and a candidate in April's presidential election. We discussed Zemmour's career in journalism, and why he is able to attract support from both Le Pen voters and more mainstream conservatives. We also talked about the strategic logic behind Zemmour's efforts to rehabilitate the reputation of the collaborationist Vichy government of WWII.
Jan 17, 2022•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Seymour returns to PTO to talk about the omicron variant and why he believes Covid19 will be a crisis of a decade, rather than years. We also talked about whether the British government will ever move beyond just vaccines and lockdowns in its pandemic response, and make a serious effort to adapt our infrastructure and health system. We also talked about the failure of the global vaccination effort, and finally we discussed the question of vaccine passports and mandatory vaccinations. Bec...
Dec 21, 2021•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jason Hickel returns to PTO for the second part of a two part interview on his book, Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. We talked about the concept of 'green growth', and why the notion of decoupling growth from intensive resource use is ultimately unconvincing. We also chatted about the Green New Deal and whether it is compatible with the politics of degrowth. And finally we talked about Jason's argument that a green energy and resource transition, if undertaken with no challenge t...
Dec 19, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Boris Johnson's grip on power seems more precarious than at any other point during his time in office. PTO spoke to Will Davies about whether we're at the beginning of the end of the Johnson era, and why Will compares Boris Johnson to a financial asset - and his allies and supporters to investors.
Dec 13, 2021•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lea Ypi joins PTO to talk about her new book Free: Coming of Age at the End of History. It tells Lea's story of growing up in Stalinist Albania, the end of communist party rule in 1990, and the country's slide into violent chaos in 1997. We talked about Albania's isolation during the cold war after schisms with first the Soviet Union, and then with China, and how the regime made sense of Albania's place in the world. We also discussed Lea's childhood and her reaction to learning that her parents...
Dec 04, 2021•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part two of Richard Seymour responding to listener's questions, including on Amia Srinivasan's work, and also on critiques of psychoanalysis - a practice that plays a very important role in Richard's writing. Become a £5 PTO patron to get access to this episode and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
Nov 25, 2021•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jason Hickel joins PTO to talk about his book, Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. In part one of the interview we discussed the comprehensive and all-encompassing character of the ecological crisis which extends well beyond the issue of CO2 emissions. We also talked about the violent emergence of capitalism, and how that process entailed the radical transformation of human subjectivity and how humans relate to the natural world. Finally, we talked about the emergence of GDP as an in...
Nov 19, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Seymour, who was recently on the show to discuss supply chains and the ecological crisis, returns to respond to the excellent questions sent in by listeners. We talked about how the left should respond to the issue of consumerism and Richard's opinion of Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain. And we also talked about the question of constitutional politics with regard to popular movements in Chile and more broadly. Become a £5 PTO patron to get access to this episode and all other ep...
Nov 06, 2021•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kate Crawford joins PTO to talk about her book, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence. We talked about why some proponents of AI are so convinced - against so much evidence - that systems of machine learning will truly be able to replicate human intelligence, and how the extraordinary material impacts of AI systems - from rare earth mining to electrical power needs - tend not to be discussed. We also talked about the early history of statistical analysi...
Nov 03, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Seymour joins PTO to talk about the uptick in the UK's Covid-19 cases and death toll, and why the government scaled back public health regulations so dramatically. We also talked about his recent articles on the supply chain and fuel crisis - both in the UK and abroad - and how they portend a future of climate related disruption. Become a £5 PTO patron to get access to this episode and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
Oct 23, 2021•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Seymour joins PTO to talk about his recent articles on the supply chain and fuel crisis - both in the UK and abroad - and how they portend a future of climate related disruption. We also talked about the significant uptick in the UK's Covid-19 cases and death toll, and why the government scaled back public health regulations so dramatically. Become a £5 PTO patron to get access to this episode and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
Oct 21, 2021•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andy Beckett joins PTO to talk about the recent Conservative and Labour Party conferences and whether the supply chain and fuel crises might finally undermine support for Boris Johnson's government. We also chatted about why Keir Starmer seems to have made so little effort to make political capital out of the government's current difficulties.
Oct 12, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amia Srinivasan joins PTO to talk about her new book, The Right to Sex. We spoke about whether it's legitimate to interrogate our sexual desires and to think about how desire is shaped by patriarchy, racism, capitalism, and heteronormativity. We also talked about why Amia takes the case of so-called incels as the way into discussing those questions. Finally, we considered the anti-pornography critique of Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon, and whether their work can be generative in spite of...
Oct 05, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ines Schwerdtner and Adrian Daub join PTO to talk through the Bundestag election. We talked about the election results and the partial revival of the SPD. We also talked about the permutations of possible governing coalitions, and the unusual extent of the red scare tactics deployed by the CDU and the other parties of the right against Die Linke and the SPD. Finally, we chatted about the legacy of Angela Merkel and why Germany's longest serving chancellor since Helmut Kohl is so admired by liber...
Sep 28, 2021•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Rogers and David Brophy join PTO to talk about AUKUS, the new security pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. We spoke about the significance of Australia acquiring nuclear powered submarines through the deal, the fallout from the cancellation of Australia's prior deal with France, and finally we discuss how the deal will be perceived in Beijing amid rising tensions between the US and China.
Sep 19, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast James Meadway joins PTO again to respond to listener's questions on the recent episode on the end of neoliberalism. We chatted about who might be the winners of a post neoliberal settlement, whether neoliberal ideology is compatible with a more state directed economy, and why James believes we will likely see a shift in power towards workers in the coming years. Become a £5 PTO supporter to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO extra, as well as extended versions of the regular show: ...
Sep 13, 2021•4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Adam Tooze joins PTO to talk about his new book, Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy. We talked about the problems and pitfalls of writing instant history, why 'shutdown' is a more useful way of thinking about how governments and ordinary people responded to the Covid19 crisis than 'lockdown'. And finally, we chatted about why China's radical efforts to suppress the virus in Wuhan, Hubei province and beyond was not as typical of the regime as is commonly supposed.
Sep 07, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Timothy Nunan joins PTO to talk about the current situation in Afghanistan, the refugee crisis in the country, the US media discussion around the American withdrawal, and what descriptions of Afghanistan as 'a graveyard of empires' or a 'second Vietnam' obscures regarding the history of the country in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Sep 02, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Juliet Jacques joins PTO to talk about her debut collection of short stories, Variations. Inspired by found material and real-life events, the book explores the history of transgenderism in Britain, from the time of the Oscar Wilde trial to the second decade of the 2000s. We talked about why Juliet chose to use fiction to address the history of trans, the feelings of responsibility that come with describing the experiences of characters based on the lives of real people who lived, loved and suff...
Aug 31, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Rogers returns to PTO to respond to listener questions on the situation in Afghanistan and the implications of the Taliban's victory. Become a $5 supporter on patreon to access this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
Aug 25, 2021•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
