Adam Tooze returns to PTO to discuss the extent to which war with China is increasingly being treated as a serious prospect in Washington and the Pentagon. We also talked about how successful, or otherwise, the Biden administration has been in constructing regional alliances against China during the last four years. And we went on to talk about why the Chinese Communist Party leadership's decisions over climate policy dwarf the US presidential election in significance. Finally, we discussed the economic slowdown in the country and Adam explained why he disagrees with analysts who see China's economic problems as primarily a consequence of increasing authoritarianism.

In today's episode Richard Seymour responds to more of the great questions sent in by PTO supporters. Those questions covered topics including degrowth, the extent to which Green party's can be vehicles for radical change, the left's impasse in the UK and Richard's appearance in the audience on BBC Question Time at the tender age of twenty-one. Become a £5 supporter of PTO on patreon to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/c/poltheoryother

Bue Rübner Hansen joins PTO to talk about his recent essay The New German Chauvinism. In the first part of our conversation we discussed the history of the German-Israeli alliance and how its emergence was far more complicated than is commonly supposed. We discussed the contrasting attitudes to Israel amongst the German public and the political and media class and big business. And we went on to discuss the distinct memory culture around the crimes of Nazism and the Holocaust, that emerged in West Germany during the Cold War and how elements of that culture fostered a political climate in Germany that is, at best, deaf to the suffering of the Palestinians. We also talked about the emergence of the Anti-German current within the German left and how its suspicion of the German working class stemmed from the obliteration of the history of working class opposition to the Nazis. Read Bue's two part essay here: https://lefteast.org/the-new-german-chauvinism-part-i/ https://lefteast.org/the-new-german-chauvinism-part-ii/

Covid-19 accelerated the digitisation of our economy, as more and more activity has moved online. But the technologies we have threaten an uncertain future at best: unemployment, huge inequalities of wealth and power, and a lack of democratic oversight. What might we expect, and what are the alternatives? In this panel discussion Dalia Gebrial, Aaron Benanav and Ursula Huws grapple with these questions about our digital future.

Last month the Progressive Economics 2022 conference, a one-day festival of transformative economic thinking, took place at the University of Greenwich. In a world battered by crises, facing environmental collapse, PEF brought together leading thinkers from across the progressive movement to present the arguments and solutions we need to build a radically better economy. Speakers included Gargi Bhattacharryya, Aaron Benanav, Francesca Bria, James Meadway, Kate Pickett, John Mcdonnell MP, and David Edgerton amongst many others. PTO was pleased to be an official media partner of the event and in the coming weeks we'll be posting some of the excellent panel discussions that took place at the event. First up, is a session on the Cost of Living Crisis. In the panel discussion James Meadway, Susan Newman, and Rupert Russell discuss the causes of price rises, the disastrous effects of conventional policy responses, and what the real solutions are to high inflation.

Richard Seymour and I discuss the Conservative Party leadership election and the legacy of Boris Johnson. We talked about which conservative candidate has the most dangerous agenda and why it is that both labour and the conservatives seem so intellectually adrift. Finally, Richard explained why the presence of several BAME candidates in the election can't simply be dismissed as mere tory tokenism.

Richard Seymour on the recent wave of strikes in the UK, and whether the upsurge of industrial action signals the long hoped for revival of Britain's labour movement.

Sebastian Budgen returns to the show to talk about the second round of the French legislative elections. We discussed the breakthrough of Jean Luc Melenchon's NUPES coalition and the broader prospects for the left following Emmanuel Macron's failure to secure a majority. We also talked about the historic breakthrough of Marine Le Pen's national rally and the breakdown of the so-called Republican front against the far right. Finally, we talked about where Emmanuel Macron goes from here, and whether or not his Ensemble coalition will be able to ally with the conservative Republicans, in order to pass legislation.

Anna Della Subin joins PTO to talk about her book Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine. The book tells the stories of men who have inadvertently been turned into living Gods - from Gandhi and Haile Selassie to Prince Philip and Narendra Modi. In the book Anna shows how deification and violence were intertwined in the colonial enterprise and in the present day cult of the political strong man, yet - she argues - it's also a process that's been central to struggles of liberation. In our conversation we focussed on the chapters of the book on Haile Selassie and the emergence of the Rastafari in Jamaica in the 1930s, and on the history of deification in the British Raj - regarding both the colonial authorities and the iconic leaders of the independence movement.

Sebastian Budgen returns to PTO to discuss the upcoming French legislative elections and the prospects for the new left popular union coalition, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France Insoumise. We talked about the prospects for the popular union and whether Mélenchon becoming Prime Minister is a realistic prospect. We also talked about the creation of the new coalition which includes the french socialists and the greens, hitherto fierce critics of Mélenchon. Finally, we discussed why Marine Le Pen's National Rally and Eric Zemmour's Reconquête party have failed to make an electoral pact - and why this is likely to lead to a poor electoral result for the far right. Become a £5 support of PTO to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Ukrainian filmmaker and writer Oleksiy Radynski joins PTO from Kyiv. We talked about the current situation in the city and the popular mood in Ukraine. We went on to talk about Oleksiy's article 'The Case Against the Russian Federation' which appeared in E-Flux magazine. Oleksiy described the key features and history of Russian nationalism and why it is that Vladimir Putin, and the clique around him, repeatedly misunderstand the political realities of Ukraine.

The 2nd of May marked the 25th anniversary of New Labour's coming to power and the election of Tony Blair as prime minister. I spoke to Jeremy Gilbert about how he viewed the New Labour project at the time and about how the Blairites succeeded in winning support within the party, despite a distinct lack of enthusiasm for their neoliberal policy agenda. We also talked about why Jeremy disagreed with Stuart Hall's analysis that saw New Labour as a hybrid project containing both neoliberal and social democratic threads. And finally, Jeremy explained why, in spite of the defeat of the Corbyn project he believes the broad left is in a much stronger position than it was a decade ago.

Richard Seymour discusses his new book, The Disenchanted Earth: Reflections on Ecosocialism and Barbarism. We talked about why the Marxist left for a long time gave relatively little attention to the ecological crisis and about Richard's own turn towards environmental writing. We also talked about the process of the earth's disenchantment in the 16th and 17th centuries and how it made possible capital's hyper exploitation of the natural environment.

In today's episode Richard Seymour returns to answer some of the excellent questions sent in by PTO patrons. To become a PTO supporter go to patreon.com/poltheoryother

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 which involves not merely erosion of democratic norms but also the combining of certain elements of a neoliberal marketisation agenda with efforts to promote national capital at the expense of foreign corporations and the radical centralisation of state power.

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.

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.

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 - continue to structure all of our lives.

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: Illustrations of Character and Conduct. Finally we discussed Richard's plans to write a self-help book from the left.

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.

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 could deescalate. We also discussed China's gradual distancing from Russia since the start of the invasion.

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.

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 recent article in The Guardian in which he lauded NATO and condemned the Stop the War Coalition. Become a £5 support of PTO to get access to this and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

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 Boric's opponent, the far-right José Antonio Kast - who, despite losing the election, has displaced the less extreme conservative currents in Chilean electoral politics.

On January 22nd the new Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh was consecrated in a ceremony led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event kicked off Modi's election campaign that was widely expected to lead to a landslide for Modi and the BJP. Instead, the Hindu nationalist party lost 63 seats and the opposition coalition led by congress made significant gains. In today's episode I spoke with Radhika Desai about the causes of the electoral upset, the image and reality of the Indian economy and what the election results announced in June might mean for Indian Muslims.

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.

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. Become a £5 PTO patron to get access to this episode and all other episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

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 to the growth imperative of capitalism, could pave the way for radically increased exploitation of workers.

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.

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 were not the communist true believers she'd thought them to be. Finally, we talked about Lea's views on what liberalisation meant for Albania and why her experience of the post-communist transition left her profoundly sceptical about liberal notions of what constitutes a truly free society.

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

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 indicator of societal progress and well being.

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 episodes of PTO Extra: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

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 analysis and the new discipline's relationship to eugenics. And finally we discussed how workplace surveillance systems, in spite of their apparent novelty, are in some ways replicating the practices of managerial control of the early factory system.

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

Sebastian Budgen returns to the show to discuss the recent shock result in the French legislative elections that saw the left wing New Popular Front win the highest number of seats, beating both Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble and the far-right National Rally, who had been widely expected to emerge with the most deputies in the French parliament.

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

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.

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 its obvious drawbacks and failings.

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 liberals abroad and whether her reputation for competence and fairness is deserved.

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.

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: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

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.

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.

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 suffered, and we also talked about the work of the sexologist Havelock Ellis who plays a prominent part in one of the stories.

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

Today’s show is a crossover episode with our good friends over at the Macrodose podcast, which is hosted by economist James Meadway. In the episode James is joined by Richard Seymour to discuss the upcoming UK general election. We talked about the crisis in the Conservative Party and the prospects of a post-election merger with Nigel Farage's Reform party. We also discussed whether Farage's comments on Ukraine damage his electoral prospects, the likelihood of Labour implementing austerity and why - as James argues - the 4th of July is likely to be the last "normal" general election held in the UK.

Paul Rogers joins PTO to talk about the Taliban's advance across Afghanistan and the possibility of an imminent takeover of the capital Kabul. We spoke about why the Taliban have been so successful against the more numerous and better equipped and supported Afghan government forces, what the Taliban's victory might mean for India, Pakistan and China, and finally we discussed how history will judge Western military intervention in the country.

Owen joins PTO to respond to listener questions on our recent discussion on Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances, a career spanning new collection of his writings. Become a £5 PTO supporter on patreon to get access to all episodes of PTO Extra! https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

James Meadway joins PTO to talk about his forthcoming article for Open Democracy on the end of neoliberalism. We talked about why James believes that we're witnessing a transition away from neoliberalism and towards what some are calling authoritarian capitalism, why the left needs to focus more on the high point of globalisation of the early 2000s when thinking about neoliberal forms of governance rather than the late 1970s and 1980s, and we also talked about how the platform tech giants may have been nurtured within the neoliberal system but that their revenue models point to a quite different regime of capital accumulation.