Politics Theory Other

Afleveringen

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  Excerpt - Has Burnham's project failed before it's started? w/ Richard Seymour 20.07.2026

  Richard Seymour responds to listener questions on the politics of new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham. If you'd like to hear the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 supporter on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
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  After Order? w/ Juliano Fiori 18.07.2026 1u 16min

  From rising geopolitical tensions, to the worsening climate situation, and from the Gaza genocide to hot wars that threaten to spill into great power conflict, the world of the 2020s is one of concatenating crises. But is our moment an interregnum that will be followed by a new moment of relatively ordered hegemony? Juliano Fiori, director of the Alameda Institute, argues otherwise and makes the case that we have entered a post-order situation in which crisis is the new normal. In our conversation today, we talked about why Juliano believes the creation of a relatively stable new international order is unlikely and why China will probably not be able to assume a position of international leadership on the scale needed to create such an order. We also talked about Gramsci's concept of the Interregnum, and how disordering at the international level is mirrored and mutually constituted by the disordering of national polities and the world of work. And we also talked about the extent to which the pre-Donald Trump era really was a rules-based system given the extreme violence that the United States and its allies have been the authors of since WWII.
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  Excerpt - Daniel Trilling responds to listener questions 02.07.2026 3min

  If you'd like to listen to the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! Please become a £5 patron of the show at patreon.com/poltheoryother
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  New York's rising socialist tide w/ Liza Featherstone 27.06.2026 38min

  Liza Featherstone joins PTO to talk about the impressive primary victories for DSA-backed candidates in the New York primaries. We chatted about what the ramifications of the results are - both statewide but also nationally - and what the implications are for who will be the Democrats' candidate in the next presidential election. We also talked about the differences between the organising models of the DSA and the more moderate Working Families Party. And finally, we discussed the salience of Palestine and the Gaza genocide in how the various primary campaigns played out. Show notes: Liza's Jacobin piece on the elections: https://jacobin.com/2026/06/dsa-valdez-chevalier-mamdani-nyc The recent interview with Adrienne Buller on the politics of Heatwaves: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother/posts/heatwave-w-160906528
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  Interregnum - Peace in the Gulf? 16.06.2026 44min

  On the peace deal between Iran and the United States, which is expected to see the strait of Hormuz opened in exchange for a lifting of the US naval blockade of Iran. We talked about how seriously to take the deal (given how vague it is and how much has been put off to future talks). We also talked about the historic significance of Iran linking the peace deal to a cessation of Israeli violence in Lebanon. And finally we discussed where the conflict leaves the broader region and what the consequences of the war will be for nuclear proliferation.
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  Heatwave politics w/ Adrienne Buller 13.06.2026 56min

  Last month the UK was hit by a record-breaking heatwave, part of a wider climate event that affected much of Europe, whilst a subsequent and more severe heatwave hit South Asia. To talk through the politics of heatwaves, I was joined by Adrienne Buller, editor of The Breakdown. We talked the differential impacts of heatwaves, and why it is that focus on climate in the media has declined at the same time as the global climate situation has never been more severe. We also talked about climate adaptation - in both more and less benign guises - and finally we talked about the prospect of geoengineering and how close we might be to corporate and state actors deploying technologies such as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection that aim to reduce inbound solar radiation. Notes: Adrienne's article in The Breakdown: https://www.break-down.org/reflections-on-a-heatwave-2/ Sofia Menemenlis' PTO interview: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother/posts/sunlight-w-sofia-142819236
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  The rise of the UK far-right w/ Daniel Trilling 04.06.2026 1u 14min

  For decades in much of Europe far-right opinion has had electoral expression in political parties that can command millions of votes, but until relatively recently in Britain anti-migrant and racist views - though prevalent - did not result in electoral vehicles with truly mass support. This all changed with the rise first of UKIP - and then its successors the Brexit Party and Reform - who can now command a degree of popular support that earlier far-right political formations could not. Britain has also seen a major increase in far-right protest and violence with 2025 seeing the biggest far-right rally in Britain's history after a summer of flag waving protests that was preceded by violent attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. To talk about how we got here - to a situation where the most plausible outcome at the next general election is a Reform-led government PTO is joined by Daniel Trilling, who has spent more than fifteen years researching and writing about the far-right in Britain.
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  China and the US - a durable thaw? w/ Tobita Chow and Jake Werner 18.05.2026 54min

  China experts Tobita Chow and Jake Werner join PTO to talk about the recently concluded summit in Beijing between the United States and the People's Republic of China. We chatted about whether or not the relative thaw in relations (and the continuation of the tariff truce) is durable. We went on to talk about China's approach to Taiwan, and how realistic or otherwise the idea of a Chinese blockade or military assault on the island really are. And Jake and Toby explained what they see as potential crises on the horizon that might worsen relations between the two most powerful states in the global system.
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  Labour's election disaster w/ Phil Burton-Cartledge 10.05.2026 42min

  Phil Burton-Cartledge joins PTO to talk about the recent local elections in England and the parliamentary elections in Wales and Scotland in which the Labour Party suffered an historic defeat. We talked about what the results mean for Starmer's leadership and for the long-term trajectory of the party. We also chatted about the Greens and what can be done to respond to media smears against Zack Polanski and the Green Party more broadly. Finally, we talked about the remarkable results in Wales and Scotland where both the Welsh Senedd and the Scottish parliament will now be led by nationalist parties.
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  American Crusade w/ Eleanor Janega 28.04.2026 1u 6min

  Eleanor Janega joins PTO to talk about the Christian right and the role of Christian Zionist ideology in the minds of key figures in the Trump administration and the decision to launch the US-Israeli war on Iran. We chatted about why the religious beliefs of US policy makers are often under-discussed, whether it's conceivable that Donald Trump is undergoing some sort of religious turn under the influence of the various religious fanatics around him, and we talked about the different religious strains of Christian right-thinking that exist within the administration - from Calvinists to Catholic Integralists. And we also talked about Christian Zionism and how attitudes towards Israel, and the role designated to Jewish in the apocalyptic scenarios of the Christian right, has changed over time. And finally we touched the extraordinary spat between the administration and the Vatican and Pope Leo. Notes: Issue three of The Breakdown: https://www.break-down.org/tag/issue-03/ Launch event and party: https://luma.com/3r5t0jyf?tk=jXzIbb
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  [UNLOCKED] China and the Iran war w/ William Figueroa 22.04.2026 38min

  William Figueroa returns to PTO to talk about China's response to the US-Israeli war on Iran and the country's role in the subsequent peace negotiations. We chatted about whether the conflict has substantially changed Chinese foreign policy in West Asia, and whether Iran's ability to withstand the extraordinary violence of the US and Israeli assault has changed the weight China gives to its relationship with the Islamic Republic. We also talked about whether the failings of the US military and the depletion of its weapons stocks changes Chinese calculations regarding Taiwan. Finally, we talked about Chinese soft power and how the Iran war has been portrayed in Chinese media.
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  Excerpt - China and the Iran war w/ William Figueroa 16.04.2026 2min

  If you'd like to listen to the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! Please consider becoming a £5 supporter at https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
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  Strategic defeat in the Gulf w/ Jennifer Kavanagh 08.04.2026 23min

  Jennifer Kavanagh joins PTO to talk about the two-week conditional ceasefire that has been agreed between the United States and Iran, and how the Islamic Republic succeeded in inflicting what looks to be a major strategic defeat on the US. We talked about the implications of the ceasefire, what it means for US-Israeli relations and what will happen to American bases in the region - now that it's been shown that the US military is unable to defend them. And finally, we talked about what lessons American allies in Asia may be drawing from the conflict. 
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  Excerpt - A hegemonic Iran? 04.04.2026 4min

  If you'd like to listen to the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 supporter at https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
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  Why Iran isn't breaking w/ Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi 26.03.2026 56min

  Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi joins PTO to talk about the US and Israeli war on Iran, as the conflict - apparently expected to last mere days in the Trump White House - approaches its second month. Eskandar explained why the Iranian state and military have proven so resilient despite the overwhelming firepower that the United States and Israel are able to bring to bear, and why in his view the Trump administration made so little apparent effort to prepare for an extended conflict and the closure of the strait of Hormuz. We also talked about the prospect of negotiations and what Iran's red lines might be. And finally, we talked about how the Iranian revolution of 1979 continues to shape how the Iranian regime functions and why it's a mistake to view Iran's allies in the region as mere proxies.
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  Israel's forever war in Lebanon w/ Nathaniel George 12.03.2026 1u 2min

  On March 2nd, in the early stages of the ongoing attack on Iran by Israel and the United States, and following the assassination of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah launched missile strikes on northern Israel. Hezbollah described the attack as a defensive act after more than a year of near-daily Israeli strikes. Israel has since launched major attacks on Lebanese territory that have killed hundreds, and its evacuation orders have caused a massive displacement of Lebanese civilians. Nathaniel George returns to PTO to talk about the background to the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the current situation in the country, and about the history of Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
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  Interregnum - Operation Epic Fury 05.03.2026 42min

  Richard Seymour on the widening war in West Asia. We talked about the current military situation, the confusion around what US and Israeli objectives are, and the divergent responses of European states to the attack. We also talked about how to situate Operation Epic Fury in the context of gradual US decline, and what the prospects are for a revival of the US anti-war movement.
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  Excerpt - James Meadway on the Green's historic byelection victory 28.02.2026 1min

  If you'd like to listen to the rest of this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 supporter at https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother
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  Interregnum - Labour's Death Spiral 21.02.2026 45min

  On the ongoing crisis within the Labour Party following the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, over the appointment of Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson to the position of US ambassador. We talked about why the parliamentary Labour party has stepped back from trying to oust Keir Starmer, and whether or not a left turn from the government is now conceivable. We went on to discuss just how devastating the ongoing revelations about Peter Mandelson might prove to be for the government, and about the broader crisis of legitimacy facing the British state and its key institutions.
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  Interregnum - mail bag (part one) 04.02.2026 2min

  If you'd like to listen to this episode of PTO Extra! please consider becoming a £5 patron of the show at patreon.com/poltheoryother Richard responds to some more excellent listener questions. Topics included: - What a left foreign policy might look like in the context of collapsing US hegemony. -Why Mark Carney called time on the so-called 'rules based order' before any major European state. - Marxist theorisations of war and whether conflict lays the basis for future economic growth - Violence and resistance in Minnesota.