(Pop) Cultural Marxism, Episode 16: Shine Bright Like a TIE Fighter

In episode 16 of (Pop) Cultural Marxism, Isi and Ajay discuss the return of Tony Gilroy’s Andor. Before departing for a galaxy far, far away, they stop by the world of gaming to chat about Hazelight Studio’s latest co-op title, Split Fiction, and the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the rollout of Nintendo’s Switch 2. Turning to the first three episodes of Andor’s second season, Isi and Ajay discuss the show’s improbable presence in the Disney universe, the promises and perils of thinking with all-too-timely cultural objects, and formal and technical differences between seasons one and two. They then evaluate Gilroy’s attempt to balance the tone and feel of the original trilogy with a plausible account of fascist and imperial rule–one that explores the minutiae of bureaucratic hierarchy, financial audits, counterinsurgency tactics, fascist youth culture, the exploitation of undocumented workers, communication blackouts, and the fragility of political resistance. Along the way, they discuss Gilroy’s historical and filmic references, and the show’s resonances with long-time PCM favorite, Franz Neumann’s Behemoth. The Podcast for Social Research is produced by Ryan Lentini. Learn more about upcoming courses on our website. Follow Brooklyn Institute for Social Research on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

Om Podcasten

From Plato to quantum physics, Walter Benjamin to experimental poetry, Frantz Fanon to the history of political radicalism, The Podcast for Social Research is a crucial part of our mission to forge new, organic paths for intellectual work in the twenty-first century: an ongoing, interdisciplinary series featuring members of the Institute, and occasional guests, conversing about a wide variety of intellectual issues, some perennial, some newly pressing. Each episode centers on a different topic and is accompanied by a bibliography of annotations and citations that encourages further curiosity and underscores the conversation’s place in a larger web of cultural conversations.