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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

The fandom menace – How politics is shaped by obsessives

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is “fandom” one of the drives behind our dysfunctional politics? That’s the thesis of Dr Phoenix Andrews new book I Heart Politics – who writes about how people power is behind a series of quake moments in recent political history. He joins Andrew Harrison to discuss whether the phenomenon and power of fandom is overlooked in contemporary politics, and how the fandoms of politicians like Trump, Farage and Thatcher affect the cultural zeitgeist. • “The world feels mad, but finding people with a common passion is uplifting.” – Dr Phoenix Andrews • “Political fandom is basically Eurovision with consequences.” – Dr Phoenix Andrews We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit. Buy Phoenix Andrew’s book I Heart Politics: How People Power Took Over the World through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. https://www.patreon.com/bunkercast Written and Presented by Andrew Harrison. Producer: Adam Wright and Liam Tait. Audio Production: Robin Leeburn. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Artwork: James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved

0:05.5

photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.

0:11.8

Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?

0:13.0

I loved going to college.

0:14.0

It's good you can retrain and do something.

0:16.0

Yeah, yeah.

0:17.0

Let's talk about working, learning, saving and making the most of living longer.

0:22.0

Phoenix Group is the UK's largest long-term savings and retirement business.

0:28.0

Search Phoenix Group living longer.

0:30.0

Pets brings so much joy.

0:32.0

From those happy greetings at the door to the warm cuddles on the sofa.

0:37.0

So give a little love back with Dental Life from Purina, a range of delicious chues made for dogs and tasty snacks for cats that help clean and support your pets, teeth and gums, essential for their overall well-being and a happy, healthy life. They give you plenty of smiles so look

0:55.5

after theirs with dental life. Pick up that's lost the run of itself. I'm Andrew Harrison.

1:14.8

Today, we live in confusing times where larger than life cartoonish figures and caricature

1:20.3

politicians often crowd out the people with boring attainable solutions.

1:24.8

People like Trump, Elon Musk, Boris Johnson or Farage, or for that matter, lesser figures,

1:29.5

from lay Anderson to Marjorie Taylor Green, seem to have little existence outside the headlines and

1:34.1

social media heat that they generate for themselves.

1:37.3

Why are people drawn to support public figures who are transparently self-serving,

1:41.1

often dishonest and usually incompetent, but at least reward their followers

1:45.2

with excitement, controversy and the sense of being on their team. Would it make more sense

1:50.0

to see our current state of affairs less as politics and more as fandom.

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