Return to Bandung
Return to Bandung is a podcast examining imperialism, resistance, and internationalist solidarity throughout history and today. It combines historical analysis, interviews with expert guests, and deep dives into classic works of anticolonial theory. The show argues that anti-imperialist politics remain crucial in the current moment.
Episodes
The Psychology of Empire and Resistance with Lara Sheehi
In this episode, I’m joined by Lara Sheehi, practicing clinical psychologist and Research Fellow at the University of South Africa's Institute for Social & Health Sciences, to discuss her new book From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures (Pluto Press, 2026). In this conversation, we explore the various ways in which empire uses psychological warfare as a wea
Capitalist Racism and State Repression with Charisse Burden-Stelly
In this episode, I’m joined by Charisse Burden-Stelly, associate professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University and author of Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States (University of Chicago Press, 2023)—to discuss the connections between capitalism and racism and how the intertwined relationship between anti-Blackness and anti-communism has shaped t
From Minneapolis to Iran with Nick Estes
In this episode, I’m joined by returning guest Nick Estes—associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, cofounder of The Red Nation, and author of Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance (Verso Books, 2019)—to discuss last winter’s federal occupation of Minnesota during the Trump Ad
Venezuela After Maduro with Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert
In this episode, I’m joined by returning guests Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert, both Venezuela-based scholars and Chavista activists, to provide an update from on the ground six months after the United States’ illegal invasion and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro in January. We discuss the current state of the Bolivarian Revolution, the challenges facing Acting President Delcy Rodrí
Chinese Socialism and Green Development with Ashwin Shantha
In this episode, I’m joined by Ashwin Shantha, PhD student in politics at York University and host of the International Solidarity Podcast, to discuss their recent article “China’s Green Development is Both Anti-Imperialist and Socialist.” We explore the history and current state of China’s green industrialization, its implications for energy sovereignty in China and across the Global South, and w
Defending the Cuban Revolution with David Ramírez Álvarez
In this episode, I’m joined by David Ramírez Álvarez, Second Secretary and cultural attaché at the Embassy of Cuba to the United States in Washington, D.C., to talk about the history of Cuba’s socialist revolution and the ongoing fight to defend it in the face of escalating imperialist aggression from the United States. We discuss the history and effects of the blockade, the current situation on t
Reviving the European Left with Peter Mertens
In this episode, I’m joined by Peter Mertens, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB), to discuss the current situation and future outlook of the European left. We discuss the PTB’s meteoric rise as one of the most prominent and fastest-growing left-wing parties in Europe today, the fight against a rising tide of militarism and far-right nationalism, and the role of parliamentary
Resisting Empire From Within with Torkil Lauesen
In this episode, I’m joined by Marxist theorist and anti-imperialist revolutionary Torkil Lauesen, author of numerous books including The Principal Contradiction (Kersplebedeb, 2020) and Unequal Exchange: Past, Present, and Future (Iskra Books, 2025), to discuss the challenges and contradictions of anti-imperialist resistance in the imperial core. We explore key concepts such as the labor aristocr
Imperialism and Resistance in Mexico with Alex Aviña
In this episode, I’m joined by Alexander Aviña, historian of Mexico and associate professor of Latin American history at Arizona State University, to discuss imperialism and anti-imperialist resistance in Mexico. We discuss the long history of revolutionary struggles in Mexico, the imperial origins and present-day violence of the U.S.-Mexico border, and how Mexico’s relationship with the United St
The Problem with Western Marxism with Gabriel Rockhill
In this episode, I’m joined by guest host Ashwin Shantha of the Journal of International Solidarity podcast to interview Gabriel Rockhill, professor of philosophy at Villanova University and author of Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism? (Monthly Review Press, 2025) about how the ‘imperial theory industry’ has served to undermine actually-existing socialist projects and national liberation stru
Trump's Revival of the Monroe Doctrine with Guillaume Long
In this episode, I’m joined by Guillaume Long, former Foreign Minister of Ecuador and current Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, to discuss the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ and its role in shaping the trajectory of U.S. imperialism in Latin America. We discuss the history of this foreign policy doctrine, its evolution over the last two centuries, and why it is so important
Debating the National and Colonial Questions with Ashwin Shantha
In this episode, I’m joined once again by Ashwin Shantha, host of the Journal of International Solidarity podcast, to revisit a crucial but often-overlooked episode in international left history—the 1920 debate between Vladimir Lenin and the Indian Communist leader M.N. Roy over the national and colonial question. In this conversation, posted as a collaborative episode with the Journal of Internat
The Political Economy of Global Shipping with Laleh Khalili
In this episode, I’m joined by Laleh Khalili, Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula (Verso, 2020), to discuss the incredibly important but often-overlooked role of international shipping and logistics in the capitalist-imperialist world system. We discuss how the global shipping industry relates
Internal Colonialism in the United States with Sam Klug
In this episode, I’m joined by intellectual historian Sam Klug, author of The Internal Colony: Race and the American Politics of Global Decolonization (University of Chicago Press, 2025), to discuss the idea of ‘internal colonialism’ as it applies to the situation of African Americans and other racialized peoples in the United States. We explore how this concept developed within the Black radical
Worldmaking After Empire with Adom Getachew
In this episode, I’m joined by political theorist Adom Getachew, author of Worldmaking After Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination (Princeton University Press, 2019), to discuss the politics of ‘anticolonial worldmaking’ that swept across the Third World throughout the latter half of the 20th century, when Global South leaders envisioned new ways of radically reshaping the international
Anti-Imperialist Political Education with Ashwin Shantha (1-Year Anniversary Episode)
For this special one-year anniversary episode of Return to Bandung, I’m joined by my comrade Ashwin Shantha to discuss our shared project of anti-imperialist political education. In this conversation, posted as a collaborative episode with Ashwin’s excellent International Solidarity Podcast (itself a part of Ashwin’s larger Journal of International Solidarity project), we explore the importance of
Defending Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution with Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert
In this episode, I’m joined by scholars Cira Pascual Marquina and Chris Gilbert, coauthors of Venezuela, The Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution (Monthly Review Press, 2020), to discuss the history and current situation of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution. Situating our discussion in the context of escalating imperialist attacks against Venezuela’s socialist project, this w
Imperialism and Global Inequality with Jason Hickel
In this episode, I’m joined by economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, author of The Divide: Global Inequality from Conquest to Free Markets (W.W. Norton, 2018), to discuss the complex and interconnected relationship between imperialism—both past and present—and global economic inequality. We examine why mainstream liberal frameworks for understanding the divide between rich and poor countries inevi
Reviving the Bandung Spirit (Socialism 2025 Conference Lecture)
This is the recording of a lecture that I gave in July at the Socialism 2025 conference in Chicago, titled “‘This is the Human Race Speaking…’: Reviving the Bandung Spirit in a Multipolar World.” In the lecture, which I also published as an essay on Substack, I reflect on the 70th anniversary of the Bandung Conference and the legacies of the Third Worldist movement, arguing that the global left—pa
The Politics of International Solidarity with Pawel Wargan
In this episode, I’m joined by Pawel Wargan, Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Progressive International, to discuss the past, present, and future of left internationalism and international solidarity. In this wide-ranging conversation, we unpack what ‘internationalism’ really means, how debates over internationalism have evolved on the left over time, and what a politics of solidarity across
Development and Imperialism with Jayati Ghosh
In this episode, I’m joined by critical development economist Jayati Ghosh to discuss the complex relationship between imperialism and international development. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the problematic assumptions underlying mainstream ideas of ‘development,’ why GDP is a profoundly inadequate measure of a country’s economic well-being, and how the globalization of the intern
Outsourcing Imperialism in Africa with Samar Al-Bulushi
In this episode, I’m joined by Samar Al-Bulushi, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UC Irvine and author of War-Making as World-Making: Kenya, the United States, and the War on Terror (Stanford University Press, 2024), to discuss how the United States outsources the violence of empire to countries in the Global South—particularly in Africa—in the context of the War on Terror. Focusing on Kenya
Colonizing Kashmir with Hafsa Kanjwal
In this episode, I’m joined by Hafsa Kanjwal, Professor of South Asian History at Lafayette College and author of Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation (Stanford University Press, 2023), to discuss the long and complex history of colonization and resistance in Kashmir. We explore how the rights and agency of the Kashmiri people have been denied for decades by the Indian state’
The Politics of Decolonization with Priyamvada Gopal
In this episode, I’m joined by Priyamvada Gopal, Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the University of Cambridge and author of Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent (Verso, 2019), to discuss the complicated and often fraught politics of decolonization. We explore how the idea of ‘decolonization’ has evolved over time, the many and often contradictory meanings that this ter
Imperialism, Debt, and International Finance with Ndongo Samba Sylla and Farwa Sial
In this episode, I’m joined by critical development economists Ndongo Samba Sylla, Africa Region Director for Research and Policy at the International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), and Farwa Sial, Asia Region Director for Research and Policy at IDEAS, to discuss the international financial system and its role in upholding empire. We explore how this system has been structurally designe
Empire and the Polycrisis with Tim Sahay
In this episode, I’m joined by Tim Sahay, co-director of Johns Hopkins University’s Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab and co-editor of Phenomenal World’s The Polycrisis newsletter, to discuss the many interconnected crises facing our world today, from the climate crisis to the rise of the authoritarian far-right to the collapse of the liberal international order—an intersection that some have termed
Making Sense of Dollar Imperialism with Radhika Desai
In this episode, I’m joined by Radhika Desai, professor in the Department of Political Studies and director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba, to discuss dollar imperialism and the key role that the U.S. dollar plays in upholding American dominance on the world stage. We dig into the history of the dollar system from the early 20th century onwards, examining
Imperialism and Resistance in West Africa with Black Alliance for Peace
In this episode, I’m joined by Netfa Freeman, Coordinating Committee member of the Black Alliance for Peace and Co-Coordinator of BAP’s Africa team, to discuss the history of imperialism and anticolonial resistance in West Africa, with a specific focus on the developments in the Sahel region over the last few years. Examining the ongoing legacies of French colonialism and neocolonialism in this re
China's Role in the Global Order with Tings Chak
In this episode, I’m joined by Tings Chak, Art Director at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Editor of Wenhua Zongheng: A Journal of Contemporary Chinese Thought, to discuss China’s role in the shifting global order. We examine the achievements of China’s socialist revolution, its meteoric rise on the world stage in recent decades, and the complex dynamics of the ‘New Cold War’ tha
Imperialism and Resistance in Haiti with Black Alliance for Peace
In this episode, I’m joined by Erica Caines, Coordinating Committee member of the Black Alliance for Peace and Co-Coordinator of BAP’s Haiti/Americas team, to discuss the history of imperialism and anticolonial resistance in Haiti. We explore Haiti’s historical position as the world’s first Black republic, and the imperialist onslaught that has continued unabated against the country from the momen
Indigenous Resistance in North America with Nick Estes
In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Estes—associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, cofounder of The Red Nation, and author of Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance (Verso Books, 2019)—to discuss the long and rich history of Indigenous resistance to colonialism in North Americ
The Imperial Boomerang with Julian Go
In this episode, I’m joined by Julian Go, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and author of Policing Empires: Race, Militarization and the Imperial Boomerang in the US and Great Britain (Oxford University Press, 2023), to discuss the intertwined relationship between imperialist violence abroad and fascism and state repression here at home—a concept known as the “imperial boomerang.
Making Sense of Settler Colonialism with Sai Englert
In this episode, I’m joined by Sai Englert, lecturer in the political economy of the Middle East at Leiden University’s Institute for Area Studies, to talk about the frequently invoked (but less frequently understood) concept of settler colonialism. We explore the nuances of what the term ‘settler colonialism’ really means, as well as how this phenomenon has historically manifested and continues t
Third Worldism and its Legacies with Vijay Prashad
Episode summary:
In this episode, I’m joined by Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and author of forty books including The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World, to talk about the history and contemporary legacies of Third Worldism. We discuss the origins and trajectory of Third Worldism and the ‘Bandung Spirit,’ what became of this r
Building an Anti-Imperialist Cultural Front with Writers Against the War on Gaza
In this episode, I’m joined by Tiana Reid, an assistant professor of English at York University in Toronto and a member of Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG), to talk about WAWOG’s work organizing a revolutionary cultural front against Zionism and imperialism. We discuss the crucial role that cultural production and political education have historically played in anti-imperialist struggle, an
Resisting Imperialism in Korea with Nodutdol
Episode summary:
In this episode, I’m joined by Jia Hong, an organizer with Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, to discuss the history and contemporary politics of imperialism and anticolonial resistance in Korea. We dive into the long history of foreign imperialism in the peninsula, from the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century to the ongoing U.S. military presence and its role i
Labor and Anti-Imperialist Politics with Alex Press
In this episode, I’m joined by Alex Press, a staff writer and labor reporter for Jacobin Magazine, to examine the complex relationship between the U.S. labor movement and anti-imperialist politics—its history, the current situation, and where we go from here. We discuss the historical entanglement of American labor with imperialism during the Cold War, the complexities and contradictions of anti-i
The BRICS' Push for a Multipolar World
Episode summary:
In this episode, I discuss the BRICS—what it is, where it came from, and what significance it holds for the future of international politics. Reflecting on the bloc’s history and the most recent BRICS summit that took place last month, I explore the BRICS’ relationship to the emerging multipolar world order, and tackle the question of how we on the anti-imperialist left should thi
Visualizing Palestine with Aline Batarseh
In this episode, I’m joined by Aline Batarseh, Executive Director of Visualizing Palestine, to reflect on the past year of genocide and resistance in Palestine and beyond. We discuss the current state of the global Palestine solidarity movement, the importance of the information front in the fight against Israel's occupation and apartheid regime, and the crucial work that Visualizing Palestine is
Building a New International Economic Order with Michael Galant
In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Galant, member of the Progressive International’s Secretariat and senior researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (here on the show in his personal capacity!). Michael and I talk about the decades-long campaign to build a New International Economic Order—a radical proposal, first articulated in 1974, for radically reshaping the entire global
Pilot
About this episode:
Return to Bandung is a podcast that explores questions of imperialism, resistance, and internationalist solidarity throughout history and into the present day, and seeks to make the case for why anti-imperialist politics are as important in our current moment as ever before. In this pilot episode, I introduce Return to Bandung, provide a brief overview of the anti-imperialist h
Return to Bandung Trailer
Welcome to the Third World.
My name is Pranay Somayajula. I’m a writer, organizer, and host of Return to Bandung—a podcast that explores questions of imperialism, resistance, and internationalist solidarity throughout history and into the present day.
Through historical analysis, interviews with expert guests, and deep dives into classic works of anticolonial theory, Return to Bandung seeks to mak
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