Special Episode – Hyperpolitics (2026) w/Anton Jäger

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In the first of DPP's special book episodes, Sam interviews Oxford politics lecturer and NYT contributing writer Anton Jäger on his new book: Hyperpolitics (2026, Verso).

Jäger's text is an expansion of two essays: 'From Bowling Alone to Posting Alone' (2022) and 'Everything is Hyperpolitical' (2023).

Through an analysis of political change in the late 20th and 21st centuries and the curation of various cultural objects: the novels of Michel Houellebecq and Annie Ernaux, plus the photos of Wolfgang Tillmans, Jäger makes the case for five types of politics immediately before, and after, the 'end of history.'

These sequential stages are 1920s-1940s mass politics (high politicisation and high institutionalisation), 1950s institutional politics (medium politicisation and high institutionalisation), 1990s and 2000s post-politics (low politicisation and low institutionalisation), 2010s anti-politics (medium politicisation and low institutionalisation), and, finally, 2020s hyperpolitics (high politicisation and low institutionalisation).

Has the 'end of history' really ended — or are the 2020s just a continuation of 1990s deinstitutionalisation with more posting?

Find out in today's episode.