Episode 41 - The Psychology of Empire and Resistance w/ Lara Sheehi

Oct 7

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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 weapon to sustain itself and crush resistance, and discuss how the concept of ‘psychic militancy’—informed by the experiences and practices of revolutionary struggles and resistance movements in the Global South—can help us fight back against capitalist imperialism’s psychic intrusions.

About the show:

Return to Bandung is hosted by Pranay Somayajula, an Indian-American writer, researcher, and organizer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work explores themes of diaspora, (inter)nationalism, anticolonial politics, and the many lives and afterlives of empire. You can learn more about Pranay and read his writing on his ⁠website⁠, as well as on his Substack blog, ⁠culture shock⁠.

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