American Prestige

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Danny and Derek give us the latest on today’s ceasefire deal.

Note: Iran has since confirmed the deal.

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David Roth and Tom Ley of Defector join the program for a discussion on the World Cup and the politics around the tournament. They get into FIFA corruption; Trump’s FIFA Peace Prize; the administration’s petty moves like denying a Somali referee entry to the U.S. and similar restrictions on Iran’s team; sportswashing; the burden on host cities; the growth of soccer in the United States; the explosion of youth sports as an industry; and much more.

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The World Cup is upon us, so Danny and Derek are showering visiting players with crocheted NATO flags. In this week’s news: Israel and Iran exchange fire (0:59), with Netanyahu possibly defying Trump (3:16); Iran and the U.S. also trade blows as the ceasefire comes into question (6:11); the IDF is preparing a new Gaza offensive (14:56); Afghanistan and Pakistan engage in more border clashes (17:11); Mali’s junta is pressured by a jihadist-rebel alliance (18:36); Ukraine uses a new cruise missile, targeting infrastructure in and around Crimea (21:50); Germany kills Europe’s Future Combat Air System...

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show José Luis Granados Ceja, head of the Latin America desk at DropSite News, for a conversation about the Hondurasgate scandal and U.S. policy in Latin America. They talk about the leaked audio files of the scandal, Juan Orlando Hernandez’s pardon, Marco Rubio’s influence, Cuba, Israel’s role in the region, Honduras’s place in U.S. empire, the Latin American right, and more.

Read José’s piece “Hondurasgate: Key Leaked Audio Files, Revealing U.S. Intervention in Honduras, Found Authentic "With...

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Danny and Derek talk about Iran’s strike on Israel and the risk of a wider regional war, covering Israel’s bombing of Beirut, Iran’s retaliation, Trump’s effort to prevent Israeli escalation, the U.S.-Iran negotiations, and more.

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Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast sociologist Dylan Riley for a conversation about political capitalism, Trumpism, and the crisis of American capitalism.

They talk about debates over the falling rate of profit and the long downturn; what shapes the capitalist crisis; the rise of asset price inflation, monopolization, and financialization; whether AI and data center investment represent a new bubble; corruption in the second Trump administration and how it fits into political capitalism; and more.

Read Dylan’s piece co-authored with Robert Brenner in New Left Revi...

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There’s too much Knickerbocker news to fit here, but we do have other stories to report. This week: Iran and the U.S. exchange fire in the Gulf (2:00), plus peace talks stall after Trump adds new demands (4:29); Israel escalates its Lebanon campaign despite ceasefire talks (08:33); Cambodia takes a Thailand maritime dispute to the UN (15:19); in Sudan, tribal clashes kill dozens in South Darfur (17:38); Ukraine strikes St. Petersburg during the city’s International Economic Forum (20:13); Germany loses a UN Security Council vote (21:54); Colombia’s first-round election results see the right gain momentum...

We unlocked this episode so that everyone could hear this great interview with Jake Werner on China. To get more AP discussions like this, subscribe now!

Danny and Derek are once again joined by Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at ⁠the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft⁠, this time to talk about the development of the U.S. consensus on China. They delve into the neoliberal engagement with China, the 2008 financial crisis, Xi Jinping’s response, Trump’s first-term China policy, and the Biden administration’s approach. They then analyze Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping, tar...

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Danny and Derek speak with Roland Betancourt, Chancellor's Professor of Art History at UC Irvine, about Disneyland and the rise of automation in the U.S. They talk about Walt Disney’s move from animation to theme parks, the relationship between amusement parks and industrial production, Cold War technology and Southern California, Disney’s use of automation and control, labor in the theme park, Disney World and Epcot, and more.

Grab your copy of Roland’s book Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happ...

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Danny and Derek welcome back to the show Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to talk about U.S.-Iran negotiations and the status of the war. They delve into ceasefire talks, Israel’s attack on Lebanon, Iranian concerns about U.S. reliability, sanctions relief, the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s regional position, the Abraham Accords, and Tom Barrack’s newly expanded role in Syria and Iraq.

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Danny speaks with Anusar Farooqui about the finer points of the emerging multipolar world. They discuss the idea of Iran as a great power, spheres of influence, China and the future of East Asia, the role of India and the European Union in global politics, and more.

Follow Anusar’s work at ⁠Policy Tensor⁠.

Read Danny’s piece that they debated, ⁠“Power Without Ideology.”⁠

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The AP UFC dome is regrettably being held up by Producer Jake’s HOA. In this week’s news: an update on the U.S.-Iran talks and U.S. airstrikes near Bandar Abbas (1:11); Trump demands new Abraham Accords signatures and threatens Oman over Strait of Hormuz fees (4:46); Israel escalates attacks and pushes displacement further north in Lebanon (11:39); Israel kills Hamas commander Mohammed Odeh (14:38); Gaza’s Board of Peace lacks pledged funds (15:31); Trump pauses a Taiwan arms sale due to the Iran war depleting stockpiles (16:43); the RSF prepares...

The bi-monthly podcasting crossover to end all bi-monthly podcasting crossovers is back! Danny, Derek, and Robert Wright of the ⁠⁠NonZero Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ once again set the record straight.

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Part One Video

0:00 Is NonZero or American Prestige the better podcast? AI weighs in
4:14 The state of the US-Iran war. Or is it peace?
17:52 Has Trump already lost the midterms? Does he care?
24:16 The Russia-Ukraine war (and Eric Schmidt)
29:23 What the latest Iran war strikes signal
31:04  Overtime preview: Nuland’s “monsters,” zomb...

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Don’t forget about our weekly livestreams on our YouTube channel, every Wednesday at 8pm ET. 

Danny and Derek welcome to the show John Fugelsang, host of Tell Me Everything and author of Separation of Church and Hate, to talk about the rise and influence of right-wing Christianity in the United States. They discuss Christian nationalism; the political weaponization of scripture; Jesus’s teachings vs authoritarian Christianity; the apostle Paul’s role in shaping the faith; issues like abortion, immigration, and sexuality; white supremacy; Donald Trump...

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Danny and Derek speak with Caitlin Tulloch, a former USAID economist and GiveDirectly’s head of research, about the destruction of USAID and the future of humanitarian aid. They talk about her work as an economist, USAID’s relationship to American power, the agency’s internal dynamics, the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID, the legal and institutional consequences, the impact on global health and humanitarian programs, the loss of response capacity, transactional aid policy, GiveDirectly, and Project Resource Optimization.

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Danny and Derek have reconciled with their disappointment in the new Star Wars film and can now bring you the news roundup. This week: in Iran, talks stall as Trump weighs continuing the war (2:00), the Islamic Republic attempts to institutionalize control over the Strait of Hormuz (8:49), and fuel protests spread around the world (13:09); the IDF continues daily bombardments in Lebanon while Hezbollah drones restrict IDF ground operations (15:10); Trump considers a call with Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te (18:32); Xi and Putin stage an uneventful summit in Beijing (21:47);Sudanese forces gain gr...

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Danny and Derek welcome back to the show political scientist Thea Riofrancos to talk about the politics of extraction in the global energy transition. They explore the contradictions of green capitalism, the debate over degrowth and abundance, China’s role in lithium battery production, the history of lithium batteries, green industrial policy, U.S. oil and gas power, popular resistance to data centers and mining, where the Global South falls in renewable supply chains, and the environmental costs of green development.

Be sure to grab a copy of Extraction: Th...

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Danny and Derek are once again joined by Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at ⁠the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft⁠, this time to talk about the development of the U.S. consensus on China. They delve into the neoliberal engagement with China, the 2008 financial crisis, Xi Jinping’s response, Trump’s first-term China policy, and the Biden administration’s approach. They then analyze Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping, tariffs, rare earths, Taiwan, Iran, and the prospects for stabilizing U.S.-China relations.

Read Jake’s piece “An Open...

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Danny and Derek fight fake news as they fight their allergies. This week: Trump and Xi meet; Trump rejects Iran’s ceasefire terms (3:09); Gulf states continue strikes against Iran-linked targets (5:53); U.S. intelligence estimates show Iran retains most missiles (8:48); Asian economies cut energy use with fertilizer shortages threatening crops (10:24); Gaza ceasefire plans appear to proceed without Hamas disarmament (12:58), Israel moves toward an early election (15:47), and Netanyahu publicizes a UAE visit as Abu Dhabi denies it (17:40); Lebanon and Israel pursue talks as Israeli attacks continue (20:03); jihadist attacks intensify in Ma...

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Danny and Derek speak with David Sirota, founder and EIC of The Lever, about journalism, independent media, and the consolidation of presidential power. They discuss the difference between journalism and media, the attention economy, capitalist media, audience capture, the decline of local news, the Powell Memo, the unitary executive theory, war powers, and Donald Trump’s use of executive power.

Be sure to listen to The Kingmakers, the second season of David’s investigative podcast Master Plan.

Don’t forget that AP’s n...

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Keep your eyes peeled for Season 2 of Welcome to the Crusades, our crossover series with Eleanor and Luke, coming soon. For now, enjoy Season 1.

Happy Mother’s Day! Danny and Derek reunite with Eleanor and Luke of We’re Not So Different to talk about the life and legacy of Eleanor of Aquitaine. They discuss Eleanor’s power and wealth, her marriage to Louis VII, the Second Crusade, her relationship with Henry II, failsons Richard and John, her several success daughters, political influence, patronage of troubadours, courtly love, and Eleano...

In the first part of our Mother’s Day festivities, we’re unlocking our Mother’s Day episode from 2023 with Eleanor Janega. A new one on Eleanor of Aquitaine is out tomorrow for subscribers, so subscribe now. Enjoy!

Happy Mother’s Day! Danny and Derek welcome Eleanor Janega, co-host of the We’re Not So Different podcast and author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society, to talk about one of the great mothers of history: The Virgin Mary. They discuss what actually makes Mary the ultimate medieval mother (despite being from ancie...

Producer Jake regrettably had his pet rat confiscated after an ill-fated cruise. In this week’s news: Iran considers a U.S. peace proposal (1:37), Project Freedom fails in the Strait of Hormuz (7:45), and new details emerge about damage by Iranian strikes on U.S. military sites (11:25); Israel kills civilians in Lebanon (14:53) and targets Gaza police (16:24); U.S.-China tensions rise before Trump’s summit (18:10); Sudan accuses Ethiopia of drone strikes while Ethiopia accuses Sudan of arming Tigray rebels (23:19), plus Tigray’s ruling party reinstates the regional legislature (25:39); the United States prepares to lift sanctions on Eritrea (27:08); JNIM besieges Bamako, Mali a...

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show Alex Zakaras, professor of political science at the University of Vermont, to talk about the history and future of radical liberalism. They discuss liberalism’s relationship to republicanism, the American liberal tradition, equal freedom, defensive liberalism after 2016, neoliberalism, Cold War liberalism, socialism, racial hierarchy, labor power, democratic crisis, and whether liberalism can still offer a politics of freedom and equality.

Be sure to grab a copy of Alex’s book Freedom for All: What a Liberal Soci...

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Danny and Derek speak with Judah Grunstein, World Politics Review’s editor-at-large, about American power and what a post-unipolar future might look like. They discuss the meaning of the liberal international order, U.S. empire and legitimacy, Trump challenging American primacy, the role of middle powers, China and the European Union, climate change and development, strategic autonomy, and the possibility of Washington not ushering in a new order.

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King Charles paid his respects at AP HQ, but was put off by Danny’s pet ferrets. In this week’s news: Iran talks collapse as Trump weighs a blockade and strikes (1:56); the UAE leaves OPEC (7:45); Mali rebels and jihadists seize Kidal (16:49); Derek interviews Alex Thurston about Mali’s escalating rebel offensive and the implications for the junta government (18:08); Israel kills civilians and expands evacuation zones in Lebanon (33:43) as the U.S. and Israel demand a Hezbollah disarmament plan from Lebanon (35:25); Israel adds an orange line to...

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Derek speaks with Danny and Mike Brenes about Cold War liberalism, its shaping of the American empire, and more from their new co-edited volume. They talk about the meaning of “Cold War liberalism,” the book’s essays, the relationship between liberalism and mass democracy, emergency politics, the continuity between New Deal liberalism and Cold War liberalism, military Keynesianism, U.S. empire, neoconservatism, Joe Biden, and the persistence of Cold War liberal ideas in long after the end of the Cold War itself.

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Danny and Derek welcome back to the show Becca Lewis, researcher of right-wing politics in Silicon Valley and online, to talk about the politics of artificial intelligence and Silicon Valley. They discuss AI as a marketing term, large language models, automation and white-collar labor, Silicon Valley’s relationship to the military, Palantir and Peter Thiel, AI targeting, Gaza and apartheid technologies, tech elites’ right-wing politics, the AI bubble, and left organizing among tech workers.

Don't forget to check out our miniseries Marx Prestige.

Learn more abou...

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Danny and Derek will livestream from Route 3 as they take to the World Cup on foot. This week’s news: in Iran, Trump extends the ceasefire after talks fail (1:02), Iran reimposes its Strait of Hormuz blockade (6:05), the Islamic Republic’s leadership rejects unilateral concessions (9:11), and Persian Gulf mines and oil spills threaten commerce (13:13); the UAE seeks a currency swap after the Iran war’s economic shocks (16:28); Israel violates the Lebanon ceasefire amid extension talks (18:11) while the IDF punishes soldiers over crucifix desecration (21:00); Gaza’s reconstruction costs ca...

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show Oren Ziv to talk about Israeli settlement expansion and political changes in the West Bank. They discuss the legal and political structure of Areas A, B, and C; the proliferation of settler outposts; displacement of Palestinian communities; state support for settlers; Bezalel Smotrich’s sovereignty plan; new settlement approvals; the weakening of the Palestinian Authority; and potential future scenarios for the territory.

Read Oren’s article in The Nation, “Erasing the Lines.”

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Danny welcomes back to the show historian ⁠Anton Jäger⁠ to talk about the decline of mass politics and the rise of hyperpolitics across Europe and the United States. They explore the collapse of parties and unions, the neoliberal turn of the 70s and 80s, the 2008 financial crisis and the decade of protest that followed, social media and political expression, the far right’s ascendance and liberalism’s failure, why Trumpism lacks sustainable organization, the Democrats’ inability to build a governing coalition, and whether new political institutions can come out of the current cha...

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Danny and Derek are considering attending the Met Gala. In this week’s news: Iran talks amble along despite U.S. forces building up in the region (1:55); the U.S. blockade restricts oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz (9:49); Lebanon and Israel declare a 10-day ceasefire (12:23); Hamas meets U.S. officials in Cairo to advance the talks over Gaza (19:37); Iraq’s parliament elects Nizar Ahmed as president (21:52); Sudan’s war enters its fourth year as Berlin pledges aid (25:21); Libya’s rival governments approve a joint national budget...

To new listeners: welcome to the greatest bi-monthly crossover in podcasting. Danny, Derek, and Robert Wright of the ⁠⁠NonZero Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are back with the most scorching hot of insights.

Subscribe now to AP to get a discounted membership to NonZero!

⁠Part One Video ⁠

0:00 Teaser
1:02 Trump’s Middle East chaos continues
6:04 Is Iran more about America’s hegemony or Israel’s?
13:22 Who will win the Hormuz blockade duel?
23:11 Ukraine, China, and the drone wars
27:58 America’s “emergency” emergency
32:11 Is an Iran peace deal possible?
43:34 Overtime preview: The Anthropic Mythos scare
...

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show writer Paul Heideman to talk about the transformation of the Republican Party from the main party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition. They discuss the historical relationship between Republicans and capital, the disorganization of American employers, the political economy of the 1970s crisis, Reagan-era fragmentation, Gingrich and fundraising, globalization and bipartisan neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Koch network and Tea Party, Republicanism after Romney, the conditions that enabled Trump’s rise, and much more.

Re...

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Danny and Derek talk about where the ceasefire stands and the U.S. blockade.

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Danny welcomes back to the show historian Daniel Immerwahr to talk about the political and ideological themes of Star Wars, particularly The Phantom Menace. They discuss George Lucas’s Vietnam War influences and anti-imperial framework; myth and generational conflict in the original trilogy; the rise of intellectual property and Silicon Valley ideology; the shift from rebellion to bureaucracy in The Phantom Menace; its depiction of trade, governance, and liberal institutional decay; the racialized and cultural representations in the prequels; the transformation of the Jedi into enforcers; technology and scientism; and how Th...

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Danny “Hollywood” Bessner and Derek “Bethesda” Davison are back with the news. This week: Israel bombs Lebanon and kills hundreds (2:09) as Iran halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response (5:43); the U.S. and Iran prepare for peace talks in Pakistan (8:26); Trump threatens to resume the war if talks fail (13:02); the Gaza Board of Peace demands Hamas provide a disarmament response (14:56); Afghanistan and Pakistan pause talks and agree to avoid escalation (17:16); Myanmar’s parliament elects junta leader Min Aung Hlaing as president...

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Danny and Derek talk about the announced Iran ceasefire, getting into the terms and uncertainty around the two-week ceasefire, disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and potential tolling, whether Lebanon is included in the agreement, the feasibility of the negotiating demands, internal U.S. political and military tensions, Iranian claims of victory and possible Chinese involvement, Israeli reactions, and how Gulf states and global actors are responding.

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Danny and Derek speak with Andrew Hartman about their new miniseries Marx Prestige and the relevance of Marxist thought in this day and age. They talk about Marxist theories of imperialism, state spending on war versus social welfare, financialization and the shift from wages to assets, automation and AI in relation to labor, the decline of American hegemony, and the relationship between capitalism and war.

Read Andrew's book Karl Marx in America.

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show Eldar Mamedov, foreign policy expert and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, to talk about Europe’s response to the war in Iran. They discuss European support and hesitation toward the US-Israel attack, inconsistencies in international law, shifts in European rhetoric as the war continues, fears over economic fallout and energy disruption, Europe’s loss of leverage after the nuclear deal collapsed, dependence on the United States for security, domestic political pressures in Europe, and the prospects for dipl...