Start Making Sense

Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia and New Jersey. The Nation's national affairs correspondent John Nichols explains.Also: J. Hoberman, the long-time film critic for The Village Voice, talks about the happenings, the underground movies, and the radical art and music— from Bob Dylan to Andy Warhol to Yoko Ono. His new book is Everything is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek welcome to the program author Eva Payne to talk about her book Empire of Purity: The History of Americans' Global War on Prostitution. They discuss American sexual exceptionalism, the legal definition of “prostitution” vs modern conceptions of sex work, the late 19th century new abolition movement and racial hierarchies therein, how Americans interfaced with state-regulated prostitution systems in places like India and the Philippines, the sexual imagery used in justifying US aims in the Spanish-American War, the notion of “white slavery” in sex work, prostitution control in World War I and how it affected things domestically after that conflict, eugenic thinking around prostitution reform, and much more.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, editor D.D. Guttenplan talks to veteran journalist and broadcaster Ray Suarez about the gap between Donald Trump's maximalist immigration rhetoric and his actual enforcement policy. Ray's article appears in our June issue.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Michael Ledeen, who died on May 17 at age 83, was a prominent figure on the American right since the 1970s. He is most famous, or notorious, as one of the instigators of the Iran/Contra scandal, helping to connect the Reagan administration with an Iranian arms dealer. Beyond that, he was active not just as a writer but also as an activists who often promoted disinformation, most notably the lie about the “weapons of mass destruction” the was used to sell George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.On this episode of The Time of Monsters, I talked about Ledeen's controversial life with Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest and author of a fine study of neoconservatism, They Knew They Were Right.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this week's American Prestige news roundup: US-Iran negotiations might be making progress (1:02); in Israel-Palestine, a new aid program implemented gets people killed (6:30), the US proposes framework for a new peace deal* (11:01), and Israel creates 22 new West Bank settlements (15:54); cases of cholera are spiking in Sudan (17:35); Libya's eastern-based government may cut off its oil supply (19:23); Salva Kiir appoints a potential successor in South Sudan (21:51); jihadist activity appears to be on the rise in Mozambique (23:46); Mauritius and the UK sign a Chagos Islands deal (25:52); Russia offers to begin new peace talks (29:48) as Trump lashes out at Putin (35:06); the far right emerges as the main opposition in Portugal (38:29); President Petro in Colombia calls for a general strike (40:23); in the US, the Trump administration freezes student visas and revokes those for Chinese students (42:11), a court rules that the “Liberation Day” tariffs are unconstitutional*, and Elon Musk's term as “co-president” has come to an end (48:26).*Hamas has reportedly rejected this deal as it stands since the time of recording.**An appeals court has since agreed to a temporary pause in the decision. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Casey Johnston to discuss why she pared back on social media, made her smartphone much dumber, and what she learned about how bodies are treated online through her fitness journey.Casey Johnston is the creator of the She's A Beast newsletter and author of A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural counties.. How can Democrats change that? Anthony Flaccavento and Erica Etelson, co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, have a strategy to accomplish that. Also: 20 minutes without Trump: We know a lot about the bad things J. Edgar Hoover did, but it turns out there's a lot we didn't know. In this episode from the archives, Historian Beverly Gage will explain. Her award-winning book is “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover & the Making of the American Century.” (originally aired in December, 2022)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, Writer and researcher ⁠Joshua Craze⁠ returns to the program to talk about the situation in South Sudan. They cover the collapsed 2018 “peace deal,” the elite forces vying for power, the Nuer White Army, figures like Salva Kiir Mayardit and Riek Machar, how South Sudan's troubles have been impacted by the war in Sudan, external actors like the United Arab Emirates and Uganda, and the humanitarian crisis in the fragmented country.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For sports fans in the US, betting has never been more common, or more accessible. But beneath the surface of this booming pastime, a darker story is unfolding. Writer John Semley joins the podcast to examine the implications of all this access, not just in American sports, but across global betting markets, and how our era of gambling reflects a new world order some economists are calling "casino capitalism." Semley's feature, “Casino Capitalism 2.0,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The late David Horowitz, who died in April at age 86, was often dismissed as a fringe figure not just by liberals and leftists but even many on the right. Horowitz would often complain that his books — crude polemics with titles such as BLITZ: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win (2020) and The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian Movement Is Destroying America (2021) — were ignored by respectable conservative publications such as National Review and Commentary. Horowitz got one thing right: that both his friends and foes underestimated him. In truth, as David Klion notes in an obituary for The Nation, Horowitz for all his shrillness and absurdity, had an enormous influence on right-wing politics and deserves to be seen as a precursor to Trumpism. Among other claims to infamy, Horowitz was the mentor of Trump's anti-immigration advisor Stephen Miller.I talked to David about Horowitz's long shadow and tumultuous journey from being a red-diaper baby to a New Left radical to an right-wing polemicist who tried to revive the very McCarthism that damaged his parent's life. Horowitz left a terrible legacy but was also a figure whose impact can't be ignored.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week in the American Prestige news roundup: the Ukraine peace talks collapse (3:30) as Trump stuns European allies with his sudden pivot back to positions beneficial to Russia (7:21); in EU elections, a Romanian centrist wins the presidency (11:06), a Polish centrist wins the first round of the presidential election leading to a runoff (13:27), and the Portuguese center-right wins that country's parliamentary election (14:46); India continues to threaten Pakistani water levels (17:05); South African president Ramaphosa's visit to the White House goes awry (20:04); in Israel-Palestine, the IDF begins Operation Gideon's Chariots (23:58), the Israelis allow “minimal” aid into Gaza, but no distribution (27:13), and a European backlash follows the IDF's operation and a West Bank shooting incident involving diplomats (31:18); Israel again appears to be preparing to strike Iran (35:17); Evo Morales is excluded from the presidential ballot in Bolivia (38:23); a New Cold War update featuring China pledging additional money to the WHO after a pandemic agreement (40:57); and Trump announces the Golden Dome project (43:47).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss some of the harms caused by generative AI, address the industry's ploys to keep the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what folks can do to push back.Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that's what Jamie Raskin says. He's the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump's “world historical grift,” and why we shouldn't be pessimistic about defeating his efforts.Also: 20 minutes without Trump: 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzerald -- but we're interested in some of the other books published that year. So we turn to Tom Lutz – his new book is titled “1925: A Literary Encyclopedia.” It's 800 pages long, and only 7 are on “Gatsby."Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome Emily Herring, a writer based in Paris, to the program. They discuss her new book, Herald of a Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People. The conversation delves into Henri Bergson's philosophy and its enduring relevance, particularly concerning contemporary anxieties surrounding the mechanization of the world, the dehumanizing potential of algorithms and artificial intelligence, the dangers of quantification and rigid categorization, and the perceived erosion of human creativity and the more enjoyable aspects of human experience.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, Jacob Silverman joins the show to discuss how the cryptocurrency industry has long evaded regulation, and how it's now deeply enmeshed with the Trump administration's most corrupt dealings. Silverman's feature, “Coin-Operated: The Crypto Industry's Takeover of American Politics,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On his latest trip to the Middle East, Donald Trump is making big news. He's indicating a receptiveness to making a deal with Iran trading normalization for nuclear non-proliferation. He ended the bombing campaign against Yemen and is also pushing for normalization with Syria. Further, the White House has sidestepped Israel in order to have direct talks with Hamas. These moves have angered some hawks in the GOP as well as the Israeli government. But will Trump's attempt to shift America's policy in the Middle East pay off, especially given his record of erratic attention to details and sudden shifts in direction?  To assess the situation I spoke with Trita Parsi of The Quincy Institute, who recently wrote about these matters for The American Conservative. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Alex Jordan rejoins the show to see if he can impersonate Danny as well as he impersonated Derek a couple of weeks ago. He and Derek discuss the India-Pakistan ceasefire, Donald Trump's big Persian Gulf tour (filled with Deals, Bribes, and announcements about Syrian sanctions and Iranian nuclear talks), the latest developments in Gaza, the US-China tariff pause, the PKK's major disarmament announcement, a new round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, major clashes between militias in Libya, the arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US, Luis Arce's decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race, the sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for daring to contradict President Trump, and whether or not the US is still going to have habeas corpus for much longer.You can watch Alex Jordan on the Quincy Institute's inaugural episode of the YouTube program “Always at War," which he co-hosted with Courtney Rawlings.Topics:01:23 India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement.04:18 Trump's Persian Gulf tour and deals.07:49 Trump's announcement regarding Syria sanctions.10:40 Efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.15:28 Israeli efforts to displace Palestinians in Gaza.17:24 New US-led humanitarian foundation for Gaza.21:27 Release of American-Israeli hostage by Hamas.26:46 US-China trade war detente.29:13 PKK announces major disarmament.32:19 Diplomatic efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war.35:45 Major clashes between militias in Libya.39:33 Arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US.41:17 Luis Arce's decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race.43:09 Sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for contradicting President Trump.46:04 Potential suspension of habeas corpus in the US.48:47 Habeas corpus suspension and executive power.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk's influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he's pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from antisemitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he's the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation's legal affairs correspondent. Also: Trump's partnership in Washington with his biggest donor, Elon Musk, is coming to an end. The richest man in the world, who made the biggest campaign contribution in history, is going home the clear loser in this affair. Historian David Nasaw comments. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, abortion access correspondent Amy Littlefield joins D.D. Guttenplan to discuss the reality of later-term abortions—and how, even though Roe v. Wade may have been overturned, the conservative crusade to eliminate abortion access rages on.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kevin Schultz, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois-Chicago, returns to the program to continue the discussion of his new book⁠ ⁠Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History⁠. In this second part of the discussion, Danny, Derek, and Kevin get into the origins and power of the "radical chic" and "limousine liberal" criticisms, the concept of "positive polarization" as championed by figures like Spiro Agnew, the perceived abandonment of the white working class by the Democratic Party, the role of Nixon in this political shift, the influence of Phyllis Schlafly and George Wallace, George McGovern and the "acid, amnesty, and abortion" label, Daniel Patrick Moynihan's attempt to redefine liberalism, the transition of some Cold War liberals to neoconservatism, the Democratic Party's embrace of neoliberalism and the rise of "Atari Democrats," the cultural phenomenon of "owning the libs," the association of the professional managerial class with contemporary liberalism, and potential new political vocabularies beyond the "liberal" label, and more.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Jacob Silverman on why it's hard to regulate the high tech ponzi economics.Over the last few years, crypto-currency has emerged as a political powerhouse, thanks to tens of billions in campaign donations. As Jacob Silverman reports in a recent feature in The Nation, “crypto, despite being a relative flop commercially, has infiltrated American politics.” This is most bluntly obvious in Donald Trump, who has become a crypto king in corrupt schemes that have enriched him and his family in billions of dollars. But almost as corrupt are the members of congress, of both parties, reluctant to regulate crypto. I talked to Jacob about the dangers crypto poses to the American economy and to American democracy. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Though Jake is absent for the week, Danny and Derek remain steadfast in their dedication to bring you news. They discuss the U.S.-Houthi ceasefire; the Israeli government's plans for Gaza; Trump's push for a Gaza ceasefire and Saudi deal on his upcoming Middle East trip; new clashes between India and Pakistan as well as more details from Wednesday morning's strikes; the possibility of U.S.-China trade talks; the reality of a U.S.-U.K. trade deal; drone strikes on Port Sudan; peace talks in the DRC; Vladimir Putin's V-E Day ceasefire; Friedrich Merz's chaotic chancellor election and the AfD's potential classification as an extremist group; the European Union's effort to poach U.S. academics; and finally, the Trump administration's push for countries to adopt Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service.Then, after the show, Danny and Derek speak with Trevor Beaulieu and Josh Olson about their new podcast, "White Canon."⁠⁠Check out White Canon here!Topics:02:04 The US-Houthi ceasefire.06:49 Israel's plans for Gaza.12:46 Donald Trump's planned visit to the Persian Gulf and his goals.16:34 Tthe new clashes between India and Pakistan.20:21 Potential US-China trade talks.22:41 The US-UK trade deal.23:44 The recent Australian elections.25:50 The RSF attacking Port Sudan.27:59 The advancing peace talks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.30:44 Putin's VE Day ceasefire and its effectiveness.32:51 Friedrich Merz needing a second ballot to become German chancellor.34:37 The AFD party in Germany.36:34 The EU's efforts related to academics.39:17 US pushing countries to adopt Starlink.42:30 Discussuin w/ Trevor Beaulieu and Josh Olson about their new podcast, "White Canon."Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Julia Carrie Wong to discuss Elon Musk's recent opposition to empathy, how it comes out of the Christian right, and the relationship it has to previous discussions of longtermism. Julia Carrie Wong is a features writer at The Guardian.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

After serving 18 years in the Senate, and losing last November, Sherrod Brown analyzes what it will take for Democrats to recover from the defeats of 2024, and comments on his own political future – he could run for senator or for governor in 2026.Also on this episode: Dahlia Lithwick explains three key court cases where Trump suffered major defeats, which, she argues, are likely to have an “exponential effect” on other judges. Meanwhile we are seeing a rising tide of activism in the streets. Dahlia writes about the law and the courts for Slate and hosts the ‘Amicus' podcast.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kevin Schultz, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois Chicago, joins the program to talk about his new book Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History. In this first part of the discussion, they get into liberalism's consistent spirit yet inconsistent character, the transition from progressivism to liberalism in America in the early 20th century, FDR's use of the word “liberal” as a sort of marketing tool, the height of the “white liberal,” William F. Buckley and the modern American conservative movement, the New Left's opposition to “the liberal order,” the perception of white liberals in the civil rights movement, and more. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Chris Lehmann joins Jeet Heer to discuss the Group Chats where billionaires scheme and moan.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

May Day is no more, but the world, sadly, does not revolve around the left. On this week's news roundup: a new report on 2024 global military spending shockingly shows it has increased (2:05); the UN's World Food Programme is out of food in Gaza (4:05), the IDF herds people into Rafah (5:55), and the PLO creates a vice presidency in anticipation of a successor to Mahmoud Abbas (8:32); in Syria, violence between security forces and Druze militias kills over 70 people (12:18); the US bombs a migrant center in Yemen (16:14) as Houthi/Ansar Allah forces continue to shoot down drones (17:58); the Iran-US nuclear talks have been postponed (19:35); there are rumblings of imminent armed conflict between India and Pakistan (21:48); Trump claims to have spoken with president of China Xi Jinping as both economies take a hit from the former's tariffs (24:31); a court ruling may upend South Korea's election (28:00); Nigeria sees an increase in jihadist violence (30:00); Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers set a deadline for a peace deal (32:10); in Russia-Ukraine, Russia's Kursk operation appears to be at its end (34:03), Trump and Zelensky meet at Pope Francis' funeral (35:33), and the US and Ukraine finally sign a mineral deal (37:26); the Trump administration designates gangs in Haiti as terrorist groups (39:54); the Liberal Party wins Canada's election (41:19); Donald Trump relieves Mike Waltz of duty as national security advisor, but appoints him as UN ambassador (44:03); and the US is negotiating with Rwanda so that the latter may traffick migrants on the former's behalf (48:50). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Jason Koebler to discuss the economy behind AI slop generation, how people are building businesses on AI-generated images, and the wider consequences of their proliferation on social media. Jason Koebler is a cofounder of 404 Media and cohost of the 404 Media Podcast.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump is "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s"—that's what Princeton's president Christopher Eisgruber said. Others say that what Trump is doing is worse. Beverly Gage comments – she wrote “G-Man,” the award-winning biography of J. Edgar Hoover.Also on this episode: In 1948, Alger Hiss, a prominent New Deal Democrat, was convicted of perjury for testifying that he had not been a Soviet spy. The conventional wisdom is that he was probably guilty. Now, Jeff Kisseloff says it's not hard to show that Hiss was innocent; the hard part is figuring out who framed him. Jeff's new book is “Rewriting Hisstory: A Fifty-Year Journey to Uncover the Truth About Alger Hiss.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Please listen to ⁠⁠our Sino-Soviet primer episode⁠⁠ and ⁠part one of this discussion⁠ for some background!On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome back Jeremy Friedman, assistant professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy at Harvard, to talk about the Sino-Soviet Split. The conversation picks up in the 1960s with the Soviets' push for peaceful coexistence vs the PRC and developing world's push for anti-imperialist armed struggle, how the Cultural Revolution affects the calculation, Mao's growing distrust of the USSR, the split itself, ideological vanguardism vs elitism, imperialism without capitalism, whether a split was inevitable, and more. Grab a copy of Jeremy's book⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World⁠⁠!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump's tariff war is usually framed in terms of how it would impact consumers and America's relationship with other countries, but it is also part of a larger project to remake taxation policy. Trump is very explicit that he wants tariffs to replace personal and corporate taxes with tariffs as the main source of revenue. As such, tariffs are a sales tax, of a particularly regressive sort. I talk to Marshall Steinbaum, an economist at the University of Utah, about how tariff's fit in with Trump's larger social vision of a plutocratic society, something that can also be seen in how the White House is cracking down on student debt holders. We take up this and other economic matters, bringing a class analysis to the business news. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek makes his grand return to the AP newsroom! This week: Pope Francis dies (0:30); India sees the worst attack on civilians in Kashmir in years, prompting fallout on India-Pakistan relations (6:35); the US carries out its deadliest airstrike on Yemen to date (14:39); Qatar and Egypt propose a new ceasefire plan for Gaza (18:07); the US and Iran see progress in their nuclear talks, but the Trump administration continues to demand zero enrichment (21:27); Trump has once again changed course on tariffs (26:28); in Sudan, the RSF closes in on Al-Fashir (29:46); it is unclear whether peace talks for the DRC-M23 conflict are making progress (32:30); Russia's operation in Kursk nears its end (35:10); Vladimir Putin offers to halt the war at the current front line, but this and Trump's peace proposal meet resistance from Zelensky (36:33); the US State Department releases a reorganization plan (45:13); and more leaks and discord are apparent at the US Department of Defense under Pete Hegseth (48:01). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, the structural factors that allowed him to build an empire, and the many ways he's shaped the modern tech industry.Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and her forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

J D Vance said it most clearly: for the Trump people, “The universities are the enemy.” That's why Trump is cutting billions of federal funding and making impossible demands that threaten dozens of universities. But universities have begun to resist. Michael Roth comments-- he's president of Wesleyan, and was the first university president to speak out against Trump's attacks.Also: Trump is not the worst president when it comes to constitutional rights and civil liberties; Woodrow Wilson was worse. Adam Hochschild explains why – starting with jailing thousands of people whose only crime was speaking out against the president. Adam's most recent book is 'American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy's Forgotten Crisis.'Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, we once again speak with Mohammad Alsaafin, journalist at AJ+, this time to talk about where things stand in Gaza and the West Bank. We discuss the collapse of the January ceasefire, the blockade on Gaza aid, the push for outright ethnic cleansing in Gaza, what country would be willing to aid Israel in that effort, what it would mean for Hamas to disarm, Israel taking the same approach to Jenin and its environs in the West Bank as Gaza, and more.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, D.D. Guttenplan and John Ganz discuss the hype, hustle, and collapse embedded in Trump's ghostwritten canon. "Dog Eat Dog," Ganz's review of Trump's three books, is in the May issue of The Nation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Even as he imposes authoritarianism on the United States, Donald Trump has given a new lease on life to the center left in many other countries. Canada is holding an election at the end of April under the shadow of the American presidents threat to turn it into the 51st state. Until Trump's inauguration, the Conservative Party of Canada had a commanding lead. But voters are changing their minds fast and it now looks like the Liberal Party under new leader Mark Carney will win the election.To talk about the quick revolution in Canadian politics I spoke to Luke Savage, a widely published journalist and substracker. We take up not just Canada's likely rejection of Trumpism but also the question of whether Carney's technocratic centrism really offers an alternative. If there is to be a new Canadian nationalism, will it have more substance than Carney offers?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

One last news roundup without Derek, but Danny and Alex Jordan of the Quincy Institute are on the case!This week: the RSF announces plans to form a parallel government in Sudan (1:33); US-Iran nuclear negotiations continue in Oman (7:21); the US and Saudi Arabia discuss giving the Kingdom access to nuclear technology (14:19); the Trump trade war continues despite him dialing back certain tariffs (18:40); Xi Jinping tours Southeast Asia (22:44); President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador visits the White House amid the controversy of Kilmar Ábrego García's deportation (27:15); ICE is ramping up the arrest of pro-Palestine voices in the US (31:14); center-right candidate Daniel Noboa wins the presidential election in Ecuador (32:56); American envoy Steve Witkoff says a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is imminent (34:36) and President Vladimir Zelenskyy appears on 60 Minutes (40:42); and the Israeli government announces that it will escalate its attack on Gaza (43:13). Danny then speaks with Afeef Nessouli, a volunteer currently in Gaza working with Glia, a medical organization that “empowers low-resource communities to build sustainable, locally-driven healthcare projects.”Please consider donating to Glia to help Afeef and Palestinians doing medical work in Gaza. Afeef also works with Shabab Gaza, a local project that provides food and sometimes produce for victims of the genocide. I have personally backed boxes of rice for families. You can donate if you DM them @shababgaza1 on Instagram.And Catch Alex Jordan on X/Twitter @alexjordanatl and on the Quincy Institute's upcoming YouTube program “Always at War,  which he will co-host with Courtney Rawlings.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is doing a solo episode this week to bring together some important issues that have been on his mind lately. This is a recording of a talk Paris gave in Auckland, New Zealand on how Silicon Valley's alliance with Donald Trump forces us to reassess the politics of the internet and challenge our collective dependence on US tech as it embraces the project of American empire.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

While Trump's attacks on the universities have broadened, and while Columbia is submitting to his requirements, Harvard's president has declared that Harvard will not comply with the Trump's demands in exchange for keeping its federal funding. David Cole comments - he recently stepped down as National Legal Director of the ACLU to return to teaching law at Georgetown.Also: Elon Musk's obsession with rockets and robots sounds futuristic, but “few figures in public life are more shackled to the past” – that's what Jill Lepore has found. His ideas at DOGE seem to come from his grandfather, a founder of the anti-democratic Technocracy movement of the 1930s. Jill Lepore teaches history and law at Harvard, and writes for The New Yorker.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Please listen to our Sino-Soviet primer episode for some background!On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome back Jeremy Friedman, assistant professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy at Harvard, to talk about the Sino-Soviet Split. They lay out the state of play in the mid-1950s, the potential for détente, how the two powers are reconciling with their increasingly competing interests, the implications for the Soviet Union's image among other communists in the wake of Khrushchev's “secret speech”, theoretical transformations in what communism means during this period, how decolonization plays into the split, why Khrushchev pulled Soviet aid when China needed it most, and more through the mid-1960s.Grab a copy of Jeremy's book Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, D.D. Guttenplan is joined by Bryce Covert to discuss her investigation in the May 2025 issue of The Nation, “McDonald's Still Has a Real Sexual Harassment Problem That's Not Going Away.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, We reluctantly approved Derek's vacation time, but the news marches on, so Danny welcomes back to the show Alex Jordan of the Quincy Institute to help bring you headlines from around the world. They first take some time to catch up about where things stand with Trump 2.0 and critique what they see as premature analyses of this administration before getting into the news.This week: Trump goes back and forth on massive tariffs (16:47); US and Iranian officials are set to meet in Oman for direct nuclear talks (24:22); the US appears to be considering a ground invasion of Yemen (29:51); the Israeli government and military seem to be moving on to a new stage in preparation for annexing Gaza (34:43); the US and the Philippines carry out military exercises in the South China Sea (40:47); South Korea's Yoon leaves office as the country prepares for a snap election (44:30); Trump might be considering using drones against Mexican drug cartels (48:48); and Ukrainian president Zelenskyy has accused Russia of recruiting Chinese nationals to fight (52:26) as negotiators visit DC to discuss the so-called “mineral deal” (56:36).  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss whether Europe is going to finally make a serious push to end its dependence on US tech and how different European interests are trying to take advantage of those debates.Aline Blankertz is an economist working on digital policy. She currently works with Rebalance Now and was previously at Wikimedia Germany.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Trump's tariffs are not really about trade, they're a form of blackmail – but the alternative is not a return to the free trade policies introduced by Clinton and Obama. Lori Wallach of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project explains what kind of tariffs we need, combined with government support for reindustrialization.Also on this episode: A major lawsuit challenging Trump over his efforts to deport pro-Gaza campus activists has been brought by faculty members at their universities. Jameel Jaffer reports on the AAUP case; he's executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a former deputy legal director of the ACLU.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome to the show Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, for a wide-ranging discussion on this moment in politics. They delve into the radicalization that led to Trump, the Democrats' devotion to the Third Way, the need for a coherent leftwing media structure, Ukraine, NATO, the “Pivot to Asia”, the US empire, and what comes next.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of The Nation Podcast, Vincent Bevins joins D.D. Guttenplan to talk about the MST.Read Vincent's story here.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

By helping the Republicans pass a spending bill that made no compromises with the Democrats and extend Donald Trump's power over the government, Chuck Schumer has made himself widely unpopular in his own party. Anger at Schumer is so intense that he had to cancel parts of his tour to promote his new book Antisemitism in America: A Warning. David Klion, Nation columnist and frequent guest on the podcast, reviewed this volume for The Baffler. He joins to podcast to discuss both the book and the making of Chuck Schumer.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on American Prestige's news roundup: the US and Iran are making moves risking escalation to a conflict (0:43); Israel rejects another Gaza ceasefire as it plans to carve up the Strip (7:28); the IDF resumes bombing Beirut (11:41); Myanmar suffers a devastating earthquake (13:44); the South Korea supreme court will rule on Yoon's impeachment today (17:16); the Sudanese military secures the capital, Khartoum (18:38); the African Union sends a mediation team to South Sudan (20:26); the US approves a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Archipelago (22:42); President Trump is now displeased with both Putin and Zelenskyy (24:54); President Bukele of El Salvador is reportedly in direct talks with MS-13 (29:03); the Trump administration admits innocent people were among those deported to El Salvador (31:23); far-right influencer Laura Loomer appears to have influenced Trump into firing members of the National Security Council (33:08); and President Trump announces quite a few tariffs for what he calls “liberation day” (34:49).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by JS Tan to discuss his experience seeing first hand how Microsoft deployed its cloud and machine learning services to help Chevron extract more oil and gas, and the state of tech worker organizing around climate change. JS Tan is a PhD student at MIT, researching cloud computing in the US and China. He's a a member of Collective Action in Tech and writes the Value Added newsletter.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy