American Prestige

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 capitalis...

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. 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...

Danny and Derek speak with Hasan Piker about his recent trip to Cuba and the broader political moment in the United States. They talk about the Democratic Party’s internal crisis and relationship to the media, his role in intra-party debates, left populism and electoral strategy, the Cuba aid flotilla and the effects of U.S. sanctions, the material impact of the blockade on Cuban society, and the...

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek welcome back Eleanor Janega to discuss the history and meaning of Easter in Christianity. They talk about the centrality of the resurrection in Christian belief, how Easter was understood in early Christianity and the Middle Ages, the relationship between Easter and Passover, debates over the nature of Jesus and the Trinity, the origins of common...

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek is monitoring The Situation, so Always at War’s Alex Jordan is back to deliver the news with Danny. This week: Trump extends the Iran war without an exit plan (4:02); the U.S. weighs a commando raid to seize Iranian uranium (10:04); Iran threatens U.S. companies after striking a Kuwaiti tanker (13:17); the Hormuz closure drives short...

This a preview. To hear the full episode, subscribe now! Danny and Derek speak with Hasan Piker about his recent trip to Cuba and the broader political moment in the United States. They talk about the Democratic Party’s internal crisis and relationship to the media, his role in intra-party debates, left populism and electoral strategy, the Cuba aid flotilla and the effects of U.S. sanctions, the m...

In lieu of a standard episode today, we are premiering the first episode of Marx Prestige, a series where Danny, Derek, and historian Andrew Hartman discuss Karl Marx and how the philosophy and politics he created shaped and reshaped the United States.  Subscribe now at the annual tier for free access to series like this one! In this first episode of Marx Prestige, Danny, Derek, and Andrew Hartman...

Danny and Derek speak with Sina Azodi about the first month of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and why expectations of a rapid Iranian collapse have failed. They talk about the failure of expectations of a quick Iranian surrender, Iran’s asymmetric response strategy, energy and economic choke points, the influence of the IRGC, the historical context of U.S.-Iran relations, domestic political dynamics...

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with writers China Miéville (the forthcoming The Rouse) and Richard Seymour (Disaster Nationalism) about the changing character of the U.S. empire and global politics. They discuss the war with Iran as an expression of imperial decline, the absence of a coherent strategy in U.S. foreign policy, the collapse of ideological justification for...

Subscribe now for access to all of our specials and to avoid ads. Derek speaks with journalist Afeef Nessouli about Israel’s war on Lebanon and the political and social consequences. They talk discuss Israeli airstrikes and the ground invasion in southern Lebanon, mass displacement and humanitarian conditions, destruction of infrastructure and barriers to evacuation, Hezbollah’s role as both milit...

Danny and Derek join Mark Ames and John Dolan for the first AP–⁠Radio War Nerd⁠ crossover episode discussing, you guessed it, Iran and geopolitics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and for access to all of our episodes. Just a reminder: there was too much Iran news to fit into this episode, so we gave it a standalone special you can find here. Otherwise, this week around the world: in Israel-Palestine, the Gaza Board of Peace negotiates a Hamas disarmament agreement (1:54) while the West Bank sees settler violence surge around Nablus (3:35); Pak...

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek give you the latest on the war on Iran. They discuss Trump’s failed peace proposal and shifting threats, mediation attempts involving regional actors, Iran’s strategic position and deterrence problem, US troop deployments and potential military options, Israeli operations in Iran and Lebanon, Trump’s claims about regime change and a mysterious “p...

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get more episodes. Danny and Derek welcome back to the show historian Udi Greenberg to talk about Israeli public opinion, politics, and its strategy vis-à-vis the war with Iran. They discuss the overwhelming public support for military operations, the underlying strategic consensus across Israeli politics prioritizing military dominance over negotiation, the absen...

Coming March 31: Marx Prestige, a series where Danny and historian Andrew Hartman discuss Karl Marx and how the philosophy and politics he created shaped and reshaped the United States. Annual subscribers will get free access, so be on the lookout for an email with instructions! Be sure to check out Andrew's book ⁠Karl Marx in America⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with Sam Biddle of The Intercept about the role of AI in modern warfare, including the current Iran conflict. They talk about Palantir’s Maven system, LLMs in target selection, the use of Claude in airstrike planning, the integration of drone, satellite, and intelligence data, the acceleration of targeting and strike decisions, large-scale...

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our specials. Danny and Derek give an update on the conflict in Iran. They talk about the overall state of the war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, casualty figures across multiple countries, the prospect of a ground invasion, the state of Iran’s leadership, the strike on South Pars and its effects on Gulf energy infrastructure, Iran’s a...

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek wore his Fitbit to a CIA black site, both exposing the security state and meeting his daily step goal. This week’s news: in the Iran war, Israel assassinates Ali Larijani and other senior Iranian officials (1:15), U.S. allies refuse Trump’s demand that they help reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force (5:41), and the Pentagon seeks roug...

Subscribe now to get all of our special episodes and skip the ads. Danny and Derek welcome back to the show Annelle Sheline to discuss the impact of the US–Israel war on Iran on the Gulf states. They talk about how the conflict developed and why Gulf governments anticipated Iranian retaliation, the limits of US security guarantees, the risks to energy and desalination infrastructure, the vulnerabi...

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes! Writer and former U.S. Army intelligence officer Harrison Mann joins the show to talk about the U.S–Iran war and what a ground invasion could actually look like. They discuss Harrison’s resignation from the Defense Intelligence Agency over U.S. support for the Gaza genocide, his assessment of the first weeks of the conflict with Iran, inte...

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all of our specials. Danny and Derek discuss the latest developments in the war in Iran, including the U.S. bombing military targets on Kharg Island; Iran’s retaliation in the UAE and strategy around the Strait of Hormuz; the status of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei after reportedly sustaining wounds; Israel’s possible plan to occupy sou...

Subscribe now for the full episode and all of our bonus content. Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast political scientist Robert Pape to talk about the theory and history of air power. They discuss how ideas of air superiority shaped modern military doctrine and the belief that air power alone can coerce or topple regimes. They then focus on the war with Iran, including the U.S. strategy falling...

Subscribe now to get access to all of our special episodes. Danny and Derek speak with Spencer Ackerman, writer of ⁠Forever Wars⁠ newsletter and author of ⁠Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America⁠ about the war in Iran, how it emerges from recent history, its military aspects, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our breaking news specials. We’re putting out, what, an episode a day at this point? But the news roundup must go on. This week: In the Iran war, casualty and displacement figures rise across Iran and Lebanon (1:20), Iran mines and threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz (4:31), Iranian officials threaten to expand the war by targeting financial institu...

Subscribe now to get all of our breaking news specials. Derek welcomes back legal scholar Maryam Jamshidi to discuss the legal aspect of the U.S.–Israel war on Iran. They talk about the administration’s shifting legal justifications, why the administration’s claims about Iranian threats and nuclear weapons fail under international law, the legal limits of self-defense, how the conflict fits within...