The Nation Podcasts

On this episode of American Prestige , we chat with Penny Von Eschen, William R. Kennan Jr. professor of American Studies and professor of history at UVA, about her book  Paradoxes of Nostalgia: Cold War Triumphalism and Global Disorder since 1989 . In this first part of the discussion, the group explores the affective dimension of nostalgia, how the “end of history” and “clash of civilizations” n...

On this episode of American Prestige , Michael Brenes and Stephen discuss the new volume Danny and Michael edited,  Rethinking U.S. World Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations .  They talk about the current tenor in DC around foreign policy, the degree to which domestic factors affect U.S. decisions therein, and how their careers thus far have shaped their thinking. Advertising Inqui...

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us , Paris Marx is joined by Zach Weinersmith to discuss the impracticalities of space colonies some interested parties keep forgetting to mention. Zach Weinersmith co-wrote  A City On Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?  with Kelly Weinersmith. He also makes the  Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal  comic...

Minimum wage initiatives on the ballot in battleground states could mobilize potential Democratic voters who are unenthusiastic about Biden. Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage explains the strategy for Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio. Also: 100 American cities and towns have formally called for a ceasefire in Gaza. John Nichols has our report. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy &...

On this episode of American Prestige , Danny and Derek speak with Michael G. Vann, professor of history at California State University, Sacramento, about Indonesia, which recently held an election resulting in Prabowo Subianto as president-elect. They discuss the country’s era of reform ( Reformasi ) since the end of Suharto’s rule in 1998, the composition of its elite class, Prabowo’s controversi...

On this episode of The Time of Monsters , Jeet Heer talks to Jacob Heilbrunn about the American right’s long history of opposing democracy. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige , Antony Blinken  plays the blues  while Danny and Derek bring you the news. This week: in Gaza, famine sets in (0:29), U.S.-Israel tensions rise over a potential Rafah invasion (3:52), and more; Pakistan conducts airstrikes in Afghanistan (12:11); Indonesia’s general election results are confirmed (14:37); the DPRK/North Korea tests a hypersonic missile engine...

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us , Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the motivations behind the proposed TikTok ban and what the effort tells us about US tech policy. Jacob Silverman is a tech journalist and the co-author of  Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out:...

In the campaign to end American funding for Israel’s war in Gaza, a key front is the fight against AIPAC. This week, more than a hundred prominent American Jews have joined in a statement opposing AIPAC and its efforts to defeat Democratic candidates who have criticized Israeli government policy toward Palestinians. The signers include author Ariel Dorfman, actors Elliott Gould and Wallace Shawn,...

On this episode of the American Prestige podcast, we speak with  Jemima Pierre , professor of global race in the Institute of Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice (GRSJ) at the University of British Columbia, about foreign intervention in Haiti—namely instances led by the U.S. and European powers— from the country’s inception to Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation last week. Advertising...

On this episode of The Time of Monsters , Marshall Steinbaum on economics as a toxic discipline. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on  American Prestige : Russia kicks off its presidential election (1:47); a Gaza humanitarian update (4:29) and Biden speaks on a Rafah invasion (11:24); more Israeli strikes in Lebanon (15:30); U.S. policy potentially shifts on DPRK/North Korea (17:17); in Sudan, the military makes gains in Omdurman (20:20); Ukraine attacks Russian oil facilities (24:26) and receives a U.S. stopgap aid...

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us , Paris Marx is joined by Ed Zitron to discuss the public’s growing disillusionment with the tech industry as it pivoted to chasing profits instead of providing us with anything useful. Ed Zitron is the host of Better Offline and writes the Where’s Your Ed At newsletter. He’s also the CEO of EZPR. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy...

After gangs took over most of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to step aside. Long-time Haiti observer Amy Wilentz analyzes the forces at work shaping the country’s next steps. Also: the polls and the pollsters are missing the political potential in 9 million people who have turned 18 since the last election. Steve Phillips explains – his book, ‘How We Win the Civ...

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome writer and co-executive producer John Orloff to the pod to discuss  Apple TV+’s  Masters of the Air  miniseries . They go into John’s background, his work on HBO’s seminal  Band of Brothers , the distinct horror of WWII aerial warfare, how  MOTA  tackled the POW experience, the challenge of writing and shooting such a massive production...

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, David Klion and Jeet Heer on Dune: Part Two , the science fiction epic with real world echoes. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige , Danny and Derek bring you news from around the world. This week: in Gaza, the U.S. makes airdrops while Biden announces a temporary port (0:30), some countries restore UNRWA funding (4:02), and more; a cargo ship is sunk and data cables cut in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen (12:26); the parliament of Pakistan elects a new prime minister (16:15); a renewed...

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Dharna Noor to discuss widely-held misconceptions about the effectiveness of plastic recycling and how industry lobbies invented them to protect the market for plastic products. Dharna Noor is the fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian . Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redci...

After Super Tuesday: John Nichols reports on the evidence of weaknesses of both Biden and Trump, as well as some signs of strength, in the wake of voting in primaries in 16 states. Also: Now is the time to add the right to vote to the constitution – that’s what Richard Hasen says. And, he argues, there are good reasons why Republicans could support that--maybe not this year, but sometime soon. Ric...

On this episode of American Prestige , Danny and Derek speak with Gabriel Hetland , associate professor of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o Studies and Sociology at the University at Albany, about his book Democracy on the Ground: Local Politics in Latin America’s Left Turn . We discuss the regional shift to the Left, how right-wing forces reacted to this trend, the ways democracy has been...

On this News episode of American Prestige , Danny and Derek work on leap days. This week: in Gaza, a massacre in Gaza City (0:29), ceasefire talks (5:20), and Netanyahu’s postwar plan (8:35); the U.S. and U.K. launch more joint airstrikes against Yemen (10:25); North Korea trades arms for food with Russia (11:54); in Sudan, military groups block aid shipments to Darfur (14:13); a new date is set f...

An abortion rights amendment to Florida’s constitution has gotten enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Now it’s up to the state’s supreme court to decide whether people will get to vote on it, potentially transforming the electorate there in November.  The Nation ’s abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield, is on the podcast to report. Also on this episode of  Start Making S...

On this episode of  American Prestige,  hosts Danny Bessner and Derek Davison speak with Daniel Hummel, director for university engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Upper House. Hummel returns to the podcast to continue a conversation about Christian Zionism in the United States since 1948. In this episode, we pick up with the rise of the new Christian right in the 1970s, the role o...

This week, on American Prestige: Danny and Derek are just the messengers. This week: in Gaza, ceasefire talks may be heating up again, America assesses the UNRWA allegations, and more (0:42); Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthi) militants potentially sink a cargo ship, damage another ship, and attack Eilat (12:11); a potential governing coalition is formed in Pakistan (14:31); tensions between Taiwan and...

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Grafton Tanner to discuss the dangers and consequences of companies and politicians leveraging nostalgia for their own purposes. Grafton Tanner is the author of Foreverism . He also teaches at the University of Georgia. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy