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Danny and Derek are pleased to welcome to the podcast Mike Duncan, history podcaster and author, to talk about where history stands in the American academy, popular culture, and public consciousness. They discuss the trials and tribulations of producing a history podcast, the relationship between academic history and history media, the neoliberalization of academia, AI and the crisis of humanism, the unlikely prospect of a leftist revolution in 2025 America, and more.

Be sure to check out Mike’s Revolutions and The History of Rome podcasts.

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In this week’s 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. 

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Enjoy the full version of this special we published last week!

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Danny and Derek invite ⁠Zachary Karabell⁠, historian and founder of ⁠the Progress Network⁠, as well as host of the podcast ⁠What Could Go Right?⁠, to talk about the big things: liberalism, American political capitalism, Trump, "abundance," and more.

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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.     

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Danny and Derek welcome to the program political scientist Francis Fukuyama to talk about his recent article for the Journal of Democracy, “Delivering for Democracy: Why Results Matter.” The group explores why Dr. Fukuyama felt the need to address democratic backsliding, what about Trump’s actions have precedents in American history vs what’s unique to this administration, how capitalism interacts with Dr. Fukuyama’s understanding of democracy, whether regulated capitalism is possible without an ideological challenger, the abundance movement, and what reforms can be made to help democracies deliver better. 

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This week in the 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 (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 without 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 (38:16); a New Cold War update featuring China pledging additional money to the WHO after a pandemic agreement (40:51); and Trump announces the Golden Dome project (43:44).

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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.

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Danny and Derek invite ⁠Zachary Karabell⁠, historian and founder of ⁠the Progress Network⁠, as well as host of the podcast ⁠What Could Go Right?⁠, to talk about the big things: liberalism, American political capitalism, Trump, "abundance," and more.

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Derek welcomes back Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at the Quincy Institute, to talk about the latest New Cold War developments. They discuss the Chinese government’s view of Donald Trump, US-China trade negotiations, Beijing’s approach to great power politics, Taiwan’s position in US-China relations under Trump, China’s role in domestic US politics, and what a smarter US trade policy might look like.

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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 (01:23); Donald Trump’s big Persian Gulf tour (04:24)(filled with Deals, Bribes, and announcements about Syrian sanctions (7:49) and Iranian nuclear talks (10:40)); the latest developments in Gaza (15:34); the US-China tariff pause (26:52); the PKK’s major disarmament announcement (29:19); a new round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks (32:19); major clashes between militias in Libya (35:49); the arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US (39:33); Luis Arce’s decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race (41:17); the sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for daring to contradict President Trump (43:09); and whether or not the US is still going to have habeas corpus for much longer (46:04).

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.

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