American Prestige

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Derek is joined once again by guest co-host Alex Jordan to bring you the news. This week: in Israel-Palestine, Israel commences its ground operation in Gaza City (1:50), a UN commission rules that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (8:14), and Netanyahu touts a “Sparta” model for Israel while Smotrich talks Gaza real estate (9:39); fallout from Israel’s strike in Qatar continues (15:04); nuclear talks between Iran and European nations make little progress (20:39); India’s Maoist rebels suspend their insurgency (23:28); Nepal elects a new interim prime minister via Discord (25:52); the US and China produce a “framework” for the TikTok sale (28:32); Australia commits billions to its AUKUS submarine investment (30:58); the RSF in Sudan advances on Al-Fashir (34:04); Libya’s Tripoli-based government cuts a deal with a hostile faction (37:30); the US and EU clash over Russia sanctions (40:49); the US admits to blowing up at least one more Venezuelan boat (47:32); Trump decertifies Colombia as a drug war partner (52:04); and Trump deploys the National Guard to Memphis while also pushing international changes to asylum rules (55:31).

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Watch Alex with Courtney Rawlings on Always at War.

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Danny and Derek welcome back historian Greg Grandin to talk about his recent book, America, América: A New History of the New World. In this first part of the discussion, they explore how the Spanish conquest produced unprecedented violence while also starting discussions about human rights, the role of Bartolomé de las Casas and the Salamanca School, how English settlers dealt with their own brutality, and the emergence of social democracy in Latin America. They also discuss the Monroe Doctrine, the Panama Congress, and the Mexican-American War as early flashpoints in US–Latin American relations.

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Here’s a preview from a podcast you might enjoy, Fiasco:

Slow Burn co-creator Leon Neyfakh transports listeners into the reality of America’s most pivotal historical events, bringing life to the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present. In his new season, Leon looks at the 2012 Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead—and the ensuing political storm, which raised questions about America’s role in the world, established a playbook to weaponize attention in the social media age, and ultimately changed the course of U.S. history. Find Fiasco: Benghazi wherever you get podcasts and binge the entire season with a Pushkin plus subscription – sign up on the Fiasco Apple Podcasts show page or at pushkin.fm/plus.

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Derek is joined by Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics and Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute to take a closer look at Israel’s bombing of Doha, Qatar, this week. They discuss how the strike undermines Qatar’s role as mediator in Israel-Hamas negotiations, US complicity, and why Gulf leaders now view Israel, not Iran, as the region’s chief destabilizer. They further explore Qatar’s hosting of Hamas at America’s request, the GCC’s tenuous unity in the face of Israeli aggression, the domestic politics driving Netanyahu, and the risks of Israel crossing new red lines.

Follow Annelle and Giorgio on Twitter/X.

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While Danny remains in talks with Russia, Alex Jordan again helps Derek bring you the headlines. This week: Israel targets Hamas negotiators in a Doha strike (3:30), effectively ending ceasefire talks (8:43); the IDF orders the evacuation of Gaza City (13:11) while reports emerge that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hired an anti-Islam biker gang for “security” (15:42); in Russia-Ukraine, Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting an Article 4 NATO meeting (18:36); Iran and the IAEA announce a tentative deal to resume inspections (22:41); Nepal sees mass protests over a social media ban, leading to the resignation and disappearance of its prime minister and the army being deployed in Kathmandu (25:42); Donald Trump suggests he will repair ties with India amid tariff disputes and fallout over a Russian oil deal (30:15); Japan’s prime minister Ishiba resigns after electoral losses (33:23); ICE raids a Hyunda-LG plant in Georgia, detaining hundreds of South Korean workers (36:41); In Mali, JNIM militants blockade fuel routes to Bamako (42:22); France ousts yet another prime minister over austerity, with Macron appointing Sébastien Lecornu and facing mass protests (44:38); Brazil awaits a Supreme Court verdict on former president Jair Bolsonaro’s coup case, and Trump threatens retaliation if he’s convicted (49:26); and in these United States, the Department of Defense changes its name to the Deaprtment of War (53:34), a New York Times report reveals covert attacks on fishermen in a failed North Korea operation in 2019 (56:16), and new details emerge about last week’s strike on a Venezuelan boat (62:12). 

Don’t forget to purchase our Welcome to the Crusades: The First Crusade miniseries!Catch Alex and Courtney Rawlings on the Quincy Institute’s Always at War podcast!

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Danny and Derek recently reunited with Eleanor Janega and Luke Waters of ⁠We’re Not So Different⁠ for a special mailbag episode of their cross-pod collaboration, ⁠Welcome to the Crusades: The First Crusade⁠. We have already posted ⁠Episode 1⁠ and ⁠Episode 2 ⁠in the feed, so we figured we’d give everyone the third episode to further entice you to dig into this miniseries. Enjoy!

We leave the Crusaders behind temporarily to grapple with conditions in the Near East of the late 11th century. We’ll discuss the emergence and disintegration of the Great Seljuk Empire in Baghdad as well as the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo, with additional focus on the situation in Jerusalem as the Crusaders began their journey.

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Danny and Derek break down Israel’s strike on Doha, which targeted a meeting of Hamas’s political leadership. They discuss the possibility of US complicity in the attack, its impact on negotiations, and what it means for Gaza and for what remains of US credibility.

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Danny and Derek welcome actor Morgan Spector (The Gilded Age, The Plot Against America) to the show for a conversation on politics, Hollywood, and capitalism. They trace his political development from the Iraq War and Obama era to Bernie Sanders and democratic socialism, discuss his documentary The Big Scary “S” Word, and reflect on how Hollywood politics skew liberal but not radical (particularly when it comes to Palestine). They also explore Spector’s role as a Gilded Age robber baron, how today’s tech oligarchs compare with the 19th century’s builders, and the need for a new political vision in the age of financialization, AI, and the climate crisis.

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Danny and Derek welcome Washington Post columnist and Wisdom of Crowds co-host Shadi Hamid to the show to discuss the shift in rhetoric and framing around the genocide in Gaza. Shadi explains why he hesitated to use the word “genocide” until this year, reflects on reactions to his Washington Post piece, and explores with Danny and Derek how language shapes mainstream debate. They further discuss the future of the Democratic Party, the absence of left institutions, and whether shifting the discourse can translate into policy given the current structure of American power.

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Danny is in talks with the Kremlin to unfreeze his accounts, so Derek is joined instead by the Quincy Institute’s Alex Jordan to bring you the news. This week: a new study warns that the Atlantic circulation system could collapse (2:32); Ukraine introduces AI-driven drone swarms, raising the prospect of autonomous killing machines (5:55); in Israel-Palestine, Israel declares Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone” (9:45), The Washington Post details the “Trump Riviera” plan (13:50), more European states move toward recognizing a Palestinian state (18:20), and Israel appears to be building a new nuclear reactor (24:44); the IDF assassinates the Houthi prime minister in Yemen (26:57); Indonesia sees mass protests over egregious political perks (30:25); Russia replaces the Wagner Group with the Africa Corps in the Central African Republic amid pushback (32:47); the Congo River Alliance/M23 accuses the DRC government of violating their ceasefire (36:57); lawyers sound the alarm about five men trafficked from the US to Eswatini (39:12); as Russia-Ukraine peace talks drag on, the focus shifts to “security guarantees,” with Moscow rejecting any foreign military presence in Ukraine (41:43); Donald Trump boasts about “obliterating” a Venezuelan boat that may have carried migrants instead of drugs (47:39); US appeals courts rule against Trump’s tariffs and deportations (51:33); and in a New Cold War update, Xi Jinping makes a statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and V-J Day military parade (54:33).

Catch Alex and Courtney Rawlings on Quincy’s “Always at War”! 

Grab one of the last few “Robo Washington Crossing the Delaware” posters!

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