American Prestige

Danny and Derek welcome back to the podcast Khalid Medani, associate professor of political science, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University, to talk about the state of play in Sudan's civil war. They delve into the military stalemate between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the humanitarian crisis reaching 13 million displaced and 26 million on the brink of starvation, involvement from outside actors including Egypt and the UAE, the strategic importance of the besieged city El Fasher in Darfur, the defection of the RSF’s Gezira commander, Abuagla Keikal, over to the Sudanese military, and more.

Note: After the recording of this episode, the RSF massacred 120 people in eastern Sudan.

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Séamus Malekafzali once again joins Danny and Derek, this time to talk about Iran's lack of a retaliation (so far) to Israel's strike this weekend, what Israel might be hoping to get out of that and its invasion of Lebanon, the effect of the latter on Lebanese Americans, Iran's grand strategy, and more.

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Adam Tooze, the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of history at Columbia University and director of the European Institute, is back on the program, this time to talk about his recent piece for The Guardian, "Facing war in the Middle East and Ukraine, the US looks feeble. But is it just an act?". They get into the "post-Cold War order", how Biden's foreign policy compares with that of Trump's, US "allies" vs adversaries' "axes", US policy in Palestine, the state of "international law", Russian Keynesianism, and more.

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Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman’s Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

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Danny and Derek talk about what we know so far regarding Israel's strikes on Iran last night, their apparent targets, to what extent they're performative, whether there will be a counterstrike, how this factors into domestic US politics, and more.

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This the full version of the special episode we posted last Friday after the death of Yahya Sinwar. Subscribe now for immediate access to all specials.

Derek welcomes back to the program Mohammad Alsaafin, journalist at AJ+, to talk about the death of Yahya Sinwar, the Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, the potential for resettlement, IDF assassinations of Hezbollah leadership, where the Biden administration currently stands, and more.

You can follow Mohammad on Twitter @malsaafin

Check out his video for AJ+, "What Does Hamas ACTUALLY Want?"

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It's 80 degrees in late October here at AP headquarters, but Danny and Derek remain cool as a cucumber to bring you the news. This week: the 2024 BRICS summit was held, featuring Vladimir Putin pushing for a dollar alternative and potentially alienating some member states (1:36); in Palestine-Israel, an update on Northern Gaza (9:10), Antony Blinken visits (12:31), and a leaked document on Israel's planned counterattack on Iran (16:22); in Lebanon, the IDF targets the Qard al-Hassan banking network (18:22), US special enovy Amos Hochstein visits with special demands (21:13), and the IDF targets Tyre for the first time in this assault (23:45); in Turkey, a terrorist attack interferes with the Kurdish peace process (25:19) and Fethullah Gülen of (of the eponymous movement) dies (28:02); India and China negotiate a border agreement, with Xi and Modi meeting while at the BRICS summit (31:11); in Sudan, an RSF commander defects (34:18); the M23 ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo appears to have failed (36:03); in Ukraine, Russian forces are pressuring several towns (37:57) amid talk of DPRK/North Korean soldiers being deployed (40:18); and finally, a new UN climate report says countries have made no progress in cutting emissions to tackle climate change (43:42).

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Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman’s Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

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Derek speaks with ProPublica's Brett Murphy about recent revelations showing the US government's continued arming of Israel despite the State Department's knowledge of Israel preventing humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. They delve into the laws regarding arming countries engaging in such policies, Antony Blinken's denial of knowing Israel's humanitarian aid obstruction in Gaza, America's rationale for an unconditional flow of arms, and more.

Brett's pieces on the matter:

Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman’s Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

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Asheville-based journalist and lawyer Jessica Pishko chats with Danny and Derek about the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and the state response. They discuss the state of affairs in Western North Carolina, the model of FEMA as part of the Department of Homeland Security, the federal government's messaging around this disaster, the proliferation of disinformation, the future of disaster relief as climate change worsens, and more. They also preview a future discussion about Jessica's book The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy.

Check out Jessica's pieces on Helene and Asheville, "Climate Catastrophe Comes to Asheville" and "Outrage and Paranoia After Hurricane Helene".

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Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman’s Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

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Derek welcomes back to the program Mohammad Alsaafin, journalist at AJ+, to talk about the death of Yahya Sinwar. Then, for subscribers, they discuss the Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, the potential for resettlement, IDF assassinations of Hezbollah leadership, where the Biden administration currently stands, and more.

Subscribe now for the full episode.

You can follow Mohammad on Twitter @malsaafin.

Check out his video for AJ+, "What Does Hezbollah ACTUALLY Want?"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's another dose of doom, but we tacked on a relatively feel-good animal story. Otherwise, this week: It appears that Israel has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (1:32), the IDF's brutal operation continues in northern Gaza (4:56), and the Biden administration floats withholding arms over the Strip's humanitarian situation (6:42); an update on Israel's invasion of Lebanon (13:09); the world continues to await Israel's response to Iran's ballistic missile strike (16:07); a diplomatic crisis for India and Canada (19:28); the DPRK/North Korea strikes unused rail lines connecting it with South Korea (21:04); an update on the war in Sudan (22:50); a devastating drought in southern Africa (26:12); in Russia-Ukraine, a Russian counteroffensive in Kursk makes progress (27:44) while Zelenskyy reveals part of his Victory Plan (31:19); stock prices soar for US defense contractors (34:22); and China has sent pandas to the National Zoo in Washington, DC (36:04).

Subscribe now at Supporting Cast.

Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman’s Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices