American Prestige

Danny and Derek again 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. This second part of the conversation picks up with Cold War nostalgia in American pop culture, the 90s search for a new “bad guy” in places like the DPRK/North Korea and the Balkans, the “kitschification” of the Cold War, ways this nostalgia manifested throughout the War on Terror, how U.S.-Russia relations were reshaped in the 1990s and 2000s, and the influences of this refracted view of the Cold War on the “New Cold War” dynamic we’re seeing today.

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Danny and Derek speak with Jonathan Guyer, contributing editor at The American Prospect, about the piece he recently wrote for the magazine on Biden’s ideological commitment to Israel and his administration’s handling of the current crisis. The group discusses his obstinacy in changing his approach Israel/Palestine, the domestic and global political imp…

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Danny and Derek welcome back Natalie Shure, writer and researcher whose work focuses on history, health, and politics, for an update on where we stand with Havana Syndrome. When Natalie (along with Bob Wright) first chatted with us in December 2021, little was known about the condition. It turns out, we still don’t know much, but stories contending conn…

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Welcome the fourth episode of the collaboration between AP and Nonzero Newsletter! Paid subscribers get a discounted membership to Nonzero— just scroll below the paywall near the bottom of the description, where you’ll also find the video for the Overtime segment.

0:02 Derek and Danny stumble into Bob’s Zoom room 1:01 Israel’s doubly out-of-control week10:02 How Biden's Gaza failures will shape the Democratic Party24:32 Biden’s political incentives on Israel-Palestine28:02 Heading to Overtime 

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonzeroPods

Derek and Danny return with the news. This week: In Gaza, the IDF kills members of the World Central Kitchen organization (0:31), Biden follows up with Netanyahu (6:18), more reports on the IDF’s AI targeting systems (10:35), and more; Israeli airstrikes hit Iranian IRGC officers in Syria (20:59); a drone strike in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw (25:04); the DPRK/North Korea tests a hypersonic missile (26:51); the results of Senegal’s election (29:01); Somalia expels the Ethiopian ambassador (31:02); a terrorist attack in Moscow (32:43); NATO discusses a Ukraine fund (35:27); a UN update on displacement in Haiti (38:42); and a New Cold War update featuring a Biden-Xi phone call (41:28).

Look out for our special later today with Natalie Shure on Havana Syndrome.

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Danny and Derek welcome back Annelle Sheline, former foreign affairs officer at the State Department, to discuss her resignation over the Biden Administration’s handling of Israel and Gaza. They discuss her role at State, what changed there after October 7, her interactions with superiors and administration officials, how the response to Gaza differs from that of Ukraine, the efficacy of dissent channels, and more.

Check out Annelle’s piece at CNN about her resignation.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com

Danny and Derek 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” narratives influenced U.S. policy starting in the 1990s, the post-Cold War malaise that took hold, and the proliferation of anti-government ideologies amidst a massive increase in military spending.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.americanprestigepod.com

Believe it or not, Brazil’s story didn’t start with Lula and Macron’s iconic photo shoot, and Bryan Pitts, assistant director of the Latin American Institute at UCLA, has graciously agreed to help Danny and Derek tell that story! In this first episode of the History of Brazil series, the group explores the indigenous civilizations populating the land th…

Since Derek is out of town, an unsupervised Danny welcomes back AP friends Michael Brenes, co-director of the Brady-Johnson program in grand strategy at Yale University and publisher of Warfare and Welfare, and Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to 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.

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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 controversial career long predating his 2024 campaign, the issues motivating voters in this election, and potential legal challenges to him ultimately taking power.

Check out Michael’s work in Jacobin, as well as his book The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com