American Prestige

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Danny and Derek welcome back Andre Pagliarini, assistant professor of history at Hampden-Sydney College, for a breakdown of how so-called “anarcho-capitalist” Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina, what he can actually enact of his, er, ambitious plans, what this means for the country, and more.

Recorded Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Danny welcomes back to the pod Margaret O’Mara, historian and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, to continue the story of how Silicon Valley came to be. They pick up in the midst of the Space Race, touching on the sources of tech capital the 1950s and 1960s, how the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) reshapes Stanford, figures like Stewart Brand and Steve Jobs, the transition from 60s counterculture to 70s “founder culture”, and more.

Check out the first episode here.

Be sure to grab a copy of the book! You can find Margaret’s other work at her website.

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

Disclaimer: There are no musical numbers.

At long last, Producer Jake returns to tee up subscriber queries for Danny and Derek. In this edition, we explore whether nations “deserve” to exist, if Mearsheimer has stumbled onto something about China, the notion of military intervention on behalf of Mother Nature, what the gang thinks about the show “The Ame…

Danny and Derek speak with Mariam Barghouti, a journalist and writer based in Ramallah, about where things stand in Palestine. In addition to the situation in Gaza, they catch up on what’s been happening in the West Bank, particularly since October 7.

Recorded Friday, November 17, 2023

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

Righteous rage fuels these righteous brothers’ need to inform the people. This week: an update on Gaza (0:30); more U.S. airstrikes on Syria (7:36); an update on the war in Sudan (9:24); a rebel offensive in Myanmar (12:33); rebels in Mali take on the national army (15:49); the Ukrainian army crosses the Dnipro River (18:39) and a Ukrainian suspect in the Nord Stream bombing (21:57); the Polish opposition is close to forming a government (25:06); the Socialist Party in Spain forms a government (28:02); the U.K. sees a cabinet reshuffle while a court strikes down a plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda (29:47); and a New Cold War update featuring Biden and Xi meeting face to face (34:24).

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

Derek catches up with Haggai Matar of +972 Magazine for an update on the domestic situation in Israel. Danny and Derek then give a news update for subscribers.

Some of Haggai’s recent work:

* “How October 7 has changed us all — and what it signals for our struggle”

* “Palestinians fear ‘slow death’ as hunger and thirst spread in Gaza”

* “For Israeli leaders, ev…

Taking a detour from our series on Silicon Valley, Derek speaks with Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, about the Biden administration’s decision to continue construction of a border wall through the Rio Grande Valley. They discuss the impact this will have on the region’s ecology, wildlife, and indigenous and local communities, how it fits into the larger trend of border militarization, and more.

Relevant links:

* Construction contracts quietly issued (TX Observer)

* Construction could begin as early as December (The Border Chronicle)

* Laiken’s work on Medium

* “100+ Groups Urge Biden to Cancel 'Baffling and Cruel' Border Wall Waivers” (Common Dreams)

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

Danny and Derek speak with Ross Caputi, a PhD student in Modern U.S. and Italian history at UMass Amherst, about his experience serving in the Iraq War and his thoughts on Veterans Day. They go into what it was like in the Second Battle of Fallujah, how he and some of his fellow soldiers’ tenure compared with the idea of war they had going into the conf…

Danny, fresh from the dentist, seeks relief in Derek’s news recap. This week: a Gaza War update (0:31); the U.S. attacks another weapons depot in Syria (16:51); Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces in Yemen down an American drone (18:31); Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah makes a speech on the region’s crisis (19:58); opium cultivation in Afghanistan is at a new low after the U.S. withdrawal (22:17); a major rebel offensive in Myanmar (23:59); in Sudan, the RSF advances in Darfur and near the South Sudan border (26:13); Putin to run for re-election while Russia quits the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) (28:41); the North Atlantic appears to be pushing for peace talks for the Ukraine War (29:56); the European Union advances Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia candidacies (32:48); peace talks with FARC-EMC groups suspended in Colombia (34:43); and more bad climate news (36:31).

Find all of our Gaza specials here.

Recorded Thursday, November 9, 2023

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

Derek speaks with Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior foreign affairs reporter at HuffPost, about what is going on within the Biden administration around the Gaza War. Topics include sidelining the State Department, stifling voices therein, figures influencing Biden’s Middle East policy like Brett McGurk, and more.

Then, for subscribers, Danny and Derek welcome b…