American Prestige

Subscribe now⁠ for an ad-free experience.

There’s too much Knickerbocker news to fit here, but we do have other stories to report. This week: Iran and the U.S. exchange fire in the Gulf (2:00), plus peace talks stall after Trump adds new demands (4:29); Israel escalates its Lebanon campaign despite ceasefire talks (08:33); Cambodia takes a Thailand maritime dispute to the UN (15:19); in Sudan, tribal clashes kill dozens in South Darfur (17:38); Ukraine strikes St. Petersburg during the city’s International Economic Forum (20:13); Germany loses a UN Security Council vote (21:54); Colombia’s first-round election results see the right gain momentum (24:04); U.S. sanctions hit Cuba-linked hotels (26:36); and Tulsi Gabbard resigns as the DNI faces a CIA feud (29:11). 

Then, Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay , co-editors of The Polycrisis, join the show to explain how the climate crisis, Chinese clean-tech, U.S. policy, and the Iran war are accelerating a global shift away from fossil fuels.

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

We unlocked this episode so that everyone could hear this great interview with Jake Werner on China. To get more AP discussions like this, subscribe now!

Danny and Derek are once again joined by Jake Werner, director of the East Asia Program at ⁠the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft⁠, this time to talk about the development of the U.S. consensus on China. They delve into the neoliberal engagement with China, the 2008 financial crisis, Xi Jinping’s response, Trump’s first-term China policy, and the Biden administration’s approach. They then analyze Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping, tariffs, rare earths, Taiwan, Iran, and the prospects for stabilizing U.S.-China relations.

Read Jake’s piece “An Opening for a New US–China Economic Relationship.”

Follow Quincy on YouTube.

And, of course, subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Originally released May 17, 2026

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

Subscribe now⁠ for the full episode.

Danny and Derek speak with Roland Betancourt, Chancellor's Professor of Art History at UC Irvine, about Disneyland and the rise of automation in the U.S. They talk about Walt Disney’s move from animation to theme parks, the relationship between amusement parks and industrial production, Cold War technology and Southern California, Disney’s use of automation and control, labor in the theme park, Disney World and Epcot, and more.

Grab your copy of Roland’s book Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth.

Don't forget about our weekly livestream, tomorrow night at 8pm ET over on our YouTube channel!

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

⁠Subscribe now⁠ for the full episode.

Danny and Derek welcome back to the show Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, to talk about U.S.-Iran negotiations and the status of the war. They delve into ceasefire talks, Israel’s attack on Lebanon, Iranian concerns about U.S. reliability, sanctions relief, the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s regional position, the Abraham Accords, and Tom Barrack’s newly expanded role in Syria and Iraq.

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

Subscribe now for the full episode.

Danny speaks with Anusar Farooqui about the finer points of the emerging multipolar world. They discuss the idea of Iran as a great power, spheres of influence, China and the future of East Asia, the role of India and the European Union in global politics, and more.

Follow Anusar’s work at ⁠Policy Tensor⁠.

Read Danny’s piece that they debated, ⁠“Power Without Ideology.”⁠

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

Subscribe now⁠ to skip the ads and get more content.

The AP UFC dome is regrettably being held up by Producer Jake’s HOA. In this week’s news: an update on the U.S.-Iran talks and U.S. airstrikes near Bandar Abbas (1:11); Trump demands new Abraham Accords signatures and threatens Oman over Strait of Hormuz fees (4:46); Israel escalates attacks and pushes displacement further north in Lebanon (11:39); Israel kills Hamas commander Mohammed Odeh (14:38); Gaza’s Board of Peace lacks pledged funds (15:31); Trump pauses a Taiwan arms sale due to the Iran war depleting stockpiles (16:43); the RSF prepares an offensive in North Darfur, plus Sudan’s military prepares an offensive in Blue Nile (18:37); U.S. airstrikes kill civilians in Somalia (20:28); Russia threatens new strikes on Kyiv (22:03); Bolivia faces a protest crackdown (24:18 ); Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence (26:12); and Derek speaks to Anthea Gordon, GiveDirectly’s country director for the Democratic Republic of Congo, about the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo and the challenges complicating the response (28:56).

⁠Help Ebola-affected families in the DRC⁠.

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

The bi-monthly podcasting crossover to end all bi-monthly podcasting crossovers is back! Danny, Derek, and Robert Wright of the ⁠⁠NonZero Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ once again set the record straight.

Subscribe now to AP to get a discounted membership to NonZero!

Part One Video

0:00 Is NonZero or American Prestige the better podcast? AI weighs in
4:14 The state of the US-Iran war. Or is it peace?
17:52 Has Trump already lost the midterms? Does he care?
24:16 The Russia-Ukraine war (and Eric Schmidt)
29:23 What the latest Iran war strikes signal
31:04  Overtime preview: Nuland’s “monsters,” zombie blobsters, Barak Ravid, Bari Weiss, “killzones,” and the Pope vs AI

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

Subscribe now to get an ad-free experience and more episodes.

Don’t forget about our weekly livestreams on our YouTube channel, every Wednesday at 8pm ET. 

Danny and Derek welcome to the show John Fugelsang, host of Tell Me Everything and author of Separation of Church and Hate, to talk about the rise and influence of right-wing Christianity in the United States. They discuss Christian nationalism; the political weaponization of scripture; Jesus’s teachings vs authoritarian Christianity; the apostle Paul’s role in shaping the faith; issues like abortion, immigration, and sexuality; white supremacy; Donald Trump; and arguing with conservative Christians.

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

Subscribe now for the full episode.

Danny and Derek speak with Caitlin Tulloch, a former USAID economist and GiveDirectly’s head of research, about the destruction of USAID and the future of humanitarian aid. They talk about her work as an economist, USAID’s relationship to American power, the agency’s internal dynamics, the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID, the legal and institutional consequences, the impact on global health and humanitarian programs, the loss of response capacity, transactional aid policy, GiveDirectly, and Project Resource Optimization.

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

Subscribe now for all episodes and no ads!

Danny and Derek have reconciled with their disappointment in the new Star Wars film and can now bring you the news roundup. This week: in Iran, talks stall as Trump weighs continuing the war (2:00), the Islamic Republic attempts to institutionalize control over the Strait of Hormuz (8:49), and fuel protests spread around the world (13:09); the IDF continues daily bombardments in Lebanon while Hezbollah drones restrict IDF ground operations (15:10); Trump considers a call with Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te (18:32); Xi and Putin stage an uneventful summit in Beijing (21:47);Sudanese forces gain ground in Blue Nile State (23:23); a U.S.-Nigerian operation kills an Islamic State leader (25:26); Ebola spreads from northeastern DRC (27:45); in NATO news, the U.S. reduces its forces in Europe (30:25); Labour challengers emerge against Keir Starmer (33:36); Peru confirms a Fujimori-Sanchez runoff in its presidential election (35:23);

Note: After the time of recording, Donald Trump ⁠walked back his decision to reduce US troops in Poland⁠. Additionally, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz has changed due to Oman's interest in collecting "tolls."

Don’t forget to ⁠subscribe to our YouTube channel⁠, now featuring livestreams with Danny and Derek every Wednesday at 8pm ET.

Join the Discord (paid subscribers get access to all channels).

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