American Prestige

Danny and Derek welcome to the program Arsalan Khan, assistant professor of anthropology at Union College, for a primer on Imran Khan, Pakistan’s cricket star-turned-prime minister-turned-opposition leader. They discuss his celebrity background, his early ideology, the state of Pakistan in the the 1990s, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), his relationship with the military, activity during the Musharraf government, his term as prime minister, the subsequent no confidence vote, and more.

Keep your eyes out for Dr. Khan’s book The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan, coming soon on Cornell University Press!

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Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast Matthew Kruer, assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago, to discuss his essay “Indigenous Subjecthood and White Populism in British America”. The discussion focuses on the American colonies of the 17th and 18th century, touching on the antimony between sovereignty and subjecthood, England’s notio…

Danny is back to full strength, so he and Derek combined forces to take on…The News. This week: a Sudan ceasefire update (0:30), a Turkey presidential runoff preview (3:41), Iran constructs a new nuclear facility (6:00), a Russia-Ukraine update including a sabotage operation in Russia (10:38), the NYT report on the Kremlin drone strike (13:34), Wagner taking Bakhmut (15:56), and more, and a New Cold War update including the G7 on China (25:03) and the new US-Papua New Guinea defense deal (28:18).

Recorded Thursday, May 25, 2023

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Danny and Derek welcome Gönül Tol, founding director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program and author of Erdoğan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria to discuss Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They touch on his origins with AKP in the early aughts, his interactions with the military, his relationship with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, Erdoğan’s foreign policy, the effect of the Arab Spring on his tenure, how he’s approached “the Kurdish issue”, and more.

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

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Danny and Derek welcome back James Lin, assistant professor of international studies at the University of Washington, to conclude their discussion of the history of Taiwan. They pick up in the 1970s with Chiang Kai-shek’s death, democratization, the Tangwai movement, Lee Teng-hui, the Taiwan-PRC relationship in the aughts, Taiwan’s tech sector, and more…

Danny has been upgraded with new gum implants, enabling him to better yammer on about God knows what while Derek actually educates us on what’s happening. This week: Round 1 of Turkey’s presidential election (0:48), a ceasefire for Gaza (5:21), Imran Khan released on bail in Pakistan (6:40), the Thai general election (9:21), a Sudan update (13:40), deforestation is down in Brazil (16:16), Guillermo Lasso dissolves the national assembly in Ecuador (17:58), Ukraine sees the Black Sea deal renewed, Chinese and African peace initiatives, and a new F-16 push (20:04), and a New Cold War update featuring Biden cancelling trips to Papua New Guinea and Australia (30:09), the Compact of Free Association agreements with Palau and Micronesia (32:29), and the US selling weapons to autocracies (34:20).

Recorded Thursday, May 18, 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

Danny and Derek welcome Milo Edwards, Phoebe Roy, and Patrick Wyman, recovering classicists and hosts of Rome, the podcast about HBO’s series Rome. They talk about the development of the show in the early era of prestige TV, the portrayal of the city itself, Vorenus and Pullo, the imaginary of the average Roman, Atia and depictions of Roman femininity, and more.

Also be sure to check out Milo and Phoebe’s Seinfeld podcast Masters of our Domain, Phoebe’s internet culture and history podcast Ten Thousand Posts, and her Substack.

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

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Happy Mother’s Day! Danny and Derek welcome Eleanor Janega, co-host of the We’re Not So Different podcast and author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society, to discuss one of the great mothers of history: The Virgin Mary. They discuss what actually makes Mary the ultimate medieval mother (despite being from ancient times)…

Derek welcomes back another AP Champion, Djene Bajalan, associate professor of history at Missouri State University, to discuss tomorrow’s presidential election in Turkey. They discuss Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a “free and fair” election, the political fallout of the 2023 earthquake, how Erdoğan’s strengthening of the presidency plays into things, the stakes for Syrian refugees, and more.

Recorded Friday, May 12, 2023

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Danny welcomes back AP All-Star (and investigative reporter for The Intercept) Ken Klippenstein for another special episode. The first part concerns his article detailing the government’s creation of a disinformation office, the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and its considerable reach. The second part addresses Ken’s recent highlighting of the role o…