In this fascinating discussion, Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, an Arabic translator and historian with expertise in jihadist groups, analyzes recent developments in Syria. He details the swift military operations in Aleppo, shedding light on the strategic implications for the Syrian government. The conversation also highlights complex ties between militant factions and Turkey's pivotal role. Al-Tamimi's insights reveal the evolving landscape of alliances, including the unexpected collaboration between Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and Kurdish forces.

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Ben Fong of Arizona State University for a two-part discussion of his book Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge. In this episode, the group covers everything from coffee to opiates to antidepressants, how they interact with capitalist society, the CIA, commodity fetishism, licit vs. illicit as distinct from legal vs. illegal, and more.Check out more of Ben's work at his Substack on labor and logistics, On the Seams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek update everyone on this week's advance by rebel factions in northwestern Syria wherein they took control of Aleppo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek are back with Patrick Wyman, host of the Tides of History podcast and author of The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World, for the second part of their discussion about Ridley Scott's Gladiator films. This episode explores father-son relationships, Numidia, why the original film outshines the sequel and most depictions of Rome since, the military campaigns depicted in the movies, different types of gladiators, the Praetorian Guard, treacherous personal trainers, and more.Subscribe now for the full episode!Read Patrick's piece for Slate, "The Case for Gladiator II".Be warned, this is full of spoilers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our bi-annual mailbag episode, where Producer Jake presents listener questions to Danny and Derek. Among the topics of this edition: If hierarchy is inevitable in human societies, how does status not based on wealth work? What would a US weapons embargo on Israel look like? Has neoliberal atomization led to a decline in the popularity of bands? What are Derek's bird feeding tips?Subscribe now for benefits like mailbag submissions, weekly bonus episodes, and our new Discord server! Speaking of the Discord, listeners have formed a book club that sends the following message:"PrestigeHeads are organizing a book club for AP subscribers around military historian Donald Stoker’s 2024 book Purpose and Power: U.S. Grand Strategy from the Revolutionary Era to the Present. It will likely be a critical reading given Stoker’s affiliations and ideology, but the book should provide ample fodder for discussion. The plan is to read at most 50 pages a week and have ongoing discussions on the AP Discord for each chapter. We have people on board to read the introduction and first chapter by Friday, December 6th." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome David Silverman, professor of Native American, Colonial American, and American racial history at George Washington University, for a discussion of the historical Thanksgiving holiday. They get into the origin and proliferation of the holiday’s myth, the historical Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony, the Wampanoag Indians, their culture, politics, and relationship with the English settlers, who and what the holiday serves in modern America, and more.Be sure to grab a copy of David’s book This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving!Originally published November 22, 2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek update us with what we need to know about Israel's ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.Subscribe now for the full episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anton Jäger, historian of political thought, returns to the program to speak with Danny about "the big picture" in the wake of the US election. They discuss the crisis of liberalism, the state of the left, where capital is in its own historical cycle, how the reactions to this election compare with that of 2016, hyperpolitics, empire, the view from Europe, and more.Read Anton's latest piece in New Left Review, "Hyperpolitics in America".Further reading:Adam Tooze, "The Democrats' Defeat", The London Review of Books Subscribe now and listen to our episode with Anton on hyperpolitics from last year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick Wyman, host of the Tides of History podcast and author of The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World, is back on the program, this time to talk about Ridley Scott's Gladiator films. In this first part of the conversation, they largely focus on Gladiator II, delving into the actual historical merit of the movie, the figures it depicts, both films' commentary on modern masculinity vs the reality of ancient Rome, the political economy of gladiators, Ridley Scott's Orientalism, beast fights, differences in how the two movies portray ideas of democracy, and more.Subscribe now for the full episode!Read Patrick's piece for Slate, "The Case for Gladiator II".Be warned, this is full of spoilers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One more news episode before us Yankees have a holiday. Note: Although we will not have a news roundup next week, we'll have other new content.This week: In Israel-Palestine, the ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant (0:56) and the US vetoes another ceasefire resolution (6:11); US envoy Amos Hochstein is working on a ceasefire in Lebanon (8:50); in Sri Lanka, the leftist coalition wins a parliamentary majority (12:26); in Sudan, the RSF commits new atrocities (14:12) and Russia vetoes a ceasefire (16:33); in Russia-Ukraine, Biden gives Ukraine permission to use long-range US weapons in Russia (18:29), while Reuters reports that Putin is open to peace negotiations (23:19); the US recognizes opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as president of Venezuela (24:55); a new armed group wreaks violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (27:09); and we have a New Cold War update featuring the final Biden-Xi meeting (29:10) and Biden’s last G20 summit (31:06).Subscribe now for more content and features!Watch the new documentary from Al-Jazeera's Fault Lines program, "All That Remains", which follows a 13-year-old amputee from Gaza named Leyan as she seeks treatment in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices