American Prestige

Danny and Derek speak with Jonathan Guyer, program manager at the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group, about the Trump administration's attack on USAID. They then speak with Timothy Gill of the University of Tennessee about the organization's background. Subscribe now for the full episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek speaks with Marie-Rose Tshite, a peacebuilding advocate and Ph.D. student in Political Science with a concentration in Feminist Comparative and International Politics at the University of Cincinnati, about M23 and the situation in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They explore the group’s origins, its ties with the Rwandan government, other external actors, the recent seizure of Goma, minerals and the economic factors driving the conflict, the humanitarian situation, and more.Read Marie-Rose’s recent article on Congolese women's experiences during the Second Congolese War between 1998 and 2003, “Capturing Congolese Women’s Memories of War and Peacemaking”. Subscribe today for an ad-free experience and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Economist Marshall Steinbaum joins Danny and Derek to try and make sense of the tariffs Donald Trump is imposing on Canada, Mexico, and China. They succeed in part. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome to the program Jeet Heer, national affairs correspondent for The Nation, to talk about his new piece “How Biden’s Foreign Policy Destroyed His Presidency”. They discuss Biden’s origins and FP grounding, his conception of himself as an FP specialist, his fondness for military Keynesianism, how his views changed in the Obama era, the sanctions regime, his policies toward Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, “democracy vs autocracy”, and more. Subscribe now for the full episode!      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The paperboy has been laid off, but fear not, for Danny and Derek are here with the headlines. This week: in Israel-Palestine, detainees were exchanged on Thursday (0:31), the IDF continues its operation in the West Bank (6:05), an update on the humanitarian situation in Gaza (7:40), and Trump proposes the idea of ethnically cleansing the Strip (10:34); in Lebanon, the IDF ignores its withdrawal deadline (15:02); in Syria, the political transition continues (17:00), the IDF remains in the country’s south (19:04), and negotiations with Russia are underway over its bases in Syria as well as the fate of Bashar al-Assad (20:32); the rollout of China’s DeepSeek AI roils tech stocks (23:00); the Sudanese army sees a string of military successes around Khartoum (25:24); in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the M23 military group takes Goma while advancing south (27:59); Putin comments on peace talks regarding Ukraine (32:43); Colombia and the US get into a spat regarding deportation flights (34:12); and in US news, arms sales hit a new record in 2024 (37:16), Donald Trump vows to build a migrant detention facility at Guantánamo (38:20), and some details on the effects of his foreign aid freeze (39:35).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lydia Walker, historian at Ohio State University, is back with Danny and Derek to conclude the conversation about her book States-in-Waiting: A Counternarrative of Global Decolonization. This time, the group explores post-colonial states following colonial borders, how business interests shaped things in states like Namibia, progressive capitalism, how the Cold War defined horizons of political possibility for nationalist actors, legitimacy as dictated by outside forces, and where decolonization stands in the modern day.Subscribe now for much more content and ad-free episodes! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alexander Aviña, associate professor of history at Arizona State University, and journalist Emily Tamkin join Danny and Derek for a final look at what Joe Biden leaves as his legacy, impressions of Trump's inauguration, and the current state of American politics as the executive branch makes this transition. Topics include the Democrats and what they believe in 2025 (if anything), discourse around immigration and the border, the multiracial coalition that brought Trump back to power, Musk's antics and the state of American Jewish politics, Trump's first executive orders, and more. Subscribe now for the full episode!Listen to our "Lessons of Guerrero" series with Alex, which largely covers his book Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside.Check out Emily's books Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities and The Influence of Soros: Politics, Power, and the Struggle for an Open Society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek plug into the mainframe. This week: in Gaza, the ceasefire takes effect (0:37), allowing a surge of humanitarian aid (3:51), the latter being partly facilitated by Hamas’s police force back in power (5:50). Meanwhile, an agreement on the second phase of the ceasefire remains to be seen (7:56); the IDF launches a new operation in the West Bank (14:38); negotiations between the government and SDF continue in Syria (17:11); Turkey hints at a possible thaw with the Kurdish PKK (20:13); Afghan refugees who’d already been granted asylum are stranded after Trump’s executive order (24:54); China brokers a new ceasefire in Myanmar (27:49); M23 makes a new advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (29:31); Trump threatens myriad economic penalties against Russia if it doesn’t end the war in Ukraine (31:42); NATO’s defense spending might be on the rise (34:19); Colombia breaks off peace talks with the ELN (37:48); Mexico and Honduras react to Trump’s deportation plans (40:10); Oxfam releases a new report on the rise in inequality (42:44); and Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders only a few days into taking office (44:44).    Subscribe now at Supporting Cast!Be sure to listen to our post-election special with Alexander Aviña on Trump’s plans regarding immigrants and deportations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lydia Walker, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University and author of *States-in-Waiting*, takes center stage. She challenges traditional narratives surrounding decolonization, emphasizing the importance of local autonomy movements. The discussion dives into the role of transnational advocacy networks and key figures like Naga leader Angami Zapu Phizo. Walker highlights the Naga people's unique identity shaped during World War II and the complexities of their quest for recognition, revealing the broader implications for marginalized communities today.

Mohammad Alsaafin, a journalist for AJ+ and contributor to The Nation, shares deep insights on the recent Gaza ceasefire. He discusses the complexities of the ceasefire deal, including U.S. and Qatar's roles and the political disconnect in Congress. The impact of trauma on the local population and the uncertain future of governance in Gaza are also explored. Alsaafin analyzes how U.S. policy shapes Palestinian lives and the efficacy of international law amid ongoing violence, raising critical questions about global power dynamics.