Podcast
The Nation Podcasts
Hosted by The Nation Magazine · EN
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
117episodes
Episodes
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Fighting Monopoly Power w/ Zephyr Teachout / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
Yesterday00:40:40Tap to summarizeDonald Trump is practicing crony capitalism on an unprecedented scale, with the government greenlighting major mergers that benefit the president’s friends (most notably the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger). I spoke to Zephyr Teachout, who teaches constitutional law at Fordham, about this worrying development. We take up the long history of anti-monopoly politics going back to the American revolution and the trust battles of the late 19th century as well as the possibility state governments can fight the new wave of consolidation. Zephyr has often written on his subject for The Nation, notably in two recent articles. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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US Resumes Iran War, DRC Ebola Outbreak Surges, Burnham Becomes UK PM / American Prestige
3d ago00:46:29Tap to summarizeCanada’s wildfires rage on, so Danny and Derek are here to be your breath of fresh air. This week’s news: In Iran, the US reimposes its blockade and intensifies strikes (2:04), Trump announces and then backs off a Hormuz toll (5:44), and the White House issues threats of further escalation (9:17); in Yemen, the Houthis/Ansar Allah and Saudi Arabia trade strikes (13:37) as the former might become involved in the Iran war (16:28); Lebanese-Israeli talks talks wrap up, but progress is uncertain (17:45); in Israel, a date is set for an election (19:18), plus the ethnic cleansing in Gaza is given a new euphemism (21:15); Southeast Asian countries appear to normalize relations with Myanmar (22:23); the US touts a “new” peace plan for Sudan (24:13); the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues and may be much larger than official figures suggest (26:35); Zelenskyy replaces Ukraine’s prime minister and defense minister (29:43); Andy Burnham is to become the UK’s PM (33:32), plus a UK-EU deal on Gibraltar is reached (35:22); Marco Rubio is reportedly running Venezuela as a US viceroy (36:34); the US is attempting to destroy the ICC (38:35) as it also takes aim at “left-wing terrorism” (41:23); and a Pew poll finds China more popular than the US for the first time (43:01).Watch last night’s weekly livestream if you missed it.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Tech Refusal Has a Very Long History w/ Thomas Dekeyser / Tech Won't Save Us
4d ago01:03:27Tap to summarizeWe are often told that resisting technological development is impossible and ‘progress’ is inevitable, but history says otherwise. Thomas Dekeyser joins Paris Marx to discuss how understanding radical resistances of the past can help us rethink our modern relationship with technology and reshape our vision of the future.Thomas Dekeyser is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Southampton, author of Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine, and co-creator of the documentary Machines in Flames.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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The Need for Responsible AI w/ Robert Wright / American Prestige
5d ago00:52:56Tap to summarizeDanny and Derek welcome to the show journalist and author Robert Wright to talk about the potential and pitfalls of the AI revolution. They discuss how neural networks learn, the differences between predictive and generative AI, machine consciousness, job displacement, the environmental costs of data centers, how capitalism is shaping the AI race, and the need for international regulation.Read Robert’s new book The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Trump’s Renewed War, More ICE Killings, and Teaching American History / Start Making Sense
5d ago00:39:06Tap to summarizeIt’s been another bad week for Donald Trump – from the Strait or Homuz to the streets where ICE has killed more people, to the scheduled Senate hearings on Todd Blanche. Harold Meyerson comments.Also: Trump believes the teaching of history really matters—that’s why on July 4 he issued a 162-page attack on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Yale historian Beverly Gage comments – her new book is This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip through US History.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Maine After Platner w/ Eoin Higgins / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
1w ago00:45:03Tap to summarizeGraham Platner is withdrawing as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine after a credible rape allegation was made against him (Platner denies the allegation). I spoke to Maine writer Eoin Higgins about Platner’s rise and fall, the progressive politics that animated his campaign, and the upcoming scramble by the Democratic Party of Maine to find a new candidate. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Dope Popes w/ Matt Sitman / Fighting Fascism
1w ago01:24:06Tap to summarizeBack in May, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas”—a surprisingly forceful call-out of dehumanizing technology, Big Tech oligarchs, and an economic order that casts the few as gods and the many as disposable. To talk about this work (and Aaron’s growing Catholicism-envy, and the utterly pathetic “faith” of J.D. Vance), we invited Matthew Sitman, co-host of the great Know Your Enemy Podcast and official Catholic sage of the erudite left, who walks us through this era of moral leadership from the Catholic Church. This is a good one. We swear, so help us God!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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US-Iran Ceasefire Collapses, Hamas Dissolves Gaza Government, Sudan’s El-Obeid Braces for RSF Assault / American Prestige
1w ago00:53:33Tap to summarizeDanny and Derek’s FIFA officiating careers have been tragically cut short since Javier Milei’s checks started bouncing. In this week’s news: the NATO summit ends on a high note (4:46); in Iran, new fighting erupts as Trump declares the end of the ceasefire (11:59), plus estimates of the war’s cost increase (16:45); in Gaza, Hamas dissolves its government (18:15) as the Board of Peace prepares a “humanitarian zone” (20:29); Trump appears ready to sell Turkey F-35s (23:40); Syria is officially removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list (27:54); in Sudan, civilians flee fighting in El Obeid (29:32); rebels coordinate a new joint offensive in Mali (32:59); the U.S. licenses domestic Patriot missile production in Ukraine (34:17); Roberto Sanchez concedes the Peruvian presidential election (38:07); Colombia’s presidential transition breaks down (39:01); and the U.S. drops the “Indo-Pacific” construct (40:07), prompting strategic discussions on the future of America’s position in the Pacific (43:25).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Rome and Ancient Iran w/ Jake Nabel / American Prestige
2w ago00:53:07Tap to summarizeDanny and Derek are joined by Jake Nabel, Tombros early career professor of classical studies and assistant professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State, to talk about Roman-Parthian relations in antiquity. The group discusses the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, the rise of the Parthian Empire and the Arsacid dynasty following the fall of the Achaemenids and Alexander the Great, and the inherent challenges of relying on Greco-Roman historiography. They also delve into how Iranian and Armenian sources reshape our understanding of the period, the deep cultural misunderstanding between Roman hostage-taking and Parthian cliental fosterage, the cultural barriers preventing intermarriage, and the modern Iranian reception of pre-Islamic empires, including contemporary parallels to Reza Pahlavi.Read Jake’s book The Arsacids of Rome: Misunderstanding in Roman-Parthian Relations. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Jamie Raskin: How to Fight Trump; plus Dems after Platner / Start Making Sense
2w ago00:34:22Tap to summarizeJamie Raskin, Democrat from Maryland, talks about Congress reforming the Supreme Court, and the House challenging Trump’s corruption. His article in the current issue of The Nation magazine is “We Must Restore Congress as the Predominant Branch of Government.”Also: John Nichols assesses the Democrats’ Senate candidates in the wake of the replacement of Graham Platner in Maine.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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