American Prestige

Ben Freeman, director at the Quincy Institute who studies defense spending and arms sales. William Hartung, senior fellow and critic of U.S. military spending and the defense industry. They map how Pentagon budgets balloon, how U.S. weapons saturate global conflicts, and how contractors, lobbying, think tanks, and entertainment shape perpetual war.

Nikhil Pal Singh, historian of race, empire, and US political thought, discusses his 'Homeland Empire' analysis and Trump 2.0. He explains expanding zones of rightlessness and links them to the war on terror and carceral institutions. The conversation surveys mass deportation, continental expansionist rhetoric, frontier nostalgia, and the consolidation of executive power.

Indiret U.S.-Iran talks in Oman kick off with regional implications. New Israeli measures advance de facto West Bank annexation and revoke Palestinian-Israeli citizenship. Indonesia offers troops for a proposed Gaza stabilization force. Sudan sees RSF drone strikes and a new offensive while fighting flares in the eastern DRC. Cuba teeters amid worsening fuel shortages.

Borzou Daragahi, a longtime foreign correspondent and Substack writer, reflects on the unraveling of international reporting. He explores how podcasting and alternative media feed off legacy reporting. He traces the collapse of foreign desks and local news, critiques newsletters as replacements, and warns about tech and economic forces reshaping journalism.

Tariq Kenney-Shawa, Palestine-based policy analyst and writer, offers on-the-ground analysis of Gaza’s humanitarian situation. He discusses the real state of the ceasefire, shifting control inside Gaza, and tactics of population displacement. He critiques reconstruction plans that demand mass displacement and surveillance and outlines Palestinian-led alternatives for rebuilding.

Talks in Oman ease immediate U.S.-Iran tensions. Heavy Israeli strikes and Rafah’s restricted reopening raise displacement concerns. Reports allege the U.S. suppressed a USAID memo on Gaza conditions. A deadly massacre in Nigeria shocks locals. Syria integrates SDF elements into state structures. Pakistan launches a large campaign in Balochistan amid rising casualties.

Paul Starr, Princeton sociologist and author, sketches how midcentury politics unraveled into today’s sharp divides. He walks through civil rights as a turning point, the rise of inequality and weakened labor, immigration’s unintended effects, expanding presidential power, and how these shifts shaped both Obama and Trump. Short, wide-ranging, and historical.

Jack Merkinson, senior editor at The Nation who led the 'A Day for Gaza' project, explains why the magazine devoted a full day of coverage to Gaza. He discusses the drop in mainstream attention since the ceasefire, ongoing violence and humanitarian obstruction, links between US politics and Gaza, and the range of reporting in the project.

Alex Thurston, historian of area studies and U.S. foreign-policy institutions. He traces midcentury integration of regional specialists into policymaking. He explores why that consensus unraveled, from technocratic shifts to routinized military action. He also examines institutional culture, changing diplomatic careers, and the retreat of foundations supporting area expertise.

Alex Jordan, a foreign policy analyst with the Quincy Institute who fills in on the show, walks through sweeping global headlines. They cover U.S. pressure and military posturing toward Iran. They discuss Syria’s ceasefire extension and Gaza developments. They review Myanmar’s staged election, shifts in China’s PLA leadership, clashes across Sudan and Ethiopia, stalled Russia‑Ukraine talks, and major trade and diplomatic moves.