So on today's See How They're Run, we're talking all things Pennsylvania. Where does the race stand there? What are the currents that could shift voters in one direction or another?

To discuss all of this, host D.D. Guttenplan is joined by two of the sharpest Pennsylvanians around: Will Bunch, longtime opinion columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Carrie Santoro, executive director of progressive advocacy group Pennsylvania Stands Up

On this week's American Prestige news roundup: Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire (0:29), an IDF operation in the West Bank (8:31), in Gaza, the IDF attacks Deir al-Balah and shrinks more protected zones (11:06) while Palestinians in Gaza also struggle to obtain a polio vaccine amid an outbreak (14:07); Yemen’s Houthi/Ansar Allah forces allow the recovery of a damaged oil tanker (17:15); Jake Sullivan is in Beijing and meets with Xi (19:14); Sudan ceasefire talks end without an agreement (21:23); Libya’s Government of National Unity (or “Eastern Government”) shuts down oil facilities (23:41); in Russia-Ukraine, concerns over the Kursk nuclear plant while Russia bombards Ukraine again (26:11); in France, Emmanuel Macron blocks the leftist prime minister from taking power (30:12); in Mexico, President AMLO “freezes” contact with the American and Canadian embassies (33:30); Honduras pulls out of its extradition treaty with the US (35:50); and the police intervention in Haiti is off to a shaky start (37:32).

On this episode of See How They Run, Regina Mahone on how the Democrats' approach to reproductive freedom has changed post-Biden—and how it hasn't.

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Alex Shephard, senior editor at The New Republic, to discuss the legalization of sports betting in the United States, the growing influence of gambling in professional sports, and its negative impact on the lives of sports fans.

Donald Trump on Monday became the first president in history to face trial on criminal charges; his polls are down, and the stock price of Trump Media fallen has 60 percent. John Nichols comments – he’s National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation.

Also: TV right now is featuring several prestige historical dramas. John Powers compares and contrasts “The Sympathizer,” centering on a spy for the Communists in Vietnam and then California in the seventies; “Manhunt,” following the search for Lincoln’s assassin; “A Gentleman in Moscow,” portraying a Russian aristocrat after the Bolshevik Revolution, and “Shogun,” about feuding 17th century Japanese warlords. John is critic at large for Fresh Air with Terry Gross

On this episode of American Prestige, we welcome to the podcast, actor Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name, Boardwalk Empire) to discuss his role in the new Broadway play, Patriots, which portrays billionaire Boris Berezovsky’s (Stuhlbarg) relationship with Vladimir Putin (Will Keen) in 1991. The group discusses the challenges in nuanced portrayals of Berezovsky and Putin, how preparing for the character pushed Michael to reframe his perspective on the end of the USSR, the resonance between the events of the play and the current situation in the United States, notions of homeland and patriotism for Berezovsky, and more.

Patriots is playing now on Broadway through June 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

The documentary series, Russia 1985–1999: TraumaZone, that Michael referenced was created by Adam Curtis.

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Jeet Heer and Daniel Bessner on Larry David.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek bring you stories from around the globe. This week: Iran warns of an imminent response to Israel bombing the IR’s embassy in Syria (0:31); Gaza ceasefire talks remain tenuous (6:15) while the IDF’s “withdrawal” has not yet enabled sufficient aid to enter the Strip (10:47); in Myanmar, rebels seize a key border town (15:27); battlefield dynamic shifts in Sudan with a supply of Iranian drones (19:00); in Ukraine, Russia strikes destroy a major power plant (21:17) and the Ukrainian parliament passes a new conscription law (23:17); international fallout ensues after the Ecuadorian goernment raids the Mexican embassy in Quito (25:36); a New Cold War update featuring Biden hosting Japanese PM Kishida and Philippine president Marcos Jr. (29:28); and in climate news, March continues a 10-month streak of the hottest respective month ever recorded (32:43).

Paris Marx is joined by Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss Kara Swisher’s attempt to rebrand herself as the most feared journalist in Silicon Valley, how she spent her career forwarding the industry’s narratives, and the larger problems with access journalism.

Edward Ongweso Jr. is finance editor at Logics Magazine and co-host of This Machine Kills.

The issues and the language that win for Democrats: research shows it’s not just “jobs,” but attacking the rich. Bhaskar Sunkara, President of The Nation and author of The Socialist Manifesto, explains.

Also: why did Hamas decide to provoke massive Israeli retaliation now? Hussein Ibish, who writes for The Atlantic, the New York Times, and Daily Beast, says Hamas had a clear political goal on October 7: to defeat the Palestinian secular nationalists of Fatah and the PLO.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek again chat with Penny Von Eschen, William R. Kennan Jr. professor of American studies and professor of history at UVA, about her book Paradoxes of Nostalgia: Cold War Triumphalism and Global Disorder since 1989. This second part of the conversation picks up with Cold War nostalgia in American pop culture, the 90s search for a new “bad guy” in places like DPRK/North Korea and the Balkans, the “kitschification” of the Cold War, ways this nostalgia manifested throughout the War on Terror, how U.S.-Russia relations were reshaped in the 1990s and 2000s, and the influences of this refracted view of the Cold War on the “New Cold War” dynamic we’re seeing today.

On this week's news episode of American Prestige, Derek and Danny return with the news. This week: In Gaza, the IDF kills members of the World Central Kitchen organization (0:31), Biden follows up with Netanyahu (6:18), more reports on the IDF’s AI targeting systems (10:35), and more; Israeli airstrikes hit Iranian IRGC officers in Syria (20:59); a drone strike in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw (25:04); the DPRK/North Korea tests a hypersonic missile (26:51); the results of Senegal’s election (29:01); Somalia expels the Ethiopian ambassador (31:02); a terrorist attack in Moscow (32:43); NATO discusses a Ukraine fund (35:27); a UN update on displacement in Haiti (38:42); and a New Cold War update featuring a Biden-Xi phone call (41:28).

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Kat Tenbarge to discuss the proliferation of AI-generated, non-consensual sexual images, their impact on the victims, and the potential fallout for tech companies who helped make it all possible. Note there is some discussion of self-harm and suicide in this episode.

Kat Tenbarge is a tech and culture writer at NBC News.

This week on the American Prestige news roundup: conditions in Gaza continue to worsen under Israel (1:14), “ceasefire talks” continue to amble along (7:58), the US again to send massive amounts of weapons to Israel (12:59), and the IDF is again reported to be using Palestinians as human shields (17:18); the US lifts its ban on “offensive weapons” sales to Saudi Arabia (19:57); new attacks on Myanmar’s Rohingya people (22:51); a surprise resignation from Japan’s PM Kishida Fumio (24:29); ceasefire talks begin for Sudan’s conflict (26:08); trouble in South Sudan’s political transition (29:14); an update on Ukraine’s invasion into Russia while Russia continues its advance toward Pokrovsk (31:02); the Wall Street Journal makes a big claim about the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabatoge (35:49); and the Biden administration offers Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro “amnesty” (38:42).

Standing Together, Israel’s biggest Jewish-Palestinian grassroots movement, is organizing against the war and for a Palestinian state. Sally Abed, one of the group’s founders, explains their vision, their strategy, and their recent actions.

Also: Cities everywhere in America are Democratic, and often raising minimum wages and strengthening rent control. But in states where Republicans hold unchecked power, state governments are blocking cities from acting. Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large of The American Prospects. Reports on preemption—and on “pre-preemption.”

On this episode of American Prestige, we chat with Penny Von Eschen, William R. Kennan Jr. professor of American Studies and professor of history at UVA, about her book Paradoxes of Nostalgia: Cold War Triumphalism and Global Disorder since 1989.

In this first part of the discussion, the group explores the affective dimension of nostalgia, how the “end of history” and “clash of civilizations” narratives influenced U.S. policy starting in the 1990s. We also discuss the post-Cold War malaise that took hold, and the proliferation of anti-government ideologies amidst a massive increase in military spending.

On this episode of American Prestige, Michael Brenes and Stephen discuss the new volume Danny and Michael edited, Rethinking U.S. World Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations. They talk about the current tenor in DC around foreign policy, the degree to which domestic factors affect U.S. decisions therein, and how their careers thus far have shaped their thinking.

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Zach Weinersmith to discuss the impracticalities of space colonies some interested parties keep forgetting to mention.

Zach Weinersmith co-wrote A City On Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? with Kelly Weinersmith. He also makes the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic.

Minimum wage initiatives on the ballot in battleground states could mobilize potential Democratic voters who are unenthusiastic about Biden. Saru Jayaraman of One Fair Wage explains the strategy for Arizona, Michigan, and Ohio.

Also: 100 American cities and towns have formally called for a ceasefire in Gaza. John Nichols has our report.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak with Michael G. Vann, professor of history at California State University, Sacramento, about Indonesia, which recently held an election resulting in Prabowo Subianto as president-elect. They discuss the country’s era of reform (Reformasi) since the end of Suharto’s rule in 1998, the composition of its elite class, Prabowo’s controversial career long predating his 2024 campaign, the issues motivating voters in this election, and potential legal challenges to him ultimately taking power.

Check out Michael’s work in Jacobin, as well as his book The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam.

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Jeet Heer talks to Jacob Heilbrunn about the American right’s long history of opposing democracy.

On this episode of American Prestige, Antony Blinken plays the blues while Danny and Derek bring you the news. This week: in Gaza, famine sets in (0:29), U.S.-Israel tensions rise over a potential Rafah invasion (3:52), and more; Pakistan conducts airstrikes in Afghanistan (12:11); Indonesia’s general election results are confirmed (14:37); the DPRK/North Korea tests a hypersonic missile engine (17:28); there’s new evidence of coral bleaching in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (19:15); a Sudan humanitarian update (20:55); Niger’s junta government kicks out U.S. forces (23:00); Vladimir Putin wins reelection in Russia (26:42); Ukraine strikes targets in Russia and is debating a new conscription bill (27:52); the EU debates using Russian assets to support Ukraine* (32:52); the Colombian government is in peace talks with the Clan Del Golfo (Gulf Clan) (35:41); an update on CARICOM’s transition plan for Haiti (37:26); and a new study finds no evidence of brain damage from Havana Syndrome (40:02).

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the motivations behind the proposed TikTok ban and what the effort tells us about US tech policy.

Jacob Silverman is a tech journalist and the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.

In the campaign to end American funding for Israel’s war in Gaza, a key front is the fight against AIPAC. This week, more than a hundred prominent American Jews have joined in a statement opposing AIPAC and its efforts to defeat Democratic candidates who have criticized Israeli government policy toward Palestinians. The signers include author Ariel Dorfman, actors Elliott Gould and Wallace Shawn, and Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s. Alan Minsky, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America, is on the podcast to explain.

Also on this episode: David Cole, National Legal Director of the ACLU, makes the case for freedom of speech on campus and against cancel culture, starting from the confrontation between Elise Stefanik and the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn.

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Hussein Kesvani to discuss the far-right attacks that happened after the Southport stabbing in the UK and how larger structural issues in media, politics, and tech laid the groundwork for violence against visible minorities.

Hussein Kesvani is a co-host of Trashfuture and Ten Thousand Posts.

On this episode of the American Prestige podcast, we speak with Jemima Pierre, professor of global race in the Institute of Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice (GRSJ) at the University of British Columbia, about foreign intervention in Haiti—namely instances led by the U.S. and European powers— from the country’s inception to Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation last week.

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Marshall Steinbaum on economics as a toxic discipline.

This week on American Prestige: Russia kicks off its presidential election (1:47); a Gaza humanitarian update (4:29) and Biden speaks on a Rafah invasion (11:24); more Israeli strikes in Lebanon (15:30); U.S. policy potentially shifts on DPRK/North Korea (17:17); in Sudan, the military makes gains in Omdurman (20:20); Ukraine attacks Russian oil facilities (24:26) and receives a U.S. stopgap aid package (26:54); the right surges in Portugal’s election (29:37); PM Ariel Henry resigns as chaos ensues in Haiti (32:20); and the U.S. expands its lead in global arms sales (35:17).

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Ed Zitron to discuss the public’s growing disillusionment with the tech industry as it pivoted to chasing profits instead of providing us with anything useful.

Ed Zitron is the host of Better Offline and writes the Where’s Your Ed At newsletter. He’s also the CEO of EZPR.

After gangs took over most of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s acting prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to step aside. Long-time Haiti observer Amy Wilentz analyzes the forces at work shaping the country’s next steps.

Also: the polls and the pollsters are missing the political potential in 9 million people who have turned 18 since the last election. Steve Phillips explains – his book, ‘How We Win the Civil War,’ is out now in a new edition, updated for the 2024 election.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome writer and co-executive producer John Orloff to the pod to discuss Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air miniseries. They go into John’s background, his work on HBO’s seminal Band of Brothers, the distinct horror of WWII aerial warfare, how MOTA tackled the POW experience, the challenge of writing and shooting such a massive production, and how a WWII-era drama is informed by the current global climate.

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, David Klion and Jeet Heer on Dune: Part Two, the science fiction epic with real world echoes.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek bring you news from around the world. This week: in Gaza, the U.S. makes airdrops while Biden announces a temporary port (0:30), some countries restore UNRWA funding (4:02), and more; a cargo ship is sunk and data cables cut in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen (12:26); the parliament of Pakistan elects a new prime minister (16:15); a renewed attempt at a ceasefire in Myanmar (18:02); an update on the crisis in Sudan (20:17); a new date is set for Senegal’s presidential election (23:16); an attack in Odesa during a visit by Zelensky and the Greek prime minister (25:32); Sweden officially joins NATO (27:08); in Haiti, a new gang offensive threatens to oust Ariel Henry (28:33); and we continue to break new climate records (33:54).

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Dharna Noor to discuss widely-held misconceptions about the effectiveness of plastic recycling and how industry lobbies invented them to protect the market for plastic products.

Dharna Noor is the fossil fuels and climate reporter at The Guardian.

After Super Tuesday: John Nichols reports on the evidence of weaknesses of both Biden and Trump, as well as some signs of strength, in the wake of voting in primaries in 16 states.

Also: Now is the time to add the right to vote to the constitution – that’s what Richard Hasen says. And, he argues, there are good reasons why Republicans could support that--maybe not this year, but sometime soon. Rick is professor of law and political science at UCLA and author of the new book “A Real Right to Vote.”

What is happening with the Trump campaign? He seems to be losing his grip, while Kamala gets big crowds and dominates the news. Harold Meyerson comments.

Also: Sherrod Brown is up for reelection to the Senate in Ohio, where Biden got only 45% four years ago. He explains is political philosophy, which has enabled him to win reelection twice before. (originally broadcast in 2020).

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak with Gabriel Hetland, associate professor of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o Studies and Sociology at the University at Albany, about his book Democracy on the Ground: Local Politics in Latin America’s Left Turn.

We discuss the regional shift to the Left, how right-wing forces reacted to this trend, the ways democracy has been shaped by these conditions, and the different tacks taken by leftist movements, particularly in Bolivia and Venezuela.

On this News episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek work on leap days. This week: in Gaza, a massacre in Gaza City (0:29), ceasefire talks (5:20), and Netanyahu’s postwar plan (8:35); the U.S. and U.K. launch more joint airstrikes against Yemen (10:25); North Korea trades arms for food with Russia (11:54); in Sudan, military groups block aid shipments to Darfur (14:13); a new date is set for a presidential election in Senegal (15:58); a Ukraine War update (19:04); Sweden’s NATO accession is finally ratified (26:08); Colombia reopens talks with the ELN (28:29); NORAD intercepts a new balloon (29:55).

An abortion rights amendment to Florida’s constitution has gotten enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Now it’s up to the state’s supreme court to decide whether people will get to vote on it, potentially transforming the electorate there in November. The Nation’s abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield, is on the podcast to report.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: This week is the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To commemorate the anniversary, The Nation has released a new documentary short film, Ukrainians in Exile. We’ll speak with the filmmaker, Janek Ambros.

On this episode of American Prestige, hosts Danny Bessner and Derek Davison speak with Daniel Hummel, director for university engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Upper House. Hummel returns to the podcast to continue a conversation about Christian Zionism in the United States since 1948.

In this episode, we pick up with the rise of the new Christian right in the 1970s, the role of Zionism therein, dispensationalism and its notion of Jews and Israel, the Israeli right’s concurrent rise to power, Jimmy Carter as a non-Zionist evangelical, the Camp David Accords, Ronald Reagan’s relationship with Christian Zionism, and where the movement stood on the eve of the Oslo Accords.

You can catch up on the first episode in this series here.

Daniel’s book is Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations.

This week, on American Prestige: Danny and Derek are just the messengers. This week: in Gaza, ceasefire talks may be heating up again, America assesses the UNRWA allegations, and more (0:42); Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthi) militants potentially sink a cargo ship, damage another ship, and attack Eilat (12:11); a potential governing coalition is formed in Pakistan (14:31); tensions between Taiwan and China over the Kinmen Islands (17:13); in Senegal, Macky Sall agrees to reschedule the election, but hasn’t offered a new date yet (19:07); Somalia cuts new military deals with Turkey and the U.S. (21:19); Alexei Navalny dies in Russia (25:44); in Ukraine, the Russians take Avdiivka as we approach the second anniversary of the invasion (28:52); Hungary schedules a NATO ratification vote for Sweden (34:10); the ELN suspends peace talks in Colombia (35:06); the government of Ecuador backs out of a deal to send arms to Ukraine (38:35); and a New Cold War update featuring the restoration of panda relations between China and the U.S. (40:16).

On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Grafton Tanner to discuss the dangers and consequences of companies and politicians leveraging nostalgia for their own purposes.

Grafton Tanner is the author of Foreverism. He also teaches at the University of Georgia.

A political battle is underway in Los Angeles, where landlords, multi-millionaires, and the police are trying to defeat the leading progressive on the city council. Their key issues are protection for renters and new taxes on mansions.

Also on this episode of Start Making Sense: A new podcast brings us stories from the early days of HIV & AIDS. It's about how the epidemic decimated poor communities of color and the people who refused to stay out of sight. WNYC's Kai Wright and The Nation's Lizzy Ratner are behind the new show, Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows.

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak with David Halperin, retired professor of Jewish studies at UNC Chapel Hill, about his book Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. The group looks at the phenomenon of UFO encounters as part of a longer tradition of mythology, examining their relationship to the historical epochs in which they occur, their place in politics and culture, and what ultimately the search for aliens says about our own views of humanity.

The mathematician Chandler Davis, who died in 2002 at age 96, was one of the notable victims of the second Red Scare. In 1960, Davis was sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to answer questions about his membership in the Communist Party. Davis’s lawyers defended him with the innovative legal argument that the First Amendment barred such questioning. While Davis lost in the courts, his legal battles were still an important effort in a larger battle to extend the parameters on political speech. Davis’s story is told in a new book, The Prosecution of Professor Chandler Davis by Steve Batterson. Siobhan Robert’s obituary for Davis ran in The Nation.

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, I talked to journalist Doug Bell, who knew Chandler Davis, about this book and Davis’s larger place in history. We take up the history of anti-communism and how it has limited free speech, the legal philosophy of Alexander Meiklejohn, and the reactionary Supreme Court's use of the First Amendment to expand corporate power.  

On this week's news episode of American Prestige: Global military spending reached new heights in 2023 (0:31); an update on Gaza (3:51); a major exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah (12:12); contentioius election results in Pakistan (14:38); reports of the military in disarray in Myanmar (19:08); Indonesia holds a general election (22:36); protests continue in Senegal (25:11); allegations of a massacre in Ethiopia (27:19); Russia might be planning for space nukes (29:58); Venezuela is massing troops on the Guyana border (33:17); and an update on the United States’ military supplemental (36:17).

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek are back with Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and visiting scholar of history at Emory University, for the second part of our discussion on the history of policing in New York City.

We delve further into the NYPD’s efforts at “ethnic policing,” exploring the Italian squads of the early 20th century, how tackling the Mafia anticipated modern-day police efforts at tackling transnational crime, how World War I challenged the idea of police squads recruited from immigrant and minority communities, the NYPD’s relationship with the nascent FBI, and how these past efforts at reform inform contemporary debates.

Listen to the first episode here!

You can find Matthew’s book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York.

On this episode of Tech Won’t Save Us, Zachary Kaiser is on the show with Paris Marx to discuss the power of tech interfaces, why data isn’t an accurate reflection of the world, and why we need to explore democratic decomputerization.

Zachary Kaiser is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Experience Architecture at Michigan State University. He’s also the author of Interfaces and Us: User Experience Design and the Making of the Computable Subject.

The blue-blood families that made fortunes in the opium trade: Amitav Ghosh recounts the origins of much of the wealth for the 19th century New England elite on this episode of the Start Making Sense podcast. He wrote the cover story for The Nation's latest print issue. His new book is called Smoke and Ashes.

Also on this episode: The latest US moves in Haiti are framed in democratic rhetoric but are deeply anti-democratic in their effect. Amy Wilentz is on the podcast to explain. She’s written two books about Haiti, most recently the award-winning Farewell Fred Voodoo.

On this episode of American Prestige, Derek speaks with Elizabeth Shackelford, former U.S. diplomat and current foreign affairs columnist for The Chicago Tribune, about U.S. involvement across Africa. They talk about Elizabeth’s own history in Somalia and South Sudan, America’s understanding of the places in which it’s involved, the generational timeline needed to change the trajectory of foreign policy, where the securitized view of Africa began, how the U.S. has approached places like Burkina Faso and Cameroon, and what a better U.S. policy in Africa might look like.

Elizabeth’s report with Ethan Kessler and Emma Sanderson, “Less is More: A New Strategy for US Security Assistance to Africa”.

Elizabeth’s book The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age.