American Prestige

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Andy Liu, professor of history at Villanova, for a discussion on Trump, Xi, their respective histories, and the current trade situation between the US and China. They explore Trump’s relationship with Japan in the 80s and how that helped shape his idea of trade and tariffs, the US security apparatus emboldening Trump’s “dealmaking”, Xi’s own background as a “nepo baby” in the transformative era of Deng Xiaoping, he and the Chinese government’s effort to move China from exporting mostly cheap goods to higher-end products, the current Trump administration’s actions and (lack of) communication with Beijing, and more. Subscribe now to listen to the full episode. Note: this episode was recorded in mid-March, i.e. before the latest round of tariffs. Read Andy’s piece for n+1, “Back to the ‘80s?”.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Vivek Chibber, editor of Catalyst and host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast, to talk about the widespread tariffs Trump announced this week, what it would mean to try and bring back manufacturing to the US, the leftist critique of this approach, neoliberalism and neomercantilism, and what we might expect to happen. Subscribe now for the full episode and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the news roundup: the US and Iran are making moves risking escalation to a conflict (0:43); Israel rejects another Gaza ceasefire as it plans to carve up the Strip (7:28); the IDF resumes bombing Beirut (11:41); Myanmar suffers a devastating earthquake (13:44); the South Korea supreme court will rule on Yoon’s impeachment today (17:16); the Sudanese military secures the capital, Khartoum (18:38); the African Union sends a mediation team to South Sudan (20:26); the US approves a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Archipelago (22:42); President Trump is now displeased with both Putin and Zelenskyy (24:54); President Bukele of El Salvador is reportedly in direct talks with MS-13 (29:03); the Trump administration admits innocent people were among those deported to El Salvador (31:23); far-right influencer Laura Loomer appears to have influenced Trump into firing members of the National Security Council (33:08); and President Trump announces quite a few tariffs for what he calls “liberation day” (34:49). Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yoni Appelbaum, a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic, joins the program to talk about his book Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. They discuss mobility in the US and how that might sacrifice community for opportunity, the “frontier” as a way of taking land and easing class antagonism, the birth of American zoning from anti-Chinese practices in 19th century California, the move toward the single-family home and it being a symbol of the American identity, how we can make homes accessible once more for working Americans, and more.  For an ad-free experience and much more content, subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aziz Rana, J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor of Law and Government at Boston College, is back on the program to talk about the 20th and 21st century constitutional order leading to the current crisis under Trump. They delve into the attack on racial liberalism, the balance between the disavowed and embraced aspects of McCarthyism, the theory of the unitary executive, defending and regulating capitalism, the advent of the carceral state, and more. Read Aziz’s piece on the matter at New Left Review, “Constitutional Collapse”. Subscribe now for the full episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices