Toggle Menu

Studying the Far Right

On this episode of American Prestige, Benji Rolsky on how the study of the far right might be broken.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

November 12, 2024

Donald Trump arrives at a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, on June 28.(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

The Nation Podcasts

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.

Studying the Far Right w/ Benji Rolsky | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Historian Benji Rolsky speaks with Danny about how others in their profession have thought about the far right, a subset of history which has expanded greatly in the last decade or so. They explore how the study of the far right might be "broken", anti-fundamentalism, Christian nationalism, the episodic nature of this field, and how Trump might have changed the historiography.

Read Benji's piece "Why the Study of the Right is Broken": Part 1 and Part 2.

Also check out his book The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left: Politics, Television, and Popular Culture in the 1970s and Beyond.

Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On this episode of American Prestige, historian Benji Rolsky speaks with Danny about how others in their profession have thought about the far right, a subset of history that has expanded greatly in the last decade or so. They explore how the study of the far right might be “broken,” anti-fundamentalism, Christian nationalism, the episodic nature of this field, and how Trump might have changed the historiography.

Read Benji’s piece “Why the Study of the Right is Broken”: Part 1 and Part 2. You can also check out his book The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left: Politics, Television, and Popular Culture in the 1970s and Beyond.

The Nation Podcasts

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.

Gaza Aid Blocked Amid Winter Storm, Thailand–Cambodia Conflict Resumes, M23 Advances in DRC | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes.

Listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries!

Danny and Derek will sadly not be doing a CBS News town hall event. This week in the news: the Thailand–Cambodia conflict resumes (1:47); the DRC–M23 conflict also resumes as M23 makes new advances (7:05); in Gaza, questions remain over the “second phase” of the ceasefire as a winter storm hits (10:38); separatists in Yemen gain control of the country’s south (17:18); the RSF takes Sudan’s largest oilfield (21:02); an attempted coup is foiled in Benin (23:31); Trump gives NATO a 2027 ultimatum on defense spending (26:05); Ukraine responds to the U.S. peace plan while Trump expresses frustration (29:46); controversy erupts in Honduras over election ballot-counting snafus (35:56); and in these great United States, Congress removes “right to repair” from the NDAA after contractors lobby against it (38:53).

Don’t forget to join our Discord.

Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


Latest from the nation