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The Financialization of Modern Media

On this episode of American Prestige, Andrew deWaard on his book Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

December 17, 2024

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The Financialization of Modern Media w/ Andrew deWaard | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny speaks with Andrew deWaard, assistant professor of media and popular culture at UC San Diego, about his book Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture. The two discuss how the falling rate of profit shapes the modern media landscape, the increased drive toward consolidation in entertainment companies, the big movers like private equity firms, hedge funds, asset managers, and venture capitalists, artists' limited ability to defend themselves, the rise of IP, and more.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Danny speaks with Andrew deWaard, assistant professor of media and popular culture at the University of California–San Diego, about his book Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture. The two discuss how the falling rate of profit shapes the modern media landscape, the increased drive toward consolidation in entertainment companies, the big movers like private equity firms, hedge funds, asset managers, and venture capitalists, artists’ limited ability to defend themselves, the rise of IP, and more.

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.

The Transformation of the New York Waterfront w/ Karrie Jacobs | The Nation Podcast
byThe Nation Magazine

In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn’s waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of the warehouses and were loaded onto trains on the other.

But after World War II, as trucks replaced rail and shipping patterns changed, the Terminal’s purpose faded and the vast complex slipped into disuse.

Today, Bush Terminal is again at the center of New York’s vision for urban reinvention— and a debate around development, displacement, and the future of work in the city.

Joining us on a deep dive into Bush Terminal is veteran architecture critic and writer Karrie Jacobs. Her essayOn the Waterfront,” appears in our December issue of the Nation.

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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.


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