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The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba—With Stuart Reid

On this episode of American Prestige, a discussion about the downfall of the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

January 23, 2024

Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba in 1960 crosses the city in a Congolese Army truck after his arrest and return to the captial.(Bettmann / Getty Images)

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The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba with Stuart Reid | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Patrice Lumumba, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become a mythic figure among the left, due in no small part to the CIA’s role in his ousting and assassination less than one year after the start of his premiership. Stuart Reid, editor at Foreign Affairs, joins Derek to discuss the full story of Lumumba’s downfall, as detailed in Reid’s recent book The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Patrice Lumumba, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become a mythic figure among the left, due in no small part to the CIA’s role in his ousting and assassination less than one year after the start of his premiership.

Stuart Reid, editor at Foreign Affairs, joins Derek to discuss the full story of Lumumba’s downfall, as detailed in Reid’s recent book The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination.

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.

American Jews, Israel, and Palestine w/ Peter Beinart | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Peter Beinart speaks with Danny and Derek about his book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, American Jews’ conception of and relationship with Israel, and how things have changed since the start of the genocide in Gaza. They explore why Peter centers being Jewish at this moment, what he’s seen happen in the Jewish community since October 7, Palestinian dehumanization among American Jews, liberal Zionism and the two-state solution, the loss of agency for Palestinians, American Jewish institutions, and more.

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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.


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


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