Kissinger and Nixon in Southeast Asia With Carolyn Eisenberg
On this episode of American Prestige, an exploration of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon’s joint pursuit of war in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and ’70s.

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On this episode of American Prestige, an exploration of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon’s joint pursuit of war in Southeast Asia during the '60s and '70s.
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Richard Nixon, left, meets with Henry Kissinger to discuss negotiations following the Paris Peace Accords, Washington, D.C., June 11, 1973.
(Jim Palmer / AP Photo)On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome Carolyn Eisenberg, professor of history at Hofstra University, to explore Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon’s joint pursuit of war in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and ’70s. Using Carolyn’s book Fire and Rain as a guide, the group gets into the duo’s relationship, their aims in escalating conflict in the region while pursuing diplomacy with China and the Soviet Union, military events like Operation Lam Son 719, and what this story reveals about US foreign relations.
Carolyn also contributed to the edited anthology The Good Die Young: The Verdict on Henry Kissinger, which was released after his death in December 2023.
Be sure to also check out Danny and Derek’s special episode with Greg Grandin on the life and legacy of Kissinger.

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.
This week on the news roundup: the Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that global sea ice fell to the lowest level ever recorded in February (1:18); Alawites in northwestern Syria have been massacred over several days (3:19) while the government and SDF cut a deal (6:49); Israel intensifies its blockade of Gaza (9:38) as the US proposes a new compromise for the Strip (10:55); Armenia and Azerbaijan look to be on the cusp of a peace agreement (14:31); the Philippines arrests former president Rodrigo Duterte on an ICC warrant (16:30); Trump and China’s Xi Jinping might hold a summit in June (19:23); the crisis in South Sudan continues to worsen (21:03); the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and M23 armed group look to hold peace talks (23:31); in Russia-Ukraine, the US and Ukraine produce a ceasefire proposal (25:15) while Russia retakes most of Kursk Oblast (29:46); Trump might be preparing to invade Panama (31:45); Canada elects a new prime minister (33:37); Trump continues to escalate the trade war (37:01); and former US national security advisor Jake Sullivan will become Harvard’s inaugural Kissinger professor of the practice of statecraft and world order (39:26).
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