Podcast / American Prestige / Mar 29, 2024

Rethinking US World Power

On this episode of American Prestige, Michael Brenes and Stephen Wertheim on domestic histories of US foreign relations.

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Rethinking U.S. World Power w/ Michael Brenes and Stephen Wertheim | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Michael Brenes and Stephen discuss the new volume Danny and Michael edited, Rethinking U.S. World Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign RelationsThey talk about the current tenor in DC around foreign policy, the degree to which domestic factors affect U.S. decisions therein, and how their careers thus far have shaped their thinking.

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President Clinton speaks on the phone while on Air Force One, November 2, 1997, in the United States.

President Clinton on Air Force One, November 2, 1997, in the United States.

(Cynthia Johnson / Liaison)

On this episode of American Prestige, we welcome back friends Michael Brenes, codirector of the Brady-Johnson program in grand strategy at Yale University and publisher of Warfare and Welfare, and Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

They’re on the show to discuss the new volume Danny and Michael edited, Rethinking U.S. World Power: Domestic Histories of U.S. Foreign Relations. We talk about the current tenor in D.C. around foreign policy, the degree to which domestic factors affect US decisions therein, and how their careers thus far have shaped their thinking.

The Nation Podcasts
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

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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).

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Daniel Bessner

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

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