World

Decolonization as Advocacy Decolonization as Advocacy

On this episode of American Prestige, Lydia Walker on her book States-in-Waiting: A Counternarrative of Global Decolonization.

American Prestige / Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

Trump’s Supposed Unity Message Is a Gloating Threat of MAGA Triumphant Trump’s Supposed Unity Message Is a Gloating Threat of MAGA Triumphant

The new president uses shock and awe to claim a mandate over demoralized Democrats.

Jeet Heer

On TikTok, the Supreme Court Did the Right Thing On TikTok, the Supreme Court Did the Right Thing

And while the “I was for it before I was against it” crowd opposing the ban now stretches from Chuck Schumer to Donald Trump, that doesn’t mean they’re right.

Zephyr Teachout

World Leaders

People celebrate along a street at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

Gaza Ceasefire, Yoon Arrested, Farewell to Biden Gaza Ceasefire, Yoon Arrested, Farewell to Biden

On this episode of the American Prestige news roundup, headlines from around the globe.

American Prestige / Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual end-of-year press conference in Moscow on December 19, 2024.

Needed: A Sober Assessment of Putin’s Russia to Help End the War Needed: A Sober Assessment of Putin’s Russia to Help End the War

Putin’s ultimate goal isn’t recreating empire or seeking war with NATO—it’s staying in power.

Stephen Crowley

Shredding while Gazans burn: Secretary of State Antony Blinken performs “Rockin’ in the Free World” in Kyiv on May 14, 2024.

Antony Blinken’s Legacy Is Buried Under the Rubble of Gaza Antony Blinken’s Legacy Is Buried Under the Rubble of Gaza

Despite valedictory speeches, the secretary of state will be remembered not for his successes—or his guitar playing—but for the humanitarian catastrophe he aided and abetted.

Jonathan Guyer

Africa

Men imprisoned at the Mafanta Prison peer out at the world. In 2016, Sierra Leone’s Human Rights Commission decried the squalor and lack of rehabilitative programs as “inhumane.”

The Legacy of the British Legal System Continues to Inflict Misery in Sierra Leone The Legacy of the British Legal System Continues to Inflict Misery in Sierra Leone

Decades after independence, colonial-era laws have created a mass-incarceration crisis in Sierra Leone as poor citizens are thrown into prison for the smallest offenses.

Feature / Mara Kardas-Nelson

Palestinians, holding foreign passports, collect their luggage as they prepare to cross to Egypt from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing.

The Underground Network Helping Gazan Refugees Survive in Egypt The Underground Network Helping Gazan Refugees Survive in Egypt

A patchwork of volunteer-run mutual aid organizations has sprung up to tackle the severe problems facing people fleeing genocide.

Amba Guerguerian

Displaced Sudanese children who have returned from Ethiopia gather amid tents fortified against heavy rain by sandbags, in a camp run by the United Nations Refugee Agency in Sudan's border town of Gallabat, on September 4, 2024.

The Ongoing Catastrophe of Sudan’s Civil War The Ongoing Catastrophe of Sudan’s Civil War

On this episode of American Prestige, Khalid Medani on the state of play in Sudan’s civil war.

American Prestige / Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

Asia

A banned TikTok logo displayed on a smartphone in Suqian, China, on January 15, 2025.

On TikTok, the Supreme Court Did the Right Thing On TikTok, the Supreme Court Did the Right Thing

And while the “I was for it before I was against it” crowd opposing the ban now stretches from Chuck Schumer to Donald Trump, that doesn’t mean they’re right.

Zephyr Teachout

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23, 2023.

The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media The TikTok Case Could Open the Floodgates to More Corporate Influence on the Media

Whether or not we agree with the Biden administration’s arguments, progressives shouldn’t root for the court to rule in favor of Tik Tok.

Zephyr Teachout

Minerals displayed at the showroom of a battery recycling plant in Wuhan, China, in 2023.

Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals

China’s latest export restriction lays bare the complex geopolitics behind President Trump’s proposed tariffs—and the green energy transition.

Nicolas Niarchos

Latin America

Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, speaks in front of attendees during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 4, 2024.

At CPAC Argentina, a Preview of Donald Trump’s Second Term At CPAC Argentina, a Preview of Donald Trump’s Second Term

A far-right international extending from Lara Trump and Steve Bannon to Jair Bolsonaro and Javier Milei joined reactionaries across Europe to promise no safe quarter for the left….

Jacob Sugarman

The Nonstop Gay Sex Party on the Mexico City Subway

The Nonstop Gay Sex Party on the Mexico City Subway The Nonstop Gay Sex Party on the Mexico City Subway

The city’s metro hosts—and authorities unofficially sanction—a queer institution unlike any other.

Feature / A.W. Strouse

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the plenary session of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum at the Tauride Palace, July 11 2024, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Can BRICS Rise in a World Threatened by War? Can BRICS Rise in a World Threatened by War?

The group’s appeal is only growing since its recent expansion, but it must now deal with a world on the brink.

Sarang Shidore

Middle East

How Biden’s Foreign Policy Destroyed His Presidency

How Biden’s Foreign Policy Destroyed His Presidency How Biden’s Foreign Policy Destroyed His Presidency

Biden’s domestic agenda was the most progressive of any president since Lyndon Johnson. But it was entwined with a foreign policy that leaves his legacy drowned in blood.

Feature / Jeet Heer

A child recovers books from the rubble of a building hit in Israeli strikes the previous night in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on January 16, 2025.

A Ceasefire Won’t Stop the War on Palestine A Ceasefire Won’t Stop the War on Palestine

The agreement may reduce the intensity of Israel’s killing spree, but it is likely to usher in a grueling new phase of ethnic cleansing, with Trump’s full support.

Tariq Kenney-Shawa

People celebrate while watching a television along a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025.

We Have a Ceasefire Deal, but This Isn’t the End We Have a Ceasefire Deal, but This Isn’t the End

World / January 15, 2025 We Have a Ceasefire Deal, but This Isn’t the End The widely reported agreement must hold. We haven’t begun to understand the full scope of the horrors…

Mohammad Alsaafin

Latest in World

The Brown Berets, who newly declassified documents reveal were the target of illegal CIA surveillance in the 1960s and ’70s, are still active, as seen here in this 2017 protest against white supremacist activists in San Diego. What we don’t know is whether the CIA has ever really backed off.

The CIA Illegally Spied on Puerto Rican and Mexican American Activists for Decades The CIA Illegally Spied on Puerto Rican and Mexican American Activists for Decades

And is probably still at it. As newly released classified documents confirm activists’ long-held suspicions, the disclosures should also alert us to current dangers.

Jan 16, 2025 / Roberto Lovato

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator wearing a face mask of President Joe Biden and holding a sign with “Two-Faced Genocide Joe” written on it as he joins in a demonstration in front of the Washington Hilton. Pro-Palestinian protestors demonstrate outside the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton .

How American Racism Sabotaged the World’s Fight Against Genocide How American Racism Sabotaged the World’s Fight Against Genocide

The international laws against genocide were deliberately crafted to prevent the US from being held accountable for its crimes against Black and Indigenous people.

Jan 16, 2025 / Anthony Conwright

Mourners attend the funeral in Qamishly of two Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces fighters, killed days earlier in battle with Turkish-backed Syrian forces in the northern city of Manbij, on January 2, 2025.

What Does the Future Hold for Syrian Kurds Post-Assad? What Does the Future Hold for Syrian Kurds Post-Assad?

NATO ally Turkey has emerged as the dominant state power in a new Syria, and is seeking to press its advantage by bombing and occupying more Kurdish territory.

Jan 15, 2025 / Matt Broomfield

Trump meets with NATO leaders in 2017.

The Political Economy of Trumpism The Political Economy of Trumpism

Though he started by threatening Mexico, Canada, and China, Trump’s tariffs mean the US will drain Europe as Ukraine fades.

Jan 15, 2025 / James K. Galbraith

Secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth at a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14.

Pete Hegseth Smarms His Way Closer to Running the Pentagon Pete Hegseth Smarms His Way Closer to Running the Pentagon

Stonewalling questions about his sexual behavior and excessive drinking as “anonymous smears,” the Fox host charmed the Senate Armed Services Committee’s GOP majority into submiss…

Jan 14, 2025 / Joan Walsh

Israeli Domestic Politics

Israeli Domestic Politics Israeli Domestic Politics

On this episode of American Prestige, Udi Greenberg on the state of politics within Israel.

Jan 14, 2025 / Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

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