Bonus - Star Wars, Empire, and the Politics of The Phantom Menace w/ Daniel Immerwahr (Preview)

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show Oren Ziv to talk about Israeli settlement expansion and political changes in the West Bank. They discuss the legal and political structure of Areas A, B, and C; the proliferation of settler outposts; displacement of Palestinian communities; state support for settlers; Bezalel Smotrich’s sovereignty plan; new settlement approvals; the weakening of the Palestinian Authority; and potential future scenarios for the territory. Read Oren’s article in The Nation, “Erasing the Lines.” Don't forget to subscribe to our Marx Prestige miniseries. New episodes on Tuesdays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

⁠Subscribe now⁠ for the full episode. Danny welcomes back to the show historian ⁠Anton Jäger⁠ to talk about the decline of mass politics and the rise of hyperpolitics across Europe and the United States. They explore the collapse of parties and unions, the neoliberal turn of the 70s and 80s, the 2008 financial crisis and the decade of protest that followed, social media and political expression, the far right’s ascendance and liberalism’s failure, why Trumpism lacks sustainable organization, the Democrats’ inability to build a governing coalition, and whether new political institutions can come out of the current chaos. Grab your copy of Anton’s book ⁠Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to get lots of bonus content (and no ads). Danny and Derek are considering attending the Met Gala. In this week’s news: Iran talks amble along despite U.S. forces building up in the region (1:55); the U.S. blockade restricts oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz (9:49); Lebanon and Israel declare a 10-day ceasefire (12:23); Hamas meets U.S. officials in Cairo to advance the talks over Gaza (19:37); Iraq’s parliament elects Nizar Ahmed as president (21:52); Sudan’s war enters its fourth year as Berlin pledges aid (25:21); Libya’s rival governments approve a joint national budget (27:20); Hungary’s opposition defeats Viktor Orbán in parliamentary elections (30:28); Britain suspends the Chagos handover after Trump objects (33:39); Peru’s election continues into a second day and heads to a runoff (36:39); Trump and J.D. Vance feud with Pope Leo over the Iran war (39:39), leading Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to distance herself from Trump (43:49); and the Trump administration prepares military plans for an operation in Cuba (46:17). Check out our Marx Prestige miniseries— new episodes drop on Tuesdays! And join our Discord. Subscribers get access to all channels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To new listeners: welcome to the greatest bi-monthly crossover in podcasting. Danny, Derek, and Robert Wright of the ⁠⁠NonZero Newsletter⁠⁠⁠ are back with the most scorching hot of insights. Subscribe now to AP to get a discounted membership to NonZero! ⁠Part One Video ⁠ 0:00 Teaser1:02 Trump’s Middle East chaos continues6:04 Is Iran more about America’s hegemony or Israel’s?13:22 Who will win the Hormuz blockade duel?23:11 Ukraine, China, and the drone wars27:58 America’s “emergency” emergency32:11 Is an Iran peace deal possible?43:34 Overtime preview: The Anthropic Mythos scare Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show writer Paul Heideman to talk about the transformation of the Republican Party from the main party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition. They discuss the historical relationship between Republicans and capital, the disorganization of American employers, the political economy of the 1970s crisis, Reagan-era fragmentation, Gingrich and fundraising, globalization and bipartisan neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Koch network and Tea Party, Republicanism after Romney, the conditions that enabled Trump’s rise, and much more. Read Paul’s book Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek talk about where the ceasefire stands and the U.S. blockade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode! Danny welcomes back to the show historian Daniel Immerwahr to talk about the political and ideological themes of Star Wars, particularly The Phantom Menace. They discuss George Lucas’s Vietnam War influences and anti-imperial framework; myth and generational conflict in the original trilogy; the rise of intellectual property and Silicon Valley ideology; the shift from rebellion to bureaucracy in The Phantom Menace; its depiction of trade, governance, and liberal institutional decay; the racialized and cultural representations in the prequels; the transformation of the Jedi into enforcers; technology and scientism; and how The Phantom Menace reflects the politics of the late 1990s “end of history” moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny “Hollywood” Bessner and Derek “Bethesda” Davison are back with the news. This week: Israel bombs Lebanon and kills hundreds (2:09) as Iran halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response (5:43); the U.S. and Iran prepare for peace talks in Pakistan (8:26); Trump threatens to resume the war if talks fail (13:02); the Gaza Board of Peace demands Hamas provide a disarmament response (14:56); Afghanistan and Pakistan pause talks and agree to avoid escalation (17:16); Myanmar’s parliament elects junta leader Min Aung Hlaing as president (20:04); Vietnam’s National Assembly elects Communist Party chief To Lam as president (21:14); KMT leader Chiang Li-wun visits China to pursue closer ties (22:59); Burkina Faso’s junta leader extends military rule (27:06); Hungarian polling projects Viktor Orban to lose power to the opposition (31:51); Chadian forces deploy to Haiti under a UN-backed mission (34:54); Haiti postpones voter registration amid ongoing violence (37:15); Trump pressures NATO to secure the Strait of Hormuz (41:51). Don’t forget to subscribe to the Marx Prestige miniseries. New episodes out on Tuesdays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek talk about the announced Iran ceasefire, getting into the terms and uncertainty around the two-week ceasefire, disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and potential tolling, whether Lebanon is included in the agreement, the feasibility of the negotiating demands, internal U.S. political and military tensions, Iranian claims of victory and possible Chinese involvement, Israeli reactions, and how Gulf states and global actors are responding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek speak with Andrew Hartman about their new miniseries Marx Prestige and the relevance of Marxist thought in this day and age. They talk about Marxist theories of imperialism, state spending on war versus social welfare, financialization and the shift from wages to assets, automation and AI in relation to labor, the decline of American hegemony, and the relationship between capitalism and war. Read Andrew's book Karl Marx in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices