E240 - Manosphere Politics and the Climate Crisis w/ Daniel Waite Penny

Subscribe now to skip commercials and get all of our episodes. Use the code XMAS2025 for a $45 annual subscription! Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Non-toxic, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes, and Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; and the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action.

Subscribe now for the full episode. Get an annual subscription for $45 with the code XMAS2025. Danny and Derek are joined by historian Aileen Teague to discuss the renewed U.S. focus on Latin America as part of the War on Drugs. They talk about recent U.S. actions in the Caribbean and Venezuela; the return of “narco-terror” rhetoric; political forces driving Washington’s approach to the region; where these developments fit within the longer history of U.S. intervention, sanctions, and militarized security; and what this all means for regional stability, migration, and U.S.–Latin America relations.

Danny and Derek welcome back to the podcast Eleanor Janega, medieval historian, author, and broadcaster, to get down to brass tacks: What is Christmas? They discuss its practice in early and medieval Christian societies, mummers’ plays and gambling, Saint Nicholas providing dowries and resurrecting boys killed for their meat, the post-Reformation treatment of Christmas, and more. Grab a copy of Eleanor’s book The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society.

Subscribe now for the full episode. Use discount code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for $45! Danny welcomes writer Justin Boyd and writer/producer VJ Boyd to the show to talk about The Muppet Christmas Carol. They discuss Charles Dickens as a transitional figure in 19th-century literature, Victorian ghost stories and Christmas, Jim Henson’s pre-Disney career and the regional TV ecosystem that produced the Muppets, the film’s melancholy as a post-Henson/post–Richard Hunt work, Michael Caine’s performance and Jonathan Rosenbaum’s critique, anti-capitalist themes vs liberal moral reform, chronos versus kairos in Scrooge’s transformation, and why this adaptation endures.

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for just $45! Danny and Derek welcome back historian Andre Pagliarini to discuss Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his political project, and its significance for Brazil’s democracy and labor movement. They explore the emergence of “new unionism” in the late 20th century and the founding of the Workers’ Party (PT); how a leader shaped by labor activism ended up governing through institutional politics; what Lula inherited from Brazil’s corporatist past; how he has navigated the constraints of global capital, inflation, and coalition politics; the gains and limits of his social programs; corruption scandals, Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, and the Bolsonaro’s presidency; and Lula’s return to office and what his trajectory says about the possibilities of left governance. Get a copy of Andre’s book Lula: A People's President and the Fight for Brazil's Future.

Subscribe now for the full episode. Get an annual subscription for $45 with our holiday discount code XMAS2025. Danny and Derek are joined once again by Vincent Bevins, this time to talk about the recent wave of so-called “Gen Z protests.” They explore why that framing explains almost nothing; how contemporary mass protests actually form, why they tend to resemble each other, and why their political outcomes rarely meet their original demands; and the crisis of representation, the collapse of ideology, “explosive mobilization,” and why the military generally decides what comes next. The conversation also touches on whether there is still such a thing as a revolutionary subject and what happens when politics become anti-corruption rhetoric and “vibes.”

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the holiday discount code XMAS2025 for a $45 annual subscription (offer valid through 1/1/26)!  Jolly Saint Nick is giving the U.S. government lots of coal this year, a boon to fossil fuel companies. In this week’s news: Thailand–Cambodia fighting resumes despite Trump’s ceasefire claim (1:52); an Israeli airstrike in Gaza threatens what remains of the ceasefire (6:00), and a winter storm devastates Gaza as Israel continues blocking shelter materials and aid (9:10); Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council prepares to declare a new government amid Saudi threats (12:08); the U.S. approves the largest-ever arms package to Taiwan (16:10); China reportedly unveils a prototype advanced chipmaking tool (18:18); the Bondi Beach attack in Australia has possible Islamic State links (19:48); a New America Foundation report documents extensive U.S. airstrikes in Somalia (22:01); M23 announces its withdrawal from Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (24:49); Ukraine peace talks continue as the war nears its fourth year, including disputes over Kupiansk (27:59); Chile elects far-right president José Antonio Kast (32:23); the U.S. escalates pressure on Venezuela with military deployments and a partial oil blockade (33:27); and Congress passes a $901 billion National Defense Authorization Act, including a repeal of Syria’s Caesar Act and changes to Selective Service registration (41:40). Listen to our special with Annelle Sheline on what’s going on in Yemen. Don’t forget to listen to our Chinese Prestige miniseries.

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek is joined by Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute to discuss the Southern Transitional Council’s recent territorial advances in Yemen, what they mean for the country’s already-fractured political order, and why the “internationally recognized government” remains mostly theoretical. They also delve into the history of southern secessionism, the dysfunction of the Presidential Leadership Council, and how Emirati-backed forces have consolidated control over much of former South Yemen. Follow Annelle on Twitter.

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show Julia Gledhill and Van Jackson, co-hosts of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, to talk about the Trump administration’s newly released National Security Strategy. They discuss how the document leans on civilizational framing, portrays competition as existential conflict, omits diplomacy and institutions in favor of coercion and deal-making, and deemphasizes democracy promotion. They also touch on the strategy’s treatment of Europe and Latin America, its assumptions about American power, and what the new NSS suggests about the direction of U.S. foreign policy.

Subscribe now to ditch the ads. Chag Sameach! Danny and Derek are joined by independent scholar Joseph Scales to talk about the history of Hanukkah. They discuss the rivalry between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires that preceded the conflict; the Maccabean/Hasmonean revolt and the family's ascension to power within Judea; the Judean expansion; and much more. Originally published November 27, 2021