E206 - Alternative Media, Trump 2.0, and the Moment in Politics w/ Katrina vanden Heuvel

In anticipation for our two-part conversation on the Sino-Soviet split, we're reposting the episode we did laying the groundwork. Danny and Derek welcome Jeremy Friedman, Marvin Bower associate professor at Harvard Business School, for a discussion about the Sino-Soviet split. They talk about the early days of the revolutionary states’ relationship, the differences in their ideologies, the external forces shaping each nation’s trajectory, the heyday of their cooperation, and the beginning of the fissure in the mid-1950s. Grab a copy of Jeremy’s great book Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode! Danny and Derek welcome back to the program Ben Fogel, head of publishing at the Alameda Institute and contributing editor at Jacobin, to chat about South Africa. They get into the struggling coalition government, the stories of “white genocide” stemming from eminent domain policies, Musk and how South Africa helped make him the man he is today, the roles of neoliberal and racialized ideologies there, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now for the full episode and access to all breaking news specials. Danny sits down with Jacobin’s Branko Marcetic to talk about yesterday's ruling that Columbia organizer Mahmoud Khalil may be deported for his political views. They discuss precedents, the use of Cold War anti-communist laws as a means to arrest and deport people, whether Trump actually cares about Israel, the power of the judiciary, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We reluctantly approved Derek’s vacation time, but the news marches on, so Danny welcomes back to the show Alex Jordan of the Quincy Institute to help bring you headlines from around the world. They first take some time to catch up about where things stand with Trump 2.0 and critique what they see as premature analyses of this administration before getting into the news. This week: Trump goes back and forth on massive tariffs (16:47); US and Iranian officials are set to meet in Oman for direct nuclear talks (24:22); the US appears to be considering a ground invasion of Yemen (29:51); the Israeli government and military seem to be moving on to a new stage in preparation for annexing Gaza (34:43); the US and the Philippines carry out military exercises in the South China Sea (40:47); South Korea’s Yoon leaves office as the country prepares for a snap election (44:30); Trump might be considering using drones against Mexican drug cartels (48:48); and Ukrainian president Zelenskyy has accused Russia of recruiting Chinese nationals to fight (52:26) as negotiators visit DC to discuss the so-called “mineral deal” (56:36).      Catch Alex on X/Twitter @alexjordanatl and on the Quincy Institute’s upcoming YouTube program “Always at War”, which he will co-host with Courtney Rawlings.   Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher of The Nation, for a wide-ranging discussion on this moment in politics. They delve into the radicalization that led to Trump, the Democrats’ devotion to the Third Way, the need for a coherent leftwing media structure, Ukraine, NATO, the “Pivot to Asia”, the US empire, and what comes next.  Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Andy Liu, professor of history at Villanova, for a discussion on Trump, Xi, their respective histories, and the current trade situation between the US and China. They explore Trump’s relationship with Japan in the 80s and how that helped shape his idea of trade and tariffs, the US security apparatus emboldening Trump’s “dealmaking”, Xi’s own background as a “nepo baby” in the transformative era of Deng Xiaoping, he and the Chinese government’s effort to move China from exporting mostly cheap goods to higher-end products, the current Trump administration’s actions and (lack of) communication with Beijing, and more. Subscribe now to listen to the full episode. Note: this episode was recorded in mid-March, i.e. before the latest round of tariffs. Read Andy’s piece for n+1, “Back to the ‘80s?”.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek welcome to the show Vivek Chibber, editor of Catalyst and host of the Confronting Capitalism podcast, to talk about the widespread tariffs Trump announced this week, what it would mean to try and bring back manufacturing to the US, the leftist critique of this approach, neoliberalism and neomercantilism, and what we might expect to happen. Subscribe now for the full episode and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the news roundup: the US and Iran are making moves risking escalation to a conflict (0:43); Israel rejects another Gaza ceasefire as it plans to carve up the Strip (7:28); the IDF resumes bombing Beirut (11:41); Myanmar suffers a devastating earthquake (13:44); the South Korea supreme court will rule on Yoon’s impeachment today (17:16); the Sudanese military secures the capital, Khartoum (18:38); the African Union sends a mediation team to South Sudan (20:26); the US approves a UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Archipelago (22:42); President Trump is now displeased with both Putin and Zelenskyy (24:54); President Bukele of El Salvador is reportedly in direct talks with MS-13 (29:03); the Trump administration admits innocent people were among those deported to El Salvador (31:23); far-right influencer Laura Loomer appears to have influenced Trump into firing members of the National Security Council (33:08); and President Trump announces quite a few tariffs for what he calls “liberation day” (34:49). Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and much more content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yoni Appelbaum, a deputy executive editor at The Atlantic, joins the program to talk about his book Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. They discuss mobility in the US and how that might sacrifice community for opportunity, the “frontier” as a way of taking land and easing class antagonism, the birth of American zoning from anti-Chinese practices in 19th century California, the move toward the single-family home and it being a symbol of the American identity, how we can make homes accessible once more for working Americans, and more.  For an ad-free experience and much more content, subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aziz Rana, J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor of Law and Government at Boston College, is back on the program to talk about the 20th and 21st century constitutional order leading to the current crisis under Trump. They delve into the attack on racial liberalism, the balance between the disavowed and embraced aspects of McCarthyism, the theory of the unitary executive, defending and regulating capitalism, the advent of the carceral state, and more. Read Aziz’s piece on the matter at New Left Review, “Constitutional Collapse”. Subscribe now for the full episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices