Greater America and Its Victims
On this episode of The Nation Podcast, Viet Thanh Nguyen talks about the generational reverberations of the US imperial project.
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Greater America and the Victims of Its Ambition | The Nation Podcast
On a recent trip to El Salvador, writer Viet Thanh Nguyen noticed striking parallels between the small Central American nation and his own country of origin, Vietnam. Both endured the atrocities of war, each fueled by anti-communist U.S. intervention. And both conflicts—the Vietnam War and El Salvador’s civil war—triggered refugee and migrant crises whose consequences continue to reverberate today.
The people of Vietnam and El Salvador – and Nguyen himself– have been caught in the crossfire of what he calls “Greater America”: a phenomenon best described as not just a place, but a project.
What exactly is Greater America capable of, both abroad and domestically? What are its borders and how will it be remembered, conflict after conflict? Who will be the next victims of its imperial ambitions?
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Viet Thanh Nguyen at the ACLU SoCal Bill Of Rights Dinner at The Beverly Hilton on November 10, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
(Tommaso Boddi / Variety via Getty Images)On a recent trip to El Salvador, writer Viet Thanh Nguyen noticed striking parallels between the small Central American nation and his own country of origin, Vietnam. Both endured the atrocities of war, each fueled by anti-communist US intervention. And both conflicts—the Vietnam War and El Salvador’s civil war—triggered refugee and migrant crises whose consequences continue to reverberate today.
The people of Vietnam and El Salvador–and Nguyen himself–have been caught in the crossfire of what he calls “Greater America”: a phenomenon best described as not just a place but a project.
What exactly is Greater America capable of, both abroad and domestically? What are its borders and how will it be remembered, conflict after conflict? Who will be the next victims of its imperial ambitions? We discussed all of that on this episode.
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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.
The Transformation of the New York Waterfront w/ Karrie Jacobs | The Nation Podcast
In its heyday, the Bush Terminal industrial complex spanned several city blocks along Brooklyn’s waterfront and employed more than 35,000 people. Built by Irving Bush in the late nineteenth century, it was an "early intermodal shipping hub." Goods arrived by water and left by rail. Bananas, coffee, and cotton came in through doors on one side of the warehouses and were loaded onto trains on the other.
But after World War II, as trucks replaced rail and shipping patterns changed, the Terminal’s purpose faded and the vast complex slipped into disuse.
Today, Bush Terminal is again at the center of New York’s vision for urban reinvention— and a debate around development, displacement, and the future of work in the city.
Joining us on a deep dive into Bush Terminal is veteran architecture critic and writer Karrie Jacobs. Her essay, “On the Waterfront,” appears in our December issue of the Nation.
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