Podcast / American Prestige / Mar 18, 2025

The End of Resistance History

On this episode of American Prestige, Charlotte Rosen on the short life of a liberal historiography that emerged during the first Trump administration.

The Nation Podcasts
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 End of Resistance History w/ Charlotte Rosen | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek speak with Chicago-based historian and writer Charlotte Rosen about the end of so-called “Resistance history”, a particular strain of liberal historiography that emerged during the first Trump administration. They talk about Resistance history’s defining characteristics, how it might have been an overcorrection to defend liberal democracy against attacks by Trump, how historians who engaged in this form of history viewed it as political action, some of the movement’s biggest figures, the apparent elitism and self-promotion among its proponents, the AHA and the decline of the history profession, and more.

Read Charlotte’s piece “The End of Resistance History” over at Protean Magazine.

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Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

On this episode of American Prestige, we’re joined by Chicago-based historian and writer Charlotte Rosen about the end of so-called “Resistance history,” a particular strain of liberal historiography that emerged during the first Trump administration. We talk about Resistance history’s defining characteristics, how it might have been an overcorrection to defend liberal democracy against attacks by Trump, how historians who engaged in this form of history viewed it as political action, some of the movement’s biggest figures, the apparent elitism and self-promotion among its proponents, the American Historical Association and the decline of the history profession, and more.

You can read Charlotte’s piece “The End of Resistance History” over at Protean Magazine.

The Nation Podcasts
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.

Extraction Behind the Green Transition w/ Thea Riofrancos / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek welcome back to the show political scientist Thea Riofrancos to talk about the politics of extraction in the global energy transition. They explore the contradictions of green capitalism, the debate over degrowth and abundance, China’s role in lithium battery production, the history of lithium batteries, green industrial policy, U.S. oil and gas power, popular resistance to data centers and mining, where the Global South falls in renewable supply chains, and the environmental costs of green development.

Be sure to grab a copy of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism.

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Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.

Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

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