Podcast / American Prestige / Apr 4, 2025

US and Iran Inch Toward Conflict, an Earthquake Rocks Myanmar, Trump Tariffs Hit Global Markets

On this episode of American Prestige, headlines from around the globe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

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US and Iran Inch Toward Conflict, Myanmar Earthquake, Trump Tariffs | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

This week on American Prestige's 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).

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A Buddhist monk walks past the damaged Mandalay Palace during sunset in Mandalay on March 31, 2025, three days after the deadly Myanmar earthquake.

(Sebastien Berger / AFP via Getty Images)

This week on American Prestige’s 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 that 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).

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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.

Can American Power Be Redeemed? w/ Shadi Hamid | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek are joined by Shadi Hamid, columnist at The Washington Post and author of The Case for American Power, to talk about American hegemony and Hamid’s argument for it as a morally preferable and potentially reformable force in international politics. They discuss Gaza and the crisis of liberal internationalism, democracy and self-correction, American decline, China and Russia, intervention and restraint, the Middle East exception, Libya and “humanitarian war,”and whether it is possible to separate the “good” uses of American power from the bad.

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Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

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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