Podcast / American Prestige / Apr 18, 2025

Sudan Rival Government, US Pushing Ukraine-Russia Deal, US-Saudi Nuclear Tech Talks

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

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.

Sudan Rival Government, US Pushing Ukraine-Russia Deal, US-Saudi Nuclear Tech Talks | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

One last news roundup without Derek, but Danny and Alex Jordan of the Quincy Institute are on the case!

This week: the RSF announces plans to form a parallel government in Sudan (1:33); US-Iran nuclear negotiations continue in Oman (7:21); the US and Saudi Arabia discuss giving the Kingdom access to nuclear technology (14:19); the Trump trade war continues despite him dialing back certain tariffs (18:40); Xi Jinping tours Southeast Asia (22:44); President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador visits the White House amid the controversy of Kilmar Ábrego García’s deportation (27:15); ICE is ramping up the arrest of pro-Palestine voices in the US (31:14); center-right candidate Daniel Noboa wins the presidential election in Ecuador (32:56); American envoy Steve Witkoff says a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is imminent (34:36) and President Vladimir Zelenskyy appears on 60 Minutes (40:42); and the Israeli government announces that it will escalate its attack on Gaza (43:13). 

Danny then speaks with Afeef Nessouli, a volunteer currently in Gaza working with Glia, a medical organization that “empowers low-resource communities to build sustainable, locally-driven healthcare projects.”

Please considerdonating to Glia to help Afeef and Palestinians doing medical work in Gaza. Afeef also works with Shabab Gaza, a local project that provides food and sometimes produce for victims of the genocide. I have personally backed boxes of rice for families. You can donate if you DM them @shababgaza1 on Instagram.

And Catch Alex Jordan on X/Twitter @alexjordanatl and on the Quincy Institute’s upcoming YouTube program “Always at War,  which he will co-host with Courtney Rawlings.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ukrainian emergency workers search through the rubble at the site of a missile attack in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on April 14, 2025.

(Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images)

One last news roundup without Derek, but Alex Jordan of the Quincy Institute and I are on the case!

This week: The RSF announces plans to form a parallel government in Sudan (1:33); US-Iran nuclear negotiations continue in Oman (7:21); the US and Saudi Arabia discuss giving the kingdom access to nuclear technology (14:19); the Trump trade war continues despite his dialing back certain tariffs (18:40); Xi Jinping tours Southeast Asia (22:44); President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador visits the White House amid the controversy of Kilmar Ábrego García’s deportation (27:15); ICE is ramping up the arrest of pro-Palestine voices in the US (31:14); center-right candidate Daniel Noboa wins the presidential election in Ecuador (32:56); American envoy Steve Witkoff says a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is imminent (34:36) and President Vladimir Zelensky appears on 60 Minutes (40:42); and the Israeli government announces that it will escalate its attack on Gaza (43:13). 

I then speak with Afeef Nessouli, a volunteer currently in Gaza working with Glia, a medical organization that “empowers low-resource communities to build sustainable, locally driven healthcare projects.”

Please consider donating to Glia to help Afeef and Palestinians doing medical work in Gaza. Afeef also works with Shabab Gaza, a local project that provides food for victims of the genocide. You can donate if you DM them @shababgaza1 on Instagram.

If you’d like to follow Afeef please check out his Instagram handle @afeefness, where he’s been sharing his experiences in Gaza.

And Catch Alex Jordan on X/Twitter @alexjordanatl and on the Quincy Institute’s upcoming YouTube program Always at War, which he will cohost with Courtney Rawlings.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

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.

War Breaks in Tigray, Brazil Elections, Houthi/Ansar Allah Attacks Hit Saudi Airports / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Derek has returned, but he keeps trying to get Danny to go to some seminar led by a charismatic “mentor” he encountered in his travels. In this week’s news: war breaks out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (0:43); Flavio Bolsonaro wins the first round of Brazil’s presidential election as the right makes major gains (6:46); in Yemen, the government’s counteroffensive against Ansar Allah stalls (9:51), the group attacks airports in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (12:40), and Saudi Arabia seeks outside military support (13:42); the U.S. prepares to resume its war against Iran as the Islamic Republic intensifies attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz (17:44); in Japan, a U.S. Marine’s arrest for alleged murder sparks protests against the American military presence on Okinawa (22:18); Sudan’s military advances in North Kordofan (25:20) and Sudanese military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejects peace talks (28:06); in Mali, Tuareg rebels withdraw from Kidal as government forces retake the town (29:54); the U.S. and the WHO seek information about suspected plague cases at a Russian lab (29:54); Russian attacks across Ukraine kill at least 25 (32:57); Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls a snap election (35:00); the U.S. bombs another alleged drug boat in the Caribbean (37:12); and Trump creates a new AI task force called the Super Intelligence Force (38:12).

Note: Since recording, Trump has said that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the November midterm elections.

Watch a replay of last night’s livestream with journalist Michael Fox about Brazil’s elections.

Subscribe and check out our History of Modern Palestine series with Rashid Khalidi.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.

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.

More from The Nation

Audience members walk out of the Metropolitan Development Commission meeting on March 4, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana, after a one-month continuance was granted for the hearing of the Metroblocks data center in the Martindale Brightwood community.

Dispatch From the Front Lines of the Data Center Wars—With Ben Inskeep & Bryce Gustafson Dispatch From the Front Lines of the Data Center Wars—With Ben Inskeep & Bryce Gustafson

Data centers and AI, AI and data centers. We all know how pivotal these issues have become. But lots of the analysis on these topics has been coming from pundits who are the farthe…

Podcast / Fighting Fascism

Demonstrators protest outside the US Supreme Court as justices hear the “Suncor v. Boulder” climate case in Washington, DC, on October 5, 2026.

Why SCOTUS Is Climate Action’s Biggest Threat—With Elie Mystal Why SCOTUS Is Climate Action’s Biggest Threat—With Elie Mystal

“If you don’t control the Supreme Court, you don’t control anything.”

Shilpi Chhotray

Presidential candidate for the Brazilian Liberal Party Flavio Bolsonaro during a press conference with representatives that declared their support for the runoff election in Brasília, on October 7, 2026.

War Breaks in Tigray, Brazil Holds Elections, Houthi/Ansar Allah Attacks Hit a Saudi Airport War Breaks in Tigray, Brazil Holds Elections, Houthi/Ansar Allah Attacks Hit a Saudi Airport

Derek has returned, but he keeps trying to get Danny to go to some seminar led by a charismatic “mentor” he encountered in his travels.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

The Scala Data Centers facility in Barueri, São Paulo state, Brazil, on March 9, 2026.

Brazil’s Data Center Boom Is Enabled by Renewables Firms—With Laís Martins Brazil’s Data Center Boom Is Enabled by Renewables Firms—With Laís Martins

Paris Marx and a tech reporter for The Intercept Brazil discuss how Brazil’s renewable energy industry is fueling data center expansion, greenwashing, and harm to local communitie...

Paris Marx

The WNBA, Past and Present and Irish Sport for Palestine

The WNBA, Past and Present and Irish Sport for Palestine The WNBA, Past and Present and Irish Sport for Palestine

Tamryn Spruill joins the show to talk about her new book on the WNBA, and we discuss Palestine and Irish politics with Rebecca O’Keeffe.

Dave Zirin

A Palestinian flag in the Mashrou' Beit Lahia area of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on October 6, 2026.

Palestine Three Years After October—With Rashid Khalidi Palestine Three Years After October—With Rashid Khalidi

Rashid Khalidi joins Danny and Derek to discuss Gaza, October 7, US policy toward Israel, regional shifts, and the future of Palestinian resistance.

Podcast / American Prestige

x