Columbia, Trump, and the Palestine Exception
On this episode of American Prestige.

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Danny and Derek welcome historian Rashid Khalidi back to the program, this time to talk about Columbia University’s agreement with the Trump administration. They discuss the university equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, the school bringing in outside monitors, bipartisan U.S. support for Israel despite shifting public opinion, and how donor influence and neoliberal management are both reshaping universities and eroding the humanities. They also preview Dr. Khalidi’s upcoming free public lecture series on Palestinian history.
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Rashid Khalidi speaks during a welcome rally for Mahmoud Khalil in Manhattan, New York.
(Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images)Danny and Derek welcome historian Rashid Khalidi back to the program, this time to talk about Columbia University’s agreement with the Trump administration. They discuss the university’s equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, the school’s bringing in outside monitors, bipartisan US support for Israel despite shifting public opinion, and how donor influence and neoliberal management are both reshaping universities and eroding the humanities. They also preview Dr. Khalidi’s upcoming free public lecture series on Palestinian history.
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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.
Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces’ consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the throughline from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; the shifting battlefield in Kordofan; the growing role of drones; the RSF’s political gambits; the international dimension of the war, including the UAE’s backing of the RSF and the Sudanese army’s search for external patrons; and they examine why accountability remains elusive as Sudan’s rival powers continue a war that hurts civilians above all else.
Follow Mat on Twitter and Instagram.Â
Read Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s WSJ opinion piece.
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