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Columbia, Trump, and the Palestine Exception

On this episode of American Prestige.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

August 26, 2025

Rashid Khalidi speaks during a welcome rally for Mahmoud Khalil in Manhattan, New York.(Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Columbia, Trump, and the Palestine Exception w/ Rashid Khalidi | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

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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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.

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

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.

Special – War in the Gulf and the Global Economy w/ Esfandyar Batmanghelidj | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Derek welcomes back Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and CEO of the Bourse and Bazaar Foundation and professor at Johns Hopkins University, to discuss the economic consequences of the Iran war and its implications for the Gulf and the global economy. They discuss Iran’s strikes on Gulf infrastructure, disruptions to shipping and energy routes through the Strait of Hormuz, risks to logistics hubs like Dubai and Doha, rising oil prices, the vulnerability of global supply chains, and the potential long-term economic impact of the conflict on the Gulf.

Read Esfandyar’s article in Foreign Policy, “The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy.”

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


Derek DavisonDerek 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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