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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.

News — New US Sanctions on Iran, Syrian Democratic Forces Dissolve, US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

American Prestige brand MREs use Argentinian beef, but don't worry, it's the good kind. In this week’s news: the US launches a new sanctions campaign against Iran (1:35); Iran and Oman negotiate the management of the Strait of Hormuz (5:49); a Haitian gang killing (9:20); the Israeli government takes bids for its E1 settlement (11:52); the US removes Syria from the terrorism sponsors list (14:30); the Syrian Democratic Forces announces its dissolution (15:43); Trump submits the Saudi nuclear deal to Congress (18:31); progress is made in negotiations between the DRC and M23 (23:46); the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to expand (26:26); the CIA director visits Russia (28:07); US-Canada trade talks collapse (31:10); and the United States prepares a deep sea mining auction around overseas territories (35:35).

Don't forget Derek's Substack, ⁠Foreign Exchanges⁠.

Enjoy Danny's new Substack, I⁠mperialist Realism⁠.

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


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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