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The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba—With Stuart Reid

On this episode of American Prestige, a discussion about the downfall of the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

January 23, 2024

Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba in 1960 crosses the city in a Congolese Army truck after his arrest and return to the captial.(Bettmann / Getty Images)

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The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba with Stuart Reid | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Patrice Lumumba, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become a mythic figure among the left, due in no small part to the CIA’s role in his ousting and assassination less than one year after the start of his premiership. Stuart Reid, editor at Foreign Affairs, joins Derek to discuss the full story of Lumumba’s downfall, as detailed in Reid’s recent book The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Patrice Lumumba, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has become a mythic figure among the left, due in no small part to the CIA’s role in his ousting and assassination less than one year after the start of his premiership.

Stuart Reid, editor at Foreign Affairs, joins Derek to discuss the full story of Lumumba’s downfall, as detailed in Reid’s recent book The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination.

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.

The Nuclear Club, Pt. 2 w/ Jonathan Hunt | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny welcomes back Jonathan Hunt, assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College and a fellow of the Nuclear Security Program at Yale University, to talk about his book The Nuclear Club, which follows the efforts of a select few world powers to maintain exclusive access to nuclear weapons. This second part of the discussion picks up in the mid-1950s after Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speech, non-proliferation movement leaders like Irish foreign minister Frank Aiken, the flexible response policy and other changes to America’s nuclear posture under the Kennedy Administration, the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty, proliferation optimists vs pessimists, and more through the late 1960s.

Note: The views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of the U.S. Department of Defense or its components, to include the Department of the Navy or the U.S. Naval War College.

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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.


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


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