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Inside the American War Machine—With Ben Freeman and William Hartung

Derek and Danny are joined by Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman to discuss the system that drives permanent war for the United States.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

February 18, 2026

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Inside the American War Machine w/ Ben Freeman and William Hartung | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Derek and Danny are joined by Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman to discuss the system that drives permanent war for the United States. They talk about the growth of the Pentagon budget and the bipartisan politics of defense spending; the U.S. dominating the global arms trade and the prevalence of U.S. weapons around the world; the rise of defense tech companies and the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon; the structure of defense lobbying, foreign government lobbying for arms sales, and how contractors benefit; think tank funding, Pentagon involvement in Hollywood and gaming; and public opinion, the national debt, and whether structural change is possible.

Read their book The Trillion Dollar War Machine.

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Derek and Danny are joined by Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman to discuss the system that drives permanent war for the United States.

They talk about the growth of the Pentagon budget and the bipartisan politics of defense spending; the US’s dominating the global arms trade and the prevalence of US weapons around the world; the rise of defense tech companies and the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon; the structure of defense lobbying, foreign government lobbying for arms sales, and how contractors benefit; think tank funding; Pentagon involvement in Hollywood and gaming; and public opinion, the national debt, and whether structural change is possible.

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.

Israel Bombs Lebanon, Iran Halts Hormuz Traffic, Orban Faces Election Defeat | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny “Hollywood” Bessner and Derek “Bethesda” Davison are back with the news. This week: Israel bombs Lebanon and kills hundreds (2:09) as Iran halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response (5:43); the U.S. and Iran prepare for peace talks in Pakistan (8:26); Trump threatens to resume the war if talks fail (13:02); the Gaza Board of Peace demands Hamas provide a disarmament response (14:56); Afghanistan and Pakistan pause talks and agree to avoid escalation (17:16); Myanmar’s parliament elects junta leader Min Aung Hlaing as president (20:04); Vietnam’s National Assembly elects Communist Party chief To Lam as president (21:14); KMT leader Chiang Li-wun visits China to pursue closer ties (22:59); Burkina Faso’s junta leader extends military rule (27:06); Hungarian polling projects Viktor Orban to lose power to the opposition (31:51); Chadian forces deploy to Haiti under a UN-backed mission (34:54); Haiti postpones voter registration amid ongoing violence (37:15); Trump pressures NATO to secure the Strait of Hormuz (41:51).

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Marx Prestige miniseries. New episodes out on Tuesdays!

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Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

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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