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Noam Chomsky and the Fight Against Empire

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Daniel Bessner on a radical critic’s achievements and the limits of protest.

Jeet Heer

March 9, 2025

Noam Chomsky photographed at his office at MIT.(Rick Friedman / Corbis via Getty Images)

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Noam Chomsky and the Fight Against Empire | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of The Time of Monsters, Daniel Bessner on a radical critic’s achievements and the limits of protest.

For nearly seven decades, Noam Chomsky has been the most important critic of American foreign policy. Daniel Besser, co-host of the Nation podcast American Prestige, recently reviewed for the magazine a new book authored by Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson, The Myth of American Idealism. In his review, Daniel both extolled Chomsky’s monumental achievement and raised questions about the weakness of antiwar movements in challenging the terrible policies that Chomsky has so diligently analyzed.

Daniel and I talked about Chomsky’s legacy as well as the way the establishment has been able to success thwart popular resistance.

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For nearly seven decades, Noam Chomsky has been the most important critic of American foreign policy. Daniel Besser, co-host of the Nation podcast American Prestige, recently reviewed for the magazine a new book authored by Chomsky and Nathan J. Robinson, The Myth of American Idealism. In his review, Daniel both extolled Chomsky’s monumental achievement and raised questions about the weakness of antiwar movements in challenging the terrible policies that Chomsky has so diligently analyzed.Daniel and I talked about Chomsky’s legacy as well as the way the establishment has been able to success thwart popular resistance.

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 Triumph of Mamdani and the DSA w/ Ross Barkan / The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer
byThe Nation Magazine

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a very good night on Tuesday: a slate of candidates he endorsed won in Democratic primaries in both state and congressional races. This victory was shared by the Democratic Socialists of America, which is now clearly replacing the old political machines in its ability to get out the vote. Ross Barkan wrote about these elections for The Nation and joins the podcast to tell the story of the rising left in urban America.

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Jeet HeerTwitterJeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly Nation podcast, The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column “Morbid Symptoms.” The author of In Love with Art: Francoise Mouly’s Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman (2013) and Sweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles (2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Prospect, The GuardianThe New Republic, and The Boston Globe.


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