On this episode of American Prestige: Daniel Waite Penny discusses the new season of Carbon Bros.
Pumpjacks lift oil from wells at the Midway-Sunset Oil Field, California’s largest, in Fellows, near Taft, on October 17, 2025.(Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)
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Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Drilled, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes, and Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; and the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action.
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Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Drilled, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes; Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action.
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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.
Derek has journeyed to Bolivia seeking contact with the newly discovered cat species, so Alex Jordan of Always at Warsteps in to bring you the headlines. This week: in New Delhi, BRICS member states issue a fractured joint statement on restraint in the Middle East (1:12); Iran strikes a U.S.-contracted vessel near the Strait of Hormuz (5:42); a cyberattack disables Texas-bound tankers (8:30); a new Pentagon report puts the Iran war’s cost at $33.4 billion (9:59); the Houthis/Ansar Allah advance in Taiz and hit Saudi Arabia (14:46); Yemeni government forces strike back while the U.S. rules out direct involvement (19:00); China pushes Iran to restrain the Houthis (22:37); an Israeli strike collapses a building in Gaza City, killing at least 21 people (25:12); the U.S. approves a $2.8 billion weapons sale to Israel (27:34); Russia and Ukraine strike each other’s energy infrastructure (30:57); the House passes a Russia sanctions bill named in honor of Lindsey Graham (33:37); a banking scandal roils Brazil’s presidential race (37:53); and in Sweden, a left-wing bloc narrowly wins an election (41:12).
Don’t forget to grab your copy of Danny’s new book 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.