Danny and Derek welcome writer Paul Heideman to talk about the shift of the Republican Party from the party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition
President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Alex Brandon-Pool / Getty Images)
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Danny and Derek welcome to the show writer Paul Heideman to talk about the transformation of the Republican Party from the main party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition. They discuss the historical relationship between Republicans and capital, the disorganization of American employers, the political economy of the 1970s crisis, Reagan-era fragmentation, Gingrich and fundraising, globalization and bipartisan neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Koch network and Tea Party, Republicanism after Romney, the conditions that enabled Trump’s rise, and much more.
Read Paul’s book Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos.
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Danny and Derek welcome to the show writer Paul Heideman to talk about the transformation of the Republican Party from the main party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition. They discuss the historical relationship between Republicans and capital, the disorganization of American employers, the political economy of the 1970s crisis, Reagan-era fragmentation, Gingrich and fundraising, globalization and bipartisan neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Koch network and Tea Party, Republicanism after Romney, the conditions that enabled Trump’s rise, and much more.
Read Paul’s book Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.
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 returned, but he keeps trying to get Danny to go to some seminar led by a charismatic “mentor” he encountered in his travels. In this week’s news: war breaks out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (0:43); Flavio Bolsonaro wins the first round of Brazil’s presidential election as the right makes major gains (6:46); in Yemen, the government’s counteroffensive against Ansar Allah stalls (9:51), the group attacks airports in Saudi Arabia and Yemen (12:40), and Saudi Arabia seeks outside military support (13:42); the U.S. prepares to resume its war against Iran as the Islamic Republic intensifies attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz (17:44); in Japan, a U.S. Marine’s arrest for alleged murder sparks protests against the American military presence on Okinawa (22:18); Sudan’s military advances in North Kordofan (25:20) and Sudanese military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejects peace talks (28:06); in Mali, Tuareg rebels withdraw from Kidal as government forces retake the town (29:54); the U.S. and the WHO seek information about suspected plague cases at a Russian lab (29:54); Russian attacks across Ukraine kill at least 25 (32:57); Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls a snap election (35:00); the U.S. bombs another alleged drug boat in the Caribbean (37:12); and Trump creates a new AI task force called the Super Intelligence Force (38:12).
Note: Since recording, Trump has said that the U.S. will not attack Iran before the November midterm elections.
Watch a replay of last night’s livestream with journalist Michael Fox about Brazil’s elections.
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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.