On the latest American Prestige.
Nicolás Maduro is seen in handcuffs after landing in Manhattan on January 5, 2026. (XNY / Star Max / GC Images)
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Danny and Derek are joined by historian Greg Grandin to go in depth on the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela. They talk about the removal of Nicolás Maduro while leaving the existing state structure intact, implying America’s preference for coercion over governance; the role of oil in U.S. rhetoric; internal divisions within the Trump administration; comparisons to past interventions in the region; and the weakening of regional resistance to U.S. dominance. The group also looks at Venezuela amid a shifting global order with declining hegemony, rising multipolarity, and limited state capacity for the U.S.
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Danny and Derek are joined by historian and Nation contributor Greg Grandin to go in depth on the recent US operation in Venezuela. They talk about the removal of Nicolás Maduro while leaving the existing state structure intact, implying America’s preference for coercion over governance; the role of oil in US rhetoric; internal divisions within the Trump administration; comparisons to past interventions in the region; and the weakening of regional resistance to US dominance. The group also looks at Venezuela amid a shifting global order with declining hegemony, rising multipolarity, and limited state capacity for the US.
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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.
Danny and Derek must disclose that they have had Hasan Piker on this program. They are listening and learning from him. In this week’s news: Israel bombs a Syrian airbase, potentially moving closer to a conflict with Turkey (1:22); Jared Kushner and Benjamin Netanyahu agree to scrap the Gaza Board of Peace's Hamas disarmament plan (7:09); the Iran MOU expires as Trump escalates the economic war (9:20); the Islamic Republic might restart the shooting war (13:36); the Pentagon and Arab governments rethink America’s military presence in the Gulf (15:58); Trump curtails military exercises with South Korea, possibly moving toward diplomacy with North Korea/DPRK (18:53); the Sudanese military concludes a new cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia (24:47); the Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to expand (27:39); in Ukraine, Zelenskyy faces calls for new elections (30:06); Trump suspends new tariffs on Canada (33:01); the U.S. moves Operation Southern Spear onto land (34:50); and a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report details the cost of the new “Trump class” battleships (36:45).
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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.
Greg GrandinTwitterGreg Grandin, a Nation editorial board member, is the Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History at Yale University. His book The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. His latest book is America, América: A New History of the New World.