How Land Determines Our Fate
On American Prestige: Michael Albertus on his new book, Land Power.

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Michael Albertus, professor of political science at the University of Chicago, joins the program to talk about his bookLand Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies. The group explores notions of land from archaeological evidence thousands of years ago, the enclosure movement of the medieval era, the European mindset vs those of indigenous peoples in the era of colonization, South Africa land redistribution, gender in Canadian homesteading, how changing notions of land play into larger histories of race, the postwar of concept of “land to the tiller,” and much more.
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– A worker stands inside the paw paw farm owned by Matsamo Community Property Association (Matsamo CPA) in the Kaalrug area near Malalane on March 12, 2025. The Matsamo Communal Property Association (CPA) now owns over 14,000 hectares which they farm in two joint ventures, as one of the rare models of successful land reform in South Africa.
(Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images)Michael Albertus, professor of political science at the University of Chicago, joins the program to talk about his book Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies. The group explores notions of land from archaeological evidence thousands of years ago, the enclosure movement of the medieval era, the European mindset vs. those of indigenous peoples in the era of colonization, South Africa land redistribution, gender in Canadian homesteading, how changing notions of land play into larger histories of race, the postwar of concept of “land to the tiller,” and much more.
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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 welcomes back to the show his very own co-host, Danny Bessner, to talk about his new book, Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century, and how we see imperialist realism in American foreign policy and popular culture. They talk about the concept’s inspiration from the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the end of mass politics, the decline of grand ideology in U.S. foreign policy, the core features of imperialist realism, the Protestant missionary roots of American foreign policy, imperialist realism in pop culture, and a democratic socialist alternative to current U.S. foreign policy.
Order your copy of the book now.
Read the new piece from Danny’s Imperialist Realism Substack, “Empire of Grunge.”
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