Episodios

  • Bonus - Star Wars, Empire, and the Politics of The Phantom Menace w/ Daniel Immerwahr (Preview)

    Bonus - Star Wars, Empire, and the Politics of The Phantom Menace w/ Daniel Immerwahr (Preview)
    Apr 12 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode! Danny welcomes back to the show historian Daniel Immerwahr to talk about the political and ideological themes of Star Wars, particularly The Phantom Menace. They discuss George Lucas’s Vietnam War influences and anti-imperial framework; myth and generational conflict in the original trilogy; the rise of intellectual property and Silicon Valley ideology; the shift from rebellion to bureaucracy in The Phantom Menace; its depiction of trade, governance, and liberal institutional decay; the racialized and cultural representations in the prequels; the transformation of the Jedi into enforcers; technology and scientism; and how The Phantom Menace reflects the politics of the late 1990s “end of history” moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 m
  • News - Israel Bombs Lebanon, Iran Halts Hormuz Traffic, Orban Faces Election Defeat

    News - Israel Bombs Lebanon, Iran Halts Hormuz Traffic, Orban Faces Election Defeat
    Apr 10 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny “Hollywood” Bessner and Derek “Bethesda” Davison are back with the news. This week: Israel bombs Lebanon and kills hundreds (2:09) as Iran halts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in response (5:43); the U.S. and Iran prepare for peace talks in Pakistan (8:26); Trump threatens to resume the war if talks fail (13:02); the Gaza Board of Peace demands Hamas provide a disarmament response (14:56); Afghanistan and Pakistan pause talks and agree to avoid escalation (17:16); Myanmar’s parliament elects junta leader Min Aung Hlaing as president (20:04); Vietnam’s National Assembly elects Communist Party chief To Lam as president (21:14); KMT leader Chiang Li-wun visits China to pursue closer ties (22:59); Burkina Faso’s junta leader extends military rule (27:06); Hungarian polling projects Viktor Orban to lose power to the opposition (31:51); Chadian forces deploy to Haiti under a UN-backed mission (34:54); Haiti postpones voter registration amid ongoing violence (37:15); Trump pressures NATO to secure the Strait of Hormuz (41:51). Don’t forget to subscribe to the Marx Prestige miniseries. New episodes out on Tuesdays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    47 m
  • Special - The Iran Ceasefire (Preview)

    Special - The Iran Ceasefire (Preview)
    Apr 8 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek talk about the announced Iran ceasefire, getting into the terms and uncertainty around the two-week ceasefire, disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and potential tolling, whether Lebanon is included in the agreement, the feasibility of the negotiating demands, internal U.S. political and military tensions, Iranian claims of victory and possible Chinese involvement, Israeli reactions, and how Gulf states and global actors are responding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 m
  • Why Marx Now? w/ Andrew Hartman

    Why Marx Now? w/ Andrew Hartman
    Apr 7 2026
    Danny and Derek speak with Andrew Hartman about their new miniseries Marx Prestige and the relevance of Marxist thought in this day and age. They talk about Marxist theories of imperialism, state spending on war versus social welfare, financialization and the shift from wages to assets, automation and AI in relation to labor, the decline of American hegemony, and the relationship between capitalism and war. Read Andrew's book Karl Marx in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 m
  • E253 - Europe, Iran, and the Transatlantic Relationship w/ Eldar Mamedov

    E253 - Europe, Iran, and the Transatlantic Relationship w/ Eldar Mamedov
    Apr 7 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome to the show Eldar Mamedov, foreign policy expert and non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute, to talk about Europe’s response to the war in Iran. They discuss European support and hesitation toward the US-Israel attack, inconsistencies in international law, shifts in European rhetoric as the war continues, fears over economic fallout and energy disruption, Europe’s loss of leverage after the nuclear deal collapsed, dependence on the United States for security, domestic political pressures in Europe, and the prospects for diplomacy with Iran and Russia. See more of Eldar’s work at the Quincy Institute. Don't forget to download our new miniseries Marx Prestige. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    51 m
  • Unlocked: Cuba, Economic Warfare, and the Democratic Party w/ Hasan Piker

    Unlocked: Cuba, Economic Warfare, and the Democratic Party w/ Hasan Piker
    Apr 6 2026
    Danny and Derek speak with Hasan Piker about his recent trip to Cuba and the broader political moment in the United States. They talk about the Democratic Party’s internal crisis and relationship to the media, his role in intra-party debates, left populism and electoral strategy, the Cuba aid flotilla and the effects of U.S. sanctions, the material impact of the blockade on Cuban society, and the prospects for future U.S.-Cuba relations. Don't forget to check out our new series, ⁠Marx Prestige⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 1 m
  • Bonus - The Medievalist's Guide to Easter w/ Eleanor Janega (Preview)

    Bonus - The Medievalist's Guide to Easter w/ Eleanor Janega (Preview)
    Apr 5 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek welcome back Eleanor Janega to discuss the history and meaning of Easter in Christianity. They talk about the centrality of the resurrection in Christian belief, how Easter was understood in early Christianity and the Middle Ages, the relationship between Easter and Passover, debates over the nature of Jesus and the Trinity, the origins of common Easter myths about pagan festivals, and the origins of modern traditions like eggs and the Easter bunny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    10 m
  • News - Trump Extends Iran War, Israel Expands Lebanon Occupation, Russian Tanker Reaches Cuba

    News - Trump Extends Iran War, Israel Expands Lebanon Occupation, Russian Tanker Reaches Cuba
    Apr 3 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Derek is monitoring The Situation, so Always at War’s Alex Jordan is back to deliver the news with Danny. This week: Trump extends the Iran war without an exit plan (4:02); the U.S. weighs a commando raid to seize Iranian uranium (10:04); Iran threatens U.S. companies after striking a Kuwaiti tanker (13:17); the Hormuz closure drives shortages and price shocks across the global economy (18:43); Europe sees NATO tensions rise as France blocks U.S. overflights and Trump threatens Ukraine aid (22:20); Israel deepens its occupation of southern Lebanon and kills UN peacekeepers (26:42); in Gaza, the Board of Peace proposes faction disarmament before reconstruction (29:28); Israel passes a race-based death penalty law for Palestinians (32:07); a Russian tanker reaches Cuba with oil despite the U.S. blockade (34:17); the U.S. and China prepare a summit amid wider global tensions (36:39); in Sudan, the RSF seizes Kermuk in Blue Nile state (39:13); South Sudan’s peace process collapses as elections lose credibility (40:14); and the UK cuts aid to Africa to fund higher defense spending (41:55). Don’t forget to check out our new miniseries, Marx Prestige. New episodes out weekly! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    48 m