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Ukraine Talks Collapse, India Threatens Pakistan’s Water Supply, IDF Operation Gideon’s Chariots | American Prestige May 23, 2025

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This week in the American Prestige news roundup: the Ukraine peace talks collapse (3:30) as Trump stuns European allies with his sudden pivot back to positions beneficial to Russia (7:21); in EU elections, a Romanian centrist wins the presidency (11:06), a Polish centrist wins the first round of the presidential election leading to a runoff (13:27), and the Portuguese center-right wins that country’s parliamentary election (14:46); India continues to threaten Pakistani water levels (17:05); South African president Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House goes awry (20:04); in Israel-Palestine, the IDF begins Operation Gideon’s Chariots (23:58), the Israelis allow “minimal” aid into Gaza, but no distribution (27:13), and a European backlash follows the IDF’s operation and a West Bank shooting incident involving diplomats (31:18); Israel again appears to be preparing to strike Iran (35:17); Evo Morales is excluded from the presidential ballot in Bolivia (38:23); a New Cold War update featuring China pledging additional money to the WHO after a pandemic agreement (40:57); and Trump announces the Golden Dome project (43:47).

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Generative AI is Not Inevitable w/ Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna | Tech Won't Save Us May 22, 2025

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On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us, Paris Marx is joined by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna to discuss some of the harms caused by generative AI, address the industry's ploys to keep the public invested while companies flounder under the weight of unmet promises, and what folks can do to push back.

Emily M. Bender is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at University of Washington. Alex Hanna is Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. They are the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want.

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Jamie Raskin on 'A Rally a Day,' plus the Books of 1925 | Start Making Sense May 21, 2025

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“A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that’s what Jamie Raskin says. He’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump’s “world historical grift,” and why we shouldn’t be pessimistic about defeating his efforts.

Also: 20 minutes without Trump: 1925 is being celebrated this year as the centenary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzerald -- but we’re interested in some of the other books published that year. So we turn to Tom Lutz – his new book is titled “1925: A Literary Encyclopedia.” It’s 800 pages long, and only 7 are on “Gatsby."

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Henri Bergson's Restless World w/ Emily Herring | American Prestige May 20, 2025

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On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome Emily Herring, a writer based in Paris, to the program. They discuss her new book, Herald of a Restless World: How Henri Bergson Brought Philosophy to the People. The conversation delves into Henri Bergson's philosophy and its enduring relevance, particularly concerning contemporary anxieties surrounding the mechanization of the world, the dehumanizing potential of algorithms and artificial intelligence, the dangers of quantification and rigid categorization, and the perceived erosion of human creativity and the more enjoyable aspects of human experience.

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Jacob Silverman on Cryptocurrency's Shadiest Dealings Under Trump | The Nation Podcast May 19, 2025

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On this episode of The Nation Podcast, Jacob Silverman joins the show to discuss how the cryptocurrency industry has long evaded regulation, and how it’s now deeply enmeshed with the Trump administration’s most corrupt dealings. Silverman's feature, “Coin-Operated: The Crypto Industry’s Takeover of American Politics,” appears in the June issue of The Nation.

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The Perils and Promise of Trump’s Middle East Gamble | The Time of Monsters with Jeet Heer May 18, 2025

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On his latest trip to the Middle East, Donald Trump is making big news. He’s indicating a receptiveness to making a deal with Iran trading normalization for nuclear non-proliferation. He ended the bombing campaign against Yemen and is also pushing for normalization with Syria. Further, the White House has sidestepped Israel in order to have direct talks with Hamas. These moves have angered some hawks in the GOP as well as the Israeli government. But will Trump’s attempt to shift America’s policy in the Middle East pay off, especially given his record of erratic attention to details and sudden shifts in direction? To assess the situation I spoke with Trita Parsi of The Quincy Institute, who recently wrote about these matters for The American Conservative.

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Trump's Gulf Tour & Deals, Gaza Updates, US Habeas Corpus | American Prestige May 16, 2025

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Alex Jordan rejoins the show to see if he can impersonate Danny as well as he impersonated Derek a couple of weeks ago. He and Derek discuss the India-Pakistan ceasefire, Donald Trump’s big Persian Gulf tour (filled with Deals, Bribes, and announcements about Syrian sanctions and Iranian nuclear talks), the latest developments in Gaza, the US-China tariff pause, the PKK’s major disarmament announcement, a new round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, major clashes between militias in Libya, the arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US, Luis Arce’s decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race, the sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for daring to contradict President Trump, and whether or not the US is still going to have habeas corpus for much longer.

You can watch Alex Jordan on the Quincy Institute’s inaugural episode of the YouTube program “Always at War," which he co-hosted with Courtney Rawlings.

Topics:

01:23 India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement.

04:18 Trump's Persian Gulf tour and deals.

07:49 Trump's announcement regarding Syria sanctions.

10:40 Efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

15:28 Israeli efforts to displace Palestinians in Gaza.

17:24 New US-led humanitarian foundation for Gaza.

21:27 Release of American-Israeli hostage by Hamas.

26:46 US-China trade war detente.

29:13 PKK announces major disarmament.

32:19 Diplomatic efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war.

35:45 Major clashes between militias in Libya.

39:33 Arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US.

41:17 Luis Arce’s decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race.

43:09 Sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for contradicting President Trump.

46:04 Potential suspension of habeas corpus in the US.

48:47 Habeas corpus suspension and executive power.

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Elon Musk is Remaking the US Space Program w/ Tim Fernholz | Tech Won't Save Us May 15, 2025

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On this episode of Tech Won't Save Us,Paris Marx is joined by Tim Fernholz to discuss how Elon Musk’s influence in the White House is shaping the US Space Program, why he’s pushing NASA toward Mars instead of the Moon, and whether the Starship rocket is in trouble.

Tim Fernholz is a senior reporter at Payload Space and the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race.

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Antisemitism and Free Speech, plus Farewell to Musk | Start Making Sense May 14, 2025

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What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from antisemitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.

Also: Trump’s partnership in Washington with his biggest donor, Elon Musk, is coming to an end. The richest man in the world, who made the biggest campaign contribution in history, is going home the clear loser in this affair. Historian David Nasaw comments.

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Amy Littlefield on Why We Have to Defend All Abortions | The Nation Podcast May 13, 2025

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On this episode of The Nation Podcast, abortion access correspondent Amy Littlefield joins D.D. Guttenplan to discuss the reality of later-term abortions—and how, even though Roe v. Wade may have been overturned, the conservative crusade to eliminate abortion access rages on.

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