The Nation Podcasts

Writing in Foreign Policy, Matt Duss argues that Donald Trump’s rush to war is bothstupid and illegal. It is also wildly unpopular with the public. But he also observes thatcongress has been reluctant to challenge Trump’s policy, although some progressiveshave now forced the issue to a vote. Matt is a frequent guest of the show and foreignpolicy expert. I talked to him about the dangers of a new war and also the largersystematic problems of the imperial presidency.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jo takes us on a whirlwind tour of their recent reading, including Mary Helen Washington’s Paule Marshall: A Writer’s Life, and Charlotte explains why Susanna Moore’s In the Cut is one of the most thrilling novels she’s ever encountered. Then, the profoundly thoughtful Jamie Hood joins to explore the many boyfriends and political disappointments of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook. Jamie Hood is the author, most recently, of Trauma Plot: A Life, the hybrid pandemic diary how to be a good girl, the semi-monthly, Proust-infused newsletter, regards, marcel, and a book of love poems, forthcoming in 2026. She has written extensively on books, feminism, #MeToo, and other political matters for many publications, some of them even prestigious. She lives in Brooklyn.Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest and book coverage requests! Questions and comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com. Outro music by Marty Sulkow and Joe Valle.Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free, and her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Warner Brothers shamefully won’t consider Danny and Derek’s aggressive offer. In this week’s news: U.S.-Iran nuclear talks resume in Geneva amid reports that the White House is weighing strike options (0:54), plus Trump claims in his State of the Union that Iran is building nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (9:58); on the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine invasion, the EU fails to advance new Russia sanctions and a Ukraine loan package due to Hungarian interference (12:28); fighting again intensifies in the eastern DRC (15:53); Mexican authorities kill alleged cartel leader El Mencho, triggering widespread violence (18:49); the Committee to Protect Journalists reports a record number of media workers killed in 2025, mostly killed by Israel (22:07); the UAE backs construction of Israeli-controlled camps in Rafah (23:25); the U.S. extends consular services to West Bank settlements (25:34); the so-called Islamic State declares a “new phase” of operations in Syria (27:37); Pakistan launches cross-border strikes into Afghanistan amid renewed tensions (29:16); the RSF massacres civilians in North Darfur (31:44); a diplomatic spat erupts between Washington and Paris over rhetoric on left-wing violence (33:22); Cuba faces a firefight off its coast and limited U.S. easing of fuel restrictions for private firms (35:44); Trump proposes sending a hospital ship to Greenland (38:51); and the Supreme Court overturns Trump’s tariffs as the administration moves to reimpose duties via alternative means (41:14).Grab a copy of Danny and Michael Brenes’ edited volume Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency. Use the discount code BESSNER26.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Amanda Hanna-McLeer and Lucy Jackson to discuss the story of The Luddite Club, from its beginnings as a high school organization to its pivot into a non-profit and growth into an international movement.Amanda Hanna-McLeer is a writer, educator, and director of The Luddite Club documentary. Lucy Jackson is an early member of the Luddite Club.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Trump’s State of the Union speech was predictable, but nevertheless revealing of his state of mind. John Nichols has our analysis.Also: In 1949 when Jackie Robinson appeared before HUAC, the House Un-American Activities Committee, to discredit Paul Robeson. Howard Bryant talks about why that happened, and what happened afterwards - to each of them. His new book is “Kings and Pawns.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek and Danny are joined by Dalia Dassa Kaye to talk about the decades-long hostility between the U.S. and Iran and the current escalation between the two countries. They talk about the odds of war and the absence of clear objectives; talk of “regime change”; the legacy of the hostage crisis and the Iran-Contra hangover; the domestic incentives that make diplomacy “too costly”; the post-9/11 opportunity to mend relations and how it collapsed after the “Axis of Evil” speech; how U.S. leaders frame Iran as uniquely fanatical and unchangeable; and how Israel’s interests and domestic U.S. politics constrain policy change.Read Dalia’s book Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Charlotte and Jo revisit Rebecca Novack’s Murder Bimbo before taking a quick tour of the Russian Civil War and comrade crushes through Nikolai Ostrovsky’s How The Steel Was Tempered. They’re then joined by the scintillating Brittany Newell, who meditates on contemporary fiction, cities at night, and Samuel R. Delany's indelible Times Square Red, Times Square Blue. Also discussed in this episode: Emma Cline’s The Guest and Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection.Brittany Newell is a writer and performer living in San Francisco. Her debut novel Oola was published in 2017 at the age of 21 in the US, UK, and Germany. You can find her written work in Granta, n+1, McSweeney's, The New York Times, and others. Her second novel Soft Core was published by FSG in February 2025 in the US, UK, and France. She is at work on a third novel about love addiction, emotional vampires, and cannibalism. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com.Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute. To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWritersAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by James Vincent to discuss why we’re seeing humanoid robots everywhere, the motivations to pursue an all-purpose robot, how close we are to achieving that goal, and the social implications if we were to achieve it.James Vincent is a UK-based journalist and author of Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Trump, facing the wave of popular opposition to pretty much everything he’s doing, is working to block Democrats from voting in the midterms, and “election protection” has become a key part of the preparations underway from blue state attorneys general and from voting rights groups like the Brennan Center and the ACLU. Harold Meyerson explains.Also: A large proportion of slaves who escaped from slavery in the South escaped not on foot, but by boat. Marcus Rediker tells their story - his new book is Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Derek and Danny are joined by Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman to discuss the system that drives permanent war for the United States. They talk about the growth of the Pentagon budget and the bipartisan politics of defense spending; the U.S. dominating the global arms trade and the prevalence of U.S. weapons around the world; the rise of defense tech companies and the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon; the structure of defense lobbying, foreign government lobbying for arms sales, and how contractors benefit; think tank funding, Pentagon involvement in Hollywood and gaming; and public opinion, the national debt, and whether structural change is possible.Read their book The Trillion Dollar War Machine.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

At last, the audio from December's Bookforum x Reading Writers live holiday event! The justly celebrated novelist Stephanie Wambugu joins Charlotte and Jo to talk about the controversial and inescapable Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico.Stephanie Wambugu is the author of the novel Lonely Crowds. Her work has appeared in The Drift, The Nation, Granta, Frieze, Bookforum. She lives and works in New York. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon, where you can access additional materials and send us your guest (and book!) coverage requests. Questions and kind comments can be directed to readingwriterspod at gmail dot com.Charlotte Shane’s most recent book is An Honest Woman. Her essay newsletter, Meant For You, can be subscribed to or read online for free. Her social media handle is @charoshane.  Jo Livingstone is a writer who teaches at Pratt Institute.To support the show, navigate to https://www.patreon.com/ReadingWritersAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek feel that their ice dance routine was strong, but ultimately respect the IOC judges. In this week’s news: the first round of indirect U.S.-Iran talks begin in Oman (0:31); new Israeli security cabinet measures move forward de facto annexation in the West Bank (4:26); Indonesia is prepared to send troops for a proposed Gaza stabilization force (7:23); Israel uses its 2023 law to revoke the citizenship of Palestinian Israelis for the first time (9:07); RSF forces launch drone strikes in Sudan’s Kordofan region and open a new offensive in Blue Nile state (11:08); fighting resumes around Uvira in the eastern DRC (14:43); elections are held in Bangladesh (17:57), Thailand (19:58), Japan (22:08), and Portugal (23:26); the new START deal with Russia expires (25:24); the Trump administration sets a June deadline to end the Ukraine war (27:47); Keir Starmer faces political fallout over his connection to Jeffrey Epstein (29:43); Haiti’s transitional council dissolves without organizing elections (31:52); Cuba approaches collapse as fuel shortages worsen (33:54); organizers prepare for the inaugural “Board of Peace” meeting (37:40); Trump orders the Pentagon to purchase coal-based electricity (39:17); and the FAA briefly shuts down airspace over El Paso after a misidentified party balloon (41:08).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by Thea Riofrancos to discuss the global struggle to move away from fossil fuels and the future of the green transition, including the limitations of existing supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and the tech industry's role in the growth of extractive industries.Thea Riofrancos is the author of Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism. She is also Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College and Strategic Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The size and scale of the resistance to ICE in Minneapolis is too vast to fully comprehend. John Nichols has our report – he’s The Nation’s executive editor, and he’s just spent several days talking to the city’s leaders and activists.Also: Democrats could win a Senate seat in Texas this November. Texas is not so much a red state as it is a low-turnout state. Steve Phillips analyzes Jasmine Crockett’s campaign for the Democratic nomination, which relies on organizing non-voters and reluctant voters.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Journalist Borzou Daragahi joins Danny and Derek to talk about the end of international journalism as we know it. They talk about how podcasting and alternative media both depend on and undermine legacy reporting, the economic pressures on foreign desks, the shift to commentary and “quick takes”, the limits of newsletters and Substack as newsroom replacements; the role of tech in accelerating these changes, and more.Read Borzou’s piece “Your Podcast Leeches Off My News Outlet.”Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Over at Talking Points Memo, Josh Kovensky has written an essay on the Trumpadministration’s use of anti-terrorism law to target political groups it doesn’t like.In that piece, Kovensky notes,"Across the country, federal prosecutors are upgrading what would have been routineprosecutions into terrorism cases when they involve people President Trump has cast as hispolitical enemies.It represents a dramatic departure from how the Justice Department has historically used thefederal material support for terrorism statute. For decades, counterterrorism prosecutors havelargely reserved the statute — 2339A — for the kinds of audacious plots that wreak real, lastingdamage or whose ambition forms the stuff of movie screenplays."I spoke to Kovensky about his essay and the history and politics of this dangerous legalinnovation.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek are still in talks with The Muppets' people about an appearance, so we’ll keep things buttoned up for now. This week: The U.S. and Iran hold talks in Oman, averting an U.S. strike for the moment (0:31); in Gaza, Israeli strikes kill dozens while Rafah reopens under tight restrictions amid concerns over “slow motion” displacement (5:58); the Trump administration’s Gaza “reconstruction” effort raises more red flags (8:48); Reuters reports that the Biden administration suppressed a USAID memo on Gaza’s humanitarian conditions with potential legal implications (12:07); Syria’s government and the SDF announce a new agreement to integrate SDF forces and administrators into the Syrian state (14:39); Sudan’s military claims it has opened a road into besieged Kadugli as militants make gains elsewhere (17:44); Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is assassinated in Zintan, Libya (20:57); in Nigeria’s Kwara State, gunmen kill roughly 170 people in an allegedly jihadist-linked attack (23:44); U.S.-Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi yield little on ending the war, but Washington and Moscow agree to keep honoring New START’s terms (25:29); Pakistan launches a massive counterinsurgency campaign in Balochistan with the death toll approaching 300 (28:21); Trump touts a major U.S.-India trade framework, but key details remain unclear (30:12); Trump signs a new Cuba executive order increasing pressure around oil supplies (33:16); the U.S. president also hosts Colombia’s Gustavo Petro after recent threats (35:33); and the State Department holds a critical minerals conference as Trump announces “Project Vault” and Japan tests environmentally risky deep-sea mining (37:15).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paris Marx is joined by AS Hamrah to discuss the proposed Netflix-Warner Bros Discovery merger and what it might mean for the state of decline already facing modern cinema.AS Hamrah is a film critic at n+1 and the author of Algorithm of the Night and Last Week in End Times Cinema.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The next two weeks Democrats in Congress will be working to use the budget to set limits on ICE-to require judicial warrants, masks off and body cameras on, and to set use of force standards. John Nichols, The Nation’s executive editor, will comment.Also: The Super Bowl is by far the biggest entertainment event of the year in the US, and this Sunday the halftime show will feature Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who has been demanding “ICE Out!” How did the Super Bowl halftime show become the center of resistance to ICE? Dave Zirin, The Nation’s sports editor, will explain.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Danny and Derek are joined by sociologist Paul Starr to talk about the transformation of American politics from the postwar period to the present. They discuss the idea of a foundational American contradiction, how the civil rights movement helped break the midcentury political consensus, why economic inequality and labor decline reshaped party coalitions, immigration, the expansion of presidential power, the erosion of institutional legitimacy, and how these changes contributed to the rise of both Obama and Trump.Read Paul’s book American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now.Recorded in December 2025Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy