Danny and Derek once again speak with Mark Ames, co-host of Radio War Nerd, about the state of affairs in Russia and Ukraine. Topics include: the latest round of American aid, what happened with the Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russia re-purposing Soviet military infrastructure, and more.

Danny and Derek welcome back Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, assistant professor in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University, to talk about his edited volume Did It Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism and America. The group explores the utility of the so-called “fascism debate”, its popular resonance since the 2016 election, how Daniel curated the book, analysis of fascism in the Black radical tradition, perceptions of fascism in academia vs. those in organized labor, how social media fuels an otherwise arcane, academic discussion, and more.

Check out the debate on fascism between Danny and Jason Stanley, which Daniel moderated.

Derek sits down with resident AP Iran expert Sina Toossi, senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, to discuss the recent escalations between Israel and Iran. They recap the events of the last several weeks, how domestic politics of Iran, Israel, and the US play into things, the thinking behind the scope of the strikes, how this…

Danny and Derek once more speak with Daniel Hummel, director of the Lumen Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Upper House, to finish our series on Christian Zionism in the United States since 1948. This episode picks up at the beginning of the Obama Administration, touching on Netanyahu’s deepening ties with American Christian Zionists, the …

Danny and Derek update you with what we know so far about Israel’s strikes on Iran last night.

Recorded late morning Eastern Time, Friday, April 19, 2024.

Producer’s note: This was recorded on Thursday, April 18, before Israel’s strike on Iran, hence us releasing this earlier than usual.

It’s the world news roundup with the ever loyal Danny and Derek. This week: Israel plans a retaliation for Iran’s strike last week, Iran floats the possibility of developing nuclear weapons in response (0:31), and plans for an IDF Rafah operation in Gaza are underway (8:09); the US is still pursuing Saudi normalization with Israel (10:40) and vetoes a Palestinian statehood resolution at the UN (13:38); the US is trying to create an “independent” sanctions monitor for the DPRK/North Korea (15:11); in climate news, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering the “worst” bleaching event ever (17:19); in Sudan, the fighting expands into North Darfur (19:46); the UN’s Libya envoy quits in frustration (21:18); a whistleblower says that the US is ignoring the order to withdraw from Niger (23:44); the US pushes back over oil refinery attacks in Ukraine (26:41) while the House of Representatives will take up military aid bills (30:01); and the US will reinstate sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector (32:12).

Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast actor Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name, “Boardwalk Empire”) to discuss his role in the new play Patriots, which portrays billionaire Boris Berezovsky’s (Stuhlbarg) relationship with Vladimir Putin (Will Keen) in 1991. The group discusses the challenges in nuanced portrayals of Berezovsky and Putin, how preparing for the character pushed Michael to reframe his perspective on the end of the USSR, the resonance between the events of the play and the current situation in the United States, notions of homeland and patriotism for Berezovsky, and more.

Patriots is playing now on Broadway through June 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre at 243 West 47 Street. Buy your tickets here.

*Producer’s Note: The “Russia 1985–1999: TraumaZone” documentary series that Michael referenced was created by Adam Curtis.

Danny and Derek are back with updates on the situation after last night’s bombardment on Israel, including international reactions, the potential Israeli response, and more.

Recorded early afternoon ET, April 14, 2024

Danny and Derek speak with Tianyu Fang, MacArthur tech and democracy fellow at New America and contributing editor at Reboot, about the current discourse and legislation around “banning” the social media app TikTok. They explore the previous actions against the company taken by the Trump administration, the TikTok-focused Protecting Americans from Forei…

Danny and Derek give an update on what we know about Iran’s attack against Israel in response to Israel’s April 1 strike on an Iranian embassy in Syria.

Recorded early evening ET, April 13, 2024