Episodes

  • E270 - The Political Power of Police Unions w/ Stuart Schrader

    E270 - The Political Power of Police Unions w/ Stuart Schrader
    Oct 14 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek speak with historian Stuart Schrader about the history and political power of police unions in the U.S. They discuss the rise of police unions in the 1960s, their relationship with organized labor, resistance to the civil rights movement and affirmative action, the role of race in policing, bipartisan support for policing and the 1990s crime bills, the growing political influence of the Border Patrol union, and the future of police reform and abolition. Get your copy of Stuart’s book Blue Power: How Police Organize to Protect and Serve Themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    57 mins
  • Trailer - Welcome to the Crusades: The Second Crusade

    Trailer - Welcome to the Crusades: The Second Crusade
    Oct 14 2026
    Pre-order now!!! Nearly 50 years after the First Crusade made major gains in the Levant, the Crusader states found that they might have bitten off more than they could chew. Danny and Derek, along with Eleanor Janega and Luke Waters of the We're Not So Different pod, return to bring you the story of the Second Crusade. Season premiere Tuesday, October 27! Pre-order now with promo code CRUSADES15 to get season 2 for 15% off! Welcometothecrusades.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    2 mins
  • Bonus - Gaza’s Gravediggers (Part 1) w/ Norman Finkelstein (Preview)

    Bonus - Gaza’s Gravediggers (Part 1) w/ Norman Finkelstein (Preview)
    Oct 12 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with Norman Finkelstein about his intellectual and political journey, in part one of a conversation about his new book, Gaza's Gravediggers. They discuss his years as a Maoist, graduate school at Princeton, how Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon led him to study Zionism, exposing Joan Peters's From Time Immemorial, being blacklisted and his years as an adjunct at Brooklyn College, Mao and the Chinese revolution, the Marxist tradition and Noam Chomsky's influence, his parents' experience in the Warsaw Ghetto and his rejection of nationalism, and why he argues that what's happening in Gaza is a genocide, not a war. Read Norman Finkelstein's book, Gaza's Gravediggers: An Inquiry into Corruption in High Places. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • News - Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Offers Hormuz Deal, Drones Near NATO Military Sites w/ Alex Jordan

    News - Trump-Xi Summit, Iran Offers Hormuz Deal, Drones Near NATO Military Sites w/ Alex Jordan
    Sep 25 2026
    Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and all of our episodes. Don’t forget that AP puts out a YouTube exclusive episode and a video version of our Wednesday episode every week! Studio 54 and Palladium are long gone, so the UN General Assembly is the biggest party New York currently has to offer. Meanwhile, Danny and guest host Alex Jordan bring you the news: Trump welcomes Xi as the U.S. and China extend the Busan trade truce (01:22); at the UNGA, Trump threatens Iran and gloats about U.S. control of Venezuelan oil (5:18); Iran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz with conditions (7:58); Trump and Zelenskyy discuss an energy ceasefire (12:53); the U.S. denies Mahmoud Abbas a visa as Benjamin Netanyahu gives his UN address (15:20); the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland sign an Arctic security deal (18:41); Venezuela pledges elections as Trump secures oil access (20:41); the U.S. seeks a Sudan ceasefire (25:19); the Houthis/Ansar Allah consolidate coastal gains and strike Saudi Arabia (28:03); drones are spotted near NATO military sites in Germany and Poland (31:11); Germany sees the AfD gain ground (34:32); and United Russia wins Russia’s first parliamentary election since the Ukraine invasion (38:21). Watch Alex and Courtney Rawlings on Quincy’s Always at War. And check out the new mockumentary Lords of War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Bonus - The Struggle for Power in Libya w/ Wolfram Lacher (Preview)

    Bonus - The Struggle for Power in Libya w/ Wolfram Lacher (Preview)
    Sep 28 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Derek speaks with Wolfram Lacher, a senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and author of Libya’s Fragmentation, about Libya’s political and military breakdown since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. They discuss Khalifa Haftar and the power dynamics in eastern Libya, militia power and political fragmentation in Tripoli and western Libya, control of Libya’s oil, Turkish and Russian involvement, the spillover of Libya’s conflicts into Mali, Chad, Sudan, and the Sahel, migrant smuggling and detention, Massad Boulos’s power-sharing plan, and the prospects for elections and a political settlement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    11 mins
  • E268 - A Modern History of Assassination w/ Simon Ball

    E268 - A Modern History of Assassination w/ Simon Ball
    Sep 30 2026
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek welcome Simon Ball, professor of international history and politics at the University of Leeds, to the show for a discussion about the history of political assassination in the modern era. They talk about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, political killing as a tool of statecraft, assassination and British imperial rule, its use by Western powers during World War II, the CIA and Cold War assassination programs, the JFK assassination and its surrounding conspiracies, the investigations of the 1970s and Gerald Ford’s ban on the practice, the rise of counter-assassination security, and the strategic limits of assassination. Be sure to grab a copy of Simon’s book Death to Order: A Modern History of Assassination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • News - U.S.-Iran Talks Stall, Russia Nuclear Warning, Brazil Election w/ Alex Jordan

    News - U.S.-Iran Talks Stall, Russia Nuclear Warning, Brazil Election w/ Alex Jordan
    Oct 2 2026
    Subscribe now for an ad-free experience and all of our episodes. As Derek completes the final phase of his vision quest, Alex Jordan of the Always at War podcast fills in once more. In this week’s news: U.S.-Iran talks stall over the order of concessions (1:28); Gulf oil exports return to prewar levels (4:34); Netanyahu uses an attempted seizure of a FlyDubai flight to reinforce his agenda as an election approaches (11:15); in Iraq, the U.S. ends its counter-ISIS mission (16:06); Pete Hegseth launches Project Meridian to study the “future of warfare” (21:35); Trump hosts tech leaders who pledge “tremendous” self-regulation (24:49); British police arrest five men near RAF Fairford amid claims of Iranian involvement (27:23); U.S. intelligence says Saudi Arabia is keeping a nuclear weapons option open (30:06); Russia warns NATO of a nuclear response if Kaliningrad faces a blockade (33:09); Germany’s foreign minister meets Russia’s foreign minister as Russian attacks hit Ukraine’s energy grid (37:27); and Brazil prepares for a presidential election between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro (41:13). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Bonus - The Israel Lobby’s Influence on American Politics w/ Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick (Preview)

    Bonus - The Israel Lobby’s Influence on American Politics w/ Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick (Preview)
    Oct 5 2026
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny speaks with Eli Clifton, senior advisor at the Quincy Institute, and Ian Lustick, professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, about how the Israel lobby helps shape American politics and foreign policy. They discuss the changing nature of the Israel lobby, billionaire donors and campaign finance, Christian Zionism and declining evangelical support for Israel, U.S. support for Israel after October 7, suppression of criticism of Israel, shifting generational attitudes toward Israel, antisemitism and right-wing opposition to Israel, and Donald Trump’s relationship with pro-Israel megadonors. Grab your copy of Eli and Ian’s book Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    11 mins