Radio War Nerd EP #593 — American Prestige Crossover
Co-hosts: American Prestige
Recorded: March 27, 2026
We're joined by Danny Bessner and Derek Davison of American Prestige for our first crossover ep to discuss the US-Israel war on Iran and the condition of the American Empire.
Subscribe to American Prestige and Derek's newsletter Foreign Exchanges.
Buy Danny's new book (he edited and wrote the intro): Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency
Total time: 1:20:17
Direct link to this episode's mp3 here
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Buy & review John Dolan's new book, They Should Have Been Hanged: War Nerd Essays on the U.S. Civil War
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Sound production by Telescope Audio
Comments (84)
Gonna need a source on Iraqi Shia assassin cult, team! Wanna learn more about that.
“Limited hangout” I think was the phrase mark was searching for about an hour in
I hate to and never post anything online, in any context, but as an academic who used to teach an Empires course, I had to share how much I enjoyed this episode. The connections between this latest overreach and the US as a historical imperial project, and how it compares to other Empires was genuinely insightful and fascinating. I want to share it with everyone I know, particularly Dem-brained academic friends. Could this be unlocked? I think its piercing view of the past and possible future of Imperial power would be really informative and useful to a lot of people at a time when there is a heap of interest in this space (from non-nerds). I’m sure the American Prestige boys would support an unlock too! Anyway, I’m a recent subscriber and am loving the feed, lads. Thanks!
Agreed, I’d love to share this one.
You have to assume that for Israel the idea that personnel changes might deliver them a strategic victory is down stream of how Nasser's early death bennifited them
And fwiw, I would hope there is also some degree of recognition among whoever the serious nationally connected leftist orgs are that protest movements are an absolute dead end, and they do nothing but put otherwise useful people into a spiral of rage and helplessness from which there is no escape. We need a massive, serious, well funded left anti war populist 3rd party, anything and everything else is doomed
The absence of anti war protests is disturbing, but not that surprising. There is serious burnout from Gaza solidarity and national guard + ice deployment. It's Trump's strategy to flood the zone, and it works, but I don't think it's helpful to overthink or get too heady about why there's no anti war protests happening. This is also a very surreal "war." Once troops hit the ground and then the coffins, protests will erupt
Greg Grandin brain here, but Saudi money inflating the asset prices (especially AI) is really the escape valve of neoliberalism (deregulated capital pouring into other nations economies and destroying them in the long run) coming home.
This guys 19?? Goddamn well good for him and I'm fucking jealous
He was joking
Mark's fs right about No Kings, you look at the funding, slogans, and "tactics", it's the weird kind of controlled opposition that doesnt even pretend to be otherwise. And it's effective, there's a ton of liberals out there (many well meaning and rightfully angry) who are intoxicated by the crowds and righteous anger because it's their first experience with protests. We've all felt that, hopefully enough of them also go through the phase of disillusionment with the spectacle most of us did. And hopefully all our disillusionment means something lol
I broke my arm and have had my days filled with painful PT, something about the intensity of this podcast mixed with the laid back conversational nature has helped me alot, cheers guys
Can't wait for the creation of the Burgerlaw
Wait, lemme get this straight. Are Ultra Orthodox Israelis unwilling to join the army on religious grounds but they’re fine with personally assaulting and killing Palestinians in the West Bank?? These are the same guys??
So they don’t have a problem with the military for the violence? They just don’t like having to have jobs?
Derek Davison is one of my favorite people but I cannot listen to American Prestige because of Danny. Still, looking forward to listening to this.
I went to go follow Danny on X and he has me blocked lol. I’m a literal nobody
Can the war nerds in the comments help me out with something? It's my understanding that: A) the US/Israel can't stop Iran from manufacturing and launching drones. B) Iran's drones have a range of hundreds of miles. C) it only takes a few drones a day to shut down the strait. If all of the above is correct why do some people think a few thousand marines and paratroopers are going to reopen the strait? Do they think that once they're in position (if they can even do that) they'll magically shoot down 100% of the drones? And the mines and ballistic missiles won't be an issue either?
I think it is pure magical thinking
Who are these insufferable poncy morons and why are they on the show?
I had to share this (goofy) jerusalem post article as something that 1) is an example of a lot of the good arguments here in this episode about imperial decline and 2) challenges some other notions that have gone a bit stale. (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-891291) 1) This is about how mossad has been integrating AI for about 5 years in its operations, making it an early adopter of this stuff. It was used to generate target lists in Gaza (to horrifying effect - https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/), and also in this war. We have a decent sense of the individual effects of over-reliance on AI ("cognitive surrender") but less of a sense of its effects on organizational functioning over time. This could potentially be a much larger factor in israeli strategy looking the way it does, and possibly in a way we have never seen before and therefore don't recognize yet. 2) the AI-powered intelligence strategy was heavy on the notion that AI could be used to foment an uprising in Iran. Say what you will about israel being more cynical than the US in its approach to the conflict, but this bit of information makes it look less canny than a lot of observers are giving it credit for. Of course, AI also enables cynicism through an offloading of responsibility onto a machine, but it's still a very pertinent question how much netanyahu, the mossad, etc. actually bought into the intelligence this system generated. Because it is shockingly stupid! But hey, maybe that's what 5 years of running an intelligence service on AI does to a mf. Hopefully there are historians around to figure this one out after the fact.
This may be a bit simplistic but I think assassinations and decapitation strikes are popular with trump and co because it’s good homeland PR. Our leaders also believe it “works”. But, the normies get excited when “we kill bad guys”. Iran could continue to be the worlds biggest disaster and ruin peoples savings, but for many Americans, we hit the mullahs, so it’s all worth it… lol
This is literally Robert papes thesis on why politicians became enamored with smart bombs lmao
Enjoyed the Starmer thread. Would buy tickets to watch the wimp-off, & the smart money will be on Starmer ofc.
Isn't Venezuela basically an example of a successful “decapitation strike”?
In one sense, yes, in another sense. Not at all. The Bolivarian regime continued on without only one change at the top.
Eagerly waiting for new Rob Ashlar ep to drop
Donnie vs the Tellurian Lube
32:00 regarding empire in decline imo its hard not to see the wheels coming off the USA. Has any empire had 2 consecutive leaders who have dementia ??
I know almost nothing about Rome but didn’t they have a handful of really stupid leaders in the last 100 years? Also, not to defend Biden or trump, but I’d argue a lot of their worst decisions are established norms for our elite lol
when the podcast mentions El Cerrito, Pinole, and other North Contra Costa County locales, I’m pumping my fist like Tiger Woods
I’ve been trying to get ahold of John’s Pleasant Hell for ages as someone who grew up a few towns over I want to know what his take is so badly (granted I was in the 90s but still)
I don't see how the U.S. maintains a hold on the Middle East, given the absurd economic cost involved. I have to think that the next logical step is going to be a pivot back to the hemisphere, where we attempt to regroup after a strategic failure. In order to sustain the current burn rate in the Middle East, are we going to pivot to a war economy, impose Great Depression-Eisenhower tax rates? Seems unlikely. Politically I don't think a drawn out war in the Middle East is sustainable either. Of course all of this is uncertain, but if the Republican Party gets creamed in the 2026 mid-terms, as looks very likely, I think there are going to be significant recriminations within the party, especially as it pertains to the U.S.-Israel relationship. Those tensions are already playing out within the Democratic Party, and will influence the direction of policy in the region. Those issues won't be resolved in a couple election cycles, but especially the longer the war drags on and the higher the costs, I have to imagine the more damage it is going to do to the "special relationship". As far as China is concerned, I would have to imagine that they are involved in some capacity in Iran, as this war is a great chance to analyze and test out the capabilities and vulnerabilities of some of the U.S.'s most advanced weapons systems.
Also, as to Danny's point that the U.S. is unique globally in its protestant "millenarian" view of the world, I'm not exactly an expert in Shia Islam, but isn't there something in Twelver community about the Hidden Imam that has echoes of protestant millenarianism?
Genuine question: does anyone else find Danny Bessner exhausting and repetitive? I've tried listening to him on many podcasts over many years, hoping that he'll learn the art of distilling his ideas down to a conversational essence, but he insists on approaching every answer - and question! - like a flustered student trying to hit their minimum word count. It's the reason I stopped listening to American Prestige, and it's such a shame, because that could be a fantastic show if only Derek and their guests were given a bit more room to participate
Davison needs to install a shock collar on him, nothing less will make instruction stick
People should not expect protests. America has done many, many wars (and/or "bombing campaigns") without arousing any protest at all. How big were the protests during Operation Desert Fox (1998) or the bombings of Yugoslavia, or the Gulf War, for that matter? How about the Afghanistan War? I'm sure there were protests against that war over a period of twenty years, but they must not have made much of a difference, because I've never heard of them. And, I think it's fair to say in hindsight, the vaunted Iraq War protests failed... So maybe leftists just learned their lesson, that protests are usually a waste of energy.
My only counter argument is there could be anti war protests , but only if and when AMERICAN casualties happen. What you said is correct, but looking back, even t he minor anti war protests in the 60s, and whatever happened for Iraq, the general sentiment was “Americans are dying pointlessly”
Great ep. Would have liked to hear a bit more of the perspective about Israel in Syria and Lebanon. And not sure if it’s no ideology or just no competing ideology in the west?
How did Mark digress so far into the fall of the American military post Vietnam and not name check Stripes
I hate to harp on it, but read “Turbo America.” Talk to Glenn. Talk to Aurnaud. Even though he calls them r-slurs, Nic reads them because not reading conflicting views in good faith turns you into a bubble-headed loser like everyone in the Blob. It’s the quintessential “Heart-breaking: the worst person you know is right.” Of course, the U.S. empire is in decline compared to where it has been in the 90s or under Obama. But its power increased more than in the 90s in spite of Russia’s rebound and China’s growth because it controls the Internet and controls global information and only lost that total ownership recently with GPS replacements and Chinese AI, and even those are severely limited. The U.S. will still control the world in 2100. It may not be to the same extent as now, and it won’t be in the same way, but it will be there when we’re gone. I also take great insult at this “end of ideology” shit the guests peddled because it’s only applicable to the U.S. and its vassals and it’s only applicable to us until it isn’t. Ideology in BRICS and other countries is still a thing, and thinking that ideology and religion and culture and so forth don’t matter IN AN EPISODE FRAMED AROUND IRAN is so short-sighted I have to assume you’re either being intentionally obtuse or you all are actually idiots. I know you’re not, but this is just you not pushing back against guests. And if these aren’t guests you could push back against, who the fuck do you want to and are willing to push back against?
Glenn... Greenwald? Arnaud who? Nic who?
One of the better episodes you guys have done IMO Please more crossovers.
Worst episode ever.
Clam down
I don't understand why Danny said that the middle East would be in America's sphere of influence. How's it going to be theirs with all their bases blown up and their navy afraid to come withim 1000 miles?
Because China and Russia are unlikely to fill the vacuum in the way that America does
Ay love the crossover! Would love to see more with all of y'all
The less I have to hear that smug moron Bessner, the happier my life is. Skipping this one, wish you just had Derek on, leave the Scoop Jackson chair of lib studies off the show in the future.
Wanna listen to something worth your time? Cosmonaut Mag did an interview with David Harvey this week https://www.patreon.com/posts/153807453?utm_campaign=postshare_fan
that bessner guy sure can yap huh
Yeah and even more jarring he was actually saying something of substance. Luckily we got back to Mark making an incoherent point about how militarism was as unpopular as segregation in the eighties, and then John got to tell a story about walking his dog.
One silver lining from the unfortunate dumbass collapse of the American empire is some of the most powerful podcast to ever exist
My guess is they go after kharg Island next Friday. The idiots in Washington will try a repeat of their initial strategy and seize the island over the weekend before the markets open. The Iranians are undoubtedly ready for this hare brained strategy
How, by paratroopers from Kuwait or what? How do they resupply?
I think there is a misconception about American economic power- it’s productive capacity is mostly decentralized across the globe. Taking stock of the foreign assets owned by us multinational corporations would give you a better idea
Indeed, this guy has done the calculations, US share of world gdp at its height is basically US ownership of the world’s biggest corporations today https://jacobin.com/2025/02/us-economic-decline-corporations-china
“China is hands off” why the fuck would they intervene??
I think it’s pretty crazy to suggest that Rome wasn’t the US equivalent of its day. It’s a relative comparison because there wasn’t any globe-bestriding empires until the first one showed up… his little outline speech just makes me think he hasn’t read any good comparative sociology that doesn’t bend the knee to the existing blob consensus
Stuck between Iraq and a hard place more like
Solid as Iraq
Generally always found their podcast to be lackluster, and this pod was lackluster generalistic takes. But it is curious to hear their world outlook, "Open Marxists" who think the Soviet Union was never a "real rival" and that Stalin gave up on "world revolution early on", but China which has been scared of the shadow of the 7th Fleet and is entirely boxed in will be the new "regional power" and showcases more of a challenge. That type of mystification based on vague quants around globally fictitious commercial exchange is very interesting. Keep reading Hal Draper boys.
How's your experience in the Mamdani admin been so far, and what's your outlook?
Hot take: A lot may be said about China's revolutions in green energy and the simultaneous decline of American cultural, industrial, and military capacity. Sadly I think these young American Prestige guests, like the ruling class in America that Mark talks about, are unaware of global energy dependence on fossil hydrocarbons. With the destruction of Gulf State LNG infrastructure, US-CAN-AUS now control the vast majority of LNG trade. Canada and Australia will always side with the US sphere. This bloc is only rivalled by Russia. Without any LNG whatsoever, after a couple of years many agricultural and industrial processes would be impossible and billions of people would starve. And there are no substitutes for this small but critical chokepoint of the global economy. The US Empire is doing what it is doing to Cuba not because it hates socialism, but because Cuba is an example to the rest of the world of the leverage the empire has. The global economy could be orders of magnitude more green and less dependent on fossil fuels. But it will always have some dependency as long as there is a global industrial civilization. I think that, especially compared to the basket-case '70s, America has and will continue to have the most leverage over the global economy than it has had since 1945 because of this now monopoly that has only really developed in the last 10 years. I would almost wager that the American deep state does not care if the Iran war continues as a relatively low-cost bombing campaign for years as long as it keeps the Persian Gulf severed. Trump is a sacrificial idiot for this project. With the dawn of this war the Gulf States, Europe, and Asia, have suddenly lost all their economic leverage over the US and Anglosphere. There are now no threats to their global economic hegemony.
This is very interesting. Why do you say that the American ruling class is unaware of global energy dependence on fossil fuels (esp. considering your "almost wager")?
The crossover we all were waiting for, great episode
Someone tell Danny that his need to prove how smart he is leads to him frequently saying too much whether asking a question or giving an answer
You talk about burning out vs fading away, but no mention of the more probable outcome of internal collapse.
Looking forward to this one!
American prestige are my enemies. Dummy bessner
Why?
I think Mark is wrong regarding where the threat to Israel's undying support is going to come from. It's not coming from the right. At every age group, ethnicity, income level, etc. republican voters show more support for Israel than democratic voters
While that’s true , if a significant portion of the younger right don’t support Israel, even if not the majority, wouldn’t tha be a big deal long term? And even if the younger ones “support” Israel, it isn’t necessarily at the unapologetic level that boomers did
Danny with some whack takes today. USSR was weak. OK, why did it fight the US standstill in Korea and was clearly the most dominant military force in World War II? North Korea depends heavily in China? The world all became capitalist except for North Korea? Fukiyana is right about liberalism? Talk about L after L.
From what I understand Danny's an international relations (IR) guy, and IR is a field that operates at such a high level of abstraction that marxist analysis has a really hard time retaining any vitality or dynamism within it. Marxist analysis is great when you want to understand the material reality behind big wobbly abstractions like GDP, for example. You have much less room to generate insight with a marxist analysis when you have to take something like GDP at face value as the material grounding for your argument. It can lead to some pretty weird takes because it's such a difficult line to walk.
It was hilarious to hear Mark describe foreigners’ screaming fits about the second election of GW. I am a white US American and I was living in Thailand at the time attending a UW nursing program at Chiang Mai University. First off I have to say Thais do not discuss politics with foreigners except in extremely circumscribed situations, but when the election of Bush occurred for a second time, many Thai people asked me in very serious tones “why did your country reelect him? What is wrong?” It was very shocking to me that they broke their political shell to even ask and then it was even more shocking when I tried to explain how stupid Americans are. They would just look at me in blank disbelief.
Synergy level readings off the chart, do more of these!!!
Hell yeah
Hell yeah
Hell yea
Gang shit
Needed this major nerd chat rn
Thanks for the great discussion!
Friday night gift! Much love