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American Prestige

American Prestige

By: Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison
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 A podcast from Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison that provides listeners with everything they need to know about what’s going on in the world. americanprestige.supportingcast.fmAmerican Prestige Political Science Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • Bonus - The Muppet Christmas Carol w/ Justin Boyd and VJ Boyd (Preview)

    Bonus - The Muppet Christmas Carol w/ Justin Boyd and VJ Boyd (Preview)
    Dec 24 2025
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Use discount code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for $45! Danny welcomes writer Justin Boyd and writer/producer VJ Boyd to the show to talk about The Muppet Christmas Carol. They discuss Charles Dickens as a transitional figure in 19th-century literature, Victorian ghost stories and Christmas, Jim Henson’s pre-Disney career and the regional TV ecosystem that produced the Muppets, the film’s melancholy as a post-Henson/post–Richard Hunt work, Michael Caine’s performance and Jonathan Rosenbaum’s critique, anti-capitalist themes vs liberal moral reform, chronos versus kairos in Scrooge’s transformation, and why this adaptation endures.
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    10 mins
  • E339 - Lula and the Rise of the Workers’ Party in Brazil w/ Andre Pagliarini

    E339 - Lula and the Rise of the Workers’ Party in Brazil w/ Andre Pagliarini
    Dec 23 2025
    Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Use the code XMAS2025 to get an annual subscription for just $45! Danny and Derek welcome back historian Andre Pagliarini to discuss Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his political project, and its significance for Brazil’s democracy and labor movement. They explore the emergence of “new unionism” in the late 20th century and the founding of the Workers’ Party (PT); how a leader shaped by labor activism ended up governing through institutional politics; what Lula inherited from Brazil’s corporatist past; how he has navigated the constraints of global capital, inflation, and coalition politics; the gains and limits of his social programs; corruption scandals, Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, and the Bolsonaro’s presidency; and Lula’s return to office and what his trajectory says about the possibilities of left governance. Get a copy of Andre’s book Lula: A People's President and the Fight for Brazil's Future.
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Bonus - Protests Without Politics w/ Vincent Bevins (Preview)

    Bonus - Protests Without Politics w/ Vincent Bevins (Preview)
    Dec 21 2025
    Subscribe now for the full episode. Get an annual subscription for $45 with our holiday discount code XMAS2025. Danny and Derek are joined once again by Vincent Bevins, this time to talk about the recent wave of so-called “Gen Z protests.” They explore why that framing explains almost nothing; how contemporary mass protests actually form, why they tend to resemble each other, and why their political outcomes rarely meet their original demands; and the crisis of representation, the collapse of ideology, “explosive mobilization,” and why the military generally decides what comes next. The conversation also touches on whether there is still such a thing as a revolutionary subject and what happens when politics become anti-corruption rhetoric and “vibes.”
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    10 mins
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