Bonus - The Decline of Area Experts w/ Alex Thurston (Pre...

What this episode covers

Subscribe now for the full episode! Derek and Danny are joined by historian Alex Thurston to talk about the rise and decline of area studies in the United States. They discuss how regional expertise was once central to the management of American power; why policymakers increasingly ignored that knowledge when it existed; how programs like Fulbright, Title VI, and the Wilson Center fit into a postwar arrangement between the state and the academy; DOGE; the retreat of private foundations; the turn toward technocracy and quantitative approaches; and what the collapse of area studies says about the end of Progressive Era faith in expertise. Read Alex’s piece for Foreign Exchanges, “The Decline and Fall of Area Studies.” Statement from SSRC on ending its International Dissertation Research Fellowship program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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How long is this episode of American Prestige?

This episode is 9 minutes long.

When was this American Prestige episode published?

This episode was published on February 1, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Subscribe now for the full episode! Derek and Danny are joined by historian Alex Thurston to talk about the rise and decline of area studies in the United States. They discuss how regional expertise was once central to the management of American...

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