Daniel Bessner – Managing American Decline in the Trump Era

Support The Glenn Show at https://glennloury.substack.comPre-order Glenn's forthcoming book, SELF-CENSORSHIP. Available here or wherever you get your books: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=self-censorship--9781509567409Video Links0:00 Intro 1:10 Glenn meets the young Marx 2:32 The new wokeness of the political right 8:30 What is the democratic counterpart of foreign policy and national security run by experts? 17:04 Russia’s motivations: Fear of NATO or imperial ambitions 21:41 Danny: Zelenskyy made a huge misstep in the Oval Office 26:12 Does China have global security ambitions? 35:09 Ending the Middle East’s post-Ottoman redefinition 39:42 Danny: It’s gotta be rough to be Peter Beinart 43:46 Why we don’t need Hitler to explain Trump’s authoritarianism 56:29 Danny: We’ve been in the midst of a constitutional crisis since the 1940s 57:58 Can the nuclear taboo hold?Recorded April 19, 2025Links and ReadingsDanny’s podcast, American PrestigeKarl Marx’s Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page’s paper, “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens”Walter Lippmann’s book, Public OpinionDanny’s book, Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense IntellectualTranscript of Matt Lauer’s 1998 interview with Madeline AlbrightPaul Thomas Chamberlain’s book, The Cold War Killing Fields: Rethinking the Long PeaceLindsey O’Rourke’s book, Covert Regime Change: America’s Secret Cold WarPeter Beinart’s book, Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza: A ReckoningGlenn’s conversation with Peter BeinartGlenn’s memoir, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black ConservativeDanny’s Jacobin piece, “This Is America”James Whitman’s book, Hitler’s American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race LawCarl Schmitt’s book, The Concept of the Political This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit glennloury.substack.com/subscribe