Aziz Rana joins us to discuss the Trump doctrine of foreign policy, the evolution of US hegemony since WW2, how the concept of freedom has animated American political thought and identity, and the challenge of political subjectivity.Works mentioned: The Two Faces of American Freedom, The Constitutional Bind, Workshop on Internationalism and Relations with Liberation Struggles Around the World.Aziz Rana is a professor of law and government at Boston College Law School, where his research and teaching center on American constitutional law and political development. In particular, his work focuses on how shifting notions of race, citizenship, and empire have shaped legal and political identity since the founding. He is the author of two books: The Two Faces of American Freedom and his most recent book, The Constitutional Bind: How Americans Came to Idolize a Document that Fails Them.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss Iran’s pummeling of US bases in Jordan, the rollout of “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, Ansarallah’s blockade of Saudi oil transits in the Red Sea, the US-Saudi nuclear agreement, and the status of Venezuela’s oil revenues.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman

Hakim Adi joins us to discuss the Black radicals who shaped the Comintern, the Black Belt Thesis and the national question, Pan-Africanism through decolonization, and whether the Alliance of Sahel States is a path to African sovereignty.Works mentioned: Pan-Africanism and Communism, Black Bolshevik, Africa Must UniteProf. Hakim Adi is currently a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Professorial Research Associate at the Centre of Pan-African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Hakim was the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain. His most recent books are Pan-Africanism and Communism: The Communist International, Africa and the Diaspora, 1919-1939 (Africa World Press, 2013), Pan-Africanism: A History (1804 Books, 2023), and, as editor Black British History: New Perspectives (Zed, 2019), Black Voices on Britain (Macmillan, 2022) and Many Struggles: New Histories of African and Caribbean People in Britain (Pluto, 2023). His most recent publication, Africa and Caribbean People in Britain: A History (Allen Lane, 2023) was shortlisted for the prestigious Wolfson History Prize in Britain in September 2023.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss the latest cycle of escalation between the US and Iran, the reopening of the Yemen front, ICE murders in Maine and Texas, the Trump administration’s latest attempts to crack down on the left, and Marco Rubio’s crusade against the ICC.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman

Matthew Petti joins us to discuss the crack-up within the Republican Party’s base over Gaza, Netanyahu’s plan to wind down US military aid, and what the US’s performance in the Iran War portends for the future of great power conflict.Check out Matthew’s latest piece, published on Drop Site, here. You can read some of the other pieces mentioned in the interview here and here.Matthew Petti is an assistant editor at Reason who covers U.S. national security policy and its interactions with American society and domestic politics. He has previously reported for the BBC (in Persian and English), The Intercept, The Daily Beast, New Lines, Responsible Statecraft, Middle East Eye, and The National Interest, among other publications. You can find him on Substack and on X/Twitter.Please consider donating to families in need in Gaza: here, here, or here.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss the unravelling of the US-Iran MOU, the dissolution of Hamas’s civilian governing body in Gaza, Turkiye’s status in NATO, Rahm Emanuel’s Tel Aviv speech, and Mamdani’s persecution of the NYC Italian community.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-fund…

Nasser Elamine joins us to discuss the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Hezbollah’s military reemergence, the unity of fronts strategy, and how regional states are responding to the rapidly shifting global order.Works mentioned: Interim Contours, Hezbollah’s Gamble.Nasser Elamine is a senior editor at Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a pan-Arab daily based in London, and a writer/researcher focusing on Middle Eastern geopolitics. You can find him on X/Twitter here and on Instagram here.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe are joined by Noah and Brendan to discuss the evolution of US foreign policy since World War II, the extent to which Trump marks a decline in American power, and lessons they have learned across six seasons of Blowback.Works mentioned: The Yankee and Cowboy War; The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000.Our Anti-4th of July Sale is live. For this week only (ending July 7th), you'll get 20% off both monthly and annual subscriptions. If you choose an annual plan, you'll also receive our usual $5 annual discount, giving you a full year of Turbulence at our lowest price. If you've enjoyed listening over the past eight months and you're in a position to support our work, your subscription helps us keep this show independent and sustainable.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman

Noah Kulwin and Brendan James of Blowback join us to discuss their new mini-series on the history of the US-Israel relationship, how the Cold War turned into the War on Terror, and the current moment of tension over the Iran war.Blowback’s first-ever mini-series, No Daylight, is available now for Blowback subscribers.This is part one of a two-part conversation with Noah and Brendan. In part two, they reflect on the broader arc of the American century and what they have learned across six seasons of Blowback. Part two will be released on July 3rd, exclusively for Turbulence’s paid subscribers.Our Anti-4th of July Sale is live. For this week only, you'll get 20% off both monthly and annual subscriptions. If you choose an annual plan, you'll also receive our usual $5 annual discount, giving you a full year of Turbulence at our lowest price. If you've enjoyed listening over the past eight months and you're in a position to support our work, your subscription helps us keep this show independent and sustainable.Brendan James is a writer, musician, and former producer of the hit podcast Chapo Trap House. Noah Kulwin is a reporter and editor who has written for The New York Times, New York, The Drift, Jewish Currents, and elsewhere. Together, they host the political history podcast Blowback.Works mentioned: Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict; High Noon in Washington: The Shootout over the Loan Guarantees; Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance; Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East. We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss the passing of our dear friend Alan, a deconfliction mechanism in Lebanon, Israeli troop deployments to Somaliland, the victories of DSA-backed candidates in New York, the repression of anti-ICE protestors in Texas, and Séamus breaks his silence on Ice Cream Truck-Gate.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman