Is war a glitch in the American system — or is it how the system works?
In this episode of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave Pederson talks with historian, foreign policy analyst, and American Prestige co-host Daniel Bessner about U.S. empire, war, sanctions, oil, the national security state, and the political economy hiding underneath the language of “freedom,” “stability,” and “democracy.”
Using Iran and Venezuela as case studies, Dave and Daniel explore how American foreign policy often protects markets, energy flows, military contractors, and elite power — while ordinary people pay the cost. They also discuss sanctions as a form of warfare, the role of the Strait of Hormuz, the bipartisan consensus around empire, and what a serious working-class foreign policy might look like.
Because sometimes the real conspiracy isn’t hiding in the woods.
It’s hiding in the defense budget.
Guest: Daniel Bessner
Host of American Prestige
https://americanprestigepod.com/
Daniel Bessner’s books:
Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501785078/democracy-in-exile/
Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Imperialist-Realism/Daniel-Bessner/9781803414805
The Bigfoot Manifesto
Progressive politics. Cryptid truth. Zero billionaire BS.
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