Interview: "Savior and Seducer" by Thaddeus Russell | DeProgram with Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas

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Join Ted Rall and Jamarl Thomas on "DeProgram" as they interview historian Thaddeus Russell about his new book "Savior and Seducer."
Thaddeus Russell discusses his book “Savior and Seducer,” arguing that U.S. foreign policy has long been driven by a sincere “savior complex”—a Christian-evangelical mission to uplift and Americanize the world—rather than primarily by greed or capitalism.
He contrasts this hard-power imperialism with the more effective soft-power “seducer” of American popular culture, which foreign governments have repeatedly tried to suppress. The conversation covers historical examples from the founders through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Philippines, and into the Trump era, which Russell sees as a non-moralistic reorganization of empire focused on the Western Hemisphere.
Tune in for unfiltered discussion that cuts through mainstream myths and prepares listeners for the full conversation. Live weekdays at 9 AM ET, streaming anytime.

00:00 Introducing Thaddeus Russell and Savior and Seducer
01:41 The Savior and Seducer Thesis of American Power0
3:57 Why U.S. Leaders Truly Believe in Saving the World
09:04 How American Pop Culture Seduced the World
14:38 Debating Motives: Ideology or Resources?
25:21 Founders, Abolitionists, and the Civil War as Empire
44:08 The Christian Roots of American Imperial Psychology
55:17 Trump’s Reorganization of the American Empire

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