Daniel Bessner, Derek Davison
Lisandro Claudio joins Danny and Derek to explore how US colonial austerity shaped the Philippines and continues to influence its economy and politics today.
The post American Austerity in the Philippines—Lisandro Claudio appeared first on The Nation.

Phillipines President Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos at the White House with US President Ronald Reagan in 1982.
(Universal History Archive / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)Danny and Derek welcome historian Lisandro Claudio back to the program to talk about how austerity, first imposed by the US during its colonial rule of the Philippines, continues to influence the Filipino political economy. They discuss the colonial gold standard, dollar diplomacy, Miguel Cuaderno and the Central Bank of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos being forced to depreciate the peso, the Filipino left’s anti-debt stance, and the country’s dependency on exported labor.
Grab your copy of Lisandro’s book The Profligate Colonial: How the US Exported Austerity to the Philippines.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/subscribe.
Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes. This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible. I hope you’ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we’ll send you a brand new “Hands Off the Free Press!” sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today.
Onward,Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
Daniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.
Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.
Danny and Alex Jordan unpack the week’s global news, from Iran, Yemen, and Gaza to Russia-Ukraine, US sanctions policy, Brazil, and Sweden.
The Trump administration has announced a new set of harsh sanctions against Iran. This is a strange development since originally Trump launched a war on Iran on the pretext that sa…
Podcast / The Time of Monsters
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Imperialist Realism—With Danny Bessner | 0 | 10.41 | 05-08-2026 |
| 2 | Who’s Allowed Self-Determination? With Brad Simpson | 0 | 12.28 | 29-07-2026 |
| 3 | The US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran, the Syrian Democratic Forces Dissolve, US-Canada Trade Talks Collapse | 0 | 9.01 | 28-08-2026 |
| 4 | Texas’s Radical Roots—With David Griscom | 0 | 9.36 | 09-09-2026 |
| 5 | North Korea’s Roots in Christianity—With Jonathan Cheng | 0 | 8.09 | 26-08-2026 |
| 6 | Mutiny of the College-Educated Worker—With Noam Scheiber | 0 | 10.08 | 23-09-2026 |
| 7 | Israel Strikes Syria, Trump Escalates the Economic War on Iran, the US Seems to Move Toward Diplomacy With North Korea | 0 | 5.23 | 21-08-2026 |
| 8 | The US-Iran Air War Resumes, the Sudanese Army Secures a Kordofan Highway, Fujimori Takes Office in Peru | 0 | 8 | 31-07-2026 |
| 9 | The Houthis Escalate the Red Sea Conflict, the Pentagon Releases a Report on Iran War Costs, the BRICS Summit Exposes Divisions | 0 | 6.13 | 18-09-2026 |
| 10 | The Biden Administration’s Complicity in Gaza—With Akbar Shahid Ahmed | 0 | 5.1 | 16-09-2026 |