April 30th marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. But although the conflict still looms large in American memory, the reasons why the US went to war have been distorted in the mainstream account.

In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek explain the real imperialist history and remember the courageous struggles of both the Vietnamese resistance and the US anti-war movement.

President Trump has threatened to upend the US’s role in NATO unless the Europeans increase their military spending. But far from just a budget reshuffling, European remilitarization massively increases the prospects for war and austerity.

On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek explain the Cold War origins of NATO, how the US organizes European geopolitics, and why Russia and China have been deemed national security threats.

The Republican Party has become a hegemonic force in US politics today. But how much of their dominance is predicated on Donald Trump’s personal rule?

On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses the historic evolution of the Republicans with Paul Heideman, author of “Trump’s Takeover of the Republican Party,” an essay in the upcoming issue of Catalyst. Vivek and Paul focus on the business coalitions behind Trump, how he was able to muster elite support, and how the level of that support is a lot lower than it seems.