About this episode
Ryan M. Perez interviews Daniel Bessner about his academic journey and the impact of media on public understanding.
Part 1 of 2: Join your host Ryan M. Perez as he sits down with Daniel Bessner, college professor and host of American Prestige , to discuss his upbringing in New York, academic journey into U.S. foreign policy and democracy, and his analysis of how entertainment and media shape public understanding of the world. The conversation explores Hollywood’s evolution from a more artist-driven industry in the 1930s and 1940s into a system increasingly aligned with corporate and capitalist values, the decline of mass culture, the rise of gig work in entertainment, and the growing instability facing working artists today. https://harpers.org/archive/2024/05/the-life-and-death-of-hollywood-daniel-bessner/ https://americanprestigepod.com/ https://danielbessner.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Ryan M. Perez
Guest: Daniel Bessner
Topics covered
- U.S. foreign policy
- democracy
- entertainment industry
- Hollywood evolution
- gig work
- working artists
Keywords
- Daniel Bessner
- Ryan M. Perez
- U.S. foreign policy
- Hollywood
- gig work
- working artists
- media influence
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: American Prestige
Books & works: The Life and Death of Hollywood
Places: New York
More episodes of An Actor Despairs
- Kevin Kane · June 5, 2026 · 1h 39m
- Matt Jones · May 29, 2026 · 1h 52m
- Brittany Allen · May 26, 2026 · 1h 31m
- Daniel Bessner Part 2 · May 13, 2026 · 1h 20m
- Neil Forsyth · May 11, 2026 · 1h 36m
- Ivana Miličević · April 27, 2026 · 1h 41m
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