Nostalgia Trap

It’s our 250th episode (!) and historian Megan Kate Nelson joins us for a very Nostalgia Trap conversation about the deep, unresolved contradictions coursing through American history. Her latest book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West, reframes our vision of the Civil War, showing how westward expansion, abolitionism, and the extermination of indigenous peoples were folded into a nation-making project that determined the fate of a continent. Along the way we talk about epic battles in hot deserts, the desperate economy of water and whiskey, and why the Ken Burns version of the Civil War so urgently needs to be put to rest. 

After Hours (1985) and Life Lessons (1989), two of Martin Scorsese's most underrated films, share an obsession with the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s and the fabric of life in a city that no longer exists. Claudia Moreno Parsons joins us for a genuine nostalgia trap, as we explore how these two incredible films depict the intoxicating nightmare of city life, the class and gender dynamics of art world hipsterism, and the violence lurking within the act of creativity. For full episode go to patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

After Hours (1985) and Life Lessons (1989), two of Martin Scorsese’s most underrated films, share an obsession with the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s and the fabric of life in a city that no longer exists. Claudia Moreno Parsons joins us for a genuine nostalgia trap, as we explore how these two incredible films depict the intoxicating nightmare of city life, the class and gender dynamics of art world hipsterism, and the violence lurking within the act of creativity. For full episode go to patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

Erik Baker is a doctoral candidate in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, researching the history of scientific and cultural ideas about work and workers in the 20th century United States. He joins us to discuss his latest piece in The Drift, "The Cure and the Disease: Social Darwinism from AIDS to COVID-19," which connects AIDS conspiracy theories, anti-vaccination movements,, and the disturbing discourse about life and death coursing through the politics of COVID.

Erik Baker is a doctoral candidate in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University, researching the history of scientific and cultural ideas about work and workers in the 20th century United States. He joins us to discuss his latest piece in The Drift, “The Cure and the Disease: Social Darwinism from AIDS to COVID-19,” which connects AIDS conspiracy theories, anti-vaccination movements,, and the disturbing discourse about life and death coursing through the politics of COVID.

Point Break (1991, dir. Kathryn Bigelow) is a classic of 90s action cinema, combining an absolutely ludicrous plot (a gang of surfing bank robbers infiltrated by a rookie FBI agent) with masterfully staged action sequences and goofy performances from leads Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Claudia joins us to explore how Point Break's intense engagement with gender, homosociality, and violence gives us that toxic mix of pure pleasure and pure ideology that marks the most powerful Hollywood productions. Speaking of which, at some point in this conversation, we also take on another Keanu blockbuster, 1994's Speed, a film that exists as a kind of spiritual cousin to Point Break, and helps further develop our ideas about bodies in motion, late capitalism, and 90s Los Angeles. For full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

Point Break (1991, dir. Kathryn Bigelow) is a classic of 90s action cinema, combining an absolutely ludicrous plot (a gang of surfing bank robbers infiltrated by a rookie FBI agent) with masterfully staged action sequences and goofy performances from leads Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Claudia joins us to explore how Point Break’s intense engagement with gender, homosociality, and violence gives us that toxic mix of pure pleasure and pure ideology that marks the most powerful Hollywood productions. Speaking of which, at some point in this conversation, we also take on another Keanu blockbuster, 1994’s Speed, a film that exists as a kind of spiritual cousin to Point Break, and helps further develop our ideas about bodies in motion, late capitalism, and 90s Los Angeles. For full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/nostalgiatrap.

Jason Wilson is an independent journalist whose work focuses on the American far right, extremist groups, and the U.S. security state. He joins us in the wake of Trump's Capitol riot to offer details on the specific groups involved, from Boogaloo boys to Qanon, and to explore how the right's world is shifting in response to Trump's loss, internal fissures, and a looming federal government crackdown.

Jason Wilson is an independent journalist whose work focuses on the American far right, extremist groups, and the U.S. security state. He joins us in the wake of Trump’s Capitol riot to offer details on the specific groups involved, from Boogaloo boys to Qanon, and to explore how the right’s world is shifting in response to Trump’s loss, internal fissures, and a looming federal government crackdown.  

Luke O'Neil's Hell World newsletter collects stories and transmissions from the darker corners of modern American life, which at this point seems like every fucking corner, to be honest. In this conversation, he talks about his latest book, Lockdown in Hell World, which takes us on a detailed journey into the madness of the COVID-19 year, including despairing over our "last normal day," watching Bernie eat shit in the primaries, and powerlessly watching the nation devolve into biological barbarism. Along the way, we try to understand how the "good ones" (you know, us) might be able to take the world back from hell.