It’s time to take a nostalgic look back at the past year, as we survey some of the big trends from 2023 that will inevitably fuck up our collective 2024. This year we end up talking a lot about tech’s grip on our political and cultural imagination: labor strikes in Hollywood and the auto industry, the impact of AI, and the giant lie of green capitalism glimpsed in the debacle of electric vehicles. Will 2024 be the year the tech spell breaks?  Listen to the whole episode with a 7 day free trial of our patrons-only collection: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-376-year-94887877

Nostalgia Trap - Ep 376: The Year of the Robot  w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Conversations about history, politics, and pop culture.

History

Society & Culture

News

Politics

On today's News Trap I share some snippets about Chinese state capitalism, RFK's hilariously shitty presidential campaign, Elon Musk pulling the plug on everyone's dumb car chargers, the normalization of guns in schools and, of course, more on the campus protests against Israel's still unfolding genocide in Gaza. Subscribe for more: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nostalgia_trap/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx2c4y469qCQM0YZlhxhh0w    

News Trap 5.2.24

This week Justin and I attempt to put the latest round of campus protests into historical context, both in the wider view (19th century abolitionism, Vietnam, South Africa) and in our specific moment (Occupy, Black Lives Matter, pandemic, Israel/Gaza). What are the students’ demands, and how do we reconcile them with a popular  social movement that could actually win?  Subscribe to hear the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-389-wish-103116444

Nostalgia Trap - Episode 389: Impossible Wish w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

It’s been a minute since Justin and I have shared our takes on “the news,” so this week we have a typically dark, unhinged conversation about what’s coming for us in 2024, with an American population frothing at the mouth to BUILD THE WALL and weapons-crazy madmen lashing out around the globe. It’s an incredible time to be alive.   Full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102232361?pr=true

Nostalgia Trap - Episode 388: Doom Loop w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Conspiracy theories are a hell of a drug. Justin and I know this from experience, so watching the new Netflix documentary American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders brought up some deeply identifiable thoughts and emotions for both of us. Do you REALLY want to know the exact details of the dark forces at work within our most sacred institutions? As we discuss here, there’s a heavy price to pay for that knowledge, one way or another.  

Nostalgia Trap - Episode 387: Touching the Octopus w Justin Rogers-Cooper

This is the first half of this week's episode, go to our Patreon page to listen to the whole thing! https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-386-of-98833719 It’s Part Four of our six-part adventure through the history of American automaking and car culture, and we’ve finally reached the moment when everything starts to unravel: the 1970s. When Arab nations decide to flex their oil muscle against the United States in 1973, they deliver American consumers into an entirely new economic reality, and Detroit struggles to meet the era’s new demands for fuel efficiency, safety, and lower emissions. Meanwhile, Japan enters the market with a new approach to cars and the production process that further erodes Detroit’s power – until an unlikely hero, the minivan, takes over the 1980s suburbs and points to a rocky road ahead.    

Nostalgia Trap - Ep 376: The Year of the Robot w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Download our free app to listen on your phone