Past Present

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the cultural influence of RuPaul's Drag Race.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• Reality show RuPaul's Drag Race has just wrapped its thirteenth season. Niki and Natalia drew on Simon Doonan's book Drag: The Complete Story. Natalia also referred to this Vulture article on the history of drag and this New Yorker profile of "female impersonator" Joseph Touchette. She also discussed the episode of Worn Stories featuring Doonan discussing his 1980s aerobics spandex.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed the ill-fated Chippendales skit, "The Politician," viewable on her Instagram account.
• Neil shared Peter Knegt's Canadian Broadcast Corporation column, "The Fruit Machine: Why Every Canadian Should Know About This Country's Gay Purge."
• Niki recommended the "Pets Are People" episode of This Day Pod, featuring Anne-Helen Peterson.

In this week's episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the parallels between the 1920s and our current moment.

Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• As "post-pandemic life" becomes imaginable, predictions of a second "Roaring Twenties" are ubiquitous. Niki referred to her article about the promise and limits of such comparisons for CNN. Natalia drew on historian Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz' Campus Life: Undergraduate Cultures from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed Rosanna Xia's Los Angeles Times article, "DDT's Toxic Legacy Can Harm Granddaughters of Women Exposed, Study Shows".
• Neil recommended Chloe Angyal's Washington Post article, "Ballet Directors Talk About 'Fitness.' That's Still Code for Rail-Thin Dancers" and her forthcoming book, Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet from Itself
• Niki shared her own CNN opinion piece, "History Shows We Ignore Tucker Carlson at Our Peril."

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the debate over school reopening.

Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• When – and how – public schools should reopen has become a topic of intense controversy. Neil cited this Los Angeles Times piece about the "intractable learning loss" suffered by English Language Learners this year. Natalia referred to this New York Times article about whether "learning loss" should be assessed and to this Politico article about the demand by United Teachers of Los Angeles for free childcare as a condition of their return to the classroom. She also drew on this History Channel article about the trust in public schools that existed during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Niki cited historian Daniel Rodgers' Age of Fracture, and each of our books: Classroom Wars, We Gather Together, and Messengers of the Right.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed the latest policing of Dr. Jill Biden's self-presentation: her stockings.
• Neil discussed the HBO documentary Tina.
• Niki shared Gina Kolata's New York Times article, "Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus."

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the life and legacy of the late children's author Beverly Cleary.

Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• At the age of 104, children's author Beverly Cleary has died. Natalia drew on this Bulwark article about Cleary's apolitical appeal, and Niki referred to this Atlantic essay and this Vulture piece about her grasp of children's emotional landscape. Neil and Natalia referred to this New York Times article about her books' appeal to boys and girls.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia recommended the podcast Stolen: the Search for Jermain.
• Neil discussed Phil Hoad's Atavist article, "Cat and Mouse."
• Niki shared Rebecca Onion's Slate essay, "A Modern Feminist Classic Changed My Life. Was it Actually Garbage?"

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado.

Listen to our new limited series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• As public spaces reopen, so too have mass shootings returned. Neil referred to this Slate piece about the coverage of the Atlanta shootings, and Natalia cited Melissa Jeltsen's article in The Cut, her own essay about massage in Nursing Clio, and Nicholas Kristof's New York Times article, "How to Reduce Shootings."

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia recommended Joy Nicholson's novel, The Tribes of Palos Verdes.
• Neil discussed Zoe Pickburn's The Week article, "The Orphan Who Invented the Cupcake."
• Niki shared David French's Twitter thread about Sidney Powell.

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the calls for Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York to resign.

Listen to our new limited series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• Amid charges that he covered up Covid-related deaths among nursing home residents and sexually harassed multiple women, New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo is being asked to resign. Natalia referred to Rebecca Traister's article at The Cut and Zephyr Teachout's essay in The Nation. Niki discussed this Washington Post article about Cuomo's popular interviews with his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, this past summer.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed the Sally Jesse Raphael Show episode about "women who love calendar men" as featured on the Welcome To Your Fantasy Instagram account.
• Neil recommended the new Netflix documentary series Murder Among the Mormons and historian Benjamin Park's Religion Dispatches essays about the show.
• Niki shared the Twitter accounts of two historians writing about the Atlanta spa shootings: Melissa May Borja and Erika Lee.

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss Oprah Winfrey's interview of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Listen to our new limited series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• Perhaps the official beginning of Meghan and Harry's life in America was their interview with Oprah Winfrey. Niki referenced her CNN piece on Piers Morgan's reaction to the interview, and Natalia mentioned Trysh Travis and Timothy Aubry's book on therapeutic culture and this Smithsonian magazine piece about the exhibit on Oprah's legacy.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed Marisa Meltzer's book This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World--And Me.
• Neil shared Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias' New York Times article, "Beth Moore, a Prominent Evangelical, Splits with Southern Baptists."
• Niki recommended the 30 for 30 podcast episode, "March 11, 2020."

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the controversy over the decision to stop publishing six Dr. Seuss books.

Listen to our new limited podcast series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• Theodore Geisel's estate has removed six of his Dr. Seuss books from circulation, causing ire among conservatives citing it as an example of "cancel culture." Natalia referred to writer Michael Harriot's Twitter thread, this 1945 Frank Sinatra short film, "The House I Live In," and Sophie Gilbert's Atlantic article about Seuss' embrace by progressive activists. Niki drew on this BBC piece about Seuss' radicalism.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed Jack Harris' Los Angeles Times article, "Jeff Grosso: The Life and Death of Skateboarding's Soul."
• Neil recommended Elon Green's book, Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York.
• Niki shared Soraya Nadia McDonald's article at The Undefeated, "Billie Holliday Deserves Better."

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the fight to raise the federal minimum wage.

Listen to our new limited podcast series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• House Democrats have proposed a federally guaranteed fifteen-dollar an hour minimum wage as part of their coronavirus relief bill. Niki drew on this New York Times piece about the effective minimum wage, and Neil referenced this New Yorker article about fast food workers in Orlando. Natalia and Niki referred to the stickiness of the "Fight for 15" slogan, as described in this Atlantic article.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed the Leo Baeck Institute's Shared History Project.
• Neil shared Olivia Rutigliano's Truly Adventurous story, "The Dognapping of the Century."
• Niki recommended Lillian Stone's article at The Takeout, "The Spudly History of Mister Potato Head."

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the #FreeBritney movement for Britney Spears and the conservatorship that inspired it.

Listen to our new limited podcast series, WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY, for free only on Spotify. Click here to subscribe.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show:

• A New York Times documentary about pop star Britney Spears and the conservatorship under which she has lived since 2008 has sparked renewed concern about her wellbeing. Natalia recommended this New Republic article about disability and conservatorships and Anne-Helen Petersen's Substack newsletter about the Britney phenomenon. Niki drew on this Vox explainer about the conservatorship.

In our regular closing feature, What's Making History:

• Natalia discussed Cecile Castranova's article for The Hill, "CA School District's Board Resigns After Unknowingly Talking About Parents in A Virtual Meeting."
• Neil shared Daniel Silliman's Christianity Today obituary, "Died: Carman, Christian Showman Who Topped Charts With Triumphant Fate."
• Niki commented on Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper's New York Times article, "Promotions for Female Generals Were Delayed Over Fears of Trump's Reaction."