Past Present

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate the Sean Hannity phenomenon, battles over the "gayborhood," and the popularity of running tutus.

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

• Conservative media personality Sean Hannity has attained new fame thanks to his proximity to President Trump. Niki referred to her Washington Post piece arguing Hannity is more a promoter rather than a kingmaker and to Neil's Huffington Post article arguing that Hannity is not a journalist. Natalia recommended a 2015 Chapo Trap House episode about Hannity's persona.
• As "gayborhoods" have become bellwethers of gentrification, they have also resulted in turf wars. Niki cited George Chauncey's classic work Gay New York as well as Margot Canaday's The Straight State. We all commented on the findings of Adriana Brozyn and Amin Ghaziani's study on "performative progressiveness" in Chicago gayborhoods.
• Tutus have become a surprisingly common running accessory at amateur road races. Niki referred to Natalia's Well+Good article on the gendered history of jogging, and Natalia cited "turkey trots" as early examples of casual, and often costumed, road races.

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

• Neil shared Mark Rudd's New York Times article "The Missing History of the Columbia '68 Protests."
• Natalia discussed her recent visit to the Greek island and former leper colony of Spinalonga and recommended Victoria Hislop's novel The Island set there.
• Niki commented on Sarah Seo's Washington Post piece "Why Our Response to the Starbucks Arrests Must Go Beyond Race."

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki debate the life and legacy of Barbara Bush, Starbucks' race problem, and the U.S. Census.

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

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

• Former First Lady Barbara Bush has died at 92. Natalia referenced historian Barbara Perry's Washington Post article about how she transformed the Office of the First Lady.
• Starbucks has come under fire for an employee who called the police on two black men at one of its Philadelphia stores. Natalia cited sociologist Elijah Anderson's Vox article on the association of black people with inner cities; Niki referenced Jamelle Bouie's Slate article on how "white spaces" are constructed and policed as well as Emily Bazelon's 2014 Slate article "Why I Don't Call the Police."
• President Donald Trump's decision to include a question about citizenship status on the U.S. Census for the first time since 1950 has inspired strong opposition. Natalia referred to Ari Berman's Mother Jones article on the pervasive problem of undercounting minorities.

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

• Neil commented on Dan Piepenbring's New Yorker article "Chick-Fil-A's Creepy Infiltration of New York City."
• Natalia shared Carson Bear's article "Are Mobile Homes a Forgotten Historic Resource?" on org.
• Niki discussed Kathleen Belew's new book Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia debate the rise of Sinclair Broadcasting, life coach Tony Robbins' dismissal of the #MeToo movement, and the fraught history of college early admissions.

Support Past Present on Patreon: http://www.pastpresentpodcast.com/episodes

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

• Conservative media giant Sinclair Broadcasting Group inspired outrage when a viral video showed anchors reading a prepared script bashing the media. Natalia cited Niki's S. News article on the role of the FCC in preventing the kind of domination to which Sinclair aspires.
• Self-help guru Tony Robbins enraged the internet when he maligned the #MeToo movement at one of his stadium-sized seminars. You can watch the full video of his internaction with Nanine McCool here. Natalia cited two classic historical works to understand the history of self-help: Richard Hofstadter's Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism. Natalia also recommended William Davies' The Happiness Industry and the HBO show "Enlightened." Natalia recently wrote about how Tony Robbins and other self-help gurus have often stood in the way of social change in a piece for the Washington Post.
• The Justice Department has launched a probe into colleges offering early admissions. Natalia cited two historians' book-length works: Jerome Karabel's The Chosen and Nancy Malkiel's Keep the Damned Women Out!

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

• Neil discussed the new Little League documentary, Long Time Coming.
• Natalia discussed Ivanka Trump's curiously uninformed comments about youth fitness. As a companion piece to Natalia's What's Making History, Niki recommended Anastasia Day's Made by History article, "How the White House Garden Became a Political Football."
• Niki discussed two new books on the 14th Amendment by historians, Carrie Hyde's Civic Longing: The Speculative Origins of U.S. Citizenship and Martha Jones' Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America.

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate the return of the television series Roseanne, the unfair treatment of NFL cheerleaders, and the sudden popularity of the Instant Pot.

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

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

• Nineties TV sitcom Roseanne is back, and remade for the Trump age. Niki referenced Oscar Winberg's Washington Post article about the political ambitions of the series.
• New Orleans Saints cheerleader Bailey Davis was fired for violating the team's social media policy; now she's suing and bringing attention to the unjust treatment of cheerleaders across the industry. Natalia referenced this Mother Jones historical timeline of cheerleading as well as two works by historians: Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz' Campus Life and Paula Fass' The Damned and the Beautiful.
• The Instant Pot is officially a culinary craze. Natalia referenced this Curbed article about the gendered history of kitchen design.

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

• Neil discussed John Elgion's New York Times article, "A Black Evangelist Who Opposed Dr. King," and Lerone Martin's research article on which it draws.
• Natalia discussed Matthew Remski's Facebook response to the new Netflix documentary, Wild, Wild Country.
• Niki discussed Peter Canellos' POLITICO article, "'Chappaquiddick': The Trial of Ted Kennedy."

In this episode, Niki and Natalia debate the Stormy Daniels scandal.

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

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

• Stormy Daniels gave a much awaited interview to Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes last week. Natalia referred to Michelle Goldberg's New York Times op-ed and this Atlantic article about the similarities between the Daniels affair and the Harvey Weinstein case.

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki debate the historical significance of Cambridge Analytica and its relationship with Facebook, a serial bomber in Austin, and an all-white, all-male history conference at Stanford.

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

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

• Cambridge Analytica is suddenly a household name for its troubling use of Facebook data to influence the 2016 election. Niki referred to Siva Vaidhyanathan's forthcoming book, Antisocial Media, about the social costs of the rise of Facebook.
• After terrorizing Austin for several weeks, serial bombing suspect Mark Conditt is dead. Niki referenced this Rolling Stone article about the impact of the Son of Sam serial murders on tabloid journalism. Natalia cited this NPR article on recollections of Conditt.
• Stanford University's Hoover Institution hosted a conference comprised entirely of white men. Niki referred to this Washington Post article about the long relationship between the Hoover Institution and Stanford.

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

• Neil discussed Jackie Mansky's Smithsonian article, "How Smithsonian Helped Solve the Twitter Mystery of the Unknown Woman Scientist."
• Natalia commented on Joanna Rothkopf's Jezebel article, "Inside the Convoluted 'Battle for the Heart and Soul of Yoga' That Resulted in Alo Yoga Suing a Body-Positive Influencer."
• Niki shared Michael S. Rosenwald's Washington Post article, "Toys R Us Founder Charles Lazarus Has Died. Here's How He Built – And Lost – An Empire."

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate Donald Trump's firing of Rex Tillerson, the New York Times publishing obituaries for women it overlooked historically, and National Geographic's self-study of its past racist coverage.

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

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

• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the latest White House official President Trump has fired by tweet. Natalia referenced this New Yorker article highlighting the origins of Tillerson's leadership style.
• "Overlooked" is the name of a New York Times initiative to acknowledge the fact that since 1851, the paper's obituaries have been dominated by white men. Natalia referred to Amanda Hess's coverage of this issue at Slate. We all referred to this NPR interview with former Times obituary writers featured in the documentary
• National Geographic's latest issue reckons with the magazine's treatment of race throughout the publication's history. Niki referred to historian George Fredrickson's notion of "scientistic racism." Natalia shared Rebecca Onion's interview for Slate of the historian John Edwin Mason who conducted the study for ­National Geographic.

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

• Neil shared Olivia B. Waxman's TIME article, "The Surprisingly Poetic Origins of the Phrase 'March Madness'."
• Natalia commented on Jason LeMiere's Newsweek article, "Barron Trump's School Signs Open Letter Asking His Dad to Act on Gun Violence, Oppose Arming Teachers."
• Niki discussed Rebecca Onion's Slate article, "The Teacher Would Suddenly Yell 'Drop!'."

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate President Trump's proposed tariffs, Weight Watchers' bid for teenage dieters, and Disneyland's underpaid workers.

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

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

• Donald Trump has announced he is slapping high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, all in the name of national security. Niki referred to Alex Thompson's Vice article, "Trump's Tariffs Made Him Labor Unions' Man of Steel." Niki also recommended Marc-William Palen's book The Conspiracy of Free Trade.
• Weight Watchers is reaching out to young teenagers. Natalia referred to Taffy Brodesser-Akner's New York Times article, "Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age" and to Joan Jacobs Brumberg's book The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. Neil referenced Jennifer Wiener's New York Times op-ed, "Take Your Daughter to the Movies, Not to Weight Watchers." Natalia recommended Christy Harrison's Food Psych Podcast. We discussed the history of Weight Watchers in Episode 19.
• A new report shows that many employees of Disneyland, "the happiest place on earth," are homeless or hungry. Niki cited a new study, "Working For the Mouse" and the film The Florida Project as well as two books: Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America and Louis Hyman's forthcoming TEMP: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary.

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

• Neil shared Anne Ewbank's Atlas Obscura article, "How Orange (the Fruit) Inspired Orange (the Color)."
• Natalia commented on Drew Schwartz's VICE article, "Conservatives are Whining Because No One Wants to Date Them."
• Niki discussed Joseph Bernstein's Buzzfeed article, "Teach Them Right: How PragerU Is Winning the Right-Wing Culture War Without Donald Trump."

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki debate the life and ministry of Billy Graham, youth activism after the Parkland shootings, and the West Virginia teachers' strike.

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

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

• Billy Graham, known to many as "America's Pastor," is dead. Niki referred to Kevin Kruse's article about Graham's early conservatism at Made by History and Anthea Butler's HuffPost article about the limits of Graham's racial progressivism. Natalia mentioned this Rolling Stone story about Graham's role in encouraging homophobia.
• High school students are shaping the national conversation about gun control in the wake of the Parkland shooting. Natalia referred to the East Los Angeles blowouts she wrote about in her book, and Niki discussed this article at The Root about the racialized media coverage of such activism. Niki also wrote about how corporations have been a part of America's political battles in her column for U.S. News & World Report.
• West Virginia's teachers are striking. Natalia talked about the anti-union film The Lottery and recommended journalist Trey Kay's podcast broadcast in collaboration with the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Center, Us & Them.

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

• Neil shared this TIME article about the 1961 plane crash that killed the U.S. figure skating team.
• Natalia discussed Dylan Gottlieb's article "Rat Race" about urban marathons from the Past Present x Public Seminar
• Niki commented on recollections of William F. Buckley ten years after his death.

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia debate the blockbuster film Black Panther, the ascendancy of Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, and the preponderance of plastics in contemporary life.

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

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

• The release of blockbuster film Black Panther is being hailed as a watershed moment in African American, and mainstream, popular culture. Niki and Natalia both referenced Laurence Ware's New York Times article on black nerds.
• Figure skater Adam Rippon has attracted media attention for using his platform to defend LGBTQ rights. Natalia mentioned this episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour featuring journalist Sam Sanders describing what it's like to cover the Olympics. Niki referenced this Newsweek article about the "frozen closet" and Natalia commented on this New York Times article about disordered eating among male figure skaters.
• The Anglican Church is recommending that people give up plastics for Lent. Natalia noted the role of plastics in the 1967 film The Graduate and Niki referred to this Washington Post article on the magnitude of plastic pollution in in the United States.

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

• Neil shared historian Josh Clark Davis' Atlantic article on the FBI crackdown on black-owned bookstores.
• Natalia discussed this Sexing History podcast episode on the sexual harassment of flight attendants.
• Niki commented on Fergie's rendition of the national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game and shared Cindy Boren's Washington Post article that placed it in the context of poorly regarded national anthem performances.