Past Present

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate the release of the Obamas' presidential portraits, the first Gerber Baby with Down syndrome, and the storied history of the sanitation worker.

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

• The presidential and First Lady portraits of the Obamas have been released to more fanfare than is customary. Neil mentioned Obama White House photographer Pete Souza's Instagram account and his recently published book of photos of President Obama. Niki commented on Andrew Jackson's official portrait by Ralph E. W. Earl. Natalia referenced this Slate interview with art historians about the Obama portraits.
• The Gerber Baby, for the first time, has Down syndrome. Natalia shared David Perry's Pacific Standard article advocating Gerber go further in working toward disability rights and the historical timeline written by the National Association for Downs Syndrome.
• Sanitation is dangerous, crucial work, as a recent New York Times op-ed argued. Natalia cited Kiera Feldman's Mother Jones article about the history of the industry, and Neil discussed Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement in the Memphis sanitation workers' strike, including his famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.

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

• Neil discussed William R. Black's Atlantic article, "Abraham Lincoln's Secret Visits to Slaves."
• Natalia shared the podcast Atlanta Monster.
• Niki talked about the history of marshmallows as chronicled in Jesse Rhodes' Smithsonian article, "It's a Marshmallow World."

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia debate the Nunes memo and the GOP's attack on the FBI, the recent stock market plummet, and the prospect of Korean reconciliation through the Winter Olympics.

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

• #ReleasetheMemo took over Twitter last week. Niki cited this Politico piece explaining "computational propaganda" that helped spread it. Natalia referred to the episode of Trumpcast that further explained how the meme went viral.
• The stock market recently plummeted over one thousand points. Neil discussed President Obama's spokesperson Jay Carney's observation that the Obama White House deliberately never took credit for the health of the stock market.
• The Winter Olympics kick off in PyeongChang, South Korea this week, prompting many to wonder about its political impact on the region. Natalia cited Heather Dichter's Made By History essay about the Cold War era precedents for this year's contest as well as a Backstory episode about the 1980 "Miracle on Ice." She also recommended David Wallace Adams' classic Education for Extinction for its exploration of the politics of sport.

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

• Neil shared Daina Ramey Berry's New York Times article, "Beyond the Slave Trade, the Cadaver Trade."
• Natalia commented on historian Brooke Blower's book Becoming Americans in Paris.
• Niki discussed Tyler Huckabee's Washington Post article, "The Radical – But Gentle – Faith of Mister Rogers."

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate the flu, the fate of the Cleveland Indians' mascot Chief Wahoo, and the normalization of female pain.

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

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

• 2017-18 is set to be one of the worst flu seasons in recent history. Natalia cited John M. Barry's work at Smithsonian Magazine and in his book The Great Influenza. She also cited Derek Beres' essay about homeopathy in Public Seminar.
• The Cleveland Indians will abandon the controversial Chief Wahoo logo next year. Natalia cited Andrew McGregor's Washington Post piece on athletic "safe spaces" for conservative politics as well as Philip Deloria's book Playing Indian. Niki referenced the National Coalition of American Indians video "Proud to Be."
• Lili Loofbourow's essay on female pain, "The Female Price of Male Pleasure," went viral. Natalia cited a Healthline article about the "husband stitch" as well as John D'Emilio and Estelle Freedman's book Intimate Matters.

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

• Neil discussed the creation of a new literary award, the Staunch Book Prize.
• Natalia commented on Dr. Jen Gunter's medical blog, in particular her account of Gwyneth Paltrow's New York City event.
• Niki shared this Guardian article about the bloodthirsty history of the nature documentary.

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate the role of homeschooling in an abuse case in California, the recent government shutdown, and why people are eating Tide Pods on social media.

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

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

• A horrific case of child abuse in California has renewed debate about homeschooling. Natalia cited political philosopher Rob Reich's scholarly article on homeschooling.
• We debate the recent government shut down.
• What started as an internet joke about eating Tide Pods has become a real-life fad. Natalia referred to this JStor Daily article about the sexualization of the supermarket.

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

• Natalia discussed the New York Times article, "Young Fitness Fogies Ditch $40 Classes for Hoops, Laps, and Jogs."
• Neil discussed the Huffington Post article, "Even Breathing is a Risk in One of Orlando's Poorest Neighborhoods.
• Niki discussed Catherine Kerrison's Washington Post article "How Did We Lose a President's Daughter?"

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki debate Tonya Harding's comeback, book bans in prison, and the 20th anniversary of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.

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

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

• I, Tonya, is now in theaters and has prompted a new wave of interest in the 1990s scandal involving skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Natalia referenced Chloe Angyal's New York Times piece on "gymnastics feminism" and Niki referred to the 1995 book Women on Ice: Feminist Responses to the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding Spectacle.
• Michelle Alexander's book The New Jim Crow was effectively banned from New Jersey jails, raising questions about how such decisions are made. Niki referred to another banned book, Douglas Blackmon's Slavery by Another Name. Natalia mentioned Heather Thompson's book about the Attica Uprising, Blood in the Water.
• It has been twenty years since the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Natalia referred to Lewinsky's 2014 interview in Vanity Fair and her TED talk on cyberbullying. Niki wrote about how the Lewinsky scandal shaped modern American politics in her column for The Age.

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

• Natalia shared the Amazon Originals show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
• Neil discussed this Atlas Obscura article on when the Soviet Union paid Pepsi in warships.
• Niki commented on the New York Times article on how an African-American character, Franklin, was introduced to the Peanuts cartoon.

In this week's episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate the Asian fetish of some alt-right white nationalists, President Trump's plan to revoke protections for Salvadorans, and the raw water craze.

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

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

• White nationalism is not necessarily incompatible with heterosexual romantic attraction to Asian women, Audrea Lim wrote in the New York Times. Niki referred to Asian women's complicity in this dynamic as akin to that of alt-right women more broadly, as discussed in Harper's. Natalia and Niki referred to this Plan A article explaining how anti-Asian gender stereotyping also marginalizes Asian-American men. Niki referred to Jeffrey Guo's reporting in the Washington Post that it wasn't unique drive among Asian-Americans that made them a "model minority", but the gradual diminishing of anti-Asian racism. We all recommend Ellen D. Wu's book The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority.
• The Trump administration has announced that it will revoke "Temporary Protected Status" for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans who benefit from it. Niki cited Carly Goodman's Washington Post article pointing to the origins of TPS.
• "Raw water" is all the rage among a certain subset of the wellness world, reported publications from the New York Times to the National Review. Natalia cited Tamara Venit Shelton's Public Seminar article about the origins of the obsession with "natural living."

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

• Natalia commented on Kathleen Kelly Janus' new book Social Startup Success.
• Neil discussed the controversy over this New York Times obituary of LDS president Thomas Monson. He also referred to this catalog of all obituaries of LDS presidents.
• Niki shared this New York Times article about #MeToo pioneer Patricia Douglas.

In this week's episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss a feud between African-American intellectuals Cornel West and Ta-Nehisi Coates, the electoral prospects for southern Democrats, and why LaCroix Sparkling Water has become an obsession.

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

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

• Cornel West published a blistering takedown of Ta-Nehisi Coates in The Guardian. Niki referenced Michael Eric Dyson's critique of West in The New Republic and Natalia referred to Matthew Clair's essay in Public Books about the origins of the desire among liberal white audiences to hear "authentic" black voices, but only in certain ways. Niki referenced Tressie McMillan Cottom's blog post where she argued that Coates and West are fundamentally different as thinkers.
• Doug Jones' win against Roy Moore in Alabama was astonishing given the political leanings of the region. Neil referred to his own post in Public Seminar in which he argued the election was more a loss for Moore than a victory by Jones. Niki referred to Matthew Lassiter's Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South and Kevin Kruse's White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism, both of which detail the slow process by which the long-Democratic South became almost wholesale Republican.
• LaCroix Sparkling Water is all the rage among coastal tastemakers these days, though it has Midwestern roots, as Vox reports. Niki recommended the Gastropod podcast to delve deeper into the history of seltzer.

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

• Natalia discussed allegations of sexual assault against Russell Simmons.
• Neil recommended Sarah Rose's book For All the Tea in China.
• Niki shared why KFC is a popular Christmas meal in Japan.

In this week's episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia debate the viral New Yorker short story "Cat Person", the disproportionately high maternal death rate among black women, and the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon.

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

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

• Kristen Roupenian's New Yorker short story "Cat Person" went surprisingly viral last week. Natalia cited Laura Kipnis' Unwanted Advances to dissuade readers from equating bad and coercive sex. Natalia cited Jennifer Weiner's New York Times op-ed about the snobbery often directed at her career writing "chick lit." Neil recommended Roupenian's interview with Deborah Treisman.
• ProPublica published a damning article highlighting the many reasons black women die in pregnancy and childbirth. Neil recommended anthropologist Carolyn Rouse's book Uncertain Suffering: Racial Health Care Disparities and Sickle Cell Disease, and Natalia recommended Alondra Nelson's Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination and Susan Reverby's Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and its Legacy.
• We discussed the newest Christmas tradition – the now decade-plus old Elf on the Shelf.

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

• Neil discussed the history of the claw foot tub.
• Natalia commented on the new PBS documentary, Pervert Park.
• Niki shared The Cut article, "The Life and Death of a Radical Sisterhood."

In this week's episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate the resurgence of etiquette books, the announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal engagement, and President Trump's decision to limit the size of two national monuments.

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

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

• Etiquette books are making a comeback, and we referenced this New York Times roundup of new titles by Judith Newman. Natalia cited Richard Bushman's classic book, The Refinement of America: Persons, Houses, Cities and Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road.
• Prince Harry is getting engaged to biracial American actor Meghan Markle. Natalia cited this Washington Post article critiquing American's fascination with British royal culture.
• President Trump reduced the size of two national monuments, breaking with presidential precedent and angering many. Natalia cited Federico Finchelstein's new book From Fascism to Populism in History. Neil cited the role of outdoor recreation companies in resisting this move and Natalia cited Tom Sugrue's article "America's Real Estate Developer in Chief" in Public Books.

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

• Neil commented on Steve Bannon's attack on Mitt Romney.
• Natalia discussed the new Netflix documentary, Voyeur.
• Niki shared the Vox video, "The U.S. Medical System Still Haunted By Slavery."

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate the purchase of Time Inc. by the Meredith Corporation, sexual assault claims at a chain of massage spas, and net neutrality.

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