Past Present

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory.

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

• A deadly mass shooting in Buffalo, NY brought renewed attention to the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory widely circulated among white supremacists. Niki drew on this New Yorker article about the European origins of this idea and her own New York Times essay on the role of media in amplifying it. Natalia discussed Samuel Huntington's Foreign Policy essay, "The Hispanic Challenge." Neil referenced this Nation article about Renaud Camus.

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

• Natalia made a plea for more coverage of how summer camp directors are gearing up for their third pandemic summer. Those stories haven't been written, but here's a History Channel video she recorded on the history of summer camps.
• Neil discussed Trip Mickle's New York Times article, "Farewell to the iPod."
• Niki shared her congratulations and gratitude for historian Brian Balogh, on the occasion of his retirement from the University of Virginia.

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the history of adoption in the United States.

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

• The phrase "domestic supply of infants" in a footnote to the leaked draft Supreme Court decision regarding abortion has horrified many Americans. Niki referred to this Atlantic article about the intense process of adopting a baby. Natalia referenced this New York Times essay about Gabrielle Glaser's book adoption and historian Rickie Solinger's essay on race and illegitimacy.

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

• Natalia recommended Jessica Bennett's New York Times essay, "Pamela Anderson, Amber Heard, and the Limits of the Feminist Redemption Plot."
• Neil discussed Milla Surjadi's Duke Chronicle article, "Student Commencement Address Bears Striking Resemblance to 2014 Student Address."
• Niki shared scholar Carla Cevasco's Twitter thread regarding infant feeding.

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court that overturns Roe v. Wade.

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

• Politico published a leaked draft opinion, penned by Justice Samuel Alito, in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion. Natalia referred to historian Jill Lepore's New Yorker article and Niki drew on Jennifer Schuessler's New York Times piece regarding the contested history of abortion. Niki recommended historian Leslie Reagan's book When Abortion Was a Crime, and Natalia cited Jamelle Bouie's New York Times opinion piece on the culture wars.

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

• Natalia commented on the quantity of coverage of Congressman Madison Cawthorn's masculinity, and the silence regarding the salience of his disability.
• Neil discussed Robert D. McFadden's New York Times obituary, "Judith Jones, Editor of Literature and Culinary Delight, Dies at 93" and the HBO Max show, "Julia."
• Niki recommended the new play, "Suffs."

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter.

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

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

• Billionaire Elon Musk made a successful $44 billion bid to acquire Twitter. Niki referred to this Los Angeles Times article about the limits of Elon Musk's "free speech absolutism." Natalia referenced this New York Times article about billionaire investors in the press. We all drew on this Psyche piece on the history of media ownership and its perils.

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

• Natalia recommended Kendall Taggart, John Templon, Anthony Cormier, and Jason Leopold's Buzzfeed News investigative report, "Profit, Pain, and Private Equity."
• Neil shared the launch of the anti-racism publication, The Emancipator.
• Niki discussed James Pogue's Vanity Fair article, "Inside the New Right, Where Peter Thiel is Placing His Biggest Bets," and this edition of John Ganz' Substack, Unpopular Front.

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss Coachella and the history of music festivals.

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

• The Coachella music festival has become a major cultural and commercial event. We all drew on this BBC chronology of music festivals, and Natalia referred to this piece in High Times. Neil referenced this Bloomberg article about the urbanization of music festivals and this Los Angeles Magazine article about the city's regional experience of music festivals.

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

• Natalia recommended the new Netflix documentary, White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch.
• Neil discussed the film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
• Niki shared her latest CNN column, "'The First Lady' is a Harsh Reminder of This Dissonant Truth."

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the ongoing popularity of the true crime genre.

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

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

• When journalist Brendan Koerner took to Twitter to call out a podcast for using his work without attribution, he drew attention to the broader appetite for true crime content. Neil recommended the podcast series Someone Knows Something, and Natalia referred to the "Dead Blondes" season on the podcast You Must Remember This and this Los Angeles Review of Books essay. She also cited an NPR segment about the how podcasters should cover true crime stories.

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

• Natalia recommended Derek Thompson's Atlantic article, "Why American Teens Are So Sad".
• Neil shared Tom Junod and Paula Lavigne's ESPN article, "Untold."
• Niki discussed the new podcast, Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis.

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss recent developments in the politics of sex and marriage.

https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast

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

• Republicans have both been sounding alarms about pedophilia and attempting to relax age-of-consent laws. Natalia referred to historian Clayton Howard's book, The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac: The Politics of Sexual Privacy in Northern California and Niki referenced Andrew Sullivan's 1995 book, Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality. Neil and Natalia drew on Frank Bruni's New York Times opinion piece.

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

• Natalia recommended Anne-Helen Petersen's Bustle article, "Britney Falls in Love."
• Neil discussed Rebecca Mead's New Yorker article, "Could Leopards Be Paid for Their Spots."
• Niki shared Taylor Lorenz' Washington Post article, "Internet 'algospeak' is changing our language in real time, 'nip nops' to 'le dollar bean'."

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss concerns over population decline.

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

• The rate of population growth in the United States is declining. Natalia referred to this Smithsonian article about longstanding fears about overpopulation and this Washington Post opinion piece by historian Mytheli Sreenivas. Neil drew on this Vox article.

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

• Natalia shared about her new column at Observer, "The Quick Study."
• Neil discussed Daniel Victor's New York Times article, "Flamingo No. 492 Is Still on the Run 17 Years Later".
• Niki discussed Jill Wine-Banks' NBC Think piece, "Trump's Phone Log Gap Could Be Much Worse than Nixon's Watergate Tape Erasures" and this Atlas Obscura essay on Rose Mary Woods.

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss "The Great Resignation."

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

• "The Great Resignation" has become a common trope in conversations about work and jobs in our current political culture. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article on the positive potential of such employment churn, and Niki cited this Vox piece on the burst of unionization spurred by pandemic dislocations.

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

• Natalia shared Jonathan Chait's Intelligencer article, "Democrats Must Defeat the Left's War on Educational Achievement."
• Neil recommended the Hulu series, "The Dropout".
• Niki discussed the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the popularity of the Netflix show "Love Is Blind."

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

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

• The second season of Love Is Blind is the latest in a long history of TV dating shows to capture the attention of the American public. Natalia recommended the podcast This Is Dating and referred to this Vox essay on and this New York Times piece about Love Is Blind. Niki referenced this New Yorker piece and Neil discussed this Washington Post article on dating shows as cultural ciphers. Neil also drew from this Vanity Fair piece about the history of queer representation on TV dating shows.

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

• Natalia recommended Jenny Nordberg's New York Times article, "Cissy Wallin and the Case that Killed #MeToo in Sweden."
• Neil discussed Rachel Aviv's New Yorker article, "The German Experiment that Placed Foster Children with Pedophiles."
• Niki shared a new Secret Service report, "Hot Yoga Tallahassee: A Case Study of Misogynistic Extremism."