Nostalgia Trap

April 30, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so I'm marking the occasion by reflecting on the war's meaning all these decades later. I share my own experiences as a historian of the war, along with some clips from books and documentaries that I think capture the impossible decisions the war forced upon millions of people. Check out the podcast series created by Willa Seidenberg and Bill Short, A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War Listen to NAM-TV, my documentary series on Vietnam Buy my book, Dangerous Grounds: Antiwar Coffeehouse and Military Dissent in the Vietnam Era Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon for access to all our bonus episodes, videos, and more

The recent death of Val Kilmer got Justin and I thinking about Jim Morrison and the curious legacy of The Doors in American pop culture. In this conversation, we continue our exploration of the amorphous brand of white masculinity embodied by Morrison and other doomed rock gods of the late 20th century, as we share memories of how The Doors blew our alienated teenage minds before the massive buzzkill of adulthood forced us to reckon with the cringier elements of Morrison's persona and cultural imprint. From psychedelic drugs and beat literature to sex, cars, and jazz – The Doors broke us through a certain mode of American manhood. But what was waiting for us on the other side? Listen to the whole episode

I'm reading S.C. Gwynne's incredible book Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, and it's making me think about Israel, Gaza, and the fatal arrogance of the leadership class throughout history. A scathing review of Bill Clinton's new book brings that arrogant tendency right up to 2025, as we witness the Democratic Party's inability to conjure a coherent battle plan to confront Trump and company's unbelievably evil intentions. Subscribe to listen to the whole episode and access our complete archive of bonus episodes, videos, and more

As the Trump administration tests the "Hamilton glitch" in the U.S. Constitution by sending Abrego Garcia and others to a foreign concentration camp without legal due process, I thought it might be time to contemplate what ordinary people can do to express their outrage/disapproval/humanity in the face of injustice. Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap for all our News Trap updates and access to a huge library of bonus content.

Trump's tariff carnival is doing real damage to the global economy, and Justin shares his thoughts on how a collapsing financial architecture will impact big capital, our daily lives, and the Trump project itself. Plus, we address the "Hamilton glitch" of judicial weakness, baked into the Constitution, that's creating a rapidly escalating showdown over who's really in charge. Click here to listen to the whole episode

Trump is dismantling the global neoliberal economic order that has served as the left's boogeyman for years, which SHOULD be an opportunity for the left to offer something beyond shrugging ambivalance and lib-dunking. Why isn't that happening? Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access all our News Trap episodes and bonus content.

Guitar Center dudes and their insanely rigid opinions lead to a conversation with Justin about the political psychology of FOMO, the rise of the pedophile hunter influencer class, the masculine desperation of emoji-driven war-planning group chat jerkoff sessions, the abject horror of students kidnapped off the streets for their views on Israel and Palestine, and Trump's assault on free trade scrambling the political alignments of the past several decades. Listen the whole episode

Adam Kotsko is a writer and cultural critic whose work focuses on American pop culture, from "cringe" comedies to our national obsession with sociopathic protagonists. His latest book, Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise Era considers how the Star Trek series has evolved (or devolved) in the political economy of streaming TV and the Marvel-ization of feature filmmaking. In this conversation we talk about how his work on TV sociopaths holds up during the new Trump administration, and the challenges of participating in fan culture within a fracturing and cynical landscape of cultural production. Check out our previous episode with Adam, "Cringe Nation" Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access our News Trap episodes and giant library of bonus goodness

Fascism comes to my local city council meeting, a proud Israel supporter haunts my gym, Elon Musk's transgender daughter drives him off a cliff, Trump wants to send people to foreign torture camps for Tesla vandalism, and the incompatible worldviews boil hotter than ever. Click here to listen to the whole episode.

Today I fall into paranoid android mode, thinking about what it means to "own the libs" from the left in the new Trump Reich. My message to an increasingly marginalized left flank: be careful what you wish for! Check out John Ganz's terrific Substack, Unpopular Front Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap for access to all our bonus content

Trump and Elon Musk are actively working to destroy the global economic order, but to what end? This week Justin and I consider the wacky cartoon reality that Americans inhabit, and speculate about the different forms "blowback" might take when the punishment gets real. Subscribe to hear the whole episode

Stephen Petrus is director of Public History Programs at LaGuardia and Wagner Archives and co-author of the book Folk City: New York and the American Folk Music Revival (2015). He joins me to discuss the movie A Complete Unknown, which tracks a brief but critical moment in the life of Bob Dylan, when his rise to stardom intersected with the wider social and political project envisioned by American folk musicians, fans, and organizers. Check out Dylan's Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie. For a deeper look at the folk scene from which Dylan emerged, don't miss Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005) Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon to support the show and access our huge library of bonus content, videos, News Trap episodes, and more.

Our good friend Justin Rogers-Cooper joins me to survey the first month of Trump's presidency, as we play out some of the nastier currents now circling in American and global political culture, from Trump's exoneration of his foot soldiers to the left salivating over Luigi Mangione, and much more. Who's really in control? And what can we anticipate as we head into truly uncharted territory? Subscribe to listen to the whole episode, join the discussion, and gain access to our big library of bonus content. Check out the interview with ACLU executive director Anthony Romero that Justin cites in the episode.

A recent law school event featuring former L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey honestly blew my mind, and made me think a lot about the intersection of crime, law enforcement, reform movements, and political violence. I try to put those ideas together alongside the current culture of J6 pardons and Luigi mania, as we fall further into a chaotic and vengeful national mindset. Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon to hear the whole episode and access our big library of bonus content. Check out the latest episode of Lawyers in the Attic, with education attorney Meghan Sherry.

There are currently too many news stories to fit into the "ominous portents of a dark future" file, so I've chosen a few of the most flagrant examples of Trump/Musk savagery to share, along with some reflections on how to fight for our minds and for each other as the world heads down the toilet. Check out our Patreon for more: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

I got my first job when I was 15 years old, working at a Pumpkin Patch on a local farm, and it's been all downhill from there. I'm partly joking, but the working world has never been a place of maximum success and happiness for me, and in this episode I try to come to terms with my own job history as a way of exploring the pressures that consume many of us: bosses, bills, weird co-workers, and the dark feeling that American life is often a big depressing rip-off. I've got stories to tell from a lifetime of shitty jobs, from manning the bakery case at Marie Callender's as a teenager to dealing with obnoxious D-list celebrities as a production assistant in Hollywood. As a wise man once said, "work sucks, I know." Here's a few slices of how I found that out. Subscribe to hear the whole episode and access our whole library of bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/posts/122293336?pr=true&forSale=true

The haunting documentary All I Can Say, which chronicles a few vibrant years in the life of Shannon Hoon, the lead singer of 90s grunge rock band Blind Melon, is a slice of deep 90s nostalgia shot on camcorder by Hoon himself before he died of a drug overdose in October 1995. In this conversation, Justin Rogers-Cooper joins me to reflect on Hoon's complicated legacy, the strange power of his intimate pre-Internet video diary, and the larger galaxy of 90s grunge martyrs. Check out Justin's chapter all about Blind Melon "Shannon Forever: Blind Melon's Bee Girl and Countercultural Afterlives" And enjoy the entire series of essays here: Happy Nostalgia: Making Connections with the Music of the '90s Our episode on 90s music with Happy Nostalgia series editor David Humphries: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-401-love-means-research-w-david-humphries/id862194930?i=1000682583975 Our episode on Elvis with Justin, a personal favorite: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-349-i-w-78198738?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Please support the show! Subscribe to our Patreon for access to all Nostalgia Trap bonus content: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

I started teaching college history courses in 2005 when I was a graduate student at the City University of New York. Looking back at those early years, I can hardly believe how little I knew about how to teach college courses. As I mark my 20th year of teaching, I thought I would reflect on everything I've learned from two decades of serving as an adjunct professor at a wide range of institutions, from working class community colleges to elite private schools and everything in between. I've changed a lot in these years, and so has the wider political economy and culture of American higher education. In this episode you'll hear my takes on the rise of tech in education, dealing with woke culture (the good and the bad), the slow humiliation of professorial hierarchies, belligerently anti-communist business students, and lots more. I also share some stories of true communion with students and colleagues, moments that make the whole journey, despite its many challenges, incredibly rewarding. To hear the whole episode and access our whole library of bonus content, subscribe to Nostalgia Trap here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-404-in-121213711

David Lynch died earlier this month, and like many others I've been reflecting on his legacy, not only in the wider culture but in my own personal trajectory and identity. In this episode, I focus on the latter. Rather than trying to analyze the larger meaning of Lynch's filmography, I wanted to sort out how his work intervened on my life, in particular considering how ideas of dark magic, synchronicity, and dreams in his films connect with my own weird experience of American reality. So I share some strange stories here, along with stray thoughts on how David Lynch, more than any other artist, somehow captured the uncanny feeling that some dark undercurrent pulsed beneath the surface of American life. Some reading recs I mention in the episode: Greil Marcus, The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice David Foster Wallace, "David Lynch Keeps His Head" Laura Dern, "You Wove L.A. Into Our Dreams" Subscribe to our Patreon page for bonus content, including full episodes, videos, and our News Trap updates: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

The politics of rebuilding Los Angeles after the fires, tech maneuvering for Trump juice, social media outrage missing the mark, Elon's Nazi salute masking something darker, a new Gilded Age comes into view, what's at risk with global capital behaving like a caged animal. This is a short clip from a full episode, which you can hear by subscribing to our Patreon. Subscibers get access to all of our bonus content, including full episodes, videos, book recs, and News Trap updates: https://www.patreon.com/posts/120711896?pr=true&forSale=true

Ross Barkan is a political writer and novelist whose Substack is one of our favorite places for thoughtful takes on the current political and cultural landscape. He joins me this week to survey the landscape with Trump taking office again, as we consider the tech world's shifting allegiances and cultural power, the exhaustion with #resistance outrage and performative politics, the online popularity of Luigi Mangione, the Elon Musk "Nazi" salute, and much more. Ross also tells us about his latest novel, Glass Century, and reflects on why he thinks novel-writing (and reading) are such an integral part of being human. Subscribe to our Patreon and get access to all our bonus episodes and News Trap updates: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

This week I'm joined by Evan Friss, author of the current New York Times bestseller The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore, which traces the development of bookshops as integral, often paradoxical, spaces within the landscape of American consumer culture. What is a bookshop? And what makes it different from literally any other place you can visit? In this conversation, Evan shares some highlights from the book, as we discuss places like New York City's The Strand, the pioneering gay rights bookshop Oscar Wilde, the proliferation of sidewalk booksellers (and the moral outrage they provoked), the unlikely redemption of Barnes & Noble as the hero of independent bookshops, and of course the rise of the villainous Amazon. As Evan explains, the bookshop isn't dead, and its evolving fate in the 21st century provides a dynamic glimpse at how literacy and political economy intersect in the past, present, and future. Subscribe to our Patreon to support our show and access our whole library of bonus episodes: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Fires in Los Angeles unleash a wave of online hate from the left and right. What chance do we have to mitigate the coming climate change disasters if the population's reactions are driven by algorithms that massage and indulge our worst impulses? This is a short clip from a full-length episode for Nostalgia Trap subscribers, sign up for a FREE 7-day trial to listen to the whole thing, plus gain access to our library of bonus episodes, videos, and more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/119735891?pr=true&forSale=true

This week I talk with David Humphries, a professor of English at Queensborough Community College in New York City, about his excellent project Happy Nostalgia: Making Connections with the Music of the '90s, which collects essays from CUNY scholars on the last "analog" moment of music fandom, the beautiful and tragic 1990s. We get a chance to trade nostalgic stories about our own music obsessions of the '90s, and try to frame how things changed for us (and everyone else) when streaming music blasted a whole lifestyle into oblivion. What died, and what remains alive? And are we just being cranky old men about Spotify's algorithmic nightmare? This is an intense and fun conversation about the meaning of nostalgia and how music gives us a constant pulse through the decades of technological and cultural evolution. Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to hear all our bonus episodes and News Trap updates: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

A critical but often overlooked chapter in American labor history, the animator's strike that shook the Walt Disney Corporation in 1941 was part of a wave of labor struggle in World War II era Hollywood. Jake S. Friedman's book The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age chronicles the strike in colorful detail, and includes plenty of eye-popping images of the strike's particularly cartoonish aesthetic. Friedman joins me for a conversation about his book, the strike, and the wider history of the Disney project, which shifted dramatically in the wake of the rebellion by its key artists. From communist infiltrators to mafia-connected union leaders, this is a fascinating picture of the intersection of art, industrial capitalism, and pop culture. For more on the book, including lots of great images from the strike: https://www.thedisneyrevolt.com/ Our previous episode on World War II era Disney history: https://www.patreon.com/posts/trap-tv-brick-to-75566223 Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap for bonus episodes, News Trap updates, and much more: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

This week we watched the excellent Apple TV series Severance and put it in conversation with Naomi Klein's latest book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. Both texts explore how the concept of "doubles" plays out in capitalist culture, and we have fun talking about the ways they did (and didn't) blow our minds. From Klein's refreshing take on the left's severe mistakes of the COVID era (and how Steve Bannon greedily lapped up the detritus) to Severance's terrifying vision of a corporation that aims to replace your entire identity, we take the opportunity to look into the mirror at the selves we make, and that are made for us. SUBSCRIBE to hear the whole episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/117926165?pr=true&forSale=true

A United Healthcare CEO is assassinated and the world laughs, fitness and nutrition culture goes fascist, Europe in collapse while China salivates, Trump's tariffs portend new global shockwaves. To hear the whole episode, subscribe for a FREE 7 day trial: https://www.patreon.com/posts/117457956?pr=true&forSale=true

It's Black Friday, so between insane binges of online shopping, Justin and I sat down to record a conversation about the Netflix documentary The Antisocial Network: From Memes to Mayhem, as we consider the path from Occupy Wall Street and Bernie Sanders to 1/6 and Donald Trump's triumph in the 2024 election. What role has internet culture played in shaping our current reality, and what can we expect in the future? This is only a short bit from a much longer episode, so subsribe to enjoy the whole thing --- lots of juicy ideas here. Subscribe for a FREE 7-day trial to hear the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116970931?pr=true&forSale=true

Musk's endgame on environmental regulations, universities bracing for a war on DEI and critical race theory, Houthi pirates drawn to their deaths in Ukraine, national economies bracing for world war. Happy Thanksgiving! Subscribe to access our entire library of bonus content, including weekly News Trap updates: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Tim Keogh is an Associate Professor of History at the Queensborough Community College in New York City. His book In Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Postwar Suburb turns a common American story on its head, giving us a picture of life at the economic bottom of the postwar suburban housing boom. This conversation features challenges to political orthodoxies of the right and left, and gave me a lot to chew on as we reflect on Trump's stunning gains among urban and suburban New Yorkers. Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes and weekly News Trap updates: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

This week I'm joined by my good friend Peter Sabatino for a conversation all about Vincent Van Gogh's personal and artistic legacy. We both read the book Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, a gigantic magisterial biography that affected us both in surprising ways. While Van Gogh embodies the archetypal image of the "tortured artist," there's so much more to his story, and Peter and I wanted to share our personal reactions to the aesthetic gift that Van Gogh created for the world in his short, difficult, astounding life. Check out our Patreon page for weekly News Trap updates and bonus episodes: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Armed militias roam the hurricane ravaged wastelands of North Carolina, no one wants children and it's not because of the economy, Apple's Vision Pro is a massive failure, we're stepping off the ship of rational discourse and entering the wonderland of feelings as facts. Don't miss any of our News Trap updates, subscribe and ride the snake: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Jack Reid is an American historian and the author of Roadside Americans: The Rise and Fall of Hitchhiking in a Changing Nation (UNC Press, 2020). In this conversation, we talk about the specific culture, between the 1930s and 1970s, that produced hitchhiking as a common social experience, when ordinary Americans would travel with strangers they met on the road. What happened to hitchhiking? And what does its disappearance tell us about our lonely historical moment? Check out our subscriber feed for News Trap episodes and lots more: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Listen to the full episode and check out all our News Trap/bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/111997005?pr=true&forSale=true

Joseph M. Thompson is assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University, and the author of Cold War Country: How Nashville's Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism (UNC Press, 2024). Thompson's history tracks the deep connections between country music and the U.S. military, uncovering a concerted effort by government officials and cultural creators to cement country culture and national pride (and of course, anti-communism). Our conversation moves from Slim Pickens to Toby Keith, as we explore how the cultural politics of country continue to shape the 21st century. Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon to check out my News Trap updates and all of our bonus content: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Andrew C. McKevitt is John D. Winters Endowed Professor of History at Louisiana Tech University. His latest book, Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America, explores how guns came to occupy a curious place between "constitutional right" and "consumer good," as the Cold War provided a cultural, political, and material framework by which guns could become the hottest item of the late 20th century. In this conversation, McKevitt shares some of the highlights of his research and provides historical context for the often simplistic "gun control" debate. Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon to check out my News Trap updates and all of our bonus content: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

R.E.M. is one of the most influential rock bands in American music history, with a legendary arc that took them from college radio punks in the early 80s to critical darlings and arena rockers with multiple smash albums throughout the 90s. But what happened after that? This week Justin shares a thesis about the final phase of R.E.M.'s career, during which the band signed an $80 million contract with Warner Brothers – and it all went downhill from there. As we take a close look at Michael Stipe's creative output and public persona, we recoil at how even our favorite artists can succumb to the poisonous influence of money and fame. Check out our Patreon for daily News Trap episodes, bonus interviews, documentary shorts, and much more: https://www.patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Anti-immigration politics are winning the moment, the market for testosterone replacement therapy is booming, child labor is on the horizon, and United Health EATS PEOPLE. And so ends this week's FREE PREVIEW for News Trap. Subscribe to continue the News Trap journey and keep up with all new episodes next week and beyond: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

A stunning new piece in The Atlantic offers details on the fall of America as seen from Phoenix, Arizona. Folks, 2024 is gonna be a hell of year. This is FREE PREVIEW WEEK for News Trap, subscribe to hear 'em all: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

Today we take a detailed look at this incredible Wall Street Journal piece featuring text messages from Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader and architect of 10/7. What's Sinwar's strategy? And how does it fit into an American antiwar movement's calculations? This week's episodes of News Trap are free for everyone but next week we're back to subscribers-only...so subscribe! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

Nobody likes new cars, everyone loves old cars, Americans are on a spending spree while complaining about the economy, the anti-AI rebellion is growing. This is a free episode of News Trap, subscribe to our Patreon for access to daily episodes: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

This week Justin and I talk about the 2008 Coen brothers film Burn After Reading, another "acid take" on American politics and culture with uncanny implications for our 2024 carnival timeline. Check out our daily News Trap updates to catch up on the "map of the future," in real time: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

David Rensin is the author of more than a dozen books, five of them New York Times bestsellers. I was lucky enough to meet David through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and he joins me here for a conversation about his long, strange trip as a journalist and author, from writing for Rolling Stone and Playboy in the 1960s and 70s to co-authoring massively popular books with Tim Allen and Jeff Foxworthy (!) in the 1990s. Rensin's 2013 book All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora is one of the most compelling visions of mid-century California I've encountered, and we talk here about Rensin's decades-long odyssey to capture Dora's significance as a surfer and cultural figure. Check out my daily NEWS TRAP updates: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

"Everyday carry" and "prepper" culture, unsold Teslas piling up at dealerships, AI as the future of global capitalism, AI does not in fact work, Biden is not properly buying our votes. Follow all our News Trap episodes by subscribing to our Patreon feed, free with 7 day trial membership: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

We've been posting daily news wrap-ups/freakouts every morning over at the Nostalgia Trap Patreon page for our subscribers. I'm posting today's episode on the main feed, hoping you'll subscribe. My goals with News Trap are to share perspectives on the big trends shaping our present and future, to fill in the gaps on stories you may have missed, or offer challenges to orthodoxies on the left and right, and to avoid the nauseating cycle of social media bullshit. If that sounds like your thing, please join us. A Nostalgia Trap subscription includes access to every News Trap episode, along with our entire library of bonus content, interviews, and videos. Thanks! Check out News Trap here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/520366?view=expanded

Trump can't control himself in court, food prices are gonna decide the election, Tik Tok is gearing up for a Supreme Court battle, the U.S. can't make enough weapons for both Israel AND Ukraine, and RFK, Jr. has a brain worm (no, literally). Stay informed! Subscribe so you won't miss all our News Trap updates: https://www.patreon.com/posts/103876807?pr=true

As campus protests against Israel's genocidal actions in Gaza continue, Justin and I pick up on our discussion from last week about the wider historical issues at play. This week we talk more about anti-apartheid campaigns of the 1980s, and consider the idea of "divestment" at elite colleges. The neoliberal, corporate university is having quite a moment – confronting the contradictions of its hyper-capitalist structure and social justice culture – and we are here for it. Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access our library of bonus episodes and News Trap updates: https://www.patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

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

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

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