In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate Sacha Baron Cohen’s new show, the viability of a “yoga vote,” and the demographic shift bringing about the disappearance of the middle child.

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

• British prankster and social critic Sacha Baron Cohen has a new show, “Who Is America?” Niki recommended this New York Times article comparing the tactics of conservative James O’Keefe to those employed by Baron Cohen. She also referred to this Smithsonian magazine article about turn-of-the-century undercover women reporters.
• Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio told The Intercept he would court “the yoga vote” should he run for president in 2020. Natalia referred to a conversation on the 538 Blog that dismissed “the yoga vote” as today’s “soccer mom.” Natalia also recommended Michelle Goldberg’s book The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi and the “Bikram” series produced by ESPN’s “30 For 30” podcast.
• The middle child “is going extinct,” announced The Cut Niki recalled Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 book, The Population Bomb, while Natalia recommended Julia Belluz’ Vox article that contextualized these findings in broader demographic shifts.

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

• Natalia shared Brian Feldman’s New York magazine article, “The Most Important Video Game on The Planet.”
• Neil discussed the miniseries “A Very English Scandal.”
• Niki recommended Alexis Madrigal’s Atlantic article, “Why No One Answers Their Phone Anymore.”

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki debate the definition of treason, the significance of linguistic accents, and a new practice of prescribing outdoor play.

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

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

• President Trump’s behavior at his joint press conference with Vladimir Putin has earned him the epithet of “traitor” by many critics. Niki referenced this article at the Washington Post’s “Made By History” by Gail Savage.
• Roberto Rey Agudo’s New York Times op-ed made the provocative case that “Everyone Has an Accent.” Natalia referred to this Bustle article about “the chameleon effect,” and Neil cited this Chicago Reader article about the Chicago accent. Natalia recommended this New York Times article about Hollywood dialect coaches and the rise of accuracy in portraying regional accents onscreen.
• Some doctors are writing prescriptions for children to engage in outdoor play.

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

• Natalia shared about the launch of the new feminist press, Dottir, and one of its first titles, a children’s book called Not My Idea.
• Neil discussed the history of double negatives.
• Niki commented on the death of John Stormer who she wrote about in her Washington Post “Made By History” article, “How The Right Became Addicted to Conspiracies.”

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the children rescued from a Thai cave, the Trump administration’s approach to breastfeeding policy, and the fleece vests that have become a staple uniform of the finance industry.

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

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

• A Thai boys’ soccer team was rescued from a flooded cave as the world watched. Niki referred to comedian Stephen Colbert linking the rescue to the Trump administration’s family separation policy. She also commented on the longstanding media fascination with stories of being trapped underground; Natalia commented on how the trope shows up in literature, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s 1846 story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” and Neil mentioned it as a theme of the Netflix show, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” a program we discussed on Episode 30.
• The Trump administration shocked many when it moved to weaken an international breastfeeding resolution. Natalia recommended Suzanne Barston’s book Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies Has Come to Define Motherhood, and It Shouldn’t, historian Jessica Martucci’s Back to the Breast: Natural Motherhood and Breastfeeding in America, and her own article at the Society for U.S. Intellectual History Blog.
• The Instagram parody account @midtownuniform has brought attention to a new sartorial staple of the Wall Street set: the fleece vest. Natalia cited this Wall Street Journal article on the finance-industry fashion of the show Billions.

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

• Natalia recommended Dan Nosowitz’s Atlas Obscura article, “Why Are There Palm Trees in Los Angeles?”
• Neil discussed the origins of 911 telephone service and its racist misuses which he wrote about for the Huffington Post.
• Niki spoke about Joe Heim’s Washington Post article, “Sacred Ground: Now Reclaimed: A Charlottesville Story.”

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia debate the rise of Democratic Socialists, plans for packing the Supreme Court, and the increasing popularity of audiobooks.

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

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

• Thanks to the recent upset victory of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez in a New York Democratic primary, socialism appears to be having a new moment in American politics.
• Justice Anthony Kennedy has stepped down, prompting a conversation about whether “packing” the Supreme Court is an advisable strategy for progressives. Natalia cited historian William Leuchtenberg’s Smithsonian Magazine article on Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court.
• The popularity of the audiobook is challenging publishers to think differently about how people consume literature.

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

• Natalia recommended Judith Newman’s New York Times essay, “He’s Going Back to His Former Wife. Sort Of.”
• Neil discussed the cultural significance of the “Trumpy Bear” toy.
• Niki recommended Jessica Gingrich’s Gastro Obscura article, “The Ornate Ice Cream Saloons That Served Unchaperoned Women.”

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil debate recent claims that the Left is destroying civility in politics, the LGBTQ+ history of American gym culture, and a half-century of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

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

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

• When White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant by its owner, many decried the incident as evidence of a decline in civility. Natalia cited historian William Chafe’s book Civilities and Civil Rights. At Vox, Niki wrote about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s own history of being called “uncivil.”
• An Indianapolis CrossFit location recently canceled a workout intended to celebrate Pride Month, and backlash was swift. Natalia wrote about the history of LGBTQ+ culture and American gyms for Slate and also cited historian David K. Johnson’s Journal of Social History article on male physique magazines. She talked more about the issue recently on the All About Fitness with Pete McCall Neil noted recent Past Present episodes on the “gayborhood” and the “twink” were relevant to this segment’s discussion.
• A new documentary takes a retrospective look at Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fifty years after its release. Natalia cited Aisha Harris’ review in Slate.

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

• Natalia talked about Brooke Hauser’s biography of Helen Gurley Brown, Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman.
• Neil discussed the life and legacy of Koko the Gorilla, who recently died at 46.
• Niki recommended Anne Ewbank’s Atlas Obscura article, “The Tragic Roots of America’s Favorite Cherry.”