In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss segregation academies, the death of an American missionary, and the declining market share of lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret.

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

• Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is in a runoff contest to hold on to her Senate seat, sparked backlash when she made an offhand comment about a “public hanging” that many perceived as racist. The fact that Hyde-Smith attended a “segregation academy,” as reported by this Jackson Free Press article Natalia recommended, shed important light on how she developed such a worldview.
• Last week, American missionary John Allen Chau was killed when he traveled to the remote island of North Sentinel. Niki recommended this viral thread by Twitter user @RespectableLaw on the historical context for the hostility of the Sentinelese to outsiders. Neil discussed the case of evangelical Jim Elliot, who was killed on a mission in Ecuador. Natalia recommended Sadatru Sen’s book, Disciplining Punishment: Colonialism and Convict Society in the Andaman Islands and Jonathan Zimmerman’s Innocents Abroad: American Teachers in the American Century.
• Lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret is losing market share, and CMO Ed Razek hasn’t been shy about disdaining new upstarts like Third Love. Natalia cited this Slate article about the founding of Victoria’s Secret to cater to men’s shopping needs. Natalia also recommended Elizabeth Matelski’s Reducing Bodies: Mass Culture and the Female Figure in Postwar America and this episode of the Sexing History podcast about “sweater girls.”

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

• Natalia discussed the new movie Ralph Breaks the Internet.
• Neil recommended Natalie Escobar’s Atlantic article, “The Changing Ways Parents React to Their Kids Coming Out of the Closet.”
• Niki shared Joe Pinsker’s Atlantic article, “The 30-Year Reign of Lunchables.”

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the aftermath of the midterm elections with special guest, Slate senior political correspondent Jamelle Bouie, the revocation of CNN journalist Jim Acosta’s “hard pass” to the White House, and the supposed radicalization of children’s literature.

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

• Demands for recounts and accusations of voter suppression and fraud defined the immediate aftermath of the midterm elections earlier this month. We sat down with Slate senior political correspondent Jamelle Bouie to discuss his analysis of the aftermath and how it fits into histories of disenfranchisement in the United States.
• After a heated exchange between President Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta, the White House downgraded his White House access. Niki recommended historian Martha Jones’ Washington Post article on how women journalists of color have routinely been denied full access to the events they cover.
• Children’s books promoting progressive politics have been selling well, prompting the Atlantic to announce a “radicalization” of children’s literature. Natalia recommended this Slate piece that discussed a disproportionate emphasis on rebellious girls and pointed out a controversy over the children’s book P is for Palestine that indicated the limits of this “radicalization.” Neil recommended historian Julia Mickenberg’s book Learning from the Left: Children’s Literature, The Cold War, and Radical Politics in the United States.

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

• Natalia discussed her Washington Post article, “Why A Right-Wing Extremist Targeted a Yoga Studio.”
• Neil recommended the YouTube clip, “Comparing Every Version of A Star is Born.”
• Niki shared Tim Alberta’s Politico article, “How the GOP Gave Up on Porn.”

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the midterm elections, the alt-right social media platform Gab, and Movember.

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

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

• We discussed whether the midterm elections resulted in the “blue wave” Democrats anticipated.
• Gab, launched as a “free-speech Twitter,” has become a platform for the alt-Right. Niki recommended Kathleen Belew’s book Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.
• “Movember” launched in 2003 in Australia as a way to raise awareness about men’s health. Natalia recommended this Atlantic article questioning the utility of awareness campaigns.

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

• Natalia shared the ESPN 30 for 30 Podcast’s episode “The Six Who Sat.”
• Neil discussed Melissa McCarthy’s new film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
• Niki recommended Ben H. Winters’ book, Underground Airlines.

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the massacre of Jews at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, the closing of rural hospitals, and the political reawakening of women in Orange County, California.

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

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

• The largest murder of Jews in the United States took place last month at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Natalia referred to writer Yascha Mounk’s tweet about the resistance of the media to acknowledge anti-Semitism as racism. Niki referred to her discussion of anti-Semitism and the alt-Right in her podcast series A12.
• Rural hospitals are closing, depriving Americans in these regions of crucial medical services. Natalia recommended historian Gabriel Rosenberg’s book on the idealization of rural life, The 4-H Harvest: Sexuality and the State in Rural America.
• Motivated by antipathy to Trump, previously politically disengaged suburban mothers in Orange County are organizing in advance of the midterms. Natalia cited historian Lisa McGirr’s Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right as an important political history of the region. Neil mentioned his recent Atlantic article on white women’s changing political affinities in the age of Trump.

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

• Natalia recommended Jordan Smith’s Runner’s World article, “Kelly Herron After Chasing Down Alleged Attacker: We Do Not Have To ‘Let It Go’.”
• Neil shared Ruth Graham’s Slate article, “Two Shotguns: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?”
• Niki discussed Keia Mastraianni’s Bon Appetit article, “’Election Cake’ Makes a Modern Resurgence.”