In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss anti-Asian comments by comedian Shane Gillis, an attack in Saudi Arabia, and the not-so-lost art of the telephone call.

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

• Saturday Night Live hired comedian Shane Gillis and then promptly fired him when video of his racist remarks about Asian Americans and others surfaced. Niki referred to Ellen D. Wu’s book The Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority. Natalia discussed Frank Sinatra’s 1945 song, “The House I Live In.”
• An attack in Saudi Arabia on the largest oil refinery in the world prompted President Trump to point fingers at Iran. Natalia referenced this Al-Jazeera timeline of US-Saudi relations.
• An Atlantic article by millennial writer Amanda Mull extolled the virtues of talking on the phone over texting. Niki referred to historian Claude Fischer’s book America Calling: A Social History of the Telephone Since 1940.

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

• Natalia discussed a 1972 LIFE magazine article, “Who’s the Man in Room 7?”
• Neil commented on Coral Davenport’s New York Times article, “Trump Defends Plan to Kill California’s Auto-Emissions Authority.”
• Niki recommended Tess McClure’s Guardian article, “Dark Crystals: The Brutal Reality Behind a Booming Wellness Craze.”

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss government surveillance of American universities, the political career of John Bolton, and the technological and cultural reasons women’s voices are often insulted as “shrill.”

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

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

• The FBI has urged U.S. universities to monitor certain students and scholars visiting from China. Natalia referred to this history of spying on campus from the Harvard Crimson.
• National security adviser John Bolton is the latest Trump appointee to have left the administration. Neil referred to this New Yorker profile of Mike Pompeo and Niki to this one of John Bolton.
• A New Yorker article describing how audio technology has historically been calibrated to male voices went viral. Niki referred to this BBC piece on women’s changing voices. Natalia recommended this article from The Cut on the policing of women’s voices.

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

• Natalia recommended Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel, Fleishman is in Trouble.
• Neil shared Brandon Ambrosino’s Politico piece, “’Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence.”
• Niki discussed Daniel E. Slotnik’s New York Times article, “Chris March, Over-the-Top Fashion Designer, Dies at 56.”

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the legacy of late bodybuilder Franco Columbu, the candidacy of Kamala Harris, and a proposal to eliminate selective testing for New York City public high schools.

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

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

• Italian bodybuilding icon Franco Columbu has died. Niki referred to the film Pumping Iron, in which he appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Natalia cited the importance of physician Kenneth Cooper’s 1968 book Aerobics in both mainstreaming the idea of working out and challenging the pre-eminence of weightlifting as a dominant form of exercise.
• Kamala Harris is running for president, and working to establish an enthusiastic base. Neil recommended Dana Goodyear’s New Yorker profile of Harris. Niki recommended Elizabeth Hinton’s book From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America.
• New York City is considering scrapping test-based admissions to its selective high schools, causing intense controversy. Neil cited Kyle Smith’s New York Post op-ed defending the system. Natalia and Niki both recommended historian Ellen Wu’s book Color of Success: Asian Americans and the Origins of the Model Minority, and Natalia cited historian Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and historian Tom Sugrue’s Twitter thread on the New York City controversy. Niki referred to historian Jean Theoharis’s book The Strange Careers of the Jim Crow North: Segregation and the Struggle Outside the South.

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

• Natalia recommended a new Luminary podcast about Ivanka Trump, Tabloid.
• Neil discussed Joshua Sokol’s New York Times piece, “Florida’s Panthers Hit With Mysterious Crippling Disorder.”
• Niki shared Ben Smith’s Buzzfeed News piece, “A Top White House Reporter is Taking Over the Washington Free Beacon.”

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the legacy of late billionaire David Koch, the menace of bedbugs, and why so many people are choosing to remain friends after a breakup.

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

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

• Billionaire libertarian and David Koch has died. Natalia referred to Jane Mayer’s New Yorker article that first brought major attention to the political influence of the Koch brothers.
• Bedbugs are in the news these days with outbreaks at the Trump Doral Resort and the New York Times. When political scientist David Karpf joked that Bret Stephens is a “bedbug,” the New York Times columnist emailed his provost. Niki recommended Karpf’s most recent book, Analytical Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy. Natalia referred to science journalist Brooke Borel’s book, Infested: How the Bed Bug Infiltrated our Bedrooms and Took Over the World.
• Why do people want to stay friends after a breakup, The Atlantic recently asked in an article by Ashley Fetters. Natalia recommended historian Nancy Cott’s book, Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation, Christine Whelan’s book Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women, and Moira Weigel’s Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating.

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

• Natalia recommended Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated.
• Neil discussed International Dog Day, and specifically, George H.W. Bush’s dog Ranger.
• Niki shared Jamelle Bouie’s New York Times opinion piece, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Understands Democracy Better than Republicans Do.”