In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris.

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

• Emily in Paris is a hit on Netflix, perhaps due in equal parts to escapism and hate-watching. Natalia referenced her Well + Good roundup of Parisian fitness, and the show Younger. Niki discussed the novel The Ugly American. Neil referred to this article in the New York Times about young Parisians’ reactions to Emily in Paris.

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

• Natalia recommended the Netflix series, I Am a Killer.
• Neil discussed his recent column for The Week, “The double-edged sword of Pope Francis’ same-sex union comments.”
• Niki shared Cindy Ott’s Environmental History article, “Object Analysis of the Great Pumpkin.”

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the debate over “court packing.”

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

• The Senate confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett have raised questions about the ethics of “court packing.” Neil recommended this Politico piece about the historical significance of FDR’s court packing. Natalia referenced Jamelle Bouie’s column defending the act, and Niki wrote about the nineteenth century history of the term for CNN. Natalia and Neil also referred back to our Past Present episode about originalism.

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

• Natalia shared Rose Thomas Bannister’s Public Seminar essay, “The Question About Religion Someone Should Have Asked Amy Coney Barrett.”
• Neil recommended Aaron Griffin’s new book, God’s Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America.
• Niki discussed Season 3 of the NPR podcast, Motive.

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss how the White House became a coronavirus hot spot.

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

• President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, and much of his inner circle quickly reported positive diagnoses as well. Natalia referred to this Vanity Fair article linking the slow response to the pandemic to its early prevalence in blue states, and to this Lawfare article about presidential illness and secrecy. Niki referenced this Politico piece about how the GOP is attempting to spin Trump’s diagnosis.

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

• Natalia raged about the egregious failures of the New York City Department of Education.
• Neil recommended William Finnegan’s book, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life.
• Niki shared historians Gill Frank and Lauren Gutterman’s Jezebel piece, “How the Girl Watching Fad of the 1960s Taught Men to Harass Women.”

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the far-right, neo-fascist group, the Proud Boys.

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

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

• At last week’s presidential debate, President Trump drew attention to the all-male street gang, the Proud Boys, when he told them to “stand back and stand by.” Niki commented on the group’s founder, Gavin McInnes. Natalia discussed how the example of the early 20th century psychologist Stanley Hall provided a sort of erudite analogue to the Proud Boys. Neil mentioned Niki’s 2016 piece for Vox on the media’s interest in the alt-right’s aesthetics as a way to think about the Proud Boys’ Fred Perry uniform.

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

• Natalia discussed the news of Trump testing positive for coronavirus.
• Neil commented on his recent Twitter thread about the history of comparing coming out as gay to coming out as Republican.
• Niki talked about her recent piece for CNN, “Trump’s call for freelance poll-watchers summons a dark history.”