In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss “The Great Resignation.”

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

• “The Great Resignation” has become a common trope in conversations about work and jobs in our current political culture. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article on the positive potential of such employment churn, and Niki cited this Vox piece on the burst of unionization spurred by pandemic dislocations.

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

• Natalia shared Jonathan Chait’s Intelligencer article, “Democrats Must Defeat the Left’s War on Educational Achievement.”
• Neil recommended the Hulu series, “The Dropout”.
• Niki discussed the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the popularity of the Netflix show "Love Is Blind."

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

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

• The second season of Love Is Blind is the latest in a long history of TV dating shows to capture the attention of the American public. Natalia recommended the podcast This Is Dating and referred to this Vox essay on and this New York Times piece about Love Is Blind. Niki referenced this New Yorker piece and Neil discussed this Washington Post article on dating shows as cultural ciphers. Neil also drew from this Vanity Fair piece about the history of queer representation on TV dating shows.

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

• Natalia recommended Jenny Nordberg’s New York Times article, “Cissy Wallin and the Case that Killed #MeToo in Sweden.”
• Neil discussed Rachel Aviv’s New Yorker article, “The German Experiment that Placed Foster Children with Pedophiles.”
• Niki shared a new Secret Service report, “Hot Yoga Tallahassee: A Case Study of Misogynistic Extremism.”

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss rising gas prices and the history of energy crises.

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

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

• Gas prices are surging, and Americans are frustrated. We all drew on historian Meg Jacobs’ book, Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article about the fiction of “energy independence.” Niki referred to this Washington Post article on the historical relationship around oil between Russia and western nations.

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

• Natalia shared Alex Hawgood’s New York Times article, “What is Bigorexia?”
• Neil recommended Henry Fountain’s New York Times article, “At the Bottom of an Icy Sea, One of History’s Great Wrecks Found.”
• Niki discussed Peggy McGlone’s Washington Post piece, “Smithsonian to Give Back Its Collection of Benin Bronzes.”

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the American response to the escalating war between Russia and Ukraine.

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

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

• Russia has invaded Ukraine as the world watches. Natalia referred to philosopher Jason Stanley’s article in TIME about denazification and this New Yorker interview with political scientist John Mearsheimer. Neil cited this POLITICO interview with Fiona Hill, and Niki recommended M.E. Sarotte’s book Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of the Post-Cold War Stalemate.

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

• Natalia recommended the second season of the Netflix series, Dirty John.
• Neil discussed the legacy of college basketball coaching legend “Coach K.”
• Niki shared about historian Lily Geismer’s new book, Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed Attempt to Solve Inequality.

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the mysterious illness known as Havana Syndrome affecting U.S. diplomats around the world.

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

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

• Over 200 members of the U.S. Foreign Service and intelligence community have reported strange symptoms, including headaches, nausea, and memory loss, that many believe have been caused by a deliberate attack. The symptoms were first reported in 2016 by American diplomats in Cuba, leading to it being named Havana Syndrome, but since then they have been reported throughout the world. A recent report concluded that most of these cases could be attributed to undiagnosed illnesses or other benign causes, but they did not rule out that some cases could have been caused by an “external energy source.” We mentioned a 2018 New Yorker investigation of the syndrome, and discussed the history of the Soviet Union using microwaves against American diplomats.

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

• Natalia discussed her recent piece for Global Sports Matter, “Building a Better Movement Culture Will Require Inclusion and Creativity.”
• Neil commented on the life and legacy of Dr. Paul Farmer and shared Tracy Kidder’s New York Times remembrance, “He Wanted to Make the Whole World His Patient.”
• Niki shared the Jefferson Scholars Foundation’s webinar, “Crisis in Ukraine: The Origins of the Next War in Europe.”