Episode 136: Anthony Bourdain, Family Values, and Ageism

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia debate the legacy of Anthony Bourdain, the end of “family values” conservatism, and ageism as a form of discrimination.

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

• The late Anthony Bourdain helped define the now familiar figure of the “celebrity chef.” Niki referred to Bourdain’s books Kitchen Confidential and Medium Raw as reshaping the genre of food writing. Natalia cited Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food as other works that helped Americans conceive of food as a lens on politics and society.
• “Family values,” long a familiar trope of conservative American politics, appears under threat in the Trump era. Neil wrote in Slate about how and why this era has come to an end. Neil recommended historian Seth Dowland’s book, Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right. Natalia cited her own book, Classroom Wars: Language, Sex, and the Making of Modern Political Culture, on how family values politics have always been racialized.
• Ageism is an often under-acknowledged cause of discrimination. Natalia commented on how the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967) barred workplace age discrimination and cited a recent Atlantic interview with a man who was laid off in his fifties. Natalia also recommended Ashton Applewhite’s writing on age and ageism at the This Chair Rocks Blog.

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

• Natalia talked about Jesse Singal’s controversial Atlantic article, “When Children Say They’re Trans.”
• Neil recommended Pose, a new show on the FX Network.
• Niki discussed Nathan Truesdell’s Atlantic video, “The Balloonfest That Went Horribly Wrong.”