Podcast
Nostalgia Trap
Hosted by David Parsons · EN
Deep dive conversations on American history, politics, and pop culture, hosted by history professor and writer David Parsons.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
News Trap 10.24.25 - For Me to Poop On w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
Oct 2400:09:13Tap to summarizeThe US government shits the bed, Trump dumps AI feces on protesters, the East Wing of the White House gets flushed down the toilet, Mamdani squeezes out a floater upon a dying Democratic Party, and something stinks about the US dropping bombs on "drug dealers" off the coast of Venezuela. Listen to the full episode on the Nostalgia Trap Subscriber Feed
Transcribe →Livestream: One Battle After Another
Oct 2100:42:05Tap to summarizeSpoiler alert! I recorded this livestream about an hour after finishing this movie, so this is me attempting to untangle my thoughts about it. A complicated, funny, scary, and beautiful contemplation about revolutionary praxis (worst word in the world), One Battle After Another is definitely worth your time. I explain why here. Follow/subscribe to our Patreon for access to all our bonus content and News Trap episodes
Transcribe →News Trap 10.10.25 - The Best of Times, the Worst of times w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
Oct 1000:02:14Tap to summarizeThis week Justin joins me to consider the dialectical nature of our 2025 reality, as we examine the utopian and dystopian properties of Bad Bunny Super Bowl discourse, the rise of Zohran Mamdani, and the accelerated unleashing of AI slop upon a world of hungry little piggies. Are we in heaven, or are we in hell? Why not both? Subscribe for a FREE 7 day trial to listen to this whole episode, plus gain access to our giant library of delicious, nutritious bonus content
Transcribe →2 Legit 2 Quit (Livestream Preview)
Oct 900:03:04Tap to summarizeThe Supreme Court is scared of crossing Trump; Stephen Miller wants to declare the Democratic Party a terrorist organization; an ICE raid in Chicago lays the groundwork for a new era of authoritarianism; late night TV says goodbye; microplastics are giving everyone cancer; and we're all awaiting an economic crash at a scale the world has never seen. Cheers! Click here to listen to this whole episode and all our livestreams, news traps, and other bonus content
Transcribe →Digital Wolf Pack (Livestream Preview)
Sep 3000:03:57Tap to summarizeThis week on the Nostalgia Trap Livestream: Conspiracy theory mind-melt reaches the upper echelons of power, AI-generated savagery plunges further into the toilet, Chuck Schumer and Zohran Mamdani flirt with the limits of liberal possibility, a shocking violation of the 1st Amendment that's NOT Jimmy Kimmel (so no one cares), plus some delightful Cuban piano grooves! Listen to the whole episode here
Transcribe →News Trap 9.26.25 - The Thing Around the Corner w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
Sep 2600:04:25Tap to summarizeOn this week's News Trap update, Justin joins me to discuss the question on everyone's mind: when is the fever gonna break? As the cartoonish reality of Trump's second term takes on increasingly demented dimensions, we game out how larger forces, particularly the insane bubble that is the AI economy, are stirring in the background, threatening an imminent meltdown that promises to flip the script of what both left and right are currently imagining. Listen to the whole episode by joining the Nostalgia Trap Patreon with a FREE 7-Day Trial
Transcribe →The Pendulum Swings (Livestream Preview)
Sep 2400:02:01Tap to summarizeOn this week's livestream I talk about the deceptive power of the Kirk memorial, the postmodernity of conspiracy culture, the ironic twist of right-wing cancel campaigns and, of course, Jimmy Kimmel. Plus I share some juicy bits from Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Join the Nostalgia Trap Patreon and hear the whole episode, along with all our weekly bonus content
Transcribe →Ep 421 - First They Came for Jimmy Kimmel w/ Judd Legum
Sep 1900:56:09Tap to summarizeThe fallout from Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to mutate into an escalation of the right’s multi-front authoritarian campaign. On this episode, I talk with Judd Legum, journalist and creator of two of the most important independent progressive publications of the past two decades: the political news site ThinkProgress (RIP!) and the current Substack newsletter Popular Information. We talk about people being fired for comments about Kirk’s death (including Jimmy Kimmel), the Trump administration’s strategy of suing their enemies, and the outlook for progressive and left journalism in this increasingly stifling political atmosphere. Support independent media! Subscribe to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon to access all our bonus content, including News Trap updates, livestreams, and more.
Transcribe →HATE F#CK NATION (Livestream Preview)
Sep 1600:02:20Tap to summarizeAmerica is taking a turn into a dark cul-de-sac, and many liberals are hoping that Stephen Colbert and John Oliver's sunnier version of the national id will somehow, magically, win the day. But will it? Has it ever? Listen to the full episode here!
Transcribe →News Trap 9.12.25 - The Least Among Us w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
Sep 1200:05:21Tap to summarizeHere's our attempt to put Charlie Kirk's assassination in the context of the algorithmic dream world we inhabit, the queer libidinal dimensions of love and murder, and the larger politics of incompetent maniacs in the driver's seat of global power. This is a preview clip from a much longer and wider-ranging discussion, for Nostalgia Trap subscribers. Listen to the whole episode with a FREE 7-day trial of our Patreon Feed
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