Nostalgia Trap

This week Justin and I talk about the genius singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who produced a stunning body of music in the late 90s before dying, tragically and cryptically, in 2003 at the age of 34. Smith's life and art intersects with the world of punk and grunge that emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the 80s and 90s, from the "boy culture" of Gus Van Sant films to the anti-rape politics of...

Anthony Galluzzo's new book Against the Vortex: Zardoz and Degrowth Utopias in the Seventies and Today offers a delightfully adventurous set of takes on some of this podcast's running obsessions: the collapse of the 1960s left, revolutionary violence, cult cinema, weird sex rituals, 1970s communes and "intentional communities," population bombs, nuclear futures and, perhaps most of all, the religi...

Justin Rogers-Cooper joins us for a conversation all about the life, work, and legacy of George Carlin, a key American cultural figure whose standup comedy transmitted radical ideas in the form of hilarious, often profane, "jokes." What are "jokes" anyway? In this episode we find the traps in Carlin's perspectives and reflect on the larger concept of standup comedy, particularly in the context of...

This week we've got a brand new Housing Trap conversation with guest host Andrew Schustek talking with Charlie Dulik, whose latest piece in The Baffler explores the controversy and mythology surrounding the "mom and pop landlord" in 21st century American life. Is collecting rent from tenants just another hustle for working class people? Or is "landlord" a distinct category of capitalist exploitati...

This week Justin and I try to wrap our minds and hearts around what's happening in Gaza. We offer some historical context, share some incredible Chomsky quotes (of course), and attempt to map out the future possibilities for the region. As always, though, it's hard to separate political analysis from the "fog of war" and the deep emotional stakes of watching an ongoing genocide funded by the Unite...

We are "back in action" and "ready to roll" and also just "ready" to continue our discussion of Mr. Show with Bob and David , a comedy television thing from the Before Times. On this episode, Peter, Geoff and David cover the opening episodes of Season 3: "Heaven's Chimney" and "Peanut Butter, Eggs, and Dice." There's a lot of fun and challenging stuff here, as the show gets more confident in attac...

This week Justin and I watched the forgotten 1996 science fiction thriller Chain Reaction , starring Keanu Reeves as a scientist (lol) who discovers a source of infinite free energy and becomes the target of multiple global conspiracies aimed at controlling the world's energy future. Seen from 2023, Chain Reaction reveals high anxiety about fossil fuels, the CIA, and the "just right" porridge of l...

In the past few weeks I've received many messages asking about the future of the show, so I wanted to put out a quick update about what's happening in my life (nothing too dramatic!) and where I expect the show to go. Long story short? I'm going to law school, and Nostalgia Trap will continue as I make my way through it. If you want to hear the whole story of why the hell anyone would go to law sc...

This week I crank up the doom machine and cover a few troubling trends for a dystopian future, drawing connections between this week's horrific destruction of Lahaina, Maui to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. What are young people supposed to think about all this? And more importantly, will today's kids ever become HOMEOWNERS? Subscribe for all our NEWS TRAP episodes and tons of bonus content:  https:/...

This week Justin and I survey the big stories of the hot summer of 2023, with our eye on an unfolding and genuinely shocking set of ecological developments, the continuing practical and spiritual crisis of mass migration, the ominous undertones of the Hollywood strike and, of course, the revelations from major governments that yes, aliens exist and they have cool psychedelic vehicles. Is that just...

Veep is an HBO comedy series, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that presents a dark satire of insider DC political culture. This week Justin and I consider Veep 's acid take on the critical years between 2012-2019, when Obama-era technocratic optimism gave way to Trumpian funhouse fascism. What Veep shows us is the reptilian machinations of the "burned out losers and conniving robots" that succeed in...

The sci-fi horror film M3GAN was a "surprise" hit last year, generating tons of internet buzz, viral Tik Tok dance videos and, of course, endless think pieces. As Justin Rogers-Cooper and I talk about this week, M3GAN operates on multiple levels, and contains a discourse about AI, capitalist culture, and queer family formation that makes it much more than another "killer robot" movie. Like Silicon...

The FBI-orchestrated murder of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in 1969 remains one of the most singularly evil crimes of the 20th century, and it's a story about which most Americans know very little. The 2021 film Judas and the Black Messiah , directed by Shaka King, is a heavy, detailed consideration of the events that led to Hampton's death, focusing mainly on the figure of William O'Ne...

Continuing our epic survey of Mr. Show with Bob and David , the most important television program of all time, we watch the final two episodes of Mr. Show 's second season: "Operation Hell on Earth" and "The Velveteen Touch of a Dandy Fop." As David, Peter, and Geoff discuss here, the show feels like it takes a thematic/aesthetic turn in these particular sketches, with hints of where we're headed...

Kristen Lovell is a filmmaker whose new documentary, The Stroll , tells the story of transgender women surviving as sex workers in New York City's Meatpacking District during the 1980s and 1990s. This is harrowing stuff, and a perspective on urban history and gentrification like you've never seen before. In this conversation, Lovell tells me about her own experiences in the neighborhood, and refle...

This week Justin and I finally get around to watching Jordan Peele's latest film, Nope , a UFO story layered with allegories about race, nature, and cinema itself. We both find something simultaneously compelling and frustrating about Peele's work, and in this conversation we try to get at the weird contours and contradictions of his auteurist project. Listen to the whole episode with a free trial...

On this week's News Trap, I tell the sad story of our podcast's PERSECUTION by the algorithmic fiends at YouTube , who are maliciously and wrongfully accusing Nostalgia Trap of advocating violence and conspiracy theories on our channel. Depsite this campaign, I persevere by sharing some startling examples of the real violence latent in the American system, with stories about housing, homelessness,...

This week Justin and I watch the Netflix documentary Inside the Mind of a Cat and contemplate the weird social, political, and spiritual economy of our relationship with cats. From global kitty litter supply chains to the uncanny dominance of cat videos in online spaces, we try to get a handle on how cats became such integral characters in our personal lives and in the wider world. Listen to the f...

This week Justin and I watch the Netflix documentary Waco: American Apocalypse , which tells the story of the disastrous 1993 battle between a Christian end times cult and the United States government. I bet you can guess who won! This conversation touches on some of the gender and family dynamics at play in religious cults, and the paradox of creating a coherent "free" society with an armed popul...

David A. Banks is a Lecturer in the Geography and Planning department director of the Globalization Studies program at University at Albany, SUNY. His new book, The City Authentic: How the Attention Economy Builds Urban America , tells us how American cities are branding themselves with crafty historical "authenticity" in order to draw the creative class to populate and revitalize their dying town...

On this week's News Trap we learn about Spotify and the fresh nightmare of AI music , pay our respects to a sad teenage suicide from internet bullying , and consider the burning question of the week for online leftists: Is Chomsky canceled for hanging out with Jeffrey Epstein and Woody Allen ? Full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/news-trap-5-3-23-82469893  

This week Justin and I read a fascinating, troubling recent New York Times editorial, "Our Way of Life is Poisoning Us," and try to wrap our minds and emotions around the existential implications of "microplastics" and the larger phenomenon of a world saturated in oil-based consumer products. From Joe Rogan's freakout about chemicals shrinking our taints, to the pop eco-terrorism of How to Blow Up...

Malcolm Harris is a writer, cultural critic, and prominent voice on the post-Occupy American left. He joins us this week to discuss his latest book, Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World , which tells the story of how California became the primary machine of American empire. From railroads and universities to social media platforms and artificial intelligence, Harris traces...

This week Justin and I watch the scary Netflix doc THE SOCIAL DILEMMA and freak out about the algorithms that control our thoughts, our feelings, and the VERY HISTORY OF HUMANITY. We're in the matrix, man! It's real! Subscribe to access our giant library of bonus episodes, video essays, and lots more: patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

Continuing our cruise through the full Mr. Show with Bob and David sketchography, David, Peter, and Geoff take a detailed look at the first two episodes of Season Two: "Now, Who Wants Ice Cream?" and "A Talking Junkie?" Both of these episodes have plenty to love, including sketches that anticipate/predict Hamilton! and the January 6th Capitol Riot, among other eerie premonitions. But there's also...