Valentine’s Day, Obama & Black History, and Andrew Jackson

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

• It’s Valentine’s Day! We discussed the long history of this holiday and some of its offshoots, including Galentine’s Day. Niki recommended Annebella Pollen’s history of mocking Victorian Valentine’s Day cards.
• We discussed the historian Robert Greene II’s article in The Nation, “Barack Obama Radically Expanded Our Appreciation of African-American History.” Our conversation also touched on other recent essays about Obama as the nation’s first black president, including pieces by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Tressie McMillan Cottom. Natalia also recommended the recent Netflix series, Barry.
• According to White House staffers, Donald Trump’s inauguration speech was modeled on Andrew Jackson’s 1829 inaugural address. We discussed why Trump has looked to Andrew Jackson as his model for the presidency. Although Jackson has not fared well with historians of late, Niki recommended David Greenberg’s recent defense of Jackson.

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

• Natalia commented on the book The Goddess Pose.
• Neil discussed the history of the word “humbled.”
• Niki talked about Jamelle Bouie’s article, “Government by White Nationalism Is Upon Us.”