A History of Gratitude

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the history of gratitude.

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

• Thanksgiving is upon us, but gratitude is a virtue celebrated in American culture all year long. Natalia and Niki referred to Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Bright-Sided: Why Positive Thinking Is Undermining America, and Natalia drew on this piece to argue why a historical perspective is illuminating, if counterintuitive, on this question. All three hosts referenced the critique of gratitude as a therapeutic practice articulated in this Baffler article. 

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

• Natalia shared about the new co-working space in Saks Fifth Avenue, profiled in this New York Times piece by Ginia Bellafante.
• Neil discussed Ben Smith’s New York Times article, “His Reasons For Opposing Trump Were Biblical. Now A Top Christian Editor Is Out.”
• Niki recommended Paul Farhi’s Washington Post article, “How Obituaries Got a Jolt of New Life in the Internet Era.”