Opinion writer at The Week and co-host of the history podcast Past Present

Multi Media

YouTube, Tariffs, and Elizabeth Warren

June 18, 2019 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: YouTube’s algorithm, the New York Times reported, serves up increasingly extreme content to viewers. Niki recommended media studies scholar Siva Vaidhyanathan’s book Antisocial Media. Natalia recommended Niki’s book Messengers of the Right.Tariffs have become a central part of President Trump’s foreign policy. Niki cited historian ...

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LIVE! The Stonewall Uprising, Jazzercise, and C-SPAN

Past Present Episode 183

June 11, 2019 • by Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Fifty years ago this month, the Stonewall Uprising took place.Neil discussed the issues historians have raised with the treatment of Stonewall in popular culture.Jazzercise turns 50 this year.C-SPAN is 40, and beloved by many. Natalia cited Niki’s article at NBC about the virtues of the channel, while ...

Past Present

The 1994 Crime Bill, Mount Everest, and the Grand Canyon

June 4, 2019 • by Nicole Hemmer, Neil J. Young and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The 1994 Crime Bill is once again in the news, dogging Joe Biden’s candidacy. Niki referred to Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Niki also recommended a New York Times op-ed by Elizabeth Hinton, Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, and ...

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Student Loans, Fur Bans, and TWA

Past Present Episode 181

May 28, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss billionaire Robert F. Smith’s historic gift to the Morehouse College class of 2019, a proposed fur ban in New York City, and the opening of a chic new hotel in the TWA terminal. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s ...

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Sex Strike, David McCullough, and Doris Day

Past Present Episode 180

May 21, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss a proposed “sex strike,” historian David McCullough’s new book, and the life and legacy of Doris Day. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Actor and activist Alyssa Milano this week suggested that women withhold sex from men until women achieve ...

Sex Strike, David McCullough, and Doris Day

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Electability, Caster Semenya, and Rachel Held Evans

Past Present Episode 179

May 14, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the concept of “electability,” the gender policing of South African runner Caster Semenya, and the legacy of Christian writer Rachel Held Evans. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: With over 20 Democratic candidates in the running, “ electability” is ...

Electability, Caster Semenya, and Rachel Held Evans

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John Singleton, Anti-Semitism in the New York Times, and TikTok

Past Present Episode 178

May 7, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the legacy of filmmaker John Singleton, an anti-Semitic cartoon in the New York Times, and the latest social media sensation, TikTok. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Filmmaker John Singleton has died. Natalia discussed this article by Singleton in the Hollywood Reporter about whether a ...

John Singleton, Anti-Semitism in the New York Times, and TikTok

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Ancestry.com, Vigilante Border Patrol Groups, and Cargo Shorts

Past Present Episode 177

April 30, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss outrage over an Ancestry.com ad, vigilante groups policing the U.S.-Mexico border, and the controversy over cargo shorts. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Ancestry.com released – and quickly pulled – an advertisement depicting a romantic relationship between an African-American woman ...

Ancestry.com, Vigilante Border Patrol Groups, and Cargo Shorts

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Notre Dame Cathedral, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and the Center for American Progress

Past Present Episode 176

April 23, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the fire at Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral, President Trump’s attacks against Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and the history of liberal think tanks. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The world watched as Paris’ iconic Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed ...

Notre Dame Cathedral, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and the Center for American Progress

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Stephen Miller and DHS, Measles and the Anti-Vaccination Movement, and Adjunct Professors

Past Present Episode 175

April 16, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the influence of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, the resurgence of measles in the United States and the anti-vaccination movement, and the plight of adjunct professors. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: A spate of departures at the Department of ...

Stephen Miller and DHS, Measles and the Anti-Vaccination Movement, and Adjunct Professors

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Reparations, Leggings, and Nipsey Hussle

Past Present Episode 174

April 9, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the case for reparations, why leggings are so controversial, and the legacy of rapper Nipsey Hussle. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Reparations for slavery have gained renewed currency among policymakers. Neil referred to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2014 essay, “The Case ...

Reparations, Leggings, and Nipsey Hussle

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The Mueller Report, the Electoral College, and Arugula Lettuce

Past Present Episode 173

April 2, 2019 • by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, Nicole Hemmer and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the Mueller Report, the movement to end the Electoral College, and why not many Americans eat arugula lettuce. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report has been released, though the public has only received ...