In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the emergence of the cicadas this season.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- After seventeen years underground, billions of cicadas are emerging on the east coast of the United States. Niki referred to this History article about Benjamin Banneker, who first classified the cicada in the eighteenth century. Natalia recommended historian Catherine McNeur’s book Taming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City, and Niki referred to this Washington Post article on how cicadas have been used in political discourse.
In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:
- Natalia discussed Jazmine Hughes’ New York Times article, “Dianne Morales Tries to Calm a Sudden Crisis in Her Campaign.”
- Neil recommended historian Jill Lepore’s New Yorker article, “Burnout: Modern Affliction or Human Condition?”
- Niki shared Dartunorro Clark’s NBC News article, “Paul Ryan Urges GOP to Shake Trump Obsession, Focus on ‘Principles,’ not ‘Personality’.”


![A lantern slideshows four overlapping illustrations of the Earth depicting its tilt at different time periods in the past, present and future. Dates represented are 13000 BC, 5544 BC, 1921 AD, 2296AD. Handwritten in blue ink at bottom left corner of plate is the text 'G53 CLW [illegible] Aug '22'.](https://i0.wp.com/publicseminar.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Wragge_Earth.jpg?fit=768%2C749&ssl=1)










