Nostalgia Trap
Deep dive conversations on American history, politics, and pop culture, hosted by history professor and writer David Parsons.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 46 minutes
- Episodes
- 525
- Years Active
- 2014 - 2025
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 324: Body Drop w/ Brian Oliu
Brian Oliu is a writer and teacher whose latest book, Body Drop: Notes on Fandom and Pain in Professional Wrestling, takes an intensely personal, often brutal approach to analyzing wrestling’s weird…
Nostalgia Trap - Livestream 4.27.22: My Country is the World w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
So is Biden gonna cancel these student loans or what? On this week's livestream, Justin and I talk about liberals fleeing Elon Musk's Twitter (lol), get into our predictions about where the student l…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 323: Bloody Red Sun of Fantastic L.A. w/ Justin Farrar (PREVIEW)
Justin Farrar’s first appearance on the show was a dense journey through the history of rock music and American counterculture, and it got me thinking about (and listening to) The Doors for the first…
Nostalgia Trap - Livestream 4.20.22: The Long Queer Eruption w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
This week Justin and I talk about the right's pedophile/masculinity obsession, from Tucker Carlson and testicle tanning to predictable election-year assaults on teachers and other liberal cucks. Is t…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 322: Pulp Vietnam w/ Gregory Daddis
Gregory Daddis is a professor of history at San Diego State University whose work focuses on the history of the Cold War and the American war in Vietnam. His latest book, Pulp Vietnam: War and Gende…
Nostalgia Trap - Livestream 4.13.22: People Are Strange w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
On this week's livestream, Justin brings us some key ideas from Chomsky, Fanon and, of course, C.L.R. James, as we ponder the questions: How do people become obedient to structures that oppress them?…
Nostalgia Trap - Livestream 4.6.22: All for Us and None for You w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
This week Justin and I ask the eternal question: Does the United States' ugly record of horrific interventions in the affairs of other states undermine its claims to moral leadership? LOL of course i…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 321: Ecology Contested w/ Peter Staudenmaier
Peter Staudenmaier is a professor of history at Marquette University whose work focuses on Nazi Germany, Italian fascism, environmental history, and occultism. His latest book, Ecology Contested: Env…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 320: Drive West on Sunset w/ Ryan Boyd (TEASER)
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 319: Cringe Nation w/ Adam Kotsko
Adam Kotsko is a theologian and culture writer who has written a number of books and essays about American pop culture. In this conversation, we discuss his books Awkwardness (2010) and Why We Love…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 318: Direct Musical Transmission w/ Jason P. Woodbury
Jason P. Woodbury is a musician and music writer based in the Sonoran desert. Check out his work on Aquarium Drunkard and his personal site, where you’ll find lots of great stuff on music nostalgia, …
Nostalgia Trap - Livestream 3.15.22: Wormhole w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)
The Trap Livestream returns, as Justin Rogers-Cooper joins me for a live conversation about the insane wormhole we seem to be entering: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, gangster capitalism, Nazis, nucle…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 317: Hope-ocalypse Now w/ Aaron Thorpe (TEASER)
What is “apocalypse” and is it always a bad thing? This week we talk with Aaron Thorpe of the Trillbilly Worker’s Party podcast about maintaining a positive vision of the future despite all signs t…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 316: The Life of the Grind w/ Ryan Boyd
Ryan Boyd teaches in the Writing Program at the University of Southern California. His website collects much of his excellent writing, including a number of pieces on pedagogy and the state of higher…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 315: No Nukes is Good Nukes w/ Henry Maar
Historian Henry Maar’s new book Freeze! The Grassroots Movement to Halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War examines the ways in which ordinary people confronted the horrors of nuclear war, with a sp…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 314: Hope You Die w/ Yasmin Nair (TEASER)
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 313: Hey Hey, My My w/ Justin Farrar
Neil Young occupies god-tier status on Nostalgia Trap, so it’s no mystery who we’re supporting in his fight with Spotify and Joe Rogan. But this seemed like a good opportunity to talk in more detail …
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 312: No Blood for Oil w/ Sean KB
Remember when oil explained everything? Sean from the Antifada podcast joins us for a conversation about the film Syriana (2005) and the politics of oil in the 90s and 2000s. From peak oil theories …
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 311: Queer as Pop w/ KJ Shepherd (TEASER)
Am I “queer” because I listen to Belle and Sebastian? Good question! Trap favorite KJ Shepherd joins me for a conversation about masculinity in American pop culture, and that weird line between “hips…
Nostalgia Trap - Episode 310: Let's Go Exploring w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper
Bill Watterson’s extraordinary comic strip Calvin and Hobbes made a huge cultural impact in the 80s and 90s, and remains an all-time favorite for both me and Justin. In this conversation, we talk abo…