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

Past Present

The History of Adoption

Past Present Podcast, Episode 326

May 17, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The phrase “domestic supply of infants” in a footnote to the leaked draft Supreme Court decision regarding abortion has horrified many Americans. Niki referred to this Atlantic article about the intense process of adopting a baby. Natalia referenced this New ...

Past Present

The End of Roe v. Wade

Past Present Podcast, Episode 325

May 10, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Politico published a leaked draft opinion, penned by Justice Samuel Alito, in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion. Natalia referred to historian Jill Lepore’s New Yorker article and Niki drew on Jennifer Schuessler’s ...

Past Present

Elon Musk, Twitter, and the History of Media Oligarchs

Past Present Podcast, Episode 324

May 3, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Billionaire Elon Musk made a successful $44 billion bid to acquire Twitter. Niki referred to this Los Angeles Times article about the limits of Elon Musk’s “free speech absolutism.” Natalia referenced this New York Times article about billionaire investors in ...

Elon Musk, Twitter, and the History of Media Oligarchs

Past Present

Coachella and the History of Music Festivals

Past Present Podcast, Episode 323

April 26, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The Coachella music festival has become a major cultural and commercial event. We all drew on this BBC chronology of music festivals, and Natalia referred to this piece in High Times. Neil referenced this Bloomberg article about the urbanization of ...

Coachella and the History of Music Festivals

Past Present

The Enormous Popularity of True Crime

Past Present Podcast, Episode 322

April 19, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: ·When journalist Brendan Koerner took to Twitter to call out a podcast for using his work without attribution, he drew attention to the broader appetite for true crime content. Neil recommended the podcast series Someone Knows Something, and Natalia referred ...

Past Present

The Latest Battles over Marriage

Past Present Podcast, Episode 321

April 12, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Republicans have both been sounding alarms about pedophilia and attempting to relax age-of-consent laws. Natalia referred to historian Clayton Howard’s book, The Closet and the Cul-de-Sac: The Politics of Sexual Privacy in Northern California and Niki referenced Andrew Sullivan’s 1995 ...

Past Present

U.S. Demographics and the History of Population Panics

Past Present Podcast, Episode 320

April 5, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The rate of population growth in the United States is declining. Natalia referred to this Smithsonian article about longstanding fears about overpopulation and this Washington Post opinion piece by historian Mytheli Sreenivas. Neil drew on this Vox article. In our regular ...

U.S. Demographics and the History of Population Panics

Past Present

“The Great Resignation”

Past Present Podcast, Episode 319

March 29, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: “The Great Resignation” has become a common trope in conversations about work and jobs in our current political culture. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article on the positive potential of such employment churn, and Niki cited this Vox piece on ...

Past Present

Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” and the History of TV Dating Shows

Past Present Podcast, Episode 318

March 22, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The second season of Love Is Blindis the latest in a long history of TV dating shows to capture the attention of the American public. Natalia recommended the podcast This Is Datingand referred to this Vox essay on and this ...

Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” and the History of TV Dating Shows

Past Present

Gas Prices and the History of Energy Shocks

Past Present Podcast, Episode 317

March 15, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Gas prices are surging, and Americans are frustrated. We all drew on historian Meg Jacobs’ book, Panic at the Pump: The Energy Crisis and the Transformation of American Politics in the 1970s. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article about the ...

Gas Prices and the History of Energy Shocks

Past Present

The Russia-Ukraine War

Past Present Podcast, Episode 316

March 8, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Russia has invaded Ukraine as the world watches. Natalia referred to philosopher Jason Stanley’s article in TIMEabout denazification and this New Yorker interview with political scientist John Mearsheimer. Neil cited this POLITICO interview with Fiona Hill, and Niki recommended M.E. ...

Past Present

The Mystery and History of Havana Syndrome

Past Present Podcast, Episode 315

March 1, 2022 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Unproductive Labor · An Interview with Peter Linebaugh on the Commons, Crime, and the Meanings of Industry and Idleness Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Over 200 members of the U.S. Foreign Service and intelligence community have reported strange symptoms, including headaches, nausea, and memory loss, that ...