Our Obsession with Nostalgia

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2022

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Longing to go back to the 'good old days' is nothing new. For hundreds of years, the British have mourned the loss of older national identities and called for a revival 'simple', 'better' ways of life - from Margaret Thatcher's call for a return to 'Victorian values' in the 1980s to William Blake's protest against the 'dark satanic mills' of the Industrial Revolution that were fast transforming England's green and pleasant land. But were the 'good old days' ever quite how we remember them?

Hannah Rose Woods is a cultural historian, writer and contributor. Hannah joins Dan on the podcast to explore Britain's fixation with its own past— debunking pervasive myths and asking why nostalgia has been such an enduring emotion across hundreds of years of change.

Produced by Hannah Ward

Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is sponsored by Audible, where you can now stream the new series of that brilliant Stephen Fry's
0:06.7	Secrets of podcast. It peaks behind the curtain of the 1920s this time. The life and times of the flappers,
0:14.1	police women, radio, the movies, jazz, the British sense of humour,
0:20.3	censorship and the secrets and lies, the financial crash. This is another installment of Stephen Fry that listeners love.
0:27.7	There are some brilliant stories in here, all told in a very Stephen Fry type of way. You're going to love it. Listen now.
0:33.5	Subscription required. See audible.co.uk for terms.
0:38.5	Hi, buddy. Welcome to Dance and No History. Back from Egypt, it was 46 degrees centigrade. Thank you for the interactions on social media.
0:45.8	People laughing at me saying I looked a bit fatigued and sweaty. Well, that's because I was fatigued and sweaty.
0:50.8	But we're bringing you fantastic content for History Hit TV, for the podcast, for Channel 5 here in the UK as well.
0:57.2	It's all happening over History Hit.
0:59.2	A program about the Valley of the Kings, the Great Discoveries from ancient times to Belzoni, to Carter and beyond.
1:07.2	Exciting stuff. We made lots of pods, so you'll be able to listen to it all. We made some TV shows.
1:12.2	Have you got a History Hit TV? It's our digital history. It sounds like Netflix for History.
1:16.2	You go over there. You're going to be seeing a lot of ancient Egypt. If Egypt told you is your thing.
1:20.0	If you're interested in the head that don't the Ureas, the ancient crown symbolising the unity of upper and lower Egypt and the old,
1:28.6	middle and new kingdoms, then this is the place for you.
1:34.0	All you gotta do, if you listen to this podcast, is look at the device on which you're listening to it.
1:38.4	Click on the link which is in the accompanying notes of the podcast. Just click on that little link.
1:43.7	You get taken straight to History Hit TV. You are going to love it. Outstanding stuff.
1:48.8	In the meantime, though, folks, I've got the brilliant Hannah Woods on the podcast. She's a brilliant historian.
1:53.2	You've had her here before. She's super smart. She's an online phenomenon. She's published a great book.
1:57.9	There's a History of Nostalgia. It turns out Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
	...

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