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The PoliticsGirl Podcast

Weaponized Nostalgia A PG:CC with Thomas Zimmer

The PoliticsGirl Podcast

MeidasTouch Network, Leigh McGowan

News Commentary, Politics, News

4.93.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2023

⏱️ 63 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We know the conservative movement wants to return us to “a better time”, what they see as the “natural order”, with the white, straight Christian man on top, but even those who see themselves as liberal or centrist can struggle with the idea of changing the status quo, because it feels like a potential losing proposition for people who have always been at the top. That people who would be outwardly opposed to MAGA still feel uncomfortable with all these calls for equality and respect, especially when it’s perceived to question their judgment, or status in society. Nostalgia is a powerful part of the human condition, and it can easily become the filter through which every political, social, and cultural piece of information is absorbed. So if a political movement offers to bring back what has supposedly been lost, or at least keep us at status quo, it’s hard to resist because it speaks directly to the anxieties people have around the social and cultural change America has been undergoing over the past century. If you enjoy what we do, please consider SUBSCRIBING to PoliticsGirl Premium. You’ll get this podcast ad free and a bunch of other perks as well as the knowledge that you’re allowing us to keep bringing you the best content possible. That’s https://www.politicsgirl.com/premium Thank you for caring! xoPG MERCH STORE NOW OPEN: Check it out at: https://www.politicsgirl.com/store Guest social: Website: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0033600001q9V3MAAU/thomas-zimmer Podcast: Is This Democracy https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-this-democracy/id1652741954 Substack: Democracy Americana https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/ Twitter: @tzimmer_history As always, please RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors! www.trymiracle.com/politicsgirl code: PoliticsGirl www.reelpaper.com/politicsgirl code: PoliticsGirl

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm fairly certain like almost no one in your audience has has read this book.

0:04.4

I would put money down that no one in my audience picked up dreams from the founding fathers by

0:08.8

Ronda Santas in 2011. I would put money down that. Yeah. And please don't.

0:24.4

Hello and welcome to the Politics Girl podcast. I'm your host,

0:27.6

Lee McGowan. Let's get into it. Today's pod is a candid conversation with Return Guest and

0:32.4

my favorite historian, Thomas Zimmer. Thomas is a professor at Georgetown University's School

0:37.2

of Foreign Service, where he teaches 20th century US and international history with a focus on

0:42.6

transatlantic history of democracy. He's also the author and the host of Is This Democracy

0:47.4

Podcast and the creator of the incredible sub-stack newsletter Democracy Americana.

0:52.5

He is currently working on two book projects, a history of polarization since the 1960s,

0:57.5

and a book entitled White America's Fear of Liberal Democracy. He writes a regular column for

1:02.3

the Guardian about the past present and possible future of American democracy. And I wanted to have

1:07.0

him on today to give us some context about where we are with both the media and the right wing of

1:12.3

the country, which sadly has far too much overlap right now. Thomas's insight is always eye-opening,

1:18.5

and I get so much out of his work. I want to be sure to share his thoughts with you, my amazing

1:23.0

audience. So without further ado, please welcome back my favorite Georgetown professor,

1:27.6

author, historian, and host of The Is This Democracy Podcast, Thomas Zimmer. Welcome back, Thomas.

1:33.6

Always excited to be here. Thank you for inviting me back.

1:36.7

Well, thank you for coming. I love how your brain works. And I think your insight, both as a professor

1:41.5

and an expert on democracy, but also as a German, with enough outside perspective to really see

1:46.0

the forest for the trees here, is essential to us right now. I mean, you know, I'm an immigrant

1:51.2

myself. I didn't grow up in America, and I wasn't raised immersed in the American zeitgeist. And so

...

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