Veep is an HBO comedy series, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that presents a dark satire of insider DC political culture. This week Justin and I consider Veep’s acid take on the critical years between 2012-2019, when Obama-era technocratic optimism gave way to Trumpian funhouse fascism. What Veep shows us is the reptilian machinations of the “burned out losers and conniving robots” that succeed in American party politics, giving us an opportunity to ask: is that true? Is the world really run by people this cynical and depraved?

The sci-fi horror film M3GAN was a “surprise” hit last year, generating tons of internet buzz, viral Tik Tok dance videos and, of course, endless think pieces. As Justin Rogers-Cooper and I talk about this week, M3GAN operates on multiple levels, and contains a discourse about AI, capitalist culture, and queer family formation that makes it much more than another “killer robot” movie. Like Silicon Valley itself, M3GAN sings to us: “Tell me your dreams, I will dream them too.” But are we really in charge of the dream?  Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, videos, and lots more:  https://www.patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

The FBI-orchestrated murder of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in 1969 remains one of the most singularly evil crimes of the 20th century, and it’s a story about which most Americans know very little. The 2021 film Judas and the Black Messiah, directed by Shaka King, is a heavy, detailed consideration of the events that led to Hampton’s death, focusing mainly on the figure of William O’Neal, a small-time thief coerced by the FBI into becoming a confidential informant working within Hampton’s organization. As Justin and I discuss in this episode, the film puts us in the center of the complicated moral calculations that defined 1960s radicalism, and asks hard questions about the price of loyalty, freedom, and revolution.   Listen to whole episode with 7 day free trial of our Patreon membership; https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-362-and-85368710

Continuing our epic survey of Mr. Show with Bob and David, the most important television program of all time, we watch the final two episodes of Mr. Show’s second season: “Operation Hell on Earth” and “The Velveteen Touch of a Dandy Fop.” As David, Peter, and Geoff discuss here, the show feels like it takes a thematic/aesthetic turn in these particular sketches, with hints of where we’re headed in Season 3. There’s weird arty stuff here (the entire “Recruiters” sketch, a parody of the basketball documentary Hoop Dreams,  is uncanny), plus some all-time favorite characters (Fartin’ Gary, Droopy), and more than a few surprising takes on 90s culture and politics. Mr. Trap is included with a subscription to the Nostalgia Trap Patreon -- sign up for a FREE 7 day trial here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/mr-trap-ep-5-hey-85206762

Kristen Lovell is a filmmaker whose new documentary, The Stroll, tells the story of transgender women surviving as sex workers in New York City’s Meatpacking District during the 1980s and 1990s. This is harrowing stuff, and a perspective on urban history and gentrification like you’ve never seen before. In this conversation, Lovell tells me about her own experiences in the neighborhood, and reflects on how the Giuliani/Bloomberg era used real estate and finance to cover the city’s dark history with luxury facades. Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access our massive library of bonus episodes, video essays, and more: https://patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

This week Justin and I finally get around to watching Jordan Peele's latest film, Nope, a UFO story layered with allegories about race, nature, and cinema itself. We both find something simultaneously compelling and frustrating about Peele's work, and in this conversation we try to get at the weird contours and contradictions of his auteurist project. Listen to the whole episode with a free trial of our Patreon stream: https://www.patreon.com/posts/livestream-6-16-84684829

On this week's News Trap, I tell the sad story of our podcast's PERSECUTION by the algorithmic fiends at YouTube, who are maliciously and wrongfully accusing Nostalgia Trap of advocating violence and conspiracy theories on our channel. Depsite this campaign, I persevere by sharing some startling examples of the real violence latent in the American system, with stories about housing, homelessness, and new trends in Vegas table gaming.  Check out this interview with housing activist Paul Boden: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/may/29/paul-boden-america-homelessness-crisis Start a 7 DAY FREE TRIAL of the Nostalgia Trap Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nostalgiatrap

This week Justin and I watch the Netflix documentary Inside the Mind of a Cat and contemplate the weird social, political, and spiritual economy of our relationship with cats. From global kitty litter supply chains to the uncanny dominance of cat videos in online spaces, we try to get a handle on how cats became such integral characters in our personal lives and in the wider world. Listen to the full stream: https://www.patreon.com/posts/livestream-5-19-83262670

This week Justin and I watch the Netflix documentary Waco: American Apocalypse, which tells the story of the disastrous 1993 battle between a Christian end times cult and the United States government. I bet you can guess who won! This conversation touches on some of the gender and family dynamics at play in religious cults, and the paradox of creating a coherent "free" society with an armed population subject to the whims of charismatic religious leaders. If we're continuing the Trap method of seeing history as a map of the future, the road from Waco leads directly to Oklahoma City, Trump, and QAnon.   Full episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/livestream-5-12-82918108

David A. Banks is a Lecturer in the Geography and Planning department director of the Globalization Studies program at University at Albany, SUNY. His new book, The City Authentic: How the Attention Economy Builds Urban America, tells us how American cities are branding themselves with crafty historical “authenticity” in order to draw the creative class to populate and revitalize their dying towns. In this conversation, Banks explains how this nostalgia-driven gentrification, amplified by social media, is a powerful engine in 21st century urban planning, as capital endlessly asks us to “eat the past.” Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access our massive library of bonus episodes, video essays, and more: https://patreon.com/nostalgiatrap