Ep 417 - The Abercrombie Age w/ Ethan Lascity

Ep 417 - The Abercrombie Age w/ Ethan Lascity

Author: David Parsons July 11, 2025 Duration: 56:35

Remember the heady days of Abercrombie and Fitch's utter domination of the young, white middle class fashion market? What was that about? This week I'm joined by Ethan Lascity, an assistant professor and director of the fashion media program at Southern Methodist University, to discuss his book The Abercrombie Age: Millennial Aspiration and the Promise of Consumer Culture. Ethan helps me understand the wider historical context and significance of a very specific moment in American pop culture, when a vision of affluence was packaged and sold to a generation that would never actually attain it.

Subscribe to Nostalgia Trap to access all our bonus episodes and News Trap updates


The conversations on Nostalgia Trap move beyond simple reminiscence, probing the powerful and often misleading pull of the past on our present. Hosted by historian and writer David Parsons, this podcast carefully untangles the threads connecting American history, contemporary politics, and the shared stories of pop culture. Each episode is built around a deep dive conversation, where the familiar narratives we tell ourselves about who we are are examined and challenged. You’ll hear how yesterday’s policy decisions echo in today’s headlines and how a forgotten film or a hit song can reveal the anxieties of its era. The goal isn’t just to inform, but to question the comforting allure of a supposedly simpler time, revealing how nostalgia itself can be a trap that shapes our collective understanding. This is a space for thoughtful, nuanced discussion that respects the complexity of the past while critically engaging with its legacy. For anyone interested in the forces that have shaped the American experience, from its founding ideals to its latest cultural moments, Nostalgia Trap offers a necessary and compelling perspective. Tune in for a podcast that consistently demonstrates how history is never truly behind us.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Nostalgia Trap
Podcast Episodes
Hopelessly Inhospitable w Justin Rogers-Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:17
Listen to the full episode here Is the widespread hatred of AI just another stupid viral moment that will be forgotten in a week? Or is there something deeper happening? Justin and I game out the historical/psychological…
Meet Me in the Backrooms w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:06
In taking his internet creepypasta Backrooms from YouTube to the cinema screen, director Kane Parsons has created a piece of popular art that resonates deeply with some of our favorite Nostalgia Trap themes: '90s analog…
Chasing It w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:22
In the shadow of the U.S. officially losing the war in Iran, the American political and economic world continues to chase after a high that's perhaps no longer attainable. This week we examine how Trump, MAGA, AI compani…
Vote Blue No Matter Who w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:24
It's time for the old "there's a civil war brewing in the Democratic Party" conversation again, and Justin joins me to poke holes in the orthodoxies embraced by both "sides" of the alleged progressive/left vs centrist de…
No One Wants to Work Anymore w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:52
This week Justin joins me to explore the tall claims made in a recent New York Times piece, "Gen Z Fell Out of Love With Work. I Don't Blame Them." Are we really experiencing a generational revolt against centuries of Am…
News Trap 5.15.26 - K Hole w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:31
It's the best of times and the worst of times, as average Americans are paying more for pretty much everything while the stock market breaks records. What's up with that? Justin joins us this week to talk about the contr…