News Trap 11.14.25 - The Epstein Problem w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper

News Trap 11.14.25 - The Epstein Problem w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper

Author: David Parsons November 15, 2025 Duration: 55:00

The latest Jeffrey Epstein email dump brings up some intriguing ideas about the shadowy financier's actual role among all his elite friends, from Donald Trump to Noam Chomsky. Why did so many powerful people seek his advice and companionship, despite knowing the details of his dark crimes? As Justin Rogers-Cooper explains, the answer raises uncomfortable questions about American history, "cancel culture," and the depths of inhumanity we're willing to forgive in our heroes, leaders, and friends.

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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: 100

Nostalgia Trap
Podcast Episodes
News Trap 2.28.25 - Car's on Fire w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:26
Our good friend Justin Rogers-Cooper joins me to survey the first month of Trump's presidency, as we play out some of the nastier currents now circling in American and global political culture, from Trump's exoneration o…
News Trap 2.26.25 - The Way of the Gun (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:16
A recent law school event featuring former L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey honestly blew my mind, and made me think a lot about the intersection of crime, law enforcement, reform movements, and political viole…
News Trap 2.19.25 - Into the Thresher [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:22
There are currently too many news stories to fit into the "ominous portents of a dark future" file, so I've chosen a few of the most flagrant examples of Trump/Musk savagery to share, along with some reflections on how t…
Ep 406 - Work or Die, Part One (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:07
I got my first job when I was 15 years old, working at a Pumpkin Patch on a local farm, and it's been all downhill from there. I'm partly joking, but the working world has never been a place of maximum success and happin…
Ep 405 - All I Can Say w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:03
The haunting documentary All I Can Say, which chronicles a few vibrant years in the life of Shannon Hoon, the lead singer of 90s grunge rock band Blind Melon, is a slice of deep 90s nostalgia shot on camcorder by Hoon hi…
Ep 404 - Adventures in Adjuncting (PREVIEW) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:04
I started teaching college history courses in 2005 when I was a graduate student at the City University of New York. Looking back at those early years, I can hardly believe how little I knew about how to teach college co…
Ep 403 - Only in Dreams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:09
David Lynch died earlier this month, and like many others I've been reflecting on his legacy, not only in the wider culture but in my own personal trajectory and identity. In this episode, I focus on the latter. Rather t…
News Trap 1.24.25 Broligarchy's Endgame w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:09
The politics of rebuilding Los Angeles after the fires, tech maneuvering for Trump juice, social media outrage missing the mark, Elon's Nazi salute masking something darker, a new Gilded Age comes into view, what's at ri…
News Trap 1.22.25 - What's Next? w/ Ross Barkan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:05
Ross Barkan is a political writer and novelist whose Substack is one of our favorite places for thoughtful takes on the current political and cultural landscape. He joins me this week to survey the landscape with Trump t…
Ep 402 - The Bookshop w/ Evan Friss [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:59
This week I'm joined by Evan Friss, author of the current New York Times bestseller The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore, which traces the development of bookshops as integral, often paradoxical, spaces with…