Revolutionary Nostalgia

About this episode

Jessa and Nico discuss the implications of nostalgia for the tumultuous year of 1968 and its impact on contemporary desires for change.

Daughter of two members of the Weather Underground Hope Reeves went to the New York Times to complain that the Oscar winning film One Battle After Another wasn't an accurate portrayal of what her tenured professor parents accomplished. Beginning to worry that the media class literally can't tell the difference between reality and entertainment at the moment. But also, what is behind the nostalgia for 1968? A time of political failures, chaotic violence, and a total inability to bring about change? And what does this nostalgia for a failed era do to people who need and desire change, desperately? Jessa and Nico discuss our dreams of failure and the end of American cultural hegemony. Shownotes and references: http://theculturewedeserve.substack.com

People in this episode

Host: Jessa Crispin

Guest: Hope Reeves

Topics covered

• nostalgia
• political failures
• media representation
• cultural hegemony
• change
• violence

Keywords

• nostalgia
• 1968
• Weather Underground
• media
• politics
• cultural change
• American hegemony

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times

Books & works: One Battle After Another

More episodes of The Culture We Deserve

• Why Are All of Our Communists Millionaires? · April 30, 2026 · 1h 40m
• AI Losers · April 23, 2026 · 2h 2m
• Our Reality Star Overlords · April 9, 2026 · 1h 59m
• Are We Doomed? · April 2, 2026 · 1h 55m
• Taste Will Save Us from AI · March 26, 2026 · 1h 59m
• The End of Lifestyle Feminism · March 12, 2026 · 2h 9m