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Ep 415 - Own the Libs w/ Nick Marx

Nostalgia Trap

Release Date: 06/06/2025

The Drug Trap, Part One - Pills! Pills! Pills! (PREVIEW) show art The Drug Trap, Part One - Pills! Pills! Pills! (PREVIEW)

Nostalgia Trap

Have you ever seen ? It's an epic documentary whose title says it all: a legendary director tells his life story while sharing ideas about the history of cinema. Kind of a two-for-one. I highly recommend it. Anyway, that's what I'm going to do with this series, except instead of movies I'll be talking about drugs. I don't think my drug experiences are particularly unique, but I do have a lot of drug experiences, and I think I've got some insights to offer that extend beyond memoir; that is, I'm going to attempt to connect my own highs and lows with the broader history and politics of the past...

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

Nostalgia Trap

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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News Trap 11.7.25 - Change You Can Believe In w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW show art News Trap 11.7.25 - Change You Can Believe In w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW

Nostalgia Trap

This is a preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit the . This week Justin and I talk about the Mamdani victory in NYC; the shifting dynamics of the much hyped "civil war" within the Democratic Party; how to read the Trump administration's weak response on elections and the government shutdown; Marjorie Taylor-Greene's ; the Heritage Foundation's and Nazi influencers; about Nayib Bukele and his El Salvador prison project.  

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News Trap 10.24.25 - For Me to Poop On w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) show art News Trap 10.24.25 - For Me to Poop On w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Nostalgia Trap

The US government shits the bed, Trump dumps AI feces on protesters, the East Wing of the White House gets flushed down the toilet, Mamdani squeezes out a floater upon a dying Democratic Party, and something stinks about the US dropping bombs on "drug dealers" off the coast of Venezuela.    

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Livestream: One Battle After Another show art Livestream: One Battle After Another

Nostalgia Trap

Spoiler alert! I recorded this livestream about an hour after finishing this movie, so this is me attempting to untangle my thoughts about it. A complicated, funny, scary, and beautiful contemplation about revolutionary praxis (worst word in the world), One Battle After Another is definitely worth your time. I explain why here.

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News Trap 10.10.25 - The Best of Times, the Worst of times w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) show art News Trap 10.10.25 - The Best of Times, the Worst of times w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Nostalgia Trap

This week Justin joins me to consider the dialectical nature of our 2025 reality, as we examine the utopian and dystopian properties of Bad Bunny Super Bowl discourse, the rise of Zohran Mamdani, and the accelerated unleashing of AI slop upon a world of hungry little piggies. Are we in heaven, or are we in hell? Why not both?

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2 Legit 2 Quit (Livestream Preview) show art 2 Legit 2 Quit (Livestream Preview)

Nostalgia Trap

The Supreme Court is scared of crossing Trump; Stephen Miller wants to declare the Democratic Party a terrorist organization; an ICE raid in Chicago lays the groundwork for a new era of authoritarianism; late night TV says goodbye; microplastics are giving everyone cancer; and we're all awaiting an economic crash at a scale the world has never seen. Cheers!

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Digital Wolf Pack (Livestream Preview) show art Digital Wolf Pack (Livestream Preview)

Nostalgia Trap

This week on the Nostalgia Trap Livestream: Conspiracy theory mind-melt reaches the upper echelons of power, AI-generated savagery plunges further into the toilet, Chuck Schumer and Zohran Mamdani flirt with the limits of liberal possibility, a shocking violation of the 1st Amendment that's NOT Jimmy Kimmel (so no one cares), plus some delightful Cuban piano grooves!

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News Trap 9.26.25 - The Thing Around the Corner w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW) show art News Trap 9.26.25 - The Thing Around the Corner w/ Justin Rogers-Cooper (PREVIEW)

Nostalgia Trap

On this week's News Trap update, Justin joins me to discuss the question on everyone's mind: when is the fever gonna break? As the cartoonish reality of Trump's second term takes on increasingly demented dimensions, we game out how larger forces, particularly the insane bubble that is the AI economy, are stirring in the background, threatening an imminent meltdown that promises to flip the script of what both left and right are currently imagining.

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The Pendulum Swings (Livestream Preview) show art The Pendulum Swings (Livestream Preview)

Nostalgia Trap

On this week's livestream I talk about the deceptive power of the Kirk memorial, the postmodernity of conspiracy culture, the ironic twist of right-wing cancel campaigns and, of course, Jimmy Kimmel. Plus I share some juicy bits from .

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More Episodes

What happened to the idea that “conservatives can’t do comedy”? Much to the horror of liberals, the past decade has witnessed the rise of a right wing comedy industrial complex, primarily found on podcasts, whose personalities and attitudes are inextricably linked to the success of Donald Trump’s populist conservative project. This week I talk with Nick Marx, co-author of the book That’s Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them, about how figures from Joe Rogan to Greg Gutfeld have weaponized the public’s fatigue with elite liberal culture, and how their popularity reveals something deep and dark at the heart of a crumbling American society.

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