Past Present

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate the “incel” community, the role of race in Mormon history, and the thrift-shaming of millennials. Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: In the wake of a Toronto terrorist attack, “incels,” or involuntary celibates, are gaining attention. Niki referred to this New York Times article about Jordan Peterson. Natalia cited Jia Tolentino’s New Yorker article on the origins of incel rage, Ross Douthat’s New York Times op-ed raising the possibility of the redistribution of sex, and this Washington Post column by historian Melissa J. Gismondi. Niki referred to this paper by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers. A hoax letter claiming the LDS Church was apologizing for its history of racism upset many. Natalia cited historian Sarah Barringer Gordon’s book The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth Century America as well as histo