Description

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the far-right, neo-fascist group, the Proud Boys.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: 

• At last week’s presidential debate, President Trump drew attention to the all-male street gang, the Proud Boys, when he told them to “stand back and stand by.” Niki commented on the group’s founder, Gavin McInnes. Natalia discussed how the example of the early 20th century psychologist Stanley Hall provided a sort of erudite analogue to the Proud Boys. Neil mentioned Niki’s 2016 piece for Vox on the media’s interest in the alt-right’s aesthetics as a way to think about the Proud Boys’ Fred Perry uniform.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed the news of Trump testing positive for coronavirus.
• Neil commented on his recent Twitter thread about the history of comparing coming out as gay to coming out as Republican.
• Niki talked about her recent piece for CNN, “Trump’s call for freelance poll-watchers summons a dark history.”