29 - The Politics of Nostalgia with Grafton Tanner

Nostalgia has transformed from a medical condition in the 1600s into a powerful force wielded by politicians and corporations today, shaping everything from entertainment reboots to presidential campaigns. The tension between preserving the past and embracing change reveals deeper questions about how we process loss, grief, and our relationship with time in an era of relentless information overload. 

Author and theorist Grafton Tanner draws surprising connections between streaming algorithms, dead malls, and political messaging to explain how nostalgia is strategically deployed to influence behavior. Through analysis of cultural touchstones like Forrest Gump and Mad Men, he examines why some forms of nostalgia successfully drive engagement while others fall flat, and questions whether our current obsession with the past threatens our ability to imagine new futures. 

Resources 

‘The Hours Have Lost Their Clock’ by Grafton Tanner  

‘Foreverism’ by Grafton Tanner  

‘Millennials Rising’ by Neil Howe and William Strauss  

Our Guest 

Grafton Tanner is the author of Foreverism, The Hours Have Lost Their Clock: The Politics of Nostalgia, The Circle of the Snake: Nostalgia and Utopia in the Age of Big Tech, and Babbling Corpse: Vaporwave and the Commodification of Ghosts). His work focuses on nostalgia, technology, and the rhetoric of neoliberalism, and his writing has appeared in such venues as NPR, The Nation, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Jacobin, and Real Life. He is the host of Delusioneering, a three-episode audio series about the myths of capitalism. Currently he is writing a book on the re-emergence of exorcism in the late twentieth century. 

Your Host 

Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy at The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy. With over 20 years of experience turning audience insights into effective strategies for B2B and B2C companies, Farrah helps business leaders make big decisions across various industries. Learn more at thedifferenceengine.co and connect with Farrah on LinkedIn.

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