We Need More Cowbells: How Nostalgia Keeps Us in the Present

We Need More Cowbells:
How Nostalgia Keeps Us in the Present

Show Notes

Imagine forgetting John Lennon.

It isn’t hard to do when collective memory fades. 

We remember things because they have meaning for us and we forget things because other things become more important. Seeing people and hearing songs that aren’t part of our day-to-day conversation brings with it a sense of nostalgia, a longing for the past, and a remembrance of what had been. 

And in that longing and in those memories, we form a connection to what had been things or people who once mattered to us and then, the realization of all that has been lost. Is it that realization that makes us lonely, or does the loneliness come when we remember what was once real. 

How does nostalgia become a way for us to forget our loneliness?

Major Sources Cited In This Episode:
The Negative Interactive Effects of Nostalgia and Loneliness on Affect in Daily Life David B Newman David B. Newman and Matthew E. Sachs
Medical Dissertation on Nostalgia Johannes Hofer 1688 Translated by Carolyn Kiser Anspach, B.A. 
Heartwarming Memories: Nostalgia Maintains Physiological Comfort
Clay Routledge Interview Dec. 28, 2021 
David Berry Interview Dec. 28, 2021

Host and Writer: Peg Fong
Director: Callie O’Reilly
Theme music: Ian Lefeuvre and Ari Posner
Engineer: Geoff Devine
Series Producers: Debbie O’Reilly, Guillermo Serrano and Allison Pinches
Executive Producer: Terry O’Reilly

This show is brought to you by the Apostrophe Podcast Network and powered by Acast.

Show Notes

Imagine forgetting John Lennon.

It isn’t hard to do when collective memory fades. 

We remember things because they have meaning for us and we forget things because other things become more important. Seeing people and hearing songs that aren’t part of our day-to-day conversation brings with it a sense of nostalgia, a longing for the past, and a remembrance of what had been. 

And in that longing and in those memories, we form a connection to what had been things or people who once mattered to us and then, the realization of all that has been lost. Is it that realization that makes us lonely, or does the loneliness come when we remember what was once real. 

How does nostalgia become a way for us to forget our loneliness?

Major Sources Cited In This Episode:
The Negative Interactive Effects of Nostalgia and Loneliness on Affect in Daily Life David B Newman David B. Newman and Matthew E. Sachs
Medical Dissertation on Nostalgia Johannes Hofer 1688 Translated by Carolyn Kiser Anspach, B.A. 
Heartwarming Memories: Nostalgia Maintains Physiological Comfort
Clay Routledge Interview Dec. 28, 2021 
David Berry Interview Dec. 28, 2021

Host and Writer: Peg Fong
Director: Callie O’Reilly
Theme music: Ian Lefeuvre and Ari Posner
Engineer: Geoff Devine
Series Producers: Debbie O’Reilly, Guillermo Serrano and Allison Pinches
Executive Producer: Terry O’Reilly

This show is brought to you by the Apostrophe Podcast Network and powered by Acast.

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