Robyn Curnow was driving through Atlanta when she stopped at a red light behind a car with a bumper sticker that read: “I miss Ronald Reagan.”

And it made her wonder — do Americans really miss Ronald Reagan… or do they miss the simpler idea of America his presidency has come to represent?

Because nostalgia has become one of the most powerful political drugs in the United States. It doesn’t ask for accuracy. It offers comfort. It smooths over complexity and turns anxiety about the present into longing for the past.

In this episode of Searching for America, Robyn explore how nostalgia is shaping American politics — from Reagan’s mythologized 1980s and the fantasy of the 1950s, to Donald Trump’s mastery of “Make America Great Again.” She looks at how both the left and the right reach backward when the present feels unstable, and why curated memory is often more persuasive than facts.

This isn’t really about Reagan.
Or even about Trump.

It’s about how Americans cope when the country no longer feels familiar — and why nostalgia, when weaponized, can be comforting, seductive… and dangerous.

Takeaways

Nostalgia in politics is often about the present, not the past.
Trump's slogan is a memory trigger, allowing personal projection.
Political nostalgia can sanitize and simplify complex histories.
Both left and right use nostalgia to connect with voters.
Nostalgia can anesthetize critical engagement with history.

Chapters

00:00 The Power of Nostalgia in Politics
05:42 Nostalgia's Role in Political Identity
10:09 Trumpism: Nostalgia and Future Projections
15:49 Reimagining the Future Through Nostalgia

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More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.

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