Jeff Olick has been one of the central figures in the making and shaping of memory studies, a burgeoning, multidisciplinary field of study drawing scholars from around the globe.  A professor of sociology and history at the University Virginia, Charlotte, I had the opportunity to engage with Jeff in a wide ranging conversation.  We talked about how memory studies and the work of Maurice Halbwachs helped him find a home in sociology for his interest in collective memory.  We discussed his work on how Germany’s political elite mastered the Nazi past, albeit with significant caveats.  He shared his thoughts on how, despite the recent backlash, American collective memory may finally be turning away from a celebratory approach to the past toward what he has labeled as the politics of regret.  A conversation with memory studies expert Jeffrey K. Olick, in this episode of the Realms of Memory podcast.