History of California Podcast

Historian Peter Richardson joins Jordan Mattox to discuss his new book, Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine, and to situate the magazine within the broader cultural and political history of the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Richardson — whose previous work includes a biography of Carey McWilliams and studies of Ramparts Magazine and the Grateful Dead — argues that Rolling Stone's founding in November 1967 cannot be understood apart from the counterculture it both chronicled and drew its sustenance from, nor apart from the failures of a mainstream media that created the opening for it in the first place. The conversation traces Richardson's own intellectual trajectory from medieval English literature to California cultural history; revisits McWilliams's argument that California is less a "great exception" than a national avatar; takes up Hunter S. Thompson's ambivalent relationship to the Haight-Ashbury counterculture; and considers Kevin Starr's conspicuous reluctance to address the 1960s in his otherwise comprehensive survey of the state. The episode closes with Richardson's reflections on Theodore Roszak, on whether the conditions for a new counterculture now exist in the shadow of Silicon Valley, and with a set of book and film recommendations for listeners wishing to pursue these threads further.

California wine is often wrapped in romance—rolling vineyards, pioneering families, and world-class vintages. But beneath that familiar story lies a far more complex history of conquest, labor, race, and power. In this episode of the History of California Podcast, Jordan Mattox sits down with historian Dr. Julia Ornelas-Higdon, author of The Grapes of Conquest, to uncover the hidden foundations of one of the state’s most iconic industries. Together, they trace the evolution of California agriculture from booster-era optimism to the labor struggles of the 20th century, examining how narratives about land, belonging, and identity were shaped—and often distorted—by those in power. From the overlooked role of Indigenous peoples and immigrant laborers to the surprising origins of the Anaheim Wine Colony, this conversation reveals how wine production functioned not just as an economic activity, but as a form of cultural production that helped define who counted as “Californian.” Along the way, the episode explores historiographical shifts—from triumphalist agricultural histories to labor-centered and race-conscious interpretations—and asks what still remains missing. If California wine tells a story, this episode asks: whose story has it been, and who has been left out?

In this episode of the History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox sits down with Ann Carlson to explore the history and legacy of air pollution regulation in California, as told in her book Smog and Sunshine. The conversation traces the transformation of Los Angeles from one of the most polluted regions in the United States to a global leader in environmental policy. Carlson explains how early misdiagnoses—like the infamous Tucker Report—delayed action, and how scientists, activists, journalists, and government institutions eventually converged to identify automobiles as the primary source of smog . Mattox and Carlson dig into the mechanics of environmental law, including the shift from bipartisan consensus to regulatory fragmentation, the increasing reliance on federal agencies, and the critical role of states—especially California—in advancing climate policy when the federal government stalls . The episode also highlights the catalytic converter as a case study in how ambitious regulation can drive technological innovation. The discussion goes beyond policy to examine environmental justice, showing how pollution has historically—and continues to—disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, particularly in regions like the Inland Empire . Throughout the episode, Carlson makes a broader argument: that environmental progress is not accidental, but the result of sustained pressure from the public, media, scientists, and institutions working together over decades. The episode closes by connecting these historical lessons to the present, asking what California’s experience can teach us about confronting climate change in an era of political polarization and misinformation. This is a conversation about history as both memory and blueprint—reminding us not just how far we’ve come, but what it might take to move forward.

In this episode of the History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox interviews Jenny Chan, founder of the Pacific Atrocities Education Program, about the hidden histories of World War II in the Pacific and the importance of expanding historical education beyond a Western-centric narrative. Drawing from her own family’s experiences and extensive archival research, Chan explains how major events in Asia—from the Japanese invasion of Manchuria to atrocities like Unit 731—have been largely absent from U.S. classrooms. The conversation explores how her organization works with educators to develop sensitive and accessible lesson plans, the challenges of uncovering fragmented archival materials, and the emotional power of oral histories from survivors. Chan also highlights the surprising ways California is connected to the Pacific Theater, including links to the Doolittle Raid, biological warfare threats, and local historical sites. Together, Mattox and Chan make the case for a more global, interconnected understanding of history—one that better reflects the scale of human experience during World War II and helps students make sense of the present.

The Academy Awards are one of the most recognizable cultural events in the world—but their origins reveal a much deeper story about Hollywood, labor, and the development of California’s film industry. In this episode of the History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox speaks with film scholar Dr. Monica Sandler about the origins and evolution of the Academy Awards. Dr. Sandler is the author of the forthcoming book The Oscar Industry: Creative Labor, Cultural Production, and the Awards System in Media Industry, which explores how awards function within the media economy and how recognition shapes creative labor in Hollywood. The conversation traces the Academy’s founding in the late 1920s, when Hollywood studios were grappling with censorship controversies, labor tensions, and questions about whether film should be treated as an art form. What began as an industry organization meant to manage these pressures eventually developed into the Oscars—an annual spectacle that helps shape careers, cultural prestige, and the global film marketplace. Jordan and Dr. Sandler also explore the political and social dimensions of Oscar history, including the complicated legacy of Hattie McDaniel’s historic 1940 win, the relationship between awards and labor in Hollywood, and the modern ecosystem of guild awards, campaigns, and media coverage that now make up “awards season.” If you’ve ever wondered how the Oscars became Hollywood’s biggest night—or what they reveal about the film industry itself—this episode offers a fascinating historical perspective.

In this episode of the History of California Podcast, Jordan Mattox continues his series on the history of Chinese Californians by confronting one of the darkest chapters in the state’s past: the age of exclusion and anti-Chinese violence. Moving beyond the well-known Chinese Exclusion Act, this episode examines the vigilante terror, mob brutality, and legal indifference that paved the way for federal immigration restriction. Jordan recounts the horrific 1871 Los Angeles massacre, in which a mob comprising nearly 10% of the city’s population lynched 18 Chinese residents after a shootout between rival associations spiraled into racial hysteria. He then takes listeners to Truckee in 1876, where arson attacks, gunfire, and courtroom acquittals demonstrated how deeply white supremacy shaped local justice. These were not isolated incidents but part of a broader climate of scapegoating, economic anxiety, and organized anti-Chinese activism. The episode also situates California’s racial hostility within a national and international framework. From the Burlingame Treaty’s initially open immigration policy to its revision under mounting Western political pressure, Jordan traces how local xenophobia became federal law. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—signed by President Chester A. Arthur—suspended Chinese labor immigration, barred naturalization, and shifted the burden of proof onto immigrants themselves It marked the first time U.S. immigration law explicitly targeted a group by nationality and race, fundamentally reshaping the nation’s immigration bureaucracy. This episode asks listeners to grapple with the human cost of exclusion: families separated, communities destroyed, and violence forgotten in official memory. It sets the stage for the next installment, where Jordan will explore the long-term consequences of exclusion for Chinese Americans in California. A sobering and essential chapter in understanding California’s past—and America’s.

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox speaks with historian John Boessenecker about his new book, Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta: The Bandit Chief Who Terrorized California and Launched the Legend of Zorro. Long remembered as a Robin Hood–like folk hero — and often portrayed as a symbol of resistance against Anglo oppression — Joaquin Murrieta has occupied a powerful place in California’s cultural imagination. But Boessenecker argues that nearly everything most people believe about Murrieta comes not from history, but from fiction, folklore, and deeply flawed research traditions. The conversation explores how Murrieta’s legend was shaped by nineteenth-century writers like John Rollin Ridge, later amplified by twentieth-century folklorists, and repeatedly disconnected from primary evidence. Boessenecker explains how modern access to digitized newspapers and archival records allows historians to reconstruct what Murrieta actually did — including acts of extraordinary violence — and why earlier generations so often failed to distinguish myth from fact. Beyond Murrieta himself, this episode offers a stark portrait of Gold Rush–era California as one of the most violent societies in American history, shaped by racial exclusion, vigilante justice, and a blurred line between criminals and lawmen.

What keeps Chinatown alive? In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox speaks with Dr. Laureen Hom, author of The Power of Chinatown: Searching for Spatial Justice in Los Angeles, about the long history—and ongoing political significance—of Chinatowns in California. Drawing on her research in Los Angeles Chinatown, Dr. Hom explains how Chinatowns have been shaped by racial exclusion, urban violence, redevelopment, immigration policy, and suburbanization, while also serving as sites of community formation, political organizing, and resistance. The conversation explores how the concept of gentrification has evolved, why displacement is often indirect and difficult to see, and how cities deploy tools like redevelopment agencies, multicultural planning, and business improvement districts to reshape ethnic neighborhoods. Mattox and Hom also examine Chinatown’s changing demographics, its relationship to suburban Chinese communities in places like the San Gabriel Valley, and the challenges of coalition-building in multiracial neighborhoods where Chinese American and Latino residents share space, history, and vulnerability. This episode offers a powerful framework for understanding Chinatown not as a static cultural enclave, but as a dynamic political space—one that reveals broader truths about California’s urban history, community power, and the ongoing struggle for spatial justice.

In this episode, host Jordan Mattox sits down with Dr. Michael Zeitler for an expansive conversation about John Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat — its mythic structure, its treatment of poverty, the nature of friendship and communal codes, and how Steinbeck used the Monterey landscape to explore deep questions about history and identity. Together they examine the novel’s tragic undercurrents, its echoes of World War I trauma, its links to Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, and Cannery Row, and why Steinbeck’s early works continue to provoke debate about caricature, class, and representation. Dr. Zeitler also reflects on Hardy, Haney’s Beowulf, the anthropology of place, car mechanics in Steinbeck, and the philosophical lineage running from Emerson to Ellison. A wide-ranging, insightful discussion for Steinbeck fans and California history enthusiasts alike.

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox sits down with attorney, author, and Yurok Tribe member Amy Bowers Cordalis for an intimate conversation about her new book The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. Amy shares the story of her family's deep roots along the Klamath River, the Yurok creation narrative that shapes their worldview, and the tribe’s intergenerational struggle to protect salmon and restore ecological balance. Together, Jordan and Amy explore the 2002 Klamath fish kill, the complex legal fight for dam removal, the importance of myth and cultural continuity, and the profound moment the river flowed freely once again. Throughout the episode, they examine Indigenous stewardship, the legacy of genocide, the nature of environmental restoration, and how the story of the Klamath fits into the larger arc of California’s history.

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox speaks with author John Doll about his historical novel St. James Park and the real events behind one of California’s most shocking forgotten crimes: the 1933 lynching of two men accused of kidnapping Brooke Hart. Drawing on Doll’s personal memories of San Jose, his research into the city’s past, and his reflections on writing historical fiction, the conversation explores the transformation of Santa Clara Valley from orchards to tract homes, the complicated legacy of Bay Area redevelopment, and the political corruption that shaped early 20th-century San Jose. The episode also examines the vibrant immigrant cultures of the Valley, the brutal working conditions in the region’s canneries, the symbolic importance of St. James Park, and the unexpected presence of vigilante justice in California’s past. Doll discusses the limits of historical documentation, the power of fiction to fill silences in the record, and how family memory informed his portrayal of the Hart case. The conversation concludes with a reflection on California’s broader history—from lynching and racism to redevelopment, industrialization, and the myths we tell about the Golden State—plus Doll’s recommendations for essential reading on San Jose and its overlooked past. Purchase the book here

In this episode, we return to our ongoing narrative on Chinese immigration to California, examining the pivotal economic role Chinese immigrants played in shaping the state during the 19th century. From manufacturing and textiles to mining, service labor, and large-scale industrial work, Chinese labor was central to California’s development. We look closely at the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, where Chinese workers carried out some of the most perilous tasks in the Sierra Nevada—carving tunnels through granite, enduring brutal winters, and risking (and often losing) their lives to push the railroad forward. Despite their contributions, Chinese immigrants faced widespread discrimination, wage suppression, and hostility from organized labor and white settlers who viewed them as economic threats during downturns. We also explore the 1867 railroad strike, one of the largest labor actions of its time, revealing how Chinese workers challenged racist stereotypes that portrayed them as passive or submissive. Their collective resistance reshaped public perception and helped redefine Chinese identity in America. This episode sets the stage for the rising anti-Chinese sentiment that would lead to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882—one of the most consequential immigration laws in U.S. history.

In this episode, host Jordan Mattox speaks with Dr. Jennifer Holland, author of Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement, about how the politics of abortion took root and evolved in the American West. Holland traces the movement’s origins from 19th-century medical debates to the late 20th century’s culture wars, exploring the intersections of religion, gender, race, and regional identity. She discusses the unique dynamics among Catholics, evangelicals, and Latter-Day Saints, the rise of crisis pregnancy centers, and the influential role of figures like James Dobson and organizations such as Focus on the Family. The conversation also examines California’s complex role—as both a progressive symbol and a conservative incubator—and how Western ideas of individualism, faith, and family helped shape national abortion politics. Buy Dr. Holland's Book Here

Host Jordan Mattox sits down with novelist Shelley Blanton-Stroud for a wide-ranging conversation about Bakersfield, historical fiction, and the hidden corners of California’s past. They begin with stories of growing up in the Central Valley—the stereotypes outsiders project, the Bakersfield Sound, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, and family traditions rooted in Dust Bowl migration. The conversation turns to Shelley’s work as a novelist. She explains the creative tension between history and fiction, the challenge of recreating the mental worlds of past characters, and how she used the erased record of the 1945 San Francisco “peace riots” as the foundation for her new novel An Unlikely Prospect. The episode also looks ahead to Shelley’s next project on Earl Warren, Bakersfield’s most famous son, whose father’s unsolved murder left a lasting imprint on his career and California history. Buy Shelley's Book Here

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox discusses Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies by Lara Gabrielle, the definitive biography of film star Marion Davies. Long overshadowed by her relationship with William Randolph Hearst and the gossip that surrounded her, Davies’s true story reveals a woman of independence, resilience, and remarkable talent. Drawing on unprecedented archival research, Gabrielle shows how Davies overcame disability and social stigma to become one of Hollywood’s leading comediennes and a devoted philanthropist. This episode shines a light on a complex figure who lived life on her own terms and declared herself “the captain of her soul.”4

On this episode, Jordan Mattox is joined by journalist and author Catherine Nichols to dive into the wild and little-known true story behind her book Deep Water. The book traces the rise and fall of a sophisticated drug smuggling ring started by a group of high school swim team surfers on the island of Coronado in Southern California. Their story, filled with risk, betrayal, and ambition, opens up unexpected windows into California's social history, coastal culture, and global connections. They explore the deeper historical context of the 1970s and 1980s in California—from the beaches of Coronado to broader themes of youth rebellion, military secrecy, and underground economies.

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox sits down with author Taylor Kiland to discuss her new book, Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress: A Coronado Cold Case. Set on the idyllic Coronado Island, the book reinvestigates the unsolved murder of a young heiress, Ruth Quinn, of the Jujube Candy fortune. Kiland shares how she unearthed records, reexamined the evidence, and conducted revealing interviews in an effort to shine a light on a case that still needs a resolution. 

In this episode of the History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Michael Hiltzik. Hiltzik is the author of Golden State: The Making of California, a fascinating survey of California’s history in the tradition of Kevin Starr’s acclaimed work. As a columnist and reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Hiltzik has written extensively about California’s political, economic, and cultural landscape, as well as authoring several books on the state’s history. Enjoy this fun and wide-ranging conversation exploring the forces that shaped the Golden State and the insights behind Hiltzik’s compelling storytelling.

Today’s episode is the second part of a two-episode series on John Steinbeck’s novel To a God Unknown. I wanted to do two episodes on this because the novel is fascinating, complex, and at times mystifying—and I wanted to get a few different perspectives to better understand it. Today’s guest is Dr. Michael Boyden, a professor in both the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures as well as the Institute for Culture and History. His primary interest is in American literature, with a special focus on ecocriticism, Anthropocene studies, and critical sustainability studies. I read a fascinating article he published on To a God Unknown, which examines the novel from an ecological perspective, and I was eager to talk with him about it. We cover a lot of ground—some topics echo my first conversation with Dr. Rivers—but we dive deeper into the ecological dimensions this time around.

Today we're continuing our series on John Steinbeck. This year, we've been reading through all of Steinbeck's major works. We started with The Pastures of Heaven, and To a God Unknown is the second book in the series. We’ll be doing two podcast episodes on this novel for a couple of different reasons. First and foremost, it’s probably the strangest, most confusing, and most exploratory of Steinbeck’s works. I wanted to get a few different perspectives on the meaning of this book—the characters, the plot, the context, and some of the major themes. Our first guest is Dr. Daniel Rivers. Dr. Rivers is an associate professor of American Studies and Literature at San Jose State University and also serves as the director of the Martha Heesley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State. We had a great conversation. We talked about a lot of things, including Dr. Rivers’s own research and writing on this book. There’s a lot to learn from this discussion, and I know you'll enjoy it.

Today, we have Elaine Chukan Brown on the show. Brown is a writer, speaker, and global wine educator. Brown is the Napa Valley specialist for Wine Enthusiast and previously served as the Executive Editor US for JancisRobinson.com, a columnist for Decanter magazine, and a contributing writer to Wine & Spirits magazine. They contributed to both the fourth and fifth editions of the Oxford Companion to Wine, the eighth edition of the World Atlas of Wine, and the compendiums On Burgundy and On California from Académie du Vin Library. Indigenous (Inupiaq and Unangan-Sugpiaq) from what is now Alaska, Brown has dedicated their career to the intersection of sustainability, climate action, and reducing gatekeeping in the wine industry. They co-founded the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum and have advised diversity initiatives in multiple countries. Brown serves as a judge for the Texsom Awards, head judge for the 67 Pall Mall Communicator Awards, and is a board member of the Wine Writer Symposium. Their new book is The Wines of California. Here’s a description of the book and click here to buy it:  A concise, complete, smartly delivered and cohesive book for serious readers and students of wine. Focusing on the world’s fourth largest producer of wine – California – the book takes readers on a journey through the Golden State’s wines, paying due attention to famous wine destinations such as Sonoma and Napa as well as introducing readers to exciting lesser-known regions to explore. The book is divided into three major sections. The first looks at California wine in the context of the history of the state as a whole. It addresses key issues in California wine growing such as Indigenous Peoples and land ownership, immigration and labour issues, the back-to-the land movement, environmental protest and innovations in sustainability. The second section takes each major region in turn and looks into its history, growing conditions and varieties, as well as discussing the most significant and interesting producers. A final section looks at current themes in Californian wine and discusses the future of the industry across the state.

Today, we have Dr. James Buckley on the show. Dr. Buckley is an Associate Professor and Venerable Chair in Historic Preservation and the Director of the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Oregon, Portland. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the development of affordable housing in the Bay Area, including the adaptive reuse of several historic buildings for residential uses. Dr. Buckley previously taught at MIT and UC Berkeley and holds a Master’s degree in city planning and a Ph.D. in architectural history from UC Berkeley. He has been a member of the board of directors for the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) and the Society of American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH). City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry Dr. James Buckley Here’s a description:  California’s 1849 gold rush triggered creation of the “instant city” of San Francisco as a base to exploit the rich natural resources of the American West. City of Wood examines how capitalists and workers logged the state’s vast redwood forests to create the financial capital and construction materials needed to build the regional metropolis of San Francisco. Architectural historian James Michael Buckley investigates the remote forest and its urban core as two poles of a regional “city.” This city consisted of a far-reaching network of spaces, produced as company owners and workers arrayed men and machines to extract resources and create human commodities from the region’s rich natural environment. Combining labor, urban, industrial, and social history, City of Wood employs a variety of sources—including contemporary newspaper articles, novels, and photographs—to explore the architectural landscape of lumber, from backwoods logging camps and company towns in the woods to busy lumber docks and the homes of workers and owners in San Francisco. By imagining the redwood lumber industry as a single community spread across multiple sites—a “City of Wood”—Buckley demonstrates how capitalist resource extraction links different places along the production value chain. The result is a paradigm shift in architectural history that focuses not just on the evolution of individual building design across time, but also on economic connections that link the center and periphery across space.

Tony Platt is the author of thirteen books and 150 essays and articles on race, inequality, and social justice in American history, among them Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States; Bloodlines: Recovering Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws, from Patton’s Trophy to Public Memorial; and The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency. His work has been translated into German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. In addition to scholarly books and publications, Platt has written for the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Truthdig, History News Network, Z Magazine, Nation, Salon, Monthly Review, and the Guardian, and his commentaries have aired on National Public Radio. Now a Distinguished Affiliated Scholar at Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Law and Society, Platt taught at the University of Chicago, the University of California, Berkeley, and California State University where he received awards for teaching and scholarship. The focus of our conversation is Tony's new book The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley.  Here's a description of the book:  The University of California, Berkeley—widely known as “Cal”—is admired worldwide as a bastion of innovation and a hub for progressive thought. Far less known are the university’s roots in plunder, warfare, and the promotion of white supremacy. As Tony Platt shows in The Scandal of Cal, these original sins sit at the center of UC Berkeley’s history. Platt looks unflinchingly at the university’s desecration of graves and large-scale hoarding of Indigenous remains. He tracks its role in developing the racist pseudoscience of eugenics in the early twentieth century. He sheds light on the school’s complicity with the military-industrial complex and its incubation of unprecedented violence through the Manhattan Project. And he underscores its deliberate and continued evasions about its own wrongdoings, which echo in the institution’s decision-making up to the present day. This book, above all, illuminates Cal’s culpability in some of the cruelest chapters of US history and sounds a clarion call for the university to undertake a thorough and earnest reckoning with its past. It is required reading for Cal alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and for anyone concerned with the impact of higher education in the United States and beyond.  

Today's episode is the first in a series of episodes on the history of Chinese Americans in California. We are beginning the series by discussing push and pull factors, immigration and legal status, mutual aid organizations, and more. 

Today, we have Gary Krist on the show. Gary has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Esquire, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He is the bestselling author of the acclaimed narrative nonfiction books The Mirage Factory, Empire of Sin, City of Scoundrels, and The White Cascade.  He has also written five works of fiction. Krist has received the Stephen Crane Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Public Scholar fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Travel Journalism, and other awards. The subject of today’s episode is Gary’s new book Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco.    Here’s the description of the book:  Shortly before dusk on November 3, 1870, just as the ferryboat El Capitan was pulling away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman clad in black emerged from the shadows and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she drew a small pistol and aimed it directly at a well-dressed man sitting quietly with his wife and children. The woman fired a single bullet into his chest. “I did it and I don’t deny it,” she said when arrested shortly thereafter. “He ruined both myself and my daughter.” Though little remembered today, the trial of Laura D. Fair for the murder of her lover, A. P. Crittenden, made headlines nationwide. As bestselling author Gary Krist reveals, the operatic facts of the case—a woman strung along for years by a two-timing man, killing him in an alleged fit of madness—challenged an American populace still searching for moral consensus after the Civil War. The trial shone an early and uncomfortable spotlight on social issues like the role of women, the sanctity of the family, and the range of acceptable expressions of gender, while jolting the still-adolescent metropolis of 1870s San Francisco, a city eager to shed its rough-and-tumble Gold Rush-era reputation. Trespassers at the Golden Gate brings readers inside the untamed frontier town, a place where—for a brief period—otherwise marginalized communities found unique opportunities. Readers meet a secretly wealthy Black housekeeper, an enterprising Chinese brothel madam, and a French rabble-rouser who refused to dress in sufficiently “feminine” clothing—as well as familiar figures like Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony, who become swept up in the drama of the Laura Fair affair.  Krist, who previously brought New Orleans to vivid life in Empire of Sin and Chicago in City of Scoundrels, recounts this astonishing story and its surprisingly modern echoes in a rollicking narrative that probes what it all meant—both for a nation still scarred by war and for a city eager for the world stage.

Jack Gedney is the author of The Private Lives of Public Birds: Learning to Listen to the Birds Where We Live and a compact field guide to the trees of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2018, he has written a column on local birds, “On the Wing,” for the Marin Independent Journal. Jack currently co-owns a wild bird feeding and nature shop in Novato, California. The focus of our conversation today is Jack's new book The Birds in the Oaks: Secret Voices of the Western Woods which his wife Angelina beautifully illustrated. Here’s a description of the book:  The first book on the birds of California’s oaks, from our most lyrical and observant wanderer of the woods. With charm and delight, The Birds in the Oaks introduces us to the birds who burrow, forage, and soar among California’s keystone trees. The mighty oak hosts a multitude of avian denizens—from canopy hoppers to ground nesters to short-billed surface pluckers—who rely on the trees’ well-stocked pantry of acorns, insects, and flowers for sustenance and shelter. Spunky kinglets, crimson-eyed towhees, cuddle-craving bushtits, intrepid nuthatches, and impudent wrens are among the many memorable cast members in this pageant of oak-allied birds. Jack Gedney lyrically conveys the beautiful, comic, and endearing qualities of over fifteen bird species, each profile paired with an illustration by Angelina Gedney. His bird-filled tales of adaptation, ingenuity, and sheer persistence also bring to light the warp and weft of cross-species interdependence. The Birds in the Oaks reveals to us the utter joy of birds, the superabundant world of the oaks, and the innumerable interconnections these living beings create. Buy the book here

 Today we have Dr. William Deverell on the show. Dr. Deverell is a professor of History, Spatial Sciences, and Environmental Studies at USC. He's an American historian with a focus on the 19th and 20th century American West. He has written works on political, social, ethnic, and environmental history, and is the founding director of the Huntington USC Institute on California and the West. This was so much fun to record. Bill has written books across an array of areas and subjects. We just had a great time exploring different facets of California history. We cover a broad range of subjects. We do spend time on his most recent book on Kathy Fiscus, which is a fascinating story about reality television and its origins, but, more broadly, this is a podcast about California history at large, and there's a lot to be learned through this conversation. Buy William Deverell's New Book Here

Today, we have Dr. James Tejani, Associate Professor of History at Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo, on the show. We will be discussing his new book A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America.  Here’s the description of the book:  The Port of Los Angeles is all around us. Objects we use on a daily basis pass through it: furniture, apparel, electronics, automobiles, and much more. The busiest container port in the Western hemisphere, it claims one-sixth of all US ocean shipping. Yet despite its centrality to our world, the port and the story of its making have been neglected in histories of the United States. In A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth, historian James Tejani corrects that significant omission, charting the port’s rise out of the mud and salt marsh of San Pedro estuary―and showing how the story of the port is the story of modern, globalized America itself. By the mid-nineteenth century, Americans had identified the West Coast as the republic’s destiny, a gateway to the riches of the Pacific. In a narrative spanning decades and stretching to Washington, DC, the Pacific Northwest, Civil War Richmond, Southwest deserts, and even overseas to Europe, Hawaii, and Asia, Tejani demonstrates how San Pedro came to be seen as all-important to the nation’s future. It was not virgin land, but dominated by powerful Mexican estates that would not be dislodged easily. Yet American scientists, including the great surveyor George Davidson, imperialist politicians such as Jefferson Davis and William Gwin, and hopeful land speculators, among them the future Union Army general Edward Ord, would wrest control of the estuary, and set the scene for the violence, inequality, and engineering marvels to come. San Pedro was no place for a harbor, Tejani reveals. The port was carved in defiance of nature, using new engineering techniques and massive mechanical dredgers. Business titans such as Collis Huntington and Edward H. Harriman brought their money and corporate influence to the task. But they were outmatched by government reformers, laying the foundations for the port, for the modern city of Los Angeles, and for our globalized world. Interweaving the natural history of San Pedro into this all-too-human history, Tejani vividly describes how a wild coast was made into the engine of American power. A story of imperial dreams and personal ambition, A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth is necessary reading for anyone who seeks to understand what the United States was, what it is now, and what it will be.   Dr. Tejani was a joy to talk with. Please enjoy our conversation. 

I am so excited to share today’s episode with you. For those of you who follow my substack, you may know that I have decided to make my way through Steinbeck this year. We started with Pastures of Heaven, a short story cycle that comes a few years after his first publication, called Cup of Gold, which is a historical novel set in Mexico. I decided to skip that first book as Pastures of Heaven turns our gaze to California. I was blown away by this cycle and wrote out my initial reactions to it on the substack. After finishing each volume in Steinbeck’s oeuvre, I will plan to have a podcast discussion with experts about the book, providing the readers and myself the additional context and analysis to make the reading experience richer. And we are fortunate enough to begin this podcast series with a titan of Steinbeck scholarship: Dr. Susan Shillinglaw. Born in Iowa, raised in Colorado, Susan Shillinglaw graduated with a B.A. in English and Art from Cornell College and earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is a Professor Emerita of English at San Jose State University, where she was Director of the University’s Center for Steinbeck Studies for 18 years. In 2012-13 she was named the SJSU President’s Scholar. She was also Director of the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas from 2015-2018. Dr. Shillinglaw has published widely on John Steinbeck, including Carol and John Steinbeck: Portrait of a Marriage (U of Nevada P, 2013) and On Reading The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin, 2014); and A Journey into Steinbeck’s California (3rd edition, 2019) She also wrote introductions to several of Steinbeck books for Penguin New American Library editions. Her most recent title is "Steinbeck’s Uneasy America: Rereading “Travels with Charley,” which she edited with Barbara A. Heavilin. This collection puts together critical scholarship on John Steinbeck’s best-selling, late-career travel memoir. In 1960, Steinbeck was a renowned man of American letters. Many considered him America’s troubadour of ordinary people, the conscience of the country. But weakened by two small strokes and anxious that he had lost touch with America, he embarked on a cross-country road trip accompanied by his wife’s standard poodle, Charley. Two years later, he published Travels with Charley to popular acclaim and robust sales. In this episode, Dr. Shillinglaw and I discuss Steinbeck’s continued relevance, pertinent biographical information that informs our reading of his text, themes and the structure of Pastures of Heaven, character analysis, and interpretative tools needed for an enriched reading experience. I hope you enjoy this conversation and it encourages you to book up this great short story cycle. 

Today, we have Dr. Brittany Friedman on the show. Dr. Brittany Friedman is a sociologist and expert on cover-ups, politics, and the dark side of institutions. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California. Friedman's research has appeared in the Washington Post, NPR, The Nation, Jacobin Magazine, and the Associated Press, among others. She is co-founder of the Captive Money Lab and an Affiliated Scholar of the American Bar Foundation.  She has come on to discuss her new book Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White Supremacists Run Our Prisons. Here’s the description: It is impossible to deny the impact of lies and white supremacy on the institutional conditions in US prisons. There is a particular power dynamic of racist intent in the prison system that culminates in what Brittany Friedman terms carceral apartheid. Prisons are a microcosm of how carceral apartheid operates as a larger governing strategy to decimate political targets and foster deceit, disinformation, and division in society. Among many shocking discoveries, Friedman shows that, beginning in the 1950s, California prison officials declared war on imprisoned Black people and sought to identify Black militants as a key problem, creating a strategy for the management, segregation, and elimination of these individuals from the prison population that continues into the present day. Carceral Apartheid delves into how the California Department of Corrections deployed various official, clandestine, and at times extralegal control techniques—including officer alliances with imprisoned white supremacists—to suppress Black political movements, revealing the broader themes of deception, empire, corruption, and white supremacy in American mass incarceration. Drawing from original interviews with founders of Black political movements such as the Black Guerilla Family, white supremacists, and a swath of little-known archival data, Friedman uncovers how the US domestic war against imprisoned Black people models and perpetuates genocide, imprisonment, and torture abroad. Buy her book here Dr. Friedman's Website

Rob Crisell is an author, poet, actor, winemaker, and teacher in Temecula, California. For the past eight years, he has taught poetry and Shakespeare with the Murrieta Valley Union School District. He has been a Shakespeare lecturer with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He has acted in The Merchant of Venice, Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Baskerville, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest (Prospero), Macbeth, Othello (Iago), and others. He has written and regularly performs several one-man plays featuring Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Shakespeare in America. He’s the author of the children’s novel The Zoo of Impossible Animals (De Portola Press, 2016), Shakespeare’s Book of Wisdom: Advice on Living a Wiser, Happier Life from William Shakespeare & Friends (DPP, 2018), The Fantastic Fables of Aesop (DPP, 2023), Temecula Valley Wineries (Arcadia Publishing, 2023).  His 2016 TED Talk is “How NOT to Hate Shakespeare” can be found on You Tube. His poetry has been published in The Lyric Magazine, the Society of Classical Poets, among other venues. He is a graduate of Yale University and George Mason University Law School. The focus of our conversation is Rob's newest book is California Avocados: A Delicious History, a fantastic exploration of avos rich and vibrant history.  Buy Rob's books here.   

In the last episode on the first series about the railroads and California, we conclude by discussing how the Big Four sought to cement the railroads and the meeting the Central and Union Pacific to bind east to west. 

On today's show, we welcome Rebecca John. Rebecca is a Research Fellow at the Climate Investigations Center. She is also a freelance journalist and award-winning documentary film maker. As a Producer and Director of the acclaimed “Extreme Oil” / “Curse of Oil” series for PBS /BBC her work was awarded a Cine Golden Eagle for News Analysis. Other award-winning and nominated series and films include “Churchill” for PBS & ITV, “The Secret World of Richard Nixon” for The History Channel/BBC and “Ambush In Mogadishu” for PBS Frontline/ BBC (winner of the Edward R. Murrow Overseas Press Club of America ‘Best Documentary on Foreign Affairs Award’). Follow her on X at @rebecca_John1. The article that we are discussing is Revealed: Big Oil Told 70 Years Ago That Fossil Fuel Emissions Could Impact ‘Civilization’.

Today, we welcome Dr. Maxwell Johnson on to the program. He is the author of A Connected Metropolis: Los Angeles Elites and the Making of a Modern City, 1890–1965, a fascinating a book about the development and key players in early days of Los Angeles.  Buy his book here.

Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. Her first historical mystery, Clark and Division, which won a Mary Higgins Clark Award, follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a California wartime detention center. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books and curated exhibitions. She has also written a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes. Her follow-up to Clark and Division, Evergreen, was released in August 2023 and was on the USA Today bestseller list for two weeks.

Today, we have Dr. Oliver A. Rosales on the show. Dr. Rosales is a Professor of History and former Faculty Coordinator of the Social Justice Institute at Bakersfield College, earned a B.A. in History at the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in History at California State University, Bakersfield, and a Ph.D. in History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also a former Visiting Faculty at the Bard College Master of Arts in Teaching Program and Visiting Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Studies at Harvard University. He is a contributor to The Chicano Movement: Perspectives from the Twenty-First Century; Civil Rights and Beyond: African American and Latino/a Activism in the Twentieth Century United States; The Journal of the West; and is author of Civil Rights in Bakersfield: Segregation and Multiracial Activism in the Central Valley (University of Texas Press, 2024). He served on the Nominating Board of the Organization of American Historians and is Board Chair with California Humanities through 2024. At Bakersfield College, he teaches courses in Chicano/a, California, United States, and World history. Purchase Civil Rights in Bakersfield: Segregation and Multiracial Activism in the Central Valley

Dr. Tore Olsson is a historian of the United States since the Civil War, specializing in the U.S. South, popular culture, rural and agricultural history, transnational history, the environment, and food. His work emphasizes making history accessible and relevant to diverse audiences through writing and teaching. His most recent book, Red Dead’s History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America’s Violent Past uses the Red Dead Redemption video games to explore American violence between 1870 and 1920, examining how disputes over capitalism and race fueled this turbulent era. His first book, Agrarian Crossings: Reformers and the Remaking of the US and Mexican Countryside (Princeton University Press, 2017), analyzed rural reform in the 1930s and 1940s and won five major awards. Currently, he is writing The Global Cowboy: How American Country Music Traveled and Transformed the World, which investigates the global rise of country music and its role in promoting rural values during the 20th century. His research has been supported by institutions like the National Endowment for the Humanities and published in leading academic journals. At the University of Tennessee, he teaches courses on food and agriculture, video games and history, the U.S. South, and U.S. and Latin American history, and he welcomes graduate applications in these fields.

Today, we have an episode with four amazing scholars, Dr. Lisa Barg, Dr. Tammy Kernodle, Dr. Dee Spencer and Dr. Sherrie Tucker, to discuss the life, signficance, and legacy of the Melba Liston, a pioneering jazz instrumentalist, composer, and arranger.  Here's a link to the introduction to the Melba Liston Research Collective

In this episode, we jump into the background of the transcontinental railroad and the companies and government initiatives designed to complete this monumental infrastructure project. 

Today, we have historian Dr. Sandra Bonura on the show. Dr. Bonura is a frequent storyteller and lecturer on the importance of using a multitude of primary sources to gain perspective on historical events, and the author of the 2020 biography of John D. Spreckles (the Hotel Del Coronado’s longest owner) entitled, “Empire Builder: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego” and more recently "The Sugar King of California: The Life of Claus Spreckels." Please enjoy our conversation. Dr. Bonura's Website Link Here

Today we have Dr. Richard J. Goodrich on the show. Dr. Goodrich is an author and historian. After 20 years as a history professor, Dr. Goodrich decided to move full time into writing. His interests range from ancient history, the Roman Empire, and early church history to the modern age. His latest book is L.A. Birdmen, A Gripping History of Early Aviation on America's West Coast. This joins his previous publication, Comet Madness, How the 1910 Visit of Halley's Comet Almost Destroyed Civilization, which was published in February 2023. Dr. Goodrich and I discussed a wide range of topics, which tend to be my favorite types of conversations. I hope you enjoy it as well. Buy his book here

Paul Haddad is the author of several books about his native Los Angeles, including the critically lauded, L.A. Times Bestseller "Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Created the Dream of Los Angeles," "Freewaytopia: How Freeways Shaped Los Angeles," "10,000 Steps a Day in L.A.: 57 Walking Adventures," and "High Fives, Pennant Drives, and Fernandomania: A Fan’s History of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Glory Years (1977-1981)." As a writer and contributor, his work has appeared in such media as the L.A. Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Times (UK), LAist, ESPN, NPR, and HuffPo. He is also the author of three novels. An MFA graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Haddad has been nominated for multiple Emmys as a documentary producer. Buy Paul's Books Here

In this introductory episode, we complete some table setting by looking at some of the history and development of railroads before diving into California and railoroads. 

Today we have Alex Brown on the show. Alex is a librarian, local historian, author, and writer, and an Ignite award winning critic. Much of their writing covers black history, librarianship, YA, and speculative fiction. The focus of our conversation today is their two books of nonfiction, Hidden History of Napa Valley and The Lost Restaurants of Napa Valley and Their Recipes. I really enjoyed talking with Alex. We had a lot to connect about, both in regards to libraries, but also into California history. Buy Alex's Books Here

Today, we have Matthew Davenport on the show. Matthew is an attorney and the author of two books, the second of which, The Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is the topic for today's conversation. Matthew's first book, First Over There, was a finalist for the 2015 Guggenheim Lehrman Prize in military history, and was heralded by Pulitzer Prize winning historian James McPherson as "military history at its best." The Longest Minute is a fascinating look at the conditions that led to this terrible fire that destroyed the city of San Francisco in 1906. Matthew has been a contributing writer for the Wall Street Journal book review and Salon.com and is a member of the Authors Guild. He is a native Missourian and a former prosecutor and now practices law in North Carolina where he lives with his wife and two sons. This was a great conversation where we were able to dig into the earthquake, the subsequent fire and a lot more. Buy Matthew's Books Here

Eric Porter is Professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz, where he is also affiliated with the Music and Latin American and Latina/o Studies departments. He previously taught in the American Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz as well as at the University of New Mexico and the University of Nevada, Reno. His research and teaching interests include Black cultural and intellectual history, US cultural history, jazz and improvisation studies, urban studies, and comparative ethnic studies. Among his previous books are two University of California Press publications: What Is This Thing Called Jazz? African American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists (2002), winner of an American Book Award, and, with the photographer Lewis Watts, New Orleans Suite: Music and Culture in Transition (2013). The subject of our conversation today is his new book, A People's History of SFO, which is a fascinating look at the complicated history of San Francisco's airport using an ethnic studies lens, an environmental lens, and a labor lens.  Buy Dr. Porter's Book Here

Today, we conclude by discussing the later life of Leland Stanford. 

Today, we have Langdon Moss on the show. Langdon is hosting a great new podcast called The Savage West where he unravels the complex web of early western expansion, taking listeners beyond the basic narrative to expose the raw realities of America's savage origins. What truths lie beneath the legends of violence, greed, hope, and courage? What do the history books get right, and what ideas, events and people deserve re-examination? Through dynamic, unscripted episodes, Moss explores divergent perspectives to challenge what we thought we knew about our past, inviting listeners to question and re-examine the stories at the heart of American history. Langdon also worked as a research assistant for a past guest Dean King with his book on John Muir. It’s always great to talk with someone working in a similar space as myself and we can get into so much in this podcast. And Langdon even has a few questions for me as well. Please enjoy our conversation!  Link to The Savage West podcast

Dr. Natalia Molina is a Distinguished Professor and Dean’s Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Her influential research examines the interconnected histories of race, place, gender, culture, and citizenship. An award-winning author, teacher, and mentor, she has written three acclaimed books: How Race Is Made in America: Immigration, Citizenship, and the Historical Power of Racial Scripts; Fit to Be Citizens?: Public Health and Race in Los Angeles, 1879-1940; and, most recently, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community. The Los Angeles Times called A Place at the Nayarit an “essential Los Angeles book.” It was a finalist for a James Beard Award and received 14 awards and honorable mentions from various organizations. The book chronicles the lives of immigrant workers, including Molina’s grandmother, who became placemakers, nurturing and feeding their communities at restaurants that served as urban anchors. Professor Molina is currently working on a new book, The Silent Hands that Shaped the Huntington Library: A History of Its Immigrant Workers. Named a USC 2023 Communicator of the Year, she has written for the LA Times, Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, and elsewhere. In 2020, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Before we begin our next major thematic section of the podcast on railroads, we will be looking at the life of Leland Stanford who serves a bridge between the Gold Rush era, the Civil War Era in California government, and the Transcontinental Railroad.