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All Episodes

California Sun Podcast — 327 episodes

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Title
1

Professor William Riggs on why we fear Waymos more than bad drivers

2

Kate Washington on how getting into cold water saved her life

3

Dillon Osleger on the paths we've erased and the stories buried beneath

4

Julia Turner and Julia Wick: making sense of the city with L.A. Material

5

Peter Richardson on how Rolling Stone shaped a social revolution … at least for a while

6

Ann Carlson: When L.A.'s air was both a punchline and a poison

7

Severin Borenstein on global oil shocks and California's price premium

8

Miriam Pawel: The Chavez myth comes apart

9

Caroline Tracey on the strange life and unnatural death of our salt lakes

10

Joe Flint: It's Oscar weekend, but Hollywood's future is unscripted

11

Geoff Davis on soul food, fair pay, and the service fee that sparked a firestorm

12

Valerie Ziegler and Joel Breakstone on teaching students to navigate algorithms and deepfakes

13

Scott Eden discusses a tech bro's fatal gamble on black-market cannabis

14

Danny Goldberg on how L.A. fought back after Rodney King — and what it means for Minneapolis

15

David McCuan on how California's county fairs became corruption hotbeds

16

Laurie Lipton: An artist's insane technique for disturbing times

17

Esther Mobley on California's wine crisis

18

Tom Freston on how MTV changed our music, our culture, and even California

19

Scot Danforth on the fight for disability rights in California

20

Matthew Scott photographs L.A.'s hidden stories, from concrete rivers to palm-lined streets

21

Gustavo Arellano on California families under siege

22

Roddy Bottum: A queer rock pioneer remembers San Francisco's lost era

23

Ashlee Vance on robot gladiators and the future of AI combat

24

Todd S. Purdum: How Desi Arnaz invented modern television and lost himself

25

John Freeman sees California as America's literary center

26

Ari Gold on what happens when 'live cinema' meets family dysfunction

27

Dina Gilio-Whitaker on how California commodified Native identity

28

Mike Magee on building the world's most innovative university

29

Tim Higgins on the battle to take down Apple

30

Jeff Chang on Bruce Lee and the emergence of Asian American pride

31

Satsuki Ina on echoes of Japanese incarceration

32

Peter Jones explores privilege and vulnerability at a school for sons of the Los Angeles elite

33

Eve Quesnel on how nature always shows up

34

Scott Alan Lucas on San Francisco, misinformation, and the killing of Bob Lee

35

Jim Newton on freedom, community, Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead

36

Sam Yebri on L.A.'s decline and a path forward

37

Matt Ritter and Michael Kauffmann on California's iconic native trees

38

Gene Seroka: At the helm of America's busiest port

39

Christopher Beam on how AI safety birthed a killing spree

40

Sharona Nazarian on leading Beverly Hills' Iranian diaspora through crisis

41

Josh Jackson discovers California's BLM lands

42

Gustavo Arellano on demonstrations, deportations, and downtown L.A.

43

Michael Hiltzik deconstructs the California dream

44

Eleni Gastis and the ghost students stealing millions from California community colleges

45

Matthew Specktor's Hollywood: when art, commerce, and family danced together

46

Adam Nagourney on the endangered California Dream

47

Joe Kloc explores Sausalito's vanishing 'anchor-out' community

48

Laurie Kirby looks behind the music festival curtain

49

Ben Fritz weighs Hollywood's Next Act

50

Erica Hellerstein on how improving farm worker conditions are now halted by a new wave of fear

51

Olaf Groth explores California's high-stakes dance amid trade and tech turmoil

52

Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's warning about America's entertainment politics

53

John Garamendi talks insurance, water, and farming under Trump

54

Chris Roberts unearths San Francisco's toxic nuclear legacy

55

Gregory Weaver on how a land conservation program delivered a windfall to mega-farms

56

Randy Shaw champions San Francisco's Tenderloin through decades of change

57

Dr. Shayan Rab is taking psychiatry to the streets

58

Lili Anolik maps the orbit between Joan Didion's cool detachment and Eve Babitz's raw sensuality

59

Dr. Mildred García is driving the CSU system beyond diplomas

60

Daniel Swain on the disasters still to come

61

Stephen Pyne reimagines our ancient pact with fire

62

Jim Carlton takes us inside the inferno

63

David Ulin finds hope in a burning city

64

Daniel Ostroff explores the timeless vision of Charles and Ray Eames

65

Brewster Kahle, the internet's librarian

66

James Tejani examines the audacious creation of the Port of Los Angeles

67

James Tejani examines the audacious creation of the Port of Los Angeles

68

John Francis on 17 years of silence

69

Aaron Betsky makes the case for architectural renewal

70

Joe Mathews on why California must think globally, but act locally

71

Emily Hoeven asks if Gavin Newsom can save the Democratic Party

72

Elsa Devienne sifts through the sands of L.A.'s little known coastal history

73

Gustavo Arellano takes on the myth and reality of Latino political identity

74

Forrest Gander navigates geology and loss in 'Mojave Ghost'

75

Oisin Heneghan believes in San Francisco

76

Zusha Elinson on a life lost over $14.64

77

Sasha Abramsky on the partisan takeover of small-towns: from potholes to culture wars

78

Elizabeth Rosner and the transformative art of listening

79

Alison Owings and Del Seymour on the incredible journey of the "mayor of the Tenderloin"

80

Carol Mithers rethinks rescue with L.A.'s "Dog Lady"

81

Patt Morrison takes the pulse of Los Angeles

82

Roger BelAir and Dan Ostroff on pickleball in prison

83

Zoë Bernard on El Segundo's hard tech patriots

84

Kevin Fagan on the front lines of California's homelessness crisis

85

Caroline Paul on empowerment through outdoor adventure

86

Sara Fenske Bahat navigates art, protests, and politics

87

José Vadi on skateboarding at the edge of culture and creativity

88

Markos Kounalakis on the Golden State's global impact

89

Jan Sramek's vision of California Forever

90

Cecillia Lunaparra wants to change the world at 22

91

Ken Doctor and the little newsroom that could

92

Lauren Petkin and divorce, California style

93

Robert McNally exposes the hidden legacy of John Muir

94

Sylvia Brownrigg's memory and imagination

95

Max Podemski defends multifamily housing

96

Napa's wine industry is not aging well

97

A California voice for a distant land: Amy Wilentz's advocacy for Haiti

98

Bonnie Portnoy and the untold story of California's impressionist adventurer, Tilden Daken

99

Dr. Susan Partovi is taking it to the streets.

100

Andrew Cockburn on Silicon Valley's military fusion

101

James Brosnahan has helped shape our legal landscape for six decades

102

Sarah Swanbeck and Erin Heys decode millennials and Gen Z

103

Harold Bronson on L.A.'s rock record story

104

Matthias Gafni gives voice to the lost souls of San Francisco

105

Roger Rapoport is still searching for Patty Hearst —50 years later

106

Daniel Sokatch on Israel and its local echoes

107

Matt Mahan knows the way to San Jose

108

The mysterious power of 'The O.C.'

109

David Kipen chronicles California's soul: from letters to tweets

110

Ryan Bedsaul learns about L.A's parts unknown

111

John King's portal to San Francisco

112

Jonathan Taplin vs. the tech billionaires

113

Katya Cengel's story of resilience and recovery

114

Conor Friedersdorf: D.E.I. vs. free speech at California colleges

115

​​Robert Sapolsky and our Illusion of free will

116

Brian Conrad unpacks California's 'math misadventure'

117

Rosanna Xia on California against the sea

118

Evelyn McDonnell peels back the layers of Joan Didion's world

119

Paul Carter on Richard Nixon's California

120

Chris Tilly navigates California's labor landscape and growth challenges

121

Julie Johnson and the threat of smoke to California's firefighters

122

Tony Platt unveils UC Berkeley's original sins

123

Dashka Slatter explores virtual harm and real consequences

124

Pico Iyer's half known life

125

Kate Flannery on L.A.'s fashion faux pas

126

Faith Pinho on fortunetellers and the Romani community

127

Margot Kushel explains homelessness in California

128

Joe Hagan wonders if anyone can fix California

129

Andy Dolich and the exodus of Oakland sports teams

130

Greg King saves the Redwoods

131

Captain Brett Crozier on the essence of military life

132

Maureen Ryan wants to burn down Hollywood

133

Clare Frank's love at first fire

134

Kevin Kelly on old wisdom and new progress

135

Richard Rushfield on Hollywood's doom loop

136

Erik Davis and 'The Visionary State'

137

Nicholas Goldberg reads the L.A. Times

138

Victoria Chang and the art of poetry

139

Dean King tells of the friendship that saved Yosemite

140

Eric Porter's history of SFO

141

Malcolm Harris's Palo Alto

142

Susan Straight's California Mecca

143

Kanishka Cheng tries to hold TogetherSF

144

Lila LaHood is looking for local news

145

Mark Rozzo and an L.A. Time Machine

146

Peggy Orenstein's pandemic yarn

147

John Gedmark is taking off

148

Ali Winston & Darwin BondGraham vs. the Oakland PD

149

Lee Herrick and the power of words

150

Erica Gies tells us what water wants

151

Erica Hellerstein on "solastalgia"

152

Mark Thompson played the hits...and a lot more

153

Zev Yaroslavsky: 40 years of service to L.A.

154

Leighton Woodhouse on mean streets, bad politics, and civilization past its prime

155

Stephen Galloway on the future of movies

156

Sam Quinones on our homelessness and fentanyl election

157

Rabbi Noah Farkas takes on anti-semitism in L.A.

158

Alex Shultz on how Charles Johnson is striking out with S.F.

159

Erika Smith on the most corrupt big city in America

160

Joe Mathews on Newsom and California

161

Lee E. Ohanian argues that it doesn't have to be like this

162

Katherine Blunt on the fall of PG&E

163

Lydia Chavez and Joe Eskenazi are on a mission

164

The Cheech

165

Severin Borenstein is all about the energy

166

Matt Doig responds to Paul Pringle

167

Paul Pringle's story of peril and power in L.A.

168

Erica Gies explains why water always wins

169

Diane Zimmerman remembers the Nut Tree

170

Gale Holland & Claire Hannah Collins: Inside their LA Times Story on Mckenzie Trahan

171

Jim Hinch on drugs, homelessness, and California policies

172

Gary Kamiya on what is happening to San Francisco

173

David Koepp turns out the lights

174

Alexa Koenig leads U.C. Berkeley's Human Right Center

175

Matt Richtel on inspired California

176

Professor Fernando Guerra: Can L.A. be governed?

177

Gustavo Arellano's guided tour of L.A. politics

178

John Waters reminds us where the wild things are

179

Carolyn Chen on how work became Silicon Valley's religion

180

Tripp Mickle on how California's most valuable company lost its soul

181

Lettie Teague on Napa Valley's new cash crop

182

Ryan Gattis on 30 years after the L.A. Riots

183

John Markoff on Silicon Valley's own Zelig

184

Thomas Walsh and Karen Maness on the lost art of the Hollywood backdrop

185

Vanessa Hua is a triple threat

186

Susan Sorrells and her own desert town of Shoshone

187

Libby Schaaf's love affair with Oakland

188

Frances Dinkelspiel on the power of local reporting

189

Peter Hartlaub and the S.F. Chronicle are one

190

Sebastian Mallaby on the real power in Silicon Valley

191

Erich Schwartzel on how China may deal Hollywood a fatal blow

192

Alice Waters delicious conversation

193

Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote the book on Barry Bonds

194

Marty Nemko on the future of work in California

195

Elizabeth Weil on California's relationship with fire

196

Sammy Potter and Jackson Parell's excellent adventure

197

Susan Handy on why not all infrastructure spending is good for California

198

Max Chafkin on the "godfather" of Silicon Valley

199

Darrell Steinberg thinks he can solve Sacramento's many problems

200

Bob Calhoun's obsession with the gruesome and lurid

201

Dan Walters' post-pandemic biopsy of California

202

Jassen Todorov tells us stories through music, photography, and flight

203

George Geary on California's real culinary legacy

204

Doug Thompson and Robin Kobaly on the thirsty golf courses of the Coachella Valley

205

Richard L. Brown and California's public employee unions

206

Michael Hiltzik on the Gilded Age, then and now

207

Gene Slater on the unsavory history of California's real estate industry

208

Miriam Pawel wraps up the recall and looks at what's next

209

Woody Hastings and Jenny Blaker think we have enough gas stations

210

Lizzie Johnson on how Paradise portends a future written in flames

211

Daniel O'Connell and Scott Peters on local farmers vs. industrial agribusiness in California.

212

Mizgon Zahir Darby on California's Afghan diaspora

213

Jaime Lowe on fighting fires and doing time

214

Rick Doblin on the value of psychedelics

215

Katie Hill's second act

216

Supervisor Matt Haney's candid look at San Francisco

217

George J. Sanchez and the wonder of Boyle Heights

218

Rosecrans Baldwin's L.A. embrace

219

Steve Wasserman returns to his roots

220

Colleen McCain Nelson now leads our capital city's newspaper

221

Mick LaSalle takes California to the movies

222

Justin Zhu talks startups, LSD, and anti-Asian discrimination

223

Denise Hamilton on L.A.'s post-apocalyptic vibe

224

Joel Selvin on the soundtrack that defines California

225

Michael Storper on the L.A. vs. Bay Area conundrum

226

Ron Brownstein on the magic of 1974 Los Angeles

227

Joe Mathews on how L.A. is failing California

228

Matthew Shilvock on the re-emergence of the San Francisco Opera

229

Molly Knight on baseball in Los Angeles

230

Emilio Garcia-Ruiz and the remaking of the S.F. Chronicle

231

Michael Tubbs still has Stockton on his mind

232

Tess Taylor and her poetry of California

233

Bradley Tusk on California's corporate exodus

234

Jill Tucker on San Francisco school debates

235

Shane Bauer on the Vallejo PD

236

Roman Mars is anything but invisible

237

Joan Didion talks about California

238

Casey Newton on tech platforms as the new town square

239

Hank Sims on the success of local journalism in Humboldt County

240

Kathryn Olmsted talks California unions, from farm to Google

241

Heather Knight on the ups and downs of San Francisco

242

Tracy L. Chandler on photography, memory, and connection

243

Daniel Lurie and Sam Cobbs on the fight against poverty in the Bay Area

244

At 25, Alex Lee is California's youngest state legislator

245

Gary Kamiya, Paul Madonna, and an unknown city by the bay

246

Chronicle journalists on Propositions 22 and 19

247

Peter Lunenfeld reimagines Los Angeles

248

Esther Mobley on days of wine and smoke

249

Kendra Atleework's "Miracle Country"

250

James Thebaut's lens on California's watershed

251

Davie Pina and Johnny White: Inside their personal firefight

252

Nick Neely takes a walk through time

253

Leon Panetta: A life of public service born in California

254

Jeffrey Tumlin attempts the impossible

255

Buffy Wicks in her own words

256

Geoffrey King: Vallejo Police Department on the brink

257

Dr. Jennifer Brokaw on keeping our first responders healthy

258

Anthony Rendon on California's shifting priorities

259

Alia Volz's homebaked journey

260

David Randall on the last California pandemic

261

Dr. Robert Wachter on Covid, California, and the future of medicine

262

Connie Rice on policing and economic despair

263

Lt. Ben Kelso on the blurred lines between Black and Blue

264

Peiley Lau on how staying at home made a difference

265

Eloy Ortiz Oakley on the future of California Community Colleges

266

Alex Padilla on the challenges of the November election

267

A fire in Paradise

268

Steve Inskeep on the 19th-century explorer who helped shape California

269

Richard Rushfield talks the future of movies

270

Mayor Jesse Arreguin and Berkeley's spirit of caring

271

Carl Nolte = San Francisco

272

Dr. Jessica Mega and Verily's intersection of health, data, and research

273

Randy Shaw discusses housing in the age of Covid-19

274

Dan Walters sees California government headed to the ICU

275

Matt Richtel on the anti-virus program we already own

276

Chip Walter looks into Silicon Valley's immortality machine

277

Steve Lopez and a 20-year conversation with his readers

278

Conor Dougherty on why every problem is a housing problem

279

Naomi McDougall Jones and the exclusion of women in Hollywood

280

David Talbot's stroke provides a parable for our time

281

Ken Turan talks Oscars, Hollywood and Netflix

282

Sen. Scott Wiener argues for SB 50

283

Dr. Jared Farmer on how trees define our California history

284

Thomas Wolf's Tenderloin resurrection

285

Paul Kitagaki Jr. photographed the survivors of WWII internment camps

286

Sam Dodge on California's greatest crisis

287

Sam Liccardo on San Jose and PG&E

288

David Ulin explains Joan Didion

289

Can California's 478 cities really work together?

290

Paul Theroux introduces us to our neighbor

291

Andrew Yang: If you think tech is under siege now, just wait

292

Dr. Manuel Pastor sees California as America on fast forward

293

Lincoln Mitchell connects the dots of the last 41 years of San Francisco

294

Willow Bay on educating our next generation of journalists

295

Soleil Ho: Every restaurant tells a story

296

Hollywood's Golden Age told through the passion of personal letters

297

Dr. Joely Proudfit on California Indian culture, sovereignty, and education

298

Is traffic heading the wrong Waze?

299

Autumn McDonald on the power of social entrepreneurship

300

Anne Lamott and reasons for hope

301

D.J. Waldie and the end of California exceptionalism

302

2 powerful L.A. City Council members on the city's present and future

303

Ariel Rubissow Okamoto and a deep dive into the San Francisco estuary

304

Tom O'Neill's 20-year journey into Charles Manson's world of darkness

305

Noam Cohen on how Silicon Valley undermines an authentic life

306

David Ulin on the joys and challenges of Los Angeles

307

Joe Talbot on "The Last Black Man in San Francisco"

308

Leah Garchik on 47 years at the S.F. Chronicle

309

Tony Serra offers a defense of his Ghost Ship client Derick Almena

310

Allison Haley on California's death penalty debate

311

Paul Schrade on the California primary tragedy of 1968

312

Julian Guthrie and the "alpha girls" of Silicon Valley

313

Mark Arax on chasing water and dust across California

314

The California dream inspired and destroyed Robin Williams

315

Roy Choi on bridging the food divide

316

David Talbot and a tale of San Francisco gone wrong

317

Leslie Berlin on Silicon Valley's origin story

318

Randy Shaw on the sabotaging of California housing

319

Richard Walker on the crises and contradictions of Silicon Valley

320

Nancie Clare on Beverly Hills and the birth of celebrity politics

321

Audrey Cooper on the future of local news

322

Dr. Tom Hoffman on the Mars-California connection

323

Mike Fitzgerald on Stockton and the "other California"

324

Mike Davis and his alternative view of California

325

David Kipen shares five-hundred years of opinions about Los Angeles

326

Miriam Pawel on the future of public education in California

327

Dr. Kevin Starr on the California Dream