The Californian Century

By BBC Radio 4

What's The Californian Century about?

Stanley Tucci imagines the story of modern California as a movie screenplay, tracing the dramatic history of the state from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

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The Californian Century episodes:

04.21.2020
Governor Jerry Brown
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Jerry Brown, California's longest serving governor. Brown is a singular figure in Californian politics, having presided over California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. In a wide-ranging interview, Brown shares...
04.20.2020
On Ice
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Ice-T, the original gangster rapper. Ice T's controversial hit Cop Killer epitomised the turbulence of 1990s LA, consumed by the outrage of the Rodney King beating. But Ice himself would go on to play...
04.13.2020
San Francisco Burning
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Dianne Feinstein, trailblazing Californian politician who took over as mayor of San Francisco in 1978 after the murders of Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone. Feinstein was charged with the difficult task of healing San...
04.06.2020
Acts of Resistance
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Kathleen Cleaver, a leading light in the short-lived but highly influential Black Panther Party which was founded in Oakland, California. Kathleen Cleaver and the Panthers were sick of the compromises of the mainstream civil...
03.30.2020
A Twist of Fate
Stanley Tucci continues his history of California with the story of Silicon Valley's troubled founder, William Shockley. Shockley was the man who first brought silicon to Silicon Valley in the 1950s. He was an undoubted genius. But he...
03.23.2020
The Good Fight
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Leon Lewis who hunted down Nazis on the streets on LA in the 30s and 40s. With its aircraft factories and shipyards, California consumed ten per cent of the US war budget. ...
03.16.2020
A Hard Won Oscar
Stanley Tucci tells the story of Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win an Oscar in 1940. McDaniel won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind. But the hotel where...
03.09.2020
The Vanishing
Stanley Tucci tells the story of celebrity revivalist preacher Aimee Semple McPherson who disappeared one day in 1926. They called her Sister Aimee and she was a powerful figure in the early days of California. Adored...
03.02.2020
Dark Water
Stanley Tucci tells the story of William Mulholland and the lies that made Los Angeles possible., The founders of LA had a vision of a future megacity. But there was just one problem - it was a virtual...
02.24.2020
A Body on the Backlot
Stanley Tucci imagines the story of modern California as a movie screenplay, tracing the dramatic history of the state from Hollywood to Silicon Valley. In this episode, the first man to direct a full movie in California meets a...
02.14.2020
Welcome to The Californian Century
Stanley Tucci imagines the story of modern California as a movie screenplay, tracing the dramatic history of the state from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

What's The Californian Century about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Californian Century episodes:

Governor Jerry Brown

On Ice

San Francisco Burning

Acts of Resistance

A Twist of Fate

The Good Fight

A Hard Won Oscar

The Vanishing

Dark Water

A Body on the Backlot

Welcome to The Californian Century