The Soul of California

Long one of the hottest issues in California and indeed the US, immigration has been an integral part to the Golden State's success. Hysteria and ignorance have characterised the immigration debate and led to draconian exclusions of the "other". Ironic given that immigration is part of America's DNA….

In this 31-minute podcast (of two) San Diego-based scholar Justin Akers Chacón discusses the history of US-Mexican relations, starting with the non-honoured agreement of the US-Mexican war and continues through to the Bracero programme and the modern era. He discusses the maquiladoras, the enormous assembly plants on the US-Mexican border, as well as how undocumented workers were able to work and pay taxes with a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and the detrimental economic impacts of deporting undocumented workers.

In it, Akers Chacón challenges the widely-held perceptions, and discusses justice (NAFTA for capital, but not for labour), immigration's positive economic impacts and the imbalance between short-sighted politicians and the quest of large multinationals for cheap labour.

Episode two will be released around 20 May and include policy formulation in an election year, the initial milestones and the decreasing impact of the United Farm Workers.

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In this 13-minute podcast, Samantha Schoech of Independent Bookstore Day (April 30) shares with us the origins of the day, how they learned from the vinyl industry about keeping declining media relevant, her favourite place to read, her desert island five and taking the day to a global audience.

www.indiebookstoreday.com

Next month, immigration with Justin Akers Chacón in two episodes.

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Grant Lee Phillips has been a staple on the California, and indeed the national, music scene for the last two decades. Fronting Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, he ventured out on his own in 2000 and has just released The Narrows, his eighth solo adventure.

In this 41-minute interview, Grant-Lee discusses a few tracks off of The Narrows and songwriting more generally (min. 9). He then reflects on the recent passing of Merle Haggard, the influence of the Bakersfield sound (min. 14) and the musical differences between Nashville (his current home) and Bakersfield.

Grant-Lee recounts his first brushes with the entertainment industry as a 13-year old magician in the night clubs of Stockton, just off Route 99, getting ideas across in his music, mixing up performances and closes with the influence that California has on his work.

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Without John Muir (1838-1914), Yosemite Valley as the world knows it (Apple users included) may not be as pristine as it is today.

Muir, born in Scotland, grew up in the US and eventually made his way to California, where he fell in love with Yosemite. Over the course of several decades, Muir changed the way that America looks at nature, spurring the creation of the environmental movement and the designation of countless national parks.

In this 37 minute episode, Mary Colwell, author of John Muir - the Scotsman who saved American’s wild places, discusses Muir’s life, works and legacy. She covers Muir’s austere, religious upbringing and touches on his inventions and adventures (min. 4) and then considers the increasing role of religion in the current environmental agenda, particularly in Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia and Russia (min. 7). Mary continues, summarising Muir’s scientific theories, his advocacy work and disappointment over the Hetch Hetchy dam (including a meeting with Ralph Waldo Emerson, min. 17).

Finally, she closes the interview (min. 28) with how the book came about and her upcoming 500 mile walk from the west of Ireland to the east of England for the curlew bird.

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In this episode (29 minutes) David McLaughlin discusses Pope Francis’s controversial canonisation of mission founder Junipero Serra, which sparked protest from Native American groups about Spain’s ill treatment of indigenous populations.

He also touches upon disease, fire and earthquakes, and the rebuilding of the missions. David closes with a description of a few of his favourites.

Coming up in April, the BBC's Mary Colwell on John Muir, Justin Akers Chacon on immigration and musician Grant Lee Philips on his latest album, The Narrows.

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In this first episode (28 minutes) of two, David McLaughlin of the California Mission Resource Center tells the story of the Spanish Missions. These 21 missions, dubbed the the King’s Highway, served the dual purpose of protecting Spain's military interests along the California coast as well as converting the indigenous populations to Christianity.

McLaughlin provides the historical context, the balancing of military and religious purposes, mission layout, architecture and daily life as well as the differences between the Franciscans and the Jesuits in the running of individual missions.

The second episode, to be released around March 20th, will discuss Pope Francis’s controversial canonization of mission founder Junipero Serra, which sparked protest from Native American groups about Spain’s ill treatment of indigenous populations. McLaughlin also touches upon disease, fire and earthquakes, and the rebuilding of the missions and closes with his favourite missions.

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In this second episode (27 minutes), we discuss Chandler’s ups and downs with Hollywood and his indirect role as crime fiction’s leader. Williams shares some of the stand out moments (and archival gems) in writing Chandler's biography as well as his favourite on-screen Marlowe.

Next time, California’s Spanish Missions.

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The Big Sleep, Farewell my Lovely, the Long Goodbye….novels which constitute an integral part to the canon of crime fiction, all penned by Raymond Chandler. Chandler, a US citizen brought up in the UK, had a number of professions before taking up writing at the age of 44. Chandler churned out a number of novels, introducing the literary world to the character Philip Marlowe, private detective.

Tom Williams, author of A Mysterious Something in the Light, spent six years researching Chandler’s life and provides an intimate look into Chandler’s life, his stories and his influence.

In this first episode (28 minutes) of two, Williams provides the context of Chandler’s writing, giving an exhaustive overview of Chandler’s complex personal life, his relationships and his increasing alcoholism, which led to his sacking and launched his writing career en vrai. Williams also discusses Los Angeles’s state of corruption during this time, which served as an important backdrop for Chandler’s writing. Williams also touches on how Chandler developed and wrote his novels.

Episode two will be aired about 20 February, covering Chandler’s relationship with Hollywood as a screen writer and his role as torchbearer for crime fiction, with his essay "The Simple Art of Murder". In addition, Williams discusses how he became involved with Chandler’s work, the thrill of going through Chandler’s archives in Oxford and at UCLA, Chandler and the development of Los Angeles and his favourite on-screen Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart or Elliot Gould).

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The 6th street bridge is dead! Long live the 6th street bridge!

Photographer Kevin Break has been photographing downtown LA’s bridges for over 20 years. As the iconic 6th street bridge is being demolished, Break provides listeners with a history of the dozen bridges that span the LA River, comments on the replacement bridge and reflects on its eery silence and the unexpected nature in the concrete-lined river. He shares the logistics of going into the river and why 2am is the best time to shoot photos. He ends with how the Jesus Wall came into existence, the impact of going digital and the importance of archiving….26 minutes.

http://www.kevinsbridges.com

Next month - Tom Williams on crime fiction writer Raymond Chandler.

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In this second episode on electric mobility (19 minutes), industry expert Chelsea Sexton talks about the fear of a limited range, lessons from Silicon Valley, the politics of electric mobility, low oil prices, the evolution of batteries, fixing incentives, and the potential bubble in the industry.

@evchels

Watch out for the next show with photographer Kevin Break on LA’s iconic 6th Street Bridge, scheduled to be released in the coming days.