This episode of Then & Now  features a conversation with Frank B. Wilderson III, Chancellor's Professor of African American Studies at UC Irvine and author of the book Afropessimism. The conversation tracks his extraordinary life journey from youthful radical activism in Minnesota to a career as a stockbroker to participation in subversive activity for the African National Congress in South Africa. It also focuses on Wilderson's stark and unsparing philosophical stance of Afropessimism, which rests on the belief in a racism so deep that it divides the world between Humans and Blacks.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joins this special episode in conversation with former LA County Supervisor and LCHP Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky. Mayor Garcetti reflects on his tenure as mayor, discussing his impact on issues ranging from homelessness to the 2028 Olympic Games, and sharing the surprises, lessons, and challenges of leadership. 

Dr. Sharon Balter, the Director of the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, has had a busy 18 months. She joins then & now to discuss how knowledge about COVID-19 has shaped – and re-shaped – public health approaches throughout the course of the pandemic.

Gray Davis, the 37th Governor of the State of California, is uniquely positioned to comment on the current effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. He kicks off Season 2 of then & now by discussing his path into public service, his numerous legislative successes as governor, and his experience being recalled and replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also delves into the political and legal backdrop to the current recall effort and offers some important advice for dealing with adversity in life.

His most important message for California listeners? Vote in the recall election on September 14.

Whether discussing COVID-19 vaccinations with different people,  reading two different news sites, or merely glancing at any given Twitter feed, one might think that Americans across the country live in alternate universes. It is clear that political polarization has reached a boiling point. Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer, a nationally renowned expert in deliberative democracy and Executive Director Emerita of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, joins Then & Now producer Maia Ferdman to discuss this phenomenon. She describes the historical development of hyper-partisanship in the U.S., describes the opportunities that innovative political engagement offers, and suggests ways of healing the seemingly intractable divides in our country in order to chart a collective path forward. Watch her latest project, documentary Divided We Fall, at this link.

Then & Now is taking a summer break in July and August, and will return with a new season in September. Please enjoy a look back at some of our favorite episodes over the last year!

UCLA researchers and graduate students Marques Vestal, Fernanda Jahn Verri, and Andrew Klein join Then & Now to discuss the Luskin Center for History and Policy's research report detailing the history of the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles County. They discuss how the last century of housing policy, racial dynamics, and policing practices all contributed to the crisis we find ourselves in today. This is the first episode in a series covering the report findings. Read the report, "The Making of a Crisis: A History of Homelessness," here.

Then & Now is taking a summer break in July and August, and will return with a new season in September. Please enjoy a look back at some of our favorite episodes over the last year!

Months after the national election and despite numerous judicial decisions to the contrary, many Americans still believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump. In recent weeks various state legislatures have used the claim of voter fraud to propose new bills to change voting procedures, launching a new chapter in the long battle over the franchise in the United States. In this episode of "Then & Now," we discuss the history of voter suppression and the current state of play with election law expert, Professor Franita Tolson, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at the USC Gould School of Law and author of the forthcoming book In Congress We Trust: Enforcing Voting Rights From the Founding Fathers to the Jim Crow Era.

Then & Now is taking a summer break in July and August, and will return with a new season in September. Please enjoy a look back at some of our favorite episodes over the last year!

Political philosopher Hannah Arendt famously argued - in the case of SS officer Adolf Eichmann - that ordinary people can easily become complicit in evil acts as part of a larger system of injustice and inequality. In this special episode, we discuss the concept of "the banality of evil" with Robin Kelley, prominent scholar and professor of U.S. and African American History. As protests spread across the country over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many more, Professor Kelley shares with us his perspectives on our shared responsibilities, revolutionary pessimism, and the historian’s role in the pursuit of justice.

Then & Now is taking a summer break in July and August, and will return with a new season in September. Please enjoy a look back at some of our favorite episodes over the last year!

This week’s episode features Stephen Aron, outgoing UCLA historian and incoming CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West. Dr. Aron discussed the origins and persistence of the idea of the Western “frontier” in the American imagination, his approach to cultural “convergence” in the West, and his vision for the Autry Museum’s role in Los Angeles and the West today.

As California lifts longtime public health restrictions and life in parts of the United States begin returning to a semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy, it is important to recall the unfolding crises of the past 15 months. In this episode, UCLA Historian Peter Baldwin, author of the recent book Fighting the First Wave: Why the Coronavirus was Tackled So Differently Across the Globe, looks back on the past year and offers intriguing historical insight into why some countries were more effective at initially containing the coronavirus than others. He discusses the simultaneously global and local reach of the pandemic and analyzes the differences in political and cultural approaches to the pandemic across different countries around the world.