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.

This week the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy releases its report on White Nationalism in Southern California, titled "All is Not Well in the Golden State." 

We are joined by the authors, Grace Johnston-Glick, James Nee, and Gavin Quan, a team of dedicated UCLA undergraduates who delve into the history, ideology, and present-day implications of white nationalism. 

As streets across the country are filled with protests over the killing of George Floyd and so many others, we must continue to look to history to fully understand the insidiousness and structural nature of racism in our country so that we may begin to confront it.

Please join for an inspiring conversation on Then & Now with Tendayi Achiume, UCLA Law Professor, the Faculty Director of the UCLA Law Promise Institute for Human Rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism. Prof. Achiume shares her personal history, the historical development of the global human rights movement, the state of racism during the COVID-19 era, and the importance of maintaining hope about making meaningful change in the world.

Dr. Linda Rosenstock, Professor and Dean Emeritus of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, joins Then & Now to share her rich experience in the public health field and helps us make sense of the current response to the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. She describes the development of local, national, and global public health infrastructures, and describes what has worked in the past and what isn't working today.

This week we are joined by Professor Michael Meranze, UCLA History Professor and Chair of UCLA’s Academic Senate. The Academic Senate is a body of faculty members who share in the governance of the UCLA. Professor Meranze discusses the history of shared governance, the university’s past and current responses to crises, and the lessons that can be learned from the Great Depression and New Deal.

To conclude Then & Now’s three-part mini-series on the relationship between the LA County Supervisors and Sheriff’s Department, we sat down with Connie Rice, Esq. and Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, two prominent civic leaders with deep knowledge of Los Angeles political history. They skillfully frame the divergent narratives we heard in our last two episodes on the topic, offering much needed historical context and a keen analysis of the present-day conflict.

Essential listening for all those interested in the history and future of LA County.

In this special episode of Then & Now, we sit down with LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva as he responds to our inaugural episode and gives his take on the current tensions between his office and the Board of Supervisors, and on how the past informs his perspectives and decisions.

Join a team of researchers from the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy as they discuss their timely new report examining California's responses to pandemics over the last 100 years. They discuss the division of power among local, state, and federal government in responding to these outbreaks, the tendency to stigmatize groups and places by naming a disease, and the divergent economic effects of pandemics “then” and “now.”

Los Angeles County, one of the largest municipal governments in the world, is overseen by a board of five elected supervisors and three countywide elected officials, including the sheriff.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supervisors voted to remove LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva from his post as head of the County's Emergency Operations Center, and tensions have only risen since. How can we make sense of the ongoing conflict between the L.A. County leaders in this moment of public health crisis? Is this unprecedented? What does history tell us about the division of power at this level of government?

The UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy is pleased to launch its new podcast "Then & Now," featuring an informative discussion on this question with former Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, an LCHP Senior Fellow.

Subscribe today to be the first to hear The UCLA Luskin Center for History & Policy's brand new podcast, Then & Now. This podcast is dedicated to uncovering the wisdom and guidance that history has to offer us today.