Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which addresses the constitutionality of a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks. This case is the latest in a decades-long legal battle over the legality of abortion access, which may culminate in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case affirming a woman's right to an abortion. Professor Cary Franklin, McDonald/Wright Chair of Law and Faculty Director of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, joins Then & Now to discuss the recent oral arguments in their historical context.

This conversation is co-sponsored by the Williams Institute and the Promise Institute for Human Rights at the UCLA School of Law.

This week's episode features the recording of the three part webinar series organized by the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy in partnership with the USC Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life and the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. This innovative series brings together scholars, thinkers, and policy-makers of different visions to reflect on the current impasse in Israel-Palestine and share proposals for the future.

This program features:
Omar Rahman, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Doha Center
Dr. Dahlia Sheindlin, Leading Israeli political analyst
Prof. Yuli Tamir, President, Beit Berl College
Prof. Shibley Telhami, Sadat Professor of Peace, Maryland

Part 2 of this series will take place on Sunday, December 5th at 11am PT. RSVP here: www.tinyurl.com/deadlockpart2

This revisited episode originally aired on October 12th, 2020, marking Indigenous Peoples Day. Professor Kyle T. Mays, historian and scholar of Afro-Indigenous studies, urban history, and Indigenous popular culture at UCLA, joins Then & Now to discuss the history and significance of the day, as well as his scholarship tracking the parallel and often intersecting histories of Indigenous and African American communities in the United States. He discusses moments of historical conflict and collaboration between the two communities, and how the shared experience of oppression can support a common agenda for justice today.

November is Native American Heritage Month. Read more about this month here.

In recent months, there has been a raging debate over whether the state--or private actors--can require vaccine mandates.  Some resisters claim that such a mandate stands in opposition to their religious liberty; others maintain that the state should not have this authority.  Where did vaccine mandates--and the fierce resistance to them--come from?  Dorit Reiss, Professor of Law and James Edgar Hervey ’50 Chair of Litigation at UC Hastings, and one of the country's leading authorities on vaccine mandates, joins then & now to discuss vaccine hesitancy and resistance throughout history, the role of religious exemptions, and the politicization of the pandemic.

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!