Talk Cocktail

David Ulin , one of Los Angeles’s most perceptive chroniclers and an editor of Joan Didion’s collected works, reflects on the city’s unprecedented urban wildfires through the lens of history, identity, and belonging. Ulin, in this California Sun podcast , talks to me about how disasters in Los Angeles paradoxically forge deeper connections between Angelenos and their landscape. Drawing parallels t...

When LA’s hydrants failed during massive fires, misinformation spread. What really happened – and the hard truths about our urban water systems. In my latest WhoWhatWhy podcast , I talk to one of California’s leading water experts who cuts through the noise to explain what really happened. Gregory Pierce — director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and of the Human Rights to Water Solutions...

We begin the year by looking in the “Wayback Machine.” Brewster Kahle , founder of the Internet Archive, housed in a former San Francisco church with Greek columns that echo the ancient Library of Alexandria, discusses his three-decade mission to preserve humanity’s digital knowledge and culture. Now facing unprecedented challenges, including a major cyberattack and legal battles with publishers o...

Welcome back: There are brilliant new voices speaking to California's fires, climate change, and ecology - what this ongoing tragedy means for Californians. But one of the most resonant voices comes from the past. Mike Davis, author of " City of Quartz," "Ecology of Fear," and " Dead Cities, " seems to be quoted almost daily in discussions of the current fires. His understanding of Southern Califo...

The last thing we need this week is another expression of alarm about events in Washington, or anywhere else for that matter. How about something positive about our companions. In a recent California Sun podcast I talked with author Carol Mithers about her new book, “ Rethinking Rescue , ” which explores a groundbreaking approach to animal welfare pioneered by Lori Weise, the founder of L.A.’s Dow...

In this recent WhoWhatWhy podcast , I talk with veteran journalist Sasha Abramsky who reveals a striking paradox: Progressives, long suspicious of states’ rights — once a reactionary battle cry against civil rights and federal reforms — are now embracing state power as their best defense against growing authoritarianism. As the federal government tilts rightward, blue states are forming unpreceden...

In this California Sun podcast I talk with architectural critic Aaron Betsky. He challenges conventional thinking about our built environment in his new book “ Don’t Build, Rebuild ,” in which he makes the case for transforming existing structures rather than constructing new ones. From San Francisco’s empty offices to Los Angeles’s historic core, Betsky explores how this approach can not only add...

At a time when the Republican Party has shifted dramatically from its Reaganite roots, Washington Post columnist Max Boot' s definitive biography of Ronald Reagan arrives with particular resonance. Through a decade of research, Boot reveals a pragmatic leader who would likely be puzzled by today's GOP—a president who supported immigration reform, worked with Gorbachev to reduce nuclear weapons, an...

In a world drowning in misinformation, we keep pointing fingers at those who create and spread false narratives. But what if the real story isn’t about them — it’s about us? In this recent WhoWhatWhy podcast I talk with professor Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, author of Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive Our Appetite for Misinformation, we discover a surprising truth: Humans are naturally...

The recent election has sparked new discussions about changing demographics across America. Austin, Texas is no exception. Long celebrated as a liberal bubble in the heart of red Texas, this once magical and creative city is transforming dramatically. From the controversial new University of Austin, featured this past Sunday on 60 Minutes, to Elon Musk's growing presence with SpaceX, to the influx...

While women have yet to shatter the ultimate glass ceiling of the White House, they've been steadily scaling the towering heights of Wall Street since the 1960s. The author of the groundbreaking book " She Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street," historian Paulina Bren talks to me about how these trailblazers navigated the male-dominated world of finance. From Muriel Siebert becoming t...

What happens when the new Trump administration’s transition to power includes explicit plans for its own demolition?  In this urgent WhoWhatWhy podcast f ollow-up to my recent pre-election conversation with Harvard professor emerita Nancy Rosenblum, we go deeper into how Trump’s drive for unchecked personal rule, combined with ideological extremists in his orbit, creates a uniquely dangerous form...

What happened to women voters as Harris drew fewer of them than Biden in 2020? Even in pro-choice strongholds, economic concerns trumped reproductive rights. To examine this I’m was joined the morning after the election on this WhoWhatWhy podcast by Amanda Becker , a 2023 Nieman Fellow and Washington correspondent for The 19th . She is the author of the book You Must Stand Up: The Fight for Aborti...

Journalist and presidential historian Jonathan Alter 's new book ' American Reckoning: Inside Trump's Trial—and My Own' offers unique insights from inside the Manhattan courtroom where he sat just 25 feet from Donald Trump. While the political landscape has shifted dramatically since those summer days, Alter finds hope in the long view of history. Drawing on his experience covering nine presidents...

About a year ago, on my WhoWhatWhy podcast , I spoke with Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt , co-author of the book Tyranny of the Minority. Ziblatt takes a hard look at the institutional inertia and political extremism that is threatening the future of American democracy.  Ziblatt argues that the nation’s precarious condition is defined by two contrasting views of what George Washington called “th...

"Vigilantism” - it's a word that conjures images of lynch mobs and frontier justice. But today, both would be Presidents and state governments are not just turning a blind eye to vigilantes, they're actively encouraging them. From Virginia's tip line for parents to snitch on teachers, to Texas unleashing bounty hunters against abortion providers, to Florida encouraging drivers to run over proteste...

On this California Sun podcast I talk with Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano who dismantles the myth of a monolithic “Latino vote.” After 3,000 miles across the Southwest, Arellano finds Latino communities laser-focused on local issues & identity, not national politics The real power? It's in city halls, not DC. Get full access to Talk Cocktail Podcast at jeffschechtman.substack.com/sub...

On a recent California Sun podcast I spoke with Sasha Abramsky, author of the new book “ Chaos Comes Calling .” Abramsky talks to me about how America’s deep polarization has cascaded from national politics down to local levels of governance. Abramsky reveals that even in small rural communities, once-mundane local issues like library policies, road repairs, and child care have become ideological...

This is January 6 as you’ve never seen it before.  My guest on my latest WhoWhatWhy podcast is filmmaker Jon Long. Long has just completed Fight Like Hell , a documentary that offers a provocative, unfiltered, never before seen look at the day’s shocking events, and the Stop the Steal movement’s evolution. Long explains that what you will witness in this documentary may shock you, move you. You ma...

Imagine the United States without FEMA and the National Weather Service. Imagine our water and air with no EPA, or investing with no SEC. Picture a government where all agencies are disbanded or rendered powerless. This isn’t a nightmare scenario from some dystopian novel — it’s the alarming vision behind Project 2025 and the agenda of Donald Trump and JD Vance. In my recent WhoWhatWhy podcast , I...

Steve Wasserman 's journey from Berkeley radical to literary luminary is a testament to the enduring power of the written word. In our conversation, Wasserman reflects on a life shaped by books, ideas, and an insatiable curiosity that led him from tear gas-filled streets to the pinnacles of publishing. His friendships with intellectual giants like Christopher Hitchens and Susan Sontag honed his em...

In a time when democracy hangs in the balance, how do we turn political conviction into victory? My guest, Robert Creamer, argues it's all about execution - the nuts and bolts of political organizing.   With five decades of activism under his belt, from working with Saul Alinsky to helping pass the Affordable Care Act, Creamer has been at the forefront of progressive battles.  His new book, "Nuts...

Twenty years ago, Alexander Payne's SIDEWAYS changed how we look at wine, relationships, and midlife crises. Today we explore the film's impact, 20 years out, and Payne's remarkable career. From Election to About Schmidt , from The Descendants to his latest, The Holdovers , Payne has consistently delivered insightful, often satirical looks at American life. His characters, whether in the vineyards...

In an age when our smartphones have become extensions of ourselves, allowing us to summon a ride, order dinner, or transfer money with a few taps, why can’t we use the same technology to participate in the most fundamental act of democracy — voting? In my latest WhoWhatWhy.org podcast, I talk with Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist, philanthropist, and political strategist. He believes voters, usi...

After the shocking 2016 election, it was Arlie Hochschild in her book " Strangers in Their Own Land, " not "Hillbilly Elegy," that truly explained the power of populist appeal in Appalachia. In my recent conversation with Hochschild, about her new book “Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right ,” the renowned sociologist continues this exploration, emphasizing the crucial need for what...