Talk Cocktail

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...

AI’s rapid advancement comes with a hidden human cost. Not just the vast number of jobs that may be eliminated, but the little known digital sweatshops that are crucial to the ongoing development of AI itself. In my recent WhoWhatWhy podcast , James Muldoon , associate professor of management at the University of Essex and co-author of Feeding the Machine , argues that the rapid advancement of AI...

On this recent Californa Sun podcast I talk with Elizabeth Rosner about the importance and difficulty of deep listening in our noisy, information-saturated world. The Berkeley author’s new work “ Third Ear : Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening” draws in part from her experience as a child of Holocaust survivors. Rosner weaves personal narratives with deep insights to illustrate how lis...

America’s sheriffs, often seen as small-town peacekeepers, are becoming a major threat to democracy.  My latest WhoWhatWhy Podcast examines what’s happening. In a country where 80 percent of counties are red, and 90 percent of sheriffs are white, a shadowy world exists where these elected officials wield unchecked power, often aligning with far-right militias and potentially influencing the 2024 p...

Immigrant labor, industry consolidation, and safety concerns have become focal points in the national debate on meatpacking. The recent Boar's Head plant closure due to listeria underscores these issues. In our polarized political landscape, worker protections and food safety are increasingly part of the red/blue divide. Federal legislation often stalls due to lobbying and partisanship, while stat...

My guest on this WhoWhatWhy podcast, David Daley, argues that the six weeks following Election Day 2024 could be more consequential than the entire campaign season. At a rally in Pennsylvania recently, Donald Trump said, “You know, they do polls on this stuff, and I’m at like 93 percent.  So why are we having an election? They didn’t have an election. Why are we having an election?’” It’s a scary...

My latest WhoWhatWhy podcast focuses on how and why young voters, a potential deciding factor in the upcoming election, are shaped by the events of 9/11. Historian Matthew Warshauer offers a provocative perspective on how the attacks of 9/11 continue to shape American politics and the nation’s youth. Warshauer — a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University and the author of Creat...

My very special conversation with Judge David Tatel . For nearly 30 years, Judge David Tatel served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often considered the second most important court in the nation. Tatel accomplished this while dealing with progressive vision loss, eventually becoming completely blind. Judge Tatel's author of the memoir, " Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice...

Like a hand reaching up from the grave, the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity represents the posthumous triumph of Richard Nixon, Robert Bork, and Antonin Scalia.  On this WhoWhatWhy podcast I examine this constitutional crisis with Brown University law professor Corey Brettschneider, author of The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citize...

On this California Sun podcast I talk with Roger BelAir and Dan Ostroff who are bringing hope to California’s toughest prisons through an unlikely source: pickleball. Their upcoming documentary, “ Pickleball in Prison ,” explores how the simple paddle sport is transforming life behind bars, bridging gaps between inmates and staff, and fostering teamwork in high-security environments. From San Quen...

On this WhoWhatWhy podcast , I talk with Andrew R. Chow, author of Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX’s Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire. Chow guides us through the crypto landscape, from its original utopian dreams C Cryptocurrency defies conventional wisdom. Once a fringe element in volatile financial markets, it’s now a campaign talking point, with Donald Trump surprisingly emerging as a...

Billionaires. They're everywhere. But how did this obsession begin? In many ways, Bill Gates is patient zero in our collective fixation on billionaires, particularly those bred in the tech world. Before there was Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, or Thiel, there was Bill Gates. If Warren Buffett is the modern father figure of billionaires, Gates is undoubtedly the first son. Anupreeta Das , S. Asia  editor...

A revolutionary perspective on American constitutional history with Alison LaCroix , author of " The Interbellum Constitution. "  Our discussion challenges everything you thought you knew about federalism, originalism, and the foundations of our legal system. LaCroix unveils how the often-overlooked period between 1815 and 1861 profoundly shaped our modern constitutional debates, offering fresh in...

In this California Sun podcast I’m joined by Zoë Bernard, whose recent story in Vanity Fair looks at El Segundo, California's emerging tech scene, where young entrepreneurs are rejecting Silicon Valley's software focus in favor of defense tech. These predominantly male founders, desciples of Elon, emphasize bro culture, patriotism, religion, and traditional values while developing drones, nuclear...

Is democracy eating itself alive?  On this recent WhoWhatWhy podcast I talk with UC Irvine professor Shawn Rosenberg whose research focuses on political psychology, populism, deliberative democracy, and ideology. He reveals why he believes democracy has a fatal flaw: Most citizens lack the cognitive resources to navigate its complexities.  As the flow of information in the internet age becomes inc...

In my latest Califonria Sun podcast Kevin Fagan , a veteran San Francisco Chronicle reporter, who has been covering homelessness for over twenty years, discusses the full scope of the crisis. After the Supreme Court's recent Grants Pass decision , cities are taking more aggressive action on encampment sweeps. Fagan explores these sweeps, the state of homelessness, the futility of so many efforts a...

My conversation with Rachel Bergstein about the enduring political impact of Judy Blume. Her work, infused with feminist ideals, helped shape the progressive worldview that is currently under attack by conservative movements. As one of the most banned authors in America during the 1980s, Blume became a pioneer in fighting censorship, a battle that continues today. We discuss Bergstein new book "Th...

When people say their perception of the economy doesn’t match the numbers, are they just ill-informed? It’s a familiar refrain: stock markets soar, GDP rises, unemployment falls, yet many Americans feel left behind, struggling to make ends meet.  So what’s causing this disconnect between the rosy numbers and people’s lived experiences? Joining me for this WhoWhatWhy podcast are two leading thinker...