The History-Politics Podcast: Putting the Past to Work

Professor Manisha Shah, Franklin D. Gilliam Chair in Social Justice and director of the Global Lab for Research in Action at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, joins Then & Now producer Maia Ferdman in conversation about the long history of policy approaches to sex work. They discuss the motivations behind the prohibition and regulation of sex work as well as their public health and eco...

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 woma...

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...

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 Afr...

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 He...

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 So...

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 back...

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 Emer...

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...

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 &quot...

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...

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...

This special three-part episode of Then & Now features three experts in Middle East history and politics who examine multiple dimensions of the recent outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine. Their incisive analysis provides listeners with a thorough overview of the historical context, political consequences, and potential impact on future peace in Israel-Palestine. The first segment feat...

UCLA undergraduate students Firyal Bawab and Mariam Aref Mahmoud and graduate student Phil Hoffman join Then & Now to discuss their forthcoming report on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. They track the historical effects of American “soft” or "non-military" foreign policy in the Middle East on regional governments and economies over time, including the consequences of neoliber...

On January 6, 2021, hundreds of far-right protestors, many of them wearing white nationalist clothing and insignia, stormed the U.S. Capitol building. On February 16, UCLA student Christian Secor was arrested for his participation in the riot. In response to these developments, the Luskin Center for History and Policy released a report on white nationalism at UCLA titled “ From Student Politics Ca...

Henry Kissinger is arguably one of the most important and controversial contemporary figures in U.S. foreign policy. As a former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor during the Nixon and Ford Administrations, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and an accused war criminal, Kissinger is both revered and reviled. This week on Then & Now UCLA History Professor Kevin Kim interviews V...

From his childhood in Essaouira, Morocco, to his adolescence involved in Marxist politics, to his time as a successful banker in Paris, to his advocacy for peace and cross cultural understanding as senior advisor to two Moroccan kings, André Azoulay has lived an extraordinary life. He joins Then & Now in conversation with LCHP Director David Myers and Professor Aomar Boum (UCLA Department of A...

Anti-Asian sentiment and violence has spiked dramatically over the last year. Most recently on March 16, a mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia took the lives of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. UCLA Professors David Yoo and Karen Umemoto join this special episode of Then & Now to discuss this disturbing trend and situate it in the context of race and racism in American society. They d...

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 &quot...

Higher education institutions in the United States can be seen as both bastions of liberalism and conservatism, as the realm of both radicals and establishmentarians. Eddie Cole, associate professor of higher education and organizational change at UCLA and author of The Campus Color Line: College Presidents and the Struggle for Black Freedom addresses this seeming contradiction. He discusses the d...

In 2019, Anthea M. Hartig made headlines when she became the first woman director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. Since then, she has been a fierce advocate for public history in the nation’s capital. Join us for this President's Day episode as we learn about how Hartig, a UCLA alumna, fell in love with history, developed a rich and chal...

A recent LATimes investigation found that about 67% of the homeless population in Los Angeles County has either a mental illness or a substance abuse disorder. Yet, Dr. Jonathan Sherin wrote in a December op-ed , mental health policies are failing those who most need services. Dr. Sherin, the director of the LA County Department of Mental Health, joins Then & Now this week to discuss this chal...