Then & Now
115 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago -Then & Now connects past to present, using historical analysis and context to help guide us through modern issues and policy decisions. Then & Now is brought to you by the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. Then & Now is produced by David Myers and Roselyn Campbell, and features original music by Daniel Raijman.
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Episodes
Why History Matters: Gun Violence
April 17, 2024 16:00 - 1 hour - 44.7 MBGun violence has become deeply ingrained in the historical fabric of the United States, intertwined with the principles outlined in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants individuals the right to keep and bear arms. This amendment is frequently invoked in debates surrounding the implementation of stricter gun control measures. In this week's episode, then & now presents a compelling discussion hosted by the Department of History at UCLA under the Why History Matters ser...
Free Speech, Cancel Culture, and Safe Spaces: A Conversation with David Cole
April 03, 2024 23:00 - 53 minutes - 36.9 MBIn the wake of the events of October 7th in Israel and the swift reaction by the Israeli government against Hamas, student protests have erupted on campuses around the United States, igniting fervent discussions about free speech, the First Amendment, and safe spaces. This week on then & now, we are joined by David Cole, the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union and the George Mitchell Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Dr. Cole offers profound insights in...
Deadly Borders: A Conversation on Immigration with Dr. Jason de León
March 20, 2024 14:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MBAs the U.S. primary elections unfold, the issue of border security, particularly along the US-Mexico border, has taken center stage. Concerns about the number of people crossing the U.S. southern border illegally have prompted extreme and sometimes fatal measures by U.S. officials to curb the flow of migrants. How effective are these measures at slowing illegal immigration, and what is the cost for those trying to enter the U.S.? In this week’s podcast, we sit down with Dr. Jason de León, pr...
Challenges and Opportunities in the New Age of AI: A Long-Term View with John Villasenor
March 06, 2024 15:00 - 32 minutes - 22.1 MBAs advances in technology continue to shape our world, understanding the implications of artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security, and digital privacy has never been more important. In this episode of then & now, we delve into the crucial intersection of technology, law, and policy with John Villasenor, a distinguished professor at UCLA and co-director of the UCLA Institute for Technology, Law and Policy. Villasenor's expertise provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of technol...
The Nuclear Threat Today: A Conversation with Albert Carnesale
February 21, 2024 15:00 - 53 minutes - 36.7 MBWhile the conflicts between Israel and Palestine and Russia and Ukraine are center-stage, the threat of nuclear weapons hovers ominously over our world. The recent release of the popular movie "Oppenheimer" reminds us of the extraordinary potency of nuclear weapons. Russia's aggression in Ukraine has raised concerns about its nuclear intentions, while China, under President Xi Jinping, seeks to bolster its nuclear capabilities to match those of the US. Iran's nuclear ambitions persist, and t...
Is California an Outlier? Health Care Policy in the Sunshine State: A Conversation with Historian Ben Zdencanovic
January 24, 2024 18:00 - 49 minutes - 34.4 MBOne of the most vexing social problems in U.S. society is our country’s healthcare system, which is wracked by rising costs, inequitable access, and manifold inefficiencies. Unlike Canada or a number of European countries, the United States has never adopted a single-payer system in which the government provides health insurance to all. Instead, it has favored a range of private options alongside supplemental government programs. As a result of its size and significance, the state of Cali...
Israel, Gaza, and the U.S.: A Conversation with Aaron David Miller
January 10, 2024 17:00 - 1 hour - 46 MBOn this episode of then & now, Middle East expert Aaron David Miller offers his perspective on the current state of affairs in Israel and Gaza after October 7, 2023 — and on the broader historical context of the explosion of violence in recent months. Drawing on his decades of service in the U.S. State Department, he also traces the arc of American diplomacy on the Israel-Palestine question, noting the many failures and limited successes in this story. Miller reflects on the importance of b...
America On Strike: Labor Takes Center Stage
December 06, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 43.3 MBIn our final episode of 2023, we are sharing a recording of an event hosted by the UCLA History Department as part of the Why History Matters series. Labor movements have surged to the attention of the public over the past year, with the historic Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes at the beginning of the year as well as the United Auto Workers strike later in the year. Moderated by UCLA Professor of History and Labor Studies Toby Higbie, this event featured a panel discussion with Kent Wong...
Understanding the Israel-Gaza Conflict: Causes, Conduct, and Consequences
November 22, 2023 20:00 - 38 minutes - 26.8 MBFor this special episode, we are sharing a recording of a Zoom event hosted on November 21 by the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy. Featuring two UCLA history professors, Dr. James L. Gelvin and Dr. David N. Myers, this informational session explores the historical background to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, addressing questions such as: What is Hamas? What led to Hamas' attack on Israel? Why was Israel so ill-prepared? What does the future hold for Israel and Palestine, and for...
The Enduring Power of Non-Violence: A Conversation with Rev. James Lawson
November 08, 2023 15:00 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBThis episode of then & now features a conversation with the Reverend James Lawson, the legendary social justice activist who introduced the practice of non-violent action to the civil rights movement. The conversation takes up Rev. Lawson’s early years and encounters with racism in Massillon, Ohio; his exposure to the idea of non-violence through his reading of Gandhi and while on mission in India; his tireless efforts to promote non-violence in the United States; and his thoughts about ho...
Unions, Labor, and the American Working Class: A Conversation with Nelson Lichtenstein
October 25, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBOn September 15, 2023, workers from the United Auto Workers union went on strike at Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Stellantis simultaneously, quickly expanding to include tens of thousands of workers at automobile factories throughout the United States. Founded by visionary and then UAW president Walter Reuther, At its founding, the union focused on better wages and conditions for all working-class Americans, not just union members. Current UAW president Shawn Fain has channeled muc...
Urban Spaces Past and Present: A Conversation with Monica Smith
October 11, 2023 14:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBMore than half the world’s population currently lives in cities, and current estimates suggest that by 2050 nearly 7 out of every 10 people will live in urban spaces. In an increasingly crowded and urbanized world, space has become a precious commodity. As a species, we seem drawn to cities, despite their obvious disadvantages. From the ancient cities of Southeast Asia to the crowded streets of modern Los Angeles, cities offer opportunities for interactions that wouldn’t be possible in urban...
What is Going on in Nagorno-Karabakh? A Conversation with Historian Sebouh Aslanian
September 27, 2023 18:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBReports have emerged in recent weeks that a grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Nagorno-Karabakh, a contested region in present-day Azerbaijan that contains a large majority of Armenian residents. A prominent international lawyer, Luis Moreno Ocampo, in fact, maintains that “a Genocide is being committed” by Azerbaijani forces against Armenian residents. This episode of “Then & Now” features UCLA historian Sebouh Aslanian, who offers a rich account of the history of the region and the ...
The Long Roots of Israel's Democracy Crisis: A Conversation with Michael Sfard
September 13, 2023 18:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBAs we transition to our fourth season of "Then & Now", this episode features renowned Israeli human rights lawyer, Michael Sfard. He offers an analysis of Israel's current crisis of democracy, including the attacks on the judicial system and Supreme Court, and a wide contextual frame that extends back to 1948 and to the founding document of the state of Israel, its Declaration of Independence. The conversation then moves to Sfard's detailed argument that Israel's control of the West Bank a...
Fighting Crimes against the Environment: A Conversation about “Ecocide” with Kate Mackintosh
August 30, 2023 14:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MBFollowing the recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the south of the country, the government of Ukraine accused Russia of the crime of “ecocide.” This term first surfaced in the 1970s in the context of the U.S. military’s use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Since that time, the term has gained currency in international legal circles as a tool to fight against large-scale violations of the environment. A number of states have already incorporated the concept into their legal codes, and eff...
From Diversity to Reparation: A Conversation about Race, Higher Education, and the Aftermath of the Affirmative Action Decision with Eddie Cole
August 16, 2023 14:00 - 36 minutes - 25.3 MBOn June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to end affirmative action for college admissions, stating that considering race as a factor was unconstitutional, while preserving ‘legacy’ admissions which often allow students of alumni entrance to prestigious institutions. Yet from the establishment of the first university in the United States, race has been a consistent organizing principle in American higher education. In this episode, we sit down with UCLA historian Eddie Cole to discuss...
The Case for Open Access: A Conversation with Peter Baldwin
August 02, 2023 17:00 - 41 minutes - 28.6 MBIn this episode, historian Peter Baldwin makes the case for open access. He surveys the history of knowledge production and transmission from the Gutenberg Bible, which opened up access in unprecedented ways. Open access today, he argues, is not a novelty but continuous with earlier developments in which artists and thinkers were "workers for hire," who were compensated for their creative and scholarly labor. In the same vein, university professors are paid to produce scholarship which, Ba...
The Politics of Reproductive Rights: A Conversation with Elizabeth O'Brien
June 28, 2023 14:00 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MBWomen's reproductive rights have been a contentious issue over the past few years in the United States. Both federal and state measures have been introduced that restrict women’s ability to make decisions about their bodies and reproduction, culminating last year with the Supreme Court’s reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Though the US has been a public battleground for women’s reproductive rights in recent years, the debate about women’s right to bodily autonomy is neither uniqu...
Zev's Los Angeles: A Conversation with Zev Yaroslavsky about his New Memoir (Part II)
June 14, 2023 16:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBIn part two of our conversation with Zev Yaroslavsky, one of Los Angeles's best-known public officials, we continue our conversation on his recently released memoir and his reflections from his long career in politics. In this episode, Zev talks about the history of race relations in LA, the growing crisis of its unhoused population, and the importance of taking political risks. Zev also recalls his involvement in the struggle on behalf of low-wage workers and his passion for civil rights an...
Zev's Los Angeles: A Conversation with Zev Yaroslavsky about his New Memoir (Part I)
June 07, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MBIn the first of a two-part conversation, "Then & Now" sits down with Zev Yaroslavsky, one of LA's best-known public officials, to talk about his fascinating life and forty-year career in politics. Yaroslavsky has just released a memoir entitled Zev's Los Angeles that traces his rise from a Jewish immigrant family in Boyle Heights and Fairfax to his stunning election to City Council at age 26 in 1975. In this conversation, Zev recounts his quick path to political power in LA, his move after...
The Life and Times of J. Edgar Hoover: A Conversation with Beverly Gage
May 31, 2023 14:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBAs the director of the FBI for nearly half a century, John Edgar Hoover was the chief architect of the American security apparatus during a large chunk of the 20th century. A recognizable figure in popular memory, Hoover is also remembered for his fierce campaigns against Communism and his antipathy to civil liberties, which led to egregious abuses of power. In many ways, his career symbolized the dramatic rise of the security state in post-New Deal America. What does J. Edgar Hoover’s lif...
What Can We Learn from History? A Conversation on Israel and America, Past and Present, with Yael Sternhell
May 17, 2023 14:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MBThe United States and Israel have both been roiled by major democratic crises in recent years. Many observers attribute these crises to the Trump presidency and the recent plan by the Netanyahu government to undertake a major overhaul of the judiciary. But their roots may well extend back further. Can we learn from the histories of these two countries in understanding the present? Does the story of slavery and anti-Black racism in the U.S., on one hand, and the displacement and occupation ...
The Global Debt Crisis and the Neoliberal Economy: A Conversation with Ahilan Kadirgamar and Jamie Martin
May 03, 2023 14:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBIn the decade since the global financial crisis of 2007-8, a number of countries have faced and succumbed to sovereign-debt crises and declared bankruptcy. After Greece, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina, Zambia, and Lebanon, Sri Lanka has recently joined the ranks of countries felled by economic downturn, whose harsh impact will be felt by its people for a long time to come. In this context, the question arises: what role have international financial institutions such as the International Monet...
The Past and Future of the Humanities? A Conversation with Katherine Fleming
April 19, 2023 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31.1 MBIn the wake of the pandemic and persistent underfunding, cultural and educational institutions in the United States today are increasingly confronted with an uncertain fate. How can they sustain growth, enfranchise new audiences, and increase diversity at a time when “the death of the humanities” looms on the horizon? In this episode of Then & Now, Katherine E. Fleming, the president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, brings her rich experiences as historian, academic administrator, and no...
From Resistance to Representation in Transnational Hip-Hop: A Conversation with Samuel Lamontagne
April 05, 2023 14:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBHip-hop culture and rap music are often assumed to be quintessentially American art forms. But by the late 1970s, hip-hop had transcended its roots in the US coasts. In France, artists from the African diaspora experimented with hip-hop, using it as an art form to articulate Blackness at a time when their community had little visibility in public life. Hip-hop became a critical tool for crafting Black visions of representation and resistance. This intersection of music, culture and politic...
Re-examining US Foreign Policy: Can There Be an Alternative to Imperialism?
March 22, 2023 14:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBThe legitimacy of a US-led global order has been taken for granted by many in political, diplomatic and intellectual circles in the United States and even beyond. Yet this narrative of a postwar liberal order sits uncomfortably with a long history of imperial expansion and settler-colonial practices that the US has pursued over the centuries. Host Ben Zdencanovic sits down with Aziz Rana, a scholar of US constitutionalism, race, and empire at Cornell Law School, to discuss the politics of ra...
Authoritarianism and Patriarchy from Ancient Egypt to the Present: A Conversation with Kara Cooney
March 08, 2023 15:00 - 46 minutes - 32.3 MBRecent years have witnessed a stark rise across the globe in populist leaders whose policies are implicitly, or even explicitly, authoritarian. The policies of these leaders are sometimes at odds with their populist rhetoric in that they reward the elite few at the expense of the masses. Yet this trend is not new. As far back as ancient Egypt, we see authoritarian leaders collecting and retaining wealth and power in the hands of the elite. What are the parallels between the authoritarian gov...
China-US Relations in the Age of the Indo-Pacific: A Conversation with Rosemary Foot
February 23, 2023 00:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MBChina-US relations have again drawn global attention after a Chinese high-altitude balloon, suspected of carrying surveillance equipment, was shot down off the Carolina coast by the United States military. Beyond concerns about espionage and national security, this incident captured the US government’s larger anxieties about China’s growing influence in international affairs, and its threat to long-standing American hegemony in transnational governance. On the economic front, as the US-led e...
From the End of the Military Regime to the Return of Lula: Discussing Brazil's Political History with Bryan Pitts
February 08, 2023 22:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBThe narrow victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, in Brazil's presidential election in November 2022 was seen by many as a win for democracy in the country. Yet as the storming of its legislature on January 8 showed, former president Jair Bolsonaro's tumultuous, populist tenure has left Brazil deeply divided. How did Lula and then Bolsonaro and then Lula again emerge as such potent figures? What impact did the two-decade military junta (1964-85) have on the country's po...
Israel and the Specter of Fascism Today: A Conversation with Omer Bartov
January 26, 2023 18:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MBLate in 2022, Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in Israel, despite being ousted from office in July 2021. Now starting his sixth term as Prime Minister, Netanyahu has aligned himself with a number of far-right parties, commencing what some observers have described as a “fascist” era. Professor Omar Bartov discusses the conditions that have given rise to fascist governments and applies his deep historical knowledge to the political situation in Israel today. How continuous is the present ...
Women’s Rights in Iran: A Conversation with Kelly J. Shannon
December 05, 2022 12:00 - 26 minutes - 18.4 MBIn September, 22-year old Mahsa Amini died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s dress code. Protests quickly erupted, and over the past two months they have grown into calls for regime change. How did Iran, a country that once sat at the forefront of Muslim women’s advancement, end up with such conservative gender laws? After decades of repression, why did Amini's death lead to such a broad movement for reform? And how does the issue o...
What's New with the Longest Hatred: A Conversation about Anti-Judaism with David Nirenberg
November 21, 2022 13:00 - 33 minutes - 23.3 MBIn the wake of a recent surge of antisemitism, we talk to historian David Nirenberg about what connects the hatred of Jews in the past and present. Anti-Judaism is more than simply a form of prejudice against a particular ethnicity. Rather, it is a foundational and essential idea in Western civilization which provides cultures with a way of thinking about the dangers of the world. As we connect the dots between past and present, how does thinking in the longue durée help us to move forward? ...
The Racial Politics of Historic Preservation in in Los Angeles: A Conversation with Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and Hao Ding
November 07, 2022 17:00 - 27 minutes - 19 MBAt first glance, historic preservation seems to be a key part of good urban planning. But whom does historic preservation actually serve? In this week’s episode, our guests discuss their recent LCHP report that analyzes the power dynamics behind historic preservation. They look at the way in which historic preservation norms have been applied as an instrument of cultural control in three Southern California communities with large Asian-American populations. At the end of the day, they pose...
The Past and Future of Latino Politics in LA: A Conversation about the City Council Crisis with Miguel Santana and Gary Segura
October 25, 2022 00:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBSeveral weeks ago, a leaked tape revealed three LA city council members and a local labor leader engaged in racist conversation. Since then, the city has been enveloped in a political crisis. The language used by the council members has been covered extensively and widely condemned. But beneath these conversations lie deep and pressing questions about Latino representation, inter-ethnic relations, and the distribution of political power in Los Angeles. In the wake of this crisis, are we aski...
Mussolini’s Long Shadow: The Italian Elections, Giorgia Meloni, and the Legacies of Fascism
October 17, 2022 21:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBOn Sunday, September 25th, Italy held a snap election following the resignation of prime minister Mario Draghi and the dissolution of the Italian Parliament. The election resulted in a parliamentary majority a right-wing coalition led by Fratelli d’Italia (or Brothers of Italy), a far-right party with roots in postwar Italian neofascist movements. The party and its leader, new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, espouse social conservatism, nationalism, populism, opposition to immigration, and Eu...
Mussolini’s Long Shadow: The Italian Elections, Giorgia Meloni, and the Legacies of Fascism
October 17, 2022 21:00 - 49 minutes - 34.3 MBOn Sunday, September 25th, Italy held a snap election following the resignation of prime minister Mario Draghi and the dissolution of the Italian Parliament. The election resulted in a parliamentary majority a right-wing coalition led by Fratelli d’Italia (or Brothers of Italy), a far-right party with roots in postwar Italian neofascist movements. The party and its leader, new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, espouse social conservatism, nationalism, populism, opposition to immigration, and Eu...
Who’s Afraid of the Administrative State? The Supreme Court. A Conversation with Julian Davis Mortenson
October 03, 2022 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBThis past June, the Supreme Court reached a decision in West Virginia vs. Environmental Protection Agency that curtailed the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from coal plants. Behind this ruling was the principle of “non-delegation” — the idea that Congress cannot delegate its legislative powers, or rule-making authority, to other entities such as regulatory agencies. While non-delegation might seem like an esoteric legal concept to some, it poses a vital question for United Stat...
University in Crisis: Disruption, Response, and Transformation During the Young Administration at UCLA
June 22, 2022 16:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBThis episode features a conversation with UCLA graduate and undergraduate students who authored a new LCHP report exploring the history UCLA's response to crises of major scale. Jazz Kiang, Jannelle Dang, and Nayiri Artounians join Then & Now to discuss UCLA administrators' approaches to the student movement for ethnic studies in the late 1960s, and the on-campus killings of students Bunchy Carter and and John Huggins. They also discuss the firing of Angela Davis, and the implications for p...
Guns, Violence, and the Law: A Conversation with Professor Adam Winkler
June 10, 2022 15:00 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MBIn the wake of more horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the United States finds itself yet again engaged in a morbid ritual of horror and grief, thoughts and prayers, and renewed calls for gun control. Last week, the National Rifle Association held its annual convention, during which it steadfastly opposed calls to limit access to guns. But it has not always been that way. The NRA, in earlier decades, supported restrictions on access to guns. What happened? How has the Second...
Student Debt as a Civil Rights Issue: A Conversation with Dalié Jimenez and Jonathan Glater
May 31, 2022 15:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBThe student debt crisis in the United States has reached record highs, totaling about $1.75 trillion from 45 million borrowers. As millions of Americans await President Biden’s decision about whether to forgive at least part of this debt, Then & Now asks: how did we get to this staggering figure? How did past policy decisions pave the way for this crisis, and how and why have these decisions had a disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx students? Where do we go from here? Dalié Jimenez...
What Can International Law Do? A Conversation about the International Legal Order and Russia-Ukraine with Anna Spain Bradley
May 09, 2022 14:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBThe international community has widely condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine and has placed increasing pressure on Russia to withdraw. But what more can it do? What legal mechanisms and levers of pressure are available to the international community, and how effective are they? How did the current international legal order (including the definitions of genocide and crimes against humanity) come into being, and how did it evolve over time? Anna Spain Bradley, UCLA Vice Chancellor for Equity, Dive...
The End of Abortion Rights in the United States? A Conversation with Cary Franklin in the Wake of the Leaked Alito Opinion
May 04, 2022 16:00 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBIn this special episode, Cary Franklin returns Then & Now for a follow-up conversation about abortion rights in the U.S., in light of the leaked Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade (listen to part 1 here). Listen to Professor Franklin, Faculty Director of the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy and of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, discuss the far-reaching implications of the leaked opinion.
30 Years Later: A Conversation on the 1992 LA Uprisings with Brenda Stevenson and Kent Wong
April 25, 2022 16:00 - 42 minutes - 28.9 MBOn April 29, 1992, three LAPD officers were acquitted after brutally beating Rodney King, and a fourth was let off with no verdict. Widespread protests erupted in response, a result of deep-seated anger with police violence and racial inequality in Los Angeles, heightened by the murder of teenager Latasha Harlins a year prior. Five days later, the city of Los Angeles stood in a shocked, smoldering state with more than sixty people dead, thousands injured, and massive property damage. Now...
Breaking the Deadlock in Israel Palestine: The New Plan for a Holy Land Confederation
April 11, 2022 16:00 - 1 hour - 60.6 MBOn March 6th, 2022, 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, hosted the final installment of a three-part series focused on “Breaking the Deadlock” in Israel-Palestine. The aim of this series is to bring together leading scholars, thinkers, and policy-makers—each with different affiliations and visions for the future—to put forward contemp...
The History of Racism and the Quest for Racial Justice at UCLA
March 30, 2022 16:00 - 43 minutes - 30.1 MBThis episode features a conversation with the UCLA graduate and undergraduate students who authored a new LCHP report exploring the history of both racism and the quest for racial justice at UCLA. The report and conversation examine the experience of students of color throughout the university's history, as well as examples of the individuals and movements that led the fight for racial justice at UCLA. This conversation features graduate student co-author Debanjan Roychoudhury, alumna Skylar...
Understanding Ukraine Past and Present: A Conversation with Jared McBride
March 17, 2022 15:00 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MBRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked and perplexed the world. UCLA Historian Jared McBride joins Then & Now for the third conversation in a mini-series examining this invasion through a historical lens. Professor McBride discusses the history of far-right nationalism in Ukraine from World War II until now, situating both Ukraine’s election of a Jewish president and Putin’s claims of “denazification,” within a historical frame. He also discusses the unique forces shaping and re-shaping Uk...
Ghosts of the Past in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Conversations with Historians Benjamin Nathans and Arch Getty. A Special Two-Part Episode
March 02, 2022 15:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has shocked and perplexed the world. This special two-part episode of Then & Now features two outstanding historical observers: Benjamin Nathans, Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Associate Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, and J. Arch Getty, Distinguished Research Professor of History at UCLA, offer much needed background and perspective on Russia's actions. Professors Nathans and Getty discuss the historical relationship between Russia and U...
Deadlock in Israel-Palestine: How to Imagine a Better Future? Part 2
February 28, 2022 17:00 - 1 hour - 64.7 MBThis week's episode features the recording of Part 2 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 f...
The Transformation of Academic Labor: Past as Prologue at the UC
February 14, 2022 18:00 - 48 minutes - 33.3 MBLCHP Student Research Fellows and Geography Ph.D. students Sammy Feldblum and John Schmidt join Then & Now to discuss their new LCHP research report, The Transformation of Academic Labor: Past as Prologue at the University of California. Their research details the various factors leading to the UC’s increased reliance on contingent, non-tenured faculty lecturers over the past decades. They discuss the increased privatization of the university over the past fifty years, the implications of th...
Revisited - The Black Athlete as "Racial Project": A Conversation on Race, Politics, and Sports with Ben Carrington
February 07, 2022 19:00 - 57 minutes - 39.6 MBIn honor of Black History Month and in the midst of the Winter Olympics, we revisit this episode on the "Black Athlete" that originally aired on July 6, 2020. From Jack Johnson to Muhammed Ali, from Tommie Smith to Colin Kaepernick, Black athletes have played a huge role in the social and cultural history of the 20th and 21st centuries. Ben Carrington, sociologist at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, joins Then & Now to discuss the "racial project" of the Black Ath...