Eric Porter is Professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz, where he is also affiliated with the Music and Latin American and Latina/o Studies departments. He previously taught in the American Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz as well as at the University of New Mexico and the University of Nevada, Reno. His research and teaching interests include Black cultural and intellectual history, US cultural history, jazz and improvisation studies, urban studies, and comparative ethnic studies. Among his previous books are two University of California Press publications: What Is This Thing Called Jazz? African American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists (2002), winner of an American Book Award, and, with the photographer Lewis Watts, New Orleans Suite: Music and Culture in Transition (2013). The subject of our conversation today is his new book, A People's History of SFO, which is a fascinating look at the complicated history of San Francisco's airport using an ethnic studies lens, an environmental lens, and a labor lens.
Before we begin our next major thematic section of the podcast on railroads, we will be looking at the life of Leland Stanford who...
Today, we have Dr. Brittany Friedman on the show. Dr. Brittany Friedman is a sociologist and expert on cover-ups, politics, and the dark side...
Today, we have Dr. Virginia Scharff on the show. Dr. Scharff is an emeritus professor of History from the University of the New Mexico...