161 - Steinbeck Book Club, Dr. Michael Boyden on To a God Unknown

May 29, 2025 00:37:01
161 - Steinbeck Book Club, Dr. Michael Boyden on To a God Unknown
History of California Podcast
161 - Steinbeck Book Club, Dr. Michael Boyden on To a God Unknown

May 29 2025 | 00:37:01

/

Show Notes

Today’s episode is the second part of a two-episode series on John Steinbeck’s novel To a God Unknown. I wanted to do two episodes on this because the novel is fascinating, complex, and at times mystifying—and I wanted to get a few different perspectives to better understand it.

Today’s guest is Dr. Michael Boyden, a professor in both the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures as well as the Institute for Culture and History. His primary interest is in American literature, with a special focus on ecocriticism, Anthropocene studies, and critical sustainability studies.

I read a fascinating article he published on To a God Unknown, which examines the novel from an ecological perspective, and I was eager to talk with him about it. We cover a lot of ground—some topics echo my first conversation with Dr. Rivers—but we dive deeper into the ecological dimensions this time around.

Other Episodes

Episode

April 09, 2025 00:16:25
Episode Cover

156 - Chinese in California History, Part I

Today's episode is the first in a series of episodes on the history of Chinese Americans in California. We are beginning the series by...

Listen

Episode

October 07, 2025 01:01:43
Episode Cover

166 - Shelley Blanton-Stroud, An Unlikely Prospect, A WWII Novel Set in 1940s San Francisco

Host Jordan Mattox sits down with novelist Shelley Blanton-Stroud for a wide-ranging conversation about Bakersfield, historical fiction, and the hidden corners of California’s past....

Listen

Episode

February 28, 2020 00:20:25
Episode Cover

15 - The Anza Expeditions

In this episode, we investigate the Anza expeditions and their implications for the changing population of California.

Listen