Podcasts about Alta California

The Horror Short Film Director Roundtable is one of the most important things that we did at the Portland Horror Film Festival. It provided an elevated platform for horror short filmmakers. Oftentimes, this is ground zero for original horror ideas. Unless you are a Hollywood nepo-director, short film creation is where you learn your chops. I wanted to give these creatives an opportunity to share their experiences in making movies, both good and bad, so that we can all learn a little more about the craft. Life as a short filmmaker can be an experience in the shadows. Your films are rarely seen outside of film festivals, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is where most creative minds hone their crafts. Take a simple concept and do it well. Do you have something scary or funny to tell? Is there an idea that has been lurking in the back of your brain that you have to give life to? A short film will give you the opportunity to learn production, editing, budgeting, and team management. It also places you in a community of people who are open to sharing their work with one another. That’s where the round table fits in. After our discussion, I told the group that, even though I wanted this discussion to be a forum for them to share their wins and losses with each other, I selfishly set up this talk so I could learn more about horror moviemaking. Nine years in on being a small horror press journalist, and I still feel like I am only scratching the surface about what a director has to do. Just how do you do it? These discussions give me more talking points and access to better questions to ask. The Portland Horror Film Festival is one of the best curated horror film festivals in the country. Not only do Gwen and Brian Callahan select some of the best horror short films for their festivals, but they also provide opportunities for short film alumni to showcase their feature films. One of the questions I asked in our roundtable discussion was, “How many of you are looking to be feature film directors?” All of them raised their hands (with the exception of Patrick Hogan, who has already directed a feature film). For these directors, here is some encouraging data. This year alone had FIVE directors who previously presented short films at either PHFF or the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and later had their feature films shown at these festivals. Here are the PHFF Alumni filmmakers who presented a short film and then a feature: Anthony Cousins: Short Films – “The Bloody Ballad of Squirt Reynolds” and “Every Time We Meet for Ice Cream Your Whole Fucking Face Explodes” to Feature Films – Frogman (2023) and Frogman Returns (2026) Jeff Ferrell: Short Film – “Morella” to Feature Film – The Demonatrix (2026) Levi Buchannan: Short Film – “We Said Forever” to Feature Film Sitra Achra (2026) Krsy Fox: Short Film – “What the Spell” to Feature Film – Big Baby (2026) Masaki Nishiyama: Short Film “Smahorror” to Feature Film “The Invisible Half” (2026) Zack Ogle: Short Film “We Got a Monkey’s Paw” to Feature Film – It Needs Eyes (2025) Craig Ouellette: “Str$p” to Feature Film – Straight on Til Morning (2025) Andrew Bowser: Short Film – “Little Willy” to Feature Film – Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Evil (2022) Izzy Lee: “My Monster”, “Dark Signals”, “Rehomed” to Feature Film – House of Ashes (2024) Kenichi Ugana: Short Film – “Visitors” to Feature Film – Love Will Tear Us Apart (2023) Alice Maio Mackay: Short Film – “The Serpent’s Skin” to Feature Film T-Blockers (2023) Matthew John Lawrence: Short Film “Larry Gone Demon” to Feature Film – Uncle Peckerhead (2020) Justin Harding: Short Film “Kookie” to Feature Film – Making Monsters (2019) The PHFF Horror Short Film Director Roundtable Recording: Here is the roundtable discussion. It’s all about the lessons learned. The good, the bad, and the ridiculous. My past experience doing these round tables sometimes put the filmmakers on the spot, and I didn’t want this to be a “stump the directors” exercise. I prepared them with the following questions: Apart from financing, what was the biggest challenge in making your movie? What was the most interesting thing you learned while making this film? How many of you are filmmakers as a second career? What remains a mystery to you as a filmmaker that you think might be answered by one of your peers in this discussion? What piece of advice do you have for your fellow directors? This group really got into the discussion, and had the festival not started up, we could have gone on for quite a while longer. I had a great time, and I believe they did as well. The Horror Short Film Director Roundtable Films: Blindsided Directed by P. Patrick HoganStarring Crystal LoverroPortland Horror Film Festival: Winner of the Devil’s Discord (Best Sound Design) A blind schoolteacher struggles to survive through a nightmarish night when an alien spaceship crashes and unleashes a monstrous predator. This unique horror short film features an all-low-vision cast and places the audience in the POV of a blind protagonist who is only able to hear what happens around her. Director Statements: “Blindsided is a riveting short horror film that takes a unique narrative approach, providing audiences with an immersive glimpse into the harrowing experience of Maria, a blind woman confronting the most terrifying ordeal of her life. The horror remains unseen, both to her and the audience, heightening the suspense and reminding us that sometimes, the most terrifying things are the ones we don’t see coming… This is an innovative short film that ventures into uncharted territory within the horror genre. The narrative unfolds in a tranquil neighborhood, abruptly disrupted by a crashing alien spacecraft and the horrifying monster it unleashes into the night. However, what sets this film apart is the unique perspective from which the story is told – the POV of Maria, a blind schoolteacher living alone. Maria’s desperate struggle to evade the otherworldly predator, guided solely by what she hears, will provide an experience unlike any other horror short. Additionally, to promote diversity and inclusivity, in conjunction with our Disability Authenticity Consultant Vanni Le and Casting Director Danielle Pretsfelder Demchick, all the characters in the film are played by low-vision actors, placing the spotlight on the often-overlooked talent within the low-vision community. We are very proud of Blindsided and look forward to enjoying it in theaters with an audience who doesn’t know what they are about to experience.” Scullion Written and Directed by Trevor GracianoStarring: Whitney Garner as “Samantha”, Cody Parr as “Greg”, and Jim Close as “The Maid” A playful couple test their household chore habits and unknowingly summon a vengeful presence. Director Statements: “We all carry habits inherited from our parents into adulthood. I grew up in a religious household where some of those habits were helpful, but many were not—and they've lingered in ways I don't welcome. Some habits fade with time, while others remain, quietly shaping us in the background. This film explores the struggle to break free from those ingrained patterns, and the imaginative consequences of what happens when they refuse to let go. *It's really just about how to load the communal dishwasher correctly.” Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done Directed by PJ GermainWritten by Autumn Palen and PJ GermainStarring: Brady Gentry, Benjamin Nowak, Bix Krieger, Charlie N. Townsend, Cailyn Rice, Ethan Ahn, Emma Smith Watts, and Erin Rae Kykendall HIGH SCHOOL REALLY SUCKS… and no one knows that better than best friends Aaron and Keith. So when they set out to crash the last graduation party of the summer, emotions fly high, and the culture clash of teenagers finds them playing a simple game that has dire consequences. Director’s Statement: “Before he passed, screenwriter Gil Dennis told me during my time at AFI, “Write what hurts.” That idea has stayed with me; it's the compass I use when choosing the stories I want to tell. When I first read Autumn Palen's original draft of Worst Thing You've Ever Done, it hurt. It transported me back to moments in my own adolescence; memories filled with shame, ridicule, and isolation. But what floored me was its third-act twist. It was something I'd never felt so viscerally in a short script. I knew I had to direct it. What began as a contained character piece evolved into something more personal. I rewrote the script to reflect my own lived experiences, with every character, every event drawn from real moments that left a mark. I wanted to take a character that I felt so intertwined with, and make him someone that the audience would really relate to before reaching the moment where everything changes; the blood-drenched punchline to the twisted joke these high school kids played on each other. I set it during the 90’s, as it was a period of transition for me as an 80’s kid, being on the cusp of the old and new world. I needed the film to be an exploration of adolescent loneliness which dealt with the complexity of the friendships and social hierarchies that often defined who we were at that fragile age. We weren’t quite kids anymore, but we weren’t adults yet either, so how did we approach the consequences of reckless behavior? My team and I knew that casting would make or break the film. To capture that truth, casting was everything. I reviewed over 6,000 submissions, narrowing it down to a callback of who I thought could embody the characters. I needed authenticity, so at that callback, I ditched the script and asked actors, in character, to describe moments like first dates or getting asked to prom. It revealed who leaped from the page and became real. A week before we were to start shooting, my original cinematographer had to back out due to a conflict with the TV series he was currently shooting, and months of planning began to crumble. In the days leading up to whether or not we were going to cancel the project entirely, my long-time collaborator and cinematographer Jeff Billings took on the task. We shot the film over 3 tireless days, and as any director knows, you plan as much as you can; however, the plan eventually goes out the window. So I played a game of pivoting and being malleable myself in order to get what we needed to tell the story. The film is a testament to all the parts working together for a singular goal, and my hope is that when that first music cue drops, the audience is strapped in and ready to ride the roller coaster to that final frame.” https://vimeo.com/1071562836/377ba7d361?fl=pl&fe=cm Cat and Mouse Written and Directed by Brady CatesStarring: Halima Kamara as “Michelle”, Collan Simmons as “Felix, and Ron LaprechtEdited by Luke Oleen Junk, and Hayley Frederick Michelle is caught in a killer’s sadistic and carefully orchestrated game. With danger closing in at every turn, Michelle must outwit and outlast her relentless pursuer. But as the night goes on, unsettling clues reveal that all may not be what it seems. This time, it's the mouse's turn to catch the cat. My Severed Arm Written and Directed by Casey de FremeryStarring: Olivia Rose Prince as “Sidney”, Ryan Romine as “Mason”, and Julia Linger as “Commercial Model”Portland Horror Film Festival: Funny Bone Award for Exceptional Horror Comedy A woman tries to escape a serial killer using DIY videos, but the internet won't stop trying to sell her things first. Director’s Statement: “My Severed Arm is a horror-comedy about a “final girl” who, after fleeing into a cabin in the woods, discovers that her greatest threat isn't the machete-wielding slasher outside—it's the barrage of unskippable ads and paywalls blocking her access to life-saving information. Trapped, bleeding, and desperate to repair the tools around her, she turns to YouTube—but instead of help, she's ambushed by holographic tutorials and polished commercial spokespeople invading the cabin like digital ghosts. The film began with a thought I couldn't shake: what if you had to listen to ads when calling 911? It was a joke at first, but one that felt eerily plausible five minutes into the future. I've learned so many practical things through platforms like YouTube, but over time, that access has been buried beneath monetization schemes, misinformation, and endless self-promotional detours. This story is my response to that frustration—exaggerated into a literal life-or-death scenario. Stylistically, I wanted to evoke the stark, grim energy of Evil Dead or Cabin in the Woods, but undercut it with the absurdity of consumer culture leaking into every moment. That blend of horror and comedy, physical space and digital intrusion, is what drives the tone. At its core, My Severed Arm is about survival—both in the horror-movie and digital sense. It's about what happens when urgency meets algorithm, when access to knowledge is shaped by incentive structures that don't care if you bleed out. The film asks: what good is information if it's hidden behind paywalls, pop-ups, and promo codes? But more than anything, I want the audience to laugh, cringe, and feel that creeping recognition that this isn't the future – it's the now.” Into The Stand Directed by Mackenzie Hamilton and Taylor FuchsWritten by Mackenzie HamiltonStarring: Sarah Rich as “Quinn”, Ariana Raygoza as “Rosa”, and Nick Dietrich Tree planters Quinn and Rosa return to camp for another summer in the wilderness. Rosa is newly sober, and Quinn is quietly anxious about how she'll handle the camp's hard-partying culture. At the welcome-back party, Rosa is tempted to drink, prompting Quinn to intervene. Shaken, Rosa heads into the forest to clear her head, but doesn't come back. When Quinn goes after her, she's met with eerie signs: strange noises, a mangled deer, and an odd light deep in the woods. As the forest closes in, Quinn questions if there is something else out there. Director’s Statement: The woods have always haunted me. Growing up in rural Vancouver Island, I would often cut through forest trails to reach friends’ houses. When it was night, we would meet in the middle of the trail to keep each other safe. Thankfully, we always found each other, but I frequently wondered what if we didn't? What if something else was out there, waiting in the darkness of the woods? Into the Stand is inspired by the many times I scared myself on those trails, letting my imagination run wild. Now that I'm older, my fears are centered around more tangible things, like navigating how to let go of people you love when you can't control what they're going through. This story is deeply informed by themes of sobriety, codependency, and how the urge to help someone can sometimes lead you somewhere dark. Ultimately, Into the Stand is a fun horror made in the community I grew up in with friends who helped bring it to life. My husband and I co-directed this short film, transforming the woods on my parents' farm into a tree-planting camp, and had a blast turning a familiar place into something eerie and cinematic. It's a scary film that is personal and full of heart, and I'm overjoyed to be telling stories in the places that shaped me. –Mackenzie Hamilton and Taylor Fuchs Nurture Written and Directed by Nick SnyderProduced by Sam SnyderStarring: Travis Bilenski as “Ren, and Kailey Rhodes as “Rose”Portland Horror Film Festival: Winner – Goule D’or Best Short On a remote Oregon farm, a couple grieving from a miscarriage finds hope in a mysterious flower. But as it heals her, the flower takes root in him. Nurture is a dialogue-free folk-horror fable about love, grief, and the consequences of taking too much from nature. Director’s Statement: NURTURE marks my return to narrative filmmaking after years of honing my craft in visual effects, motion design, and commercial work. Inspired by the Pacific Northwest and the quiet mythology of its forests, this dialogue-free folk horror short explores grief through the lens of a nature curse. Where grief deepens love and a curse demands sacrifice, NURTURE examines the dangerous hope that something broken can be restored without cost. Other Notable Horror Shorts from the Festival: There were 48 short films shown at the Festival, selected from over 500 submissions. Here are a few notable and favorite films that were also showing at the festival. Famous Directed by Rosita Lama MuvdiWritten by Jordan MonaghanStarring Jordan Monaghan “A young woman desperate for social media fame exploits her father's death to go viral. But the volatile world of internet stardom pushes her to the edge.” Punchy and poignant. Famous taps into the darkest desires of influencers desperate to get likes. Just how far will you go for a few more “likes and subscribes”? Jordan Monaghan chases likes the wrong way in “Famous” (2026) Favela Amarela (Brazil) Written and Directed by Nicolas Lobato and Tiago TuchuStarring Richard Abelha, Giselle Batista, and Sai “A student from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro joins the local drug militia to pay for college and uncovers an NGO linked to powerful politicians that hides dark rituals devoted to the King in Yellow.” I won’t be surprised if this stunning short film also plays at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. It is saturated in Brazilian culture, mixed with a heavy application of Cosmic Horror. Favela Amarela (2026) Wall Udder Written and Directed by Alexandra HaydenStarring Kevin Grady, Sawyer Fuller, and Bries Vannon “A dissatisfied woman confronts repressed feelings of malaise after her partner comes home smelling like milk.” Hysterically gag-inducingly funny! There is a double-punchline gag that brought the house down. Part of the Shorts Gone Wild block at PHFF, where the festival screens the zaniest submitted shorts. This did not disappoint. Ewwww! Who wants some milk? “Wall Udder” (2026) Tooth-Hurty! Directed by Jude MadonnaWritten by Katie SmallStarring Katie Small, Jude Madonna, Brook Hogan, and Tommy HardenPortland Horror Film Festival Winner: Abby Normal Award: For the exceptionally weird and disturbing “Lucy is a people-pleasing writer-photographer whose dream of being an artist remains just out of reach. A comment from her boyfriend about her teeth triggers Lucy to make an appointment for a dental checkup for the first time in years with the mysterious yet heavily advertised Big Smiles Dentistry.” Super clever! There should be more horror movies about trips to the dentist. This made my toes curl and had me in stitches, as well. Say Ahhh! Katie Small in “Tooth-Hurty!” (2026) CHÄIR Directed by Chris McInroyWritten by Chris McInroy and Carlos La RottaStarring Carlos LaRotta, Kim Lowery, and Chloe McInroy “Carl just wanted to sit down. The chair had other plans.” I am always a fan of Chris McInroy. He and Carlos do a crazy short film every year. I am in awe of how these guys make deadpan, silly, and super-gory original content. It won’t be long before they release a greatest-hits compilation, and I will be in line to buy it. This spoof on Ikea furniture assembly is a tribute to all of us who have struggled to assemble the Scandinavian furniture at home. Carlos LaRotta contemplates his struggles putting a chair together in “CHÄIR” (2026) The Bones Exist Directed by Kelsey Bollig and Matthew DuVallWritten by Matthew DuVallStarring: Alex Pena as “Manny”, Siya Maleki as “Diego”, Jack Campbell as “Don Rob”, Michael Manzako as “The Boy”, and Alex Bankler as the Utah Raptor.Portland Horror Film Festival Winner: Tompe L’oiel Award for Best Special Effects In the unforgiving wilderness of 1850s Alta California, a dwindling group of gold prospectors encounters a feral boy who forces the men to confront the horrors lurking in the woods and the sins of their past. This combines two of my favorite genres: Dinosaurs and Westerns. Perhaps not done since The Valley of Gwanji, The Bones Exists shows plenty of raptors hunting cowboys and does so convincingly. Bonus points for showing the most current understanding of raptors as feathered dinos. Munch Munch! “The Bones Exist” (2026) Flush (France) Written and Directed by Raphaël TreinerStarring Eléonore Gurrey as “Marianne” and Christophe Ntakabenura as “Ben” Abominable plumbing and violent deaths. MARIANNE, extremely pregnant, and BEN, a plumber and one-night stand, team up to survive an epic night and face the monsters of a building beset by an unknown evil. I am a sucker for the Trapped in a Bathroom trope, even going so far as to host a Crypticon horror panel on the topic. This film goes to the top (plumbing) shelf. This is Cosmic horror that brings all the icky, goopy, nasty elements you might expect from this theme is on full display. To think that an effective little romance element managed to sneak into the plot, and you have something unusually effective. I love it when the French go weird. Eléonore Gurrey and Christophe Ntakabenura are unlikely allies in “Flush” (2026)

Over the past five years, I've shared fragments of the sometimes-comedic stories of 1847 Yerba Buena. But 1847 deserves more than scattered stories. It was a transformative year for the Pueblo de Yerba Buena, the District of San Francisco, Monterey and Alta California.I plan to retell the 1847 story in a multipart series. And while I'm sad to say goodbye to Yerba Buena, I'm excited to tell this next chapter, the year before the gold.monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast)twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me)facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)

Fray Junípero pasó 9 años en Xalpán, en el actual Méjico, desde allí fue enviado a misionar a los indios Apaches en el río San Sabá. En 1767 tuvo lugar la expulsión de los jesuitas de todo territorio español. Fueron los franciscanos quienes tenían que ocupar los lugares y misiones que los jesuítas tuvieron que dejar. En 1768 soldados y misioneros se adentraron en el territorio de la Alta California, territorio apenas conocido en aquellos tiempos y apenas colonizado. Fray Junípero estaba al frente de la expedición. Los misioneros cuando llegaban a nuevas tierras y fundaban una misión, no sólo catequizaban sino llevaban un cargamento de semillas, herramientas, material de construcción y ganado. En estas nuevas tierras los indios aún eran cazadores-recolectores sin conocimiento del vestido ni de la escritura. La misión a parte de traer materiales se dedicaba también a enseñar agricultura, ganadería y diversos oficios para que las gentes tuvieran una mejor calidad de vida.

Watch the video version of this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg0isLOwvAA Our two new books... STORY QUESTIONS: How To Unlock Your Story One Question At A Time - https://payhip.com/b/ZTvq9 and 17 Steps To Writing A Great Main Character - https://payhip.com/b/kCZGd Andrés Taboada was born in Perú, where he stayed until a scholarship sent him off to finish high school in Germany. After receiving a B.S. in Biology from Cal State Long Beach and teaching in Southeast Asia, he moved back to Miami for a Master's in International Education. While in grad school, he became a standup comedian. Andrés won the award for Best Comedic Actor at Miami WebFest and was a finalist at the World Series of Comedy. He then turned his focus towards Alta California, a bilingual dramedy, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in as “Perucho,” the hotel clerk. As the director of Alta California, Andrés won the award of Best Directorial Debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Alta California recently had a sold-out screening at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood, California as part of the 27th annual Dances With Films. MORE VIDEOS WITH ANDRES TABOADA https://tinyurl.com/bdf82c44 WATCH 'ATLA CALIFORNIA' - The Full Movie • ALTA CALIFORNIA (2025) | Feature Film CONNECT WITH ANDRES TABOADA https://www.altamovie.com https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10841273 / altamovie / altacaliforniamovie https://x.com/andreswhat / andreswhat_ SUBSCRIBE TO THE FILM COURAGE YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://bit.ly/18DPN37 SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A MEMBER https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs8o1mdWAfefJkdBg632_tg/join SUPPORT FILM COURAGE BY BECOMING A PATRON https://www.patreon.com/filmcourage ►BOOKS WE RECOMMEND: STORY QUESTIONS: How To Unlock Your Story One Question At A Time https://payhip.com/b/ZTvq9 THE NUTSHELL TECHNIQUE: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting https://amzn.to/2X3Vx5F THE STORY SOLUTION: 23 Actions All Great Heroes Must Take http://amzn.to/2gYsuMf SAVE THE CAT! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need https://amzn.to/3dNg2HQ THE ANATOMY OF STORY: 22 Steps To Becoming A Master Storyteller http://amzn.to/2h6W3va THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING - Lajos Egri https://amzn.to/3jh3b5f ON WRITING: A Memoir of the Craft https://amzn.to/3XgPtCN THE WAR OF ART: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles http://amzn.to/1KeW9ob ►FILMMAKER STARTER KIT BLACKMAGIC Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - https://amzn.to/4gDU0s9 ZOOM H4essential 4-Track Handy Recorder - https://amzn.to/3TIon6X SENNHEISER Professional Shotgun Microphone - https://amzn.to/3TEnLiE NEEWER CB300B 320W LED Video Light - https://amzn.to/3XEMK6F NEEWER 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power - https://amzn.to/3XX57VK ►WE USE THIS CAMERA (B&H) – https://buff.ly/3rWqrra ►WE USE THIS SOUND RECORDER (AMAZON) – http://amzn.to/2tbFlM9 *Disclaimer: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we'll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for your support!

A “small revolt” doesn't topple an institution—people do. We dive into the 1824 Chumash uprising and show why it belongs with the era's great revolutions, not the margins of a mission field trip. With historian-journalist Joe Payne, we map how three missions became a battleground for emancipation, how labor withdrawal and horse control shattered the mission economy, and why a four-pound cannon and a privateer raid still echo through California's historical memory.We zoom out to the age of independence to read Alta California against Mexican constitutional turmoil, counter-revolution, and the casta system that structured everyday power. You'll hear how Franciscans trained militias they couldn't control, why disease and livestock were imperial weapons, and how Chumash technology—canoes, acorn processing, shell currency—supported dense settlements and regional politics that Spanish officials struggled to categorize but quietly feared. The story doesn't stop at the gates: inland flight, alliances, and repeated uprisings helped doom the mission system itself.We also confront how the past is staged. Rebuilt missions and tidy exhibits often freeze the Chumash at contact and sideline their leadership, while modern policy offers “sanctuaries” offshore and roadblocks on land. Joe details present-day sovereignty fights, internal debates over identity, and the promise of Chumash-run cultural centers that tell a living story in their own voice. Along the way, we question European categories like nation and state, challenge simplistic gender readings, and make room for complexity without losing the plot: indigenous history is ongoing, and this revolution still speaks to power, place, and who gets to define both.If this conversation expands your map of California, share it with a friend, subscribe for more deep dives, and leave a review telling us the biggest myth you were taught about the mission era.Send us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic,Julian

The holiday season brings many traditions for families across California. One that is tried and true - decorating your home with a Christmas tree. While most families buy artificial trees these days, there are still some places in the state where you can not only get a living tree, but even cut it down yourself. Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report Roughly 2,000 people meander through Old Monterey every December to tour California's oldest government building and other Alta California adobes. Monterey State Historic Park interpreter Aaron Gilmartin helped coordinate the immersive event. A panel of federal judges could rule soon on whether California's new congressional maps can stay in place. That's after a three day court hearing in Los Angeles ended Wednesday. Reporter: Marisa Lagos, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner Books, 2025) uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. Gold-hungry settlers venture into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupt in the name of water as Los Angeles booms, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape create a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoke fear, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence, and, remarkably, legal redlining and free higher education take root together. Golden State brings a fresh critical eye to the origins of the state against which the rest of the country measures itself. From its very start, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner Books, 2025) uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. Gold-hungry settlers venture into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupt in the name of water as Los Angeles booms, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape create a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoke fear, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence, and, remarkably, legal redlining and free higher education take root together. Golden State brings a fresh critical eye to the origins of the state against which the rest of the country measures itself. From its very start, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner Books, 2025) uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. Gold-hungry settlers venture into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupt in the name of water as Los Angeles booms, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape create a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoke fear, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence, and, remarkably, legal redlining and free higher education take root together. Golden State brings a fresh critical eye to the origins of the state against which the rest of the country measures itself. From its very start, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner Books, 2025) uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. Gold-hungry settlers venture into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupt in the name of water as Los Angeles booms, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape create a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoke fear, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence, and, remarkably, legal redlining and free higher education take root together. Golden State brings a fresh critical eye to the origins of the state against which the rest of the country measures itself. From its very start, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State: The Making of California (Mariner Books, 2025) uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood. Gold-hungry settlers venture into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupt in the name of water as Los Angeles booms, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape create a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoke fear, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence, and, remarkably, legal redlining and free higher education take root together. Golden State brings a fresh critical eye to the origins of the state against which the rest of the country measures itself. From its very start, Hiltzik shows, the story of the United States was written in California. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity always beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world's imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold. We imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myths is far more complicated. Thanks to his extensive research, Michael Hiltzik uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From the Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreaking havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution prior to statehood. And gold-hungry settlers venturing into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates. Wars erupted over water as Los Angeles boomed, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape created a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoked fears, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence. And, quite remarkably, both legal redlining and free higher education took root at the same time. Hiltzik brings a fresh critical eye to his historical accounts—from the Spanish conquistadors to the Gold Rush to the state's meteoric rise as a tech powerhouse and bulwark of progressivism—demonstrating why California has left an indelible mark on the United States and the world. Organizer: George Hammond   A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chumash Rebellion   Welcome to a holiday episode of THIS IS REVOLUTION>podcast, where we dive into the myths and truths surrounding the most propagandized narratives of American history. Yes, Thanksgiving is upon us—a time that can range from warm gatherings with loved ones to fiery debates with relatives reveling in the "glorious" Trump victory over "that communist Kamala Harris." But as we carve the turkey, we often forget—or perhaps never truly knew—the histories that make up this holiday and its complex intersections with the lives of Native Americans. Tonight, we take a sharp detour from the saccharine tales of "Pilgrims and Indians" with our esteemed guest, historian Joe Payne, who will unpack the story of the Chumash Rebellion of 1824. It was a powerful and successful uprising against the oppressive mission system in Alta California—a narrative systematically erased by colonialism's historical whitewashing. Prepare for revelations that will enrich—or weaponize—your Thanksgiving dinner debates. Joe Payne will illuminate the Chumash not as the "savages" that racist missionaries painted them to be, but as a sophisticated and resilient people forced into colonial servitude by Spanish Franciscans. Through their heroic uprising, they defied their oppressors and reclaimed their autonomy, even if only briefly. Tonight's episode promises an academic and gripping journey into this hidden history. Please join us in welcoming Joe Payne to the podcast!   Read Joe's work here: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/forum/vol15/iss1/9/   Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop   Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined,   BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!   Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents?   Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!)   THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg Twitch: www.twitch.tv/thisisrevolutionpodcast www.twitch.tv/leftflankvets​ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/ Twitter: @TIRShowOakland Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland   Read Jason Myles in Sublation Magazine https://www.sublationmag.com/writers/jason-myles   Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/

As long as you remember... this is the NSFW Bonus part, come on along.We are back in Alta California when the wine was Spanish, and the churches were all adobe.  Americans were eyeing the other side of the continent... but only in a desultory manner. Snd the richest people of the land - were giant jerks with no thought of the little people actaully doing all the labor, or the local tribes who had been there for a minute.  Like a real long time.Anyway - if you'd like to Telanovela up your history, let's Zorro!What the Hell is going on?  That's the entire sentiment of this episode.And well, as viewers always trying to figure things out we may have brought it on ourselves.One approach of course is to take one story line and then make it endlessly twisty - each twist more diabolical than the last and it's some of the these post Game of Thrones shows where eventually people just can't care anymore.  The characters are so contradictory - nothing matters anymore.The other, more fun approach is to just keep throwing in new characters (who's Guadalupe Montero?), sting out plot points (what is up with the bear pins?) and moving the story around to new locations (how are we in New York - err Nueva York?)And that is what Zorro has chosen to do, because it is a fun show!  So buckle those swashes and let's go! (That will get old, I know.  But not yet)As always - you can reach us on the internets.Jamie Lewis (plagueofstrength.com & IG @plagueofstrength)Greta Hardin (The History of American Food podcast & @THoAFood all over)

Dynamic dishes, rich backgrounds, and a legacy of flavor are all on the menu in Marisel Salazar's debut cookbook Latin-ish: More Than 100 Recipes Celebrating American Latino Cuisines. Building on her heritage with years of research and travel, Salazar takes fellow cooks and food enthusiasts on a flavor-packed journey through the Latine diaspora. This collection of recipes draws from a wide range of community-driven cooking and immigrant experience, translated into the kitchens of today. Latin-ish is a unique deep dive into regional Latine food influences across the geography of the United States – from Floribbean to Tex-Mex, from Alta California to NYC Latine, and more. Latin-ish combines lively origin stories with step-by-step directions and vibrant photography to guide readers in putting together playful plates of food and history. Thoughtfully organized and contextualized, Salazar aims to provide a little something for every craving – day or night. Dig into indulgent breakfasts like Guava Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls, boost your snack game by crunching into a Mango Chamoy Salad or Yuca Fries with Cilantro Lime Aioli, warm your dinner guests up with Arkansas Tamales or Cuban Pizza, and treat yourself at the end of a long day with a slice of Plantain Upside-Down Cake or a Oaxaca Old-Fashioned. The recipes of Latin-ish raise a glass to a diverse spread of Latine roots while leaving ample room to grow in an ever-evolving corner of the modern American culinary landscape. Marisel Salazar is a writer, cook, recipe developer, and host with a focus on cultural context in the food world. She is the creator of the column Eating Off Duty for the Michelin Guide. Her writing, recipes, and on-camera work has been featured on platforms such as Zagat, Infatuation, Food & Wine, NYT Cooking, The Spruce Eats, and Thrillist. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Newswomen's Press Club of New York, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Agueda Pacheco Flores is a journalist in Seattle with a focus on Latinx culture and Mexican American identity. She was previously an arts and culture writer at Crosscut where she enjoyed writing about Chicano galleries, Cumbia in the Pacific Northwest as well as shining a light on emerging Latinx artists. Before Crosscut, she worked for The Seattle Times, where she was a general assignment reporter covering breaking news, crime, and federal courts. Originally from Queretaro, Mexico, Pacheco Flores is inspired by her own bicultural upbringing as an undocumented immigrant and proud Washingtonian. Her work has appeared in The Seattle Globalist, Seattle Weekly, The Daily, and the South Seattle Emerald. Buy the Book Latin-Ish: More Than 100 Recipes Celebrating American Latino Cuisines Book Larder

By January 30, 1847, the Pueblo de Yerba Buena was officially renamed the Town of San Francisco. Mexican laws weren't very well written, if written at all, which left the US military in charge of creating order in a land (Alta California), that wasn't used to having rules. This episode is a discussion between Girlina and architectural historian, Jonathon Lammers, regarding the Laws of the Town of San Francisco 1847, as captured in what is believed to be California's first pamphlet written entirely in English.monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast)twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me)facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)

In case you are new here - these are the NSFW Eps.  Not serious food content, fit for sharing with everyone.  Instead, we are being silly about media - mostly about the 19th Century.   And there are swears.  Sharing this becasue this Zorro series is very joyously fun.Catch Season 1 of Zorro on Amazon Prime Video to watch alongAfter watching the movie Zorro - it became clear, we need more of Zorro.  We also need more of the 19th Century Americas... from something other than the USA America perspective. Because, during the 19th century, the Americnan America was a very different shape than the USA we live in now.  There were lots of other nations in those spaces we conveniently forget about. Also - the 21st century adventure and super hero stories have gotten a little... dark.  We need a little light.  Not to mention, some way better clothes.So get out the cape, saddle up and let's ride for better adventures with Zorro in Alta California.  A different way to pursue fashion, fighting and hey, let's have some fun.As always - you can reach us on the internets.Jamie Lewis (plagueofstrength.com & IG @plagueofstrength)and his NEW YouTube Apprearances on Carved Outta Stone Wednesday AM or Friday PMSchedule Details: instagram.com/carvedouttastone&Greta Hardin (The History of American Food podcast & @THoAFood all over)

Aleta Guthrey v. Alta California Regional Center

Session six of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session seven of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session five of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session four of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session two of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session three of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

Session one of a Twelve Step workshop led by Peter M. in Alta, CA - May 3-5, 2024. Find us at https://maddogspeakers.com/.

This week Dominic and sticky catch up with fellow comedian Andres Taboada, discussing comedy, late diagnosis, and a film featuring Ricky  join us for good grief: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/good-grief-tickets-879730205727?aff=oddtdtcreator   Merch Store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1429951216/un-poquito   Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/unpoquitopod   Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/eDAhPfZZ8n   Follow Us:  Andres Taboada: https://www.instagram.com/andreswhat_?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Rian Reyes https://linktr.ee/RianReyes   Dominic Angel https://linktr.ee/Domsiethebomsie   Ricky Macias: https://linktr.ee/therickymac   Un Poquito Podcast https://linktr.ee/unpoquitopod   Legacy Teas and Spices: https://legacyteasandspices.com/t/shop-teas?page=2 code: UP20   Theme music by: Piano Blac https://www.instagram.com/piano_blac/?hl=en

Happy Black History Month! This week, we have a special guest, Ross Murph, aka MORFBOSS, a professional genealogist born in New York with Southern roots. He uses his research to uplift people and uncover overlooked parts of history. Ross shares examples from Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC, to tell the history of Black and Latino land loss. According to the American Bar Association, as an example, by 1997, Black farmers lost more than 90 percent of the 16 million acres they owned in 1910. This massive decline was possible through white privilege, power, and influence with local government officials to exploit laws. This presents itself in urban planning and real estate through government misuse of eminent domain, compensation below market value, discriminatory tax assessments, and coordinated discrimination. Press play to hear: Nimo & Jas share personal stories of ancestry and land ownership Arlington Freedman's Village (now Arlington National Cemetery) and its history of slavery and emancipationLand loss related to Pio Pico, the last governor of Alta California under Mexican ruleLearn more from Ross and follow him @morfboss on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.Thank you for listening and tune in every other Tuesday where Nimo and Jas keep it Four Degrees to the Streets.Follow us on X and Instagram @the4degreespod.Or send us an email to connect with us!ResourcesProperty Rights: The Neglected Theme of 20th-Century American PlanningProperty Rights in American History - Hillsdale CollegeKnow Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America's Black Cities (Book)Taking on State Law in Defense of Family Farms - The Piedmont Environmental CouncilFreedman's Village - Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)Whose Land? Claims at Arlington Estate - Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (U.S. National Park Service)John Bryce Syphax Freedman's Village

Before the Mexican American war, Californy was Alta California. Some Californio folk didn't like their downgrade to second class citizens and foreigners in their own country. One dude was Vasquez, king of manic Hispanic banditos. T-Shirts by How the West was Fucked Podcast | TeePublic T-Shirts by Hell Creek Studios | TeePublic #howthewestwasfucked #htwwf #americanhistory #oldwest #wildwest #vasquezrocks #gorn #californio #altacaliforniauberalles

Originally from London, James T. Bartlett has been living in Los Angeles since 2004. In 2012 he published Gourmet Ghosts - Los Angeles, an alternative guide to the history and ghost stories behind some of the city's oldest bars, restaurants and hotels, while 2016's Gourmet Ghosts 2 focused on true crimes that took place at more of L.A.'s notable locations and eateries. The books led to lectures, events, book club hosting, and appearances on radio, podcasts, and television shows including Ghost Adventures and The UnXplained. His most recent book is The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America, a true crime book reexamining a scandalous 1953 murder that began in Alaska and ended in Hollywood, while his short story “Death Under the Stars” was included in the recent Sisters in Crime Los Angeles anthology Entertainment To Die For. As a travel and lifestyle journalist and historian, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, BBC, Los Angeles Magazine, ALTA California, High Life, Hemispheres, Westways, Frommers, Crime Reads, American Way, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, Real Crime, Variety, Whitechapel Journal, History Ireland and Bizarre, among others. You can find out more at www.gourmetghosts.com and www.thealaskanblonde.com

Letters from CaliforniaThree letters, were anonymously mailed from the Pueblo de Yerba Buena, dated between June 10th and June 29th 1846. The letters were, and probably still are, quite the mystery, not only because no one definitively knows who wrote them, but for the depth of military knowledge the writer had about the happenings in Alta California. Another point of personal interest, the letters were written from our own backyard, Yerba Buena. Hubert Howe Bancroft considers these mystery letters to be the best ‘in the moment' account of the Bear Flag Revolt, and they are the earliest known publication regarding the Bear Flag Revolt just before and just after the Revolt. monkeyblocksf@gmail.com (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me)facebook.com/MonkeyBlockSF (follow me)

Genevieve Mattar and Kevin Branscum met in South America while exploring the Andes ruins and the Amazon forests. He was an American seeking adventure, and she was a travel guide leading a group of French Canadians. The couple soon married and as Kevin was a Southern Californian and seasoned Baja traveler, they began exploring the remote regions of Baja Sur. They became interested in the old mission trail while visiting the Sierra de San Francisco rock art. One day on a mule ride, they came across a track that looked different from the one they were following. They asked their local guide about it. He replied, “That is the old mission trail, el camino antiguo de los misioneros.” El Camino Real. The El Camino Real, or “King's Highway,” is the mission trail leading from Loreto in Baja Súr, Mexico, to all Californias. They include Baja Súr, Baja, and Alta California, better known as the state of California. The mystery of that trail, combined with its history and the beauty of its surroundings, hooked them. For twenty-two years, they've regularly returned to explore El Camino Real, locating and accurately mapping additional trail segments. They hope to find and preserve the exact position of as much of the El Camino Real as possible. Only through sharing the story and developing eco-tourism --will the historic trail remain alive. Learn more about their work here.

This is the ancestral land of the First People, the Kumeyaay. For thousands of years, fresh water flowed down from mountains to the east, carving out a course and, with its sediments, creating the Tijuana River Estuary when it mixed with the waters of the sea. All that time, plants and animals adapted to the evolving environment, with Kumeyaay using the estuary and its surrounding land for food-gathering and habitation. With the arrival of Spanish colonists and soldiers in May of 1769, all those patterns began to change and the natural landscape was subject to a different idea of ownership and land management. This shift was cemented when in 1821, the Tijuana Estuary became part of Alta California. In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the U.S.-Mexican War – and ceded present-day California to the United States, eventually solidifying borders that changed people's ways of life. You might have heard the war between the United States and Mexico referred to as the Mexican American War. We prefer to use the term U.S. -Mexican War because it acknowledges that Mexico is also a part of America, as well as the hard feelings that still exist to our neighbor to the south regarding that war. In this episode of Divided Together, we'll hear from Rachel St. John, an historian who wrote a book about the early U.S.-Mexico border period from 1848 to the 1930s. How did a simple line on a map transform into the regulated divide we have today? In this episode historian Rachel St. John shares how an array of officials, land pirates, and law enforcement created the foundations for the modern border control we have today. Divided Together is a California State Parks podcast series for Border Field State Park, brought to you by Parks California and the generosity of an anonymous donor. Adam Greenfield is the engineer and co-producer of this podcast.  Anne Marie Tipton is the host and co-producer.

In South to Freedom, prize-winning historian Alice L. Baumgartner tells the story of why Mexico abolished slavery and how its increasingly radical antislavery policies fueled the sectional crisis in the United States. Southerners hoped that annexing Texas and invading Mexico in the 1840s would stop runaways and secure slavery's future. Instead, the seizure of Alta California and Nuevo México upset the delicate political balance between free and slave states. Join us when Alice L. Baumgartner shares an essential new perspective on antebellum America and the causes of the Civil War, on this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large.

Bio: Travel/lifestyle journalist and historian James T. Bartlett has written for the Los Angeles Times, BBC, Los Angeles Magazine, ALTA California, Hemispheres, Westways, American Way, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, Real Crime, Ripperologist Magazine, Crime Reads, History Ireland and Variety, among others. His new true crime book, The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America, is available now, and as the author of Gourmet Ghosts – Los Angeles and Gourmet Ghosts 2, alternative guides to the history, crimes, and ghost stories at some of the city's oldest bars, restaurants, and hotels, he has appeared on Ghost Adventures and The UnXplained. You can find more at www.gourmetghosts.com, and "Daily Deaths" are on #GourmetGhosts and @GourmetGhosts Gourmet Ghosts Website www.gourmetghosts.com Website for the Alaskan Blonde www.thealaskanblonde.com Gourmet Ghosts Los Angeles https://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Ghosts-James-T-Bartlett/dp/0984973001/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WWH9329XP5B8&keywords=gourmet+ghosts&qid=1670899033&s=books&sprefix=gourmet+ghosts%2Cstripbooks%2C178&sr=1-1 Gourmet Ghosts II https://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Ghosts-James-T-Bartlett/dp/0997582901/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1WWH9329XP5B8&keywords=gourmet+ghosts&qid=1670899119&s=books&sprefix=gourmet+ghosts%2Cstripbooks%2C178&sr=1-2 This episode is sponsored by Culinary Historians of Northern California, a Bay Area educational group dedicated to the study of food, drink, and culture in human history. To learn more about this organization and its work, please visit its website at www.chnorcal.org If you follow my podcast and enjoy it, I'm on @buymeacoffee. If you like my work, you can buy me a coffee and share your thoughts

Newspaper Articles by Mark Twain by Mark Twain audiobook. This is a collection of newspaper articles written by Samuel Clemens, for various newspapers, between 1862 and 1881. After Feb 3rd 1863, he began using the pen name Mark Twain. This compilation is the work of Project Gutenberg and contains articles from TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE, THE SAN FRANCISCO DAILY MORNING CALL, THE SACRAMENTO DAILY UNION, DAILY HAWAIIAN HERALD, ALTA CALIFORNIA, THE CHICAGO REPUBLICAN, and THE GALAXY.

Our final mission-focused episode, including the environmental effects of unleashing European pack animals onto the environment, the demographic effects of unleashing disease epidemics on native cultures, and how the consequent specter of death also threatened to kill the colonial economy in Alta California.

July 1: Saint Junipero Serra, Priest 1713–1784Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saint of California and vocations“Always forward!” was his motto and his lifeThe United States of America's impressive Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., includes the majestic, semicircular Statuary Hall. Each of the fifty states chooses two citizens of historic importance to represent it in the Hall. Statues of one nun and four Catholic priests, two of them saints, grace Statuary Hall, including today's saint. Junipero Serra was the founder of California. He was the pathbreaking, indestructible priest who trekked California's mountains, valleys, deserts, and shores to found nine of its eventual twenty-one missions. California's rugged cattle culture, its luxurious orchards and rolling vineyards, its distinctive Mission architecture, and its blending of Mexican and Native American heritage are the legacy of Father Serra and his Franciscan confreres. The Franciscan city names tell the story: San Francisco, Ventura (Saint Bonaventure), San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Our Lady Queen of the Angels (Los Angeles) and on and on. The Franciscans simply made California what it is.Father Junipero Serra was baptized as Michael Joseph on Mallorca, an island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain. He grew up dirt poor and devoutly Catholic. He joined the Franciscans as a youth and moved to the large city of Palma de Mallorca, where he took the religious name of Junipero in honor of one of Saint Francis of Assisi's first followers. After priestly ordination, Father Junipero obtained a doctorate in philosophy and taught Franciscan seminarians. He was destined to lead a successful life as an intelligent, holy, and pious intellectual. But in the Spring of 1749, he felt the Lord calling him to become a missionary to New Spain (Mexico). On the fateful day of his departure from his large Franciscan monastery, he kissed the feet of all his brother Franciscans, from the oldest to the youngest. He then boarded a ship and sailed away from his native island for the first time and the last time. He would never see his family again. Our saint's life began in earnest in middle age. Long years of intellectual, spiritual, and ascetic preparation steeled his body, mind, and will for the rigors to come.Arriving in the port of Veracruz, Father Serra walked hundreds of miles to Mexico City rather than travel on horseback. Along this first of many treks, he was bitten by either a snake or a spider and developed an open wound that never healed, causing him near constant pain for the rest of his life. Father Serra spent the first several years of his missionary life in a mountainous region of Central Mexico among an indigenous population that had encountered Spaniards, and the Catholic religion, two centuries before. Father Serra wanted a rawer missionary experience. He wanted to meet and convert pagans who knew nothing of Christianity. After years of faithful service as a missionary, church builder, preacher, and teacher in Central Mexico, Father Junipero finally had his chance. The Franciscans were tasked with leading the religious dimension of the first great Spanish expedition into Alta California, the present day American state. If Father Serra had never gone to California, he may still have been a saint, but one known to God alone. It was the challenge of California that made Father Junipero into Saint Junipero.Already in his mid-fifties, Father Serra was the head priest of a large migration of men, women, soldiers, cattle, and provisions whose goal was to establish Spanish Catholic settlements in California. Integral to this cultural and evangelical effort was the founding of California's missions, the vast farms, cattle ranches, churches, communities, and schools that have left such an enduring mark on California. For the last fifteen years of his life, Saint Junipero was seemingly everywhere in California—walking, confirming, working, building, preaching, fasting, planning, sailing, writing, arguing, founding, and praying. He exhausted his poor, emaciated body. He was recognized by all as the indispensable man. Father Junipero died quietly at the San Carlos Mission in Carmel just as the United States was becoming a country on the other side of the continent. He did for the West Coast what George Washington and better known founders did for the East Coast. He founded a society, in all of its complexity. Decades later, Americans migrated to far-off California, newly incorporated into the federal union, looking for gold, and were surprised to discover a distinctive culture as rugged, layered, and rich as the one they had left behind.California's foundational events were distinctly Catholic just as the Eastern colonies' were distinctly Protestant. When ceremoniously inaugurating an early mission, Father Junipero said a High Mass, sang Gregorian chant, processed with an image of the Virgin Mary, and had the Spanish galleons offshore fire their cannons at the consecration. What powerful solemnity! The roots of large regions of the United States run deep into Southern, not Northern, soil, and were watered by the Catholic faith, not dissenting Protestantism. The United States was baptized Catholic but raised Protestant. Father Junipero represents the best of that “other” founding of the United States of America.Saint Junipero Serra, inspire us to follow your example of physical perseverance, doctrinal commitment, and spiritual discipline for the good of the Church. You were a model priest, missionary, and Franciscan. May we, too, be great in all that we do.

KJ Sanchez, director and co-adapter (with Karen Zacarias) of “Romeo y Juliet” at Cal Shakes, California Shakespeare Theatre, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded via zencastr on May 20, 2022. Playwright, actor and director, KJ Sanchez is the head of the MFA Directing Program at the University of Texas in Austin. She is founder and CEO of American Records, a theatre company founded “to make plays that chronicle our time,” focusing on documentary plays based on interviews. She is the director and co-author of “RE-ENTRY,” based on conversations with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. “Romeo y Juliet” is an bilingual adaptation of the Shakespeare play set in 1848 Alta California, with the gender of Romeo changed. It plays at California Shakespeare Theatre, the Bruns, in Orinda, May 25 – June 19, 2022. In the interview, she discusses the origins of the adaptation, how she teaches directors, and the political situation where she works, in the state of Texas. The post KJ Sanchez, director & co-adapter, “Romeo y Juliet,” at Cal Shakes appeared first on KPFA.

Pico Boulevard, Pico Union, Pico Rivera ... they tell the story of one of the most fascinating figures in California's 19th Century history: Pio Pico, the last governor of Alta California under Mexican rule, and a revolutionary who helped make the missions forfeit their land. But at the time of his death, he couldn't afford his own grave. Off-Ramp contributor Chris Greenspon has his quintessentially Californian story. Originally broadcast September, 2015. Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.This program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. (Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.)

Here is the story of a Mexican-American pioneer, healer, trailblazer, businesswoman and landowner. Her name is Doña Juana Briones de Miranda and she is the woman remembered as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco”, for she was one of the first three settlers in Yerba Buena before it became San Francisco. Juana left an important legacy in California. She was an active and caring person who impacted the lives of many people — Hispanic, indigenous and Anglo-American.   In 1769, Marcos Briones and his father Vicente arrived in Alta California from San Luis Potosí, New Spain - today's Mexico. Marcos and Vicente were soldiers in the Portola expedition. In Alta California, Marcos met and married Isidora Tapia. Isidora and her family arrived later, her father Felipe, a soldier on the de Anza expedition in 1776. Star crossed lovers, whose families traveled over 1600 miles on a mission to colonize and explore the region and establish the Mission San Francisco de Asi.    Marcos was a founding settler of Villa de Branciforte, in present-day Santa Cruz. Branciforte was the last of only three secular pueblos founded by the Spanish colonial government of Alta California. On the eastern bluff of the San Lorenzo River, facing Mission Santa Cruz, their daughter Juana  Briones was born in March of 1802. Juana spent the first decade of her life in a wattle-and-daub house doing chores alongside her brothers and sisters, having fun and gaining an extensive knowledge of herbal medicines through her interactions with Native Americans. The majority of the population there was indigenous. When she was ten, her mother Ysidora passed away.   Marcos moved the family to an area called Tennessee Hollow. Marcos began to help build what would become the Presidio of San Francisco. Starting as a fortified military village used for farming and livestock grazing. Juana was shaped by the native people of the region and the language, religion, and institutions of colonial New Spain. She'd learned more about herbs and their medicinal values from the new region from her grandmother, who learned them from native Ohlone women.    Herbs like Yerba Buena (which translates to Good Herb), which provided the first name of the city of San Francisco. It was said the community of Yerba Buena was named for her healing mint tea. She was schooled informally by the Catholic priests at the Mission Dolores. With other military children and the Native Americans who had been rounded up and brought to the mission for “conversion” to Catholicism, she attended regular daily mass but she did not learn to read or write.     Juana met a handsome soldier stationed at the Presidio named Apolinario Miranda. His parents were of Yaqui descent. The Yaqui were indigenous to the Mexican state of Sonora and the Southwestern United States. Juana and Apolinario were married in 1820 and established a farm at the Presidio near the site of El Polin Spring. It is one of the few remaining springs in the city  and runs under the site of her long-vanished home. The spring waters of the were believed to bestow fertility. With that in mind, Juana gave birth to 11 children between 1821 and 1841.   In 1828, Juana had a tragic month when three of her children died and a fourth child passed just one year later in the rugged frontier environment.  Juana was a strong woman. Apolinario was abusive and Juana's time with him was not happy. So abusive that his military superiors reprimanded him for it numerous times. He had a serious drinking problem and wasn't much of a rancher or businessman.    In the area now known as North Beach, near what is now Washington Square, the Briones bought land. Juana was a natural entrepreneur and started a dairy ranch at their new home. They were one of the first three non-indigenous settlers in Yerba Buena who lived somewhere other than on the Presidio or at Mission Dolores. After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, commerce increased in the San Francisco Bay. Briones excelled in farming and sold milk and produce to the crews of Russian, American and Spanish ships that docked in the bay for the hide and tallow trade.   Juana also treated many illnesses such as smallpox and scurvy patients, delivered babies and set broken jaws. You could not count how many children had their broken bones set by this kind woman. Her reputation as a healer was widely recognized. She trained her nephew, Pablo Briones—who was later known as the Doctor of Bolinas or California in medicinal arts. Her aid to the people of Bolinas during a smallpox outbreak was well-known, and she was loved among Hispanic settlers, native people and the Anglo-Americans alike.   She taught her own children the value of hard work. As soon as they could walk, they learned to pull weeds and how to load the wagon. Her daughters Presentacion and Manuela were fine seamstresses and they did the sailors' laundry and mended their clothes. Her son Jesus went to the boats to see what the men needed, and delivered goods and messages to Juana. She also harbored four runaway sailors who jumped ship because they wanted to remain in California. Two Americans, a Filipino man and a Native American from Connecticut. The men lived with her and Apolinario until 1832.   In 1833, Briones' husband was granted land bordering the Presidio near today's Green and Lyon Streets. Their new home was on another spring called El Ojo de Agua Figueroa.  In 1834, Juana adopted Cecilia, a young Native girl whose parents had died. In 1835, the Presidio was temporarily abandoned when Commandante Vallejo transferred his military headquarters north to Sonoma. It was then that her husband's abuse became intolerable. Marriage was considered indissoluble by society at the time. She turned to the Catholic bishop. “My husband did not earn our money. I did,” she told the bishop, “My husband does not support the family. I do.”  As her husband, he had access to any property she acquired. The bishop was moved by her plea, knowing full well her husband was a good-for-nothing, and with the mayor's help, the bishop helped her move to the western foot of Loma Alta in the area now known as Telegraph Hill.   Her husband tried to force her to return home and legal officials ordered him to stay away, which he didn't. Briones appealed to courts repeatedly with suit against her husband for physical abuse after repeated episodes of violence and in return a justice of the peace seized some of his property. Juana navigated the male-leaning legal system, hiring people to write on her behalf. This was no small step in the patriarchal, hierarchical world of 19th century colonial California. Juana was free and Apolinario Miranda later died.   She found the booming city too frantic, and bought a 4,000-acre ranch in Santa Clara Valley from her friends José Gorgonio and his son José Ramon in 1844. She named it Rancho La Purisima Concepción and successfully expanded her cattle and farming interests. The Briones family ranch was a home, social hall, and hospital all rolled into one. Briones' status as a female landowner was unusual in an era where women generally could only possess land they inherited from a deceased husband. Yet she was an independent woman who was prospering on her own. Her children also prospered.  In 1848, Mexico ceded this land to the U.S. under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. Almost overnight, the sleepy little mission became a busy city, filled with all manner of men who came to get rich overnight and ‘ladies of the night' who hoped to liberate the men from their gold dust. Juana wasn't bothered by the U.S. coup at all, in fact, when her Anglo friends suggested she become an American citizen, she did.  Across the nation, Boston traders sought out her “California banknotes,” as they called her cowhides. She entertained lavishly, with European and American guests attending her fiestas. “Anglo, Hispanics, and Native Americans came for bear fights, calf roping, and pig roasts. Sick people also came to recuperate under Juana's watchful gaze.”   When the U.S. made California a state in 1850, all Mexican landholders were put through many hurdles with proving they had title to their property. The original landowners were required to certify their land ownership before the U.S. Land Commission. The legal process was too difficult or expensive for many people, especially the women and racial minorities who had owned land under Mexican law. Many were cheated out of their land. In 1852, the U.S. Government informed Juana it intended to seize her land that had originally been granted in her husband's name. Apolinario Miranda was dead by then, and the government said she had no legal right to the property.    She fought for 12 years to retain the title to her lands in both San Francisco and Santa Clara counties and many of the Anglos she'd helped over the years came to assist her in the fight for her rights. The battle went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. She won ownership of her ranch and the property in Yerba Buena. Juana left portions of her rancho La Purisima Concepción to her children, who bore their father's name, Miranda and sold the rest to members of the Murphy family, who came to California with the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party.    Briones purchased other tracts of land and eventually settled the town of Mayfield. Briones' was one of the founding members of today's Palo Alto. She built a home there in 1884 and remained in Mayfield for the remainder of her lifetime. Juana Briones died in a cow stampede in 1889 at the age of 87.    In 2010, her house at 4155 Old Adobe Road in Palo Alto was listed as one of the 11 most endangered historic places in the country by The National Trust for Historic Preservation. Despite a big fight between the owners and educators, historians, architects, neighbors, and business and community leaders, a demolition crew arrived a year later to dismantle her modest home. The property was sold the following summer for $2.9 million.   Doña Juana Briones de Miranda is remembered as the "Founding Mother of San Francisco” and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Menlo Park, California. She lived here under three flags and helped found the eighth-largest city in the United States. During her lifetime, Juana was known and loved by many people because of her energy, her business sense and her concern for others. Even so, today she is still relatively unknown, but more people deserve to know about her. In San Francisco, she is commemorated at the northeast corner of Washington Square near her once her dairy farm. A historical plaque is on a bench at the bottom of The Lyon Street steps. In Palo Alto, her memory is preserved by the Juana Briones Elementary School, Juana Briones Park, and several street names incorporating either Miranda or first names of her children.    Queens of the Mines is brought to you by Youreka Productions. Andrea Anderson researched, wrote and produced this series.    

Episode 1 of a new podcast amplifying indigenous voices and providing context for contemporary events in California. This episode discusses the El Camino Real bells & Mission bells, their impact and legacy, and the movement for their removal. 30 minutes.Please leave your feedback, suggestions, reviews, and include ideas for future episodes. Please share and promote the podcast in your networks.For more information: https://removethebells.org/Interviews were recorded by Martin Rizzo-Martinez & Alexii SigonaAudio engineering and editing by Daniel StonebloomMusic in this episode was created by Bernard Gordillo & Hilson ParkerThe title of today's episode comes from the work of Grzegorz Welizarowicz, who uses the term “instruments of colonization” in his piece "California Mission Bells: Listening Against the 'Fantasy Heritage'" published in 2016 in Beyond Philology https://fil.ug.edu.pl/sites/default/files/nodes/strona-filologiczny/33797/files/beyondphilologyno13.pdf#page=239An article by Renya K. Ramirez & Valentin Lopez called "Valentin Lopez, Healing, and Decolonization: Contesting Mission Bells, El Camino Real, and California Governor Newsom" appears here: https://airc.ucsc.edu/resources/suggested-article-1Ann E. Danis' work "Franciscans, Russians, and Indians on the International Borders of Alta California" (with Kent Lightfoot) can be found here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b678ece45776e847bf9e8c2/t/5bda2fa96d2a73d30db67ec6/1541025714281/Lightfoot+and+Danis+2018++Franciscans%2C+Russians%2C+and+Indians+on+the+International+Border+of+Alta+California+%281%29.pdf

In previous episodes, I've mentioned the importance of Alta California's Yerba Buena Cove to the overall commerce in the District of San Francisco, consisting of the local rancheros, the Mission, and other local inhabitants. This cove was advantageous, for being a year-round, protected spot for mooring, much better than the originally established Presidio of San Francisco. My episodes, so far, have focused on the business benefit of Yerba Buena Cove, because, that's the easiest information to find. But, not the geography of the shoreline and cove, or, the history, prior to the landfill of 1851 - 1853? I wanted to understand how the different occupants of San Francisco related to the same land. Some information is harder to find. Sometimes, that information is under your nose, hiding in plain sight. And, sometimes, it's just under your feet.

1/8/22Here's another Moniker Classic episode to start the New Year. We here at Moniker have been rethinking the format of the show for 2022 and will have updates soon. But don't worry!Lot's of naming fun is coming your way!-MeganToday we're going to mine the depths of the Golden State! Hopefully we'll find some good nuggets! It'll be a real rush! (I know, I hate me too).More to explore on the Latino/a and Mexican American experience of California:Anthology of works by Los Angeles-based Latino/Hispanic writershttps://losangelesliterature.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/latinoa-writers-of-los-angeles-and-southern-california/Books on California history by Latino authorsOccupied America by Rodolfo Acuna https://www.amazon.com/Occupied-America-History-Chicanos-8th/dp/0205880843/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=occupied+america&qid=1624643688&sr=8-1 The History of Alta California: A Memoir of Mexican California  by Antonio Maria Osio https://www.amazon.com/History-Alta-California-Memoir-Mexican/dp/0299149749/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Alta+California&qid=1624643744&sr=8-5 Sources:Websites:www.britannica.com www.census.govhttps://www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/Articles:https://medium.com/anne-t-kent-california-room-community-newsletter/the-problem-with-californias-application-for-statehood-e326b81012cchttps://exhibits.stanford.edu/california-as-an-island/feature/history https://amadisofgaul.blogspot.com/2009/07/california-according-to-garci-rodriguez.html The Mythical Straits of Anian. (1915). Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, 147.Books:Guinn, J. M., & Beck, J. (2015). A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles. Jazzybee Verlag.Starr, K. (2007). California: A History (Modern Library Chronicles) (Reprint ed.). Modern Library.Videos:https://reason.com/video/2021/06/07/is-california-over/Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0Deep Woods3 by PeriTune | http://peritune.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unportedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

There are only a few foreigners who lived in Yerba Buena, Alta California, long enough to see the province go from Spanish, to Mexican, to American rule. A person who lived through all that, would have a unique perspective of early Yerba Buena, and California history. William Heath Davis, is the most famous Yerba Buena/San Francisco resident, you've never heard of.

On episode 45, Julie & Art visit Santa Barbara California and journey through some of the city's lesser popular attractions.  We call this episode, Santa Barbara, Off The Beaten Path.    Santa Barbara, California The city of Santa Barbara lies about 100 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. A drive up highway 101, will take you past magnificent ocean views. As you leave the urban landscape of Southern California, you'll find yourself in a coastal oasis, that is referred to as The American Riviera. Located between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the city is a popular tourist and resort destination.  You can spend days exploring the history and culture found within the city's boundaries. Five Stops On The Beaten Path Listen in as we share our own personal stories of some of Santa Barbara's supplemental attractions. On this episode, we take you on a trip through six places that are somewhat off the beaten path. If you are a first time visitor to Santa Barbara, plan to do at least one of these items, though you can even squeeze in several on a weekend visit. Santa Barbara Cemetery: Located on a beautiful setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean, several notable actors, actresses, musicians and otherwise historic figures are buried at this location. Inspiration Point Hiking Trail: This hike takes about 1.5 hours and offers panoramic views about 1,800 feet above the city of Santa Barbara.  Enjoy hiking through the oaks and sycamores at lower elevations, and the views at the top are, well, inspirational.  You can also visit Seven Falls from the same starting point of this hike. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden: This 78-acre botanical garden is home to over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants El Presidio de Santa Barbara: This historic Park preserves the site of the last of four military outposts built by the Spanish along the coast of Alta California. Santa Barbara Historical Museum: This museum features relics from Chumash, Spanish, Mexican, Yankee, and Chinese cultures, including artifacts, photographs, furnishings and textiles, dating as far back as the 15th century. Santa Barbara Museum of Art: Founded in 1941, it is home to both permanent and special collections, the former of which includes Asian, American, and European art that spans 4,000 years from ancient to modern.  More Adventures In Santa Barbara Be sure to listen to our prior episode which highlighted five of the most popular attraction in Santa Barbara - an episode we call Santa Barbara On The Beaten Path. The Places Where We Go Podcast: The Places Where We Go Podcast is released every other week in your favorite podcast app along as well as on our website at www.theplaceswherewego.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaceswherewego Twitter: https://twitter.com/theplaceswhere1 Email: Write to us at comments@theplaceswherewego.com We'll see you at the places where we go. Julie & Art    

In today's episode, we explore the first few major battles in the Mexican American War in the Alta California theater. Our Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/historyofcalifornia Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/history_of_ca_podcast If you'd like to subscribe to the new weekly newsletter, please follow this link: eepurl.com/haiCNX Support our podcast by buying some historical swag: teespring.com/history-of-california-podcast?pid=46 Also, support our podcast by purchasing a sophisticated coffee mug or a fashionable tote bag, perfect for lugging around heavy history books: teespring.com/new-history-of-cal…ornia-podc?pid=658

In this episode, we meet Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California. Our Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/historyofcalifornia Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/history_of_ca_podcast If you'd like to subscribe to the new weekly newsletter, please follow this link: eepurl.com/haiCNX Support our podcast by buying some historical swag: teespring.com/history-of-california-podcast?pid=46 Also, support our podcast by purchasing a sophisticated coffee mug or a fashionable tote bag, perfect for lugging around heavy history books: teespring.com/new-history-of-cal…ornia-podc?pid=658

In this episode, I interview Nick Neely whose bestselling 2019 book Alta California chronicled his journey to recreate the Portola expedition, that we covered on a previous episode, starting in San Diego and making his on foot to San Francisco. It was a great conversation and I know you will enjoy it. Nick's book recommendations: Where I Was From by Joan Didion: https://amzn.to/3iuQ7q9 All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner: https://amzn.to/3l9Xs0o Nick's Website: http://www.nickneely.com/ Amazon Link for Nick's work: https://amzn.to/3d0DJxi Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/historyofcalifornia If you'd like to subscribe to the new weekly newsletter, please follow this link: eepurl.com/haiCNX

In this episode, we explore US history in regards to treaties and set the stage for the explorers, settlers, and trappers that will migrate into Alta California. Our Patreon Page: www.patreon.com/historyofcalifornia Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/history_of_ca_podcast If you'd like to subscribe to the new weekly newsletter, please follow this link: eepurl.com/haiCNX Support our podcast by buying some historical swag: teespring.com/history-of-california-podcast?pid=46 Also, support our podcast by purchasing a sophisticated coffee mug or a fashionable tote bag, perfect for lugging around heavy history books: teespring.com/new-history-of-cal…ornia-podc?pid=658 Thank you to all of our listeners and supporters!