The Browns of California: A Conversation with Governor Jerry Brown

Architect Marc Appleton, author of "Ranches: Home on the Range in California", discusses the history of cattle ranching in California. Once a robust industry in the state, ranching is now a much diminished and challenged enterprise, says Appleton, and many ranchers are witnessing the passing of a way of life.  Listen

Historian Steven Usselman traces how one breakthrough technology—the deep well centrifugal pump—triggered an unfolding cascade of change that reshaped the Golden State, both literally and figuratively. Conceived for use on citrus ranches such as those owned by Henry Huntington, these intricate mechanical marvels spilled over into many domains, including water management, food processing, oil drilling, and aviation.

Architectural historian Barbara Lamprecht explores a little known but key aspect of Richard Neutra's unique contribution to architecture: designing environments that fused constructions and site to create "soul anchorages" or "habitats." Renowned for his sleek interpretations of Modernism, Neutra's first job after World War I was as a gardening assistant to one of Switzerland's most famous early purveyors of Modern landscape design. Neutra later integrated his knowledge of plants with ideas about evolutionary biology's role in human well-being. The program is presented as part of the California Garden & Landscape History Society Lecture Series.