Despite the conflicts and injustices in the news, during this season we’re reminded to love and care for our families and neighbors, as well as those we don’t even know. I wish health, happiness, and peace to you and your loved ones. Here’s my 2011 conversation with John Prendergast and Michael Mattocks. As an emotionally wounded 21-year-old, John formed a “Big Brother/Little Brother” relationship with 7-year-old Michael. We talk about the book they wrote together, UNLIKELY BROTHERS: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption, in which they share their experiences over 25 years as their lives intertwine.  

ZEV YAROSLAVSKY, who served on the Los Angeles City Council and LACounty’s Board of Supervisors for a total of 40 years, has written a political memoir, ZEV’S LOS ANGELES: From Boyle Heights to the Halls of Power. Our conversation deals more with the memoir than the politics. We talk about Zev’s early years, his family and heritage, his college activism advocating for Russian Jews, and his surprise election to the City Council at the age of 26. Please note, this conversation was recorded before the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas and the Israeli military response. To learn more about Zev, go to luskin.ucla.edu

Whether trying to influence involvement in foreign wars, fight for social justice, or win an election, effective organizing is crucial. Here’s my 2012 conversation with MARSHALL GANZ, who dropped out of Harvard in 1964 to participate in Freedom Summer, worked for years as one of the lead organizers for United Farm Workers, and helped devise the grass-roots model for Obama’s 2008 campaign. Now a lecturer in public policy at Harvard, I can say without reservation, we need to learn from him. You can find more at marshallganz.com

I talk with NELSON LICHTENSTEIN, History professor at UC Santa Barbara, and the author of several books on labor in America including State of the Union: A Century of American Labor. First, about the resurgence of unions in America – highlighted by good new contracts at UPS, Kaiser Permanence, and Big Three automakers, as well as successful organizing at newer huge employers like Amazon, Starbucks, and Trader Joes; and second, about his latest book, co-authored with Judith Stein, A FABULOUS FAILURE: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism. 

I speak with theoretical physicist, futurist, and best-selling author, MICHIO KAKU, about his latest book, QUANTUM SUPREMACY: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything,

eventually illuminating the deepest mysteries of science and solving some of our biggest problems, including global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease. What is quantum computing? Where do we stand? What are the obstacles? What is the promise? What are the warnings? Learn more at mkaku.org. This episode was recorded as a LiveTalksLA event May 5th, 2023 in Santa Monica.