Best Mikemcphate Podcasts (2025)

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Tim Higgins on the battle to take down Apple 45:18

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2h ago45:18

45:18

Tim Higgins discusses his new book "iWar," examining how one of California's corporate crown jewels, Apple, faces an unprecedented rebellion. Tech leaders such as Spotify's Daniel Ek and Epic's Tim Sweeney are waging a legal war over what they have portrayed as a shakedown operation — the 30% App Store cut that generates massive profits for Apple w…

1
Jeff Chang on Bruce Lee and the emergence of Asian American pride 26:45

5d ago26:45

26:45

Jeff Chang, in his new biography "Water Mirror Echo," explores how the short of life of Bruce Lee helped make Asian America. Born in San Francisco's Chinatown, Lee was denied the lead role in Warner Bros.'s 1970s TV series "Kung Fu," which was given instead to David Carradine in yellowface. Lee's collision with Hollywood rejection became a catalyst…

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Satsuki Ina on echoes of Japanese incarceration 36:14

13d ago36:14

36:14

Satsuki Ina was born behind barbed wire at Tule Lake, where she became one of roughly 120,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Her parents, both U.S. citizens, lost their freedom and faith in America, leaving a legacy of silence and trauma. Today, as immigrant families are again separated and detained, Ina’s memoir "The Poet and…

1
Peter Jones explores privilege and vulnerability at a school for sons of the Los Angeles elite 28:51

19d ago28:51

28:51

Peter Jones turned his camera on his former classmates from the Harvard School for Boys, a former military academy for boys in Los Angeles, for his new documentary "Fortunate Sons," chronicling the lives of the 1974 graduating class through their 50th reunion. What started as pandemic Zoom calls became surprisingly honest conversations about addict…

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Eve Quesnel on how nature always shows up 22:27

26d ago22:27

22:27

Eve Quesnel, author of the new book "Snow Fleas and Chickadees: Everyday Observations in the Sierra," joins us from her home in Truckee. For more than two decades, she's been paying close attention to the Sierra Nevada, finding evidence that "nature will show up" everywhere — even in urban cracks and sidewalks. Quesnel discusses making a conscious …

1
Scott Alan Lucas on San Francisco, misinformation, and the killing of Bob Lee 40:04

1M ago40:04

40:04

By Jeff Schechtman

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Jim Newton on freedom, community, Jerry Garcia, and the Grateful Dead 36:14

1M ago36:14

36:14

Jim Newton joins us to discuss his new book "Here Beside the Rising Tide," exploring how Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead emerged from 1960s California to become unlikely architects of America's counterculture. Newton reveals Garcia as a reluctant icon who feared leadership yet created a multigenerational community that thrives decades after his …

1
Sam Yebri on L.A.'s decline and a path forward 26:44

2M ago26:44

26:44

Sam Yebri, a young Yale-educated labor attorney and board president of the civic organization Thrive LA, offers a stark assessment of Los Angeles's decline. Yerbi arrived as a refugee from Iran to L.A., where he has embodied the American dream in a city that has served as a beacon for immigrants and dreamers. But he paints a not-so hopeful picture …

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Matt Ritter and Michael Kauffmann on California's iconic native trees 30:20

2M ago30:20

30:20

Matt Ritter, a botany professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Michael Kauffmann, a research plant ecologist, have written a new definitive guide to California's 95 native tree species, "California Trees." The authors discuss their field work across the state, from the rare conifers of the Klamath Mountains to the Joshua trees of the Southern Cal…

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Gene Seroka: At the helm of America's busiest port 25:10

2M ago25:10

25:10

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, oversees a gateway that handles 20% of America's incoming cargo and powers one in nine jobs in Southern California. In this conversation, he reveals how the 7,500-acre complex serves as an economic bellwether, highlighting trends months before consumers feel them. From automation debates t…

1
Christopher Beam on how AI safety birthed a killing spree 46:29

3M ago46:29

46:29

Christopher Beam, in a recent New York Times investigation, reveals how a group of brilliant minds from Google, NASA, and the rationalist movement in Berkeley became part of a murderous cult-like group known as the "Zizians." He story recounts six deaths, from a blood-soaked Vallejo property to a fatal Vermont shootout. Unlike Charles Manson's drop…

1
Sharona Nazarian on leading Beverly Hills' Iranian diaspora through crisis 19:06

3M ago19:06

19:06

Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian fled Iran with her family during the revolution to escape religious persecution, learning English as her third language before building a career in clinical psychology. Now the first Iranian American woman to lead the city, she governs a diverse community where roughly 20% of the population trace its roots to Ir…

1
Josh Jackson discovers California's BLM lands 31:05

3M ago31:05

31:05

Josh Jackson, author of the new book "The Enduring Wild," found a hidden refuge in the mountains and prairies of California's 15 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands. In times of crisis and uncertainty, we often turn to nature for solace and perspective. These overlooked "commons," dismissed as leftover lands too harsh for homesteaders …

1
Gustavo Arellano on demonstrations, deportations, and downtown L.A. 31:45

3M ago31:45

31:45

Gustavo Arellano, the longtime Los Angeles Times columnist and chronicler of the Latino community, brings his deeply personal perspective to the immigration crackdown unfolding in Los Angeles. He shares observations from the epicenter of protests that have drawn President Trump's National Guard deployment. Born to a Mexican father who snuck across …

1
Michael Hiltzik deconstructs the California dream 31:34

4M ago31:34

31:34

Michael Hiltzik, the author of "Golden State: The Making of California," examines five centuries from the Spanish conquistadors to Silicon Valley, challenging the enduring mythology that has shaped both California and America. Rather than offer another celebration of the California dream, Hiltzik reveals how the state has served as America's testin…

1
Eleni Gastis and the ghost students stealing millions from California community colleges 25:23

4M ago25:23

25:23

Eleni Gastis, the journalism department chair at Oakland's Laney College, was shocked to discover that half her students weren't human. California's community colleges are under siege by sophisticated "ghost students" — bots designed to steal financial aid money. What started as a $3 million-a-year problem exploded to $13 million over the last 12 m…

1
Matthew Specktor's Hollywood: when art, commerce, and family danced together 28:22

4M ago28:22

28:22

Matthew Specktor, in his new memoir "The Golden Hour," offers a unique perspective on Hollywood's transformation — as both the son of legendary talent agent Fred Specktor and a thoughtful cultural observer. He explores how the movie industry shifted from a close-knit "family business," where art and commerce balanced, to today's corporate-dominated…

1
Adam Nagourney on the endangered California Dream 26:39

4M ago26:39

26:39

Adam Nagourney, a veteran New York Times reporter based in Los Angeles, wrote recently about whether the California Dream had become a mirage. Even as the state has grown into the world's fourth-largest economy, the promise of reinvention that defined the Golden State feels increasingly elusive. As young people flee, wildfires destroy neighborhoods…

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Joe Kloc explores Sausalito's vanishing 'anchor-out' community 27:43

5M ago27:43

27:43

Joe Kloc spent nine years immersed with Richardson Bay's "anchor-outs," a community living on abandoned vessels just offshore from multimillion-dollar Sausalito homes. In his book "Lost at Sea," Kloc chronicles their struggles against the authorities and residents who ultimately dismantled the century-old floating community. Kloc captures the ancho…

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Laurie Kirby looks behind the music festival curtain 30:45

5M ago30:45

30:45

Laurie Kirby, the founder of FestForums, brings insider expertise on what makes music festivals succeed. She explores California's vibrant festival scene from Coachella and Stagecoach to BottleRock and Outside Lands, examining how these events reflect the state's economic trends and cultural influence. She discusses how California's festivals funct…

1
Ben Fritz weighs Hollywood's Next Act 28:34

5M ago28:34

28:34

Ben Fritz, who covers the entertainment industry for The Wall Street Journal, explores Hollywood's perfect storm of existential threats — empty theaters, streaming wars, production flight, artificial intelligence. If that wasn't enough, as Fritz has reported: audiences today seem to be rejecting both franchise tentpoles and original films. He discu…

1
Erica Hellerstein on how improving farm worker conditions are now halted by a new wave of fear 28:46

5M ago28:46

28:46

Erica Hellerstein's reporting for El Tímpano follows the story of Pedro Romero Perez, a survivor of the 2023 Half Moon Bay mass shooting that left seven people dead, including his brother Jose. The tragedy exposed deplorable conditions in San Mateo County's agricultural industry: farm workers earning less than minimum wage while living in shipping …

1
Olaf Groth explores California’s high-stakes dance amid trade and tech turmoil 28:54

6M ago28:54

28:54

Olaf Groth, a futurist and professor at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, examines how global trade tensions, artificial intelligence advancements, and economic shifts are reshaping California's position in the world economy. He analyzes how intensifying tariff wars threaten the state's tech sector while driving up consumer prices. Groth exp…

1
Alissa Wilkinson explores Joan Didion's warning about America's entertainment politics 32:46

6M ago32:46

32:46

New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson discusses her new book, "We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine," which explores the California author's prescient understanding of how entertainment would colonize American political life. Wilkinson examines Didion's work through the lens of a Hollywood insider and cultural…

1
John Garamendi talks insurance, water, and farming under Trump 26:29

6M ago26:29

26:29

Rep. John Garamendi, a Bay Area Democrat, draws on his experience during two terms as California's insurance commissioner to discuss the state's insurance challenges. Garamendi argues that the state's current insurance chief, Ricardo Lara, has surrendered much of his authority to industry, creating market instability while failing to require transp…

1
Chris Roberts unearths San Francisco's toxic nuclear legacy 35:57

7M ago35:57

35:57

Journalist Chris Roberts discusses the long-forgotten history of the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory at San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Following atomic bomb tests in 1946, the Navy towed radioactive ships to San Francisco, creating a research program that exposed more than a thousand people to varying levels of radiation. …

1
Gregory Weaver on how a land conservation program delivered a windfall to mega-farms 35:19

7M ago35:19

35:19

In a two-part Fresnoland investigation, journalist Gregory Weaver exposed the false promise of California's Williamson Act, a tax break created in 1965 to protect agricultural lands from suburban sprawl. The program, tax records showed, now primarily benefits 120 mega-farms that collect roughly half of its $5 billion tax shelter, benefiting Wall St…

1
Randy Shaw champions San Francisco's Tenderloin through decades of change 22:22

7M ago22:22

22:22

Randy Shaw is the director of San Francisco's Tenderloin Housing Clinic, founder of the Tenderloin Museum, editor of Beyond Chron, and author of the newly updated book "The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime, and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco." For over 45 years, he has advocated for this unique neighborhood which has maintained its character and re…

1
Dr. Shayan Rab is taking psychiatry to the streets 27:31

7M ago27:31

27:31

Dr. Shayan Rab, associate medical director at Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, explains his revolutionary, if controversial, approach to helping mentally ill homeless individuals. As the county's first street psychiatrist, he created the Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement, or HOME Team, despite resistance from some quarters over…

1
Lili Anolik maps the orbit between Joan Didion's cool detachment and Eve Babitz's raw sensuality 28:09

7M ago28:09

28:09

Lili Anolik, author of the new book "Didion & Babitz," delves into the complex and largely unexplored relationship between literary icons Joan Didion and Eve Babitz in 1960s Los Angeles. Through newly discovered letters and extensive research, Anolik explains how these contrasting personalities — Didion's calculated reserve and Babitz's uninhibited…

1
Dr. Mildred García is driving the CSU system beyond diplomas 25:16

8M ago25:16

25:16

As the first Latina chancellor of the California State University system, Dr. Mildred García is seeking to transform the nation's largest public university system. Beyond focusing on diplomas and graduation rates, she is emphasizing career success and employment outcomes for CSU's more than 460,000 students. Her vision includes integrating artifici…

1
Daniel Swain on the disasters still to come 42:22

8M ago42:22

42:22

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources reveals why Los Angeles' recent devastating fires weren't just another disaster, but a harbinger of California's volatile future. Swain explains how climate change created the conditions for unprecedented destruction, and how "…

1
Stephen Pyne reimagines our ancient pact with fire 37:00

8M ago37:00

37:00

Stephen Pyne, a renowned fire historian, discusses how climate change is creating unprecedented conditions for "mean fires" that overwhelm traditional firefighting approaches. He challenges the "war on fire" mindset, arguing instead for viewing fire as a biological force requiring public health-style interventions. Pyne talks about the need to dist…

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Jim Carlton takes us inside the inferno 20:17

8M ago20:17

20:17

Jim Carlton, reporting for the Wall Street Journal, takes us beyond the headlines and into the thick of Los Angeles’ wildfire battles. For a recent article, he embedded with a wildfire strike team in Topanga Canyon, where he witnessed the harsh realities faced by the men and women fighting flames in some of the most punishing terrain. From the rele…

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David Ulin finds hope in a burning city 25:51

8M ago25:51

25:51

David Ulin, one of Los Angeles's most perceptive chroniclers and an editor of Joan Didion's collected works, reflects on the city's unprecedented urban wildfires through the lens of history, identity, and belonging. Ulin talks about how disasters in Los Angeles paradoxically forge deeper connections between Angelenos and their landscape. Drawing pa…

1
Daniel Ostroff explores the timeless vision of Charles and Ray Eames 39:17

9M ago39:17

39:17

From their Venice Beach studio, Charles and Ray Eames revolutionized design in post-war Los Angeles, shaping the modernist ethos of California and beyond. Known for their groundbreaking Case Study House No. 8, furniture, and films, their work seamlessly blended art, science, and functionality. In this week's conversation, Daniel Ostroff, editor of …

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Brewster Kahle, the internet's librarian 32:12

9M ago32:12

32:12

Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, housed in a former San Francisco church with Greek columns that echo the ancient Library of Alexandria, discusses his three-decade mission to preserve humanity's digital knowledge and culture. Now facing unprecedented challenges, including a major cyberattack and legal battles with publishers over th…

1
James Tejani examines the audacious creation of the Port of Los Angeles 32:00

10M ago32:00

32:00

James Tejani discusses his new book "A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth," which reveals the untold story of how the Port of Los Angeles was carved from 3,400 acres of marshland to become the Western Hemisphere's busiest container port. Unlike San Francisco's natural harbor, this massive engineering project defied both nature and expert opinion. Teja…

1
John Francis on 17 years of silence 36:33

10M ago36:33

36:33

After a devastating oil tanker collision in San Francisco Bay in 1971, John Francis made an extraordinary decision that would reshape environmental activism. He chose to stop using motorized transportation and took a vow of silence that would last 17 years. His remarkable journey, captured in the new short documentary "Planetwalker," evolved into a…

1
Aaron Betsky makes the case for architectural renewal 31:05

10M ago31:05

31:05

Architectural critic Aaron Betsky challenges conventional thinking about our built environment in his new book "Don't Build, Rebuild," in which he makes the case for transforming existing structures rather than constructing new ones. From San Francisco's empty offices to Los Angeles's historic core, Betsky explores how this approach can not only ad…

1
Joe Mathews on why California must think globally, but act locally 32:22

10M ago32:22

32:22

Veteran journalist Joe Mathews offers a post-election analysis of California's future, arguing that the state's path lies not in isolation but in building global alliances — particularly at the local level. While many focus on tensions between the state and federal governments, Mathews suggests California's cities should forge connections with coun…

1
Emily Hoeven asks if Gavin Newsom can save the Democratic Party 24:45

11M ago24:45

24:45

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Emily Hoeven examines Gov. Gavin Newsom's heightened relevance following the Democrats' stunning presidential defeat. As the party searches for new leadership, California's ambitious governor seems poised to step onto the national stage. But can the telegenic leader of the world's fifth-largest economy translate hi…

1
Elsa Devienne sifts through the sands of L.A.’s little known coastal history 32:02

11M ago32:02

32:02

Elsa Devienne takes us behind the iconic beaches of Los Angeles to reveal a hidden history of transformation, conflict, and reinvention. The author of "Sand Rush," Devienne discusses how L.A.’s shores went from eroding, polluted strips in the 1920s and '30s to expansive public spaces that defined the city’s image and culture. She details the social…

1
Gustavo Arellano takes on the myth and reality of Latino political identity 27:39

11M ago27:39

27:39

In a wide-ranging conversation, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano dismantles the myth of a monolithic "Latino vote." Through his recent 3,000-mile journey across the Southwest, Arellano discovered communities far more focused on local concerns than national political narratives. He explores how Latinos navigate the complex dynamic of ass…

1
Forrest Gander navigates geology and loss in 'Mojave Ghost' 25:00

11M ago25:00

25:00

The Pulitzer Prize-winning California poet Forrest Gander discusses "Mojave Ghost," his novel-poem blending personal grief with geological exploration. He explains how his background in geology shapes his writing, offering unique insights on landscape and emotion. Gander describes walking the San Andreas Fault to process loss, highlighting the dese…

1
Oisin Heneghan believes in San Francisco 26:05

12M ago26:05

26:05

Oisin Heneghan, a Stanford engineering graduate and real estate developer, sees opportunity in San Francisco's challenges. His company N17 leads the Bay Area in pending planning applications for new housing. Heneghan explains San Francisco's cyclical nature, emphasizing the need to look five to seven years ahead, as conditions change by project com…

1
Zusha Elinson on a life lost over $14.64 33:28

12M ago33:28

33:28

Wall Street Journal reporter Zusha Elinson takes us through his reporting on the tragic encounter at a San Francisco Walgreens on April 27, 2023, when security guard Michael Anthony fatally shot Banko Brown, a homeless transgender man, over $14.64 worth of stolen candy. The story unfolds against a backdrop of shifting attitudes towards crime and po…

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Sasha Abramsky on the partisan takeover of small-towns: from potholes to culture wars 31:11

12M ago31:11

31:11

Sasha Abramsky, author of the new book "Chaos Comes Calling," talks about how America's deep polarization has cascaded from national politics down to local levels of governance. Abramsky reveals that even in small rural communities, once-mundane local issues like library policies, road repairs, and child care have become ideological battlegrounds. …

1
Elizabeth Rosner and the transformative art of listening 29:23

1y ago29:23

29:23

Elizabeth Rosner discusses the importance and difficulty of deep listening in our noisy, information-saturated world. The Berkeley author's new work "Third Ear: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening" draws in part from her experience as a child of Holocaust survivors. Rosner weaves personal narratives with insights from various fields to …

1
Alison Owings and Del Seymour on the incredible journey of the "mayor of the Tenderloin" 32:06

1y ago32:06

32:06

Del Seymour, a former homeless addict known as the "mayor of the Tenderloin," and his biographer, Alison Owings, offer a raw, street-level view of San Francisco's most notorious neighborhood. Seymour, the subject of Owings' book, "Mayor of the Tenderloin," pulls no punches, exposing the paradoxical allure of homelessness and the failings of well-me…