Luskin Center for History and Policy
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historypolicy.bsky.social
Luskin Center for History and Policy
@historypolicy.bsky.social
UCLA Luskin Center for History & Policy is the first center on the West Coast that generates historical analysis designed to inform and shape policy.

Website: https://luskincenter.history.ucla.edu/
then & now: https://luskinhistory.buzzsprout.com
SNAP cuts, Project 2025, and pro-birthrate policies ignore the reality that women already shoulder the majority of essential care labor. In this then & now episode, Eileen Boris and Katherine Marino trace the history of the “woman worker.” #ucla #feminism #womenshistory #policy #SNAP #SNAPbenefits
December 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
On this day in history in 1791, the Bill of Rights was officially ratified when Virginia cast the deciding vote. These first ten amendments established foundational civil liberties, from freedom of speech and religion to protections against unreasonable searches and excessive punishment.
December 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Amid violent ICE raids and racially targeted detentions, then & now revisits Kelly Lytle Hernández tracing how white supremacy and settler colonialism shaped policing and deportation & why confronting this history is vital for justice #ucla #blackhistory #latinxhistory #history #abolishice #policy
December 11, 2025 at 1:14 AM
On this day in history in 1941, the United States formally entered World War II, declaring war on Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This decision reshaped the global balance of power, accelerated military mobilization, and set the stage for major shifts in U.S. foreign policy.
December 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Mishuana Goeman reflects on Native American Studies, land, and reparative justice, offering a critical lens of Thanksgiving as settler colonialist holiday and the National Day of Mourning. #Thanksgiving #ucla #History #nationaldayofmourning #indigenoushistory #nativeamericanstudies #thanksgiving2025
December 3, 2025 at 4:28 PM
On this day in history in 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger. This courageous act sparked the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott, a turning point in the U.S. civil-rights movement.
December 2, 2025 at 12:18 AM
In the “Future of History” panel, Lonnie G. Bunch, Athena Jackson & Robin Kelley join David Myers to warn that political attacks on archives, curricula, and public history threaten democracy and demand scholarly resistance #UCLA #History #DEI #AI #lchp #Latinxhistory #Blackhistory #Indigenoushistory
November 27, 2025 at 1:22 AM
On this day in history in 1859, Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” introducing the theory of evolution by natural selection and reshaping science and society.
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
UCLA’s Brenda Stevenson moderates a panel with UCLA scholars Kelly Lytle Hernández, Sanjay Subrahmanyam & Vivien Tejada on the future of history, DEI backlash, AI, “patriotic history,” and why historical scholarship matters now. #UCLA #History #DEI #AI #lchp #luskincenterforhistoryandpolicy #future
November 19, 2025 at 5:58 PM
On this day in history in 1989, student protests in Czechoslovakia ignited the Velvet Revolution, a peaceful uprising that ended four decades of Communist rule. The U.S. strongly supported the movement, reflecting Cold War foreign policy priorities and the enduring power of popular protest.
November 17, 2025 at 8:46 PM
This year, two research grantee fellows were selected to explore critical issues, using historical insights to inform today’s policy decisions.
November 14, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Recent midterms & CA’s Prop 50 vote show that debates over voting rights are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. In this revisited then & now episode, Franita Tolson traces voter suppression from the Founding era to Jim Crow to 2020. #UCLA #VotingRights #ivoted #lchp #Prop50
November 12, 2025 at 8:25 PM
On this day in history in 1898, the Wilmington Massacre unfolded in North Carolina, when white supremacists violently overthrew a multiracial local government, marking the only successful coup d’état in U.S. history.
November 10, 2025 at 10:52 PM
What makes Los Angeles a unique urban experiment and what can it teach us about U.S. cities today?
This week on then & now, hear the Urban History Association plenary featuring Becky Nicolaides, Gustavo Arellano, Brenda Levin & Raphael Sonenshein.
#LosAngeles #UrbanHistory #UCLA #dodgersstadium
November 6, 2025 at 2:57 AM
On this day in history in 1964, Washington, D.C. residents participated in their first presidential election thanks to the 23rd Amendment, marking a milestone for voter rights and representation.
November 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
This year, three research grantee fellows were selected to explore critical issues, using historical insights to inform today’s policy decisions. One of these projects will examine how foreign education shaped China’s scientific development. Here’s more about their work!
October 31, 2025 at 8:11 PM
As Sora 2 blurs the line between real & fake videos and President Trump's AI clips spark debate, questions about the ethics of AI take center stage. John Villasenor traces AI's evolution from Turing to today's deepfake era. Can we regulate AI? Should we? #ucla #ai #Trump #TrumpAI #sora2 #regulateAI
October 30, 2025 at 1:25 AM
On this day in history in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis reached its peak as the U.S. and Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. The world held its breath as diplomacy, rather than destruction, prevailed.
October 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Guest host Ben Zdencanovic speaks with Dr. Stephen Wertheim to unpack the broader implications of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, now more relevant than ever with Trump administration's covert CIA involvement in Venezuela. #Trump #Venezuela #CIA #UCLA #ForeignPolicy #usforeignpolicy #lchp
October 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
On this day in history in 1973, the “Saturday Night Massacre” shook the nation as President Nixon ordered that the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal be fired.
October 21, 2025 at 12:35 AM
As federal force deployments escalate in U.S. cities, we revisit our 2020 episode on Trump-era authoritarianism. How does this discussion from Trump’s first presidency reveal about threats to democracy now? #ucla #protests #protectdemocracy #trump #democracyunderthreat #portland #chicago
October 15, 2025 at 8:30 PM
On this day in history, Americans have historically commemorated the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. For Indigenous people, however, this date marks the beginning of centuries of colonization, displacement, violence, and cultural erasure.
October 13, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Trump’s deployment of national troops to cities like Chicago have parallels in authoritarian government worldwide. This episode of then & now considers Brazil's military regime and its aftermath, and explores the long-term effects on Brazilian and global politics. #history #Trump #Chicago #portland
October 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM
While Then & Now is on hiatus as we redesign our podcast for Season 6, we’ll be revisiting older episodes that still have relevance today. This week's revisited: Aaron David Miller explores U.S. diplomacy’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
🎙️ tinyurl.com/yceajf4n
October 1, 2025 at 6:42 PM
As culture war politics intensify, conservatives frame “traditional” family values as vital to national survival. This week, @neiljyoung.bsky.social traces how religious narratives persist in U.S. politics and underpin the Trump-evangelical alliance.

🎙️: tinyurl.com/2w7sjpm6
September 18, 2025 at 3:44 AM