s03e03: The Scandal of Cal with Tony Platt

Challenging Colonialism

This episode includes an interview with Tony Platt, author of The Scandal of Cal: Land Grabs, White Supremacy, and Miseducation at UC Berkeley.

Dr. Platt is the author of thirteen books and 150 essays and articles on race, inequality, and social justice in American history, among them Beyond These Walls: Rethinking Crime and Punishment in the United States; Bloodlines: Recovering Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws, from Patton’s Trophy to Public Memorial; and The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency.

In this interview he also discusses the book he wrote prior to this one, Grave Matters: The Controversy over Excavating California’s Buried Indigenous Past, which explores the Indigenous led fight to protect burial sites up in Humboldt County in the 1970s and 80s. We encourage you to check out both books.

You can find more about Dr. Platt's work on these topics in the following articles:

"A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans," ProPublica, March 5, 2023.

The Repatriation Project: The Delayed Return of Native Remains

The Repatriation Project: NAGPRA Database

For more on the history of UC Berkeley and Alfred Kroeber, give a listen to our podcast episode on these topics:

s02e03: The Legacy of Kroeber, Ishi, & UC Berkeley

On NAGPRA and Repatriation, listen to:

s02e04: "You Have Disturbed Our Ancestors" (NAGPRA p.I)

s02e05: "Bury Them with Dignity" (NAGPRA p. II)

s02e06: "This Work Has to be Done" (NAGPRA p.III)

Audio editing: Daniel Stonebloom

Interview: Martin Rizzo-Martinez

Music: G. Gonzales

"Chumash Uprising" logo artwork: John Jota Leaños