CULLED FROM OVER 40 HOURS OF EXCLUSIVE NEW INTERVIEWS, THE POLITICAL MIND OF JERRY BROWN OFFERS RADIO AND PODCAST LISTENERS AN ILLUMINATING AND ENTERTAINING LOOK AT THE ART OF POLITICS IN THE FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OWN WORDS
As presidential hopefuls race toward the 2020 election, Jerry Brown is watching it all from his Northern California ranch. Even though he’s retired, the political lifer has strong feelings about what’s needed for California and for the country, and about his own legacy. And for five decades, Brown had a front row seat to the world of California and U.S. politics. Now, KQED brings you The Political Mind of Jerry Brown, a limited-run radio and podcast series hosted by KQED’s Senior Editor for Politics and Government Scott Shafer that gives listeners an intimate look at Brown’s keen political eye.
As a four-term California governor, Mayor of Oakland and California Attorney General, Brown pioneered efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics, championed far-sighted environmental policies and elevated diverse voices to the judiciary and in his administrations. Along the way Brown also faced three defeats on the presidential campaign trail, including one run he now wishes he’d skipped, and he spent years in “the wilderness” after a stinging loss for a seat on the U.S. Senate in 1982.
As part of a partnership with UC Berkeley’s Oral History Center, Shafer, KQED producer Guy Marzorati and historians from the Center spent over 40 hours interviewing with Brown at his ranch. With those conversations and interviews with dozens of others, the series takes listeners through the lessons Brown learned from a political career unparalleled in California history.