UC Davis historian discusses in this podcast

During the coronavirus pandemic, a pattern has emerged. In general, Republicans have pushed to open the country more quickly, while Democrats have been in favor of moving more slowly. The host of the Innovation Hub podcast says this trend is typical, as Republicans tend to be pro business while Democrats tend to be pro union.

But they ask: how was this divide created? Kathryn Olmsted, a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and author of Right Out of California: The 1930s and the Big Business Roots of Modern Conservatism, says in the podcast that all sorts of factors came together to make conservatives see the government “as a force for evil, instead of a force for protecting the markets.” From crops to communism, she explains how California paved the way for modern conservatism. Mainly, it was agribusiness, she said.

Innovation Hub from WGBH and PRX is a podcast hosted and edited by Kara Miller. According to NPR, “Innovation Hub features today's most creative thinkers - from authors to researchers to business leaders. It explores new avenues in education, science, medicine, transportation, and more”. A June episode, “The Makings of Modern Conservatism,” features Olmsted. 

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