History of California Podcast
jordanmattox@gmail.com
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Booking Overview
Metrics
Episodes: 100
Frequency: Monthly
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Estimated listeners: 1k-10k
Gender skew: Male
Location: USA
Contact Information
jordanmattox@gmail.com
For verified host and producer emails, sign up to view.
Host
Jordan Mattox - Host of the History of California Podcast. He explores California’s history through narrative histories and in-depth conversations with experts, interviewing writers and academics to place state ev...
Booking Intelligence
Booking Requirements
Recent Guest Discussions
Kevin Ferguson - History Of California Wine; Prohibition And Industry Shifts; Judgment Of Paris; Boutique Wine Boom; Gemello Family Lineage
Dr. Peter Richardson - Rolling Stone’s Rise In Relation To Bay Area Counterculture And Media Failures; Cultural/political History Of The Region; Book Recommendations
Dr. Julia Ornelas-Higdon - Race, Labor, And Power In The Industrialization Of California Wine; Indigenous And Immigrant Labor Roles; Historiographical Shifts
Recent Topics
Episodes
180 - Kevin Ferguson, The Gemello Winery and A History of California Wine
May 22, 2026
California had 1,000 wineries in 1910. By 1965, it had 225. The story of how the industry collapsed, came back, and quadrupled past 4,800 wineries today runs straight through one Piedmontese immigrant family — and Kevin Ferguson's. In this episode, Jordan sits down with Kevin — writer, former brand marketer, and great-grandson of John Gemello, founder of the Gemello Winery in Mountain View — to trace California wine from Prohibition's lost expertise through the 1976 Judgment of Paris and the ...
179 - Dr. Peter Richardson, Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine
April 24, 2026
Historian Peter Richardson joins Jordan Mattox to discuss his new book, Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine, and to situate the magazine within the broader cultural and political history of the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Richardson — whose previous work includes a biography of Carey McWilliams and studies of Ramparts Magazine and the Grateful Dead — argues that Rolling Stone's founding in November 1967 cannot be understood apart from the counterculture it both chronicled ...
178 - Dr. Julia Ornelas-Higdon, The Grapes of Conquest: Race, Labor, and the Industrialization of California Wine
April 16, 2026
California wine is often wrapped in romance—rolling vineyards, pioneering families, and world-class vintages. But beneath that familiar story lies a far more complex history of conquest, labor, race, and power. In this episode of the History of California Podcast, Jordan Mattox sits down with historian Dr. Julia Ornelas-Higdon, author of The Grapes of Conquest, to uncover the hidden foundations of one of the state’s most iconic industries. Together, they trace the evolution of California agri...
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