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Month: October 2024

October 31, 2024
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Season 5, Episode 3

Posted in Episodes, and Season 5

[Encore] Free to be Punjabi

October 31st marks the beginning of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights. It’s the most important holiday in India. In celebration, we are re-releasing this episode from Season 1.

The allure of abundant work and fertile soil drew many to California, and in particular, the rich rural areas of the state. Punjabi workers came in small numbers to Yuba City in the early 1900s,  but after Indian independence in 1947 when Punjab was split in two, that trickle became a steady stream. Now this rural area known for its peach orchards is the heart of a vibrant South Asian Punjabi community, rich with traditions and culture.

In this episode, hear from alumna Deepeaka Dhaliwal about her family ties to the area and some of the sites she explored in her research for her thesis  Yuba-Sutter: A Case Study for Heritage Conservation in Punjabi-American Communities.

Read moreSeason 5, Episode 3
October 10, 2024
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Season 5, Episode 2

Posted in Episodes, and Season 5

Death Valley Ghost Town: Conservation of the Ryan Mining District

Before Death Valley became a desert tourism mecca, it was a mining hot spot. The homelands of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe were opened to industry during the California Gold Rush. In this “Where Are They Now?” episode, producer Willa Seidenberg talks with alumna Mary Ringhoff about her thesis on the early-twentieth-century mining town of Ryan, an unusually well-preserved site just outside the boundaries of Death Valley National Park. The company town housed workers at the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which produced the famous “20-Mule Team” cleaning agent used in millions of households.

Mary, an archaeologist by training, describes the lives of miners in a harsh desert environment, the town’s conversion into a hotel for tourists, and how it became a ghost town. She also shares the surprising project she’s been investigating in her work as an architectural historian.  

Read moreSeason 5, Episode 2
University of Southern California