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Western Edition — History
Western Edition

Western Edition — a podcast from Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West and hosted by its director William Deverell, historian of the American West — seeks to engage Angelenos, Californians, and Westerners as critical thinkers, conscious consumers, and informed community members. The podcast tells the fascinating stories of the people and communities of our region, connecting the past to the present, and demonstrating the tightly woven fabric of history.

The forth season, Hidden Pasadena, digs deep into the “Crown City” of the San Gabriel Valley.

The third season, Memorializing the West, explored historical memory, commemoration, and memorialization across the American West.

The second season, L.A. Chinatown, examined the past, present, and future of one of L.A.’s oldest neighborhoods and one of the first Chinese American cultural centers in the U.S. The first season, The West on Fire, looked at the West’s relationship with fire.

Western Edition is produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Jessica Kim, Elizabeth Logan, and Eryn Hoffman. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Copyright: © 2024 Western Edition

Latest Episodes:

Watersheds West: Running Dry Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

This final episode of the season considers the future of the Colorado River and how our predictions and priorities for water management, specifically in Southern California, have shifted and must continue to shift in an era of climate change.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: The Mighty Snake Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

The Snake, a one-thousand mile long river and watershed of great beauty, captured the heart of host William Deverell decades ago. The complexity of this watershed is at once historical and contemporary, and the Snake flows into an uncertain future at every point along its long journey.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: Trouble at Glen Canyon Feb 10, 2026

Show notes

The history of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River is one of Navajo connections to the river and canyon, colonial aspirations of a Civil War veteran and a Latter-Day Saints community, as well as the concerns of radical environmentalists in the 20th century. This episode explores how this watershed is tied to layers of history and stories about the role of water in western settlement. It also offers dire warning about the future of water across the American Southwest.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: Freeing the Klamath Feb 03, 2026

Show notes

The history of a dammed Klamath River is part of the broader history of settler colonialism, resource extraction, and the control of water in the American West. This episode shares histories of Native resistance and refusal as well as the history of the movement, both Native and non-native, to bring a century-old system of four hydroelectric dams down, free the Klamath, and feed its systems of lakes and wetlands.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: Adaptation and Repair Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

The relationship between watersheds in the American West and the people who live alongside them is complex. When the stories turn to Indigenous westerners, too often the focus is on pre-colonial times or a rushed fast-forward to present day activism. This episode centers around a conversation with Dr. Karletta Chief, a professor in Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. Known for her work addressing environmental pollution on the Navajo Nation, she shares what it means to engage with Indigenous communities when addressing man-made environmental disasters and why this work is critically important in a future shaped by climate change.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: Gather at the River Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

In this episode we take a long view of water in the West, a region defined by its aridity, and consider how humans have interacted with water over the past two centuries, from Indigenous cosmologies to American conquest and the aggressive commodification of water.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Watersheds West: Prologue Dec 02, 2025

Show notes

The infrastructure of water control looms large across the history of the American West. Western rivers and watersheds have long been and remain fundamental sites of contest and power, hope and disappointment.

Launching in January 2026, the fifth season of Western Edition — the podcast from the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) — digs into the complex history of how humans dammed, diverted, and exploited water resources in the region across several hundred years.

While control over water has gone hand in hand with European and American colonization, Western Edition: Watersheds West takes care to engage with Indigenous scholars about Native views of and relationships to western water. The series returns to the critical question: What does the future look like in an era of climate catastrophe? Across its six episodes, the new season invites us all to consider if we are due for a paradigm shift in how we think about our most precious resource.

Hidden Pasadena: The Children of the Liberator Oct 08, 2024

Show notes

After the Civil War, many of the children of the anti-slavery crusader who attempted to raid Harper’s Ferry, John Brown, sought new lives and peace in the far West, including Pasadena. This episode shares the story of the Brown brothers and their sister, the recent activism surrounding preserving local post-Civil War era sites, and why this history is critically important to local teachers and students.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Hidden Pasadena: Shōya House Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

What is the oldest structure in the San Gabriel Valley? This episode shares the story of The Shoya House, a 3,000 square-foot home that made a 6,000 mile journey from Japan to Pasadena’s Huntington Library. Now a part of the library’s collection, it fits not only onto the landscape at The Huntington, but serves as a tangible architectural expression at an institution with a renowned architecture archive.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

Hidden Pasadena: Vroman’s Bookstore Sep 24, 2024

Show notes

What can we learn from a bookstore? Adam Clark Vroman opened the AC Vroman Bookstore in 1894 and it has symbolized an important piece of Pasadena’s intellectual community ever since. Though the location has changed, this episode takes a deeper look at the man who created this legacy and considers how Vroman’s serves as a community resource at a time when building ties and finding trusted sources of information is a challenge.

To see images related to this episode, please visit dornsife.usc.edu/icw.

Western Edition is hosted by William Deverell and produced by Avishay Artsy, Katie Dunham, Eryn Hoffman, Jessica Kim, and Elizabeth Logan. Western Edition is a production of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

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