KCRW Reports
The 'genius' of Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown has been a part of California’s political fabric for almost 50 years—taking on jobs from Secretary of State and head of the Democratic Party to Mayor of Oakland and state Attorney General. Now he’s less than a month away from wrapping…
Chery Glaser talks to Narda Zacchino, who covered Brown's first two terms as Governor while she was Sacramento bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times. She says a lot of forces have shaped his approach to governing--including his Jesuit training for the priesthood. But she says one incident in particular stands out-- back when Brown was in his 20s and his father was governor. It involved a man named Caryl Chessman, who was on California's death row after being convicted of robbery and assaulting a woman.