Peter Westwick

University of Southern California

Guest

Assistant Research Professor in History at the University of Southern California and director of the Aerospace History Project at the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West; co-author of The World in the Curl: An Unconventional History of Surfing; editor of Blue Sky Metropolis: The Aerospace Century in Southern California

Peter Westwick on KCRW

Southern California was once synonymous with aerospace. And the region has a long history in aviation going back to the early 1900s. So what happened?

SoCal's Aerospace Influence

Southern California was once synonymous with aerospace. And the region has a long history in aviation going back to the early 1900s. So what happened?

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Did Christian missionaries really try to stop Hawaiians from surfing? A new book provides at some interesting facts and dispels some myths about the history of that ancient sport.

A Totally Rad History of Surfing

Did Christian missionaries really try to stop Hawaiians from surfing? A new book provides at some interesting facts and dispels some myths about the history of that ancient sport.

from Which Way, L.A.?

PayPal billionaire Elon Musk admits, "There's a lot that can go wrong."

Private Enterprise in Low Earth Orbit

PayPal billionaire Elon Musk admits, "There's a lot that can go wrong."

from Which Way, L.A.?

More from KCRW

Dozens of Southland parks will host snow events each Friday and Saturday for the next three weeks.

from KCRW Features

This week, we pay tribute to SNAP!’s listeners, whom Deirdre called the show’s “heart and soul.” It’s a story about two young women finding their way, and the courage that music gives us to imagine our futures.

from Bent by Nature

David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven explains SNAP!'s place in a larger movement spreading across the country in the mid-’80s, and how the band navigated their own transition from indie darlings to major-label recording artists.

from Bent by Nature

One in six veterinarians have contemplated suicide in 2020, says a report by the American Medical Veterinary Association.

from Greater LA

After the breakup of Camper Van Beethoven, former frontman David Lowery ended up in LA as "totally a lost soul," and reconnected with Deirdre for a guest DJ set on “SNAP!”

from Bent by Nature

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that 250,000 to 750,000 coyotes exist statewide.

from Greater LA

Despite increasing attention to equity, diversity, and inclusivity, the pay gap for women has not shifted much over the last 15 years.

from Life Examined

In “Flee,” Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen interviews his longtime friend Amin Nawabi, an LGBTQ Afghanistan native, about fleeing his war-torn home, shedding secrets, and…

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Who owns a patients’ test results and does the health provider have a duty to warn at risk relatives?

from Second Opinion