Historic California News
This program features historic news stories. Each report provides you with a California perspective -- the events covered occurred in California or are presented from a California and west coast perspective. Many of these reports were produced or delivered by Mike O'Sullivan during his tenure as the West Coast Bureau Chief of Voice of America, and are repackaged for this podcast in an effort to celebrate and preserve the enduring value of public broadcasting, as well as to reflect on the events in the world around us as they were reported 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
Episodes
Episode Number 100 - Original Airdate: January 18, 2011
Public Officials Say Martin Luther King's Message Still Resonates
Some Members of Congress have been out greeting constituents, only days after an Arizona representative was shot and critically wounded at a similar outreach event.
One such recent venue was a holiday parade in Los Angeles, celebrating the legacy of the nation's most revered civil rights leader, Martin Lut...
Episode Number 99 - Original Airdate: April 25, 2018
Earthly Sounds
Video Episode
Have you ever seen the face of a toddler who’s taken a bunch of kitchen dishes to create sounds?
We talk to a man who has been making his own instruments for years triggering similar emotional responses from his audience.
This episode was originally broadcast as a segment of “VOA Connect (Number 14).” Reporter/Camera: Mike O’Sullivan.
This episode of...
Episode Number 98 - Original Airdate: May 26, 2014
Hello, Hollywood! Foreign Students Flock to LA to Learn Film
Video Episode
VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports on the popularity of Los Angeles universities among foreign students studying filmmaking.
This episode originally aired as a segment of VOA's "On Assignment."
This episode of Historic California News was originally broadcast on Voice of America on May 26, 2...
Episode Number 97 - Original Airdate: July 31, 2015
Special Olympics Winners
Video Episode
The Special Olympics World Games are under way in Los Angeles, and the competition for people with intellectual disabilities has drawn thousands of athletes from around the world.
As VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports, some will take home medals, and all are experiencing the thrill of competition.
This episode of Historic California News was origi...
Episode Number 96 - Original Airdate: November 22, 2022
American Students of All Sizes Learn Japanese Sumo
Video Episode
Sumo, traditional Japanese wrestling, is attracting fans and participants in the United States.
From Los Angeles, Mike O’Sullivan reports that sumo’s appeal also extends beyond the heavyweights who dominate the professional sport.
This episode of Historic California News was originally broadcast on Voice of America ...
Episode Number 95 - Original Airdate: February 17, 2022
China Exodus US
Video Episode
Political repression is prompting thousands of Chinese to seek asylum in countries outside of China, including the United States, each year, claiming persecution or well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or other factors.
Mike O'Sullivan spoke with two immigrants from China who reached t...
Episode Number 94 - Original Airdate: October 29, 2014
Thai Muslims Create Thriving California Mosque
Video Episode
A mosque in suburban Los Angeles that began as a center for Muslim immigrants from Thailand now serves Muslims of many backgrounds.
As Mike O'Sullivan reports from Azusa, California, the thriving religious center is a labor of love for one Thai immigrant and his family.
This episode of Historic California News was...
Episode Number 93 - Original Airdate: August 7, 2023
Native Americans Share Memories of Indian Boarding Schools with US Officials
Video Episode
U.S. Department of the Interior officials are visiting Native American communities to learn about the impact of government-run residential schools on former students and their families. This is Mike O'Sullivan's report from 2023.
This episode of Historic California News was original...
Episode Number 92 - Original Airdate: August 25, 2008
Divided Chinese Catholic Church Looks for Reconciliation
Video Episode
Officials of the Catholic Church in China say their church is growing, despite internal tensions that have split the church into rival factions.
Some Catholics accept the role of the Chinese government in religious affairs, while others -- members of the so-called underground church -- reject it.
As Mike O&...
Episode Number 91 - Original Airdate: June 26, 2014
San Diego Zoo Helps Endangered Tasmanian Devils
Video Episode
The Tasmanian Devil, an animal native to the Australian state of Tasmania, has become endangered by a rare contagious cancer.
Mike O'Sullivan reports that the San Diego Zoo is part of an international effort to save the species.
This episode of Historic California News was originally broadcast on Voice of America on...
Episode Number 90 - Original Airdate: July 26, 2010
Californians Debate Fate of Official State Rock
Video Episode
Many US states have adopted animals or birds as official symbols. The cactus wren is the official of bird of Arizona, for example, and the moose is the state animal of Maine.
Most states have an official rock or gem, and California's state rock is creating controversy. The mineral serpentine (PR: SER-pen-teen) was...
Episode Number 89 - Original Airdate: March 26, 2018
Inmates Find Expression through Songwriting
Video Episode
Music is changing lives in some American prisons, where guitars and songwriting are sparking creativity in inmates.
Mike O’Sullivan reports from a state prison in Norco, California, about the music program Jail Guitar Doors.
This episode of Historic California News was originally broadcast on Voice of America on March 26, 2...
Episode Number 88 - Original Airdate: October 22, 2009
Former Astronaut Hopes for Space Cooperation
Video Episode
Forty years after man first walked on the moon, Buzz Aldrin says this is the time to move forward with space exploration's next phase.
Aldrin was on the first lunar landing team in 1969, and he still has an astronaut's vigor at the age of 79.
Recalling the superpower competition that marked the race to be first...
Episode Number 87 - Original Airdate: February 14, 2014
Children of the Night: Saving Child Prostitutes
Video Episode
In February 2014, "On Assignment" co-host, Alex Villarreal, spoke with VOA Los Angeles Correspondent Mike O'Sullivan about the plight of child prostitutes in the United States and the work of one organization -- Children of the Night -- to save them from the streets.
This episode of Historic California...
Episode Number 86 - Original Airdate: June 6, 2014
Hollywood Composer Richard Sherman Inspires with Music
Video Episode
The Sherman brothers, the songwriting team behind such hit Disney films as Mary Poppins, captured the spirit of an optimistic age.
VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports that Richard Sherman has been honored in Hollywood for his work inspiring young people with music.
This episode of Historic California News was or...
Episode Number 85 - Original Airdate: January 27, 2012
Immigrant Restaurateurs Share Dishes of Yucatan State
Special Video Episode
Los Angeles is home to people from many countries who share their culture, and their food, with their neighbors.
Mike O'Sullivan reports on a family with roots in southern Mexico that is preserving and teaching others about their culinary traditions.
This episode of Historic California News was orig...
Episode Number 84 - Original Airdate: April 26, 2012
Los Angeles Sees Improvements 20 Years After Riots
Special Video Episode
Twenty years ago on Sunday (April 29, 1992), parts of Los Angeles, California, erupted in race riots that left 53 people dead and caused more than $1 billion in damage.
Local leaders recently toured the scene of the violence to see how things have changed. VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports that although...
Episode Number 83 - Original Airdate: October 20, 2009
Author Urges Protection for American Wild Horses
Millions of wild horses, known as mustangs, once roamed North America.
Today, just a fraction of that number is left, mostly in the American Southwest.
Author Deanne Stillman, in her new book "Mustang," celebrates wild horses and warns that they are threatened by human activity. Mike O'Sullivan reports.
This episod...
Episode Number 82 - Original Airdate: September 25, 2012
Schwarzenegger is Back as Policy Analyst
Former California governor and one-time action star Arnold Schwarzenegger has embarked on a new career - as a policy analyst.
And as VOA's Mike O'Sullivan reports - Schwarzenegger convened the first forum this week at his new institute at the University of Southern California.
This episode of Historic California News was origi...
Episode Number 81 - Original Airdate: October 22,2009
A California Teacher Helps to Prepare Underprivileged Students for College
Immigrant and minority students in the United States often face obstacles getting into college.
To help them, a California teacher started a program that has expanded to more than 4,000 schools.
VOA's Mike O'Sullivan goes to San Diego, California, to meet Mary Catherine Swanson -- an American ed...
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