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Past Forward

pastforward.org
Japanese American Incarceration
Wildfires
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
First Amendment
Tule Lake
Protests
Watch Duty
Japanese American National Museum
Soil Health
Climate Change
City Lights Bookstore
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Loyalty Questionnaire
Amnesty International
Hold Our Ground
La Venezuela De Mi Corazon
Constructivism
Plumas County, United States
Literature

Past Forward is a Webby Award‑winning public podcast service and national bookstore committed to educational accessibility through creative and cultural opportunities. Document today, with context from our past, and learn moving forward.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes560Founded8 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EducationSociety & Culture

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Artwork for Past Forward

Latest Episodes

Dr. Gioia Woods earned her Ph.D. in English with an emphasis in American and Environmental Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She is a Professor of Humanities in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies where she teaches cl... more

Dr. Gioia Woods earned her Ph.D. in English with an emphasis in American and Environmental Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She is a Professor of Humanities in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies where she teaches cl... more

This is an introduction to Season Five of Chapters. In this episode we document the year 2025, with context from our past, and we learn moving forward. Our goal with this new series is to explore the word incarceration as it relates to the experience... more

When we started this project in August of 2024 we were focused on the fact that 18 out of the 20 most destructive fires in California’s history have happened in the last 25 years, and 15 of them in the last 10 years. Everything changed when we starte... more

Martin Puchner is the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, where he also serves as the founding director of the Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research. Puchner completed his BA at the ... more

Heidi Beirich is the Co-Founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.  Beirich is also an Advisory Board Member of the Network for Hate Studies based out of the University of Ontario In... more

A Macondo fellow, Margaret Elysia Garcia is the author of the poetry collections Iconistas! (Lit Kit Collective, 2025), the daughterland poems (El Martillo Press, 2023), and Burn Scars, (Lit Kit Collective, 2022). She is the author of the short story... more

Kristi Lippire is a Los Angeles–based sculptor and professor whose work investigates the intersections of material culture, urban infrastructure, and visual theory. A specialist in color theory, she conducts long-form research into the social, histor... more

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Recent Guests

Gioia Woods
Author and scholar discussing Ferlinghetti, City Lights, and the Beat-era publishing world
University of Nevada Press / City Lights Bookstore
Episode: Dr. Gioia Woods
Donald Tamaki
Lead counsel involved in Korematsu litigation and Coram Nobis work
Kuremaki Tamaki & Associates (law firm)
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
Peggy Nagae
Lead counsel for Min Yasui's Coram Nobis case
Law firm/Abbreviated for episode
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
Dale Minami
Lead counsel for Fred Korematsu's Coram Nobis case
Dale Minami Law
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
Teresa Watanabe
Journalist (Los Angeles Times) referenced for historical coverage
Los Angeles Times
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
Kirn Kim
Former incarcerated individual with prison experience
Chapters program participant
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
Tamiko Nimura's relative
Talked about in context of project (family connection)
Family
Episode: Chapters: Season Five Introduction
John Vaillant
Author of Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World
Penguin Random House
Episode: The Fire Problem: Season One Introduction
Martin Puchner
Author of Literature for a Changing Planet, scholar and literary critic
Harvard University / author of Literature for a Changing Planet
Episode: Martin Puchner

Host

Jon-Barrett Ingels
Host of the Chapters podcast series, guiding the interview

Top Education Podcasts

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Jaime L. Jacobsen
Q: Let's start by talking about how you found yourself in this world of documentary filmmaking. What drew you to this path?
I wanted to tell stories that combine art, science, and real people. I grew up loving both art and science, and I was encouraged by mentors, especially my family, to pursue storytelling that could engage the public on pressing issues like soil health and climate change.
Martin Puchner
Q: What role do accidents, like the burning of Pompeii or the preservation of Gilgamesh, play in shaping which texts survive to inform our climate understanding?
Accidents and material conditions determine which works endure; these serendipitous preservations create a palimpsest of human-planet interactions that thinkers can study to understand long-term patterns in culture and environmental change.
Martin Puchner
Q: If all that was left of humanity was literature, would there still be a clear understanding of human nature and our relationship to the planet?
Yes, because literature preserves lived experiences and relationships to place, resources, and technology, allowing future readers to infer how people navigated ecological pressures even when scientific records are absent.
Martin Puchner
Q: So, Martin, let's start with the inspiration and the journey of writing literature for a changing planet. How did ecology find its way into the path of a philosopher and literary critic?
Ecology arrived through recognizing that literature is not just about humans in isolation but about our entanglement with the environment; by reading world literature across ages and contexts, you see how societies imagine and respond to ecological realities, revealing long histories of environmental thought that predate formal climate science.
Tamiko Nimura
Q: When did the word incarceration become the preferred term for describing the Japanese American experience, and why does that distinction matter to you?
Nimura discusses adopting incarceration around 2010 after engaging with Tule Lake Committee and historians, noting that the term links camp experiences to broader forms of incarceration and supports a more accurate, justice-oriented narrative.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Past Forward

What is Past Forward about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show tackles history, civil liberties, and how institutions remember and respond to past injustices, often through a lens of law, journalism, and public policy. Episodes frequently center on landmark civil rights cases, the memory-work of museums and communities, and current debates about due process, protest rights, and government overreach. A notable throughline is translating difficult histories—ranging from Japanese American incarceration to wartime dissent—into contemporary conversations about democracy, accountability, and how societies rebuild after trauma. The program frequently features legal scholars, journalists, activists, and historians who bring insider perspectives on justice, memory, and advocacy, making it a strong fit... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Past Forward?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Past Forward:

1. The LRB Podcast
2. The Interview
3. Marketplace
4. The Bulwark Podcast
5. Past Present Future

How many episodes of Past Forward are there?

Past Forward launched 8 years ago and published 560 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Past Forward?

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What guests have appeared on Past Forward?

Recent guests on Past Forward include:

1. Gioia Woods
2. Donald Tamaki
3. Peggy Nagae
4. Dale Minami
5. Teresa Watanabe
6. Kirn Kim
7. Tamiko Nimura's relative
8. John Vaillant

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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