California Dreaming
California has one of the largest economies in the world. So what would happen if it broke away from the United States? Could California ever go independent? And if it did, what would that look like?\n\xa0\n\xa0This is a future that\u2019s been on my list for a while, but since the election here in the United States it\u2019s taken a bit of a different tone. California voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, 66 percent of the state cast their votes for her. And as most of you probably know, she did not win. And this is one of the big talking points of many California secessionists. The presidential election is almost alway totally decided before California\u2019s polls even close. So why should California continue to be ruled by a government that it basically doesn\u2019t elect? And, they argue, that doesn\u2019t really have their best interests at heart.\n\xa0\n\xa0To help figure out what this future might be like, I talked to:\n\xa0\n\xa0Peter Laufer, a journalist and the author of a book called The Elusive State of Jefferson.\n\xa0Jon Christensen, a professor at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and the Department of History at UCLA. He\u2019s also the editor of a quarterly magazine about California called Boom.\n\xa0Jay Rooney, the press secretary for the California National Party.\n\xa0Richard Monette, a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin and the director of the Great Lakes Indian Law Center.\n\xa0\n\xa0If you want to learn more about the various California independence movements, here are some links.\n\xa0\n\xa0The California National Party\n\xa0Yes, California Independence Campaign\n\xa0Secession, the American Civil War\n\xa0Calexit? Brexit Buoys California Independence Movement\n\xa0Active separatists movements in North America\n\xa0Republic of Lakotah\n\xa0One in four Americans want their state to secede from the U.S., but why?\n\xa0Americans for Independence, in America\n\xa0\n\xa0Flash Forward is produced by me, Rose Eveleth. The intro music is by Asura and the outtro music is by Hussalonia. Special thanks this week to Sameer Ajmani, Jade Davis, Brent Rose, Jim Basili, Caroline Sinders and Scott Musgrove. The episode art is by Matt Lubchansky.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0If you want to suggest a future we should take on, send us a note on Twitter, Facebook or by email at info@flashforwardpod.com. We love hearing your ideas! And if you think you\u2019ve spotted one of the little references I\u2019ve hidden in the episode, email us there too. If you\u2019re right, I\u2019ll send you something cool.\xa0\n\xa0\n\xa0And if you want to support the show, there are a few ways you can do that too! We have a Patreon page, where you can donate to the show. But if that\u2019s not in the cards for you, you can head to iTunes and leave us a nice review or just tell your friends about us. Those things really do help.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices