California Documentary Project
Pastures of Plenty:
The History of California Farm Workers
Pataphysical Broadcasting Foundation, Inc.
Santa Cruz
Project Director: Rachael Goodman
A four-part radio series on the history of California’s agricultural workers
This radio documentary series explores the history of California’s agricultural laborers, from the Mission Period through Cesar Chavez’ United Farm Workers to the present day.
“This is not simply a survey of a particular type of laborers,” said radio documentarian Rachel Goodman. “Among other things, the series explores the struggle for racial and economic equity, the individual and collective efforts of farm workers to shape their lives, and the relationship of farm workers to the land, the crops they grow, and the communities they eventually name home.”
Goodman served, most recently, as executive producer of "The Boomtown Chronicles," a CCH-funded radio series about the housing crisis on California’s central coast.
“California’s agriculture workers have played a pivotal role in the state’s economy, culture and community life, yet they remain virtually invisible,” Goodman said. “If we see them at all, it is from a distance, bent over rows of crops or waiting for the bus. Our hope is that the listeners of this series will gain an appreciation of who these people are and why their stories matter to all of us.”