From moonshots to counterculture, a restless state keeps reinventing itself.

Meet the voices behind a state shaped by space science, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, surfing, protest, and environmental change. This series reveals how California became a place where bold ideas, social upheaval, and cultural invention collide. Sign up to see how one state helped redefine modern life.

Episode guide

3 episodes

1Test Lab for the World

In mid-century America, pioneering engineers, artists and activists put the Golden State on the edge of a changing world.

52 min

2Of Revolts and Revolutions

Car culture and the birth of Silicon Valley transform the state, while the environmental movement fights to preserve its landscape. The 1984 L.A. Olympics bring the California dream to a new generation around the world.

53 min

3Between Reality and Utopia

Passenger spaceflights, self-driving cars, and Hollywood blockbusters: California can seem like a land of science fiction. But earthquakes, racial injustice and environmental crises show that it is very much the state of our times.

47 min

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