From British Royalty to Bay Area Radical: The Life of Troublemaker Jessica Mitford
Sat Jan 24 2026
Who was the "Queen of the Muckrakers"? In this episode, I sit down with award-winning biographer and cultural historian Carla Kaplan to discuss her latest book, Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. While Mitford was born into British nobility, she found her true home in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We explore how her life in Oakland—where she was affectionately known as the "Queen of the Muckrakers"—became the staging ground for her most famous battles, from taking on the funeral industry to her tireless activism in the local civil rights movement.
We dive into the extraordinary transformation of a British aristocrat into a legendary American investigative journalist and social justice advocate. Kaplan, the Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature at Northeastern University, shares insights from the first comprehensive look at Mitford’s rebellious and impactful life.
#eddrickshow #JessicaMitford #CarlaKaplan #Biography #History #SocialJustice #Journalism #AuthorInterview #Oakland #socialjustice #bayarea
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Who was the "Queen of the Muckrakers"? In this episode, I sit down with award-winning biographer and cultural historian Carla Kaplan to discuss her latest book, Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. While Mitford was born into British nobility, she found her true home in the San Francisco Bay Area. We explore how her life in Oakland—where she was affectionately known as the "Queen of the Muckrakers"—became the staging ground for her most famous battles, from taking on the funeral industry to her tireless activism in the local civil rights movement. We dive into the extraordinary transformation of a British aristocrat into a legendary American investigative journalist and social justice advocate. Kaplan, the Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature at Northeastern University, shares insights from the first comprehensive look at Mitford’s rebellious and impactful life. #eddrickshow #JessicaMitford #CarlaKaplan #Biography #History #SocialJustice #Journalism #AuthorInterview #Oakland #socialjustice #bayarea