Prof. Henri Cole recalled his interview with poet, Louise Glück, who died unexpectedly in October 2023. Glück visited CMC in 2021 and spoke at the Athenaeum shortly after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in an article on a video of an Oakland Council meeting where speakers shared sympathy for Hamas. He said, in reference to the controversy, “The potential for blowback is enormous — even people who are highly critical of Israel would draw the line at expressing any kind of sympathy for Hamas.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in a piece on the various gag orders that prevent Trump from speaking about his trials publicly. He said, “The key for Trump is to portray the prosecutions as a politically motivated witch hunt. That way, his voters would view a conviction not as proof of his guilt, but as a sign of his victimhood. That’s why he keeps repeating the phrases ‘witch hunt’ and ‘election interference.’”

Prof. Jack Pitney was asked about the upcoming debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis. He shared, in regards to DeSantis, “…he is sinking in the polls and needs some way to revive his primary campaign.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in an article comparing Vice President Kamala Harris to Gov. Gavin Newsom and their chances at becoming President. He stated, Harris has “near-universal name identification in the Democratic Party and access to the national media,” and yet “no independent authority.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in an article about the possibility of a Republican winding up in one of the top two Senate seats in California. He said, “…if two of the three (Democrats) fade in the stretch, then a Republican could place second.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in an article that discussed the debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis, hosted by Sean Hannity. Prof. Pitney did not see the debate helping DeSantis since he's so far behind, but says the event has its benefits. He said, “The red model is very different from the blue model, and attentive viewers could learn something about the merits and defects of each.”