Oral history is the purest form of historical work, where the lives and experiences of people—be they noteworthy or common—are recorded and placed into the historical record in their rawest form. Here, history is told through the voices of the participants themselves rather than the interpretive writings of the historian.

Todd’s work in oral history began during his graduate studies at Yale, and has grown experientially since arriving at UC Berkeley’s Oral History Center. Over the years, his list of interviewees has ranged from governors and politicians, to artists, scholars, activists, surfers, and cannabis growers. Moreover, his projects have proven instrumental in documenting the many untold histories of California and the West.