How a Group of Surfers Helped Save Malibu from Wildfire; Redwoods Struggling

Harvey Shields has worked with some of the Bay Area’s best professional athletes. But since the pandemic hit, Shields has switched gears, and started helping COVID 'long-haulers' recover from their symptoms. Plus, Katherine Kim runs an oral history workshop at the Koreatown Youth and Community Center. Four of the women killed in the Atlanta-area shootings were Korean. That has sparked an intergenerational dialogue with the high school students in Katherine's workshop about how to navigate life as Korean-American women in a climate where there's already so much uncertainty. She brings us a personal commentary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Maalis 202129min

Marlene Baker lives in Siskiyou County. It’s vast and remote: 6,000 square miles home to just shy of 44,000 people. Marlene has lived with mental illness for years, and that kept her on the streets for a very long time. She racked up minor arrests, cycling through jail and back onto the streets. A similar crisis plays out across California, but rural areas face specific and profound challenges. In Marlene’s case, though, something big happened: A whole bunch of people teamed up to make sure she could heal right there in the community – without getting shipped off to a state mental hospital hundreds of miles away. And, it turns out, her success has helped bring about some bold changes in the way Siskiyou County is confronting its mental health crisis. Reporter Lee Romney has been following Marlene’s story since 2019. She checked in on her recently, and brings us this excerpt from a podcast-in-production she produced with Jenny Johnson called “November In My Soul.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Maalis 202129min

In the spring of 2018, former President Donald Trump's first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, stood near the border wall in San Diego and made an announcement that would have a devastating and lasting impact. The result was thousands of children being taken away from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and isolated from them for months or years. Most have been reunited, but hundreds of children are still separated, their parents deported without them. KQED Immigration reporter Michelle Wiley brings us the story of one woman who has been traveling to rural Central American towns, sometimes on foot, to try and find some of the parents who are still missing their children. Plus, what can the Biden Administration's new task force do to remedy the enduring harm those separations have caused? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Maalis 202129min

The debate rages on about when California schools should bring students back to campuses after nearly a year since schools shut down in-person classes. Distance learning is taking a toll on students and parents. It’s also taking a toll on teachers, especially those with their own kids at home. KQED’s Vanessa Rancaño asked one Oakland teacher to keep an audio diary for a day, documenting her every move. Plus, California public health officials have given the green light for school sports to start up again. Finally, medical experts and politicians have pointed to the Tuskegee study as a reason why Black Americans have reservations about the coronavirus vaccine. But as KQED's April Dembosky found, in most cases, Tuskegee is a scapegoat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Maalis 202129min

Adamu Chan and Edmond Richardson met while they were incarcerated at San Quentin about two years ago, and have been best friends ever since. Adamu was released last fall, and they’ve kept in touch by writing letters to each other. We’ll hear part of an episode Adamu helped produce for the KALW Public Media podcast, “Uncuffed.” Then, we mark the loss of literary giant Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died on February 22nd at the age of 101. Poet, activist, and publisher of many Beat poets of the 1950s and 60s, Ferlinghetti was considered by many to be the soul of San Francisco’s counterculture movement. The Kitchen Sisters, Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, bring us an audio documentary they produced in honor of Ferlinghetti’s 99th birthday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Helmi 202130min

In recent weeks, racist attacks against Asian-Americans around the state have intensified. We begin the show with the voices of people speaking out against the violence, and calling for solidarity between communities of color. The anti-Asian violence we’re seeing today evokes a painful time in history for Japanese-Americans. February 19th marks the anniversary of President Roosevelt’s executive order that forced some 120,000 people into incarceration camps during World War II. As part of the Yonsei Memory Project's collaboration with StoryCorps, we’re bringing you conversations that reflect on that time and on its legacy across generations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Helmi 202130min

Remember live music? We figure we could all use a little joy right now, so as we continue The California Report’s 25th birthday celebration, we’re sharing some of our favorite music stories from over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Helmi 202129min

Some garment workers in LA spend their days sewing masks and gowns for first responders. But many aren’t getting tested for COVID, much less going to the hospital if they get sick. Plus, we’ve brought you so many stories about struggling with the loss of hope, and how much work there’s left to do to really reckon with America’s racist history. But this week having a conversation with someone who creates art from a deep sense of hope, and whose work also focuses on Black joy. Cauleen Smith is an artist and filmmaker who still believes we all have the means to create utopia in our everyday lives. Her immersive installations are currently on display at SFMOMA and LACMA.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Helmi 202130min