Stargazing in L.A., Celebrating Las Posadas, and Remembering the King of Mariachi

A lot of stories about people who are blind are sensational. They focus on the trauma of losing sight or the triumph of overcoming adversity. But what about the rich ways people who are blind experience the world every day? This week we’re going to explore that beauty in an episode from 2019, when we teamed up with the podcast the World According to Sound.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Juli 202129min

Fifty years ago, an unlikely musical group evolved out of the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party. The band’s mission was to spread the seed of social revolution, and their militant agenda would put them up against the intertwined forces of white supremacy and racist police. Reporter Peter Gilstrap brings us a documentary about the rise and fall of The Lumpen. More: A Trojan Horse of Funk and Soul: The Story of the Black Panthers House Band Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Juli 202129min

More than 60 percent of Latinos in some Central Valley counties are still not vaccinated. The numbers are even more dramatic for younger folks, especially teens and those in their 20s -- and for indigenous farmworkers. Now former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, along with famed Ranchera singer Carmencristina Moreno and other musical groups, are trying to get the word out through original songs, radio dramas, and poems in Spanish, English, and Mixteco.  Plus, as part of our series remembering Californians who've died from the Coronavirus, we hear from the family of Tony Escobar. Tony, who immigrated to San Francisco from Nicaragua, was 68 years old. For them, it was heartbreaking to see Tony -- a star athlete from Mission High School, salesman and all-around family man -- forced to stop moving. And did you know there are fewer birds now than there were 50 years ago? For her series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse visits farms in Napa and near Watsonville to learn how farmers can help these birds, and some new research that shows how those birds are helping farmers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Juli 202129min

For this Pride month, we reprise our 2019 episode looking back at the early days of the queer rights movement, exploring the impact of that activism on young people today, and hear about a place that’s become a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community in rural California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Juni 202130min

For thousands of years before contact with Europeans, the Karuk people, like many others, tended their land with fire. The Karuk tribe is one of the largest in California, spanning parts of Humboldt and Siskiyou counties along the Klamath River. When the federal government took over managing the forest, it stripped the Karuk people of their relationship with fire, and that has had profound effects. These days, the forest is overgrown, and thick with dry brush. Last fall, the massive Slater Fire decimated cultural sites and homes. KQED Science reporter Danielle Venton looks at the relationship between the Karuk and cultural burning, and their negotiations with the state of California to get that control back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Juni 202129min

For some Asian women who were on the fence about buying guns for protection, the racist violence of the past year pushed them over the edge. Reporter Christine Nguyen tells us about two women from Southern California who are learning to shoot guns, and navigating the stigma around gun ownership within their families. Plus, in Oakland, Maribel Villanueva died from COVID-19 at age 46. She was a single mom and left behind a 10-year-old son, David. Now his aunt and his teacher are trying to fill her shoes. And a Southern California school has been selected to become one of the first Space Force JROTC units in the country, and the only one in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Juni 202129min

When most schools across California shut down last year, teenagers were stuck at home. For some, that meant months alone to reflect on experiences of trauma in high school. But they didn’t all keep that pain to themselves. Instead, hundreds of young people turned to social media to share their stories. Plus, an update on the story of Luna Guzmán, a young transgender woman from Guatemala. She lived through years of brutal abuse and discrimination in her hometown, and dreamed of seeking asylum in California. Now she's finally getting her chance, not in California, but New York. And, we’ve been bringing you tributes to Californians we’ve lost to COVID-19. This week, we hear from Vince Crisostomo, whose father Francisco died from COVID the day before his 87th birthday.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Juni 202129min

This week we bring you an excerpt from a new investigative reporting podcast produced by KQED and NPR. After a new state law unsealed dozens of internal affairs files, reporters began examining cases of police misconduct and serious use of force. The first case involves Katheryn Jenks, who called 911 for help from her home in the small Northern California town of Rio Vista in 2018. But after the police arrived, she was bitten by a police K-9 and wound up inside a jail cell, facing serious charges. We hear part of Jenks’ story, and a preview of upcoming episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Maj 202129min