Oscar Gomez: The Forgotten Revolutionary

Our lives are full of routines. From the time we get up, to what we eat for breakfast, to the modes of transportation we take from place to place. But do we really know the stories behind the buildings we pass by and the people who live or work in them? One reporter gives us an inside look into four different businesses on one Berkeley block. Then we go to East Oakland to meet 10-year-old Hemer as she starts sixth grade at a new school. The pandemic contributed to increases in depression and anxiety for many young people, and some students are still struggling. In this story, we learn how California is investing new dollars in an effort to address their mental health needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Aug 202231min

This week, we’re heading to the high desert town of Susanville, to sample some of the most gourmet food you can find in Lassen County… in a community college cafeteria. We meet the Palauan chef who’s finding a way to bring a taste of home to a community that in some ways, isn’t so different from his Pacific island homeland. Then we’ll visit the foggy coastal city of Pacifica, to learn about a little-known WW2 incarceration camp for Japanese-Americans. And how one man’s diaries leave us vivid clues about what life was like there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Aug 202231min

Today, it’s an unassuming beige building on a busy Berkeley street. But in the 1970s, the Rainbow Sign was a groundbreaking center for Black culture, politics, and art. It hosted dozens of high-profile Black thought leaders and performers, including James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, and Shirley Chisholm. The Rainbow Sign was open to all – as a performance venue, political organizing space, and cafe. It lasted just a few short years, from 1971-1977. But it left profound mark on the young people who attended concerts and performances there, including Vice President Kamala Harris. This episode first aired on January 7, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Aug 202230min

In 2021, we brought you a story from reporter Kori Suzuki about Dahbia Benakli. She was a preschool teacher who lived in Walnut Creek, a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area. She and her two kids were facing eviction from their apartment. That story ended in an uncertain place, with Dahbia waiting to find out whether or not she’d get to keep her apartment. In December, her landlord took them to court for refusing to leave their home. Across California, the number of evictions is rising. As public health restrictions around COVID have lifted, emergency housing protections like a statewide ban on evictions are also disappearing. And without them, more and more people are getting kicked out of their homes. In an update to the story, Kori Suzuki tells us about what happened to Dahbia and her family. This story is about what this moment is like for a lot of renters right now - and the options you might have if you find an eviction notice on your doorstep.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Juli 202230min

How to Save the World: Audio Diaries from a High School Climate Activist Survey after survey shows people who are Gen-Z – born between 1996 and 2012 – consider climate change to be the biggest challenge we’re facing. KCRW’s Caleigh Wells followed one teen climate leader in Los Angeles, Paola Hoffman, for months. She collected audio diaries and captured her speeches at climate strikes, her testimony before the state legislature, and her high school graduation…all while Paola carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. An Investigative Reporter Digs into His Own High School Journalism Teacher’s Troubling Behavior We've brought you several stories about high school students across California who've been speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse from their peers as part of the #MeToo movement. But there's also a disturbing pattern of cases emerging in which teachers are being accused of harassing and grooming high school students, especially girls. Host Sasha Khokha talks about this trend with Matt Drange, a Senior Correspondent at Business Insider. For a recent story, he went back to his own high school in Rosemead in the San Gabriel Valley. His article is titled “He Was My High School Journalism Teacher. Then I Investigated His Relationship With Teenage Girls.” Hidden Gems: The Pirate Ship on Big Bear Lake Set in the San Bernardino Mountains, Big Bear Lake is a popular tourist destination for Southern California families looking for snow in the winter, and lakeside recreation in the summer –swimming, fishing, and of course boating. For our Hidden Gems series, reporter Amanda Font set sail on a historic vessel that celebrates pirates and pop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Juli 202230min

The Ojai Valley’s climate has been ideal for growing certain tree crops. But climate change is making it windier, drier, and hotter there. As Lisa Morehouse tells us, none of that is good for farming. And neither is Ojai’s rising cost of real estate. And this summer, incarcerated youth will help fight California's wildfires. These young men are hacking containment lines with hand tools. It's part of a program within the juvenile justice system meant to provide job training. But as KQED's health correspondent Lesley McClurg explains, it's been all but impossible to find firefighting jobs once they're released. Plus, you can find boba shops all over California. Some stick to the original tea with tapioca balls. Others expand their menus with smoothies, slushes, and coffee. So to start a boba business that stands out takes some creativity. For our series Hidden Gems, Amy Mayer found a surprising specialty at San Bruno's Kiss My Boba. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Juli 202230min

California is full of incredible, unique places. Even for those of us who have lived here all our lives, there are unusual, off-the-beaten-path spots we’ve never even heard of. The California Report Magazine has been exploring some of those places as part of our Hidden Gems series. In 2017, Sasha Khokha hosted this Hidden Gems show from a zipline in Sonoma County, with help from producer Suzie Racho. They soared above the redwoods – with their microphones, headphones and tape recorders. And we're happy to report that all of the places we visited back then, from Nancy's Airport Cafe in Willows to L.A.'s Donut Man, are still around and open to the public.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Juli 202229min