All-Female Mariachi Band Shatters Stereotypes

Bridging the Political Divide, One Dinner at a Time Many of us are taught not to talk politics at the dinner table -- especially if your guests fall on different sides of the political spectrum. But as Bianca Taylor tells us, a new movement called ‘Make America Dinner Again’ breaks this rule, in a big way. It's the latest installment in our series "Start the Conversation.” 2 Years After Destructive Valley Fire, Lake County Rebuilds and Readjusts Between earthquakes, fires and hurricanes, a lot of us have been thinking about what's important to us, what we'd fight to keep if we faced a natural disaster. Those questions aren't theoretical to people in Lake County who survived a massive wildfire two years ago. When the smoke cleared, the fire had burned up 70,000 acres, destroyed 1,280 homes and killed four people. KQED reporter Sukey Lewis grew up in Lake County, and she went back to check in on how some of her friends are recovering. War Is Not a Game: An 'Air Force Brat' On Growing Up with the Consequences of Vietnam We've been bringing you stories of Californians whose lives have been impacted by the Vietnam War. We reached out to you, our listeners, and many of you responded with your memories. We hear from Sacramento resident Angela Shortt, whose father served in the U.S. Air Force during the war. She was eight years old when her family was sent to live on a military base in the Philippines in 1966. A Surfer Reflects on Life’s Waves So, what does an 83-year-old woman who surfs the cold waters of San Francisco's Ocean Beach have in common with a Buddhist monk hiking through the Himalayas? They're both people author Jaimal Yogis encounters as he scours the planet looking for the secrets to internal happiness, in his new book "All Our Waves Are Water." Yogis is a Bay Area surfer, journalist and meditation teacher. He joins us to talk about his book, which chronicles his quest for the perfect wave, and for an internal life that can weather storms, lulls, and thrilling rides. Meet the Heartbeat of the Oakland A’s At every home game, some of the Oakland A's most diehard baseball fans bang out beats -- different ones for each player, and each action on the field. You can find this informal drum corps in Section 149 in the bleachers of the Oakland Coliseum. They got their start nearly two decades ago, and they’re likely to remain a fixture at A’s home games. The team just announced its intention to build a downtown ballpark and remain rooted in Oakland. Tena Rubio spent a home game with some long-time drummers: Bryanne Aler-Nigas, Will MacNeil, Andy Cho, and The California Report’s own Nina Thorsen, who drums for the A’s when she’s not making radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Sep 201731min

For Isolated Trinity County Residents, One Man Is Their Food Lifeline Trinity County is one of those places that doesn’t get in the news too often, unless it’s wildfire season like it is now. It’s a remote, rural part of northern California that can be breathtakingly beautiful. And it’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal will come from. For the series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse brings us this profile of one man who helps feed them. Photographic Portraits Bring You Face to Face With the Vietnam War It’s been more than 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War. And a lot of the people who fought, died and escaped from that conflict are coming to the end of their years. As KQED’s Rachael Myrow tells us, a Bay Area photographer is striving to give them the dignity and honor they’ve earned and a chance to feel remembered. Monterey Jazz Festival, at 60, Honors Past and Celebrates New Talent This weekend, the Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates its Diamond Anniversary. It’s Sixty! The California Report’s Suzie Racho and our jazz critic Andrew Gilbert give us a preview. Latino Artists Tap Into Science Fiction to Imagine ‘Alternate Worlds’ ‘Mundos Alternos,’ a massive new exhibit at UC Riverside’s Culver Center for the Arts, features more than 30 artists from across the Spanish speaking world taking on immigration, trade, colonialism and other cross-border issues through the lens of science fiction. The California Report’s Steven Cuevas went to check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 201731min

Oakland Residents Say Tent Encampments Threatening Neighborhoods In many California cities, homelessness has reached a boiling point. There's not enough housing or space. And tent encampments are cropping up in neighborhoods where they’re not always welcome. That's happening big time in Oakland, where complaints about homelessness have increased more than 700 percent over the last six years. KQED’s Devin Katayama has been spending time with neighbors who have totally different perspectives on the issue. Gentrification and Climate Change Meet at ‘The North Pole’ Can you make gentrification and climate change funny? Those two very serious topics come together in the comedy web series, "The North Pole." The show revolves around a homegrown trio of best friends: Nina, Marcus and Benny, who find themselves an endangered species in a rapidly gentrifying city. The California Report's Sasha Khokha talks to Josh Healey, writer and producer of The North Pole, which premieres online September 12. 'Playing With Fire' Retrospective Pays Tribute to Artist Carlos Almaraz Some call Mexican-born painter and muralist Carlos Almaraz the John Coltrane of Chicano art. Like Coltrane, his life was cut short before he was able to reach his full potential. He died when he was 48. Now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is showcasing the first comprehensive retrospective of his work in decades. But as Steven Cuevas tells us, Almaraz’s story begins worlds away from the galleries of major museums, in the streets of L.A.’s barrios. An Undocumented Immigration Attorney Reacts to End of DACA California is home to more DACA recipients than any other state, and they're still absorbing news this week that President Trump plans to phase out the program that’s given them temporary protection from deportation. We wanted to check back in with a "dreamer" we introduced you to last year, when she became the first undocumented PhD to graduate from UC Merced. She came here as a child from Mexico and worked her way through school picking watermelons, cleaning hotels, and selling produce at flea markets. We talked to her from Chicago, where she’s doing post-doctoral research. Dulce Garcia is an immigration attorney in San Diego and like many of her clients, her future is also uncertain because of her immigration status. In an interview with KPBS’s Marissa Cabrera, she says DACA changed her life and that she’s not going back in the shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Sep 201731min

At the California Museum’s New ‘Unity Center,’ Conversations Trump Confrontations This week the California Museum in Sacramento is celebrating a new exhibit called the Unity Center, and it’s opening the same weekend far-right rallies in Northern California are expected to draw white nationalists. That’s an eerie coincidence, because the idea for the center began nearly 20 years ago when Sacramento was reeling from a string of hate crimes linked to white supremacists. Host Sasha Khokha checked out the exhibit. Abandoned Bikes Get New Life After Burning Man Festival It’s that time of year again: Burning Man. The festival began in the ‘80s on a beach in San Francisco. But now, people gather in a desert outside Reno, Nevada. Thousands of “burners” will travel there from all over the world, and many will be bringing along bicycles. After it’s over, most of the festival’s structures and artworks will be ritually burned or packed up and taken away. But that’s not always true of the bikes. Kerry Klein at Valley Public Radio has this story about how some Burning Man bikes end up almost 400 miles away, at a Central Valley middle school. Family Ties Bind New Albums from Douyé and The Sons of the Soul Revivers Each month, The California Report's Suzie Racho and our jazz critic Andrew Gilbert get together to talk new releases. They’re here on this week’s show with a couple of albums with strong family ties: Los Angeles singer Douyé’s ‘Daddy Said So’ and ‘Live at Rancho Nicasio’ from The Sons of The Soul Revivers. The Family Biz: San Jose’s Kitazawa Seed Company This week we continue our occasional series, Family Biz, about small, family-owned companies in California. The Kitazawa Seed company was founded 100 years ago in San Jose by a Japanese immigrant who sold vegetable seeds to other Japanese Americans hungry for the tastes of home. The business almost went under several times. During World War II, the Kitazawas were locked up in an internment camp. Decades later, the company was saved yet again -- by a different Japanese-American family. But the two families never really talked about what this company represents. That’s what drove Maya Shiroyama, a 61-year-old from Oakland, to finally visit Tom Kitazawa, the last surviving son of the company’s founder. Reporter Alyssa Jeong Perry was there for that meeting, and brings us this story about a historic company that defied the odds. Pinning Down One Man’s Button Obsession We’re going to end our show with a treasure hunt. It’s not gold we’re looking for, but rather a button. The kind that say stuff like “Vote for Kennedy” or “I Love California.” While most people don’t give these things a second thought, The California Report’s Ryan Levi introduces us to a man who’s spent the last 50 years seeking out this treasure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Aug 201731min