Caregiving Can Be Tough and Isolating. It Can Also Connect Us.

It’s been nearly seven months since the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, killing 30 people and hollowing out a once vibrant community. For many survivors, the fire has impacted their mental health, as many try to navigate rebuilding their homes and their lives. Reporter Steven Cuevas lives in Altadena, and he’s been talking to therapists who are finding ways to support their community at the same time they’re grappling with their own losses.  Later, we dive into the troubling history of a California wine dynasty. Wine aficionados may now look down on white zinfandel, but in the 1980s and ‘90s, it was the most popular wine in the US. The rise in demand for this sweet, pink wine is the backdrop of a wild story covered in a new podcast called Blood Vines. It’s about the largest grape fraud in US history, the powerful family at the center of it, and how betrayal and murder triggered the fall of a California dynasty. The California Report Magazine’s Sasha Khokha talks to investigative journalist Chris Walker – who wrote and produced the podcast – about the scandal, and how it changed the course of winemaking across the country.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Aug 30min

Luis Rodriguez credits reading and writing for keeping him resilient his whole life. He’s best known for his 1993 memoir Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., which chronicles how he joined a gang at age 11, found himself homeless and using heroin, and wound up in the juvenile justice system. He went on to write 17 books of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, and he served as poet laureate of Los Angeles from 2014 to 2017. As part of our series on resilience, host Sasha Khokha sits down with Luis Rodriguez to talk about his life and work, and what advice he has for getting through tumultuous times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Juli 30min

In May, the Golden State Valkyries kicked off their inaugural season. Even though they just started playing games in front of Bay Area fans, the team is said to be valued at $500 million dollars, the most of any franchise in the WNBA. And the team just had their first player named to the All-Star team: Forward Kayla Thornton was named as a reserve. These days the WNBA is on fire with record viewership and attendance. And more sold out games than ever. But that growth has taken nearly 28 years since the league launched in 1997. And while Caitlin Clark has become a household name, we rarely hear about the early players who fought for professional women’s basketball to get respect. Judy Mosley McAfee was one of them. She was the sixth woman drafted into the WNBA. Her daughter, reporter Audy McAfee, brings us this tribute. And we go to San Francisco’s Castro District to visit Maitri Compassionate Care Center. In addition to providing hospice care for people living with AIDS, for the last several years, it’s provided affordable care for those preparing for or recovering from gender affirmation surgery. At a moment when the Trump administration is issuing executive orders to dismantle protections for transgender people, Maitri remains committed to their work. KQED’s Kyana Moghadam takes us inside the center to learn about its legacy, and what it means to provide care in the heart of San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Juli 30min

You can hear elements of hip-hop, R&B and even jazz in Tokimonsta’s intricate drum loops, synths and bass lines. On her latest album, Eternal Reverie, the Grammy-nominated producer found inspiration in a Brazilian record, and created music tinged with the memories of a close friend. For our series on California composers, Reporter Clare Wiley brings us this profile of Tokimonsta and the devastating setback that almost stole her ability to make music. And we visit Oakland's 100-year-old produce market. Summer is peak season for many of California’s fruits and vegetables, but that produce makes a lot of stops on the way to your table. One of those places is the Oakland Produce Market, which supplies small markets, restaurants and other food providers with the freshest foods. You don’t have to work for a grocery store or run a restaurant to shop here, as long as you buy in bulk. For her series, California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse got up in the middle of the night to meet some of the people who keep the Oakland Produce Market humming.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Juli 32min

Summer is the heart of the baseball season. But recently the country’s oldest professional sport has been going through some changes. It’s not just the moves to speed up the pace of play. These days, along with training in the weight room or the bullpen, players are also spending time with their team’s sports psychologist. KQED’s health correspondent April Dembosky goes behind the scenes at the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark to understand how the team keeps an athlete's mind in shape, both on and off the field. And we explore the history of the bacon-wrapped hot dog. Vendors selling the popular street food can be seen outside of most major gathering spots, from baseball games and concerts to tourist attractions like Pier 39. Bay Curious listener Olivia Godfrey wanted to find out the history of these food carts. But as KQED’s Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman found out…it’s complicated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Juli 30min

88-Year-Old Audio Engineer Sandy Stone Survived Transphobic Backlash and Made History Audio engineer Sandy Stone got her start working alongside Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills & Nash. When she joined the California lesbian music label Olivia Records, some feminists wanted to kick her, and all trans women, out of women’s spaces. But Stone went on to become the first openly transgender woman inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. KQED Arts Editor Nastia Voynovskaya brings us this profile of Stone, who became a world-class academic and paved the way for the field of transgender studies.  Cancer Stole Her Voice. Curse Words, Children’s Books and AI Saved It You can hear AI-generated voices when you call into a customer service line, read news articles online, and watch movies. Now some tech companies are starting to use the technology to help people who’ve lost the ability to speak due to ALS or oral cancer.  KQED’s health correspondent April Dembosky has the story of one woman’s journey to find her natural-sounding voice again. 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 lakeside recreation in the summer. One of the attractions? A pirate ship called the Time Bandit. In this story from our Hidden Gems archives, reporter Amanda Font set sail on this historic vessel.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Juni 30min

In California, music and winemaking seem to go together. Visit any of the state’s countless wineries and you can hear all kinds of music, from jazz and folk, to classical and Americana. But one artist on the Central Coast takes that connection especially seriously: he spent years making an album full of sounds from a vineyard. Reporter Benjamin Purper takes us to San Luis Obispo to learn more about a sonic journey through a Central Coast wine harvest. And we'll meet one of California’s most celebrated cheese-makers, Soyoung Scanlan. But years ago, before she’d ever really eaten cheese, Soyoung had another love. Growing up in South Korea, she trained in classical piano. So every cheese she’s made over the last 25 years has a musical name and connection. For her series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse visited the cheesemaker in the hills outside Petaluma. We end today with the story of Ron Peterson, a volunteer guide at the Tijuana River Estuary. After losing his sight, Ron now leads a very unique kind of tour. His story comes to us from KPBS in San Diego, as part of their series about volunteers, people who devote their time in unexpected ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Juni 30min

Meet the Woman Reuniting Eaton Fire Survivors With Lost Treasures The fierce Santa Ana winds that whipped the Palisades and Eaton fires into deadly infernos also spared precious things you’d think would have been the first to burn: old family photos, children’s art work, postcards, even pages of old sheet music. Those things sometimes blew across neighborhoods, and people are still finding them as fire cleanup continues. Reporter Steven Cuevas introduces us to an Altadena resident who has made it her mission to return these fragile paper keepsakes to their owners. Home on the Grange: In Anderson Valley, Hippies, Old-Timers Return to Farming Roots Grange halls have been around for more than 150 years, and today there are more than100 of these meeting places in California alone. The Grange began as a fraternal organization for farmers. Even though farming and Grange membership are down to a fraction of what they were decades ago, many rural towns still rely on Grange halls as community centers. For her series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse visits the Anderson Valley Grange, where many residents credit this place for bringing together groups of people that were once divided. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Juni 30min