A Tiny Plot: New Podcast Follows an Unhoused Community in Oakland Fighting for Self-Determination

How the Black Panthers Helped Shape U.S. Schools Back in the 1960s, people were challenging the status quo in a lot of ways, including how schools should be run. At the same time, the Black Power movement was gaining traction, when the Black Panther Party formed in Oakland in 1966. The FBI considered them dangerous becuase of their belief in  Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense against police brutality. But the Black Panthers also changed schools in ways we can still see today. This week, we’re bringing you an episode from our friends at KQED’s Mindshift podcast about how one high school in Oakland is still continuing the legacy of community schools.   Taiko is Helping Keep Japanese American Culture Alive in the Central Valley The Central Valley town of Ballico sits in the middle of acres of almond orchards. It’s the kind of place you might miss as you’re driving past. But it’s got a rich history: some of the first farmers who settled here came from Japan. And these days, while the folks who live here come from many backgrounds, if you visit the local school, you can still hear the influence of Japanese American culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Aug 202430min

Oakland Composer and Harpist Destiny Muhammad Has Always Charted Her Own Path Sitting on stage with her harp resting in her lap, Destiny Muhammad repeats this mantra: “Excellence, Beauty, and Success.” It’s part mic-check and part pump-up. When she first started learning to play the harp, the Oakland-based composer and musician used to suffer from stage fright. Now, more than 30 years later, she commands the stage with a presence fit for a woman who calls herself the “sound sculptress.” As part of our series on California composers, KQED’s Bianca Taylor brings us her story. The Pesky (But Lovable) Pine Native to the Northern CA Coast California is home to a lot of iconic trees, including giant sequoias, windswept Monterey cypresses, and Joshua trees. The bishop pine doesn’t have that kind of celebrity status. But if you live on the Point Reyes Peninsula in west Marin County you’re all too familiar with it. These indigenous trees are so well-suited to growing here, that to locals they’re notorious pests, not because of how easily they grow, but because of how they die. The California Report’s intern Lusen Mendel takes us to Tomales Bay State Park to meet someone who’s made it his mission to deal with the pesky and strangely loveable, pines. Meeting Monarch the Grizzly Bear If you spend much time in the Sierra, you’ve probably been warned to look out for black bears. But there’s another kind of bear that once roamed our state, one that’s got a much bigger – and fiercer – reputation: the California grizzly. It's been 100 years since the extinction of the grizzly, but you can see one of the last of its kind, a bear named Monarch, up close at a new exhibit at San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences. Host Sasha Khokha paid a visit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Aug 202430min

Nine months into Satsuki Ina’s parents’ marriage, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Their life was totally upended when, along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans, they were sent to incarceration camps. After unsuccessfully fighting for their civil rights to be restored, they renounced their American citizenship. That meant the US government branded them as “enemy aliens.” Ina was born in a prison camp at Tule Lake, but didn’t know much about that difficult chapter in her parents’ life. Then she discovered a trove of letters that they sent to each other while they were separated in different camps. Now, at close to 80 years old, Ina – who spent most of her career as a trauma therapist — is publishing a memoir about how her parents’ relationship survived prison camps, resistance and separation. Using letters, diary entries, haikus written by her father, and photographs, The Poet and the Silk Girl is a rare first-person account of a generation-altering period in Japanese American history. Sasha Khokha sat down with Satsuki Ina to learn more about her parents’ story and how it shaped the course of Ina’s own life. This episode first aired in March 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Aug 202430min

On a recent afternoon, a group of mechanics gathered at a lowrider show. This isn't Los Angeles – a city where lowrider culture has deep roots – it's more than a 1,000 miles away in Mexico City. For decades, Mexican immigrants have headed north and shaped the culture of California’s cities. But now, a growing number of their children and grandchildren are leaving California and moving to Mexico. Reporter Levi Bridges met up with some of them in Mexico City to learn why they made the move. Plus, in the Central Valley, you often see signs from the California Farm Water Coalition that say “Food grows where water flows." The system of canals and reservoirs that feeds farmland there is one of the biggest in the world. But irrigation canals are also places where people dump unwanted objects, like toilets, furniture or shopping carts. It's Big Valley Divers job to clean and maintain the canals and the dams that feeds farmland, For her series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse spent a day in Colusa County with Big Valley Divers  to learn all about the unusual job that keeps the water flowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Aug 202430min

Some composers picture colors or abstract shapes when they’re working on a new piece. Derrick Skye thinks about space. His fascination with the cosmos is threaded throughout his compositions, including the latest in his series "Prisms, Cycles, Leaps." For our series on California composers. reporter Clare Wiley sat down with the Los Angeles-based Skye to hear how he brings his otherworldly ideas to life and how living in multicultural LA has influenced him.   Plus, we go to the oldest 100-mile ultramarathon in the world: The Western States Endurance Run. This grueling race starts near Lake Tahoe and winds along old mining trails in the Sierra, drops into the canyons of the American River, and finishes outside Sacramento. Thousands of people are on the waitlist to attempt it, but just a fraction make it to the starting line. The runners who do compete are overwhelmingly white, even though the race is trying to include more BIPOC athletes. KQED’s Mark Nieto got to watch this year’s race at the end of June and he followed one competitor who’s inspiring other runners of color.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Aug 202430min

With the presidential race now in uncharted territory, Kamala Harris’ candidacy is putting her under a microscope. Not just her political career but everything about her background, including her mixed race heritage.  Last year, we brought you a series inspired in part by Kamala Harris’s visibility as a mixed race person when she became Vice President. Mixed! Stories of Mixed Race Californians explored both the complexity, and the joy of growing up multiracial. And California is the place to tell these stories from because the state is home to one of the largest multi-racial populations in the U.S,  This week, we’re bringing back the first episode from that series, which features the voices and stories of listeners from across the state.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Juli 202430min

Caregivers don’t get a lot of recognition despite doing hard and essential work. This week, stories about caregiving at all phases of life and how hard it can be for some families to provide that care themselves or even find professional help. Systemic Neglect: How Staffing Shortages In Nursing Homes Leave Patients Trapped in Hospitals When taking care of a loved one becomes too hard, families often look to nursing homes for help. But finding long term care in California s not easy right now. The industry took a big hit during the pandemic and many facilities are still recovering from staffing shortages. Some patients with complex diagnoses are waiting weeks, months and even years for a bed. KQED health correspondent Lesley McClurg has the story of one man in the Bay Area who has tried everything to find care for his wife. A Caregiving Son and a Mom with Alzheimer's Find a Musical Connection What happens when the parent-child role is reversed? In caregiving, this kind of role reversal is common. And it’s what happened to Rob Fordyce. After his 85-year-old mom, Susan, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease two years ago, Rob moved back into his childhood home to take care of her. And despite Susan’s advancing disease, Rob found a surprising way for the two of them to connect, through music. Cayla Mihalovich has their story. How An LA Child Care Influencer Became A Resource For Providers Across The Country Child care happens in a lot of different settings: a school, or a center, or a church. What you may not know is that more than a quarter of California’s child care facilities are actually in private homes. And for those providers, it can be a real challenge to juggle caregiving with running a small business. Tonya Mohammad knows this firsthand and understands the myriad of issues that child care providers face. So she's built a following via social media by sharing her three decades of experience taking care of infants and toddlers in Los Angeles. LAist's Mariana Dale brings us her story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Juli 202430min

On this week's show: For the past 13 years, DJ Ramzi has been sharing his deep knowledge and passion for Arabic music with listeners all over the world through his radio show and podcast, “Arabology.” But Ramzi Salti is not just a deejay, he's also an advanced lecturer in the Arabic program at Stanford University. His goal is to expose people to the wide variety of Arabic music, and along the way, push back against the stereotypes and demonization of Arabs and Arab-Americans. KQED’s culture reporter Ariana Proehl visited him at Stanford and brings us this story. And we meet musician Hana Vu. She just released her second album and started a North American tour that will end in her hometown of Los Angeles in August. Critics have called her an “an indie-pop prodigy” who’s “old beyond her years.” That’s because the prolific musician, who started recording and playing shows in her teens, is just 24. Guest host Bianca Taylor talked with Hana Vu about her new album “Romanticism,” and why she chose touring over music school. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juli 202430min