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Ever wonder who keeps local voices on the air when big media moves on and broadband eats cable? We sit down with Access Humboldt’s executive director, Christina Jeffers, to explore how a PEG station—public, education, and government—safeguards free speech, broadcasts full civic meetings without edits, and gives anyone in the community the tools to make radio and TV. Christina’s story is a ride: theater and stunt acting in Los Angeles, a decade in an ER, bold creative development in Sacramento, and now leading a small but mighty team that treats transparency and storytelling as public goods.

We dig into what Access Humboldt actually does—five cable channels, a low-power FM station, and a programming approach that elevates citizen creators alongside government coverage—and why it matters more as algorithms shrink attention spans and national outlets chase hot takes. Christina explains the money puzzle: franchise fees were designed to compensate the public when cable used shared rights-of-way, but as telecoms shifted services to “broadband,” funding eroded. The stakes are concrete: fewer resources for distance learning, fewer hands to staff meetings, and fewer doors for new creators to walk through. And yet, the solution is close to home—local support, smarter partnerships, and programs like Boltfest, a year-round short film incubator that takes ten-page scripts to a real red carpet.

Along the way, we talk identity, belonging, and why self-expression fights isolation. Christina’s Burning Man stories aren’t about shock; they’re about permission and generosity—the same spirit she brings to Access Humboldt. If you care about open government, rural education access, or seeing your neighbors on screen instead of in the comments, this conversation will give you a map and a reason to act.

Subscribe, share with a friend who loves local media, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Want to keep community media alive? Donate, volunteer, or pitch a show idea—then tell us what you’d make first.

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About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

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What if the safest street is also the one that moves the most people with the least stress? That’s the question we chase with CRTP’s executive director, Colin Fiske , as we unpack how Humboldt can move beyond car-only thinking and build streets that actually serve the way we live. From Arcata’s trail links to Eureka’s most dangerous corridors, we connect policy, culture, and design into a practical roadmap for change.

We start with the wins: the Annie and Mary Trail segment tying Cal Poly Humboldt to Arcata, Bay Trail momentum, and the promise of the Great Redwood Trail from Eureka to College of the Redwoods. Then we get into the systems thinking. Protected bike lanes don’t just help cyclists; they reduce car crashes. Real bike boulevards slow and thin traffic so families feel safe. Walk audits expose blind spots on Fourth, Fifth, and Broadway, where most serious injuries cluster. And when callers demand more lanes, we talk induced demand—why congestion returns—and its lesser-known counterpart, traffic evaporation, which helps road diets and roundabouts work.

Culture counts, too. “Motonormativity” shows how we give cars a moral pass we’d never grant elsewhere. Helmets help, but the lasting fix is street design that prevents crashes. Equity threads through everything: kids, elders, and low-income neighbors bear the brunt of fast arterials. The answer is closer homes, jobs, and services—think downtown housing over a transit center—plus a connected network so no trip requires braving a hostile block. Quick-build pilots with paint and posts prove ideas fast and make long-term projects smarter.

If you care about safer crossings, reliable buses, protected lanes, and lively downtowns, you’ll find concrete steps and local examples you can act on today. Listen, share with a neighbor, and tell us: which street should get a road diet or protected lane next? If you’re enjoying the show, follow, rate, and leave a review—your feedback helps more people find conversations that move communities forward.

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About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

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A 115-year-old ferry shouldn’t be the heartbeat of a modern waterfront—but the Madaket is exactly that. We sit down with fifth-generation Humboldter and tug captain Leroy Zerlang to chart how a tiny passenger boat outlived an entire ferry fleet, helped launch maritime careers, and still carries school kids at the same price set decades ago. From cabinet shop to wheelhouse, Leroy’s path is a tour of Humboldt Bay’s grit, humor, and stubborn devotion to its working water.

We dive into the Madaket’s rebuild after the Coast Guard said “fix it or retire,” the hands-on shipwright work that stretched from six months to two years, and why the boat’s continuous certification since 1910 makes it a rarity on the West Coast. Then we widen the lens: harbor cruises that reach the old Arcata Long Wharf, oysters and wildlife in Arcata Bay, the quiet power of the Skywalk and Carson Mansion on visitors, and a simple truth—tourists love this place. So why no bayfront hotels, few waterfront restaurants, and not enough space where the view can pay the bills? Leroy lays out a clear plan: invest in hospitality where it belongs—on the water—and build a destination Maritime Museum in historic Samoa.

The working side matters just as much. Fishing’s been battered by closures and uncertainty, and boats are leaving. The fix is practical: ice, cold storage, repair space, reliable docks, and respect for the people who keep the waterfront alive. Along the way, we relive shipwrecks you can still see at minus tide, and the improbable rescue of the Golden Rule, a peace boat restored after years in Leroy’s yard that sailed to Hawaii and back. It all points to a shared vision Bonnie Gool championed: make the bay our front door, not our back door.

If you care about Humboldt’s future, this conversation brings the map and the compass. Subscribe, share with a bay-loving friend, and leave a review with the one change you’d make first for our waterfront.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

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A statue that seemed to smile on its way home. A hidden cabin that vanished overnight. A police log so human it reads like a short story. Our 100th milestone conversation with editor Kevin Hoover is a tour through Arcata’s past, present, and near future—told by someone who has walked every street, sat through the 7 a.m. meetings, and printed the town’s heartbeat onto shrinking pages week after week.

We dig into how Cal Poly Humboldt is reshaping the region, from a $5.05 million purchase of Sun Valley Floral Farms to the ripple effects on housing, small business, and a bolder 15‑minute town vision for Arcata and McKinleyville. Kevin weighs promise against pressure, naming the culture and capital a campus brings while calling for planning that keeps neighborhoods livable, walkable, and resilient. Climate change raises the stakes as sea levels press toward the bay’s edge, and a new data center and undersea cables force fresh questions about digital infrastructure, local benefit, and trust.

Along the way, Kevin shares the craft and chaos of building a paper from scratch, the ethics behind a beloved police blotter, and why profiles of “regular exceptional” people still matter more than any viral clip. We trade notes on the stages and makers that make Arcata hum—from CenterArts trios that fill a room like orchestras to Playhouse Arts’ role in knitting a district from creativity—and we get personal about best days, worst days, and the music he’s composing late at night in Logic Pro.

If you care about local news, city planning, sea level rise, university growth, or simply how a town tells its truth, this one’s for you. Press play, then tell us what story surprised you most. If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more curious neighbors can find us.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

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What does it take to make wood sing? We sit down with Marimba One founder Ron Samuels to follow the arc from a Humboldt State spark to an Arcata workshop that supplies universities, symphonies, and soloists worldwide. Ron shares how an early encounter with African-style marimba led to years of hands-on experimenting, nights in woodshops, and the hard-earned knowledge of how to tune a bar so that overtones line up, resonators breathe, and a melody stays clear even when the room is alive.

We dig into the craft behind the music: arches carved into the underside of bars to shape harmonics, resonators adjusted with precision plugs to balance warmth and brightness, and modern tooling—custom extrusions, injection-molded interfaces, and CNC machining—used not to mass-produce, but to stabilize frames and protect tone. Ron breaks down the differences between marimba, vibraphone, and xylophone, and how thoughtful engineering can make an eight-foot, 300-pound instrument feel responsive under the mallets. Along the way, we swap listening notes, from Bach’s cello suites on marimba to jazz vibes and a Rolling Stones classic that quietly features the instrument you didn’t know you knew.

The conversation turns to sustainability with a breakthrough: a synthetic alternative that finally sounds like true rosewood. After years of R&D, player tests, and careful sourcing, the team unveiled material that keeps lines articulate without the harsh ring that plagues other substitutes. It’s conservation through acoustics, a practical path for schools, ensembles, and touring artists who need consistency and conscience. Grounded in Humboldt County’s creative network—engineers from Yakima days, artists, and builders—Ron’s shop also invests locally with school tours and concerts at the Arcata Playhouse.

If you love craft, sound design, and the human stories behind great instruments, this one’s for you. Hit play, subscribe for more conversations with builder-founders and artists, and leave a review telling us your favorite marimba recording or the question you want us to ask Ron next.

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About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

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Roses blooming in February changed everything. That’s how Dr. Keith Flamer knew College of the Redwoods would be home—a place where Marine Corps grit and Jesuit heart could fuse into a people-first campus that serves Humboldt with purpose. In a wide-ranging conversation, we trace his path from Chicago’s west side and brand management at Kraft to graduate work at Gonzaga and two decades leading CR through change with transparency, humor, and resolve.

We dive into the big pivot shaping community colleges: meaningful careers that don’t require four-year debt. Dr. Flamer lays out why CR’s future is anchored in healthcare pathways and skilled trades—nursing, allied health, welding, construction technology, aquaculture, and climate resilience. These programs move students into well-paying jobs faster, strengthen the regional workforce, and create stackable on-ramps for first-generation learners and working adults. Along the way, we talk student housing, a new PE and field house, upgraded athletics, creative arts improvements, and the Del Norte healthcare education center—projects designed to turn access into persistence and graduation.

Policy and funding challenges are real, but they’re met with open books and decisive collaboration. Dr. Flamer walks us through balancing budgets without cutting opportunity, building partnerships with local industry and elected leaders, and keeping equity, inclusion, and community engagement at the center. Post-pandemic lessons—flexible online learning, tele-services, smarter scheduling—are now tools for long-term success. And beneath it all is a personal ethic: love people first. That’s the leadership that connects CR to Humboldt’s fabric, sends students seamlessly to Cal Poly Humboldt when it fits, and holds space for respectful disagreement as the community grows.

Come for the story, stay for the playbook: practical steps to build programs that pay, campuses that belong to their neighbors, and a legacy defined by service. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—we read every word.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

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Some conversations change how you see your neighbors. This one does. We sit with longtime educator and advocate Nezzie Wade to explore why Humboldt County’s per-capita homelessness ranks among the highest in the country and what can actually move the needle: community-first design, small-scale villages, safe parking, and dignity-forward services that meet people where they are.

Nezzie's story threads from Catholic schooling and decades of teaching sociology to co-founding Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives (AHA). Along the way, she lays out a clear diagnosis: California’s housing targets are chronically underbuilt; income thresholds exclude those in crisis; and institutional models struggle to support people who’ve been surviving outside for years. The alternative is both humble and powerful—mutual aid as infrastructure. Think tiny house villages that function like neighborhoods, with roles and support baked in, not imposed. Think safe sheltering that invites participation and grows stability.

We also spotlight AHHA’s mobile shower program: a custom trailer with ADA access that’s delivered more than 7,000 hot showers and services to 16,000+ guests across Eureka, Arcata, and McKinleyville. It’s a blueprint for practical compassion—hygiene, food, clothing, and referrals—built on local donations and grit, not red tape. Nezzie makes a direct ask: partners with land near transit, donors willing to seed operations and simple utilities, and listeners ready to help turn proven concepts into living spaces.

If you care about Humboldt, housing, or humane policy, this conversation gives you facts, context, and a path to act. Subscribe, share with a friend who cares about solutions, and leave a review with one idea you’d support locally—land, funding, or time. Your voice helps build the village.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

Send us a text

A fight that ends in a handshake. A rural theater that sells out in Los Angeles. A historic bar that becomes a stage. Michael Fields joins us to trace a life built on place, grit, and the belief that the best stories come from the people right in front of you.

We start with his leap from Jesuit classrooms and Vietnam-era protests to the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the early days of Del Arte. Michael walks us through the big experiment: a rural training center paired with a professional touring company that took original work from Blue Lake to the Bay and on to LA. The turning point arrives with a piece on the Fish Wars that rockets them onto critics’ lists, packs houses for months, and proves that bold, locally rooted storytelling can travel. Along the way, we get the road lore: the car that fills with smoke from the inside, the Boston bar where every backstage crew eats, and the Greek restaurant that quietly keeps a company alive.

Then we come home to Humboldt. Michael explains how an Irish playwright inspired him to turn the Logger Bar—Humboldt County’s oldest continuously serving bar—into a creative venue where you can sip a pint while the band kicks up a live, local show. Logger Legends celebrates the talkers, the lookers, and the lovable liars who give a town its voice. We celebrate Eric Hollenbeck and the Blue Ox through Radio Man, a production that left hard-bitten men wiping their eyes. And we look forward: the riverfront, the levee, new gathering spots, and a call for leadership that favors distinctive local spaces over bland, copy-paste development.

If you care about community theater, rural arts, Blue Lake history, or how a bar becomes a civic living room, you’ll find a lot to love here. Hit play, share it with someone who loves Humboldt culture, and leave us a review so more neighbors can find these stories.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

Send us a text

A small stage can change a whole town. That’s the heartbeat of our conversation with Jackie Dandeneau , the executive artistic director behind Playhouse Arts, conductor of the Blue Lake Community Choir, and one of the community builders shaping Arcata’s creative life. We swap stories about saving a venue, turning it into a citywide arts engine, and how a Tuesday night show can feel like church when the room leans in.

Jackie takes us from a farm near Jasper to national theater tours, radio drama in Vancouver, and eventually to Blue Lake, where the Arcata Playhouse became home base. We dig into how the Playhouse grew beyond performances: writing the City of Arcata’s strategic arts plan, placing artists in schools, and creating Our Space, an arts-and-wellness program for houseless neighbors that restores dignity through making. When KHSU went dark, the community lit a new signal—KHHA 94.7 LPFM—broadcasting from a converted storage unit with big spirit and a local-first roster that keeps Humboldt’s voices on the air and in your earbuds.

We share favorite shows and why they hit so hard, from an all-women mariachi band filling the room with new songs and new neighbors, to intimate sets where the audience becomes the magic. Jackie’s lens is clear: gratitude is a balm inside pain, justice is the work of designing belonging, and succession is generosity in action—handing over the reins so a legacy no longer depends on one person. We close with what’s ahead: holiday pantomime chaos, porch festivals, poetry in the marsh, line-dancing fundraisers, and how to rent the Playhouse when your crew needs a seasonal home.

If this resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who loves local arts, and drop a review. Your support helps more people find the creators, venues, and programs that keep Humboldt connected.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!

Send us a text

Ever wonder how we might bridge the seemingly unbridgeable divides in our society? David Frank's journey from East Coast political science graduate to Humboldt County media advocate offers a roadmap worth exploring.

Growing up in a household where defending your opinions and understanding opposing perspectives was expected at the dinner table, Frank developed skills that would serve him throughout life. "My parents always expected us to be able to converse intelligently and defend our opinions and then kind of pivot to understand people that disagreed with us," he explains. This foundation in civil discourse shaped his approach to media and community engagement.

After arriving in Humboldt County in 2004 as a caregiver for a friend, Frank quickly put down roots, bartending at Plaza Grill and Abruzzi for over a decade before joining Internews, an international media nonprofit. His passion for policy analysis and community dialogue led him to host shows on KMUD and Access Humboldt, including "You Are Here" and "Redwood Wonk," where he explores local manifestations of national issues.

What makes Frank's perspective particularly valuable is his commitment to being a bridge-builder. As a former delegate to the California Democratic Party, he positioned himself as an observer of the schism between establishment and progressive wings, using his media platform to share insights with the community. Rather than stoking division, he focuses on creating spaces where people can listen to each other and work toward solutions.

Frank identifies three critical issues facing Humboldt County: healthcare access, climate-related concerns (including wildfire and insurance challenges), and broadband connectivity in rural areas. He advocates for community forums that bring together academics, policymakers, and residents to address these challenges collaboratively. "We can solve problems locally, we address problems locally, we lead by example as citizens here in our own community," he asserts.

Ready to join the conversation about building a more connected community? Follow Frank's shows and initiatives as he continues his mission to fight "the good fight" through civil discourse and community engagement. The path to healing our divisions might just start with a conversation in your own backyard.

Support the show

About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond

Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.

We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!

Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!

Find us on You Tube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok!