Fresno's Best

Today we have Benjamin Boone on the program. Boone is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, professor, and U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ghana (2017-18) and the Republic of Moldova (2006). His Origin Records album THE POETRY OF JAZZ was #3 "Best Album of 2018" in the 83rd Annual Downbeat Readers Poll and featured on NPR's All Things Considered, The Paris Review and many others.

Books:

Furnace Creek Joseph A. Boone 

Dreamt Land Mark Arax 

The Fallen Stones Diana Marcum 

The Historian Elizabeth Kostova 

Louis Penny’s Author Page

Maisie Dobbs Series  Jacqueline Winspear 

Effortless Mastery Kenny Werner 

The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music Victor Wooten 

Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely 

Fredrick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom David W. Blight 

The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America Matthew Pearl 

Today we have Sonia Mehrmand on the show. Sonia is currently the Field Manager for StoryCorps’ One Small Step project in the Central Valley. She received her Master’s degree in Public History and Museum Studies at UC Riverside, and shortly thereafter moved to Sydney, Australia. During her 4 years there, she worked across the art sector and eventually became Assistant Executive Director at Diversity Arts Australia, a national arts advocacy organization. Sonia is also a freelance creative producer and is on the leadership team for Fresno’s Inhabit Arts Collaborative (@inhabitartscollaborative). She is passionate about increasing equity and access in the arts, and regularly serves as panelist for California Arts Council grants. Her projects are grounded in inclusive storytelling, reciprocity, collaboration, mentorship. Sonia lives on Yokuts land in Visalia.

About One Small Step
One Small Step from StoryCorps is an effort to reconnect Americans, one conversation at a time. Participants will meet someone new — a community member with different views, who they might never talk to otherwise — for a simple, personal, 50-minute conversation. One Small Step helps us move beyond labels like "Democrat" and "Republican" and into the life experiences that shaped how each of us sees our world.

Click here to learn more about it.

Books:

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age Annalee Newitz

Circe and The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller 

Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents Octavia Butler

MaddAddam Trilogy Margaret Atwood

Today, we have Councilman Mike Karbassi on the show. Fresno born and raised, Councilman Karbassi received his business degree from Fresno State before working in his family’s small business. Karbassi now represents District 2 on the city council. We get into politics, legal issues, conservancy versus development, Persian rugs and food, books and more.

Books:

Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace Leon Panetta 

Ian Fleming’s Amazon Page

Today, we have Des Washington on the show. Des is an amazing entrepreneur, downtown expert, the B2B coordinator for the Metro Black Chamber of Commerce, and burger master! We really get into the nitty gritty of burger stuff, operating restaurants, downtown issues, and more.

Books: 

Rock This! by Chris Rock 

Today we have Kenneth Froelich on the show. Kenneth is Professor of Music Composition at California State University, Fresno. Froelich’s music has been performed in over a dozen nations, including the United States, Canada, China, and throughout Europe and South America. He received Doctorate and Masters degrees from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from the University of Southern California.

Links:

Froelich's Website

Books

The Mistborn Trilogy Brandon Sanderson 

Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood 

Composers/Musicians 

Andrew Norman 

Today we have Nikiko Masumoto on the show. Masumoto is an organic farmer, memory keeper, and artist. She is Yonsei, a fourth generation Japanese American, and gets to touch the same soil her great-grandparents worked in California where Masumoto Family Farm grows organic nectarines, apricots, peaches and grapes for raisins. With her family, she’s co-authored 2 books: Changing Season and The Perfect Peach. She activates her facilitation, leadership, and creative skills as a performer and leader in the following organizations: co-founder of Yonsei Memory Project, team member of Center for Performance and Civic Practice, member of University Advisory Board (CSU Fresno) board of Trustees of Western States Arts Federation, board of directors of Art of the Rural, and perennial volunteer change-worker. In 2020, she was named one of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 100 and Creative 10. Her most cherished value is courage and most important practice is listening. I hope you enjoy this wonderful conversation with one of the valley’s treasured artists and next generation of farmers.

Books:

We discuss so many books this episode, so you'll just need to listen! 

Links:

Masumoto Family Farm Website 

Today we have Austin Smith on the show. As a California Real Estate Broker, Austin has worked in commercial and residential real estate since 2005. He holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from San Jose State University. Austin’s work has ranged from designing master planned communities to managing tenant improvement initiatives to developing transformative commercial developments such as 17th Place Townhomes and Cafe Smitten.

Books:

Missing Middle Housing: Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today’s Housing Crisis by Daniel Parolek

Links

Sage Equities Website

Eastchester Living Site

Today, we have Monisha Mann on the show. Mann is a case manager for Equus Workplace Solutions where she helps people leaving the prison or the jail system find stable employment. She also was once the DJ on B95 in Fresno, working a radio DJ for 17 years. We had lots to talk about in terms of vulnerability, having a public image, bias, how to help former incarcerated transition to a more fulfilling life and more. 

Books:

How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Dr. Nicole LePera

Wendy's Got the Heat by Wendy Williams 

My Voice: A Memoir by Angie Martinez 

I'll Show You by Derrick Rose 

Today we have Dan Zack on the show. Dan is an urban planner in Fresno California. In 2022 he founded Zack Urban Solutions, a consulting firm which offers a wide variety of urban planning services to cities, non-profits, and developers who want proven, practical approaches to creating walkable, fun, and inclusive places. Prior to that, he spent 23 years in local government working on downtown revitalization, streetscape projects, parking management, zoning and form-based codes, long-range plans, housing plans, and development entitlements. He spent 7 1/2 years with the City of Fresno: For the last year of that he was the Assistant Director of Economic Development and was focused on bringing housing to Downtown Fresno; for the remainder of his time there he was Assistant Director of the Planning and Development Department. His previous work was in Northern California; as the Downtown Development Manager for the City of Redwood City in the San Francisco Bay Area he attracted the development of 2,500 homes in an area that had stagnated for decades, but which is now one of the most active downtowns in the Silicon Valley.

Zack Urban Solutions Website

Books Mentioned

Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Places Better by Jeff Speck 

When Fresno Rode the Rails by Edward Hamm 

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

Survival of the City: The Future of Urban Life in an Age of Isolation by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler

Today we have Ashlyn Cruise on the show, who Miss City of Fresno. Miss City of Fresno 2022 a local organization to the Miss America organization. This was a wonderful conversation where we learn about the organization, her advocacy with deaf community, her new children's book, and much more. 

Books

My First Book of Baby Signs: 40 Essential Signs to Learn and Practice by Lane Rebelo

The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary by Robb Pearlman and Melanie Demmer

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman 

Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen and Sandie Sonke