Artemis II has captivated the world, as astronauts witness parts of the moon no human has seen before. As the crew makes its return to Earth, we’ll meet a small Sacramento company doing big things to bring manned space exploration out of hibernation, with a history that dates back to the Apollo missions - and now includes the recent Artemis launch. TECMA owner and president Sonia Susac joins us about their history producing parts for aerospace programs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has been law for more than 30 years. Passed in 1990, it aims to make public life more accessible for the estimated 70 million U.S adults who report having a disability. Under its regulations, employers can’t discriminate based on disability, schools must provide accommodations to those who need them and businesses open to the public must be accessible. And one of the key ways this legislation is enforced is through litigation. People with disabilities can sue businesses they feel aren’t accessible, in violation of the ADA. In California, these lawsuits originate from a relatively small number of disabled people and law firms. Recently, a number of ADA suits have been filed against Sacramento-area restaurants drawing attention to this issue. Business owners say the litigation is a significant financial challenge while disability rights groups say this is the law working as intended. This debate has sparked a number of California legislators to introduce bills aimed at striking a balance and combating lawsuits that have been called predatory in nature. Kate Wolffe is a Legislative Reporter for the Sacramento Bee and joins us with her reporting.

For the better part of two decades, NPR’s Planet Money has been going out over the airwaves and gracing the podcast feeds of millions of listeners, bringing to light the hidden economic forces that shape our day to day lives in digestible and often rather funny hour long episodes. They take their dedicated audience along with them on outlandish adventures like launching their own satellite or the time they crowdfunded a t-shirt so they could follow it around the global supply chain. All in the pursuit of answering one question: How do we make the economy fun? Now they’ve turned their sights on the publishing world. Earlier this week they released a book called, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Insight Producer Andrew Garcia interviewed the author of the book Alex Mayyasi and fellow Planet Money reporter Kenny Malone.

We’re less than eight weeks to the California Primary and a longtime Sacramento politician is being challenged for reelection. Rep. Doris Matsui has represented the 7th Congressional District for the past two decades, and prior to that, her late husband Rep. Robert Matsui represented Sacramento for more than 25 years. This Midterm, Congresswoman Matsui is facing a prominent challenger in fellow Democrat and Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang. CapRadio Reporter Tony Rodriguez breaks down the race and a recent forum with all the candidates for District 7.

The Small Business Administration has restricted access to its loans, meaning green-card holders and other non-citizen entrepreneurs no longer qualify. This move could have major impacts in California, which is home to the most small businesses and immigrants in the country. CalMatters Economy Reporter Levi Sumagaysay joins Insight to talk about the potential impacts to the state’s economy.

A full day of poetry readings, workshops and presentations from an acclaimed array of international poets and performers is planned in the Sierra foothills next weekend. The Sierra Poetry Festival takes place Saturday, April 18 in Grass Valley. Eliza Tudor is President of the Nevada County Arts Council and directs the poetry festival. She joins us today to discuss the festival, along with presenter Marcelo Hernandez Castillo. He’s the co-founder of UnDocupoets and will be leading a conversation during the event.

According to a recent study from the UC Davis Labor and Community Center, CalFresh enrollment across the Sacramento region has grown since the pandemic. Researchers looked at the effects on the seven county region - Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, Yuba and Sutter - sparked by the Trump Administration’s seismic H.R.1 spending plan which restricts food assistance funding to certain recipients. On today’s Insight, we’ll check in with Yuba County, where CalFresh enrollment for adults aged 18-59 is nearly double the statewide average. A higher rate not driven by unemployment, but low-wages - the median household income is nearly 20% lower than the statewide median. Chaya Galicia is the Program Director at the Yuba County Department of Health and Human Services and Maria Ball is the Executive Director of the Yuba-Sutter Food Bank. They join us to discuss how the changes at the federal level will impact food security in the communities they serve.

A Natomas woman has been thrust into the Trump Administration’s hardlined immigration enforcement. Maria de Jesús Estrada Juárez immigrated to the U.S. as a minor and is protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The 42-year-old was deported in February after attending a scheduled hearing for a green card, only to return to the U.S. last week, after a federal judge ruled the deportation unlawful. But that isn’t where the story ends, as Estrada Juárez is due back in court. Sacramento Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes organized a press conference following her return and joins us with more on the city’s role and next steps. 

What started as two friends debating movies has become a showcase for local filmmakers. Kierre Stowes and Jason Alley have been best friends since childhood, but they haven’t always seen eye to eye when it comes to movies. They channeled their love of film and debate with each other into the Sactown Movie Buffs TV show and podcast, where they review films and discuss the movie industry with professionals from the Sacramento scene. They joined us today to talk about their upcoming Sactown Movie Buffs Film Festival taking place this weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the Sacramento region rely on SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh in California, and the rate of enrollment has increased over the past half-decade. But new changes enacted last week under H.R.1 now exclude many lawfully-present immigrants including refugees, asylum seekers and victims of trafficking. Marcos Lopez, Director of Research at the UC Davis Labor and Community Center joins Insight to talk about what the impact of these new restrictions could look like across the region, and whether resources are available to help these communities.

From social media to the workplace, artificial intelligence or AI is becoming more widely used in our day to day lives. Including in the classroom. But a new survey shows students and faculty remain weary about its use. We spoke to a pair of education reporters about how AI is being integrated in both college and middle school classrooms. Kate Rix covers higher education for EdSource and Amelia Angeles, is a journalism major at UC Irvine and a member of the EdSource California Student Journalism Corps.

Sacramento Orchid Society’s Annual Show

Is there a secret to success when it comes to growing orchids? If you’re a fan of the flowering plant and thinking about learning to grow them yourself, the Sacramento Orchid Society is the place to go. They host their annual Orchid Show and Exotic Plant Sale April 17 through 19 in Carmichael. Dave Veach is the Outreach Coordinator for the Sacramento Orchid Society and he joins us today to explain what it takes to care for these plants.

The Supreme Court is weighing whether President Trump can limit birthright citizenship to children born to U.S. citizens or legal residents. But the question of who gets to be an American has deep roots. Jane Hong is an Associate Professor of History at Occidental College and is a historian of U.S. immigration. She joins us with the history of U.S. immigration laws, and why California is a prime case study.

Governor Gavin Newsom is warning more than a dozen municipalities in the San Joaquin Valley that their housing plans are out of compliance with state requirements, and potential lawsuits could be on the horizon. But many of these jurisdictions say they are diligently working to get their plans in order. Alma Villegas from the Merced Focus and Garth Stapley from the Modesto Focus talk about the local responses to Newsom’s order, and the help some of these communities say they need to get it done.

Sparked by a desire to explore the possibility of dwarfism in her family history, filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman turned to her camera. The film she ended up making is an exploration of her own dwarfism that leads her to learn more about where she fits into dwarf culture and the little people community. Teaming up with others to confront the troubled history of how dwarfs have been viewed in society and forge a new vision of beauty and power for their community. Julie joins us to talk about her new film, The Tallest Dwarf, premiering on PBS Independent Lens on Monday April 6th and streaming on the PBS app.

April 1 is historically the time of peak snowpack - but not this year. Much of California’s winter snow has been reduced to runoff, as early season heat melted the state’s frozen reservoir. And this critical measurement looks to be one of the lowest snowpacks recorded in state history. Dr. Andrew Schwartz is the Director of UC Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab at Donner Summit. Jeffrey Mount is a Senior Fellow of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. We’ll learn what this means for our water supply, as we approach the drier months. 

We are getting a clearer picture of the Sacramento City Unified’s dire budget issues. The district is navigating poor financial waters for the second time in less than a decade. Once again, at risk of fiscal insolvency and facing the threat of state receivership. The latest financial report revealed a current budget deficit of $170 million. As the school board is making difficult decisions about where to cut costs, it came under fire after approving up to $400,000 to hire consultants to help untangle the budget - when the county and the state are already providing oversight. Jennah Pendleton is the Education Reporter for the Sacramento Bee and joined us to provide an update on where things stand with SCUSD’s budget saga.

Jazz Harpist Motoshi Kosako

As a young man in his native Japan, Mostoshi Kosako walked away from a lucrative promising medical career to become a jazz guitarist. He now divides his time between music and tending to his ranch in Oregon House. CapRadio Music Program Director Gary Vercelli interviewed jazz harpist Motoshi Kosako ahead of his April 3 show at Twin Lotus Thai in Sacramento. On April 16, he’ll participate in the World Harp Competition in the Netherlands.

It’s a busy time in California politics. State lawmakers are taking steps to rename tomorrow’s holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, following a damning investigation by the New York Times. Also, thousands of people turned out across the state this weekend in the latest round of No Kings protests. And, the crowded race for California’s next governor has everyone guessing. Dustin Gardiner is the co-author of POLITICO’s California Playbook and he joins us today to break this all down. 

Debut author Parul Somani joins us with her book The Path of Least Regret, a roadmap for making hard decisions in the face of  uncertainty and change. Somani developed this framework out of her own experience navigating cancer shortly after childbirth, faced with life-altering decisions when there was no clear “right” answer.

The study of Shakespeare can often be intimidating. Two Sacramento actors are on a quest to make The Bard more accessible and relatable to our modern lives and they’re doing it through a podcast. Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp are the creators and hosts behind Shakespeare Anyone? They join us today to discuss their efforts to foster Shakespeare appreciation and understanding.

A variety of rallies are scheduled throughout Northern California this weekend, part of a series of nationwide demonstrations voicing opposition to the Trump Administration’s policies. Today on Insight, we’ll hear from organizers of events happening Saturday, March 28, including Greg Bergantz and Gina Abrams from Indivisible El Dorado and Ellen Chapman from Indivisible Sacramento.

During the pandemic a group of neighbors came together looking to clean up the local areas they lived near. These efforts soon expanded to removing the trash and debris that end up in Sacramento area rivers and waterways. In 2023, the three founded the River City Waterway Alliance. The founders of the group - David Ingram, Kathleen Farren Ford, and Lisa Sanchez - join us to explain what the volunteer organization does and how it’s growing.

This Sunday is the 88th day of the year and a piano has 88 keys, so that means it's time for Sacramento Piano Day. Celebrated internationally, Piano Day honors the instrument and its performers, builders and listeners through public performances. Philip Howard founded the local event and he joins us today, along with pianist Quinn Vance, who will debut a brand new commissioned piece of music at this weekend’s concert.

It’s been unusually warm for this time of year. The early heat can take a toll on anyone who has to work outside, including some of the state’s most critical workforces like the hundreds of thousands of farmworkers in California. Last week, Cal/OSHA put out a reminder to employers to protect their workers from heat illness amid the temperature spikes. California was the first state in the country to pass regulations to protect the agricultural workforce more than two decades ago, but how well are these protections being implemented? Edward Flores is the Faculty Director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center and he joins us today with some perspective.

The history of the California gold rush is a story the state takes pride in sharing. From the San Francisco 49ers to the variety of former gold rush towns that dot our roadways to the gold rush history that is often taught in public schools. But the story of one of the era’s most influential entrepreneurs, Bridget Miranda Evoy, has long gone unheard. Until now. Craig S. Harwood is a geologist and the author of “Bridget’s Gambit: A Saga of Family Enterprise in Gold Rush California.” He joins us today to explain why he wrote this book.

Food often shapes the rhythm of our days, from breakfast to lunch to dinner. But it also plays a role in how we view a variety of issues from culture to health to community. “All You Can Eat” is the theme of this month’s In a Nutshell storytelling series at The Sophia. Storytellers Anne Rutherford and Keith Staten join host and co-producer Keith Lowell Jensen for a preview of this Friday’s show.

A major shakeup is set to impact the television news landscape across the country. Federal agencies have approved a merger between media companies Nexstar and TEGNA, which would give the joint business the ability to reach up to 80% of U.S. households. This could have big impacts in the Sacramento region, where Nexstar owns FOX40 and TEGNA owns ABC10. The deal is also facing significant criticism from officials like Governor Gavin Newsom, Congresswoman Doris Matsui and Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed a lawsuit trying to block the merger and argues it could raise prices, harm local news and decrease competition. Professor Frank Gevurtz from University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law joins Insight to talk about how federal antitrust laws could shape this multi-billion-dollar merger deal.

Probably best known as the home of UC Davis and for supplying the region with produce, Yolo County has become a destination for more than just students and foodies. To highlight the growing number of activities cropping up in the area from wineries to farm tours, the region has come together for YoloFest, which debuts this weekend. Terry Selk is the executive director for Visit Yolo and joins us today to explain more about it.

The medium of comic books has often been a place where artists imagine what the distant future could look like. And that tradition continues at this year’s Latinx Comic Arts Festival in Modesto as they explore a theme of Latino-futurism. The festival takes place next week at Modesto Junior College’s West Campus, on Friday and Saturday, April 3-4. The two-day event will showcase talented Latinx cartoonists, writers, artists, animators, and educators from across the country. Dr. Theresa Rojas tells us more about the family friendly event that is open to the public. She is a professor of Ethnic Studies and English at Modesto Junior College and is the Director of the Latinx Comic Arts Festival.