Dr. Jenn Capps is the President of Cabrillo College. Jenn became President at Cabrillo College in January 2026 and has been on the job for 8 months.  Jenn grew up in the Washington D.C. area, after earning a number of college degrees including her PhD in Counselor education. She has served in a variety of roles in colleges and universities including instructor, professor, dean and provost – mostly in Colorado, then at Cal Poly Humboldt until she became president at Cabrillo. In addition to her academic credentials, Jenn is an out member of the LGBTQ+ community. Listen in to learn more about Jenn Capps, her vision for Cabrillo College and LGBTQ+ student supports. 

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When Barbara Winslow moved to Seattle with her husband in the late 60s, she was already a radical feminist. But when she joined up with other women in the struggle for their basic rights, she became an effective activist. In this conversation, we explore Barbara’s work, the importance of thinking local when fighting for civil rights, and her advice for the new generation fighting the same old battles we thought we’d won.

Visit BABBLERY.com for more information, transcript, and links.

The Babblery features conversations about who we are and how we got this way. Modern humans can seem like the ancients building the Biblical Tower of Babel, cursed by God/nature never to understand each other. As Visiting Translators at the Tower of Babble, our guests delve into their work, their research, and their own experiences to try to explain the bits they’ve learned about Earth’s most perplexing species. Though we all speak different languages, here at The Babblery we aim to promote understanding, one conversation at a time. Visit The Babblery at https://babblery.com/. The Babblery is produced by Suki Wessling with support from KSQD.

When you think of the 1980s, you might picture fun pop music, Day-Glo sweatshirts, and a

Written and directed by Michael Russell Gunn, Brink of War takes us back to 1986 at the nuclear arms summit in Iceland. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev meet to discuss reducing nuclear weapons on both sides. The film offers a compelling look at how each leader views the other country’s political systems. Reagan sees the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” that deprives its people of basic goods, services, and rights. Gorbachev believes American capitalism is too focused on making money and creates significant inequality. While both leaders have valid criticisms, the meeting reveals that the two countries may be more alike than they realize.

Jeff Daniels, despite the makeup not making him look exactly like Ronald Reagan, does an excellent job of embodying the former president. He portrays Reagan as relaxed, with a jokey sense of humor, but also quietly determined to make progress with the Soviet leader. Jared Harris is magnificent as Mikhail Gorbachev, portraying him as feisty, forthright, and willing to compromise—but not at the expense of his country’s security.

As the talks approach an agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons within ten years, one major sticking point remains. Gorbachev wants the United States to dismantle its Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, because he fears it could give America the ability to launch a preemptive strike against the Soviet Union. Reagan wants to keep SDI as protection against other rogue nations, while also pushing Gorbachev to give his citizens greater freedom. Both sides also worry about how to verify that the other is actually dismantling its weapons. “Trust but verify” becomes a central theme.

As tensions mount, the negotiations appear to be falling apart. J.K. Simmons shines as Secretary of State George Shultz, Reagan’s closest adviser. He encourages Reagan to forge ahead even when all hope seems lost. The film also includes an entertaining subplot involving the two leaders’ wives. Raisa Gorbachev, played with aplomb by Branka Katic, accompanies her husband to Iceland and proudly showcases Icelandic culture through the press to Nancy Reagan, who remains in Washington, D.C. Nancy, played with equal panache by Hope Davis, responds with her own graceful potshots.

The filming of this pivotal meeting reflects the division between the two countries. CIA and

Ultimately, Brink of War is worth seeing. It provides a fascinating look at a pivotal moment in U.S.-Soviet relations and the negotiations that helped pave the way for greater openness and trust between the two nations. Most importantly, it is a grim reminder of just how close the world came to nuclear war.

For the KSQD Film Gang: Molly Sullivan.

Who are the Deny-o-sours and Solutionaries?

 “Be Bold America!” Airs August 21, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)

It’s 2026, just a little over halfway through Donald-the-Deny-o-sour’s second term and the world is seemingly on fire.

As if record heat waves, fires, and floods on multiple continents aren’t bad enough … the regular rollbacks the Trump administration is boldly (and not the good kind) making, would be comical were it not so serious!

And as if pouring kerosene on the fire isn’t bad enough, Deny-o-sours are gaslighting everyone they can by calling the Solutionaries alarmists and insisting there’s nothing to see nor learn about the climate emergency. If you live in the fact-based world, it is the Deniersours who have created the climate 5-alarm fire on behalf of the mighty fossil fuel barons, by peddling doubt for money.

Environmental journalist turned advocate; Betsy Rosenberg, is just not having it. The host and producer of hundreds of interviews with what she calls “Solutionaries”— on all shades of green– will join cohost Mike Clancy for a dynamic discussion about the attacks on the health of people and planet, as well as democracy and decency.

What does it portend for our kids’ future? Can any of the damage to our climate be reversed? Although the news is pretty grim, Betsy’s three decades covering the green beat has not diminished her passion for preserving our precious planet. Find out where she finds hope and why she cannot quit.

Interview Guest:

Betsy Rosenberg is a broadcast pioneer and an award-winning CBS Radio News journalist and longtime green advocate. She is best known for her pioneering environmental and climate-focused interviews which began in 1997. Over the years Rosenberg has hosted several radio, internet and video programs, including the current CODE GREEN! YouTube series.

Our Operations Assistant, Casey Sustaita-Paz, ventured out to Monterey for Car Week last weekend. Not only to spot some beautiful, rare cars, but also to connect with and get to know people in the local Car Community. On the ground, Casey captured some of the sights, sounds, and conversations that make Monterey Car Week such a unique experience. He found that Car Week is about much more than the cars—it’s about the people, stories, and connections that bring the community together.

On Sustainability Now!  Sunday, August 16th, 2026, 5-6 PM on KSQD

The United States is planning a $1.7 trillion overhaul of its entire nuclear arsenal, designing new warheads and investing in new bombers, missiles, and submarines to carry them, all in the name of “modernization.”  It’s not that the current generations of platforms and warheads won’t work; it’s more that Admirals, Generals and Presidents don’t trust devices that were deployed when they were children. There is also a lot of money and prestige in having the latest generation of gadgets and lording that over the competing services.  Oh, and new weapons are “manlier” than the old ones.

Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for this rerun of a conversation with Dr. Dylan K. Spaulding a senior scientist in the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists. His work focuses on technical issues related to nuclear stockpile stewardship and policies that can reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons.  He recently authored a UCS report entitled “Plutonium Pit Production–The Risks and Costs of US Plans to Build New Nuclear Weapons.”  Its focus is on the stuff that makes warheads go “boom” but along the way, Spaulding covers a lot of other ground and the report is a good primer on nuclear weapons.

That’s on Sustainability Now! Sunday, August 16th, 2026, from 5-6 PM right here on community radio for the Monterey Bay Region, KSQD 90.7 FM, KSQT 87.9 FM, K207FE (FX) 89.5 and KSQD.org, streaming on the internet.

Angelica Glass who lives in Santa Cruz, California, just published her book entitled, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.” in which she shares her journey about walking every street in Santa Cruz County between 2013 and 2020. In the opening chapter, she shared how she met her wife Ellen at the age of 37 and were among the first same sex couples in Santa Cruz County to become legally married in 2008. Together, they have raised two sons. 

In a recent Santa Cruz Sentinel article, she talked about her book:  “We all tell ourselves stories about who we are, and we don’t always revisit how we arrived at those stories…probably one of the biggest outcomes of the project for me was stopping and taking a look at ‘How did I come to believe what I believed about myself?’”  Angelica shared about her book, her life in Santa Cruz, her coming out story and how that has contributed to her life in Santa Cruz.

Miss You, Love You, written and directed by comedian Jim Rash, takes a long and winding road to examine grief and loss in cathartic and surprising ways. Nominated for Outstanding Television Movie for the 2026 Emmy Awards, this film follows Diane Patterson, a widow preparing for the funeral of her second husband, and Jamie Simms, the personal assistant of Diane’s son. Actors Alison Janney and Andrew Rannells deliver powerful depictions of an unlikely pairing longing for connection. Dealing with the disappointment of her son not showing up for the funeral, Diane strings Jamie along to assist her in funeral preparation as tensions rise and fall between them.

The film begins with the arrival of Jamie to Diane’s house in New Mexico. There is a brief moment of quiet as Jamie gets acclimated, then the story catapults forward with the appearance of Diane, who doesn’t introduce herself to Jamie and instead starts complaining about a succulent that she hasn’t been able to take care of properly. Jamie follows her around her house as she buzzes along, seemingly uninterested in Jamie’s presence. After a while, they confront the truth: Jamie is here in place of Diane’s son, Tyler. Diane is not pleased by this, but doesn’t send him away either, and Jamie is more than ready to help her out.

If the premise of this film seems straightforward and simple, it’s because it really is. The nuances of Miss You, Love You lie in the performances from Janney and Rannells, and the dialogue from Rash. Both Diane and Jamie are basically trapped in this less than ideal situation with each other. Even when Jamie is pleasant and professional, Diane cannot help but being standoffish and dismissive. Little by little, they peel back each other’s layers and learn more about each other as the week goes on. Diane asks Jamie about Tyler many times, knowing that they are contacting each other often. They discover some similarities between them, like that they were both caretakers for their loved ones in their last moments. There is a constant push and pull between the characters as they struggle to be open and honest after knowing each other for a very short amount of time. A revelation about Tyler happens halfway through the film, which pushes both Diane and Jamie to their limits in their already impossible situation.

This film, to me, is a tough sell. With only brief appearances of comedic side characters, most of its one-and-a-half hour run time is spent with combative dialogue between Janney and Rannells, bringing out the best and worst in each other. I want to praise both of these actors for their portrayal of complicated characters with raw emotions. However, by the time they were on their umpteenth argument of the film, the intensity grew tiring. I must commend Rash for writing with great compassion for these characters who are dealing with personal losses. One of the few bright spots for me in this film were the tender moments when Diane would talk about her son coming to terms with being gay and eventually coming out to her. Although this film was a strong, bitter cup of tea that was not for me, it was still clear there was a lot of heart poured into this project.

For KSQD’s Film Gang: Isa Cortez.

Steve Pleich expresses how housing is a human right.

Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened this month and is on track to break box-office records while entertaining summer moviegoers with a solid storyline, relatable subplots, and a more “true to his roots” Peter Parker than the 2021 predecessor, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes us on a visual and emotional ride. Albeit about 20 minutes too long, clocking in at 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, thrills in the opening cityscape scenes as he fights off bank robbers, thugs, and thieves. Parker’s anonymous, good-guy hero is beloved by local citizens and police officers alike as he rescues children, damsels in distress, and averts catastrophes.

But beneath the superhero spectacle is a much more personal story. No one remembers Peter Parker because of a pact he made to erase himself from the memories of those he loved so he could save the world from catastrophe. That includes his ex-girlfriend, MJ (Zendaya), and former best friend, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon).

The plot soon thickens as Parker faces a powerful new threat: individuals are becoming telepathically possessed. The entity hops from person to person, causing confusion and carnage. At the same time, Parker’s superpowers are misfiring and malfunctioning, sending him on a quest to crack the codes of specific DNA technology that could remedy his situation.

His malfunctioning powers also work as a metaphor. Peter has spent so much time sacrificing himself for others that he is beginning to lose control of his own identity. His body is failing him just as he tries to figure out who he is without the people who once defined his life.

He seeks undercover counsel from Professor Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo, who reprises his role as the Hulk. Parker also meets Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), head of the Department of Damage Control, which oversees superpowered individuals and advanced technology. Metzger’s role becomes pivotal in controlling and monitoring mutants like Jean Grey (Sadie Sink).

Parker’s quest to regain control over his body and his life also brings him into contact with familiar Marvel characters, including Hulk, Scorpion (Michael Mando), and, of course, the tough but lovable Frank Castle, aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), who serves as a surrogate father and protector to Parker and MJ.

Holland’s Peter Parker remains one of Marvel’s most relatable heroes. He plays the part like a boy scout, but not so icky-sweet. There’s an earnestness to his performance that makes Peter easy to root for, particularly as he struggles with loneliness and loss.

The climax ties many of the loose ends together, with a well-choreographed battle involving the Flying Ninjas and a nail-biting confrontation with the Telepath/Jean Grey and Metzger.

After the final fight, Peter escapes his hospital bed and returns to the world as a hero. It’s a fitting ending for a character whose greatest strength has never been his superhuman abilities. It’s his willingness to get back up after being knocked down.

Once again, good has conquered evil in the Marvel universe. But perhaps the bigger victory is Peter’s realization that being a hero doesn’t mean giving up every part of yourself.

For KSQD’s Film Gang: Susan Lovegren.