KUCI: Ask A Leader

For the full hour is social entrepreneur, artist, and advocate Irma Velasquez, bringing her recently released a book about raising her son Aaro. The title is “Fish Dreams; A Mother’s Journey From Curing Her Son’s Autism to Loving Him as He Is,” and it's published by Deep Living Lab.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa - album; Omar Sosa, “Escucho,” A New Life – album.

We devote the full hour to Young-Suk Kim, professor and Senior Associate Dean at UCI’s School of Education. She’s been involved at the forefront of literacy legislation in California, bringing her decades of experience and research on the science of reading. She considers the multi-dimensional cognitive and social processes involved between the reader, the household, the educator, and the environment.

Music credits: Lambarena (Hughes de Courson and Pierre Akendengué), “Agnus Dei,”Bach to Africa - album; Sesame Street Workshop, “Let’s Read A Book.”

This 20 minute segment of the interview with Tina Rivers Ryan and Paul Vanouse features three of the seventeen artists whose work is on display at the Beall Center for Art and Technology: Keith Piper, The Mongrel Project, and Hasan Elahi.

Lots happening around the UCI campus - from forging ahead researching climate change to exhibiting provocative contemporary art. In the first segment earth system scientists: professor Keith Moore and researcher Yi Liu, will talk about their deeply concerning findings on climate changes’ impacts on ocean currents, recently published in Nature Climate Change.

In the second segment (minute 31:29), co-curators Tina Rivers Ryan and Paul Vanouse, present their brand new installation at UCI’s Beall Center for Art + Technology, “Difference Machines: Technology & Identity in Contemporary Art.” The exhibit will remain through April 29th. Details at: https://beallcenter.uci.edu/. An additional, separate segment, from this interview covers three of the artists presented at the installation: Keith Piper, the Mongrel Project, and Hasan Elahi.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; Claude Debussy, La Mer “Waves”; Sounds of Liberation, “Billie One,” Sounds of Liberation – album.

Today our guests run the gamut of water policy to Black community. We start with Max Gomberg, formerly staff to the CA State Water Quality Resources Control Board, now independent consultant on water affordability and resilience. With his decades of experience in water management, his seasoned takes we fly at roughly 50,000 feet, considering the consequential water policy decisions being made on all levels of government.

In the second segment (minute 30:00) local activist and retired higher education administrator Pauline Merry brings her new autobiography, Growing Up in the Ville, in St Louis Missouri, recently released by Great Tales Told Well Publishing. With this genre of Black history, is an uncanny education on lives lived in all kinds of communities.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; Bill Beach, “Agua de Beber,” Letting Go – album; McCoy Tyner, “Illuminations,” Illuminations – album.

Vic Gerami, editor and publisher of the Blunt Post, as well as host/producer of the “Blunt Post with Vic” on Radio KPFK,” speaks about his recently released documentary, "Motherland" an award-winning documentary feature film about Azerbaijan’s, Turkey’s attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020 and the massacre of 5,000+ people. In his film he details his travels to Armenia several times last year, where he interviews elected officials, eyewitnesses, veterans, refugees, and journalists for the film. That act of aggression, is part of campaign that has associations with our Irvine Mayor, which listeners have heard raised before on this show. The film will be presented at the Irvine City Hall chamber at 6 pm on 1/25th, with Vic Gerami presenting, and Q & A to follow. Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; Djivan Gasparyan – Dle Yaman.

No, we’re not done with the Covid pandemic - Covid is not done with us. It’s quite instructive to do examine a comprehensive list of parts in the politics of the pandemic, like before the next pandemic or crisis ensues. Sara Wallace Goodman, UCI political science professor talks about her new book out entitled, "Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of Covid; How the politicization of the pandemic endangers our lives-and our democracy," co-written with Shana Kushner Gadarian and Thomas Pepinsky, published by Princeton University Press. Sara Goodman’s team was the first to collect and analyze national survey data asking Americans about their health behaviors and attitudes.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; The Elovators, “People Go," Defy Gravity - album.

For the whole hour are: Esperanza Veilma, executive director of Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Dave Rosenfeld, of the Solar Rights Alliance, each bringing useful insights about trends and policies pertaining to electricity distribution. The recent CA Public Utility Commission's recent ruling has set deadlines for grandfathering solar rooftop panels by 4/14/23. As we continue covering this utility sector, OCPA included, listeners can follow the developments with: https://ceeetruth.org/ and https://solarrights.org/.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; and Hunrosa, “Ransome” Ransome -EP.

As we close out this year together, a treat from two performing arts artistic directors. First, the retiring artistic director of America Ballet Theater, Kevin McKenzie offers the long view of his 30 years leading that internationally acclaimed dance company.

In the second segment (minute 29:08), South Coast Repertory artistic director David Ivers reflects on coming back full throttle in this season, and offers early next year’s “Voices of America;” two plays in conversation with each other - Little Foxes and Appropriate.

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; Carlos Simon “Amen;" The Scott Oakley Trio, "Greensleeves,” Jazz for the Holidays - album

This close to the lore of Mary and Joseph looking for room at any inn, today we look at how workers are faring as they keep clean our nearby inns. For the whole program the guests are: Austin Lynch, director and negotiator at Unite Here Local 11; and Maria Balderas, union member and rank and file leader, working at the Irvine Hilton give us a look at working conditions for hotel staff as well as Irvine’s recently adopted workers protection ordinance, the first of its kind in Orange County. For those Irvine voters, who have signed the petition circulating to revoke the ordinance, who wish to retract their signatures, they can text 562-688-5867 for instructions. The document to complete is: https://www.unitehere11.org/wp-content/uploads/Irvine-Referendum-Petition-Signature-Withdrawal-Form-00420418xB613E.pdf

Music credits: Chimora, “African Americano,” Sounds of Africa- album; Groupo Nueva Vida, “Las Posadas,” Alabanzas Cristianas Que Llegan al Alma, Vol. 6