KVPR News Podcast

The cab of Sunny Grewal’s 18-wheeler is neat and tidy. He’s got bunk beds with red checkered sheets and gray interior cabinets that hide a fridge, microwave, paper plates and spices for long days on the road. One plastic container holds bite-sized sweets from his native India. “We call it gur, G-U-R,” Grewal says. “You can put it in tea, or you can have a small piece after food.” Grewal is a trucking company owner-operator based in Fresno. He’s on the road upwards of 150,000 miles a year,

The early days of the pandemic were challenging for truck drivers. As other workers were told to stay home, truckers kept going, delivering food, clothing and cleaning supplies for stores and hospitals throughout the country. On the road for days or weeks at a time, many were fearful of bringing the virus back to their families, and the temporary closures of rest stops left them uncertain whether they’d find a safe place to use the bathroom or sleep. Meanwhile, priority access for the vaccine

Members of the Asian American community have been sounding alarms over the dramatic increase in anti-Asian rhetoric and violence over the course of the pandemic. But it was another tragedy, the mass shooting in Atlanta that left eight dead, six of whom were women of Asian descent, that centered a national conversation about racism and discrimination against Asian Americans. To learn more about how this moment is being experienced in the San Joaquin Valley, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock

Like in so many places across the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic crept up on the San Joaquin Valley. Some of the region’s first official cases were linked to outbreaks on cruise ships that came into port in March, but as we later learned, the virus was already circulating long beforehand. Then began the slow-moving disaster. Cities and counties issued emergency orders, Governor Newsom instituted a statewide lockdown, and schools and businesses shuttered. Meanwhile, the death toll at nursing

Days before the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 board certified psychiatrist Dr. Jasmine Singh spoke with Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock about coronavirus panic. One year later they spoke again about anxiety, depression, collective trauma, and what the pandemic has done to our mental health.

Even though COVID-19 has been the dominant public health threat for a year, first with a summer surge, then a winter surge, and now with the rollout of much-anticipated vaccines, other public health problems haven’t just disappeared. One long-standing health concern in the San Joaquin Valley is valley fever, a fungal disease that sickens thousands each year here and throughout the desert southwest. Even though the disease is caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus and it’s not transmissible

Microsoft is piloting a new project to increase and support local news in four cities across the country including Fresno. KVPR was among the newsrooms chosen for the collaboration along with the Fresno Bee, Vida en el Valle and Radio Bilingue. To learn more, Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with Valley Public Radio reporter Madi Bolanos and News Director Alice Daniel. Also joining the conversation were Project Director Rebecca Plevin and Radio Bilingue Director of National News and

The controversial sale of Fresno’s Tower Theater to Adventure Church has drawn months of protests and legal battles. As the close of escrow remains in limbo, local arts reporter Donald Munro found himself asking why the church is so determined to purchase the landmark. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke to Munro about his recent column on the controversy and got his recommendations for this year’s virtual Rogue Festival, which wraps up on Sunday.

Slowly and steadily, COVID-19 is loosening its grip on the San Joaquin Valley. New cases are dropping, intensive care units are becoming less impacted, and every day, thousands more people are being vaccinated against the virus. Simultaneously, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office is facing ongoing litigation surrounding its response to the pandemic in the county jail. Following a lawsuit in July that alleged the jail wasn’t allowing incarcerated people to wear masks or visit with attorneys, a

There are a record number of women in Congress who are also raising children under the age of 18. So many that a “Moms in the House” caucus was established in 2018. But how are the experiences of these working moms influencing legislative priorities? That question is at the center of research co-authored by Fresno State Associate Professor of Political Science Lisa Bryant. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock spoke with her about the study and its origins.