Coltrane, PUccini & The Blues

[link to transcript]

s4e12
March 26, 2026

Tony Robles welcomes Kenneth Yu to the audio garden. Yu is an award-winning author from the Philippines known for his short story fiction. Kenneth Yu’s work has been praised by notable figures in the literary world, including Ellen Datlow, Neil Gaiman, and LeVar Burton and has played a significant role in the rise of genre fiction by Filipino authors. He reads a bit from his story Exit Plan.

The unedited 45 minute conversation is in the video section below.

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Kenneth Yu is an award-winning author from the Philippines whose short fiction has seen publication in his home country as well as overseas in the USA, Canada, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Dr. Kim McMillon, a producer and playwright, has contributed to various anthologies, including Some Other Blues and Black Fire—This Time. Her notable works include the one-woman show Confessions of a Thespian and the play Voyages. She also authored the essay “Ancestor as Refugee” for the SAGE Encyclopedia of Refugee Studies.

Laura Lengnick, a renowned soil scientist, has three decades of experience in sustainability in U.S. agriculture. She has received national recognition for her work, including a USDA Honor Award. As the founder of Cultivating Resilience, she collaborates on climate resilience projects and authored the influential book, Resilient Agriculture.

Sarah Sophie is an activist, producer, writer, filmmaker, cultural organizer, creative director, and aerialist. Founder and Creative Director of celebrated political cabaret group, The Citizens Band, she is the Editor-At-Large for Violet Book. Her writing can be found at Hello Giggles, Rookie Magazine, W Magazine, Vogue, Refinery29, The Cut, Cosmo.com, Violet Book, Stylist, Rizzoli’s publication The Inspired Home and her site, At Once, focusing on the intersection of feminism and parenthood.

Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows on the Pacifica Affiliate Network. 

Tony Robles, “The People’s Poet” was born in San Francisco and is the nephew of Filipino-American poet, historian and social justice activist Al Robles. He was a shortlist nominee for poet laureate of San Francisco in 2017 and the recipient of the San Francisco Art Commission individual literary artist grant in 2018. His two books of poetry and short stories, Cool Don’t Live Here No More – A letter to San Francisco and Fingerprints of a Hunger Strike (both published by Ithuriel’s Spear Press) take on the issues of eviction, gentrification and police violence in communities of color. He is…

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Philippine Genre Stories includes a plethora of Filippino authors in a wide range of genres, giving those who are interested a large pallet to explore.

Yu has a knack for subverting expectations, crafting twists that are as surprising as they are inevitable . . . His worlds and characters—whether human or otherwise—are vast yet intimate, alien yet achingly familiar. This is a collection that doesn’t just tell stories; it ensnares, unsettles, and ultimately, astonishes.

This anthology is a collection of unpredictable stories of various genres—fantasy, science fiction, crime, horror and the supernatural—that touch on courage and fear, loss and resolution, denial and honesty, despair and hope…from an author who writes about being human in a world where the unseen is suddenly exposed.

Living It! is Martha Cinader’s debut as the producer of her own album, and features an eclectic array of arrangements and musical styles. It was recorded in part in a studio in New York City, part in a studio in Hamburg, and part live at the Mojo Club in Hamburg, throw in some bonus tracks recorded live at WBAI Radio in New York, and a superb mastering session with Ralph “Pinguin” Kessler in Hamburg, and you get fourteen tracks! Cinader brings together the collective talents of Sabine Worthmann, who uses here sfx pedals generously with her accoustic bass and an…

This book is a vessel/holding liquid for thirsty desirers/in the empty spiral of the universe/where detail is opinion/one moment is all it takes to answer/when the body calls. This book is just one answer in a life of calling. The storyteller lives inside the breath of home. Whatever home is chosen, whatever breath is owned. The desirer takes the moment we’re in and stretches out its every wrinkle. In the folds are new horizons, exploding the every day, line by line-inwards, so the shards are sort of slo-mo in their entry into gravity…We’re brought into the world of the writer.…

A collection of biographical stories and poems about fascinating people in history whose real dreams made a real difference. Developed in performance, these stories bring old tales to life for contemporary readers in a way that is both entertaining and informative.

Real world stories from the frontlines of climate change, resilience, and the future of food. CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS an unprecedented challenge to food and farming in the U.S. and beyond. Damaging weather variability and extremes capture the headlines, but more subtle changes caused by hotter summer nights, warmer winters, and a longer growing season have far-reaching effects on the land, people, and communities that feed us. This expanded and updated edition of Resilient Agriculture takes you beyond the headlines and the hype to shine a light on agricultural climate solutions with the power to cultivate new American foodways that are…

CREDITS– CO-HOSTS & PRODUCERS: Martha Cinader, Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra, Tony Robles. FEATURED GUEST: Kenneth Yu. ALSO FEATURED: Sarah Sophie Flicker, Yvette Murray (voice of banned book theme.) STORY: Exit Plan by Kenneth Yu, read by Kenneth Yu. POETRY: Martha Cinader, Tony Robles. MUSIC: Impression, by John Coltrane, featuring Jay Rodriguez, Puccini, Red Rooster by Willie Dixon, featuring Billy Lyles, vocals & guitar. SOUNDTRACK, MIXING, MASTERING, SOUND DESIGN: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Executive Producer, Martha Cinader.

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