Talk of the Bay host Omar Dieguez brings us a new episode of FROM THE STREETS, where he asks: What’s really being sprayed near our schools… our homes… our children?

We ask the real questions:

We talk about the urgent demands:

Stay informed. Stay connected. Stay powerful.

In this episode, we peel back the curtain to peek behind the scenes of KSQD and explore the twists and turns that led to the creation of the station.

Talk of the Bay features an interview with Cindy Cohn. For 26 years she was director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, fighting in court for internet privacy . Her new book Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance, explores today’s surveillance dystopia through the eyes of a lawyer who has been at the legal forefront of fighting it for decades, and who can describe a better path forward. We should all be concerned about privacy right now, as the federal government consolidates and weaponizes data, companies track our every click, and law enforcement, from local cops to ICE keep tabs on all of us, everywhere we go, every day. Cohn’s national book tour will bring her to UC-Santa Cruz on Tuesday, May 19 from 12-2pm

For more information about her in-person appearance: https://events.ucsc.edu/event/privacys-defender-fight-against-digital-surveillance-with-cindy-cohn/

Bill Monning represented the Central Coast first as a State Assemblymember and then as State Senator. Bill authored a wide range of legislation. We discussed the governor’s race and how a blue state like California may end up electing a Republican if some candidates don’t drop out of the race. We also discussed the UFW and Dolores Huerta, the proposed General Strike and other current events and issues.

Want to ditch your gas-guzzling car as gas prices spike? Build your strength and endurance? Why not dust off that bike in your garage and feel the wind in your hair?  Bike Santa Cruz County promotes bicycling through advocacy, education and community building. Inn this podcast we hear from Mikey Cohen and Jon Silver, Chair and Vice Chair of this 21-year-old organization. We hear about how communities plan for safe bike transit and what fun events are coming up to encourage you to pedal around town.

Civil Grand Jury experts explain its history and purpose, application and selection process, training programs, complaint submittals, and topic selections. Judge Stephanie Hulsey, supervisor of the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury, Tom Motley and Gary Hoffmann, former jurors in Monterey, and Kim Horowitz and Arthur Rolston, former jurors in Santa Cruz, share their knowledge of investigations, report writing, and submission of recommendations. They also discuss continuity and follow-up, plus oversight of jails, juvenile halls, and prisons. Joe Truskot hosts the presentation. The photo depicts Judge Stephanie Hulsey. The title comes from a statement by KSQD Board Treasurer Mathilde Rand before the show.

The arts community of Santa Cruz County is coming together for this exciting new 11-day celebration showcasing the region’s rich artistic landscape. The festival will feature performances, exhibitions, workshops, and interactive events across venues countywide, inviting audiences of all ages to experience the transformative power of art.

Host Christine Barrington interviews Ripple Effect Co-Founders Rose Sellery and Melissa Kreisa whose bold vision for a Santa Cruz Arts Festival gestated for years before blossoming into reality as the Ripple Effect Santa Cruz Arts Festival. Their vision was born out of a shared belief that the arts not only enrich our lives but also strengthen our community and economy. At a time when many artists and organizations face mounting challenges, Ripple Effect provides a new opportunity for collaboration, visibility, and collective support. Grassroots and volunteer-driven, the festival is powered by the dedication of local arts organizations and community partners who believe in the unifying force of creativity.

Ripple Effect invites you to join them for 11 days of powerful performances, art, poetry, fashion, music, and cultural celebrations throughout Santa Cruz County. The Ripple Effect Arts Festival brings together community, creativity, and culture to reflect the unique artistic pulse of our coastal community.

Opening with Dancing in the Streets – in Downtown Santa Cruz from 5-9PM

Experience 11 Days of Community & Creativity in venues throughout Santa Cruz County

Closing with the Grand Finale from 4-9PM at The Grove @ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

On this episode of Talk of the Bay the theme is: sex and rock n’ roll - in the context of labor. Host Meilin Obinata welcomes workers who are fighting for their legal rights in two different industries with surprisingly connected issues: sex work and entertainment. How are modern workers resisting employers who are squeezing workers for intellectual property and exploiting them to avoid paying fair wages?Adalind Gray, a worker at Sherri’s Ranch, is part of a first in labor history in the United States where people have created the first union of sex workers, the United Brothel Workers. Hear from Gray directly why the workers decided to fight back when their employer asked them to give up power of attorney and other rights in order to work in a Nevada brothel.Obinata also welcomes Joey La Neve Defrancesco, co-founder of the Union Musicians and Allied Workers and part of the punk band, the Downtown Boys. Learn how musicians are fighting against streaming giants, festival organizers and other Goliaths of the entertainment industry while protecting fans from price-gouging!

Jeanne Proust has studied Humanities, Philosophy and Visual Arts in Bordeaux, Berlin, and Paris. She has been teaching Philosophy for the last fifteen years in the US and has held multiple leadership positions in ethics education and public philosophy. She currently serves as Vice President of the Public Philosophy Network, where she helps guide national initiatives connecting philosophy to public life, and as Academic Coordinator for Crown College at UC Santa Cruz, overseeing the core course on the “Ethical and Societal Implications of Emerging Technologies”.

She continues to serve as the program director for the Santa Cruz Night of Ideas, now a recurring event held every spring. The 2026 Night of Ideas will take place April 17th at the Institute of Arts & Sciences in Santa Cruz, from 5 to 9 PM.

She has been actively involved in the Center for Public Philosophy (UC Santa Cruz) for the last three years, where she served as director from 2023-2024, spearheading community-centered ethics programs and partnerships across academia, civil society, and the arts. With the Center, she helped launch the first Tech Ethics Bowl in the Bay Area, contributed to several Ethics Bowl programs targeting underserved communities, and led the inaugural Santa Cruz edition of the Night of Ideas – in collaboration with the Marc Sanders Foundation, Humanities West, The Humanities Institute at UCSC and Villa Albertine.

Jeanne’s PhD dissertation (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) focused on the pathologies of willpower, both in philosophical and psychological perspectives, but her interests are wide: among many fields, she does research in Ethics, Philosophy of Technologies, Bioethics, Feminist theory, and Aesthetics. She taught at different universities in New York, advocating for a widening of philosophical education beyond Academia by leading and participating in different events open to the general public and to marginalized populations (Rikers Island, San Quentin). She gives many public talks, collaborates on podcast projects (she produced her own, “Can You Phil It?”), and regularly collaborates with artists on her photography, drawing and painting works.

Jeanne has recently started her own philosophical counseling practice, open to individuals seeking to expand their worldview, and to examine their values and life concerns through the lens of philosophical inquiry. Part of this work is conducted in partnership with the Philosophy Technologies startup, which provides support for senior executives, helping leaders broaden their conceptual frameworks and decision-making practices.

My interview with Justin Loza, President of Veterans For Peace of Monterey County. We did the interview in the early days of The War On Iran.

It’s one local chapter in an international organization, Veterans For Peace.  They have a commitment to build a culture of peace, expose the true costs of war, and heal its wounds.