We hear from Darrow Feldstein, organizer of Santa Cruz Porchfest, a one-day free outdoor festival featuring 54 local bands.  More info: https://santacruzporchfest.lovable.app/ Porchfest started in Ithaca, New York in 2007 and has since spread to hundreds of neighborhoods across the country. The idea is simple and wholesome: neighbors with porches host neighbors with instruments, and […]

Holly Near sat down with me for a wide-ranging interview ahead of her Carmel appearance on October 3rd. Holly Near has written a large body of music that reflects her activism, with many songs becoming movement anthems.

We hear from constitutional lawyer, Danny Sheehan and his son, Daniel Paul Nelson about a new voting rights initiative of the Romero Institute. We discussed redistricting, the Supreme Court, and the perilous moment we are in before the mid-term elections. Daniel Sheehan (also known as Danny Sheehan) is a Harvard-trained constitutional and public interest lawyer, […]

An 8-million dollar grant program will support art in California’s state, regional, and local parks, including painting, performances, and other arts presentations with the goal of drawing more people to the parks and increasing support. When Armando Quintero, head of California’s State Parks system brought his mom to Ano Nuevo State Park, she danced along […]

The Santa Cruz Guitar Company celebrates 50 years as one of the most influential guitar shops in the world. Richard Hoover, the company’s founder, looks back on fifty years of making steel-string guitars.  Eric Clapton and Tony Rice have played Santa Cruz Guitar Company guitars, among other luminaries. Lutherie is an art, a science, and […]

  Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author who has covered cities and transportation for publications such as Grist, CityLab, and Streetsblog. Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer who is also a neighborhood safe streets advocate. They are authors, along with Aaron Naparstek, of the book Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the […]

UCSC professor Nolan Higdon has a unique take on the impact of the recent court settlement of nearly $18 billion, plus some changes in the platform. How much will it matter to the overall impact of the platform on society at large? We also discuss AI and its impact on the classroom.

Athlete Catherine Breed is fearless as she aims to swim the 900- mile coast of California. She has endured jellyfish stings and whale poop to set records for the fastest swim and now she has set her sights on this audacious project titled “Swim California”. I caught up with her during one of her rest […]

Each year for the past five years, I have taught a podcasting course in Dingle,Ireland, in the far westernmost, rural part of the country. This year 35 UCSC students spent six weeks studying podcasting and writing there. Listen to the whimsical results of their assignment to create 7-minute pieces of audio fun.    

On Nov. 3, voters across California will have an opportunity to weigh in on Proposition 44. The measure, if passed, would require federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, to spend at least 90% of their annual revenue on expenses that advance the mission of the health centers. If the FQHCs fail to do so, they’ll […]