Talk of the Bay KSQD - Latest News

As the presidential primary season gets underway, how will fake news influence how people, or whether people vote? How will it impact the views people hold about the nominees? What are deep fakes and how can we deal with them?  Those are a few questions tackled by Dr. Nolan Higdon, professor of media studies at […]

As we watch public meetings devolve into shouting, politicians doxing and being doxed, private and public figures being harassed for their statements or views, and even a death threat on the life of Santa Cruz’s mayor, how do we walk it back? That was a question I posed to Silvia Morales, Executive Director of the […]

Fresh off a meeting with the person who threatened to kill him over his vote on a council resolution regarding violence in the Middle East, Santa Cruz Mayor, Fred Keeley talks about the necessity of being able to disagree without being disagreeable. While defending his vote and the people’s right to have their say, Keeley […]

Each year, the Community Music School of Santa Cruz hosts the Santa Cruz Harp Festival, a celebration of this beautiful instrument. This year’s festival includes Celtic, Classical and Improvisational music. In this interview, we hear from Executive Director, Susan Willats about the history of the harp, and the festival that celebrates it. Artists are Calvin […]

Five local reporters convened in KSQD to review the top stories and discuss the year ahead in the news. They are Stephen Baxter and Kara Meyberg Guzman of Santa Cruz Local, Dan Schmalz of Monterey County Weekly, and Wallace Baine of Lookout Santa Cruz. We hear about housing/homelessness, water, octopus’ garden, and, did anybody mention […]

Efforts are underway to qualify a new citizen’s ballot initiative that would raise over $7 million a year for environmental restoration efforts, from wildfire and flood recovery to clean water and beaches. It’s called the “Santa Cruz County Safe Drinking Water, Clean Beaches, Wildfire Risk Reduction, and Wildlife Protection Act.” and it may be on […]

The Santa Cruz Welcoming Network was founded a few years ago because local people felt the need to do something specific to help new arrivals to our community, whether it be practicing for a driver’s test or getting help with asylum claims. In this interview, we hear from two members of an Afghani family of […]

Santa Cruz Gives is a crowdfunding platform and initiative of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz and the Good Times Weekly newspaper. We hear from Jeanne Howard of Good Times and Karen Delaney of The Volunteer Center about their passion for this local philanthropy project. If you’d like to make a donation to KSQD or […]

Janus has been the go-to recovery center in Santa Cruz County for the past 30 years. In this interview, board chair, Edison Jensen, and CEO Amber Williams talk about ways to support recovery during the holidays, how their various programs work, and stories of hope amidst the fentanyl epidemic. In addition, they talk about opening […]

In her book, Why we Need to be Wild, author and journalist Jessica Carew Kraft writes about her quest to live simply off the land in a life close to nature. Weaving deep research and reportage with her own personal journey, Jessica tells the remarkable story of the potential benefits rewilding has for us and […]