The California Report Magazine

Mar 07 2025 394 ep. 29 mins 635

The California Report Magazine Podcast artwork

Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.

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The Art of Snow Science; Al Akhbar's Middle East Jazz

Mar 07 2025 29 mins

For many Californians, winter means snow. But alongside the skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers awaiting the latest weather forecasts, there’s another group of snow obsessives in our state: snow scientists. They measure California’s snowpack every day in order to better predict our statewide water supply for the coming year. Some of the most cutting-edge work in this field is b

Saving Altadena's Historic Tiles; Poet Says 'Solidarity is Key to Survival '

Feb 28 2025 30 mins

Some of the homes lost in the Eaton Fire included fireplaces with distinctive hearths made of handmade tiles. These Arts and Crafts-era tiles were created by local artist Ernest Batchelder a century ago. For many Altadenans, these tiles are all that is left of their homes. Now a group of volunteers is working quickly to save as many of these tiles as possible before bulldozers clea

'Buzzkill' Investigates a World Without Honeybees

Feb 21 2025 29 mins

‘Buzzkill’ Examines the Crisis of Disappearing Honeybees and Other Pollinators The Central Valley’s almond industry is hosting what some beekeepers call the Super Bowl. Commercial beekeepers from across the country take an estimated 90% of the nation’s honeybees and load them into trucks in time to make a narrow pollination window for those Central Valley almond trees. But

Japanese Americans Pledge to 'Fight Back' Against Trump Deportation Plan

Feb 14 2025 29 mins

February 19 is the Day of Remembrance, the anniversary of when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Some survivors of those prison camps are feeling like the rhetoric about immigrants and mass deportations today is hitting too close to home. In response, some survivors are mobilizing to protect vu

Life After the Eaton Fire; Kishi Bashi Embraces Imperfection; 19-Year-Old Bandleader Creates a Future in Norteño

Feb 07 2025 29 mins

Following the Eaton Fire, tens of thousands of people are suspended in a state of shock and grief, even as they have to make life-changing decisions about where to live now, and whether to rebuild. KQED’s Rachael Myrow shares the story of one mother and daughter navigating this new normal. Plus we visit the Santa Cruz studio of Kishi Bashi. The musician and composer defies genre

Oakland’s Freedom Community Clinic, New Documentary Spotlights LGBTQ Activist Sally Gearhart

Jan 31 2025 29 mins

On this week's show, we visit the Freedom Community Clinic which provides free herbal remedies, massage services and healing workshops at their two apothecaries in Oakland. And just outside the city, they recently launched the Ancestral Healing Farm, where people of color are encouraged to learn about ancestral practices and reconnect with the land. The goal of founder Dr. Bernie L

Neighbors Come Together in Aftermath of Eaton Fire; A 129-Year-Old Lawsuit Could Stop the Ending of Birthright Citizenship

Jan 24 2025 29 mins

People affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles are only just starting to get a handle on what it’s going to mean to rebuild their lives and mend their broken communities. And it’s going to take a long time. We spend time with neighbors in Altadena and Pasadena who are coming together and relying on each other. One of those neighbors is Steven Cuevas. He’s The California Repo

‘Wired for Connection’: The Science of Kindness, and Why Hope Outweighs Cynicism

Jan 17 2025 29 mins

It will take months to clean up all the debris from the Palisades and Eaton fires. Some community members in Pasadena decided to start the work immediately, led by a group of day laborers who saw a need and rushed to fill it. KCRW’s Megan Jamerson reports. And even as as restaurants burned down and Los Angeles residents fled the Palisades and Eaton fires, LA’s food community w

‘The Devastation is Breathtaking’. Voices from the LA Fires

Jan 10 2025 29 mins

There are not enough words to describe the impact of the wildfires in Los Angeles – one of the most destructive and costly firestorms in our state’s history. Whether we’ve lost our homes, are fleeing for safety, or desperately worried about people we love, so many people in California are grieving. Tens of thousands of residents have evacuated, leaving everything behind. We b

These California Composers Make Their Own Rules: Two Stories from the Archive

Jan 03 2025 29 mins

We start in Los Angeles with emerging composter Derrick Skye, whose fascination with the cosmos is woven into his music. When Skye began composing “Prism, Cycles and Leaps,” he watched YouTube videos about Jupiter and was captivated by the way the planet moved at different speeds. As a mixed race person, he resonates with musical traditions from across the globe and blends genr