The California Report Magazine KQED

On this week's show:
For the past 13 years, DJ Ramzi has been sharing his deep knowledge and passion for Arabic music with listeners all over the world through his radio show and podcast, “Arabology.” But Ramzi Salti is not just a deejay, he's also an advanced lecturer in the Arabic program at Stanford University. His goal is to expose people to the wide variety of Arabic music, and along the way, push back against the stereotypes and demonization of Arabs and Arab-Americans. KQED’s culture reporter Ariana Proehl visited him at Stanford and brings us this story.
And we meet musician Hana Vu. She just released her second album and started a North American tour that will end in her hometown of Los Angeles in August. Critics have called her an “an indie-pop prodigy” who’s “old beyond her years.” That’s because the prolific musician, who started recording and playing shows in her teens, is just 24. Guest host Bianca Taylor talked with Hana Vu about her new album “Romanticism,” and why she chose touring over music school.
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This holiday weekend, we're replaying stories from our Hidden Gems series about out-of-the-way secret spots in California - places you might want to visit on a road trip!
How This Oakland Business Gives Mannequins New Life (Almost)
You might not notice them, but mannequins can be found everywhere from the tiniest boutiques to Target. But what happens to these non-biodegradable figures when stores go out of business or styles change? In California, many of them end up at Mannequin Madness, an Oakland warehouse run by a woman whose mission is to keep mannequins out of the landfill.
This Stretch of the Mojave Desert Plays the ‘Lone Ranger’ Theme
There’s a road in the western Mojave Desert that’s supposed to sound like the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini. Honda built the road back in 2008 as part of a TV commercial for the Civic. But it's seen better days. Reporter Clare Wiley headed out to Lancaster to make some music with her tires.
Fort Bragg’s Larry Spring Museum Preserves Creativity in California
The tiny Larry Spring Museum is dedicated to a Mendocino County TV repairman who lived in Fort Bragg most of his life. He was an amateur physicist, a keen observer of nature and the items he left behind reveal his deep curiosity about the world. KQED’s Katrina Schwartz takes us to this whimsical museum to learn more about the man behind it.
This episode originally aired in February 2024.
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This week, we're sharing an episode from Inheriting, a new podcast from our friends at LAist Studios and the NPR Network. The show, hosted by Emily Kwong, is centered on the stories of Asian American and Pacific Islander families. It explores how one event in history can ripple through the generations of those families.
In this episode, we hear from Leialani Wihongi-Santos. Leialani is CHamoru and lives in Southern California, but she was born and raised on the island of Guam. Growing up, Leialani was taught that the United States "saved” her island from occupation by Imperial Japan. But she later learned that framing is not entirely true. Emily sits down with Leialani and her grandfather, Joseph Aflleje-Santos, for answers.
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Elsie Saldaña is a living piece of queer history. The 79-year-old has been doing drag since the 1960’s, making her the oldest drag king still performing in the U.S. She’s known as El Daña, and she didn’t get her start in LA or San Francisco. She’s from Fresno, where she worked the fields as a child. This pride month, reporter Celeste Hamilton Dennis brings us this profile of El Daña and tells us why the king isn't ready to hang up her crown.
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Songs In the Key of Fatherhood
Rightnowish host Pendarvis Harshaw's love of music was passed to him from his mom. He says her love of funk, R&B, new jack swing and hip-hop laid his musical foundation. Now that he's a dad, Pendarvis is now passing all of that musical knowledge down to his daughter, song by song.
Santa Cruz Museum Celebrates Filipino Manongs In New Exhibit
Fathers are at the heart of a new exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. Sowing Seeds: Filipino Americans in the Pajaro Valley highlights an archive of oral histories, photos, and stories from the first generation of Filipino men (or manongs) who came to California. KAZU’s Janelle Salanga visited with some of the families who contributed their dads’ stories to the archive.
What Sounds Remind You of Your Father? 
Five years ago, we opened up the phone lines for California Report Magazine listeners to call in and share stories about the sounds that remind them of their fathers and grandfathers. Here we explore their messages and listen to some of those sounds: foghorns, Giants baseball on TV, an impact wrench, and even Kai Ryssdal's voice. These touching memories are certain to get you thinking about the sounds that remind you of your father.
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Jens Ibsen is a dynamic young composer putting his spin on classical music, infusing it with prog rock, heavy metal and Japanese video game music. Isben's bold and non-traditional style is getting a lot of attention from major institutions like the San Francisco Symphony. But it hasn't been easy. He has had to confront racism as he found his unique place in classical music. He’s a lot of different things at once, and you can see that reflected not just in his music but also in who he is as a person. Reporter Jessica Kariisa's profile of Jens Ibsen is the first in our series celebrating California composers.
Plus we visit Tio’s Tacos in Riverside. Just drive off the 91 freeway onto Mission Inn Avenue and stop when you see a huge orange butterfly hanging off the side of a building. You’ll see the airplane parked on the roof and two giants made from recycled aluminum cans taller than the building behind them. This Mexican restaurant/sculpture garden is an immigrant entrepreneur’s labor of love. For our series Hidden Gems, KQED’s Daniel Eduardo Hernandez takes a trip back to his hometown to meet the owner and creator of the Tio's Tacos wonderland.
And we head South to Santa Cruz. The city has played a big role in surfing history – it’s where Hawaiian princes first introduced the sport to California back in 1885, and where surfers began using wetsuits in the 1950s. Since then, the city has been on the cutting edge of a lot of modern surf technology. A new company there is hoping to build on that history and help the sport become more environmentally friendly – by using a 3D printer to create surfboards made from recycled hospital trays. KAZU’s Erin Malsbury went to check out how these surfboards get made.
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