Talk of the Bay KSQD - Latest News

Join host Omar Dieguez for a powerful conversation with Yanely Martinez, longtime Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS) organizer, Camila, a rising future leader in the movement, and Señor Torres, representing a family rooted in generations of activism fighting pesticide exposure in our communities. From Monterey County to Sacramento and the Pajaro Valley, this episode highlights […]

Nolan Higdon, profesessor of media studies at UCSC discusses the way the U.S. media is framing what is happening in Venezuela leading up to and after the kidnapping of President Maduro.

Ocean advocate, Dan Haifley discusses the intricacies and urgency of preventing oil drilling and mining off California’s coastline, as the Trump administration goes all in for “drill, baby drill” policies that would open the coastal waters to extractive industries. The deadline for comment is January 23rd. Comments can be submitted to the Federal Register by […]

  Zaya Ralitza Benazzo was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. For as long as she can remember, she has been fascinated with exploring life’s big questions. She feels most at home in nature and, increasingly, within herself. Zaya is a producer and film director with engineering, environmental science, and film degrees. For many years, […]

Talk of the Bay’s George Cadman hosts a conversation on the controversy surrounding Flock Safety, and their cameras that appear to track more than just license-plates. After revelations that the police have illegally shared data with ICE and other agencies, the Santa Cruz City Council will meet Tuesday, January 13th, to consider ending the contract […]

If you’ve had writer’s block — and for all the listeners out there who have ever put pen to paper, chances are a good that you have — there’s no shortage of pithy quotes or “how to” books from famous authors that can help snap you out of it. “Write what you know,” goes one. […]

Sara Niedzwieck is a professor of politics at UC Santa Cruz and studies South American politics. She offers her analysis of what is currently happening in Venezuela, a developing story.

On January 3rd the U.S. military conducted a strike on the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, killing dozens of people, and capturing President Maduro and his wife and bringing them to New York to stand trial. What does this mean for the region? What is it really about? Michael Fox is a Latin America-based media maker […]

Omar Dieguez reports live from the vigil marking the killing by an ICE agent of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

From the Streets brings you a powerful live podcast and performance featuring Dub Souljah, Safaa (Baytal), Miguel Kultura, and Shinelight—artists using resistance music to inspire, awaken, and empower our youth to rise as leaders. Join us January 24, 2026, at the Veterans Hall, 846 Front St. Doors open at 12 PM. Featuring additional performances by […]

  Mark Toney has been the Executive Director of The Utility Reform Network (TURN) since 2008. Mark has transformed TURN into a social movement organization, whose 27 staff are two-thirds women and two-thirds people of color, and has expanded its impact to promote and win racial and economic justice in energy affordability, climate action, and […]

Christine Barrington starts a new show on KSQD this Friday: Apocalyptic Supper Club. But Christine is hardly new to KSQD—in fact, she’s a Squid super-volunteer. Apart from hosting Talk of the Bay for several years, Christine was a board member, volunteer coordinator, behind-the-scenes producer, and host of a series called Behind the Mic. In this […]

Long-time arts and culture journalist for Santa Cruz, Wallace Baine is retiring from his post at Lookout, the online news site, but not before they won the Pulitzer Prize for local journalism. We look back at some of his most exciting interviews with the likes of Randy Newman and Carol Burnett, plus his take on […]

Dr. David Ebert is an expert on shark biology with the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory and San Jose State University with the Pacific Shark Research Center. In the wake of the death of triathlete Erika Fox at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove, sharks are once again in the news. But are they the human killers […]

🎙️ FROM THE STREETS | Special Broadcast Hosted by Omar Dieguez on KSQD   This Monday’s episode of From the Streets was a powerful and necessary conversation, broadcast live from a special School Board meeting addressing the devastating cuts proposed in our school district.   Parents, students, and school board members spoke directly about the […]

Last Night is a do-it-yourself, decentralized, collective, spontaneous, open, public New Year’s Eve celebration in Santa Cruz, California since 2005. Celebrating what we can do as a community when we work together. Sunset on New Year’s Eve every year starting at Pacific & Spruce (behind Ace Hardware), and ending with a street party at Pacific […]

  When he was a young man of college age, Richard Hodge was attending seminary and thought he was going to become a Methodist minister. As the fates would have it, he instead went on to become a lawyer, who defended some of the most notorious, and politically charged, crime cases in America, including the […]

KSQD Community Radio Hosts Critical Conversation on PVUSD Cuts Impacting Student Mental Health On Talk of the Bay From the Streets, we aired a one-hour program addressing recent cuts within Pajaro Valley Unified School District that have reduced mental health clinicians, counselors, and special education supports. Hosted by community advocate Omar Eduardo Dieguez, the program […]

On Talk of the Bay host Meilin Obinata, welcomes Christopher Barrera of the Salinas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens known as LULAC and Salinas City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval. Barrera discusses the civil rights concerns LULAC has regarding the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office investigations into the signature gathering process of the […]

46th Annual Eco-Farm Conference at Asilomar (Jan 21-24) – Talk of The Bay On Tuesday, Dec. 9th, Talk of The Bay host George Cadman spoke with Rebecca North (Executive Director of the Ecological Farming Association) and Ken Foster (co-owner of Terra Nova Ecological Landscaping & permaculture instructor at Cabrillo College) about the upcoming 46th annual […]

  Anjelka Stipanovich, Anna Michel, and Julia Alaimo are the Program Coordinators for the Resilient Central Coast program at Ecology Action. The program is only a few months old. Resilient Central Coast introduces everyday actions and local resources to help you prepare for the unexpected, electrify your home, and build community climate resilience.

Hello, I’m Daymia Rousseau, a UCSC Intern reporting for KSQD. The Trump Administration’s attacks on DEI programs have hit especially hard when it comes to access to gender affirming care for trans youth. Regardless of the intense pressure on schools by the Department of education to remove all forms of “gender ideology”, many schools and […]

What does Santa Cruz love about the holiday season? Squid on the Street spoke to parade participants and attendees at the 2025 Holiday Parade in downtown Santa Cruz. It was a joyous celebration of food, song, costumes, and above all, community. Listen to their voices and click here to see a gallery of photos.

  Lindsay Owens, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Widely known for her ability to communicate pressing economic concepts and arguments, Lindsay has been credited with changing the way we understand inflation by leading the charge to expose – and articulate – the role of firm pricing power and corporate profiteering in […]

On this episode of Talk of the Bay, with host Meilin Obinata, guests James Weller, a land title expert and Barry Scott a clean energy educator bust the latest myths and misunderstandings regarding the Rail and Trail Project of Santa Cruz County. Our third guest, Debora Fudge, has multiple decades of experience serving on the […]

For decades Santa Cruz Community Health has faithfully pursued its mission to improve the health of its patients and the community and advocate the feminist goals of social, political, and economic equality. On December 4th the public is invited to enjoy “The Power of Her Voice” featuring Poet Ellen Bass and many others. Join host […]

In this podcast we hear from Welton Jordan, chief real estate development officer with EAH, about a new housing project for veterans at the former Fort Ord military base in Marina. Lightfighter Village will house 71 homeless veterans. It has wrap around services for residents needing help with health, job training, or economic issues. It […]

On Thursday, November 20th, Rep. Jimmy Panetta joined a virtual press call with Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and other Congressional Democrats to respond to the Trump administration’s newly released five-year offshore […]

  Len Beyea has been a host of KSQD’s Talk of the Bay program since 2019. In this episode, the roles are switched, and Len is interviewed by David Thiermann. Len and Dave have known each other since 1970, when Len took a Swahili class from David at UCSC. David suggested the role reversal, and […]

  Charles Pasternak has served as the Artistic Director for Santa Cruz Shakespeare since 2023. Before that, he served as Artistic Director of The Porters of Hellsgate Theatre Co in Los Angeles for over fifteen years. He has had a wide-ranging career as an actor and director at theatres across this country including American Players […]

Rachel Anne Goodman interviews Deputy Insurance Commissioner, Michael Soller about the crisis in home insurance in fire-prone areas, including Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. A recent New York Times article revealed some alarming details about the way the new regulations and rates were negotiated. It raised questions about the future of real estate in California, […]

  Heather Houston is the Artistic Director of the women’s choir Yala Lati. Heather is a well-established Santa Cruz-based musician, recording artist, vocal coach, song circle leader, and choral director, whose spirit uplifts hearts and weaves community through the power of singing. Over the last 3 decades, you may have heard her singing 3-part harmony […]

Third District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings weighs in on threats to the California coast from offshore drilling and seabed mining, and what local governments are doing to ready themselves for the right to protect our coast.

What happened after November 4th? Find out from Tony Russomanno.

Two Aptos High students, Emily and Lucy, talk about their work as podcasters and environmental activists. The Aptos Community Youth Program is a free youth leadership and arts engagement program offered to students in the Santa Cruz County area. As part of their work digital media and visual art outlets such as podcasting, film production, […]

Join Tony Russomanno with guests Chris Krohn and Laz Meiman for a special report in advance of the Nov. 4 election.

Cynthia Ranii, a Santa Cruz resident and elite table tennis player, is competing for a slot in the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games. Ranii became paralyzed from the chest down in 2005 at age 58 after sudden onset of a rare neuro-immunologic disorder known as transverse myelitis. Ranii was at the peak of her career […]

When was the last time you ran your weekend errands without getting behind the wheel of a car? How about commuting to work? What about a trip to the beach? It’s not easy in our modern world to get around without a personal four-wheeler, but that hasn’t stopped Santa Cruz County transportation leaders from challenging […]

Matt Miller, the director of mobility transformation at Ecology Action, returned to Talk of the Bay in September to talk about the Santa Cruz Bikeway, a new 11-mile route encircling the city of Santa Cruz using only existing roads and infrastructure. While the two month pilot project wrapped up Oct. 8, and along with it […]

Hedge funds and secretive investors are buying up local papers and stripping them for parts. These so-called vulture capitalists and their attack on journalism are the subject of a new film out on PBS, “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink by Rick Goldsmith. We hear from Goldsmith and investigative journalist Julie Reynolds about […]

CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, Erica Padilla-Chavez is in the eye of the storm of hungry people seeking food in the wake of pending cuts to CalFresh/SNAP (EBT, food stamps). They are seeking 75 new volunteers to help with the influx of new clients suddenly in need of food in our communities. You can […]

On October 28, 2025, George Cadman was joined on Talk of The Bay by Ken Reichman and Denise Allen of Indivisible Of Santa Cruz County to discuss the No Kings rally & march on Oct 18th, what’s next, how members of ISCC are working to protect our community from ICE, and how people can join […]

In this episode of Talk of the Bay, host Meilin Obinata speaks with two people experiencing different aspects of the rent crisis in the City Salinas: Sam Messenger, a person who received a visit on October 13, 2025 from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office investigator who was investigating him about his decision to sign […]

On Talk of The Bay on Tues Oct 21st, at 5 pm, host George Cadman interviewed local author, psychotherapist and Family Constellation facilitator, Molly Salans. They discussed her psychological thriller, A Break in The Fog, about a family in turmoil and a dangerous cult, which explores how faith can be used to heal, but also […]

  Interviews with Adam Scow and Dr. Ann Lopez: Adam Bolaños Scow is a Public-Interest Advocate, Violinist, and Music Teacher. For over 15 years Adam has helped win environmental campaigns in the Monterey Bay region including the efforts to ban fracking in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. He is a co-founder of the […]

Talk of the Bay Host George Cadman interviews Jenni Veitch-Olson about California Proposition 50. Jenni is a compassionate community leader. Jenni is the Director of Development for Emerge California, the premier training program for Democratic women who want to run for office and win. She served as the Vice Chair of the Santa Cruz County […]

KSQD’s Talk of the Bay, Meilin Obinata welcomes Omar Dieguez to discuss his month-long hunger strike to raise awareness of the dangers of pesticide use in agriculture, and his work to ban pesticide use in the community.

From Suki Wessling: Reporting from the October 18 No Kings Rally in Downtown Santa Cruz today, I heard a clear message: What’s happening in this country is not OK. People from all walks of life came together with a message of unity and hope. Although there was anger, there was a distinct lack of partisanship […]

Did you know having a dark sky is healthier for humans and other animals? Many creatures rely on the stars to navigate or know where to migrate. Dark Sky International is a movement to reclaim the sky at night, led by amateur astronomers and scientists. Light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human health, wastes money and […]

Even in a banner year for coastal storm damage, Seacliff and New Brighton State Beaches stood out in 2022 and early 2023. A relentless flurry of atmospheric river storms slammed the popular seaside destinations, snapping the historic Seacliff pier in two, dramatically flooding the day-use area with sand and debris and striping away much of […]