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"content": "\n\u003cp>Thirty-four days before the disgraced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/theranos\">Theranos\u003c/a> founder Elizabeth Holmes was due in federal prison to serve an 11-year sentence for conspiracy and fraud, she and her partner, Billy Evans, welcomed a film crew into their beachside cottage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea, Holmes and Evans said, was to help the public understand who Holmes really is. The narrative was incorrect. The journalists and the television shows, like the Hulu miniseries \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910084/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-amanda-seyfried-palo-alto-tech\">The Dropout\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, had gotten her wrong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so, in one of the many mysteries of this fascinating project, they chose Nathan Fielder, a comedian known for blurring fiction and reality in absurdist shows like \u003cem>Nathan for You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Rehearsal\u003c/em>, to come into their rented home in Del Mar, California, and document their life with their two young children in her final days before prison. They even invited Fielder to stay with them — an offer that he declines at first but later accepts, about 20 days in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvW_N5p1q44\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The resulting film, \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em>, (in theaters Friday) defies categorization. In some ways, it is a staggering piece of performance art by everyone involved. It’s also wildly entertaining, confounding and wholly unique. I’m not even sure an interest in Holmes is any sort of prerequisite for enjoyment. Besides, even after this nearly three-hour exercise, which somehow flies by, she remains as enigmatic as ever.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fielder shares directing credits with Lance Oppenheim, who also directed the recent Robert Pattinson-as-Chris Hansen drama \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13994184/primetime-robert-pattinson-chris-hansen-a24-movie-review\">Primetime\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. As in Fielder’s aforementioned television shows, he is as much a character in \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> as his subjects. At the beginning, he’s even shot somewhat ominously, a voyeuristic creeper lurking in the corners or in the distance with his headphones and portable monitor almost always affixed to his person. He is our portal into this world and we’re compelled to empathize with and trust him — what other choice do we have, really?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though Fielder doesn’t pretend to be a journalist, or a science expert, his questions are direct and perceptive. In polite conversation, when someone is telling you how they fell in love at first sight, you might just nod and accept their story. Fielder asks why and follows up again and again and again, either until something starts to make sense to him, or until he gives up (to his credit, it’s usually due to some external interruption). He is never afraid to just let silence sit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And these are not easy subjects. Holmes continues to maintain that she did nothing wrong, and that her invention — a device that was supposed to be able to detect a multitude of diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood — worked. At one point, she even tells Fielder that she’s never told a lie. That teaser for the film (you know, the one where their faces are awkwardly close and she asks Fielder without blinking, “Why would I deceive you?”) may not play out exactly how it was initially cut, but it feels spiritually true to the endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And then there is Evans, who emerges as perhaps the biggest puzzle. His early demeanor toward Fielder has a tinge of contention. Fielder homes in on oddities in the couple’s relationship. He interrogates their first meeting — in which Evans claims to have not known who Holmes was for the first hour of their conversation — and Evans’ tendency to step in and steamroll situations (even to correct the way Holmes is limply mixing raw eggs). This is a strange couple and observing them together is probably not the PR campaign they thought it would be.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One thing they are particularly obsessed with is a juicy quote that a 2023 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> profile attributes to Holmes: “They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created.” She’s ostensibly talking about fictionalized depictions, from Amanda Seyfried’s Emmy-winning performance to a scrapped Jennifer Lawrence movie. Evans and Holmes say this doesn’t sound like her. They also say that they recorded the conversation as well and allege she was misquoted (though they don’t allow Fielder to listen). The \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> stands by its reporting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1141\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994766\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-768x456.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-1536x913.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Holmes in ‘You Can See Everything.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several disconnects like this in the film, some of which seem to come down to simple semantics, and others that can be spun out into elaborate metaphors for why we’re here in the first place. The totality of it may have you questioning your own perception of reality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> is difficult to write about in part because of what it is, but we’ll blame it on the fact that it has a secret up its sleeve, too, which the filmmakers and studios are hoping to keep for as long as possible. While I’m of the mind that no great film can be diminished by knowing a “spoiler,” we’ll play along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will be interesting to see how long that secret can be kept from the masses, if it matters, or if the masses will turn \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> into the cinematic event it deserves to be. You want something you haven’t seen before? Here it is.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘You Can See Everything’ is released in theaters nationwide on Oct. 16.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are several disconnects like this in the film, some of which seem to come down to simple semantics, and others that can be spun out into elaborate metaphors for why we’re here in the first place. The totality of it may have you questioning your own perception of reality.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> is difficult to write about in part because of what it is, but we’ll blame it on the fact that it has a secret up its sleeve, too, which the filmmakers and studios are hoping to keep for as long as possible. While I’m of the mind that no great film can be diminished by knowing a “spoiler,” we’ll play along.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> is difficult to write about in part because of what it is, but we’ll blame it on the fact that it has a secret up its sleeve, too, which the filmmakers and studios are hoping to keep for as long as possible. While I’m of the mind that no great film can be diminished by knowing a “spoiler,” we’ll play along.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It will be interesting to see how long that secret can be kept from the masses, if it matters, or if the masses will turn \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> into the cinematic event it deserves to be. You want something you haven’t seen before? Here it is.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It will be interesting to see how long that secret can be kept from the masses, if it matters, or if the masses will turn \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> into the cinematic event it deserves to be. You want something you haven’t seen before? Here it is.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘You Can See Everything’ is released in theaters nationwide on Oct. 16.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Days before Holmes was due to start her 11-year prison sentence, she invited a film crew into her home.",
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"title": "Review: Elizabeth Holmes Doc ‘You Can See Everything’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Thirty-four days before the disgraced \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/theranos\">Theranos\u003c/a> founder Elizabeth Holmes was due in federal prison to serve an 11-year sentence for conspiracy and fraud, she and her partner, Billy Evans, welcomed a film crew into their beachside cottage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The idea, Holmes and Evans said, was to help the public understand who Holmes really is. The narrative was incorrect. The journalists and the television shows, like the Hulu miniseries \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910084/the-dropout-hulu-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-amanda-seyfried-palo-alto-tech\">The Dropout\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, had gotten her wrong.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so, in one of the many mysteries of this fascinating project, they chose Nathan Fielder, a comedian known for blurring fiction and reality in absurdist shows like \u003cem>Nathan for You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Rehearsal\u003c/em>, to come into their rented home in Del Mar, California, and document their life with their two young children in her final days before prison. They even invited Fielder to stay with them — an offer that he declines at first but later accepts, about 20 days in.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/HvW_N5p1q44'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/HvW_N5p1q44'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The resulting film, \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em>, (in theaters Friday) defies categorization. In some ways, it is a staggering piece of performance art by everyone involved. It’s also wildly entertaining, confounding and wholly unique. I’m not even sure an interest in Holmes is any sort of prerequisite for enjoyment. Besides, even after this nearly three-hour exercise, which somehow flies by, she remains as enigmatic as ever.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fielder shares directing credits with Lance Oppenheim, who also directed the recent Robert Pattinson-as-Chris Hansen drama \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13994184/primetime-robert-pattinson-chris-hansen-a24-movie-review\">Primetime\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. As in Fielder’s aforementioned television shows, he is as much a character in \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> as his subjects. At the beginning, he’s even shot somewhat ominously, a voyeuristic creeper lurking in the corners or in the distance with his headphones and portable monitor almost always affixed to his person. He is our portal into this world and we’re compelled to empathize with and trust him — what other choice do we have, really?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though Fielder doesn’t pretend to be a journalist, or a science expert, his questions are direct and perceptive. In polite conversation, when someone is telling you how they fell in love at first sight, you might just nod and accept their story. Fielder asks why and follows up again and again and again, either until something starts to make sense to him, or until he gives up (to his credit, it’s usually due to some external interruption). He is never afraid to just let silence sit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And these are not easy subjects. Holmes continues to maintain that she did nothing wrong, and that her invention — a device that was supposed to be able to detect a multitude of diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood — worked. At one point, she even tells Fielder that she’s never told a lie. That teaser for the film (you know, the one where their faces are awkwardly close and she asks Fielder without blinking, “Why would I deceive you?”) may not play out exactly how it was initially cut, but it feels spiritually true to the endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And then there is Evans, who emerges as perhaps the biggest puzzle. His early demeanor toward Fielder has a tinge of contention. Fielder homes in on oddities in the couple’s relationship. He interrogates their first meeting — in which Evans claims to have not known who Holmes was for the first hour of their conversation — and Evans’ tendency to step in and steamroll situations (even to correct the way Holmes is limply mixing raw eggs). This is a strange couple and observing them together is probably not the PR campaign they thought it would be.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One thing they are particularly obsessed with is a juicy quote that a 2023 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> profile attributes to Holmes: “They’re not playing me. They’re playing a character I created.” She’s ostensibly talking about fictionalized depictions, from Amanda Seyfried’s Emmy-winning performance to a scrapped Jennifer Lawrence movie. Evans and Holmes say this doesn’t sound like her. They also say that they recorded the conversation as well and allege she was misquoted (though they don’t allow Fielder to listen). The \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> stands by its reporting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1141\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994766\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-768x456.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/You-Can-See-Everything-dd57411e-1536x913.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elizabeth Holmes in ‘You Can See Everything.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several disconnects like this in the film, some of which seem to come down to simple semantics, and others that can be spun out into elaborate metaphors for why we’re here in the first place. The totality of it may have you questioning your own perception of reality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> is difficult to write about in part because of what it is, but we’ll blame it on the fact that it has a secret up its sleeve, too, which the filmmakers and studios are hoping to keep for as long as possible. While I’m of the mind that no great film can be diminished by knowing a “spoiler,” we’ll play along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It will be interesting to see how long that secret can be kept from the masses, if it matters, or if the masses will turn \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em> into the cinematic event it deserves to be. You want something you haven’t seen before? Here it is.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘You Can See Everything’ is released in theaters nationwide on Oct. 16.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "lil-jon-new-book-memoir-too-short-e-40-bay-area",
"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Atlanta rapper, producer and collaborator with Too Short and E-40 has a new memoir, ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’",
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"title": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area | KQED",
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"headline": "In New Memoir, Lil Jon Salutes The Bay Area",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>So it’s 1999, right, and I’m a teenager at a sweaty house party on High Street in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a>. There in the living room of the small apartment, kids in Carolina blue velour sweatsuits and grey Gap hoodies are dancing to CDs playing on a home stereo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b8kTV4VtKA\">Couldn’t Be a Better Player\u003c/a>” comes on, the room \u003cem>erupts\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/128417476/lil-jon\">Lil Jon\u003c/a> track, featuring \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a>, has strings that marinate with a menacing bass line, creating a beat that says “I’m cool but don’t test me” – the same edgy-player mentality is reflected in the lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the song rattles the living room, the kids in the center of the circle catch the beat, “hitting that shit,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\">fuckin’ with it\u003c/a>.” All the other partygoers, myself included, bounce with a frenetic cadence. Heads turn and fingers twist in the air, as people rep their neighborhoods with exaggerated mean mugs on their faces.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hyphy\">hyphy\u003c/a> in its natural state, before it became the movement we know today. It might’ve been the first time I went dumb at a party.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>It was definitely my first glimpse of what Lil Jon’s music can do to a function.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling Black man wearing sunglasses, a grey hoodie and blue jeans sits on a couch next to a black wall.\" class=\"wp-image-13932756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/GettyImages-509006782-scaled-e1691444783893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon backstage before a DJ set at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, 2016. (Kelly Sullivan/ Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his new memoir, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-Only-Shout-So-You-Can-Hear-Me/Lil-Jon/9781668061473\">I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (Atria/Black Privilege Publishing), Lil Jon stresses that understanding his music doesn’t come from simply listening. In order to truly appreciate his art, he insists that his hyperactive rhythmic chanting needs to be physically experienced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We didn’t rap,” writes the Grammy-award winning King of Crunk. Instead, Lil Jon says he and his collaborators the East Side Boyz brought people from all backgrounds into the the world of ATL nightlife. “You put on our music, you watch our videos, and you felt like you were right there in Atlanta, wilding the fuck out in the club.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Co-written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Paul-Cantor/271704775\">Paul Cantor\u003c/a>, the book is a detailed account of Lil Jon’s middle-class upbringing in Southwest Atlanta and his years pounding the pavement while laying the foundation for his meteoric musical career. It also delves into Lil Jon’s spiritual side and the ways he’s navigated trauma, specifically the death of his son \u003ca href=\"https://www.wabe.org/body-believed-to-be-lil-jons-son-d-j-young-is-found-in-pond-near-atlanta/\">Nathan Smith\u003c/a>, who tragically drowned in February of this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Born Jonathan Smith, the producer and entrepreneur grew up in the biggest house on his suburban cul-de-sac, where as a teen he threw raging parties. As he matured, he started hanging out in strip clubs. It was through the world of chicken wings and stripper poles, as well as the college students at the \u003ca href=\"https://discoveratlanta.com/stories/atlanta-university-center-the-epicenter-of-black-culture-and-academic-excellence/\">Atlanta University Center\u003c/a> and people attending \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48jmE2J05OY\">Freaknik\u003c/a>, that Lil Jon found his target audience.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He bottled that influence in a sound that resonated well beyond Atlanta, and especially with teenagers in East Oakland. It even reached Oakland-born former Vice President Kamala Harris.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And seriously,” writes Lil Jon, “who would have thought that when we recorded “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYH7_GzP4Tg\">Get Low\u003c/a>” — a song that talks about skeeting — I’d be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzWPCFA6c6A\">performing it two decades later at the DNC\u003c/a>?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1325\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994650\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75.jpg 1325w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-160x242.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/i-only-shout-so-you-can-hear-me-9781668061473_hr-8e614e75-1018x1536.jpg 1018w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1325px) 100vw, 1325px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil Jon‘s ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me.’ (Simon and Schuster)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lil Jon’s resume is deep. He’s produced songs for the Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg, Ciara and T-Pain. He’s made multi-platinum selling music with the likes of Los Angeles pop group LMFAO and Miami mega-star Pitbull. In 1996, he worked on the Ghost Town DJ’s classic contribution to the culture, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRiwnmYjMg\">My Boo\u003c/a>.” Thirty years later, he produced \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2Knrk6Q04i9itgxtTSguQN\">Something’s in the Water\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, the recent album by Vallejo rapper LaRussell.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The book takes readers deep into Lil Jon’s musical composition, be it revealing the origins of the repetitive squeak in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZd2MEOvdQ4\">Some Cut\u003c/a>” by Lil Scrappy and Trillville or the story behind the beat for what’s still his best-known song, Usher’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBSyx85Kp8\">Yeah!\u003c/a>“\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But what stands out, especially to the now-grown-up kid from that East Oakland house party, is Lil Jon’s intersection with the Bay Area titans E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Too Short must have believed in me,” writes Lil Jon, explaining that he and the East Side Boyz had just released their first song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKy4LoslZPk\">Who You Wit\u003c/a>,” when they realized they’d signed a bad record deal. Enter Too Short. “He bought us out of that contract for $50,000,” Lil Jon recalls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Short signed Lil Jon to his own label, Dangerous Music, a subsidiary of Jive Records. (The first track they recorded? “Couldn’t Be a Better Player.”) Short also brought Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz on their first tour, where they started working on their next hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czpZvVyQN5o&list=RDczpZvVyQN5o&start_radio=1\">Bia Bia\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eventually, not wanting to hold Lil Jon and his crew back, Short offered to let them out of the contract. His only stipulation, writes Lil Jon, was repayment of the $50,000 Short paid for his first contract and “free beats for life.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>(Evidently, the deal is still on: Too Short dropped \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/5KkGgCCpS0Rz4mVlME9SKK\">Sir Too $hort, Vol. 2 (Drink & Smoke),\u003c/a>\u003c/em> with beats produced entirely by Lil Jon, this past July.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2113\" height=\"2113\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13925972\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square.jpg 2113w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-108987732-square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2113px) 100vw, 2113px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lil’ Jon and E-40, pictured onstage together in 2006. From his home base in Atlanta, Lil Jon produced the hyphy era’s two biggest nationwide hits: E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” and Too Short’s “Blow the Whistle” — just one of many close ties between Southern and Bay Area hip-hop. (John Shearer/WireImage for MTV.com)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Short let him loose, Lil Jon launched his BME imprint under Warner Bros., which would soon pay dividends for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>. The two had already worked together on the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0MrehzJcLI&list=RDZ0MrehzJcLI&start_radio=1\">Rep Yo City\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f01LZ-KTd4&list=RD6f01LZ-KTd4&start_radio=1\">Anybody Can Get It\u003c/a>” when E-40 called Lil Jon, letting the producer know he was stepping away from Jive Records and interested in BME.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The decision was simple,” writes Lil Jon, “I was a fan of E-40.” The two began working on \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3VqKqWHOHYfZqttJ0WwQHl\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, an album that would introduce hyphy to the mainstream, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I had already sold the culture of the South to the world,” says Lil Jon. “That became the blueprint for what I did with E-40. It was the same shit.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During one of the studio sessions, Lil Jon made a track with a bass line similar to Too Short’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>.” He intended to give the beat to 40, but Uncle Earl said it sounded too much like Short. So Lil Jon passed it along.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That song became “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBJtzEKetBM\">Blow The Whistle\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The biggest commercial hit of Too Short’s career, “Blow the Whistle” was accompanied by an instant-classic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987115/too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary\">music video, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. Lil Jon agreed the track was good, but admits he didn’t foresee it becoming what it is today: a song readily played at pro sporting events all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Blow the Whistle” got a second life 10 years after its release when it was interpolated in 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W6zD3L7H00&list=RD3W6zD3L7H00&start_radio=1\">For Free\u003c/a>” by DJ Khaled and Drake. It was revived again in 2020 when Saweetie sampled it for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9qRc72BAjg\">Tap In\u003c/a>.” During the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2024 Super Bowl run, the song became \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eKY8MD7-ZHM\">their anthem\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rz6MrrVqUZE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Beyond its stories about the Bay Area, Lil Jon’s book is a turn of the millennium \u003cem>Forrest Gump\u003c/em>-esque tale of being just about everywhere and working with everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was an A&R for So So Def and Jermaine Dupri in the ’90s, he made the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3BsR98sDCwtj85pILXfjDk\">Crunk Rock\u003c/a>\u003c/em> album in 2010, and he coined the defining phrase of 2014 with his vocal on DJ Snake’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUDVMiITOU\">Turn Down for What.\u003c/a>” In 2008 he founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/rapper-producer-lil-jon-starts-108532/\">a winery\u003c/a>, in 2024 he dropped a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1235606461/rap-artist-lil-jons-latest-album-is-a-guided-meditation\">set of meditative recordings\u003c/a> and last year he became \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/lil-jon-54-wins-3rd-place-in-muscle-beach-fitness-competition-11802475\">a competitive body builder\u003c/a>. He was a character on \u003cem>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/em> and he sat alongside Donald Trump on \u003cem>Celebrity Apprentice\u003c/em>. In Las Vegas, he’s both DJed major EDM events and performed with Usher at Super Bowl LVIII.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And last year, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6MrrVqUZE\">an episode of \u003cem>Celebrity Family Feud\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Lil Jon stood next to his chosen kin: E-40 and Too Short.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“How does that happen?” Lil Jon writes in his book, bewilderedly reflecting on the their individual paths leading to a game show set.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He was a kid from Southwest Atlanta who listened to Too Short in the 1980s and E-40 in the ’90s. He understood that they came from different backgrounds — Short a pimp rapper, E-40 a lyrical street hustler — but they combined forces and made timeless music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“To this day we remain a trinity of close friends,” Lil Jon reflects. “You can’t write that. You cannot. You cannot dream or even imagine that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Lil Jon’s memoir ‘I Only Shout So You Can Hear Me’ is out Oct. 20, 2026. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "victoria-monet-frequency-of-love-album-review-interview",
"title": "Victoria Monét’s ‘Frequency of Love’ Aims to Strike the Optimal Sonic Vibration",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Victoria Monét won’t take it personally if you call her upcoming album a comeback, even though it has only been a three-year break.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It should be normal to take time to create your next album. I know we live in a world where we want everything fast,” the Sacramento-raised artist said in an interview with the Associated Press. For inspiration, she said she had to let life take its course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m OK with people asking for more music or feeling like, ‘Dang, I missed her.’ Or this is a comeback, because that makes me feel like there was a gap in time where they noticed that I was gone,” the artist said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The “On My Mama” singer returns Friday with \u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em>, a 22-track studio project that follows her \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938043/bay-area-grammy-award-nominees-revealed-victoria-monet-metallica-and-more\">Grammy-winning\u003c/a> \u003cem>Jaguar II\u003c/em>, which she made in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h99lQg2zSl0\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new album is powered by singles like the house-flavored “Reach Out,” yacht R&B-inspired “Juicy” and “Let Me,” which is a slow jam that already reached No. 1 on Billboard’s adult R&B airplay chart. Some of the new work features heavyweights Bruno Mars and SZA, as well as R&B hitmakers Bryson Tiller, Leon Thomas and Chlöe Bailey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m really, really, really passionate about love. … A lot of it was just reflective of what I was going through or feeling while dating,” said Monét, who originally considered creating a yacht-R&B album. “The album covers many bases, including love for my daughter, love for the world, what I want to see for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monét aimed to channel Michael Jackson’s risk-taking artistry\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em>, executive produced by Camper, takes listeners on a sonic excursion beyond romance, with several interpolations of classic ’90s R&B songs skillfully peppered throughout.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994417\" style=\"width:370px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The album cover for ‘Frequency of Love’ by Victoria Monét. (Lovett Music/RCA Records)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Almost,” which includes a reference to Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count,” is a sensual take on feeling sexually unsatisfied, while “For You” reimagines Kenny Lattimore’s classic romantic ballad. “Care for Somebody (Interlude)” is Monét’s rendition of a song she first encountered as a child while watching Halle Berry in \u003cem>Introducing Dorothy Dandridge\u003c/em> with her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Michael Jackson’s musical growth between \u003cem>Off the Wall\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Thriller\u003c/em> inspired Monét’s creative process. While she’s quick to halt any comparison to the commercial and critical acclaim of one of music’s most prolific artists, she aimed to channel the same risk-taking artistry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I did not make \u003cem>Thriller\u003c/em>,” Monét said. “I just made my version of what I would make with that mindset.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The singer, 37, is keenly aware of heightened expectations. But she was slightly unprepared for some negativity that followed her 2024 Grammy wins for best new artist, best R&B album and best non-classical engineered album.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think there was a flip from me being an underdog that everyone wanted to support,” she said. “If I get millions of supporters, I can also have millions of haters. But who am I paying attention to? And that’s what the album for me is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI2zxG3DdOY\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monét was in the recording studio — and in the kitchen\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recently serving as a special guest on the European stretch of Bruno Mars’ The Romantic tour, Monét is gearing up for her own Frequency of Love dates, visiting 27 North American cities starting in late October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After beginning her career penning songs for Ariana Grande, Blackpink, Chloe x Halle and Selena Gomez, Monét is still interested in writing collaborations and working with “unexpected” artists. She also dreams of writing scripted TV and film projects, including a comedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A creative at heart, Monét also recently graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education as its top student. During class, she’d listen to music associated with the country of the dish she was preparing. Often bringing meals to her production team during recording sessions, she says the vibes of the international music, and the camaraderie that food and fellowship can bring, would influence some of the sonic tones of her songs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_hsD-TZ_U4\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why would a performer at the height of her career become a chef?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Maybe rebellion. … I want to do something that I don’t get paid for, that I’m not defined by,” said Monét. “You don’t have to make your schedule around only the things that clearly pay you. And you never know where it will take you.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em> will largely dictate where her career is headed next. But Monét hopes to move with intention and a spirit of gratitude, which she’s prioritizing throughout her life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I went through a moment where I was critical of everything. I was looking around and seeing what could be better: criticizing myself, the workplace, the state of my mood, the state of music, state of voice, my body, just nitpicking everything,” she said. “And so, it’s really been a journey to come to a place where I can operate in that shift — that paradigm shift — that makes me OK with everything that is, and also OK with everything that is going to come.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Victoria Monét’s upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.victoriamonet.co/#tour\">Frequency of Love\u003c/a> tour will conclude with shows in Sacramento (Dec. 16) and San Francisco (Dec. 17). \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em>, executive produced by Camper, takes listeners on a sonic excursion beyond romance, with several interpolations of classic ’90s R&B songs skillfully peppered throughout.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994417\" style=\"width:370px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The album cover for ‘Frequency of Love’ by Victoria Monét.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lovett Music/RCA Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Almost,” which includes a reference to Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count,” is a sensual take on feeling sexually unsatisfied, while “For You” reimagines Kenny Lattimore’s classic romantic ballad. “Care for Somebody (Interlude)” is Monét’s rendition of a song she first encountered as a child while watching Halle Berry in \u003cem>Introducing Dorothy Dandridge\u003c/em> with her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Maybe rebellion. … I want to do something that I don’t get paid for, that I’m not defined by,” said Monét. “You don’t have to make your schedule around only the things that clearly pay you. And you never know where it will take you.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em> will largely dictate where her career is headed next. But Monét hopes to move with intention and a spirit of gratitude, which she’s prioritizing throughout her life.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Victoria Monét’s upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.victoriamonet.co/#tour\">Frequency of Love\u003c/a> tour will conclude with shows in Sacramento (Dec. 16) and San Francisco (Dec. 17). \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Victoria Monét won’t take it personally if you call her upcoming album a comeback, even though it has only been a three-year break.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It should be normal to take time to create your next album. I know we live in a world where we want everything fast,” the Sacramento-raised artist said in an interview with the Associated Press. For inspiration, she said she had to let life take its course.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m OK with people asking for more music or feeling like, ‘Dang, I missed her.’ Or this is a comeback, because that makes me feel like there was a gap in time where they noticed that I was gone,” the artist said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The “On My Mama” singer returns Friday with \u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em>, a 22-track studio project that follows her \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938043/bay-area-grammy-award-nominees-revealed-victoria-monet-metallica-and-more\">Grammy-winning\u003c/a> \u003cem>Jaguar II\u003c/em>, which she made in 2023.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/h99lQg2zSl0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/h99lQg2zSl0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new album is powered by singles like the house-flavored “Reach Out,” yacht R&B-inspired “Juicy” and “Let Me,” which is a slow jam that already reached No. 1 on Billboard’s adult R&B airplay chart. Some of the new work features heavyweights Bruno Mars and SZA, as well as R&B hitmakers Bryson Tiller, Leon Thomas and Chlöe Bailey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m really, really, really passionate about love. … A lot of it was just reflective of what I was going through or feeling while dating,” said Monét, who originally considered creating a yacht-R&B album. “The album covers many bases, including love for my daughter, love for the world, what I want to see for it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monét aimed to channel Michael Jackson’s risk-taking artistry\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em>, executive produced by Camper, takes listeners on a sonic excursion beyond romance, with several interpolations of classic ’90s R&B songs skillfully peppered throughout.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994417\" style=\"width:370px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/monet-3-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The album cover for ‘Frequency of Love’ by Victoria Monét. (Lovett Music/RCA Records)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“Almost,” which includes a reference to Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count,” is a sensual take on feeling sexually unsatisfied, while “For You” reimagines Kenny Lattimore’s classic romantic ballad. “Care for Somebody (Interlude)” is Monét’s rendition of a song she first encountered as a child while watching Halle Berry in \u003cem>Introducing Dorothy Dandridge\u003c/em> with her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Michael Jackson’s musical growth between \u003cem>Off the Wall\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Thriller\u003c/em> inspired Monét’s creative process. While she’s quick to halt any comparison to the commercial and critical acclaim of one of music’s most prolific artists, she aimed to channel the same risk-taking artistry.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I did not make \u003cem>Thriller\u003c/em>,” Monét said. “I just made my version of what I would make with that mindset.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The singer, 37, is keenly aware of heightened expectations. But she was slightly unprepared for some negativity that followed her 2024 Grammy wins for best new artist, best R&B album and best non-classical engineered album.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think there was a flip from me being an underdog that everyone wanted to support,” she said. “If I get millions of supporters, I can also have millions of haters. But who am I paying attention to? And that’s what the album for me is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/FI2zxG3DdOY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FI2zxG3DdOY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monét was in the recording studio — and in the kitchen\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Recently serving as a special guest on the European stretch of Bruno Mars’ The Romantic tour, Monét is gearing up for her own Frequency of Love dates, visiting 27 North American cities starting in late October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After beginning her career penning songs for Ariana Grande, Blackpink, Chloe x Halle and Selena Gomez, Monét is still interested in writing collaborations and working with “unexpected” artists. She also dreams of writing scripted TV and film projects, including a comedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A creative at heart, Monét also recently graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education as its top student. During class, she’d listen to music associated with the country of the dish she was preparing. Often bringing meals to her production team during recording sessions, she says the vibes of the international music, and the camaraderie that food and fellowship can bring, would influence some of the sonic tones of her songs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z_hsD-TZ_U4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z_hsD-TZ_U4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So why would a performer at the height of her career become a chef?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Maybe rebellion. … I want to do something that I don’t get paid for, that I’m not defined by,” said Monét. “You don’t have to make your schedule around only the things that clearly pay you. And you never know where it will take you.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frequency of Love\u003c/em> will largely dictate where her career is headed next. But Monét hopes to move with intention and a spirit of gratitude, which she’s prioritizing throughout her life.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I went through a moment where I was critical of everything. I was looking around and seeing what could be better: criticizing myself, the workplace, the state of my mood, the state of music, state of voice, my body, just nitpicking everything,” she said. “And so, it’s really been a journey to come to a place where I can operate in that shift — that paradigm shift — that makes me OK with everything that is, and also OK with everything that is going to come.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Victoria Monét’s upcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.victoriamonet.co/#tour\">Frequency of Love\u003c/a> tour will conclude with shows in Sacramento (Dec. 16) and San Francisco (Dec. 17). \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Forgotten Island’ Is a Trippy Ode to Friendship Set Against Rich Filipino Folklore",
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"headTitle": "‘Forgotten Island’ Is a Trippy Ode to Friendship Set Against Rich Filipino Folklore | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Of all the magical portals that transport you to another world, \u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> may have the cutest. It’s not a brick tunnel like \u003cem>Spirited Away\u003c/em> or a hidden door like \u003cem>Coraline\u003c/em> or even C.S. Lewis’ famous wardrobe. In this movie, it’s a sand dollar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That humble beach staple is the key to unlocking what surely is the richest, busiest and trippiest animated movie of the year, one that leans into Filipino folklore to tell a story about friendship. Our advice to moviegoers? Pick up the sand dollar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado — the same team behind \u003cem>Puss in Boots: The Last Wish\u003c/em> — \u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> creates a fantastical universe for things like an eight-foot-tall, 200-year-old demon baby with three eyes; an obnoxious, shallow merman with singing nipples and a legion of adorable mushroom warriors. It’s recommended that you not attend this stoned. (Or maybe you should?)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7mFVeWnVLw\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All this is drawn from the mythology of the Philippines, clearly fertile soil that will stun the uninitiated. Pair these creatures with a cinematic style that’s ultra-kinetic — mixing elements of anime and manga, along with 1990s street art, video games and classic Hanna-Barbera — and you get a visually arresting buffet with fart jokes. It makes \u003cem>Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse\u003c/em> look as quaint as \u003cem>Up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The plot is established early: Two slightly unhinged schoolgirls — Jo, pure fun-seeking, and Raissa, responsible, determined, maybe too determined — meet after being sent to the principal’s office and realize they both share a fascination with Nakalimutan, the mythical island where all the creatures of Filipino folklore live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We watch this deep, quirky friendship grow — “You had me at disembowelment,” one says to the other — until a fateful night when the now-young women must part. Raissa’s going to Caltech in America and leaving Jo, a wannabe artist who toils in fast food mascot jobs. “How can a rocket fly with a boulder attached to it?” Raissa’s disapproving mom says to her daughter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jo, voiced by Vallejo-born singer H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano, in ‘Forgotten Island.’ (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their friendship — measured by the massive number of charms attached to their friendship bracelets, each one representing a shared adventure — faces its sternest test, and that’s when they find the sand dollar. It sends them to Nakalimutan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jo (voiced by Vallejo-born singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/h-e-r\">H.E.R.\u003c/a>) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) wake up in this very foreign land with their memories wiped. Raissa weirdly has half her hair shaved off and a pair of wings, while Jo has a strange tattoo and a crown. They have to piece together what happened, like a \u003cem>Memento\u003c/em> for middle schoolers. Then they have to find a way back home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The voice cast also includes Jenny Slate as a memory stealing demon, Ronny Chieng as the deliciously named King Truffle Wuffle, Joy Koy as the leader of tree giants, and Lea Salonga as a fearsome vampiric creature with yellow cat eyes who can detach her torso from her lower body. Dave Franco also plays an anxious, bro-ey were-dog whose loyalty isn’t always clear.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994214\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The voice cast also includes Jenny Slate as a memory stealing demon named Babita. (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> is sort of a mess, in the best way. There are jokes about Tom Cruise, Will Smith’s Oscar slap and, weirdly, footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger in \u003cem>Predator\u003c/em>. It incorporates the Tagalog language, energy drinks and flaming Cheetos, Post-its, a score with indigenous Filipino instruments, boisterous karaoke as well as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart” — twice! It’s a world where “Who Let the Dogs Out” mixes with Filipino pop and a large wooden chicken posing as a Trojan Horse. It can be a lot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They might be in their mind-blowing childhood paradise, but Jo and Raissa haven’t resolved their adult differences and inevitably fight — “You have a future. I don’t,” says Jo. The final third of the movie is them struggling to recapture their memories, including the ones they’ve built together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> is a movie about forgetting as much as it is about remembering and you’ll likely walk out wanting to text your bestie, asap. Do it. Let a sand dollar reconnect you.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/forgotten-island-2026-246370/movie-overview\">‘Forgotten Island’\u003c/a> opens in theaters nationwide Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Vallejo-born R&B musician H.E.R. lends her voice to one of the main characters in this new film.",
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"title": "Movie Review: ‘Forgotten Island’ with H.E.R. | KQED",
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"headline": "‘Forgotten Island’ Is a Trippy Ode to Friendship Set Against Rich Filipino Folklore",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Of all the magical portals that transport you to another world, \u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> may have the cutest. It’s not a brick tunnel like \u003cem>Spirited Away\u003c/em> or a hidden door like \u003cem>Coraline\u003c/em> or even C.S. Lewis’ famous wardrobe. In this movie, it’s a sand dollar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That humble beach staple is the key to unlocking what surely is the richest, busiest and trippiest animated movie of the year, one that leans into Filipino folklore to tell a story about friendship. Our advice to moviegoers? Pick up the sand dollar.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado — the same team behind \u003cem>Puss in Boots: The Last Wish\u003c/em> — \u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> creates a fantastical universe for things like an eight-foot-tall, 200-year-old demon baby with three eyes; an obnoxious, shallow merman with singing nipples and a legion of adorable mushroom warriors. It’s recommended that you not attend this stoned. (Or maybe you should?)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/f7mFVeWnVLw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/f7mFVeWnVLw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>All this is drawn from the mythology of the Philippines, clearly fertile soil that will stun the uninitiated. Pair these creatures with a cinematic style that’s ultra-kinetic — mixing elements of anime and manga, along with 1990s street art, video games and classic Hanna-Barbera — and you get a visually arresting buffet with fart jokes. It makes \u003cem>Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse\u003c/em> look as quaint as \u003cem>Up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The plot is established early: Two slightly unhinged schoolgirls — Jo, pure fun-seeking, and Raissa, responsible, determined, maybe too determined — meet after being sent to the principal’s office and realize they both share a fascination with Nakalimutan, the mythical island where all the creatures of Filipino folklore live.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We watch this deep, quirky friendship grow — “You had me at disembowelment,” one says to the other — until a fateful night when the now-young women must part. Raissa’s going to Caltech in America and leaving Jo, a wannabe artist who toils in fast food mascot jobs. “How can a rocket fly with a boulder attached to it?” Raissa’s disapproving mom says to her daughter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994213\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-2-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jo, voiced by Vallejo-born singer H.E.R., and Raissa, voiced by Liza Soberano, in ‘Forgotten Island.’ (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their friendship — measured by the massive number of charms attached to their friendship bracelets, each one representing a shared adventure — faces its sternest test, and that’s when they find the sand dollar. It sends them to Nakalimutan.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jo (voiced by Vallejo-born singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/h-e-r\">H.E.R.\u003c/a>) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) wake up in this very foreign land with their memories wiped. Raissa weirdly has half her hair shaved off and a pair of wings, while Jo has a strange tattoo and a crown. They have to piece together what happened, like a \u003cem>Memento\u003c/em> for middle schoolers. Then they have to find a way back home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The voice cast also includes Jenny Slate as a memory stealing demon, Ronny Chieng as the deliciously named King Truffle Wuffle, Joy Koy as the leader of tree giants, and Lea Salonga as a fearsome vampiric creature with yellow cat eyes who can detach her torso from her lower body. Dave Franco also plays an anxious, bro-ey were-dog whose loyalty isn’t always clear.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994214\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/forgotten-island-3-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The voice cast also includes Jenny Slate as a memory stealing demon named Babita. (DreamWorks Animation/Universal Pictures)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> is sort of a mess, in the best way. There are jokes about Tom Cruise, Will Smith’s Oscar slap and, weirdly, footage of Arnold Schwarzenegger in \u003cem>Predator\u003c/em>. It incorporates the Tagalog language, energy drinks and flaming Cheetos, Post-its, a score with indigenous Filipino instruments, boisterous karaoke as well as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart” — twice! It’s a world where “Who Let the Dogs Out” mixes with Filipino pop and a large wooden chicken posing as a Trojan Horse. It can be a lot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They might be in their mind-blowing childhood paradise, but Jo and Raissa haven’t resolved their adult differences and inevitably fight — “You have a future. I don’t,” says Jo. The final third of the movie is them struggling to recapture their memories, including the ones they’ve built together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Forgotten Island\u003c/em> is a movie about forgetting as much as it is about remembering and you’ll likely walk out wanting to text your bestie, asap. Do it. Let a sand dollar reconnect you.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/forgotten-island-2026-246370/movie-overview\">‘Forgotten Island’\u003c/a> opens in theaters nationwide Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In ‘Primetime,’ Robert Pattinson Dazzles as Dateline Host Chris Hansen",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Buzzing with the sound of dial-up internet and the hum of grainy VHS tape, Lance Oppenheim’s \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, about Chris Hansen and his Dateline NBC series \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>, identifies a seedy moment when media became the new arbiter of communal justice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, Hansen, as played with malicious precision by Robert Pattinson, is an ambitious TV journalist who scores big ratings by luring child predators out in front of his network TV cameras. But, more than that, he’s a new breed of media power — less a real person than a sleek assemblage of pixels who can, with a damning voiceover and a good close-up, seal a sad soul’s fate for videotape eternity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the opening scene of \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, Hansen has cornered a Long Beach, California, man who’s arrived to meet someone he thinks is a 13-year-old girl. Hansen strides into frame and asks the cowering man what his fate should be. “The electric chair?” he guiltily replies. No, Hansen says. “Dateline NBC.” A look of utter horror spreads across the man’s face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fHXyqQOKL8\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That this minor character is played by Tony Revolori, the wonderful, kindly and too-little-seen star of \u003cem>The Grand Budapest Hotel\u003c/em>, is more than a hint at Oppenheim’s sympathies. The British critic Charlie Brooker once wrote of \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>: “When a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child-rapists, you know it’s doing something wrong.” It’s a good encapsulation of the moral dread that pulses through \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is Oppenheim’s first feature film. The 30-year-old filmmaker has previously worked primarily in documentary, including the HBO series \u003cem>Ren Faire\u003c/em> and the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes film \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em>, co-directed with Nathan Fielder. And, perhaps because of that nonfiction sensibility, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> neither has a strong dramatic thrust nor offers especially deep portraits of its characters, including \u003cem>Predator\u003c/em> producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), online vigilante Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher) and two of its actor “decoys”: Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) and Del Harvey (Phoebe Bridgers). A more detailed history can be found in David Osit’s 2025 documentary, \u003cem>Predators\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, written by first-time screenwriter Ajon Singh, is predicated on a moment in time when something sinister was shifting in the media landscape. “TV is changing,” pronounces none other than Jeff Zucker, the former NBC Universal chief, playing himself. He frankly tells Hansen that he doesn’t like \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>, but audiences do. He places the series in primetime, on Wednesday nights opposite ABC’s \u003cem>Lost\u003c/em>, ratcheting up the pressure for Hansen and company to deliver fresh blood. Viewers, no doubt, will be reminded, among other television news portraits, of Dan Gilroy’s \u003cem>Nightcrawler\u003c/em>, the nocturnal neo-noir of “if it bleeds, it leads” local TV news.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994188\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tony Revolori, left, and Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A little glibly, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> revels in the dated ’00s aspirations of its characters: wannabe serious journalists chasing ratings and Hollywood hopefuls, like Dan, who are coaxed into performing as underaged children. The movie is always sitting in judgment of its characters — not an unfair perspective, by any means, but not one prone to three-dimensionality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then again, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> is most concerned with two-dimensional screens and their capacity to wreck lives, warranted or not. When a fan sitting next to Hansen on a plane asks him if he’s ever tempted to physically “bleed” the show’s targets, he smiles and replies, with a touch of pride: “I think what I do is maybe a little worse.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet the cast elevates the film, especially Wever, whose producer is so casually good at the kind of manipulation her job requires. Bridgers is also an uncannily natural presence in her first major movie role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1014\" height=\"570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994189\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2.jpg 1014w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> belongs to Pattinson. He’s always been best in more tightly outlined roles where his natural inclination to blur the edges can really go places. (This year has been especially good in this regard, with Pattinson playing the memorably unnerved fiancé of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988108/the-drama-zendaya-robert-pattinson-alana-haim-boston-rom-com\">The Drama\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the sleazy suitor Antinous of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991674/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon\">The Odyssey\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. ) In \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, his Hansen is an anxious adjudicator whose zeal for a bigger target — a “whale” — comes as his hypocrisy grows more apparent. A National Enquirer reporter keeps calling with his own expose on Hansen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From the film’s first moments, though, we know that what Hansen vilifies is within him, too. He sits quoting, maybe relishing, the lurid chat room exchanges of his subject. There aren’t many surprises in this vividly realized but predetermined drama. Yet it’s hard to argue with the case it presents. Says Hansen: “There used to be a pillory in every village. Now, there’s a television in every living room.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://app.a24films.com/ticketing/primetime/551\">‘Primetime’\u003c/a> opens in theaters nationwide Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is Oppenheim’s first feature film. The 30-year-old filmmaker has previously worked primarily in documentary, including the HBO series \u003cem>Ren Faire\u003c/em> and the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes film \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em>, co-directed with Nathan Fielder. And, perhaps because of that nonfiction sensibility, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> neither has a strong dramatic thrust nor offers especially deep portraits of its characters, including \u003cem>Predator\u003c/em> producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), online vigilante Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher) and two of its actor “decoys”: Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) and Del Harvey (Phoebe Bridgers). A more detailed history can be found in David Osit’s 2025 documentary, \u003cem>Predators\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, written by first-time screenwriter Ajon Singh, is predicated on a moment in time when something sinister was shifting in the media landscape. “TV is changing,” pronounces none other than Jeff Zucker, the former NBC Universal chief, playing himself. He frankly tells Hansen that he doesn’t like \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>, but audiences do. He places the series in primetime, on Wednesday nights opposite ABC’s \u003cem>Lost\u003c/em>, ratcheting up the pressure for Hansen and company to deliver fresh blood. Viewers, no doubt, will be reminded, among other television news portraits, of Dan Gilroy’s \u003cem>Nightcrawler\u003c/em>, the nocturnal neo-noir of “if it bleeds, it leads” local TV news.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A little glibly, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> revels in the dated ’00s aspirations of its characters: wannabe serious journalists chasing ratings and Hollywood hopefuls, like Dan, who are coaxed into performing as underaged children. The movie is always sitting in judgment of its characters — not an unfair perspective, by any means, but not one prone to three-dimensionality.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yet the cast elevates the film, especially Wever, whose producer is so casually good at the kind of manipulation her job requires. Bridgers is also an uncannily natural presence in her first major movie role.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> belongs to Pattinson. He’s always been best in more tightly outlined roles where his natural inclination to blur the edges can really go places. (This year has been especially good in this regard, with Pattinson playing the memorably unnerved fiancé of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988108/the-drama-zendaya-robert-pattinson-alana-haim-boston-rom-com\">The Drama\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the sleazy suitor Antinous of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991674/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon\">The Odyssey\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. ) In \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, his Hansen is an anxious adjudicator whose zeal for a bigger target — a “whale” — comes as his hypocrisy grows more apparent. A National Enquirer reporter keeps calling with his own expose on Hansen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>From the film’s first moments, though, we know that what Hansen vilifies is within him, too. He sits quoting, maybe relishing, the lurid chat room exchanges of his subject. There aren’t many surprises in this vividly realized but predetermined drama. Yet it’s hard to argue with the case it presents. Says Hansen: “There used to be a pillory in every village. Now, there’s a television in every living room.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://app.a24films.com/ticketing/primetime/551\">‘Primetime’\u003c/a> opens in theaters nationwide Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Buzzing with the sound of dial-up internet and the hum of grainy VHS tape, Lance Oppenheim’s \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, about Chris Hansen and his Dateline NBC series \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>, identifies a seedy moment when media became the new arbiter of communal justice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, Hansen, as played with malicious precision by Robert Pattinson, is an ambitious TV journalist who scores big ratings by luring child predators out in front of his network TV cameras. But, more than that, he’s a new breed of media power — less a real person than a sleek assemblage of pixels who can, with a damning voiceover and a good close-up, seal a sad soul’s fate for videotape eternity.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the opening scene of \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, Hansen has cornered a Long Beach, California, man who’s arrived to meet someone he thinks is a 13-year-old girl. Hansen strides into frame and asks the cowering man what his fate should be. “The electric chair?” he guiltily replies. No, Hansen says. “Dateline NBC.” A look of utter horror spreads across the man’s face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5fHXyqQOKL8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5fHXyqQOKL8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That this minor character is played by Tony Revolori, the wonderful, kindly and too-little-seen star of \u003cem>The Grand Budapest Hotel\u003c/em>, is more than a hint at Oppenheim’s sympathies. The British critic Charlie Brooker once wrote of \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>: “When a TV show makes you feel sorry for potential child-rapists, you know it’s doing something wrong.” It’s a good encapsulation of the moral dread that pulses through \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is Oppenheim’s first feature film. The 30-year-old filmmaker has previously worked primarily in documentary, including the HBO series \u003cem>Ren Faire\u003c/em> and the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes film \u003cem>You Can See Everything\u003c/em>, co-directed with Nathan Fielder. And, perhaps because of that nonfiction sensibility, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> neither has a strong dramatic thrust nor offers especially deep portraits of its characters, including \u003cem>Predator\u003c/em> producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), online vigilante Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher) and two of its actor “decoys”: Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) and Del Harvey (Phoebe Bridgers). A more detailed history can be found in David Osit’s 2025 documentary, \u003cem>Predators\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, written by first-time screenwriter Ajon Singh, is predicated on a moment in time when something sinister was shifting in the media landscape. “TV is changing,” pronounces none other than Jeff Zucker, the former NBC Universal chief, playing himself. He frankly tells Hansen that he doesn’t like \u003cem>To Catch a Predator\u003c/em>, but audiences do. He places the series in primetime, on Wednesday nights opposite ABC’s \u003cem>Lost\u003c/em>, ratcheting up the pressure for Hansen and company to deliver fresh blood. Viewers, no doubt, will be reminded, among other television news portraits, of Dan Gilroy’s \u003cem>Nightcrawler\u003c/em>, the nocturnal neo-noir of “if it bleeds, it leads” local TV news.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994188\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-3-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tony Revolori, left, and Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A little glibly, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> revels in the dated ’00s aspirations of its characters: wannabe serious journalists chasing ratings and Hollywood hopefuls, like Dan, who are coaxed into performing as underaged children. The movie is always sitting in judgment of its characters — not an unfair perspective, by any means, but not one prone to three-dimensionality.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then again, \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> is most concerned with two-dimensional screens and their capacity to wreck lives, warranted or not. When a fan sitting next to Hansen on a plane asks him if he’s ever tempted to physically “bleed” the show’s targets, he smiles and replies, with a touch of pride: “I think what I do is maybe a little worse.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yet the cast elevates the film, especially Wever, whose producer is so casually good at the kind of manipulation her job requires. Bridgers is also an uncannily natural presence in her first major movie role.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1014\" height=\"570\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13994189\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2.jpg 1014w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/primetime-2-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1014px) 100vw, 1014px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime.’ (A24)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em> belongs to Pattinson. He’s always been best in more tightly outlined roles where his natural inclination to blur the edges can really go places. (This year has been especially good in this regard, with Pattinson playing the memorably unnerved fiancé of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988108/the-drama-zendaya-robert-pattinson-alana-haim-boston-rom-com\">The Drama\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and the sleazy suitor Antinous of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13991674/the-odyssey-review-christopher-nolan-matt-damon\">The Odyssey\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. ) In \u003cem>Primetime\u003c/em>, his Hansen is an anxious adjudicator whose zeal for a bigger target — a “whale” — comes as his hypocrisy grows more apparent. A National Enquirer reporter keeps calling with his own expose on Hansen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From the film’s first moments, though, we know that what Hansen vilifies is within him, too. He sits quoting, maybe relishing, the lurid chat room exchanges of his subject. There aren’t many surprises in this vividly realized but predetermined drama. Yet it’s hard to argue with the case it presents. Says Hansen: “There used to be a pillory in every village. Now, there’s a television in every living room.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://app.a24films.com/ticketing/primetime/551\">‘Primetime’\u003c/a> opens in theaters nationwide Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "emmys-widows-bay-pitt-pluribus-hacks-awards-2026",
"title": "‘Widow’s Bay’ Breaks Emmys Record With 14 Wins, ‘Pitt’ Wins Best Drama",
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"headTitle": "‘Widow’s Bay’ Breaks Emmys Record With 14 Wins, ‘Pitt’ Wins Best Drama | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> wave slammed into the Emmy Awards on Monday night as the Apple TV show set a single-season record for a comedy with 14 wins, including best comedy series and best actor for star Matthew Rhys, who personally took home three trophies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The celebrations will be long, varied, and I hope at times wild,” Rhys said backstage while holding two of his Emmys.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986511/the-pitt-season-2-review-hbo-medical-drama-noah-wyle\">The Pitt\u003c/a>\u003c/em> won best drama series for the second straight year, and star Noah Wyle repeated as best actor in a drama, but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hbo\">HBO Max\u003c/a> emergency room drama won no other Emmys and underperformed its expectations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama for \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>, and Jean Smart won her fifth best actress in a comedy award for the fifth and final season of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974322/hacks-season-4-review-jean-smart-hannah-einbinder-chemistry\">Hacks\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. No actor had won an Emmy every year for a series that lasted more than three seasons until Smart did it Monday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every other comedy award went to \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, which unequivocally owned the night and broke the comedy series record set last year by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973607/tv-review-the-studio-seth-rogen-appletv-catherine-ohara-cranston\">The Studio\u003c/a>\u003c/em> when it won 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jean Smart accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for ‘Hacks’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘weird’ \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> sweeps across categories\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with best actor in a comedy, Rhys won best actor in a limited series for \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984875/best-new-tv-shows-2025\">The Beast in Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, becoming the first man to win two leading actor categories in the same year, and he gets one of the best comedy series trophies as an executive producer for \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first-season series created by Katie Dippold leans hard into both comedy and horror as it tells the story of a New England island community, with Rhys as its mayor, reckoning with a centuries-old curse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thank you, Apple, for letting us take this crazy, creative swing,” Dippold said as she accepted the best comedy award. “They truly just let us do this weird show.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993891\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Rhys poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for ‘The Beast In Me,’ and outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for ‘Widow’s Bay’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Apple TV solidified its status as the owner of the Emmy comedy categories. Between \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Studio\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990535/best-new-tv-summer-2026-npr-picks-cape-fear-bear-lanterns\">Ted Lasso\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, it has won best comedy series four times in six seasons. The latter two shows were between seasons and not eligible this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> also won for directing for Hiro Murai and for writing for its creator Dippold, a first-time Emmy winner and first-time nominee who was previously best known for a decade-old viral tweet showing her awkwardly dressed as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/katiedippold/status/748582543583121408\">The Babadook\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I was sitting there in that costume,” Dippold said backstage after the show, “I did not think that this moment would happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> had won eight Emmys in a previous ceremony before sweeping all six of its categories Monday night. Stephen Root won best supporting actor in a comedy series and Kate O’Flynn won best supporting actress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Noah Wyle poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for ‘The Pitt’ and outstanding drama series for ‘The Pitt’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> fail to run up numbers\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em> was the top drama nominee with 25 and \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> was the top comedy nominee with 24, but neither made much of a splash when it came time to claim trophies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Smart’s was the only win for \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> on Monday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What a ride this has been,” an emotional Smart said after getting a standing ovation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 75-year-old has won eight Emmys overall in a career that was already more than respectable when she landed her defining role of Deborah Vance, a brash stand-up comic pushing back against age, obscurity and sexism in the HBO Max series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And best drama and best actor were the only wins for \u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em>, though it had won four at an earlier ceremony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyle won for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a role that brought him a major career revival after starring in \u003cem>ER\u003c/em> in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and this is the only club I’ve ever wanted to join,” Wyle said in his acceptance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rhea Seehorn accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for ‘Pluribus’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seehorn gets her first Emmy, Janney and Pelphrey beat \u003cem>Pitt\u003c/em> competition\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seehorn won her first Emmy for playing the lone central character on Apple TV’s \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 54-year-old had been nominated twice without winning for her breakthrough role on \u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>, a show from \u003cem>Breaking Bad\u003c/em> creator Vince Gilligan, who put Seehorn at the center of \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>. Gilligan won his fifth career Emmy for his writing on the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Allison Janney won best supporting actress in a drama for \u003cem>The Diplomat\u003c/em>, and Tom Pelphrey won supporting actor in a drama for \u003cem>Task\u003c/em>, both beating several nominees from \u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>DTF St. Louis\u003c/em> won best limited series. Stars David Harbour and Linda Cardellini both won for supporting acting at a previous ceremony on Sept. 6 as the Television Academy moved several categories off the main telecast to shorten the show. \u003cem>DTF St. Louis\u003c/em> won seven Emmys overall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> gets rewarded for its elite cast\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> brought a combination of younger, well-respected unknowns and widely known and beloved veterans to work on the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was the first Emmy for both O’Flynn and Root.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmc2RYm6PUE\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>O’Flynn, a 40-year-old British actor whose previous acclaim came mostly for her work in theater, plays Patricia Moyer, a city worker and social outcast dealing with a demonic darkness on \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the role of a lifetime,” O’Flynn said from the stage. “This is for all the Patricias out there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Root, one of the most ubiquitous character actors of the last few decades, beat out Harrison Ford, who many thought would get his first major competitive Hollywood award for his role on \u003cem>Shrinking\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thank you, sir, for all your many years of great, great, great acting,” Root said to Ford during his acceptance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Root, 74, is the oldest person to win the category.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sally Field, 79, became the oldest woman to win best actress in a limited or anthology series or TV movie for \u003cem>Remarkably Bright Creatures\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993894\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stephen Colbert poses in the press room with the award for outstanding variety series for ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colbert wins after cancellation again\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u003c/em>, taken off the air by CBS, won best variety series. It’s one of six Emmys the show has won this year after the show was cancelled for what the network said was economic reasons while many believe it was his criticism of the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you like the comedy tonight, my old writers wrote it,” Colbert said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mariska Hargitay hosted the NBC telecast held at the traditional Emmys home of the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“NBC is celebrating its 100th year, and I have been on \u003cem>Law & Order: SVU\u003c/em> for all of them,” said Hargitay, a three-time Emmy winner who has starred in the show for 27 seasons, during her opening monologue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hargitay closed the show — which came in at a relatively lean three hours with the shortened awards slate — with the famous \u003cem>Law & Order\u003c/em> gavel sound.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Michael J. Fox, a nominee for his work with Ford on \u003cem>Shrinking\u003c/em>, received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993895\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Macaulay Culkin, from left, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy pay tribute to Catherine O’Hara during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tearful tributes to Parton, O’Hara and Reiner\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Field paid tribute to her \u003cem>Steel Magnolias\u003c/em> co-star \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096764/the-castro-sings-goodbye-to-queer-icon-dolly-parton\">Dolly Parton\u003c/a>, who died last month, in a tribute during the telecast that also included Reba McEntire.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were also emotional tributes to Catherine O’Hara, who died in March, and Rob Reiner, who was killed along with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in their home in December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Reiner, who won a posthumous Emmy at an earlier ceremony for best guest actor in a comedy series for his role on \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>, was honored by his friend and \u003cem>Bear\u003c/em> co-star Jamie Lee Curtis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was generous, kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all,” Curtis said. “And we all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986511/the-pitt-season-2-review-hbo-medical-drama-noah-wyle\">The Pitt\u003c/a>\u003c/em> won best drama series for the second straight year, and star Noah Wyle repeated as best actor in a drama, but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hbo\">HBO Max\u003c/a> emergency room drama won no other Emmys and underperformed its expectations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama for \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>, and Jean Smart won her fifth best actress in a comedy award for the fifth and final season of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974322/hacks-season-4-review-jean-smart-hannah-einbinder-chemistry\">Hacks\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. No actor had won an Emmy every year for a series that lasted more than three seasons until Smart did it Monday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Every other comedy award went to \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, which unequivocally owned the night and broke the comedy series record set last year by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973607/tv-review-the-studio-seth-rogen-appletv-catherine-ohara-cranston\">The Studio\u003c/a>\u003c/em> when it won 13.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jean Smart accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for ‘Hacks’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Along with best actor in a comedy, Rhys won best actor in a limited series for \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984875/best-new-tv-shows-2025\">The Beast in Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, becoming the first man to win two leading actor categories in the same year, and he gets one of the best comedy series trophies as an executive producer for \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The first-season series created by Katie Dippold leans hard into both comedy and horror as it tells the story of a New England island community, with Rhys as its mayor, reckoning with a centuries-old curse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Thank you, Apple, for letting us take this crazy, creative swing,” Dippold said as she accepted the best comedy award. “They truly just let us do this weird show.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Apple TV solidified its status as the owner of the Emmy comedy categories. Between \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Studio\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990535/best-new-tv-summer-2026-npr-picks-cape-fear-bear-lanterns\">Ted Lasso\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, it has won best comedy series four times in six seasons. The latter two shows were between seasons and not eligible this year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> also won for directing for Hiro Murai and for writing for its creator Dippold, a first-time Emmy winner and first-time nominee who was previously best known for a decade-old viral tweet showing her awkwardly dressed as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/katiedippold/status/748582543583121408\">The Babadook\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I was sitting there in that costume,” Dippold said backstage after the show, “I did not think that this moment would happen.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> had won eight Emmys in a previous ceremony before sweeping all six of its categories Monday night. Stephen Root won best supporting actor in a comedy series and Kate O’Flynn won best supporting actress.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Noah Wyle poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for ‘The Pitt’ and outstanding drama series for ‘The Pitt’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em> was the top drama nominee with 25 and \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> was the top comedy nominee with 24, but neither made much of a splash when it came time to claim trophies.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Smart’s was the only win for \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> on Monday night.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What a ride this has been,” an emotional Smart said after getting a standing ovation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 75-year-old has won eight Emmys overall in a career that was already more than respectable when she landed her defining role of Deborah Vance, a brash stand-up comic pushing back against age, obscurity and sexism in the HBO Max series.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wyle won for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a role that brought him a major career revival after starring in \u003cem>ER\u003c/em> in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rhea Seehorn accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for ‘Pluribus’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> wave slammed into the Emmy Awards on Monday night as the Apple TV show set a single-season record for a comedy with 14 wins, including best comedy series and best actor for star Matthew Rhys, who personally took home three trophies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The celebrations will be long, varied, and I hope at times wild,” Rhys said backstage while holding two of his Emmys.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986511/the-pitt-season-2-review-hbo-medical-drama-noah-wyle\">The Pitt\u003c/a>\u003c/em> won best drama series for the second straight year, and star Noah Wyle repeated as best actor in a drama, but the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hbo\">HBO Max\u003c/a> emergency room drama won no other Emmys and underperformed its expectations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama for \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>, and Jean Smart won her fifth best actress in a comedy award for the fifth and final season of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13974322/hacks-season-4-review-jean-smart-hannah-einbinder-chemistry\">Hacks\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. No actor had won an Emmy every year for a series that lasted more than three seasons until Smart did it Monday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Every other comedy award went to \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, which unequivocally owned the night and broke the comedy series record set last year by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13973607/tv-review-the-studio-seth-rogen-appletv-catherine-ohara-cranston\">The Studio\u003c/a>\u003c/em> when it won 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/smart-hacks-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jean Smart accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for ‘Hacks’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The ‘weird’ \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> sweeps across categories\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with best actor in a comedy, Rhys won best actor in a limited series for \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13984875/best-new-tv-shows-2025\">The Beast in Me\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, becoming the first man to win two leading actor categories in the same year, and he gets one of the best comedy series trophies as an executive producer for \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first-season series created by Katie Dippold leans hard into both comedy and horror as it tells the story of a New England island community, with Rhys as its mayor, reckoning with a centuries-old curse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thank you, Apple, for letting us take this crazy, creative swing,” Dippold said as she accepted the best comedy award. “They truly just let us do this weird show.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993891\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/rhys-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Rhys poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for ‘The Beast In Me,’ and outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for ‘Widow’s Bay’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Apple TV solidified its status as the owner of the Emmy comedy categories. Between \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Studio\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13990535/best-new-tv-summer-2026-npr-picks-cape-fear-bear-lanterns\">Ted Lasso\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, it has won best comedy series four times in six seasons. The latter two shows were between seasons and not eligible this year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> also won for directing for Hiro Murai and for writing for its creator Dippold, a first-time Emmy winner and first-time nominee who was previously best known for a decade-old viral tweet showing her awkwardly dressed as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/katiedippold/status/748582543583121408\">The Babadook\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I was sitting there in that costume,” Dippold said backstage after the show, “I did not think that this moment would happen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> had won eight Emmys in a previous ceremony before sweeping all six of its categories Monday night. Stephen Root won best supporting actor in a comedy series and Kate O’Flynn won best supporting actress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/noah-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Noah Wyle poses in the press room with the awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for ‘The Pitt’ and outstanding drama series for ‘The Pitt’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> fail to run up numbers\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em> was the top drama nominee with 25 and \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> was the top comedy nominee with 24, but neither made much of a splash when it came time to claim trophies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Smart’s was the only win for \u003cem>Hacks\u003c/em> on Monday night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What a ride this has been,” an emotional Smart said after getting a standing ovation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 75-year-old has won eight Emmys overall in a career that was already more than respectable when she landed her defining role of Deborah Vance, a brash stand-up comic pushing back against age, obscurity and sexism in the HBO Max series.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And best drama and best actor were the only wins for \u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em>, though it had won four at an earlier ceremony.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wyle won for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a role that brought him a major career revival after starring in \u003cem>ER\u003c/em> in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and this is the only club I’ve ever wanted to join,” Wyle said in his acceptance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993893\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2000x1333.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/pluribus-emmy-2048x1365.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rhea Seehorn accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for ‘Pluribus’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seehorn gets her first Emmy, Janney and Pelphrey beat \u003cem>Pitt\u003c/em> competition\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seehorn won her first Emmy for playing the lone central character on Apple TV’s \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 54-year-old had been nominated twice without winning for her breakthrough role on \u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>, a show from \u003cem>Breaking Bad\u003c/em> creator Vince Gilligan, who put Seehorn at the center of \u003cem>Pluribus\u003c/em>. Gilligan won his fifth career Emmy for his writing on the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Allison Janney won best supporting actress in a drama for \u003cem>The Diplomat\u003c/em>, and Tom Pelphrey won supporting actor in a drama for \u003cem>Task\u003c/em>, both beating several nominees from \u003cem>The Pitt\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>DTF St. Louis\u003c/em> won best limited series. Stars David Harbour and Linda Cardellini both won for supporting acting at a previous ceremony on Sept. 6 as the Television Academy moved several categories off the main telecast to shorten the show. \u003cem>DTF St. Louis\u003c/em> won seven Emmys overall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> gets rewarded for its elite cast\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em> brought a combination of younger, well-respected unknowns and widely known and beloved veterans to work on the show.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was the first Emmy for both O’Flynn and Root.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Nmc2RYm6PUE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Nmc2RYm6PUE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>O’Flynn, a 40-year-old British actor whose previous acclaim came mostly for her work in theater, plays Patricia Moyer, a city worker and social outcast dealing with a demonic darkness on \u003cem>Widow’s Bay\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the role of a lifetime,” O’Flynn said from the stage. “This is for all the Patricias out there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Root, one of the most ubiquitous character actors of the last few decades, beat out Harrison Ford, who many thought would get his first major competitive Hollywood award for his role on \u003cem>Shrinking\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Thank you, sir, for all your many years of great, great, great acting,” Root said to Ford during his acceptance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Root, 74, is the oldest person to win the category.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sally Field, 79, became the oldest woman to win best actress in a limited or anthology series or TV movie for \u003cem>Remarkably Bright Creatures\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993894\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/colbert-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stephen Colbert poses in the press room with the award for outstanding variety series for ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colbert wins after cancellation again\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u003c/em>, taken off the air by CBS, won best variety series. It’s one of six Emmys the show has won this year after the show was cancelled for what the network said was economic reasons while many believe it was his criticism of the Trump administration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you like the comedy tonight, my old writers wrote it,” Colbert said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mariska Hargitay hosted the NBC telecast held at the traditional Emmys home of the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“NBC is celebrating its 100th year, and I have been on \u003cem>Law & Order: SVU\u003c/em> for all of them,” said Hargitay, a three-time Emmy winner who has starred in the show for 27 seasons, during her opening monologue.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hargitay closed the show — which came in at a relatively lean three hours with the shortened awards slate — with the famous \u003cem>Law & Order\u003c/em> gavel sound.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Michael J. Fox, a nominee for his work with Ford on \u003cem>Shrinking\u003c/em>, received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993895\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-scaled.png 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-2000x1334.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-1536x1024.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/ohara-emmy-2048x1366.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Macaulay Culkin, from left, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy pay tribute to Catherine O’Hara during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tearful tributes to Parton, O’Hara and Reiner\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Field paid tribute to her \u003cem>Steel Magnolias\u003c/em> co-star \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12096764/the-castro-sings-goodbye-to-queer-icon-dolly-parton\">Dolly Parton\u003c/a>, who died last month, in a tribute during the telecast that also included Reba McEntire.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There were also emotional tributes to Catherine O’Hara, who died in March, and Rob Reiner, who was killed along with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in their home in December.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Reiner, who won a posthumous Emmy at an earlier ceremony for best guest actor in a comedy series for his role on \u003cem>The Bear\u003c/em>, was honored by his friend and \u003cem>Bear\u003c/em> co-star Jamie Lee Curtis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was generous, kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all,” Curtis said. “And we all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "asian-man-records-mike-park-book-elvis-is-dead-mike-huguenor",
"title": "The South Bay Record Label That Changed Underground Music",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Punk, if you’ll pardon the song reference, has gotten \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AdUBTE9JpgI?si=V4KsdIgONxCJKFO_\">institutionalized\u003c/a> in recent years. There’s now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ithaca.com/entertainment/books/cornell-university-press-book-sheds-light-on-punk-s-diverse-history/article_942bd11f-7e13-42ed-8c52-f5ab307d05a5.html\">punk archive at Cornell University\u003c/a>, with an accompanying book. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/kua/pun.html\">Goethe Institute has opened punk exhibitions\u003c/a> in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Academics, curators and humanities hounds are, suddenly, trying to answer the very broad question: \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/PcIX4D6lIZ8?si=9KV-RkbWm0n8QBAX\">what is punk\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Good luck to them. Punk is by nature inscrutable, and so vast as to be undefinable. What’s routinely more valuable, and coherent, are the focused histories of smaller underground scenes and their figureheads, bands and record labels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-1536x1063.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Link 80, with singer Nick Traina, pictured in 1995. (Matt Bertinelli-Olpin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s part of what makes Mike Huguenor’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/elvis-is-dead-im-still-alive-mike-huguenor-signed\">Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of Asian Man Records\u003c/a>\u003c/em> such a necessary addition to the canon. While decidedly a South Bay operation, Asian Man Records, run since 1996 by Mike Park out of his parents’ Los Gatos garage, has released more than 400 albums by a global who’s-who of punk, ska and emo music, including Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Joyce Manor, Link 80 and Lawrence Arms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rightful star of \u003cem>Elvis is Dead\u003c/em>’s 344 pages, though, is Mike Park himself. A tireless label owner with a strong set of personal ethics and penchant for pranks, Park may be best known to a certain generation of Bay Area kids as the leader of the early-’90s ska band \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050384534253&locale=es_LA#\">Skankin’ Pickle\u003c/a>. Through Asian Man, he’s also changed the underground scene for the better, and inspired and/or changed the lives of thousands of fans and musicians around the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1582\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993779\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-160x127.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-768x607.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-1536x1215.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Skankin’ Pickle, with Mike Park (L) and Lars Nylander (R), performing at 924 Gilman in Berkeley. (Murray Bowles)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Park managed to do this as the Korean son of immigrant parents who settled in Los Gatos when the official city demographics for Koreans was 0.0%. Raised in an era of scant few Asian icons in American pop culture, and incessant “slant-eye” taunts on the playground, Park found a home in the underground scene and gradually expanded it to welcome many, many others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Huguenor, a musician himself once signed to Asian Man, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/author/ichibanhuguenor/\">columnist\u003c/a> who’s chronicled the South Bay scene for years, approaches the Asian Man story with a fan’s enthusiasm and a cultural historian’s interest. Those who come for the bigger-name bands (or mini-scandals about, say, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/punk/comments/jisdi/ben_weasel_gives_official_statement_and_talks_a/\">misfortune of signing Screeching Weasel\u003c/a>) will also get a constellation of adventures, tour stories and scene politics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1517\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-768x583.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-1536x1165.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An early incarnation of Less Than Jake, who would leave Asian Man Records after becoming the label’s very first success story. (Josh Gardner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those include some of Park’s absurd volume-eating challenges to friends, right alongside his founding of the Plea for Peace Foundation and the Ska Against Racism tour. Bands like Slow Gherkin pile 10 members in a 1970s van, a “clown car” rivaled only by sedans headed to the post office, packed to the ceiling with Asian Man LP mailers. Nick Traina, singer for Link 80 and the son of romance author Danielle Steel, dies of an overdose at age 19. Fans spend a day hashing out PunkNews.org message board drama during the early stages of the Black Lives Matter movement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For his part, Park tries to stay above the fray, with the slow, steady ritual of filling mailorder in his parents’ garage serving as a nearly spiritual practice. He famously tells newly signed bands “I don’t do anything,” meaning tour support and promotion. He blithely exits business negotiations when he finds himself uninterested. He turns down offers — $100,000 from a major label wanting to acquire an album from his roster, or $2 million from another label wanting to acquire his entire enterprise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A typical load of mailorder packages from Asian Man Records, headed to the post office. (Hiro Tanaka)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In cutthroat Silicon Valley, this might seem self-sabotaging. But Park knows himself too well. Unlike the billionaires in tech with their own garage origin myths, he stayed in the garage. He didn’t sell out. In the process, as \u003cem>Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive\u003c/em> shows in detail, he gained the respect and love of virtually the entire underground music scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was evident at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DalM6HQp6sA/?hl=en\">Asian Man’s 30th Anniversary celebration\u003c/a> at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in early September, which despite not announcing performers in advance sold out in minutes on the Asian Man name alone. It was four packed nights, 16 bands, surprise reunions, and Park’s own return to the stage with the Bruce Lee Band.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, after the shows, Park went back to what he’s always done: still filling orders by hand, more than 30 years in, at his parents’ garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the location of Asian Man Records’ garage headquarters. It is in Los Gatos, not Los Altos. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Punk, if you’ll pardon the song reference, has gotten \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AdUBTE9JpgI?si=V4KsdIgONxCJKFO_\">institutionalized\u003c/a> in recent years. There’s now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ithaca.com/entertainment/books/cornell-university-press-book-sheds-light-on-punk-s-diverse-history/article_942bd11f-7e13-42ed-8c52-f5ab307d05a5.html\">punk archive at Cornell University\u003c/a>, with an accompanying book. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/kua/pun.html\">Goethe Institute has opened punk exhibitions\u003c/a> in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Academics, curators and humanities hounds are, suddenly, trying to answer the very broad question: \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/PcIX4D6lIZ8?si=9KV-RkbWm0n8QBAX\">what is punk\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Punk, if you’ll pardon the song reference, has gotten \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AdUBTE9JpgI?si=V4KsdIgONxCJKFO_\">institutionalized\u003c/a> in recent years. There’s now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ithaca.com/entertainment/books/cornell-university-press-book-sheds-light-on-punk-s-diverse-history/article_942bd11f-7e13-42ed-8c52-f5ab307d05a5.html\">punk archive at Cornell University\u003c/a>, with an accompanying book. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/kua/pun.html\">Goethe Institute has opened punk exhibitions\u003c/a> in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Academics, curators and humanities hounds are, suddenly, trying to answer the very broad question: \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/PcIX4D6lIZ8?si=9KV-RkbWm0n8QBAX\">what is punk\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Good luck to them. Punk is by nature inscrutable, and so vast as to be undefinable. What’s routinely more valuable, and coherent, are the focused histories of smaller underground scenes and their figureheads, bands and record labels.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Good luck to them. Punk is by nature inscrutable, and so vast as to be undefinable. What’s routinely more valuable, and coherent, are the focused histories of smaller underground scenes and their figureheads, bands and record labels.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993781\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Link 80, with singer Nick Traina, pictured in 1995. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Matt Bertinelli-Olpin)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s part of what makes Mike Huguenor’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/elvis-is-dead-im-still-alive-mike-huguenor-signed\">Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of Asian Man Records\u003c/a>\u003c/em> such a necessary addition to the canon. While decidedly a South Bay operation, Asian Man Records, run since 1996 by Mike Park out of his parents’ Los Gatos garage, has released more than 400 albums by a global who’s-who of punk, ska and emo music, including Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Joyce Manor, Link 80 and Lawrence Arms.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s part of what makes Mike Huguenor’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/elvis-is-dead-im-still-alive-mike-huguenor-signed\">Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of Asian Man Records\u003c/a>\u003c/em> such a necessary addition to the canon. While decidedly a South Bay operation, Asian Man Records, run since 1996 by Mike Park out of his parents’ Los Gatos garage, has released more than 400 albums by a global who’s-who of punk, ska and emo music, including Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Joyce Manor, Link 80 and Lawrence Arms.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The rightful star of \u003cem>Elvis is Dead\u003c/em>’s 344 pages, though, is Mike Park himself. A tireless label owner with a strong set of personal ethics and penchant for pranks, Park may be best known to a certain generation of Bay Area kids as the leader of the early-’90s ska band \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050384534253&locale=es_LA#\">Skankin’ Pickle\u003c/a>. Through Asian Man, he’s also changed the underground scene for the better, and inspired and/or changed the lives of thousands of fans and musicians around the world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In cutthroat Silicon Valley, this might seem self-sabotaging. But Park knows himself too well. Unlike the billionaires in tech with their own garage origin myths, he stayed in the garage. He didn’t sell out. In the process, as \u003cem>Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive\u003c/em> shows in detail, he gained the respect and love of virtually the entire underground music scene.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That much was evident at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DalM6HQp6sA/?hl=en\">Asian Man’s 30th Anniversary celebration\u003c/a> at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in early September, which despite not announcing performers in advance sold out in minutes on the Asian Man name alone. It was four packed nights, 16 bands, surprise reunions, and Park’s own return to the stage with the Bruce Lee Band.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That much was evident at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DalM6HQp6sA/?hl=en\">Asian Man’s 30th Anniversary celebration\u003c/a> at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in early September, which despite not announcing performers in advance sold out in minutes on the Asian Man name alone. It was four packed nights, 16 bands, surprise reunions, and Park’s own return to the stage with the Bruce Lee Band.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the location of Asian Man Records’ garage headquarters. It is in Los Gatos, not Los Altos. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Punk, if you’ll pardon the song reference, has gotten \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AdUBTE9JpgI?si=V4KsdIgONxCJKFO_\">institutionalized\u003c/a> in recent years. There’s now a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ithaca.com/entertainment/books/cornell-university-press-book-sheds-light-on-punk-s-diverse-history/article_942bd11f-7e13-42ed-8c52-f5ab307d05a5.html\">punk archive at Cornell University\u003c/a>, with an accompanying book. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/kul/kua/pun.html\">Goethe Institute has opened punk exhibitions\u003c/a> in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Academics, curators and humanities hounds are, suddenly, trying to answer the very broad question: \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/PcIX4D6lIZ8?si=9KV-RkbWm0n8QBAX\">what is punk\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Good luck to them. Punk is by nature inscrutable, and so vast as to be undefinable. What’s routinely more valuable, and coherent, are the focused histories of smaller underground scenes and their figureheads, bands and record labels.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1384\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993781\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/1995_Link-80-Book-Three_0108_a.MATT-BERTINELLI-OLPIN-copy-1536x1063.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Link 80, with singer Nick Traina, pictured in 1995. (Matt Bertinelli-Olpin)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s part of what makes Mike Huguenor’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clashbooks.com/new-products-2/elvis-is-dead-im-still-alive-mike-huguenor-signed\">Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of Asian Man Records\u003c/a>\u003c/em> such a necessary addition to the canon. While decidedly a South Bay operation, Asian Man Records, run since 1996 by Mike Park out of his parents’ Los Gatos garage, has released more than 400 albums by a global who’s-who of punk, ska and emo music, including Alkaline Trio, Less Than Jake, Joyce Manor, Link 80 and Lawrence Arms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rightful star of \u003cem>Elvis is Dead\u003c/em>’s 344 pages, though, is Mike Park himself. A tireless label owner with a strong set of personal ethics and penchant for pranks, Park may be best known to a certain generation of Bay Area kids as the leader of the early-’90s ska band \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050384534253&locale=es_LA#\">Skankin’ Pickle\u003c/a>. Through Asian Man, he’s also changed the underground scene for the better, and inspired and/or changed the lives of thousands of fans and musicians around the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1582\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993779\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-160x127.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-768x607.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Scan_20241210-51.-MURRAY-BOWLES-copy-1536x1215.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Skankin’ Pickle, with Mike Park (L) and Lars Nylander (R), performing at 924 Gilman in Berkeley. (Murray Bowles)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Park managed to do this as the Korean son of immigrant parents who settled in Los Gatos when the official city demographics for Koreans was 0.0%. Raised in an era of scant few Asian icons in American pop culture, and incessant “slant-eye” taunts on the playground, Park found a home in the underground scene and gradually expanded it to welcome many, many others.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Huguenor, a musician himself once signed to Asian Man, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/author/ichibanhuguenor/\">columnist\u003c/a> who’s chronicled the South Bay scene for years, approaches the Asian Man story with a fan’s enthusiasm and a cultural historian’s interest. Those who come for the bigger-name bands (or mini-scandals about, say, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/punk/comments/jisdi/ben_weasel_gives_official_statement_and_talks_a/\">misfortune of signing Screeching Weasel\u003c/a>) will also get a constellation of adventures, tour stories and scene politics.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1517\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-768x583.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/01.-1000011690-copy-1536x1165.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An early incarnation of Less Than Jake, who would leave Asian Man Records after becoming the label’s very first success story. (Josh Gardner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those include some of Park’s absurd volume-eating challenges to friends, right alongside his founding of the Plea for Peace Foundation and the Ska Against Racism tour. Bands like Slow Gherkin pile 10 members in a 1970s van, a “clown car” rivaled only by sedans headed to the post office, packed to the ceiling with Asian Man LP mailers. Nick Traina, singer for Link 80 and the son of romance author Danielle Steel, dies of an overdose at age 19. Fans spend a day hashing out PunkNews.org message board drama during the early stages of the Black Lives Matter movement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For his part, Park tries to stay above the fray, with the slow, steady ritual of filling mailorder in his parents’ garage serving as a nearly spiritual practice. He famously tells newly signed bands “I don’t do anything,” meaning tour support and promotion. He blithely exits business negotiations when he finds himself uninterested. He turns down offers — $100,000 from a major label wanting to acquire an album from his roster, or $2 million from another label wanting to acquire his entire enterprise.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993777\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/02.-Mail-Order-Car.HIRO-TANAKA-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A typical load of mailorder packages from Asian Man Records, headed to the post office. (Hiro Tanaka)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In cutthroat Silicon Valley, this might seem self-sabotaging. But Park knows himself too well. Unlike the billionaires in tech with their own garage origin myths, he stayed in the garage. He didn’t sell out. In the process, as \u003cem>Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive\u003c/em> shows in detail, he gained the respect and love of virtually the entire underground music scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was evident at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DalM6HQp6sA/?hl=en\">Asian Man’s 30th Anniversary celebration\u003c/a> at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco in early September, which despite not announcing performers in advance sold out in minutes on the Asian Man name alone. It was four packed nights, 16 bands, surprise reunions, and Park’s own return to the stage with the Bruce Lee Band.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And, after the shows, Park went back to what he’s always done: still filling orders by hand, more than 30 years in, at his parents’ garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the location of Asian Man Records’ garage headquarters. It is in Los Gatos, not Los Altos. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>There are two kinds of humans in this world. Those who love \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/animals\">animals\u003c/a> and find comfort and solace in experiencing the world through their eyes, and those who are meat-suit monsters with no soul. (I said what I said.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, in what is bound to be a delight for the former, the geniuses at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13970126/2025-sf-indiefest-independent-film-roxie-vogue-streaming\">SF IndieFest\u003c/a> have created \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a>, a film series dedicated to our furry and feathery friends around the world. Running Sept. 17–20 at the 4 Star Theater, the festival will include 19 short and feature documentary offerings that examine the realms of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba13\">deadly sea bunnies\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba21\">mysterious owls\u003c/a> and — this \u003cem>is \u003c/em>San Francisco, baby! — a bunch of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a4a5eb5073f6d988159fb10\">unabashedly queer wild animals\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Notable short films include \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba19\">Bears in Hot Tubs\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a 17-minute jaunt that follows black bears as they invade the garden amenities of Los Angeles residents. There’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba16\">Austin Bat Rescue\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which provides viewers with an 8-minute visit to a Mexican free-tailed bat rehab in Central Texas. There’s also a 13-minute profile of one German lady and her beloved cow in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba1d\">Gianna & Anne — Significant Otherness\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. And of particular interest to San Francisco ornithologists will be \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba23\">The Western Snowy Plover\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which explores the lives of the small shorebird at Ocean Beach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjr08_jFarY\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the top of the list of inspiring features not to miss is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba29\">Better Call Babs\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, about a one-woman rescue mission in San Diego. Babs Fry leaps into action to locate and return lost pets to their distressed owners; she’s such an unstoppable badass, she’s now a Red Cross Award recipient. Get to know her — and her personal struggles — in this heartfelt documentary.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The festival has also programmed a few free screenings. \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/schedule/6a4a60e62b7070dd22b77671\">The Secret Lives of Pets 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em> will play at the outdoor Hayes Valley screen Proxy (432 Octavia Blvd.) on Sept. 18 in association with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988369/spca-sf-free-birthday-block-party-april-2026-line-up-san-francisco-adoption-center\">San Francisco SPCA\u003c/a>. Also on offer is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a626c7c0a87e779d02f8b3d\">Stoner Cats\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a hugely popular animated short series about a bunch of cats that gain superintelligence (and insatiable munchies) after inhaling too much of their mom’s weed. That one will be available to stream online — so you can watch it at home with your own kitties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a> runs Sept. 17–20, 2026 at the 4 Star Theater (2200 Clement St., San Francisco). Tickets can be purchased separately for each screening, and \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/pass/buy\">‘all film’ passes\u003c/a> are available starting at $60.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, in what is bound to be a delight for the former, the geniuses at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13970126/2025-sf-indiefest-independent-film-roxie-vogue-streaming\">SF IndieFest\u003c/a> have created \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a>, a film series dedicated to our furry and feathery friends around the world. Running Sept. 17–20 at the 4 Star Theater, the festival will include 19 short and feature documentary offerings that examine the realms of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba13\">deadly sea bunnies\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba21\">mysterious owls\u003c/a> and — this \u003cem>is \u003c/em>San Francisco, baby! — a bunch of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a4a5eb5073f6d988159fb10\">unabashedly queer wild animals\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Notable short films include \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba19\">Bears in Hot Tubs\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a 17-minute jaunt that follows black bears as they invade the garden amenities of Los Angeles residents. There’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba16\">Austin Bat Rescue\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which provides viewers with an 8-minute visit to a Mexican free-tailed bat rehab in Central Texas. There’s also a 13-minute profile of one German lady and her beloved cow in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba1d\">Gianna & Anne — Significant Otherness\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. And of particular interest to San Francisco ornithologists will be \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba23\">The Western Snowy Plover\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which explores the lives of the small shorebird at Ocean Beach.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The festival has also programmed a few free screenings. \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/schedule/6a4a60e62b7070dd22b77671\">The Secret Lives of Pets 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em> will play at the outdoor Hayes Valley screen Proxy (432 Octavia Blvd.) on Sept. 18 in association with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988369/spca-sf-free-birthday-block-party-april-2026-line-up-san-francisco-adoption-center\">San Francisco SPCA\u003c/a>. Also on offer is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a626c7c0a87e779d02f8b3d\">Stoner Cats\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a hugely popular animated short series about a bunch of cats that gain superintelligence (and insatiable munchies) after inhaling too much of their mom’s weed. That one will be available to stream online — so you can watch it at home with your own kitties.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a> runs Sept. 17–20, 2026 at the 4 Star Theater (2200 Clement St., San Francisco). Tickets can be purchased separately for each screening, and \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/pass/buy\">‘all film’ passes\u003c/a> are available starting at $60.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "This documentary festival at the 4 Star Theater offers unexpected glimpses into the animal kingdom.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>There are two kinds of humans in this world. Those who love \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/animals\">animals\u003c/a> and find comfort and solace in experiencing the world through their eyes, and those who are meat-suit monsters with no soul. (I said what I said.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, in what is bound to be a delight for the former, the geniuses at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13970126/2025-sf-indiefest-independent-film-roxie-vogue-streaming\">SF IndieFest\u003c/a> have created \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a>, a film series dedicated to our furry and feathery friends around the world. Running Sept. 17–20 at the 4 Star Theater, the festival will include 19 short and feature documentary offerings that examine the realms of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba13\">deadly sea bunnies\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba21\">mysterious owls\u003c/a> and — this \u003cem>is \u003c/em>San Francisco, baby! — a bunch of \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a4a5eb5073f6d988159fb10\">unabashedly queer wild animals\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Notable short films include \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba19\">Bears in Hot Tubs\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a 17-minute jaunt that follows black bears as they invade the garden amenities of Los Angeles residents. There’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba16\">Austin Bat Rescue\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which provides viewers with an 8-minute visit to a Mexican free-tailed bat rehab in Central Texas. There’s also a 13-minute profile of one German lady and her beloved cow in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba1d\">Gianna & Anne — Significant Otherness\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. And of particular interest to San Francisco ornithologists will be \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba23\">The Western Snowy Plover\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which explores the lives of the small shorebird at Ocean Beach.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Rjr08_jFarY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Rjr08_jFarY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the top of the list of inspiring features not to miss is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a71de9f5c189121a4adba29\">Better Call Babs\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, about a one-woman rescue mission in San Diego. Babs Fry leaps into action to locate and return lost pets to their distressed owners; she’s such an unstoppable badass, she’s now a Red Cross Award recipient. Get to know her — and her personal struggles — in this heartfelt documentary.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The festival has also programmed a few free screenings. \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/schedule/6a4a60e62b7070dd22b77671\">The Secret Lives of Pets 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em> will play at the outdoor Hayes Valley screen Proxy (432 Octavia Blvd.) on Sept. 18 in association with the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13988369/spca-sf-free-birthday-block-party-april-2026-line-up-san-francisco-adoption-center\">San Francisco SPCA\u003c/a>. Also on offer is \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/films/6a626c7c0a87e779d02f8b3d\">Stoner Cats\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, a hugely popular animated short series about a bunch of cats that gain superintelligence (and insatiable munchies) after inhaling too much of their mom’s weed. That one will be available to stream online — so you can watch it at home with your own kitties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/welcome\">SF CritterFest\u003c/a> runs Sept. 17–20, 2026 at the 4 Star Theater (2200 Clement St., San Francisco). Tickets can be purchased separately for each screening, and \u003ca href=\"https://sfcritterfest.eventive.org/pass/buy\">‘all film’ passes\u003c/a> are available starting at $60.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tupac-shakur\">Tupac Shakur\u003c/a>, finally bringing a measure of resolution to a case that had gripped hip-hop fans and lingered in the public imagination for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 63-year-old Davis was convicted Monday of a single count of murder with a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison. The jury deliberated for less than three hours after a weekslong trial in Las Vegas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the verdict was read, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, cried and hugged the prosecutors. Davis’ son covered his face with one hand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors in closing arguments earlier Monday that Davis acquired a gun and “went hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records co=founder Marion “Suge” Knight after the men had beaten up Davis’ nephew earlier that night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He is responsible of the murder of Tupac Shakur,” Palal said. “Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors said that while his story had changed over the years, Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. And they said that while he did not pull the trigger, evidence showed he’d called for the gunfire as a powerful gang leader the younger men in the car, including his nephew, were going to listen to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorney Michael Sanft asked jurors if there was any evidence that Davis had ever called the shots before or after the shooting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates, heard testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses over nine days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The prosecution said the state would dismiss a gang enhancement charge due to witness logistics. Prosecutors declined to comment following the verdict, and members of Shakur’s family said they were waiting until sentencing, which is scheduled for October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The decades-old case has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and crime experts alike\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The trial brought to a head a decades-old case that for years has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike. Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds. Knight was also wounded but survived.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper’s death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat, calling the shooting a retaliation for the earlier beating of his nephew. Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Witnesses described the hostile rivalry between the Los Angeles gang sects Mob Piru and Davis’ Southside Compton Crips leading up to Shakur’s death and how the gangs became affiliated with Knight’s Death Row Records and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Defense argued public statements were untrue, and physical evidence was lacking\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanft, Davis’ attorney, argued there was no physical evidence connecting his client to the shooting. He said the book Davis co-authored and the public statements he made were dramatized bravado designed to make money, not to tell the truth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout the trial, Sanft poked holes in prosecutors’ narrative. He said investigators did not back up the claims made by his client, and he repeatedly pointed out a lack of physical evidence, such as phone records, that showed Davis was the shot caller.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996,” Sanft said during his closing argument.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a rebuttal argument, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo pointed to a scrapbook Davis kept containing articles about Shakur.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This guy’s scrapbooking his murder, for God’s sake,” DiGiacomo told jurors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993498\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Davis’ own words were front and center\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Palal held up Davis’ 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” and played an interview in which Davis encouraged people to buy it to get the “real truth.” Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, prosecutors argued the central account did not.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanft also turned to his client’s memoir during his closing argument. While reading an excerpt, he said the N-word aloud, prompting people watching in an overflow courtroom to recoil and shake their heads.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In multiple interviews, Davis said he handed the gun to the back seat, but in others as well as in his book, Davis wouldn’t say who pulled the trigger.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gang and record label rivalries provided the backdrop\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While insisting Davis’ words alone were enough to convict him, prosecutors said a gang rivalry helped explain why the shooting happened.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Witnesses described the hostile rivalry between the Los Angeles gang sects leading up to Shakur’s death, and how the gangs became affiliated with two rival labels — Mob Piru with Knight’s Death Row Records and the South Side Compton Crips with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shooting death of Bad Boy’s the Notorious B.I.G. six months after Shakur came up many times during the trial, with law enforcement witnesses saying Davis was briefly a suspect in that killing before being discounted. That case, which has also been an obsession of hip-hop fans, remains unsolved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors said that while his story had changed over the years, Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. And they said that while he did not pull the trigger, evidence showed he’d called for the gunfire as a powerful gang leader the younger men in the car, including his nephew, were going to listen to.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The prosecution said the state would dismiss a gang enhancement charge due to witness logistics. Prosecutors declined to comment following the verdict, and members of Shakur’s family said they were waiting until sentencing, which is scheduled for October.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The trial brought to a head a decades-old case that for years has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike. Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds. Knight was also wounded but survived.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper’s death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat, calling the shooting a retaliation for the earlier beating of his nephew. Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sanft, Davis’ attorney, argued there was no physical evidence connecting his client to the shooting. He said the book Davis co-authored and the public statements he made were dramatized bravado designed to make money, not to tell the truth.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Palal held up Davis’ 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” and played an interview in which Davis encouraged people to buy it to get the “real truth.” Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, prosecutors argued the central account did not.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The shooting death of Bad Boy’s the Notorious B.I.G. six months after Shakur came up many times during the trial, with law enforcement witnesses saying Davis was briefly a suspect in that killing before being discounted. That case, which has also been an obsession of hip-hop fans, remains unsolved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The verdict for Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis finally brings some resolution to hip-hop's most infamous case.",
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"title": "Tupac Murder Trial: Finally, a Guilty Verdict For 1996 Shooting | KQED",
"description": "The verdict for Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis finally brings some resolution to hip-hop's most infamous case.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tupac-shakur\">Tupac Shakur\u003c/a>, finally bringing a measure of resolution to a case that had gripped hip-hop fans and lingered in the public imagination for decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 63-year-old Davis was convicted Monday of a single count of murder with a deadly weapon and could be sentenced to life in prison. The jury deliberated for less than three hours after a weekslong trial in Las Vegas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After the verdict was read, Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, cried and hugged the prosecutors. Davis’ son covered his face with one hand.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal told jurors in closing arguments earlier Monday that Davis acquired a gun and “went hunting” for Shakur and Death Row Records co=founder Marion “Suge” Knight after the men had beaten up Davis’ nephew earlier that night.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He is responsible of the murder of Tupac Shakur,” Palal said. “Tell him you hear him. Find him guilty.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Prosecutors said that while his story had changed over the years, Davis repeatedly placed himself inside a white Cadillac from which the shots were fired. And they said that while he did not pull the trigger, evidence showed he’d called for the gunfire as a powerful gang leader the younger men in the car, including his nephew, were going to listen to.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Defense attorney Michael Sanft asked jurors if there was any evidence that Davis had ever called the shots before or after the shooting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The panel of 16 jurors, four of whom are alternates, heard testimony from 24 prosecution witnesses and three defense witnesses over nine days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The prosecution said the state would dismiss a gang enhancement charge due to witness logistics. Prosecutors declined to comment following the verdict, and members of Shakur’s family said they were waiting until sentencing, which is scheduled for October.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26244055082755-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Friends and family members of rapper Tupac Shakur, including his sister Sekyiwa Shakur, second left, line up to hug Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal, right, after a jury found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in his trial related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The decades-old case has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and crime experts alike\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The trial brought to a head a decades-old case that for years has drawn the attention of hip-hop fans and true crime experts alike. Shakur, who was considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, was in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, and stopped at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside him, and shots were fired. He died six days later from his wounds. Knight was also wounded but survived.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For years, nobody had been charged in the rapper’s death until Davis began making public statements, saying he was in the Cadillac and gave the gun to others in the backseat, calling the shooting a retaliation for the earlier beating of his nephew. Davis is the only person still alive among the four men prosecutors say were in the Cadillac.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Witnesses described the hostile rivalry between the Los Angeles gang sects Mob Piru and Davis’ Southside Compton Crips leading up to Shakur’s death and how the gangs became affiliated with Knight’s Death Row Records and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Defense argued public statements were untrue, and physical evidence was lacking\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanft, Davis’ attorney, argued there was no physical evidence connecting his client to the shooting. He said the book Davis co-authored and the public statements he made were dramatized bravado designed to make money, not to tell the truth.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout the trial, Sanft poked holes in prosecutors’ narrative. He said investigators did not back up the claims made by his client, and he repeatedly pointed out a lack of physical evidence, such as phone records, that showed Davis was the shot caller.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They have nothing in this case that says that man was here in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996,” Sanft said during his closing argument.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a rebuttal argument, prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo pointed to a scrapbook Davis kept containing articles about Shakur.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This guy’s scrapbooking his murder, for God’s sake,” DiGiacomo told jurors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993498\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/AP26243768079972-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Davis’ own words were front and center\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Palal held up Davis’ 2019 memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” and played an interview in which Davis encouraged people to buy it to get the “real truth.” Although the book contains a disclaimer saying some facts were changed, prosecutors argued the central account did not.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sanft also turned to his client’s memoir during his closing argument. While reading an excerpt, he said the N-word aloud, prompting people watching in an overflow courtroom to recoil and shake their heads.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In multiple interviews, Davis said he handed the gun to the back seat, but in others as well as in his book, Davis wouldn’t say who pulled the trigger.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gang and record label rivalries provided the backdrop\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While insisting Davis’ words alone were enough to convict him, prosecutors said a gang rivalry helped explain why the shooting happened.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Witnesses described the hostile rivalry between the Los Angeles gang sects leading up to Shakur’s death, and how the gangs became affiliated with two rival labels — Mob Piru with Knight’s Death Row Records and the South Side Compton Crips with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The shooting death of Bad Boy’s the Notorious B.I.G. six months after Shakur came up many times during the trial, with law enforcement witnesses saying Davis was briefly a suspect in that killing before being discounted. That case, which has also been an obsession of hip-hop fans, remains unsolved.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "pokemon-world-championships-in-san-francisco-fandom",
"title": "At Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, Whimsical Fandom Shines",
"publishDate": 1788216574,
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"headTitle": "At Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, Whimsical Fandom Shines | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993462\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee poses for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hours before last Thursday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-giants\">San Francisco Giants\u003c/a> game at Oracle Park, eager fans lingered near the gates. They weren’t waiting to see the game, or to catch fly balls. Instead, they came to catch Pikachu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pokemon-worlds-night\">Pokémon Worlds Night\u003c/a> — a Giants celebration of Pokémon fandom with a Pikachu-Giants jersey giveaway and a dazzling post-game drone show. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>The night included a stadium-sized sing-along of the Pokémon theme song, and Giants players huddling in the dugout to rip open packs of Pokémon trading cards and compare custom airbrushed Charizard cleats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These festivities helped kick off San Francisco’s citywide embrace of the Japanese anime juggernaut, which took over the town Friday through Sunday for the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP hosted at Moscone Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993447\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rio (from left), Natsuki and Rina, from Japan, pose for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The event — an annual rotating spectacle featuring the globe’s largest Pokémon gaming tournament, a fan convention, and experiential activations galore — attracted over 50,000 badged attendees and nearly 3,000 competitors from across 54 countries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 2004, the event has been held in the Bay Area just twice. According to convention organizers, this year’s San Francisco edition was the best and biggest to date. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fans certainly agreed. And for those visiting the region with their quirky fandom, they felt right at home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jacqueline (left) and Jessica at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003cbr>\u003cbr> (left) and Jessica (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area seems very whimsical and accepting of other people and lifestyles. I want to live here,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fableddarling/?hl=en\">Fableddarling\u003c/a>, a cosplayer who traveled from North Carolina to the Bay Area for the first time for the event. Fableddarling wore an elaborate homemade outfit of Alcremie, a fairy-type Pokémon character made of whipped cream and strawberries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others weren’t sure what to expect from San Francisco, having been fed a doom-loop narrative about the city before arriving. One Hawaiian couple, Taka and Kat — dressed as Team Star villains from \u003cem>Pokémon Violet\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Scarlet\u003c/em> — had mixed expectations of the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had family members saying things like ‘Don’t die’ when we told them we were going to San Francisco,” Kat said. That myth was quickly dispelled for the couple after riding in a self-driving vehicle for the first time and gorging on regional staples like clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993456\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kat (left) and Taka of Hawaii, dressed as team star, pose for a photo in Yerba Buena Gardens during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Naturally, a few criticisms arose. Complaints about long lines and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/shut-down-pokemon-worlds-22410240.php\">a safety issue with the San Francisco Fire Marshal\u003c/a> underscored frustrations over event logistics. One eventgoer, Vivian, who commuted from Manteca, admitted she “wouldn’t have picked San Francisco” as the host city because of the city’s inconveniences with parking and crime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the vast majority of Pokémon fans seemed happy with the city, and the many ways it pitched in the weekend celebration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On site, musicians like Trevor Strohl of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/characterselectband/\">Character Select\u003c/a>, a local jazz band that riffs off video game soundtracks, wandered around Moscone Center’s main plaza while belting out saxophone solos of Pokémon tunes upon request. Off site, small local businesses like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcg_C4pASEC/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Joe’s Ice Cream\u003c/a> went viral for turning their scoops of ice cream into Pokémon characters for the weekend. Dumpling Time’s San Francisco locations added \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcq3vkjTfF_/\">Poke-Bao (egg yolk) and Pika-Bao (barbecue pork)\u003c/a> to their weekend menus, taking the form of Pokéballs and Pikachus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco resident Eddie Castro wore his special-edition Levi’s jean jacket with a Pikachu emblazoned upon the back; after collecting his World Championship pins, he planned to attend a social hour with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lookoutsf/?hl=en\">Pokémon-inspired cocktails and card battles at Lookout\u003c/a> in the Castro.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the bravest enthusiasts, Golf Leaf Ink hosted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcb73yZSwBN/\">“Gotta Tat ’Em All” Pokémon flash tattoo party\u003c/a> for those wanting to permanently catch their favorite fictional creatures. (Did this writer briefly consider inking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/machamp\">Machamp\u003c/a>? Maybe.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even the niche intersection of California skateboarding culture and Pokémon fandom was evident. Santa Cruz Skateboards installed a half pipe in front of Moscone Center, and brought their team of professional skaters to ride special edition Pokémon decks in celebration of their \u003ca href=\"https://santacruzskateboards.com/pokemon\">30th Anniversary Pokémon collaboration\u003c/a>. Additionally, a limited-edition Bear Walker-designed Pikachu cruiser board was among the most highly coveted items of the event — costing $350 and available only after being selected through a rigorous lottery process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Santa Cruz Skateboards designed like Pokémon cards on display at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I already got offered $1,000 in cash for this, but I’m a skater; I’m not here to scalp or make money [from reselling],” said Zach Brookins, a former Bay Area resident who drove up from his hometown in San Diego for a chance to acquire the skateboard. “I’m going to ride this board into the ground. I’m going to put my dirty feet all over Pikachu this weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the adults-only crowd, visiting burlesque dancers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejessicanova/?hl=en\">Jessica Nova\u003c/a> and Bon Bon were dressed for the occasion as they strolled the grounds in their risqué garb. For them, San Francisco remains a nexus for the strange, unexpected fandoms within nerd culture (think drag shows that feature dragon-type Pokémon like “Drag-onite”).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of course, the Pokémon takeover wasn’t just for nostalgic, endorphin-seeking adults. The entirety of Yerba Buena Gardens was transformed into a Pokémon-ized outdoor clearing with activities, giveaways and a kids area for infants and toddlers dressed as miniature Evees, Tertwigs and Mimikyus while a massive inflated Pikachu overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pikachu dance is performed during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most endearing element of the weekend was the intergenerational aspect of Pokémon fandom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alvaro Perez, along with his wife Karina (who was costumed as Umbreon), flew in from Mexico City to cheer on their adolescent son, Hernan, who competed among the world’s best “trainers.” Ricky, a Bernal Heights local who dressed up as Ash Ketchum, brought his teenage son for the experience; as lowrider aficionados, they particularly appreciated the bright yellow, Pikachu-styled 1950s Cadillac convertible on display. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For families like these, the convention offered an opportunity to pass down a lifelong fandom to future gamers and fans. Though corporate brands like Build-A-Bear, Crocs and Nintendo were visibly promoting new products, it didn’t overtake the sincerity of a nerdy, lovable experience in an inviting, eccentric atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993463\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pikachu characters sit on top of a replica of the golden gate bridge which stands over the entrance to the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the8bitbigband/?hl=en\">8-Bit Big Band\u003c/a> orchestra blasted out theme song tributes for each major Pokémon installment from the past 30 years, images of Pokémon exploring San Francisco’s attractions could be seen — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/rayquaza\">Rayquaza\u003c/a>-themed cable car on Howard Street, a remixed Fisherman’s Wharf sign with \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/krabby\">Krabby\u003c/a> as the logo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In that sense, there may not be another city in the world with as perfect a backdrop for catching Pokémon as right here in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“San Francisco felt like a natural fit given its status as one of the best cities in the world,” Nick Salazar of the Pokémon Company International told KQED. “We were here 10 years ago, so returning to San Francisco, and bringing an even larger event to the city, feels particularly special.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993462\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee poses for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hours before last Thursday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-giants\">San Francisco Giants\u003c/a> game at Oracle Park, eager fans lingered near the gates. They weren’t waiting to see the game, or to catch fly balls. Instead, they came to catch Pikachu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pokemon-worlds-night\">Pokémon Worlds Night\u003c/a> — a Giants celebration of Pokémon fandom with a Pikachu-Giants jersey giveaway and a dazzling post-game drone show. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>The night included a stadium-sized sing-along of the Pokémon theme song, and Giants players huddling in the dugout to rip open packs of Pokémon trading cards and compare custom airbrushed Charizard cleats.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Hours before last Thursday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-giants\">San Francisco Giants\u003c/a> game at Oracle Park, eager fans lingered near the gates. They weren’t waiting to see the game, or to catch fly balls. Instead, they came to catch Pikachu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pokemon-worlds-night\">Pokémon Worlds Night\u003c/a> — a Giants celebration of Pokémon fandom with a Pikachu-Giants jersey giveaway and a dazzling post-game drone show. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>The night included a stadium-sized sing-along of the Pokémon theme song, and Giants players huddling in the dugout to rip open packs of Pokémon trading cards and compare custom airbrushed Charizard cleats.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These festivities helped kick off San Francisco’s citywide embrace of the Japanese anime juggernaut, which took over the town Friday through Sunday for the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP hosted at Moscone Center.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These festivities helped kick off San Francisco’s citywide embrace of the Japanese anime juggernaut, which took over the town Friday through Sunday for the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP hosted at Moscone Center.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993447\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rio (from left), Natsuki and Rina, from Japan, pose for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993447\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rio (from left), Natsuki and Rina, from Japan, pose for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The event — an annual rotating spectacle featuring the globe’s largest Pokémon gaming tournament, a fan convention, and experiential activations galore — attracted over 50,000 badged attendees and nearly 3,000 competitors from across 54 countries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The event — an annual rotating spectacle featuring the globe’s largest Pokémon gaming tournament, a fan convention, and experiential activations galore — attracted over 50,000 badged attendees and nearly 3,000 competitors from across 54 countries.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 2004, the event has been held in the Bay Area just twice. According to convention organizers, this year’s San Francisco edition was the best and biggest to date. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 2004, the event has been held in the Bay Area just twice. According to convention organizers, this year’s San Francisco edition was the best and biggest to date. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fans certainly agreed. And for those visiting the region with their quirky fandom, they felt right at home.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fans certainly agreed. And for those visiting the region with their quirky fandom, they felt right at home.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jacqueline (left) and Jessica at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003cbr>\u003cbr> (left) and Jessica\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993457\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jacqueline (left) and Jessica at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003cbr>\u003cbr> (left) and Jessica\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area seems very whimsical and accepting of other people and lifestyles. I want to live here,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fableddarling/?hl=en\">Fableddarling\u003c/a>, a cosplayer who traveled from North Carolina to the Bay Area for the first time for the event. Fableddarling wore an elaborate homemade outfit of Alcremie, a fairy-type Pokémon character made of whipped cream and strawberries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area seems very whimsical and accepting of other people and lifestyles. I want to live here,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fableddarling/?hl=en\">Fableddarling\u003c/a>, a cosplayer who traveled from North Carolina to the Bay Area for the first time for the event. Fableddarling wore an elaborate homemade outfit of Alcremie, a fairy-type Pokémon character made of whipped cream and strawberries.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Others weren’t sure what to expect from San Francisco, having been fed a doom-loop narrative about the city before arriving. One Hawaiian couple, Taka and Kat — dressed as Team Star villains from \u003cem>Pokémon Violet\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Scarlet\u003c/em> — had mixed expectations of the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Others weren’t sure what to expect from San Francisco, having been fed a doom-loop narrative about the city before arriving. One Hawaiian couple, Taka and Kat — dressed as Team Star villains from \u003cem>Pokémon Violet\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Scarlet\u003c/em> — had mixed expectations of the city.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We had family members saying things like ‘Don’t die’ when we told them we were going to San Francisco,” Kat said. That myth was quickly dispelled for the couple after riding in a self-driving vehicle for the first time and gorging on regional staples like clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We had family members saying things like ‘Don’t die’ when we told them we were going to San Francisco,” Kat said. That myth was quickly dispelled for the couple after riding in a self-driving vehicle for the first time and gorging on regional staples like clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993456\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kat (left) and Taka of Hawaii, dressed as team star, pose for a photo in Yerba Buena Gardens during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993456\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kat (left) and Taka of Hawaii, dressed as team star, pose for a photo in Yerba Buena Gardens during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Naturally, a few criticisms arose. Complaints about long lines and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/shut-down-pokemon-worlds-22410240.php\">a safety issue with the San Francisco Fire Marshal\u003c/a> underscored frustrations over event logistics. One eventgoer, Vivian, who commuted from Manteca, admitted she “wouldn’t have picked San Francisco” as the host city because of the city’s inconveniences with parking and crime.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Naturally, a few criticisms arose. Complaints about long lines and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/shut-down-pokemon-worlds-22410240.php\">a safety issue with the San Francisco Fire Marshal\u003c/a> underscored frustrations over event logistics. One eventgoer, Vivian, who commuted from Manteca, admitted she “wouldn’t have picked San Francisco” as the host city because of the city’s inconveniences with parking and crime.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the vast majority of Pokémon fans seemed happy with the city, and the many ways it pitched in the weekend celebration.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On site, musicians like Trevor Strohl of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/characterselectband/\">Character Select\u003c/a>, a local jazz band that riffs off video game soundtracks, wandered around Moscone Center’s main plaza while belting out saxophone solos of Pokémon tunes upon request. Off site, small local businesses like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcg_C4pASEC/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Joe’s Ice Cream\u003c/a> went viral for turning their scoops of ice cream into Pokémon characters for the weekend. Dumpling Time’s San Francisco locations added \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcq3vkjTfF_/\">Poke-Bao (egg yolk) and Pika-Bao (barbecue pork)\u003c/a> to their weekend menus, taking the form of Pokéballs and Pikachus.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On site, musicians like Trevor Strohl of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/characterselectband/\">Character Select\u003c/a>, a local jazz band that riffs off video game soundtracks, wandered around Moscone Center’s main plaza while belting out saxophone solos of Pokémon tunes upon request. Off site, small local businesses like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcg_C4pASEC/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Joe’s Ice Cream\u003c/a> went viral for turning their scoops of ice cream into Pokémon characters for the weekend. Dumpling Time’s San Francisco locations added \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcq3vkjTfF_/\">Poke-Bao (egg yolk) and Pika-Bao (barbecue pork)\u003c/a> to their weekend menus, taking the form of Pokéballs and Pikachus.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993460\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco resident Eddie Castro wore his special-edition Levi’s jean jacket with a Pikachu emblazoned upon the back; after collecting his World Championship pins, he planned to attend a social hour with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lookoutsf/?hl=en\">Pokémon-inspired cocktails and card battles at Lookout\u003c/a> in the Castro.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco resident Eddie Castro wore his special-edition Levi’s jean jacket with a Pikachu emblazoned upon the back; after collecting his World Championship pins, he planned to attend a social hour with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lookoutsf/?hl=en\">Pokémon-inspired cocktails and card battles at Lookout\u003c/a> in the Castro.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the bravest enthusiasts, Golf Leaf Ink hosted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcb73yZSwBN/\">“Gotta Tat ’Em All” Pokémon flash tattoo party\u003c/a> for those wanting to permanently catch their favorite fictional creatures. (Did this writer briefly consider inking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/machamp\">Machamp\u003c/a>? Maybe.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For the bravest enthusiasts, Golf Leaf Ink hosted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcb73yZSwBN/\">“Gotta Tat ’Em All” Pokémon flash tattoo party\u003c/a> for those wanting to permanently catch their favorite fictional creatures. (Did this writer briefly consider inking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/machamp\">Machamp\u003c/a>? Maybe.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even the niche intersection of California skateboarding culture and Pokémon fandom was evident. Santa Cruz Skateboards installed a half pipe in front of Moscone Center, and brought their team of professional skaters to ride special edition Pokémon decks in celebration of their \u003ca href=\"https://santacruzskateboards.com/pokemon\">30th Anniversary Pokémon collaboration\u003c/a>. Additionally, a limited-edition Bear Walker-designed Pikachu cruiser board was among the most highly coveted items of the event — costing $350 and available only after being selected through a rigorous lottery process.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even the niche intersection of California skateboarding culture and Pokémon fandom was evident. Santa Cruz Skateboards installed a half pipe in front of Moscone Center, and brought their team of professional skaters to ride special edition Pokémon decks in celebration of their \u003ca href=\"https://santacruzskateboards.com/pokemon\">30th Anniversary Pokémon collaboration\u003c/a>. Additionally, a limited-edition Bear Walker-designed Pikachu cruiser board was among the most highly coveted items of the event — costing $350 and available only after being selected through a rigorous lottery process.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Santa Cruz Skateboards designed like Pokémon cards on display at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993449\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Santa Cruz Skateboards designed like Pokémon cards on display at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I already got offered $1,000 in cash for this, but I’m a skater; I’m not here to scalp or make money [from reselling],” said Zach Brookins, a former Bay Area resident who drove up from his hometown in San Diego for a chance to acquire the skateboard. “I’m going to ride this board into the ground. I’m going to put my dirty feet all over Pikachu this weekend.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I already got offered $1,000 in cash for this, but I’m a skater; I’m not here to scalp or make money [from reselling],” said Zach Brookins, a former Bay Area resident who drove up from his hometown in San Diego for a chance to acquire the skateboard. “I’m going to ride this board into the ground. I’m going to put my dirty feet all over Pikachu this weekend.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the adults-only crowd, visiting burlesque dancers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejessicanova/?hl=en\">Jessica Nova\u003c/a> and Bon Bon were dressed for the occasion as they strolled the grounds in their risqué garb. For them, San Francisco remains a nexus for the strange, unexpected fandoms within nerd culture (think drag shows that feature dragon-type Pokémon like “Drag-onite”).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For the adults-only crowd, visiting burlesque dancers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejessicanova/?hl=en\">Jessica Nova\u003c/a> and Bon Bon were dressed for the occasion as they strolled the grounds in their risqué garb. For them, San Francisco remains a nexus for the strange, unexpected fandoms within nerd culture (think drag shows that feature dragon-type Pokémon like “Drag-onite”).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Of course, the Pokémon takeover wasn’t just for nostalgic, endorphin-seeking adults. The entirety of Yerba Buena Gardens was transformed into a Pokémon-ized outdoor clearing with activities, giveaways and a kids area for infants and toddlers dressed as miniature Evees, Tertwigs and Mimikyus while a massive inflated Pikachu overlooked.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Of course, the Pokémon takeover wasn’t just for nostalgic, endorphin-seeking adults. The entirety of Yerba Buena Gardens was transformed into a Pokémon-ized outdoor clearing with activities, giveaways and a kids area for infants and toddlers dressed as miniature Evees, Tertwigs and Mimikyus while a massive inflated Pikachu overlooked.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pikachu dance is performed during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993461\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pikachu dance is performed during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most endearing element of the weekend was the intergenerational aspect of Pokémon fandom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Alvaro Perez, along with his wife Karina (who was costumed as Umbreon), flew in from Mexico City to cheer on their adolescent son, Hernan, who competed among the world’s best “trainers.” Ricky, a Bernal Heights local who dressed up as Ash Ketchum, brought his teenage son for the experience; as lowrider aficionados, they particularly appreciated the bright yellow, Pikachu-styled 1950s Cadillac convertible on display. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Alvaro Perez, along with his wife Karina (who was costumed as Umbreon), flew in from Mexico City to cheer on their adolescent son, Hernan, who competed among the world’s best “trainers.” Ricky, a Bernal Heights local who dressed up as Ash Ketchum, brought his teenage son for the experience; as lowrider aficionados, they particularly appreciated the bright yellow, Pikachu-styled 1950s Cadillac convertible on display. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For families like these, the convention offered an opportunity to pass down a lifelong fandom to future gamers and fans. Though corporate brands like Build-A-Bear, Crocs and Nintendo were visibly promoting new products, it didn’t overtake the sincerity of a nerdy, lovable experience in an inviting, eccentric atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For families like these, the convention offered an opportunity to pass down a lifelong fandom to future gamers and fans. Though corporate brands like Build-A-Bear, Crocs and Nintendo were visibly promoting new products, it didn’t overtake the sincerity of a nerdy, lovable experience in an inviting, eccentric atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993463\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pikachu characters sit on top of a replica of the golden gate bridge which stands over the entrance to the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the8bitbigband/?hl=en\">8-Bit Big Band\u003c/a> orchestra blasted out theme song tributes for each major Pokémon installment from the past 30 years, images of Pokémon exploring San Francisco’s attractions could be seen — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/rayquaza\">Rayquaza\u003c/a>-themed cable car on Howard Street, a remixed Fisherman’s Wharf sign with \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/krabby\">Krabby\u003c/a> as the logo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the8bitbigband/?hl=en\">8-Bit Big Band\u003c/a> orchestra blasted out theme song tributes for each major Pokémon installment from the past 30 years, images of Pokémon exploring San Francisco’s attractions could be seen — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/rayquaza\">Rayquaza\u003c/a>-themed cable car on Howard Street, a remixed Fisherman’s Wharf sign with \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/krabby\">Krabby\u003c/a> as the logo.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In that sense, there may not be another city in the world with as perfect a backdrop for catching Pokémon as right here in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“San Francisco felt like a natural fit given its status as one of the best cities in the world,” Nick Salazar of the Pokémon Company International told KQED. “We were here 10 years ago, so returning to San Francisco, and bringing an even larger event to the city, feels particularly special.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“San Francisco felt like a natural fit given its status as one of the best cities in the world,” Nick Salazar of the Pokémon Company International told KQED. “We were here 10 years ago, so returning to San Francisco, and bringing an even larger event to the city, feels particularly special.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Pokémon-inspired skateboards, jazz bands, burlesque dancers — San Francisco was catching ’em all.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993462\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-96-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An attendee poses for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hours before last Thursday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-giants\">San Francisco Giants\u003c/a> game at Oracle Park, eager fans lingered near the gates. They weren’t waiting to see the game, or to catch fly balls. Instead, they came to catch Pikachu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.mlb.com/giants/tickets/specials/pokemon-worlds-night\">Pokémon Worlds Night\u003c/a> — a Giants celebration of Pokémon fandom with a Pikachu-Giants jersey giveaway and a dazzling post-game drone show. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>The night included a stadium-sized sing-along of the Pokémon theme song, and Giants players huddling in the dugout to rip open packs of Pokémon trading cards and compare custom airbrushed Charizard cleats.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These festivities helped kick off San Francisco’s citywide embrace of the Japanese anime juggernaut, which took over the town Friday through Sunday for the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP hosted at Moscone Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993447\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-37-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rio (from left), Natsuki and Rina, from Japan, pose for a photo at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The event — an annual rotating spectacle featuring the globe’s largest Pokémon gaming tournament, a fan convention, and experiential activations galore — attracted over 50,000 badged attendees and nearly 3,000 competitors from across 54 countries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since its founding in 2004, the event has been held in the Bay Area just twice. According to convention organizers, this year’s San Francisco edition was the best and biggest to date. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fans certainly agreed. And for those visiting the region with their quirky fandom, they felt right at home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-73-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jacqueline (left) and Jessica at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026.\u003cbr>\u003cbr> (left) and Jessica (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Bay Area seems very whimsical and accepting of other people and lifestyles. I want to live here,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fableddarling/?hl=en\">Fableddarling\u003c/a>, a cosplayer who traveled from North Carolina to the Bay Area for the first time for the event. Fableddarling wore an elaborate homemade outfit of Alcremie, a fairy-type Pokémon character made of whipped cream and strawberries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others weren’t sure what to expect from San Francisco, having been fed a doom-loop narrative about the city before arriving. One Hawaiian couple, Taka and Kat — dressed as Team Star villains from \u003cem>Pokémon Violet\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Scarlet\u003c/em> — had mixed expectations of the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We had family members saying things like ‘Don’t die’ when we told them we were going to San Francisco,” Kat said. That myth was quickly dispelled for the couple after riding in a self-driving vehicle for the first time and gorging on regional staples like clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993456\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-71-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kat (left) and Taka of Hawaii, dressed as team star, pose for a photo in Yerba Buena Gardens during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Naturally, a few criticisms arose. Complaints about long lines and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/shut-down-pokemon-worlds-22410240.php\">a safety issue with the San Francisco Fire Marshal\u003c/a> underscored frustrations over event logistics. One eventgoer, Vivian, who commuted from Manteca, admitted she “wouldn’t have picked San Francisco” as the host city because of the city’s inconveniences with parking and crime.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the vast majority of Pokémon fans seemed happy with the city, and the many ways it pitched in the weekend celebration.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On site, musicians like Trevor Strohl of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/characterselectband/\">Character Select\u003c/a>, a local jazz band that riffs off video game soundtracks, wandered around Moscone Center’s main plaza while belting out saxophone solos of Pokémon tunes upon request. Off site, small local businesses like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcg_C4pASEC/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Joe’s Ice Cream\u003c/a> went viral for turning their scoops of ice cream into Pokémon characters for the weekend. Dumpling Time’s San Francisco locations added \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Dcq3vkjTfF_/\">Poke-Bao (egg yolk) and Pika-Bao (barbecue pork)\u003c/a> to their weekend menus, taking the form of Pokéballs and Pikachus.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-88-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Longtime San Francisco resident Eddie Castro wore his special-edition Levi’s jean jacket with a Pikachu emblazoned upon the back; after collecting his World Championship pins, he planned to attend a social hour with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lookoutsf/?hl=en\">Pokémon-inspired cocktails and card battles at Lookout\u003c/a> in the Castro.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the bravest enthusiasts, Golf Leaf Ink hosted a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dcb73yZSwBN/\">“Gotta Tat ’Em All” Pokémon flash tattoo party\u003c/a> for those wanting to permanently catch their favorite fictional creatures. (Did this writer briefly consider inking a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/machamp\">Machamp\u003c/a>? Maybe.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Even the niche intersection of California skateboarding culture and Pokémon fandom was evident. Santa Cruz Skateboards installed a half pipe in front of Moscone Center, and brought their team of professional skaters to ride special edition Pokémon decks in celebration of their \u003ca href=\"https://santacruzskateboards.com/pokemon\">30th Anniversary Pokémon collaboration\u003c/a>. Additionally, a limited-edition Bear Walker-designed Pikachu cruiser board was among the most highly coveted items of the event — costing $350 and available only after being selected through a rigorous lottery process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-41-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Santa Cruz Skateboards designed like Pokémon cards on display at the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I already got offered $1,000 in cash for this, but I’m a skater; I’m not here to scalp or make money [from reselling],” said Zach Brookins, a former Bay Area resident who drove up from his hometown in San Diego for a chance to acquire the skateboard. “I’m going to ride this board into the ground. I’m going to put my dirty feet all over Pikachu this weekend.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the adults-only crowd, visiting burlesque dancers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejessicanova/?hl=en\">Jessica Nova\u003c/a> and Bon Bon were dressed for the occasion as they strolled the grounds in their risqué garb. For them, San Francisco remains a nexus for the strange, unexpected fandoms within nerd culture (think drag shows that feature dragon-type Pokémon like “Drag-onite”).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Of course, the Pokémon takeover wasn’t just for nostalgic, endorphin-seeking adults. The entirety of Yerba Buena Gardens was transformed into a Pokémon-ized outdoor clearing with activities, giveaways and a kids area for infants and toddlers dressed as miniature Evees, Tertwigs and Mimikyus while a massive inflated Pikachu overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-94-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Pikachu dance is performed during the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Perhaps the most endearing element of the weekend was the intergenerational aspect of Pokémon fandom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Alvaro Perez, along with his wife Karina (who was costumed as Umbreon), flew in from Mexico City to cheer on their adolescent son, Hernan, who competed among the world’s best “trainers.” Ricky, a Bernal Heights local who dressed up as Ash Ketchum, brought his teenage son for the experience; as lowrider aficionados, they particularly appreciated the bright yellow, Pikachu-styled 1950s Cadillac convertible on display. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For families like these, the convention offered an opportunity to pass down a lifelong fandom to future gamers and fans. Though corporate brands like Build-A-Bear, Crocs and Nintendo were visibly promoting new products, it didn’t overtake the sincerity of a nerdy, lovable experience in an inviting, eccentric atmosphere.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993463\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/260828-PokemonWorldChampionships-NG-97-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pikachu characters sit on top of a replica of the golden gate bridge which stands over the entrance to the Pokémon World Championships and PokémonXP fan convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco on Aug. 28, 2026. (Nina Glick/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/the8bitbigband/?hl=en\">8-Bit Big Band\u003c/a> orchestra blasted out theme song tributes for each major Pokémon installment from the past 30 years, images of Pokémon exploring San Francisco’s attractions could be seen — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/rayquaza\">Rayquaza\u003c/a>-themed cable car on Howard Street, a remixed Fisherman’s Wharf sign with \u003ca href=\"https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokedex/krabby\">Krabby\u003c/a> as the logo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In that sense, there may not be another city in the world with as perfect a backdrop for catching Pokémon as right here in the Bay. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“San Francisco felt like a natural fit given its status as one of the best cities in the world,” Nick Salazar of the Pokémon Company International told KQED. “We were here 10 years ago, so returning to San Francisco, and bringing an even larger event to the city, feels particularly special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The ‘Bitch Talk’ Podcast Will Fight Your Dancing Robot",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>It’s a sunny San Francisco day and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bitchtalkpodcast.com/\">Bitch Talk\u003c/a>\u003c/em> podcast co-hosts Erin Lim and Angela Tabora are hanging out in the Social Study, the cozy Fillmore venue where they both work as bartenders. They are describing, very entertainingly, a recent afternoon downtown when they encountered crowds of tech professionals outside the Moscone Center applauding a dancing robot. Suddenly aghast, Tabora responded by putting herself front and center and instinctively flipping off the machine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This robot is dancing to ’70s funk, of all music!” she exclaims. “That’s soul music! For things with souls to dance to! And so I was flipping it off. There’s this whole crowd of people clapping with no rhythm, cheering it on, and I was just like, get me out of this fucking place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the story Lim and Tabora tell when asked how they’ve kept their culture podcast going for 13 years. Somehow, they’ve made it work as indie broadcasters in a region known for both its extreme affordability crisis and the creeping ubiquity of AI.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re inundated,” Lim sighs. “We’re being colonized by AI. But if we’re not here, then who’s going to take our place? It makes me sad with all the AI billboards everywhere and the people that come in thinking they know San Francisco, and they don’t. White saviors. They’re not curious about this space and they’re not willing to learn. But we’re here too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Indeed, as frustrated as Lim and Tabora are about ever-encroaching tech and exorbitant rents, they remain absolutely dedicated to staying in the city, where they continue their mission of honoring local culture and communities. Lim was raised in San Leandro before moving to San Francisco in 2005. Tabora — who joined \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> 100 episodes in, after original cohost Karyn Paige bowed out — is originally from Los Angeles, and moved to San Francisco in 1999.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The thing that keeps me loving San Francisco is that community,” Tabora says. “Artists, local business owners, musicians. Of course, a lot of [my old friends don’t] live in the city anymore. But good stuff’s still here. Things like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078524/hunky-jesus-contest-2026-foxy-mary-dolores-park-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-san-francisco-history-easter-in-the-park-what-time-how-to-enter\">Hunky Jesus\u003c/a>, the chili cook-off every year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPOpOTCw5M0\">Standard Deviant Brewing\u003c/a>, all the film festivals. \u003cem>So many\u003c/em> film festivals. That’s what keeps me going.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg\" alt=\"A Black man wearing a yellow outfit and very tall misshapen hat sits on a movie theater stage talking into a mic. To his left are two Asian women sitting in directors' chairs and laughing uproariously.\" class=\"wp-image-13993187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lim and Tabora on stage at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, moderating a Q&A with Boots Riley, after a screening of ‘I Love Boosters,’ May 2026. (Steve Rhodes)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, now approaching 1,000 episodes, is a labor of love for Lim and Tabora. The pair, who self-fund the podcast with the help of sporadic fundraisers and occasional sponsorships, first met while working at a television production company in Marin. Lim still works as an audio journalist for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/\">KALW\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten advice from people that we really respect, that have gone far in this industry, that have told us, ‘To become more mainstream, I think you need to change the name,’” Tabora says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We will stick with \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, thanks,” Lim adds. “I don’t care. Where’s my pearls?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim and Tabora’s podcast started as a gathering of friends, led by Lim, who got together over a bottle of whiskey to discuss pop culture and events of the day. The show was specifically designed to fight back against the overwhelmingly “pale and male” (as Lim puts it) nature of podcasting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over time, due in part to Lim’s background in movie PR and Tabora’s ongoing work in documentary filmmaking, \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> expanded from a chat and analysis show into one that also focused on moviemakers and film festivals, as well as local events, actors and musicians. When Lim and Tabora aren’t reviewing, they’re interviewing the likes of Barry Jenkins, W. Kamau Bell, Olivia Wilde, Ron Howard, Daveed Diggs and Ruby Ibarra. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When they’re not interviewing, they talk to each other and their audience in so-called ‘Basic Bitch’ episodes, in which they visit their favorite locations around the Bay and explain why they’re special. (A September 2025 episode recorded in Costco is one of the finest examples of this.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the beauty of our podcast is we don’t have anyone to answer to,” Tabora says. “So we don’t have to focus on any one thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1177\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize.jpg\" alt=\"Two middle aged, colorfully dressed women of Asian descent sit at a bar table, sipping cocktails with microphones set up in front of them.\" class=\"wp-image-13993275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-160x94.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-1536x904.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ange Tabora and Erin Lim. (Chloe Jackman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The duo’s efforts and outspoken style have not gone unnoticed, winning Best Podcast honors from \u003cem>San Francisco Magazine\u003c/em>’s Best of the Bay awards for three years straight between 2022 and 2024. One of the most appealing elements of Lim and Tabora’s work together is their chemistry. They’ve been friends and coworkers for so long, they frequently finish each other’s sentences. They are also unintentionally hilarious, with Lim often playing the straight (wo)man during Tabora’s wildcard moments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have grown a lot together,” Tabora tells KQED earnestly. “I think we push each other. She fills my holes and vice versa.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim quickly glares at Tabora.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gaps! I mean gaps, not holes!” Tabora corrects. “You know what I mean? Like, she does the things that I don’t do so well, and vice versa.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We complement each other,” Lim affirms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Oh God, please don’t say we fill each other’s holes!” laughs the mortified Tabora, head in hands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the benefits of Lim and Tabora’s chatty, comedic exteriors is their ability to share political content in an easily digestible manner. Earlier this year, they created an \u003ca href=\"https://www.bitchtalkpodcast.com/activism-1\">activism\u003c/a> page on their website that categorizes their back catalog according to topic: LGBTQ+, race, and women’s rights. So many episodes in, the hosts are aware that they’ve quietly built an important archive of activist information.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just think we’ve done all this work, and all these interviews, and watched all these films,” Lim says. “If you are even thinking about [activism] or have a question about it, we have the resources. Our podcast has social impact — and I hate using that term — but it’s true.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, what’s next for \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>? Their first major fundraiser is happening in October, so they can keep the podcast afloat for another year. Lim and Tabora are also learning to lean into middle age as loudly and proudly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re kind of the first generation that looks and acts this way as middle-aged bitches.” Tabora says. “I’m proud of that. We’re not trying to defy science. We’re talking about first colonoscopies, perimenopause, my hysterectomy. I want to talk about these things, especially in the space of social media and Hollywood — so much anti-aging everywhere. Don’t make me bust out my pocket fan!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s why we call ourselves the \u003cem>Golden Girls\u003c/em> of podcasting,” Lim adds, “because we are.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re inundated,” Lim sighs. “We’re being colonized by AI. But if we’re not here, then who’s going to take our place? It makes me sad with all the AI billboards everywhere and the people that come in thinking they know San Francisco, and they don’t. White saviors. They’re not curious about this space and they’re not willing to learn. But we’re here too.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Indeed, as frustrated as Lim and Tabora are about ever-encroaching tech and exorbitant rents, they remain absolutely dedicated to staying in the city, where they continue their mission of honoring local culture and communities. Lim was raised in San Leandro before moving to San Francisco in 2005. Tabora — who joined \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> 100 episodes in, after original cohost Karyn Paige bowed out — is originally from Los Angeles, and moved to San Francisco in 1999.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg\" alt=\"A Black man wearing a yellow outfit and very tall misshapen hat sits on a movie theater stage talking into a mic. To his left are two Asian women sitting in directors' chairs and laughing uproariously.\" class=\"wp-image-13993187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lim and Tabora on stage at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, moderating a Q&A with Boots Riley, after a screening of ‘I Love Boosters,’ May 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Steve Rhodes)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, now approaching 1,000 episodes, is a labor of love for Lim and Tabora. The pair, who self-fund the podcast with the help of sporadic fundraisers and occasional sponsorships, first met while working at a television production company in Marin. Lim still works as an audio journalist for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/\">KALW\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten advice from people that we really respect, that have gone far in this industry, that have told us, ‘To become more mainstream, I think you need to change the name,’” Tabora says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We will stick with \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, thanks,” Lim adds. “I don’t care. Where’s my pearls?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lim and Tabora’s podcast started as a gathering of friends, led by Lim, who got together over a bottle of whiskey to discuss pop culture and events of the day. The show was specifically designed to fight back against the overwhelmingly “pale and male” (as Lim puts it) nature of podcasting.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lim and Tabora’s podcast started as a gathering of friends, led by Lim, who got together over a bottle of whiskey to discuss pop culture and events of the day. The show was specifically designed to fight back against the overwhelmingly “pale and male” (as Lim puts it) nature of podcasting.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over time, due in part to Lim’s background in movie PR and Tabora’s ongoing work in documentary filmmaking, \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> expanded from a chat and analysis show into one that also focused on moviemakers and film festivals, as well as local events, actors and musicians. When Lim and Tabora aren’t reviewing, they’re interviewing the likes of Barry Jenkins, W. Kamau Bell, Olivia Wilde, Ron Howard, Daveed Diggs and Ruby Ibarra. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When they’re not interviewing, they talk to each other and their audience in so-called ‘Basic Bitch’ episodes, in which they visit their favorite locations around the Bay and explain why they’re special. (A September 2025 episode recorded in Costco is one of the finest examples of this.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The duo’s efforts and outspoken style have not gone unnoticed, winning Best Podcast honors from \u003cem>San Francisco Magazine\u003c/em>’s Best of the Bay awards for three years straight between 2022 and 2024. One of the most appealing elements of Lim and Tabora’s work together is their chemistry. They’ve been friends and coworkers for so long, they frequently finish each other’s sentences. They are also unintentionally hilarious, with Lim often playing the straight (wo)man during Tabora’s wildcard moments.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Gaps! I mean gaps, not holes!” Tabora corrects. “You know what I mean? Like, she does the things that I don’t do so well, and vice versa.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of the benefits of Lim and Tabora’s chatty, comedic exteriors is their ability to share political content in an easily digestible manner. Earlier this year, they created an \u003ca href=\"https://www.bitchtalkpodcast.com/activism-1\">activism\u003c/a> page on their website that categorizes their back catalog according to topic: LGBTQ+, race, and women’s rights. So many episodes in, the hosts are aware that they’ve quietly built an important archive of activist information.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So, what’s next for \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>? Their first major fundraiser is happening in October, so they can keep the podcast afloat for another year. Lim and Tabora are also learning to lean into middle age as loudly and proudly as possible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re kind of the first generation that looks and acts this way as middle-aged bitches.” Tabora says. “I’m proud of that. We’re not trying to defy science. We’re talking about first colonoscopies, perimenopause, my hysterectomy. I want to talk about these things, especially in the space of social media and Hollywood — so much anti-aging everywhere. Don’t make me bust out my pocket fan!”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Hosts Erin Lim and Ange Tabora have spent 13 years and 1,000 episodes celebrating the Bay and AAPI pop culture.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>It’s a sunny San Francisco day and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.bitchtalkpodcast.com/\">Bitch Talk\u003c/a>\u003c/em> podcast co-hosts Erin Lim and Angela Tabora are hanging out in the Social Study, the cozy Fillmore venue where they both work as bartenders. They are describing, very entertainingly, a recent afternoon downtown when they encountered crowds of tech professionals outside the Moscone Center applauding a dancing robot. Suddenly aghast, Tabora responded by putting herself front and center and instinctively flipping off the machine.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This robot is dancing to ’70s funk, of all music!” she exclaims. “That’s soul music! For things with souls to dance to! And so I was flipping it off. There’s this whole crowd of people clapping with no rhythm, cheering it on, and I was just like, get me out of this fucking place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the story Lim and Tabora tell when asked how they’ve kept their culture podcast going for 13 years. Somehow, they’ve made it work as indie broadcasters in a region known for both its extreme affordability crisis and the creeping ubiquity of AI.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re inundated,” Lim sighs. “We’re being colonized by AI. But if we’re not here, then who’s going to take our place? It makes me sad with all the AI billboards everywhere and the people that come in thinking they know San Francisco, and they don’t. White saviors. They’re not curious about this space and they’re not willing to learn. But we’re here too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Indeed, as frustrated as Lim and Tabora are about ever-encroaching tech and exorbitant rents, they remain absolutely dedicated to staying in the city, where they continue their mission of honoring local culture and communities. Lim was raised in San Leandro before moving to San Francisco in 2005. Tabora — who joined \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> 100 episodes in, after original cohost Karyn Paige bowed out — is originally from Los Angeles, and moved to San Francisco in 1999.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The thing that keeps me loving San Francisco is that community,” Tabora says. “Artists, local business owners, musicians. Of course, a lot of [my old friends don’t] live in the city anymore. But good stuff’s still here. Things like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078524/hunky-jesus-contest-2026-foxy-mary-dolores-park-sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-san-francisco-history-easter-in-the-park-what-time-how-to-enter\">Hunky Jesus\u003c/a>, the chili cook-off every year at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPOpOTCw5M0\">Standard Deviant Brewing\u003c/a>, all the film festivals. \u003cem>So many\u003c/em> film festivals. That’s what keeps me going.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg\" alt=\"A Black man wearing a yellow outfit and very tall misshapen hat sits on a movie theater stage talking into a mic. To his left are two Asian women sitting in directors' chairs and laughing uproariously.\" class=\"wp-image-13993187\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/Boots-Riley-QA-2026-_photo-credit-Steve-Rhodes-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lim and Tabora on stage at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, moderating a Q&A with Boots Riley, after a screening of ‘I Love Boosters,’ May 2026. (Steve Rhodes)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, now approaching 1,000 episodes, is a labor of love for Lim and Tabora. The pair, who self-fund the podcast with the help of sporadic fundraisers and occasional sponsorships, first met while working at a television production company in Marin. Lim still works as an audio journalist for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/\">KALW\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’ve gotten advice from people that we really respect, that have gone far in this industry, that have told us, ‘To become more mainstream, I think you need to change the name,’” Tabora says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We will stick with \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>, thanks,” Lim adds. “I don’t care. Where’s my pearls?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim and Tabora’s podcast started as a gathering of friends, led by Lim, who got together over a bottle of whiskey to discuss pop culture and events of the day. The show was specifically designed to fight back against the overwhelmingly “pale and male” (as Lim puts it) nature of podcasting.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over time, due in part to Lim’s background in movie PR and Tabora’s ongoing work in documentary filmmaking, \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em> expanded from a chat and analysis show into one that also focused on moviemakers and film festivals, as well as local events, actors and musicians. When Lim and Tabora aren’t reviewing, they’re interviewing the likes of Barry Jenkins, W. Kamau Bell, Olivia Wilde, Ron Howard, Daveed Diggs and Ruby Ibarra. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When they’re not interviewing, they talk to each other and their audience in so-called ‘Basic Bitch’ episodes, in which they visit their favorite locations around the Bay and explain why they’re special. (A September 2025 episode recorded in Costco is one of the finest examples of this.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think the beauty of our podcast is we don’t have anyone to answer to,” Tabora says. “So we don’t have to focus on any one thing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1177\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize.jpg\" alt=\"Two middle aged, colorfully dressed women of Asian descent sit at a bar table, sipping cocktails with microphones set up in front of them.\" class=\"wp-image-13993275\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-160x94.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/BitchTalk-Studio-Shoot-Chloe-Jackman-Photography-2025-1007_websize-1536x904.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ange Tabora and Erin Lim. (Chloe Jackman)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The duo’s efforts and outspoken style have not gone unnoticed, winning Best Podcast honors from \u003cem>San Francisco Magazine\u003c/em>’s Best of the Bay awards for three years straight between 2022 and 2024. One of the most appealing elements of Lim and Tabora’s work together is their chemistry. They’ve been friends and coworkers for so long, they frequently finish each other’s sentences. They are also unintentionally hilarious, with Lim often playing the straight (wo)man during Tabora’s wildcard moments.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have grown a lot together,” Tabora tells KQED earnestly. “I think we push each other. She fills my holes and vice versa.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lim quickly glares at Tabora.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Gaps! I mean gaps, not holes!” Tabora corrects. “You know what I mean? Like, she does the things that I don’t do so well, and vice versa.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We complement each other,” Lim affirms.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Oh God, please don’t say we fill each other’s holes!” laughs the mortified Tabora, head in hands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of the benefits of Lim and Tabora’s chatty, comedic exteriors is their ability to share political content in an easily digestible manner. Earlier this year, they created an \u003ca href=\"https://www.bitchtalkpodcast.com/activism-1\">activism\u003c/a> page on their website that categorizes their back catalog according to topic: LGBTQ+, race, and women’s rights. So many episodes in, the hosts are aware that they’ve quietly built an important archive of activist information.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I just think we’ve done all this work, and all these interviews, and watched all these films,” Lim says. “If you are even thinking about [activism] or have a question about it, we have the resources. Our podcast has social impact — and I hate using that term — but it’s true.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, what’s next for \u003cem>Bitch Talk\u003c/em>? Their first major fundraiser is happening in October, so they can keep the podcast afloat for another year. Lim and Tabora are also learning to lean into middle age as loudly and proudly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re kind of the first generation that looks and acts this way as middle-aged bitches.” Tabora says. “I’m proud of that. We’re not trying to defy science. We’re talking about first colonoscopies, perimenopause, my hysterectomy. I want to talk about these things, especially in the space of social media and Hollywood — so much anti-aging everywhere. Don’t make me bust out my pocket fan!”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s why we call ourselves the \u003cem>Golden Girls\u003c/em> of podcasting,” Lim adds, “because we are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-a-bear-became-a-book-winnie-the-pooh-review-pimentel-pray-aa-milne",
"title": "A New Book Honors 'Winnie-the-Pooh' for His 100th Birthday",
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"headTitle": "A New Book Honors ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ for His 100th Birthday | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>100 years ago, Edward Bear — also known as Winnie-the-Pooh — also known as Pooh — went \u003cem>bump, bump, bump\u003c/em> down the stairs for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though he made an earlier appearance in the 1924 book of poems \u003cem>When We Were Very Young\u003c/em> — “Our Teddy Bear is short and fat, Which is not to be wondered at” — 1926’s \u003cem>Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em> was author A.A. Milne and illustrator Ernest H. Shepard’s first collection of stories about the honey-loving bear.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a kids’ book celebrates that anniversary and the relationship between Milne and Shepard. It’s called \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opens with our narrator, Christopher Robin, asking the reader, “Would you like a story?” A translucent Pooh-shaped character appears (“Hallo?”) and wonders, “But where did I come from?” And so back, back, back we go through the pages of time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Alan Alexander Milne was an author,” writes author Annette Bay Pimentel. “He wrote stories. One day he had an idea and wrote down some words about a bear.” Then, our narrator explains, he waited for an editor to edit his words and an illustrator to turn his words into pictures. Meanwhile, the semi-solid bear character nudges the story along by asking, “Why? What do pictures do?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a very, very close working relationship,” explains Pimentel. “Ernest Shepard was a sketcher and he always carried his sketchbook. And so he arranged to go to where A.A. Milne lived out near Ashdown Forest in the U.K., and he spent time with the Milne family, sketching Christopher Robin and sketching his toys. And then he went back to his studio, and … that’s when he started adding imaginative elements.” Like a doorway into an old tree and a rabbit hole with a functioning kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-160x206.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-768x988.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-1195x1536.jpg 1195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both Pimentel and illustrator Faith Pray wanted to pay homage to Milne and Shepard in the text and illustrations in \u003cem>their\u003c/em> children’s book. “I tried very consciously to make Winnie-the-Pooh’s voice echo Winnie-the-Pooh’s voice in the books,” says Pimentel. “So I spent a lot of time going back through the books trying to figure out okay, like, does he use contractions? What kinds of phrases does he use?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then there’s the scene in \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em> that explains the part of the publishing process where Milne and Shepard were figuring out the page design for \u003cem>Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em>. “Previously, when people printed, there would just be pages of words” and then separate pages of pictures, explains Pimentel. But Methuen Publishing was using a new technology called offset printing — and it allowed illustrations to be printed on the page with the text. “This was something that Milne and Shepard and the editorial team were playing with,” says Pimentel. “And they did some beautiful, beautiful page designs where the page design mimicked the action of the story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"795\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529.jpg\" alt=\"Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A.A. Milne and illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard\" class=\"wp-image-13993289\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book, \u003c/em>written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray \u003ccite> (\u003ci> \u003c/i>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They stacked words on top of each other, tall as the trees in the Hundred Acre Wood,” writes Pimentel in her book. “They bounced words up and down, right off the line.” In Pray’s illustration, the words are piled on top of each other next to a tree — just as Shepard did in the original.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the story in \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em> continues (“At last, the book was published and sent to bookstores,”) Pray’s see-through bear character becomes more and more solid. Where he began as a flurry of words, existing only in his author’s head, by the end of the book he’s a very recognizable Winnie-the-Pooh. Proving that, as Pimentel writes, “Sometimes words need pictures and pictures need words. When they find each other, characters spring to life.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993291\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>’ \u003cem>by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray is out now, via Macmillan.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>100 years ago, Edward Bear — also known as Winnie-the-Pooh — also known as Pooh — went \u003cem>bump, bump, bump\u003c/em> down the stairs for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though he made an earlier appearance in the 1924 book of poems \u003cem>When We Were Very Young\u003c/em> — “Our Teddy Bear is short and fat, Which is not to be wondered at” — 1926’s \u003cem>Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em> was author A.A. Milne and illustrator Ernest H. Shepard’s first collection of stories about the honey-loving bear.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, a kids’ book celebrates that anniversary and the relationship between Milne and Shepard. It’s called \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book: The Collaboration That Created Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It opens with our narrator, Christopher Robin, asking the reader, “Would you like a story?” A translucent Pooh-shaped character appears (“Hallo?”) and wonders, “But where did I come from?” And so back, back, back we go through the pages of time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-12-13-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Alan Alexander Milne was an author,” writes author Annette Bay Pimentel. “He wrote stories. One day he had an idea and wrote down some words about a bear.” Then, our narrator explains, he waited for an editor to edit his words and an illustrator to turn his words into pictures. Meanwhile, the semi-solid bear character nudges the story along by asking, “Why? What do pictures do?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was a very, very close working relationship,” explains Pimentel. “Ernest Shepard was a sketcher and he always carried his sketchbook. And so he arranged to go to where A.A. Milne lived out near Ashdown Forest in the U.K., and he spent time with the Milne family, sketching Christopher Robin and sketching his toys. And then he went back to his studio, and … that’s when he started adding imaginative elements.” Like a doorway into an old tree and a rabbit hole with a functioning kitchen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13993288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-160x206.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-768x988.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/how-a-bear-became-a-book-cover-1195x1536.jpg 1195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both Pimentel and illustrator Faith Pray wanted to pay homage to Milne and Shepard in the text and illustrations in \u003cem>their\u003c/em> children’s book. “I tried very consciously to make Winnie-the-Pooh’s voice echo Winnie-the-Pooh’s voice in the books,” says Pimentel. “So I spent a lot of time going back through the books trying to figure out okay, like, does he use contractions? What kinds of phrases does he use?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then there’s the scene in \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em> that explains the part of the publishing process where Milne and Shepard were figuring out the page design for \u003cem>Winnie-the-Pooh\u003c/em>. “Previously, when people printed, there would just be pages of words” and then separate pages of pictures, explains Pimentel. But Methuen Publishing was using a new technology called offset printing — and it allowed illustrations to be printed on the page with the text. “This was something that Milne and Shepard and the editorial team were playing with,” says Pimentel. “And they did some beautiful, beautiful page designs where the page design mimicked the action of the story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"795\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529.jpg\" alt=\"Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A.A. Milne and illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard\" class=\"wp-image-13993289\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/screenshot-2026-07-25-100529-768x509.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-32-33-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book, \u003c/em>written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray \u003ccite> (\u003ci> \u003c/i>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They stacked words on top of each other, tall as the trees in the Hundred Acre Wood,” writes Pimentel in her book. “They bounced words up and down, right off the line.” In Pray’s illustration, the words are piled on top of each other next to a tree — just as Shepard did in the original.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the story in \u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em> continues (“At last, the book was published and sent to bookstores,”) Pray’s see-through bear character becomes more and more solid. Where he began as a flurry of words, existing only in his author’s head, by the end of the book he’s a very recognizable Winnie-the-Pooh. Proving that, as Pimentel writes, “Sometimes words need pictures and pictures need words. When they find each other, characters spring to life.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37.jpg\" alt=\"How a Bear Became a Book, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\" class=\"wp-image-13993291\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/howabearbecameabook-9781250358448-int-36-37-768x497.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>, written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>How a Bear Became a Book\u003c/em>’ \u003cem>by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Faith Pray is out now, via Macmillan.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
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},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "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.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
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"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"order": 15
},
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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