The best the Bay Area has to offer, from the writers and editors of KQED Arts & Culture.
Critics’ Picks
Hiero Day Announces San Francisco Lineup, Expansion to LA and Canada
A Huge, Free ‘Future of Us’ Fest Wants to Spark San Francisco’s Imagination
It's No Secret: ‘The Lunchbox’ Continues to Pack ’Em in for a Reason
Sorting Through the Wreckage of an Immigrant Father’s Death
‘Ask E. Jean’ Reframes a Tabloid Figure in Feminist History
The Only Ukrainian Restaurant in Wine Country Pops Open for One Month This Summer
Even When It Stays Still, Maren Hassinger’s Art Is Full of Movement
SF Theater Troupe Faces Reality of City’s New Demographics
Shapeshifters Cinema Hosts a New Film Series for Adventurous Moviegoers
The Most Surreal Jazz Singer In the Bay Area Today
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s a big year for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hieroglyphics\">Hieroglyphics\u003c/a>. The Oakland hip-hop crew announced this week that they’re returning to \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/hiero-day-189661\">San Francisco’s Midway\u003c/a> for Hiero Day 2026, which they’re headlining with Killer Mike, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mereba on Sept. 7. And they’re expanding their homegrown festival to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/hiero-day-l-a-2026-hollywood-08-30-2026/event/090064A946777FF1\">Los Angeles \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/hiero-day-canada-2026\">British Columbia, Canada\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The LA stop brings Hieroglyphics, Lupe Fiasco, Coast Contra and Lxgit to the Hollywood Palladium on Aug. 30. On Sept. 11–13 at the Salmo River Ranch campground in southern British Columbia, Hieroglyphics takes the stage once again along with Chali 2na, Cut Chemist, Abstract Rude and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hiero Day began as a free Oakland block party in 2012 and continued in the Town until last year, when Hieroglyphics moved it to San Francisco for the first time. Tajai Massey, a festival organizer and Hieroglyphics MC, told KQED that once the event moved across the bridge, promoters from other cities started calling. He says Hiero Day could be hitting more stops across the country soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We got calls from New York. We’ve had calls from Denver, Seattle and also I think Albuquerque,” Massey says. “So you might be seeing the Hiero Day tour.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13828022\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Killer Mike performing in Atlanta in 2017. (David A. Smith/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even as he sets his sights on expansion, Massey, who is currently living abroad in Panama, says the Bay Area hip-hop scene is on an upswing. Hieroglyphics is getting ready to put out their first album in over a decade, \u003cem>All Said and Done\u003c/em>, which the nine-person collective recorded together in their Oakland studio. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.shophiero.com/products/the-new-hieroglyphics-album-chief-supporters-campaign?srsltid=AfmBOorz1JRDp1nTqQ5jvU7SoNs5SMU36hQqn5X805-56nvCrATGBrCR\">The record\u003c/a> is already available for purchase, and hits streaming platforms Sept. 3.) \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Massey says he’s grateful that the group, which has remained close throughout the 33 years since their first hit — “’93 Til Infinity” by Hiero offshoot Souls of Mischief — continues to work together and push each other as artists. “I’m feeling good that we’ve had such a long, illustrious career, and it continues, and that we’re doing new things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Hiero Day San Francisco lineup features Bay Area artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985660/frak-four-square-mixtape\">Frak\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13976039/ruby-ibarra-npr-tiny-desk-contest-winner-bay-area\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, both of whom have risen to national prominence recently. Shady Nate, Young Bari, Boss Life Big Spence, DJ BlackWoman and DJ Kurren$i are just a few of the other homegrown artists on the bill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Massey says he’s happy to see more cross-pollination and mutual support from all corners of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, a trend he hopes the festival can help continue. “I don’t think it’s out of survival,” he adds. “It’s out of mutual respect.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hiero Day returns to the Midway (900 Marin St., San Francisco) on Sept. 7. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/hiero-day-189661\">Full lineup and details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But even as he sets his sights on expansion, Massey, who is currently living abroad in Panama, says the Bay Area hip-hop scene is on an upswing. Hieroglyphics is getting ready to put out their first album in over a decade, \u003cem>All Said and Done\u003c/em>, which the nine-person collective recorded together in their Oakland studio. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.shophiero.com/products/the-new-hieroglyphics-album-chief-supporters-campaign?srsltid=AfmBOorz1JRDp1nTqQ5jvU7SoNs5SMU36hQqn5X805-56nvCrATGBrCR\">The record\u003c/a> is already available for purchase, and hits streaming platforms Sept. 3.) \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Massey says he’s grateful that the group, which has remained close throughout the 33 years since their first hit — “’93 Til Infinity” by Hiero offshoot Souls of Mischief — continues to work together and push each other as artists. “I’m feeling good that we’ve had such a long, illustrious career, and it continues, and that we’re doing new things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Hiero Day San Francisco lineup features Bay Area artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985660/frak-four-square-mixtape\">Frak\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13976039/ruby-ibarra-npr-tiny-desk-contest-winner-bay-area\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, both of whom have risen to national prominence recently. Shady Nate, Young Bari, Boss Life Big Spence, DJ BlackWoman and DJ Kurren$i are just a few of the other homegrown artists on the bill. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Massey says he’s happy to see more cross-pollination and mutual support from all corners of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, a trend he hopes the festival can help continue. “I don’t think it’s out of survival,” he adds. “It’s out of mutual respect.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hiero Day returns to the Midway (900 Marin St., San Francisco) on Sept. 7. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/hiero-day-189661\">Full lineup and details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Killer Mike, Mereba, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Hieroglyphics co-headline the Midway on Sept. 7.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s a big year for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/hieroglyphics\">Hieroglyphics\u003c/a>. The Oakland hip-hop crew announced this week that they’re returning to \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/hiero-day-189661\">San Francisco’s Midway\u003c/a> for Hiero Day 2026, which they’re headlining with Killer Mike, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Mereba on Sept. 7. And they’re expanding their homegrown festival to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/hiero-day-l-a-2026-hollywood-08-30-2026/event/090064A946777FF1\">Los Angeles \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/hiero-day-canada-2026\">British Columbia, Canada\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The LA stop brings Hieroglyphics, Lupe Fiasco, Coast Contra and Lxgit to the Hollywood Palladium on Aug. 30. On Sept. 11–13 at the Salmo River Ranch campground in southern British Columbia, Hieroglyphics takes the stage once again along with Chali 2na, Cut Chemist, Abstract Rude and more. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hiero Day began as a free Oakland block party in 2012 and continued in the Town until last year, when Hieroglyphics moved it to San Francisco for the first time. Tajai Massey, a festival organizer and Hieroglyphics MC, told KQED that once the event moved across the bridge, promoters from other cities started calling. He says Hiero Day could be hitting more stops across the country soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We got calls from New York. We’ve had calls from Denver, Seattle and also I think Albuquerque,” Massey says. “So you might be seeing the Hiero Day tour.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13828022\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Killer Mike performing in Atlanta in 2017. (David A. Smith/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even as he sets his sights on expansion, Massey, who is currently living abroad in Panama, says the Bay Area hip-hop scene is on an upswing. Hieroglyphics is getting ready to put out their first album in over a decade, \u003cem>All Said and Done\u003c/em>, which the nine-person collective recorded together in their Oakland studio. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.shophiero.com/products/the-new-hieroglyphics-album-chief-supporters-campaign?srsltid=AfmBOorz1JRDp1nTqQ5jvU7SoNs5SMU36hQqn5X805-56nvCrATGBrCR\">The record\u003c/a> is already available for purchase, and hits streaming platforms Sept. 3.) \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>Massey says he’s grateful that the group, which has remained close throughout the 33 years since their first hit — “’93 Til Infinity” by Hiero offshoot Souls of Mischief — continues to work together and push each other as artists. “I’m feeling good that we’ve had such a long, illustrious career, and it continues, and that we’re doing new things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Hiero Day San Francisco lineup features Bay Area artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985660/frak-four-square-mixtape\">Frak\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13976039/ruby-ibarra-npr-tiny-desk-contest-winner-bay-area\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, both of whom have risen to national prominence recently. Shady Nate, Young Bari, Boss Life Big Spence, DJ BlackWoman and DJ Kurren$i are just a few of the other homegrown artists on the bill. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Massey says he’s happy to see more cross-pollination and mutual support from all corners of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, a trend he hopes the festival can help continue. “I don’t think it’s out of survival,” he adds. “It’s out of mutual respect.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hiero Day returns to the Midway (900 Marin St., San Francisco) on Sept. 7. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/hiero-day-189661\">Full lineup and details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Huge, Free ‘Future of Us’ Fest Wants to Spark San Francisco’s Imagination",
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"content": "\u003cp>July 4 will mark 250 years since the United States declared independence from the British crown. But for many Americans facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078615/how-skyrocketing-housing-costs-and-policy-choices-reshaped-the-bay-area\">widening inequality\u003c/a>, intensified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration crackdowns\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-protesters-anti-ice-convictions\">persecution of protesters\u003c/a>, the country’s milestone birthday doesn’t feel like a time for celebration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, a group of artists, scientists and culture workers are launching a festival they hope will inspire everyday people to imagine a better future. On July 4–12, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/events\">Future of Us Festival\u003c/a> will bring over 50 interactive, free events — block parties, scavenger hunts, art-making sessions and environmental discussions — to neighborhoods from Bayview to the Richmond District. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A lot of people in the U.S. aren’t really happy with what’s going on … yet there’s so many incredible people that are here,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealbpatt/\">B Patt\u003c/a>, a musician and founder of the creative agency Nothin But Hits. “What would the future of us look like if the artists, the creative entrepreneurs, the scientists, the people building community — all those who should really be leading the way — were the ones driving?\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\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/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991249\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B Patt, Alisa Ahmadian, Louise Wo, Jasmine Hiroko McAdams and Stephanie Fine Sasse (left to right) are some of the organizers of Future of Us Festival. (Courtesy of Future of Us Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Neuroscientist and experience designer \u003ca href=\"https://stephaniefinesasse.info/about\">Stephanie Fine Sasse\u003c/a>, whose civic engagement nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://theplenary.co/\">The Plenary, Co.\u003c/a> is the driving force behind Future of Us, teamed up with B Patt and a crew of interdisciplinary collaborators to produce the festival. The organizers also assembled an inaugural cohort of \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/collective\">Future Culture\u003c/a> fellows who’ve spent the past six months strategizing for social change through a variety of fields, including housing, tech and the arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t have a lot of opportunities to come together and explore ideas together,” Fine Sasse says. “And we certainly don’t have a lot of opportunities to do that creatively and in community and in multi-sensory ways.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The festival kicks off \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-of-us-250\">July 4 with an all-day block party\u003c/a> at the Pearl, a waterfront venue in the Dogpatch, which includes rooftop concerts from Tiny Desk-winning rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ruby-ibarra\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, hip-hop artist Ian Kelly and violinist Alexandra Santon. The \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-sex-1\">Future of Sex\u003c/a> on July 7 and 8 at the Tenderloin Museum invites attendees to imagine they’re at a meeting of a San Francisco Sex Commission in the 22nd century.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On July 7, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/dateline\">Dateline 2046\u003c/a> offers interactive activities for youth to imagine their ideal third spaces where they can hang out and build community outside of school. And on July 8, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/bay-2051\">Bay City 2051\u003c/a> invites residents of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>, a neighborhood historically plagued by radioactive pollution and racist policies, to imagine what environmental justice would look like 25 years from now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For her July 9 event \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/futuretables-sf\">Future Tables\u003c/a>, Future Culture fellow and visual artist Dzigbodi Djugba has designed a ticketed dinner at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where 10 artists and culture workers will mingle with 10 people from the tech sector. The idea, through interactive activities and prompts, is to inspire greater understanding of one another. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s go ahead and sit down and talk, all right? Give your perspective, and it’s not meant to be anything argumentative,” says Djugba. “It really is meant to be very imaginative, which is why we put the element of food. I’m Ghanaian, so in my culture, food is a gathering place. It’s where you sit at the table, you just commune and you have sort of a family vibe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That collaborative spirit — of coming together, engaging in dialogue and envisioning new ways of doing things — runs through the festival’s omnivorous programming. David Dawkins, a visual designer and illustrator who worked on a \u003cem>Hall of Anythings\u003c/em> art exhibit for the July 4 event, hopes the reverberations will last for years to come. For all the talk of San Francisco as a city of innovation and disruption, one that always chases the next Gold Rush, he wants Future of Us to inspire more emphasis on togetherness, mutual respect and care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The 250 — like, let’s reclaim it,” Dawkins says. “We built this country. Let us rediscover what it means to care for our neighbors and our people and just show up for one another.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Future of Us Festival takes place in San Francisco from July 4–12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/events\">Full schedule here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Neuroscientist and experience designer \u003ca href=\"https://stephaniefinesasse.info/about\">Stephanie Fine Sasse\u003c/a>, whose civic engagement nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://theplenary.co/\">The Plenary, Co.\u003c/a> is the driving force behind Future of Us, teamed up with B Patt and a crew of interdisciplinary collaborators to produce the festival. The organizers also assembled an inaugural cohort of \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/collective\">Future Culture\u003c/a> fellows who’ve spent the past six months strategizing for social change through a variety of fields, including housing, tech and the arts. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The festival kicks off \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-of-us-250\">July 4 with an all-day block party\u003c/a> at the Pearl, a waterfront venue in the Dogpatch, which includes rooftop concerts from Tiny Desk-winning rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ruby-ibarra\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, hip-hop artist Ian Kelly and violinist Alexandra Santon. The \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-sex-1\">Future of Sex\u003c/a> on July 7 and 8 at the Tenderloin Museum invites attendees to imagine they’re at a meeting of a San Francisco Sex Commission in the 22nd century.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On July 7, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/dateline\">Dateline 2046\u003c/a> offers interactive activities for youth to imagine their ideal third spaces where they can hang out and build community outside of school. And on July 8, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/bay-2051\">Bay City 2051\u003c/a> invites residents of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>, a neighborhood historically plagued by radioactive pollution and racist policies, to imagine what environmental justice would look like 25 years from now. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For her July 9 event \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/futuretables-sf\">Future Tables\u003c/a>, Future Culture fellow and visual artist Dzigbodi Djugba has designed a ticketed dinner at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where 10 artists and culture workers will mingle with 10 people from the tech sector. The idea, through interactive activities and prompts, is to inspire greater understanding of one another. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Let’s go ahead and sit down and talk, all right? Give your perspective, and it’s not meant to be anything argumentative,” says Djugba. “It really is meant to be very imaginative, which is why we put the element of food. I’m Ghanaian, so in my culture, food is a gathering place. It’s where you sit at the table, you just commune and you have sort of a family vibe.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That collaborative spirit — of coming together, engaging in dialogue and envisioning new ways of doing things — runs through the festival’s omnivorous programming. David Dawkins, a visual designer and illustrator who worked on a \u003cem>Hall of Anythings\u003c/em> art exhibit for the July 4 event, hopes the reverberations will last for years to come. For all the talk of San Francisco as a city of innovation and disruption, one that always chases the next Gold Rush, he wants Future of Us to inspire more emphasis on togetherness, mutual respect and care. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The 250 — like, let’s reclaim it,” Dawkins says. “We built this country. Let us rediscover what it means to care for our neighbors and our people and just show up for one another.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Future of Us Festival takes place in San Francisco from July 4–12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/events\">Full schedule here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>July 4 will mark 250 years since the United States declared independence from the British crown. But for many Americans facing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12078615/how-skyrocketing-housing-costs-and-policy-choices-reshaped-the-bay-area\">widening inequality\u003c/a>, intensified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration crackdowns\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/26/texas-protesters-anti-ice-convictions\">persecution of protesters\u003c/a>, the country’s milestone birthday doesn’t feel like a time for celebration. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, a group of artists, scientists and culture workers are launching a festival they hope will inspire everyday people to imagine a better future. On July 4–12, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/events\">Future of Us Festival\u003c/a> will bring over 50 interactive, free events — block parties, scavenger hunts, art-making sessions and environmental discussions — to neighborhoods from Bayview to the Richmond District. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>A lot of people in the U.S. aren’t really happy with what’s going on … yet there’s so many incredible people that are here,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealbpatt/\">B Patt\u003c/a>, a musician and founder of the creative agency Nothin But Hits. “What would the future of us look like if the artists, the creative entrepreneurs, the scientists, the people building community — all those who should really be leading the way — were the ones driving?\u003cem>”\u003c/em>\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/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991249\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/Copy-of-2026_0303_FutureOfUs_Team_1358-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">B Patt, Alisa Ahmadian, Louise Wo, Jasmine Hiroko McAdams and Stephanie Fine Sasse (left to right) are some of the organizers of Future of Us Festival. (Courtesy of Future of Us Festival)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Neuroscientist and experience designer \u003ca href=\"https://stephaniefinesasse.info/about\">Stephanie Fine Sasse\u003c/a>, whose civic engagement nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://theplenary.co/\">The Plenary, Co.\u003c/a> is the driving force behind Future of Us, teamed up with B Patt and a crew of interdisciplinary collaborators to produce the festival. The organizers also assembled an inaugural cohort of \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/collective\">Future Culture\u003c/a> fellows who’ve spent the past six months strategizing for social change through a variety of fields, including housing, tech and the arts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We don’t have a lot of opportunities to come together and explore ideas together,” Fine Sasse says. “And we certainly don’t have a lot of opportunities to do that creatively and in community and in multi-sensory ways.”\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>The festival kicks off \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-of-us-250\">July 4 with an all-day block party\u003c/a> at the Pearl, a waterfront venue in the Dogpatch, which includes rooftop concerts from Tiny Desk-winning rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ruby-ibarra\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a>, hip-hop artist Ian Kelly and violinist Alexandra Santon. The \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/future-sex-1\">Future of Sex\u003c/a> on July 7 and 8 at the Tenderloin Museum invites attendees to imagine they’re at a meeting of a San Francisco Sex Commission in the 22nd century.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On July 7, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/dateline\">Dateline 2046\u003c/a> offers interactive activities for youth to imagine their ideal third spaces where they can hang out and build community outside of school. And on July 8, \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/bay-2051\">Bay City 2051\u003c/a> invites residents of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12088662/toxic-land-protest-targets-sf-housing-plans-at-contaminated-hunters-point-naval-shipyard\">Bayview-Hunters Point\u003c/a>, a neighborhood historically plagued by radioactive pollution and racist policies, to imagine what environmental justice would look like 25 years from now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For her July 9 event \u003ca href=\"https://luma.com/futuretables-sf\">Future Tables\u003c/a>, Future Culture fellow and visual artist Dzigbodi Djugba has designed a ticketed dinner at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where 10 artists and culture workers will mingle with 10 people from the tech sector. The idea, through interactive activities and prompts, is to inspire greater understanding of one another. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s go ahead and sit down and talk, all right? Give your perspective, and it’s not meant to be anything argumentative,” says Djugba. “It really is meant to be very imaginative, which is why we put the element of food. I’m Ghanaian, so in my culture, food is a gathering place. It’s where you sit at the table, you just commune and you have sort of a family vibe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That collaborative spirit — of coming together, engaging in dialogue and envisioning new ways of doing things — runs through the festival’s omnivorous programming. David Dawkins, a visual designer and illustrator who worked on a \u003cem>Hall of Anythings\u003c/em> art exhibit for the July 4 event, hopes the reverberations will last for years to come. For all the talk of San Francisco as a city of innovation and disruption, one that always chases the next Gold Rush, he wants Future of Us to inspire more emphasis on togetherness, mutual respect and care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The 250 — like, let’s reclaim it,” Dawkins says. “We built this country. Let us rediscover what it means to care for our neighbors and our people and just show up for one another.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Future of Us Festival takes place in San Francisco from July 4–12. \u003ca href=\"https://www.future-of-us.com/events\">Full schedule here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The cast of ‘The Lunchbox’ perform in a dream sequence about Bhutan. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sequestered in her apartment, Ila (Kuhoo Verma, in a starmaking role) is a thirtysomething wife and mother trying to cook her way back into her distant husband’s heart. She takes advice for recipes and life from her upstairs neighbor, whom she calls “auntie” (Anisha Nagarajan), and is clearly in need of a shakeup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1331\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg 1331w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-1022x1536.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1331px) 100vw, 1331px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kuhoo Verma in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manu Narayan (as Fernandes) and Savidu Geevaratne in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Delightful and sweet, the world-premiere musical at Berkeley Rep seems destined for larger stages. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Since it opened in May at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/berkeley-rep\">Berkeley Rep\u003c/a>, the world-premiere musical \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> has sold out night after night. Based on and hewing closely to \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/\">the well-loved 2013 film\u003c/a>, the show’s been extended twice already, and is, in plain terms, a bona fide hit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That much was plain during a mid-run visit, where the crowd — roughly half South Asian, half older white Berkeleyite — treated it like it was still opening night: excited chatter in the packed lobby, a standing ovation, flower bouquets at the ready.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show is a warm, sweet, sensory delight. It starts with a magnificent four-story set (design by Mimi Lien), full of wrought iron, concrete, clotheslines and a 20-foot Bollywood movie billboard. Stairs, balconies and fire escapes recall a Mumbai version of \u003cem>West Side Story\u003c/em>; streetcars and deliverymen soon add to the crowded cityscape.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991120\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/178_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The cast of ‘The Lunchbox’ perform in a dream sequence about Bhutan. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sequestered in her apartment, Ila (Kuhoo Verma, in a starmaking role) is a thirtysomething wife and mother trying to cook her way back into her distant husband’s heart. She takes advice for recipes and life from her upstairs neighbor, whom she calls “auntie” (Anisha Nagarajan), and is clearly in need of a shakeup.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She gets one when the lunch Ila cooks for her husband is delivered to the wrong address: a defeated widower, Fernandes (Manu Narayan), who’s pushed papers at a desk for 30 years. The two strike up a correspondence of handwritten notes tucked inside the delivered lunchbox, each more revealing than the last. After a flirty battle of the sexes over the correct amount of salt, a charming, late-in-life puppy love takes root, one folded-up piece of paper at a time. \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>You may think you know where this is going, and you’re half-right. But as any handcart operator in a big city can tell you, the fun is in the journey, bumps and all. It’s a joy to see just how completely smitten Ila and Fernandes are with one another. The script by Ritesh Batra, who wrote and directed the original film, nails with precision the feeling of being infatuated with someone distant and possibly unattainable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1331\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991123\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB.jpg 1331w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/119_TLB-1022x1536.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1331px) 100vw, 1331px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kuhoo Verma in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Verma is just plain radiant in the lead role, on down to how Ila overthinks every detail in advance of a possible first meeting. She’s an excellent singer, emoting and hitting every trill, and she perfectly conveys both the coyness and frustration of Ila’s predicament, from introspective belters like “Courage” to the tiniest coquettishly raised eyebrow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The play has many side quests, some more relevant than others. Fernandes’ coworker Shaikh (Aathaven Tharmarajah) helps open up Fernandes’ heart not just to love but to friendship. Nagarajan pulls all the humanity imaginable out of Mrs. Deshpande, the upstairs auntie whose lonely home life serves as a warning to what Ila’s life could become in the face of inaction. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other numbers are less important, if not complete speedbumps. Twenty minutes in, Fernandes happens to tell a restaurant that its food was good, and its employees commence a hammy song-and-dance about \u003ca href=\"https://archive.nytimes.com/india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/indias-middle-class-growth-engine-or-loose-wheel/\">the Bird of Gold\u003c/a>. It’s somewhat cute, but this early in the show, we want more Ila and Fernandes, and it stifles the plot’s momentum. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991122\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/063_TLB-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Manu Narayan (as Fernandes) and Savidu Geevaratne in ‘The Lunchbox’ at Berkeley Rep. (Kevin Berne)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The orchestra performing the songs, however, could not be finer, and the music by Daniel and Patrick Lazour straddles traditional Indian rhythms and melodies (opening number “No Wrong Mistake,” sung by the lunchbox deliverymen known as dabbawallahs) and the accessible veneer of Broadway (a colorful, serene dream sequence about Bhutan). The choreography by Reshma Gajjar, particularly during a crowded train car scene, is inventive and captivating. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much of \u003cem>The Lunchbox\u003c/em> is a very traditional love story, with nearly conservative themes. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach; the way to flirt with a woman is by negging. Then there’s the age gap, and the notion of women being attracted to decades-older men, who appear more mature, deep and emotionally present. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These are usually viewed as hindrances by your typical lefty Berkeley audience, but the rapturous crowd on Wednesday night certainly didn’t seem to mind. After the ups and downs of Ila and Fernandes’ yearning for each other, and an indelible final onstage image before the lights go out, who could really argue?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘The Lunchbox’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Berkeley Rep. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-lunchbox-nkft\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Sorting Through the Wreckage of an Immigrant Father’s Death",
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"content": "\u003cp>Yusuf is a recovering addict who presents as a lovable yet unserious schlub. Warm and playful, he’s always ready to chop it up with his more stoic big sister, Dina. Their playfulness extends even to hair noogies and wet willies while wrasslin’ on the floor of their late, estranged dad’s house in Houston.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amid all this is the question: How are they going to plan a traditional Islamic burial that they barely understand — and for a man they hardly knew? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This quandary forms the core of Denmo Ibrahim’s world premiere, \u003cem>Arab Spring\u003c/em>, a co-production between Golden Thread Productions and SFBATCO. Set on the eve of the Fourth of July, the show ponders legacy, and how to focus a parent’s loss, offering answers while giving space to the audience for their own hypotheses. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) roughhouse in their late father’s home in ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yusuf (Salim Razawi) is introduced standing in front of the house of his father, Samir, asking facile questions to Siri regarding the anxiety-healing powers of gum. Soon, Dina (Arti Ishak) approaches the house, a total professional, highly educated and serious. Their odd-couple nature manifests in some strained dialogue between the siblings, these two Egyptian American children of immigrants who know they have to get this right, with few avenues as to how.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their dad’s small, semi-hoarding habitat is a time capsule for 1980s technology and pop culture. (The fabulous scenic design is by Mikiko Uesugi.) Entire box sets of \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> rest in the corner. A large silver boombox awaits a cassette and D batteries. Clothes are strewn everywhere. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each sibling gets swallowed by memories inside this tightly inhabited wasteland. Strawberry Shortcake radios are a direct link for Dina to her dad, and cassette tapes contain the recorded voice of the man the siblings must now live without (with Khaled Abol Naga providing the beautiful voiceovers of Samir). \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dina (Arti Ishak) listens to cassette tapes of her estranged father’s voice (Khaled Abol Naga, in voiceover) before his funeral in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The power of Ibrahim’s play is in the richness of her dialogue, staged with strong and pensive strokes by director Nailah Unole Didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux. Ibrahim’s words carry weight. Natural and flowing, they’re snappy when necessary, and thoughtful, when not leaning into unnecessary schtick. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Any two-hander structure relies on a close connection between the talent, which Razawi and Ishak often find. They share absurdly delightful explanations for why their Arab-American family celebrates Easter; the hilarious chaos of their last Eid as a family before their parents split; and their clunky abilities, in both a logistical and spiritual sense, to plan their dad’s funeral. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other aspects are simply stunning. That starts with Lev Collins’ technical direction; small televisions screen opaque home movies that were the benchmark of 1980s memory-capturing. Michael Kelly’s sound design is fantastic, namely when Samir’s decadent and regal voice appears, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to stare down the barrel of time. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991103\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring’ by Denmo Ibrahim. (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Family secrets arise, forcing questions about where Samir’s loyalties were placed. It’s one of several nuances in Ibrahim’s script, exploring the familiar dynamic of a family unit that, after a parent’s death, becomes a rudderless ship lacking parental structure. In this, a eulogy for this father immediately becomes the most daunting essay in Yusuf’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the downside, the writing doesn’t always steward a consistent flow. Instead, it acts as a series of vignettes, each asking its characters to lock into heavy emotional demands, only to dismiss those demands and reset on a dime. This deprives the audience of processing the gravity of any situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When brutal discoveries are made, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to expel so much emotional capital, how does it affect them moving forward? Rapid shifts in the storytelling mean that the payoffs in certain moments (the cliched slow hug after heapings of shared trauma, for example) don’t always feel earned. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991105\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) in ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the structural challenges here don’t diminish the fact that Ibrahim is a writer with oodles of talent, and a knack for understanding how tension can fill a room. Her writing feels personal, with strong fingerprints, allowing those of any culture to see themselves and their family in this story. That’s all the more reason to narrow the scope of the story, and tightly focus on fewer issues, with deeper and fuller interrogation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Arab Spring\u003c/em> is a fierce reminder that our parents, and whatever legacy they may be building, will not physically be with us forever. The messiness of their imperfections, however, aren’t going anywhere, forcing those of us left behind to try and figure out our next move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Arab Spring’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://goldenthread.org/productions/arab-spring/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) roughhouse in their late father’s home in ‘Arab Spring.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Yusuf (Salim Razawi) is introduced standing in front of the house of his father, Samir, asking facile questions to Siri regarding the anxiety-healing powers of gum. Soon, Dina (Arti Ishak) approaches the house, a total professional, highly educated and serious. Their odd-couple nature manifests in some strained dialogue between the siblings, these two Egyptian American children of immigrants who know they have to get this right, with few avenues as to how.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their dad’s small, semi-hoarding habitat is a time capsule for 1980s technology and pop culture. (The fabulous scenic design is by Mikiko Uesugi.) Entire box sets of \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> rest in the corner. A large silver boombox awaits a cassette and D batteries. Clothes are strewn everywhere. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Their dad’s small, semi-hoarding habitat is a time capsule for 1980s technology and pop culture. (The fabulous scenic design is by Mikiko Uesugi.) Entire box sets of \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> rest in the corner. A large silver boombox awaits a cassette and D batteries. Clothes are strewn everywhere. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Each sibling gets swallowed by memories inside this tightly inhabited wasteland. Strawberry Shortcake radios are a direct link for Dina to her dad, and cassette tapes contain the recorded voice of the man the siblings must now live without (with Khaled Abol Naga providing the beautiful voiceovers of Samir). \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dina (Arti Ishak) listens to cassette tapes of her estranged father’s voice (Khaled Abol Naga, in voiceover) before his funeral in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The power of Ibrahim’s play is in the richness of her dialogue, staged with strong and pensive strokes by director Nailah Unole Didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux. Ibrahim’s words carry weight. Natural and flowing, they’re snappy when necessary, and thoughtful, when not leaning into unnecessary schtick. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The power of Ibrahim’s play is in the richness of her dialogue, staged with strong and pensive strokes by director Nailah Unole Didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux. Ibrahim’s words carry weight. Natural and flowing, they’re snappy when necessary, and thoughtful, when not leaning into unnecessary schtick. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Any two-hander structure relies on a close connection between the talent, which Razawi and Ishak often find. They share absurdly delightful explanations for why their Arab-American family celebrates Easter; the hilarious chaos of their last Eid as a family before their parents split; and their clunky abilities, in both a logistical and spiritual sense, to plan their dad’s funeral. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other aspects are simply stunning. That starts with Lev Collins’ technical direction; small televisions screen opaque home movies that were the benchmark of 1980s memory-capturing. Michael Kelly’s sound design is fantastic, namely when Samir’s decadent and regal voice appears, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to stare down the barrel of time. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991103\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring’ by Denmo Ibrahim.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Family secrets arise, forcing questions about where Samir’s loyalties were placed. It’s one of several nuances in Ibrahim’s script, exploring the familiar dynamic of a family unit that, after a parent’s death, becomes a rudderless ship lacking parental structure. In this, a eulogy for this father immediately becomes the most daunting essay in Yusuf’s life. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the downside, the writing doesn’t always steward a consistent flow. Instead, it acts as a series of vignettes, each asking its characters to lock into heavy emotional demands, only to dismiss those demands and reset on a dime. This deprives the audience of processing the gravity of any situation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the downside, the writing doesn’t always steward a consistent flow. Instead, it acts as a series of vignettes, each asking its characters to lock into heavy emotional demands, only to dismiss those demands and reset on a dime. This deprives the audience of processing the gravity of any situation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When brutal discoveries are made, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to expel so much emotional capital, how does it affect them moving forward? Rapid shifts in the storytelling mean that the payoffs in certain moments (the cliched slow hug after heapings of shared trauma, for example) don’t always feel earned. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991105\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) in ‘Arab Spring.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the structural challenges here don’t diminish the fact that Ibrahim is a writer with oodles of talent, and a knack for understanding how tension can fill a room. Her writing feels personal, with strong fingerprints, allowing those of any culture to see themselves and their family in this story. That’s all the more reason to narrow the scope of the story, and tightly focus on fewer issues, with deeper and fuller interrogation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Arab Spring\u003c/em> is a fierce reminder that our parents, and whatever legacy they may be building, will not physically be with us forever. The messiness of their imperfections, however, aren’t going anywhere, forcing those of us left behind to try and figure out our next move.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Arab Spring’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://goldenthread.org/productions/arab-spring/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Yusuf is a recovering addict who presents as a lovable yet unserious schlub. Warm and playful, he’s always ready to chop it up with his more stoic big sister, Dina. Their playfulness extends even to hair noogies and wet willies while wrasslin’ on the floor of their late, estranged dad’s house in Houston.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Amid all this is the question: How are they going to plan a traditional Islamic burial that they barely understand — and for a man they hardly knew? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This quandary forms the core of Denmo Ibrahim’s world premiere, \u003cem>Arab Spring\u003c/em>, a co-production between Golden Thread Productions and SFBATCO. Set on the eve of the Fourth of July, the show ponders legacy, and how to focus a parent’s loss, offering answers while giving space to the audience for their own hypotheses. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991104\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-01-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) roughhouse in their late father’s home in ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Yusuf (Salim Razawi) is introduced standing in front of the house of his father, Samir, asking facile questions to Siri regarding the anxiety-healing powers of gum. Soon, Dina (Arti Ishak) approaches the house, a total professional, highly educated and serious. Their odd-couple nature manifests in some strained dialogue between the siblings, these two Egyptian American children of immigrants who know they have to get this right, with few avenues as to how.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their dad’s small, semi-hoarding habitat is a time capsule for 1980s technology and pop culture. (The fabulous scenic design is by Mikiko Uesugi.) Entire box sets of \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> rest in the corner. A large silver boombox awaits a cassette and D batteries. Clothes are strewn everywhere. \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>Each sibling gets swallowed by memories inside this tightly inhabited wasteland. Strawberry Shortcake radios are a direct link for Dina to her dad, and cassette tapes contain the recorded voice of the man the siblings must now live without (with Khaled Abol Naga providing the beautiful voiceovers of Samir). \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-05-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dina (Arti Ishak) listens to cassette tapes of her estranged father’s voice (Khaled Abol Naga, in voiceover) before his funeral in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The power of Ibrahim’s play is in the richness of her dialogue, staged with strong and pensive strokes by director Nailah Unole Didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux. Ibrahim’s words carry weight. Natural and flowing, they’re snappy when necessary, and thoughtful, when not leaning into unnecessary schtick. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Any two-hander structure relies on a close connection between the talent, which Razawi and Ishak often find. They share absurdly delightful explanations for why their Arab-American family celebrates Easter; the hilarious chaos of their last Eid as a family before their parents split; and their clunky abilities, in both a logistical and spiritual sense, to plan their dad’s funeral. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other aspects are simply stunning. That starts with Lev Collins’ technical direction; small televisions screen opaque home movies that were the benchmark of 1980s memory-capturing. Michael Kelly’s sound design is fantastic, namely when Samir’s decadent and regal voice appears, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to stare down the barrel of time. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991103\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-07-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) in the world premiere of ‘Arab Spring’ by Denmo Ibrahim. (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Family secrets arise, forcing questions about where Samir’s loyalties were placed. It’s one of several nuances in Ibrahim’s script, exploring the familiar dynamic of a family unit that, after a parent’s death, becomes a rudderless ship lacking parental structure. In this, a eulogy for this father immediately becomes the most daunting essay in Yusuf’s life. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the downside, the writing doesn’t always steward a consistent flow. Instead, it acts as a series of vignettes, each asking its characters to lock into heavy emotional demands, only to dismiss those demands and reset on a dime. This deprives the audience of processing the gravity of any situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When brutal discoveries are made, forcing both Yusuf and Dina to expel so much emotional capital, how does it affect them moving forward? Rapid shifts in the storytelling mean that the payoffs in certain moments (the cliched slow hug after heapings of shared trauma, for example) don’t always feel earned. \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/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13991105\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Arab-Spring-Press-03-Photo-by-Jared-Randolph-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Yusef (Salim Razawi) and Dina (Arti Ishak) in ‘Arab Spring.’ (Jared Randolph)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the structural challenges here don’t diminish the fact that Ibrahim is a writer with oodles of talent, and a knack for understanding how tension can fill a room. Her writing feels personal, with strong fingerprints, allowing those of any culture to see themselves and their family in this story. That’s all the more reason to narrow the scope of the story, and tightly focus on fewer issues, with deeper and fuller interrogation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Arab Spring\u003c/em> is a fierce reminder that our parents, and whatever legacy they may be building, will not physically be with us forever. The messiness of their imperfections, however, aren’t going anywhere, forcing those of us left behind to try and figure out our next move.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Arab Spring’ runs through Sunday, July 12 at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://goldenthread.org/productions/arab-spring/\">\u003cem>Tickets and more information here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Ask E. Jean’ Reframes a Tabloid Figure in Feminist History",
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"content": "\u003cp>The name E. Jean Carroll may ring a faint bell, a snowflake in the blizzard of offensive behavior that has comprised the “news” in the last decade. The protagonist and focus of the involving documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.askejeanfilm.com/\">Ask E. Jean\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, however, is neither an offender nor a snowflake.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carroll is the New York journalist and longtime \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> advice columnist who, inspired by the women who spoke up during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/metoo\">#MeToo movement\u003c/a>, accused Donald Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store more than 20 years earlier. Carroll won a civil suit and, after Trump called her a liar on CNN and on social media, sued him for defamation and prevailed a second time, with the jury awarding damages of $83.3 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> devotes ample time to the trials, but don’t be distracted by their innate political and sensationalist allure. America’s most popular 34-time felon is a minor figure in Carroll’s saga.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Meeropol (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hbomax.com/movies/bully-coward-victim-the-story-of-roy-cohn/ed29cd0a-819e-4af9-aa88-c2b7dd71e23a\">Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn\u003c/a>\u003c/em>), greatly assisted by Ferne Pearlstein, another veteran documentary maker credited here as editor and story producer, has fashioned a later-in-life coming-of-age story that simultaneously plays as a pop-culture social history of feminism. \u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> fits nicely on the shelf with the recent post-sexual revolution docs \u003cem>The Disappearance of Shere Hite\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953248/topless-at-the-condor-movie-review-carol-doda-documentary-north-beach-history\">Carol Doda Topless at the Condor\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, alongside the DVD box set of \u003cem>Sex and the City\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2.jpeg\" alt=\"white woman with blonde bob leans forward in magazine image\" class=\"wp-image-13991090\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-1200x675.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A young E. Jean Carroll. (Roxie Theater)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Midwestern girl who parlayed the personality and panache that earned her Miss Cheerleader USA of 1964, Carroll moved to New York some years later, after she started writing for major magazines and her first marriage ended. Amusingly, her assignments included a camping trip with urban icon Fran Lebowitz.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carroll had the confidence and talent not only to assert her distinctive voice in print, but to insert herself in her stories. Ambitious and driven, she was in prime position to witness and applaud the generation of women breaking into the corporate ranks in the ’80s and competing with men. Carroll became the trusted confidant for many of them in the 1990s, with her “Ask E. Jean” sex-and-advice column in \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> and a short-lived cable TV call-in show with the same name.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The documentary uses clips from the television show as a throughline, and throwback, in a kind of call-and-response to the contemporary court proceedings. Carroll’s screen persona is flirty, dishy and inviting, like the big-city older sister you wished you had. But her empathy for her guests’ and callers’ plights is limited — she’s adamant that they stop wasting time, pursue their goals and get out of unhelpful relationships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s standard modern romance fare, but not all of Carroll’s female-empowerment gospel has aged well. There’s a remarkable clip of Carroll on Geraldo Rivera’s show discussing Anita Hill and Paula Jones, who had accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and President Bill Clinton, respectively, of sexual harassment. Carroll lambastes the women for being “wimps,” for not standing up for themselves and simply telling the men to shut up and scram.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These vintage clips erase some of Carroll’s halo accrued from bravely speaking the truth about a powerful man (who was re-elected President of the United States, can you believe) and wrench the film from the clutches of hagiography. More importantly, they convey the evolution of Carroll’s thinking about the ways our society treats women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the height of her success, Carroll embodied the old Virginia Slims slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby!” She was, after all, the first female contributing editor of \u003cem>Playboy\u003c/em>. If a woman had the ability, she could succeed on her own terms. The playing field was level, and nothing was stopping her. Equality between the sexes had been achieved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1.jpeg\" alt=\"older white woman in suit jacket and string tie\" class=\"wp-image-13991089\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-1200x675.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from ‘Ask E. Jean.’ (Roxie Theater)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day Trump assaulted Carroll in 1996, she was a savvy woman who thought she knew it all, and was victimized anyway. And she blamed herself, like many people who’ve been sexually assaulted. As Carroll relates in a recorded deposition, she changed afterward. (\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> notes that most sexually assaulted women don’t come forward because they are “rewarded” with intrusive, insulting interrogations, a miniscule conviction rate for rape, and hate mail.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> concludes by holding up Carroll as a heroine, and a role model. That’s a strategy for delivering a satisfying movie experience and generating good word of mouth, but I think most viewers will see past it. Particularly since the issues raised by the film are independent from, and not dependent on, whether you like or agree with or empathize with its protagonist.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em>’s contribution is that it naturally provokes the viewer into surfacing and revisiting their own experiences — including the forgotten and suppressed ones — and attitudes. From a big-picture standpoint, the film invites a deep discussion of the historical and current benefits of feminism. And, just maybe, the costs of our society’s limitations on women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/ask-e-jean/\">Ask E. Jean\u003c/a>’ screens June 26–29, 2026 at the Roxie Theater (3125 16th St., San Francisco). Filmmaker Ivy Meeropol appears in person after the Saturday, June 27 show.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ivy Meeropol (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hbomax.com/movies/bully-coward-victim-the-story-of-roy-cohn/ed29cd0a-819e-4af9-aa88-c2b7dd71e23a\">Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn\u003c/a>\u003c/em>), greatly assisted by Ferne Pearlstein, another veteran documentary maker credited here as editor and story producer, has fashioned a later-in-life coming-of-age story that simultaneously plays as a pop-culture social history of feminism. \u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> fits nicely on the shelf with the recent post-sexual revolution docs \u003cem>The Disappearance of Shere Hite\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953248/topless-at-the-condor-movie-review-carol-doda-documentary-north-beach-history\">Carol Doda Topless at the Condor\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, alongside the DVD box set of \u003cem>Sex and the City\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carroll had the confidence and talent not only to assert her distinctive voice in print, but to insert herself in her stories. Ambitious and driven, she was in prime position to witness and applaud the generation of women breaking into the corporate ranks in the ’80s and competing with men. Carroll became the trusted confidant for many of them in the 1990s, with her “Ask E. Jean” sex-and-advice column in \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> and a short-lived cable TV call-in show with the same name.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The documentary uses clips from the television show as a throughline, and throwback, in a kind of call-and-response to the contemporary court proceedings. Carroll’s screen persona is flirty, dishy and inviting, like the big-city older sister you wished you had. But her empathy for her guests’ and callers’ plights is limited — she’s adamant that they stop wasting time, pursue their goals and get out of unhelpful relationships.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s standard modern romance fare, but not all of Carroll’s female-empowerment gospel has aged well. There’s a remarkable clip of Carroll on Geraldo Rivera’s show discussing Anita Hill and Paula Jones, who had accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and President Bill Clinton, respectively, of sexual harassment. Carroll lambastes the women for being “wimps,” for not standing up for themselves and simply telling the men to shut up and scram.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These vintage clips erase some of Carroll’s halo accrued from bravely speaking the truth about a powerful man (who was re-elected President of the United States, can you believe) and wrench the film from the clutches of hagiography. More importantly, they convey the evolution of Carroll’s thinking about the ways our society treats women.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At the height of her success, Carroll embodied the old Virginia Slims slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby!” She was, after all, the first female contributing editor of \u003cem>Playboy\u003c/em>. If a woman had the ability, she could succeed on her own terms. The playing field was level, and nothing was stopping her. Equality between the sexes had been achieved.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The day Trump assaulted Carroll in 1996, she was a savvy woman who thought she knew it all, and was victimized anyway. And she blamed herself, like many people who’ve been sexually assaulted. As Carroll relates in a recorded deposition, she changed afterward. (\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> notes that most sexually assaulted women don’t come forward because they are “rewarded” with intrusive, insulting interrogations, a miniscule conviction rate for rape, and hate mail.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> concludes by holding up Carroll as a heroine, and a role model. That’s a strategy for delivering a satisfying movie experience and generating good word of mouth, but I think most viewers will see past it. Particularly since the issues raised by the film are independent from, and not dependent on, whether you like or agree with or empathize with its protagonist.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em>’s contribution is that it naturally provokes the viewer into surfacing and revisiting their own experiences — including the forgotten and suppressed ones — and attitudes. From a big-picture standpoint, the film invites a deep discussion of the historical and current benefits of feminism. And, just maybe, the costs of our society’s limitations on women.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/ask-e-jean/\">Ask E. Jean\u003c/a>’ screens June 26–29, 2026 at the Roxie Theater (3125 16th St., San Francisco). Filmmaker Ivy Meeropol appears in person after the Saturday, June 27 show.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Ivy Meeropol’s documentary tells the story of the journalist who won two cases against Donald Trump.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The name E. Jean Carroll may ring a faint bell, a snowflake in the blizzard of offensive behavior that has comprised the “news” in the last decade. The protagonist and focus of the involving documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.askejeanfilm.com/\">Ask E. Jean\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, however, is neither an offender nor a snowflake.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Carroll is the New York journalist and longtime \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> advice columnist who, inspired by the women who spoke up during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/metoo\">#MeToo movement\u003c/a>, accused Donald Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store more than 20 years earlier. Carroll won a civil suit and, after Trump called her a liar on CNN and on social media, sued him for defamation and prevailed a second time, with the jury awarding damages of $83.3 million.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> devotes ample time to the trials, but don’t be distracted by their innate political and sensationalist allure. America’s most popular 34-time felon is a minor figure in Carroll’s saga.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ivy Meeropol (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hbomax.com/movies/bully-coward-victim-the-story-of-roy-cohn/ed29cd0a-819e-4af9-aa88-c2b7dd71e23a\">Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn\u003c/a>\u003c/em>), greatly assisted by Ferne Pearlstein, another veteran documentary maker credited here as editor and story producer, has fashioned a later-in-life coming-of-age story that simultaneously plays as a pop-culture social history of feminism. \u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> fits nicely on the shelf with the recent post-sexual revolution docs \u003cem>The Disappearance of Shere Hite\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953248/topless-at-the-condor-movie-review-carol-doda-documentary-north-beach-history\">Carol Doda Topless at the Condor\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, alongside the DVD box set of \u003cem>Sex and the City\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2.jpeg\" alt=\"white woman with blonde bob leans forward in magazine image\" class=\"wp-image-13991090\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-2-1200x675.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A young E. Jean Carroll. (Roxie Theater)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A Midwestern girl who parlayed the personality and panache that earned her Miss Cheerleader USA of 1964, Carroll moved to New York some years later, after she started writing for major magazines and her first marriage ended. Amusingly, her assignments included a camping trip with urban icon Fran Lebowitz.\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>Carroll had the confidence and talent not only to assert her distinctive voice in print, but to insert herself in her stories. Ambitious and driven, she was in prime position to witness and applaud the generation of women breaking into the corporate ranks in the ’80s and competing with men. Carroll became the trusted confidant for many of them in the 1990s, with her “Ask E. Jean” sex-and-advice column in \u003cem>Elle\u003c/em> and a short-lived cable TV call-in show with the same name.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The documentary uses clips from the television show as a throughline, and throwback, in a kind of call-and-response to the contemporary court proceedings. Carroll’s screen persona is flirty, dishy and inviting, like the big-city older sister you wished you had. But her empathy for her guests’ and callers’ plights is limited — she’s adamant that they stop wasting time, pursue their goals and get out of unhelpful relationships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s standard modern romance fare, but not all of Carroll’s female-empowerment gospel has aged well. There’s a remarkable clip of Carroll on Geraldo Rivera’s show discussing Anita Hill and Paula Jones, who had accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and President Bill Clinton, respectively, of sexual harassment. Carroll lambastes the women for being “wimps,” for not standing up for themselves and simply telling the men to shut up and scram.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These vintage clips erase some of Carroll’s halo accrued from bravely speaking the truth about a powerful man (who was re-elected President of the United States, can you believe) and wrench the film from the clutches of hagiography. More importantly, they convey the evolution of Carroll’s thinking about the ways our society treats women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At the height of her success, Carroll embodied the old Virginia Slims slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby!” She was, after all, the first female contributing editor of \u003cem>Playboy\u003c/em>. If a woman had the ability, she could succeed on her own terms. The playing field was level, and nothing was stopping her. Equality between the sexes had been achieved.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1.jpeg\" alt=\"older white woman in suit jacket and string tie\" class=\"wp-image-13991089\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Ask-E.-Jean-1-1200x675.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A still from ‘Ask E. Jean.’ (Roxie Theater)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The day Trump assaulted Carroll in 1996, she was a savvy woman who thought she knew it all, and was victimized anyway. And she blamed herself, like many people who’ve been sexually assaulted. As Carroll relates in a recorded deposition, she changed afterward. (\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> notes that most sexually assaulted women don’t come forward because they are “rewarded” with intrusive, insulting interrogations, a miniscule conviction rate for rape, and hate mail.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em> concludes by holding up Carroll as a heroine, and a role model. That’s a strategy for delivering a satisfying movie experience and generating good word of mouth, but I think most viewers will see past it. Particularly since the issues raised by the film are independent from, and not dependent on, whether you like or agree with or empathize with its protagonist.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ask E. Jean\u003c/em>’s contribution is that it naturally provokes the viewer into surfacing and revisiting their own experiences — including the forgotten and suppressed ones — and attitudes. From a big-picture standpoint, the film invites a deep discussion of the historical and current benefits of feminism. And, just maybe, the costs of our society’s limitations on women.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/ask-e-jean/\">Ask E. Jean\u003c/a>’ screens June 26–29, 2026 at the Roxie Theater (3125 16th St., San Francisco). Filmmaker Ivy Meeropol appears in person after the Saturday, June 27 show.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Only Ukrainian Restaurant in Wine Country Pops Open for One Month This Summer",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.annavoloshyna.com\">Anna Voloshyna\u003c/a> never dreamed of opening a restaurant. The chef and author has been busy planning a tour for her second cookbook, hosting events \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908537/ukrainian-chef-in-sf-finds-comfort-cooking-traditional-food-and-raises-thousands-in-relief-aid\">and fundraisers\u003c/a>, and running her IACP award-winning \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/annavoloshynacooks/\">Instagram\u003c/a> account, all celebrating the cooking of her native Ukraine. But she got talked into a residency at \u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/a> at Oxbow Public Market in Napa, which means she’s effectively opening the only Ukrainian restaurant in wine country — if only for the month of July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People have been bugging me forever,” Voloshyna says. “Like, ‘Where can we try your food?’” Or any Ukrainian food, anywhere across the Bay Area, for that matter? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Northern California is home to a few small food businesses that proudly rep Ukraine, including \u003ca href=\"https://lelekasf.com\">Leleka\u003c/a> focusing on dumpling delivery in SF, San Mateo and Sunnyvale; \u003ca href=\"https://nataliasdacha.com\">Natalia’s Dacha\u003c/a> serving honey cakes at Napa County farmers markets; and the \u003ca href=\"https://borschmobile.com\">Borsch Mobile\u003c/a> truck bringing beet soup to the people across the Bay Area. And plenty of restaurants serve more broadly Eastern European–inspired menus with similar dishes. But given the context of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, Voloshyna has doubled down on specifically showcasing the hearty dishes and fermented flavors of her home country, and can’t wait to serve a sit-down dinner experience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the place where Ukrainian cuisine and culture will be celebrated, and I will shout about it nonstop for the whole month,” she says. \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/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of a smiling chef holding a glass of white wine inside her restaurant.\" class=\"wp-image-13991033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voloshyna will be the guest chef at Rotation by Feast It Forward, a new restaurant that hosts star chefs from around the country. Her second cookbook, ‘Ukraine,’ comes out in October 2026. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation is a new project from Katie Hamilton Shaffer of Feast It Forward, the events space and media network across the street from Oxbow. She took over a restaurant in a corner of the market, welcoming star guest chefs from across the country. The month-long chef residencies kicked off in February with Martin Yan from SF, followed by Tristen Epps from Houston and Lee Anne Wong from Honolulu, showcasing Chinese, Trinidadian, and Hawaiian flavors, respectively. None of these chefs phoned it in — Voloshyna’s staying in a cottage in Napa for the month, along with her husband and little wolf of a dog. She’ll be shopping the farmers market and working closely in the kitchen with Rotation executive chef Jeff Mosher and his team. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re throwing down a full menu, focusing on classics presented in a modern and refined way, Voloshyna says. A meal might start with beet-pickled deviled eggs with smoked trout roe, varenyky (dumplings) stuffed with farmer cheese and confit pork belly, and kholodnyk (chilled borsch) with refreshing raw veggies. Diners won’t want to miss the quintessential chicken Kyiv — “with a crispy crust and inside garlic butter — what’s not to love?” Voloshyna says. She’s already fermenting beet kvass to season the shpundra (braised short ribs), best served over banosh (polenta) with brynza sheep cheese and crispy onions. The grilled squash with preserved lemons comes from her first cookbook; the roasted eggplant with herbed yogurt will be in her second. And sour cream, pickles and fresh dill scatter across everything. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1429\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13991038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Bright purple deviled eggs topped with orange fish roe.\" class=\"wp-image-13991038\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry.jpg 1429w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beet-pickled deviled eggs topped with trout roe. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1429\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13991035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Purple braised short rib over a bed of polenta with sliced radishes sprinkled on top.\" class=\"wp-image-13991035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry.jpg 1429w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Braised short ribs seasoned with fermented beets. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Desserts include a sunflower semifreddo inspired by childhood snacks of sunflower halva: “That flavor is carved into my brain,” Voloshyna says. She grew up in a small town named Snihurivka in the south, a couple of hours from Odesa, surrounded by “fields and fields” of sunflowers. Despite the war, Ukraine remains a leading exporter of sunflower oil, so those cooking and finishing oils are foundational flavors, and the flowers shine as a national symbol of resilience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation serves its own menu at lunch, although Voloshyna will slide in at least one special — khachapuri. The Georgian cheese boats are now wildly popular across Ukraine. Shaffer, the owner, curates the wine list, focusing on locals from Napa and Sonoma, and cocktails include a signature old fashioned with bourbon washed in duck fat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation is located toward the back of Oxbow, across from Hog Island Oyster Co. It’s not simply a market stall; it’s a generous restaurant with 5,000 square feet and 125 seats, centered on an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven. Voloshyna plans to set up a cookbook display for anyone who wants to buy a signed copy of her first cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (“cheers!” in Ukrainian), or preorder her second. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Voloshyna published \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in the fall of 2022, Russia had already been occupying Ukraine since 2014. It launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022, bringing even more bittersweet meaning to this collection of recipes celebrating the foods Voloshyna grew up with. Since then, she spent three years researching her second book \u003ca href=\"https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ukraine-anna-voloshyna/1149390099?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnwGp82l-bSB-MR4FT3SOHQn3QaGD0Q4D_H-jUHLVsdBStaUfpj3osn0YufHI_aem_1dx-xXKjUhwTLE2P_AaQxw\">\u003cem>Ukraïne\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which comes out this October, traveling to many regions and near the frontline, gathering recipes, essays and photos. At a time when her country is fighting for its existence, she believes in the importance of calling even the most humble bowl of borsch Ukrainian. “We need to remember the roots and honor the culture,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether folks are tasting her food at the restaurant or trying one of her recipes at home, Voloshyna hopes to help them understand and appreciate Ukrainian cooking. “Because of this war, we remembered who we are as a nation,” she says. “Food is one way to showcase, ‘This is who we are.’ We want to show that to the world. We are not Russia. We are Ukraine.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">\u003cem>Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Monday and Tuesday noon–3 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday noon–8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday noon–9 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com/chef/chef-anna-voloshyna\">\u003cem>Anna Voloshyna\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be in residency for the month of July, and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/r/rotation-by-feast-it-forward-napa\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are live.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.annavoloshyna.com\">Anna Voloshyna\u003c/a> never dreamed of opening a restaurant. The chef and author has been busy planning a tour for her second cookbook, hosting events \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908537/ukrainian-chef-in-sf-finds-comfort-cooking-traditional-food-and-raises-thousands-in-relief-aid\">and fundraisers\u003c/a>, and running her IACP award-winning \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/annavoloshynacooks/\">Instagram\u003c/a> account, all celebrating the cooking of her native Ukraine. But she got talked into a residency at \u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/a> at Oxbow Public Market in Napa, which means she’s effectively opening the only Ukrainian restaurant in wine country — if only for the month of July. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.annavoloshyna.com\">Anna Voloshyna\u003c/a> never dreamed of opening a restaurant. The chef and author has been busy planning a tour for her second cookbook, hosting events \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908537/ukrainian-chef-in-sf-finds-comfort-cooking-traditional-food-and-raises-thousands-in-relief-aid\">and fundraisers\u003c/a>, and running her IACP award-winning \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/annavoloshynacooks/\">Instagram\u003c/a> account, all celebrating the cooking of her native Ukraine. But she got talked into a residency at \u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/a> at Oxbow Public Market in Napa, which means she’s effectively opening the only Ukrainian restaurant in wine country — if only for the month of July. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People have been bugging me forever,” Voloshyna says. “Like, ‘Where can we try your food?’” Or any Ukrainian food, anywhere across the Bay Area, for that matter? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Northern California is home to a few small food businesses that proudly rep Ukraine, including \u003ca href=\"https://lelekasf.com\">Leleka\u003c/a> focusing on dumpling delivery in SF, San Mateo and Sunnyvale; \u003ca href=\"https://nataliasdacha.com\">Natalia’s Dacha\u003c/a> serving honey cakes at Napa County farmers markets; and the \u003ca href=\"https://borschmobile.com\">Borsch Mobile\u003c/a> truck bringing beet soup to the people across the Bay Area. And plenty of restaurants serve more broadly Eastern European–inspired menus with similar dishes. But given the context of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, Voloshyna has doubled down on specifically showcasing the hearty dishes and fermented flavors of her home country, and can’t wait to serve a sit-down dinner experience. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Northern California is home to a few small food businesses that proudly rep Ukraine, including \u003ca href=\"https://lelekasf.com\">Leleka\u003c/a> focusing on dumpling delivery in SF, San Mateo and Sunnyvale; \u003ca href=\"https://nataliasdacha.com\">Natalia’s Dacha\u003c/a> serving honey cakes at Napa County farmers markets; and the \u003ca href=\"https://borschmobile.com\">Borsch Mobile\u003c/a> truck bringing beet soup to the people across the Bay Area. And plenty of restaurants serve more broadly Eastern European–inspired menus with similar dishes. But given the context of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, Voloshyna has doubled down on specifically showcasing the hearty dishes and fermented flavors of her home country, and can’t wait to serve a sit-down dinner experience. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is the place where Ukrainian cuisine and culture will be celebrated, and I will shout about it nonstop for the whole month,” she says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This is the place where Ukrainian cuisine and culture will be celebrated, and I will shout about it nonstop for the whole month,” she says. \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/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of a smiling chef holding a glass of white wine inside her restaurant.\" class=\"wp-image-13991033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voloshyna will be the guest chef at Rotation by Feast It Forward, a new restaurant that hosts star chefs from around the country. Her second cookbook, ‘Ukraine,’ comes out in October 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rotation is a new project from Katie Hamilton Shaffer of Feast It Forward, the events space and media network across the street from Oxbow. She took over a restaurant in a corner of the market, welcoming star guest chefs from across the country. The month-long chef residencies kicked off in February with Martin Yan from SF, followed by Tristen Epps from Houston and Lee Anne Wong from Honolulu, showcasing Chinese, Trinidadian, and Hawaiian flavors, respectively. None of these chefs phoned it in — Voloshyna’s staying in a cottage in Napa for the month, along with her husband and little wolf of a dog. She’ll be shopping the farmers market and working closely in the kitchen with Rotation executive chef Jeff Mosher and his team. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They’re throwing down a full menu, focusing on classics presented in a modern and refined way, Voloshyna says. A meal might start with beet-pickled deviled eggs with smoked trout roe, varenyky (dumplings) stuffed with farmer cheese and confit pork belly, and kholodnyk (chilled borsch) with refreshing raw veggies. Diners won’t want to miss the quintessential chicken Kyiv — “with a crispy crust and inside garlic butter — what’s not to love?” Voloshyna says. She’s already fermenting beet kvass to season the shpundra (braised short ribs), best served over banosh (polenta) with brynza sheep cheese and crispy onions. The grilled squash with preserved lemons comes from her first cookbook; the roasted eggplant with herbed yogurt will be in her second. And sour cream, pickles and fresh dill scatter across everything. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>They’re throwing down a full menu, focusing on classics presented in a modern and refined way, Voloshyna says. A meal might start with beet-pickled deviled eggs with smoked trout roe, varenyky (dumplings) stuffed with farmer cheese and confit pork belly, and kholodnyk (chilled borsch) with refreshing raw veggies. Diners won’t want to miss the quintessential chicken Kyiv — “with a crispy crust and inside garlic butter — what’s not to love?” Voloshyna says. She’s already fermenting beet kvass to season the shpundra (braised short ribs), best served over banosh (polenta) with brynza sheep cheese and crispy onions. The grilled squash with preserved lemons comes from her first cookbook; the roasted eggplant with herbed yogurt will be in her second. And sour cream, pickles and fresh dill scatter across everything. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Desserts include a sunflower semifreddo inspired by childhood snacks of sunflower halva: “That flavor is carved into my brain,” Voloshyna says. She grew up in a small town named Snihurivka in the south, a couple of hours from Odesa, surrounded by “fields and fields” of sunflowers. Despite the war, Ukraine remains a leading exporter of sunflower oil, so those cooking and finishing oils are foundational flavors, and the flowers shine as a national symbol of resilience. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rotation serves its own menu at lunch, although Voloshyna will slide in at least one special — khachapuri. The Georgian cheese boats are now wildly popular across Ukraine. Shaffer, the owner, curates the wine list, focusing on locals from Napa and Sonoma, and cocktails include a signature old fashioned with bourbon washed in duck fat. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rotation serves its own menu at lunch, although Voloshyna will slide in at least one special — khachapuri. The Georgian cheese boats are now wildly popular across Ukraine. Shaffer, the owner, curates the wine list, focusing on locals from Napa and Sonoma, and cocktails include a signature old fashioned with bourbon washed in duck fat. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rotation is located toward the back of Oxbow, across from Hog Island Oyster Co. It’s not simply a market stall; it’s a generous restaurant with 5,000 square feet and 125 seats, centered on an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven. Voloshyna plans to set up a cookbook display for anyone who wants to buy a signed copy of her first cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (“cheers!” in Ukrainian), or preorder her second. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rotation is located toward the back of Oxbow, across from Hog Island Oyster Co. It’s not simply a market stall; it’s a generous restaurant with 5,000 square feet and 125 seats, centered on an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven. Voloshyna plans to set up a cookbook display for anyone who wants to buy a signed copy of her first cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (“cheers!” in Ukrainian), or preorder her second. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When Voloshyna published \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in the fall of 2022, Russia had already been occupying Ukraine since 2014. It launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022, bringing even more bittersweet meaning to this collection of recipes celebrating the foods Voloshyna grew up with. Since then, she spent three years researching her second book \u003ca href=\"https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ukraine-anna-voloshyna/1149390099?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnwGp82l-bSB-MR4FT3SOHQn3QaGD0Q4D_H-jUHLVsdBStaUfpj3osn0YufHI_aem_1dx-xXKjUhwTLE2P_AaQxw\">\u003cem>Ukraïne\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which comes out this October, traveling to many regions and near the frontline, gathering recipes, essays and photos. At a time when her country is fighting for its existence, she believes in the importance of calling even the most humble bowl of borsch Ukrainian. “We need to remember the roots and honor the culture,” she says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>When Voloshyna published \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in the fall of 2022, Russia had already been occupying Ukraine since 2014. It launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022, bringing even more bittersweet meaning to this collection of recipes celebrating the foods Voloshyna grew up with. Since then, she spent three years researching her second book \u003ca href=\"https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ukraine-anna-voloshyna/1149390099?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnwGp82l-bSB-MR4FT3SOHQn3QaGD0Q4D_H-jUHLVsdBStaUfpj3osn0YufHI_aem_1dx-xXKjUhwTLE2P_AaQxw\">\u003cem>Ukraïne\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which comes out this October, traveling to many regions and near the frontline, gathering recipes, essays and photos. At a time when her country is fighting for its existence, she believes in the importance of calling even the most humble bowl of borsch Ukrainian. “We need to remember the roots and honor the culture,” she says. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Whether folks are tasting her food at the restaurant or trying one of her recipes at home, Voloshyna hopes to help them understand and appreciate Ukrainian cooking. “Because of this war, we remembered who we are as a nation,” she says. “Food is one way to showcase, ‘This is who we are.’ We want to show that to the world. We are not Russia. We are Ukraine.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Whether folks are tasting her food at the restaurant or trying one of her recipes at home, Voloshyna hopes to help them understand and appreciate Ukrainian cooking. “Because of this war, we remembered who we are as a nation,” she says. “Food is one way to showcase, ‘This is who we are.’ We want to show that to the world. We are not Russia. We are Ukraine.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">\u003cem>Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Monday and Tuesday noon–3 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday noon–8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday noon–9 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com/chef/chef-anna-voloshyna\">\u003cem>Anna Voloshyna\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be in residency for the month of July, and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/r/rotation-by-feast-it-forward-napa\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are live.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">\u003cem>Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Monday and Tuesday noon–3 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday noon–8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday noon–9 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com/chef/chef-anna-voloshyna\">\u003cem>Anna Voloshyna\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be in residency for the month of July, and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/r/rotation-by-feast-it-forward-napa\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are live.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Cookbook author Anna Voloshyna takes residence in Oxbow Public Market, and she’s bringing the buttery chicken Kyiv. ",
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"title": "Napa's Only Ukrainian Restaurant Pops Up for One Month This Summer | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.annavoloshyna.com\">Anna Voloshyna\u003c/a> never dreamed of opening a restaurant. The chef and author has been busy planning a tour for her second cookbook, hosting events \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908537/ukrainian-chef-in-sf-finds-comfort-cooking-traditional-food-and-raises-thousands-in-relief-aid\">and fundraisers\u003c/a>, and running her IACP award-winning \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/annavoloshynacooks/\">Instagram\u003c/a> account, all celebrating the cooking of her native Ukraine. But she got talked into a residency at \u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/a> at Oxbow Public Market in Napa, which means she’s effectively opening the only Ukrainian restaurant in wine country — if only for the month of July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People have been bugging me forever,” Voloshyna says. “Like, ‘Where can we try your food?’” Or any Ukrainian food, anywhere across the Bay Area, for that matter? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Northern California is home to a few small food businesses that proudly rep Ukraine, including \u003ca href=\"https://lelekasf.com\">Leleka\u003c/a> focusing on dumpling delivery in SF, San Mateo and Sunnyvale; \u003ca href=\"https://nataliasdacha.com\">Natalia’s Dacha\u003c/a> serving honey cakes at Napa County farmers markets; and the \u003ca href=\"https://borschmobile.com\">Borsch Mobile\u003c/a> truck bringing beet soup to the people across the Bay Area. And plenty of restaurants serve more broadly Eastern European–inspired menus with similar dishes. But given the context of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, Voloshyna has doubled down on specifically showcasing the hearty dishes and fermented flavors of her home country, and can’t wait to serve a sit-down dinner experience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the place where Ukrainian cuisine and culture will be celebrated, and I will shout about it nonstop for the whole month,” she says. \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/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of a smiling chef holding a glass of white wine inside her restaurant.\" class=\"wp-image-13991033\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/anna-voloshyna_jason-perry-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voloshyna will be the guest chef at Rotation by Feast It Forward, a new restaurant that hosts star chefs from around the country. Her second cookbook, ‘Ukraine,’ comes out in October 2026. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation is a new project from Katie Hamilton Shaffer of Feast It Forward, the events space and media network across the street from Oxbow. She took over a restaurant in a corner of the market, welcoming star guest chefs from across the country. The month-long chef residencies kicked off in February with Martin Yan from SF, followed by Tristen Epps from Houston and Lee Anne Wong from Honolulu, showcasing Chinese, Trinidadian, and Hawaiian flavors, respectively. None of these chefs phoned it in — Voloshyna’s staying in a cottage in Napa for the month, along with her husband and little wolf of a dog. She’ll be shopping the farmers market and working closely in the kitchen with Rotation executive chef Jeff Mosher and his team. \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>They’re throwing down a full menu, focusing on classics presented in a modern and refined way, Voloshyna says. A meal might start with beet-pickled deviled eggs with smoked trout roe, varenyky (dumplings) stuffed with farmer cheese and confit pork belly, and kholodnyk (chilled borsch) with refreshing raw veggies. Diners won’t want to miss the quintessential chicken Kyiv — “with a crispy crust and inside garlic butter — what’s not to love?” Voloshyna says. She’s already fermenting beet kvass to season the shpundra (braised short ribs), best served over banosh (polenta) with brynza sheep cheese and crispy onions. The grilled squash with preserved lemons comes from her first cookbook; the roasted eggplant with herbed yogurt will be in her second. And sour cream, pickles and fresh dill scatter across everything. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1429\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13991038\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Bright purple deviled eggs topped with orange fish roe.\" class=\"wp-image-13991038\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry.jpg 1429w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/deviled-eggs_jason-perry-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Beet-pickled deviled eggs topped with trout roe. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1429\" height=\"2000\" data-id=\"13991035\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry.jpg\" alt=\"Purple braised short rib over a bed of polenta with sliced radishes sprinkled on top.\" class=\"wp-image-13991035\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry.jpg 1429w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/short-rib_jason-perry-1097x1536.jpg 1097w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1429px) 100vw, 1429px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Braised short ribs seasoned with fermented beets. (Jason Perry)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Desserts include a sunflower semifreddo inspired by childhood snacks of sunflower halva: “That flavor is carved into my brain,” Voloshyna says. She grew up in a small town named Snihurivka in the south, a couple of hours from Odesa, surrounded by “fields and fields” of sunflowers. Despite the war, Ukraine remains a leading exporter of sunflower oil, so those cooking and finishing oils are foundational flavors, and the flowers shine as a national symbol of resilience. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation serves its own menu at lunch, although Voloshyna will slide in at least one special — khachapuri. The Georgian cheese boats are now wildly popular across Ukraine. Shaffer, the owner, curates the wine list, focusing on locals from Napa and Sonoma, and cocktails include a signature old fashioned with bourbon washed in duck fat. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rotation is located toward the back of Oxbow, across from Hog Island Oyster Co. It’s not simply a market stall; it’s a generous restaurant with 5,000 square feet and 125 seats, centered on an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven. Voloshyna plans to set up a cookbook display for anyone who wants to buy a signed copy of her first cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (“cheers!” in Ukrainian), or preorder her second. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When Voloshyna published \u003ca href=\"https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/products/pre-order-ukrainian-anna-voloshyna-budmo-recipes-from-a-ukrainian-kitchen\">\u003cem>Budmo!\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in the fall of 2022, Russia had already been occupying Ukraine since 2014. It launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022, bringing even more bittersweet meaning to this collection of recipes celebrating the foods Voloshyna grew up with. Since then, she spent three years researching her second book \u003ca href=\"https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ukraine-anna-voloshyna/1149390099?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnwGp82l-bSB-MR4FT3SOHQn3QaGD0Q4D_H-jUHLVsdBStaUfpj3osn0YufHI_aem_1dx-xXKjUhwTLE2P_AaQxw\">\u003cem>Ukraïne\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which comes out this October, traveling to many regions and near the frontline, gathering recipes, essays and photos. At a time when her country is fighting for its existence, she believes in the importance of calling even the most humble bowl of borsch Ukrainian. “We need to remember the roots and honor the culture,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whether folks are tasting her food at the restaurant or trying one of her recipes at home, Voloshyna hopes to help them understand and appreciate Ukrainian cooking. “Because of this war, we remembered who we are as a nation,” she says. “Food is one way to showcase, ‘This is who we are.’ We want to show that to the world. We are not Russia. We are Ukraine.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com\">\u003cem>Rotation by Feast It Forward\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is open Monday and Tuesday noon–3 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday noon–8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday noon–9 p.m. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://rotationnapa.com/chef/chef-anna-voloshyna\">\u003cem>Anna Voloshyna\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> will be in residency for the month of July, and \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.opentable.com/r/rotation-by-feast-it-forward-napa\">\u003cem>reservations\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> are live.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "maren-hassinger-bampfa-living-moving-growing-review",
"title": "Even When It Stays Still, Maren Hassinger’s Art Is Full of Movement",
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"content": "\u003cp>During the 55 years of her materially expansive art career, repetition has become one of Maren Hassinger’s most powerful tools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She started multiplying elements of her sculptures early on. In 1972, while still in graduate school at UCLA, she placed four large, loosely tied knots of thick hemp rope on the floor. Eight years later, she made \u003cem>Leaning\u003c/em>, 32 bundles of wire rope arranged at tottering angles. \u003cem>Consolation\u003c/em>, from 1996, is a grid of over 100 sprays of even thinner wire rope, an orderly rendition of ready-to-burst-apart dandelions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There could be something formulaic about repeating a gesture, of making a thing again and again. But in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, Hassinger’s retrospective at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, her version of repetition is organic. What she captures is not the precision of mass-produced metal or plastic, but the proliferation of nature. \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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with many small wire rope bundles in foreground, framed photos and large vinyl on wall behind\" class=\"wp-image-13990927\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Maren Hassinger: Living Moving Growing’ at BAMPFA, with ‘Leaning,’ 1980 in the foreground. (Chris Grunder)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The exhibition, organized by BAMPFA curators Margot Norton and Anthony Graham, moves mostly chronologically from Hassinger’s early grad school work to the present day, presenting Hassinger’s fluid movement across sculpture, video, installation, performance and public art. The newest element, a participatory piece called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Wrenching News\u003c/a>\u003c/em> — made from twisted and tied pages of \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em> — will grow over the course of the exhibition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the hands of another artist, Hassinger’s materials (wire rope, tree branches, plastic bags) might feel cold and spare. But in pieces like \u003cem>River\u003c/em>, a 1972 sculpture of steel chains entwined with nautical rope, the heft and scale of the industrial materials demonstrate the sheer physicality of Hassinger’s practice. You can’t see the art without seeing her, as photographed by her friend Adam Avila in the ’70s, unwinding thick cables of wire, crouching by rows of cast plaster, posing with her sculptures as if they’re dance partners.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Halfway through the show, duets abound. Recreations of three 1970s sculptures pair tree branches with wire rope. The silvery, bare bark blends with the slightly undulating wire, intermingling and simultaneously underlining their material contrasts. Movement — that the trees once experienced, that went into the making of this work — is never far away. \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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"installation view with large branch sculpture in foreground, small sticks in left corner and pink plastic bags on back wall\" class=\"wp-image-13990925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left to right: Maren Hassinger, ‘Beach,’ 1980/2025; ‘Pas de Deux,’ 1977/2026; and ‘Love,’ 2008/2026. (Chris Grunder)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is especially the case with \u003cem>Beach\u003c/em>, a 1980 piece Hassinger first installed at Linda Goode Bryant’s \u003ca href=\"https://research.moma.org/c.php?g=1409558&p=10437691\">Just Above Midtown Gallery\u003c/a> in New York. A simple, repeated arrangement of angled wooden dowels and irregular plaster bases immediately conjures an image of long grasses blowing in the wind. At BAMPFA, the dowels point the way forward to the next gallery, and to Hassinger’s own move from Los Angeles to the East Coast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here, color enters Hassinger’s work in the form of pink plastic bags, red crosses made from tape and the dark green of rose leaves affixed, like wallpaper, across two walls of a gallery. \u003cem>Heaven\u003c/em> serves as a backdrop for \u003cem>Beige\u003c/em> (1992) and \u003cem>Green\u003c/em> (1993), Hassinger’s first video works. The former documents the winter landscape seen on her commute across Long Island, the latter, the verdant images of summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In two other works, Hassinger turns the camera on herself and her family, examining the construction of race (the 16mm film \u003cem>Daily Mask\u003c/em>) and her own complicated family tree (the video \u003cem>Birthright\u003c/em>). The exhibition creates a dark, sequestered corner for visitors to watch these pieces, the pink plastic bags of \u003cem>Love\u003c/em> warming the space.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As to lingering: Some of Hassinger’s sculptural works are so large, so stunning, it might be easy to breeze by the much-smaller photographs and ephemera in and around the show’s vitrines. These include images of her Malcolm X-quoting mosaics in the New York City subway; documentation of the 1982 performance \u003cem>Flying\u003c/em>, Hassinger and her Studio Z collaborators smiling, arms spread; and pictures of the artist performing \u003cem>Pink Trash, \u003c/em>dispersing pink-painted detritus across three New York City parks. (\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/pink-trash-crescent-lawn-uc-berkeley\">Hassinger will perform \u003cem>Pink Trash\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on the Crescent Lawn, across the street from BAMPFA, on Sept. 20, 2026.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1570\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990928\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5.jpg 1570w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-1536x1002.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1570px) 100vw, 1570px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Maren Hassinger, Juana Nash, Senga Nengudi, Ulysses Jenkins, Franklin Parker, Lofty Amono, “Nastyee,” and N’dugu Jungles, ‘Flying,’ 1982. A performance at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park. (Courtesy the artists and Susan Inglett Gallery; Photo by Adam Avila)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These pieces of documentation depict a deeply collaborative and joyful practice. Even when it’s Hassinger in the frame, we know there’s a photographer on the other side of the lens, making sure this moment — if not this object — is preserved as art history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Living Moving Growing \u003c/em>is the latest in a string of especially strong shows at BAMPFA. The museum is, as executive director Julie Rodrigues Widholm writes in the catalog that accompanies this exhibition, “[committed] to increasing the visibility of influential women artists and generating new scholarship on their work.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986355/theresa-hak-kyung-cha-multiple-offerings-bampfa-review\">Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Amalia Mesa-Bains\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916997/alison-knowles-retrospective-fluxus-bampfa-review\">Alison Knowles\u003c/a> retrospectives were all part of this effort. Even more exciting is the way these shows allow contemporary audiences to plot the connections between artists, thanks to the combined (if perhaps unintentional) efforts of multiple Bay Area institutions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I was delighted, for instance, to see Suzanne Jackson’s name in Hassinger’s chronology. Jackson, the subject of a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982215/sfmoma-suzanne-jackson-what-is-love-review\">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art retrospective\u003c/a>, selected Hassinger as one of 10 artists to receive a public art commission through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), a WPA-style employment program, in 1978. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Presenting histories like these highlights not just individual artists’ accomplishments, but their equally important networks of collaboration and support. So many of Hassinger’s works are the result of these types of relationships — artworks made by many bodies and with the help of many hands. \u003cem>Pais/Ascension\u003c/em> (1976/2022) illustrates it perfectly: two wire ropes lean against a wall and towards each other, their ends splaying outward, overlapping and entwining.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Maren Hassinger: Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2155 Center St., Berkeley) through Nov. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She started multiplying elements of her sculptures early on. In 1972, while still in graduate school at UCLA, she placed four large, loosely tied knots of thick hemp rope on the floor. Eight years later, she made \u003cem>Leaning\u003c/em>, 32 bundles of wire rope arranged at tottering angles. \u003cem>Consolation\u003c/em>, from 1996, is a grid of over 100 sprays of even thinner wire rope, an orderly rendition of ready-to-burst-apart dandelions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She started multiplying elements of her sculptures early on. In 1972, while still in graduate school at UCLA, she placed four large, loosely tied knots of thick hemp rope on the floor. Eight years later, she made \u003cem>Leaning\u003c/em>, 32 bundles of wire rope arranged at tottering angles. \u003cem>Consolation\u003c/em>, from 1996, is a grid of over 100 sprays of even thinner wire rope, an orderly rendition of ready-to-burst-apart dandelions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There could be something formulaic about repeating a gesture, of making a thing again and again. But in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, Hassinger’s retrospective at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, her version of repetition is organic. What she captures is not the precision of mass-produced metal or plastic, but the proliferation of nature. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There could be something formulaic about repeating a gesture, of making a thing again and again. But in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, Hassinger’s retrospective at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, her version of repetition is organic. What she captures is not the precision of mass-produced metal or plastic, but the proliferation of nature. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The exhibition, organized by BAMPFA curators Margot Norton and Anthony Graham, moves mostly chronologically from Hassinger’s early grad school work to the present day, presenting Hassinger’s fluid movement across sculpture, video, installation, performance and public art. The newest element, a participatory piece called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Wrenching News\u003c/a>\u003c/em> — made from twisted and tied pages of \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em> — will grow over the course of the exhibition. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the hands of another artist, Hassinger’s materials (wire rope, tree branches, plastic bags) might feel cold and spare. But in pieces like \u003cem>River\u003c/em>, a 1972 sculpture of steel chains entwined with nautical rope, the heft and scale of the industrial materials demonstrate the sheer physicality of Hassinger’s practice. You can’t see the art without seeing her, as photographed by her friend Adam Avila in the ’70s, unwinding thick cables of wire, crouching by rows of cast plaster, posing with her sculptures as if they’re dance partners.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the hands of another artist, Hassinger’s materials (wire rope, tree branches, plastic bags) might feel cold and spare. But in pieces like \u003cem>River\u003c/em>, a 1972 sculpture of steel chains entwined with nautical rope, the heft and scale of the industrial materials demonstrate the sheer physicality of Hassinger’s practice. You can’t see the art without seeing her, as photographed by her friend Adam Avila in the ’70s, unwinding thick cables of wire, crouching by rows of cast plaster, posing with her sculptures as if they’re dance partners.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Halfway through the show, duets abound. Recreations of three 1970s sculptures pair tree branches with wire rope. The silvery, bare bark blends with the slightly undulating wire, intermingling and simultaneously underlining their material contrasts. Movement — that the trees once experienced, that went into the making of this work — is never far away. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Halfway through the show, duets abound. Recreations of three 1970s sculptures pair tree branches with wire rope. The silvery, bare bark blends with the slightly undulating wire, intermingling and simultaneously underlining their material contrasts. Movement — that the trees once experienced, that went into the making of this work — is never far away. \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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"installation view with large branch sculpture in foreground, small sticks in left corner and pink plastic bags on back wall\" class=\"wp-image-13990925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left to right: Maren Hassinger, ‘Beach,’ 1980/2025; ‘Pas de Deux,’ 1977/2026; and ‘Love,’ 2008/2026.\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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"installation view with large branch sculpture in foreground, small sticks in left corner and pink plastic bags on back wall\" class=\"wp-image-13990925\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left to right: Maren Hassinger, ‘Beach,’ 1980/2025; ‘Pas de Deux,’ 1977/2026; and ‘Love,’ 2008/2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This is especially the case with \u003cem>Beach\u003c/em>, a 1980 piece Hassinger first installed at Linda Goode Bryant’s \u003ca href=\"https://research.moma.org/c.php?g=1409558&p=10437691\">Just Above Midtown Gallery\u003c/a> in New York. A simple, repeated arrangement of angled wooden dowels and irregular plaster bases immediately conjures an image of long grasses blowing in the wind. At BAMPFA, the dowels point the way forward to the next gallery, and to Hassinger’s own move from Los Angeles to the East Coast.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This is especially the case with \u003cem>Beach\u003c/em>, a 1980 piece Hassinger first installed at Linda Goode Bryant’s \u003ca href=\"https://research.moma.org/c.php?g=1409558&p=10437691\">Just Above Midtown Gallery\u003c/a> in New York. A simple, repeated arrangement of angled wooden dowels and irregular plaster bases immediately conjures an image of long grasses blowing in the wind. At BAMPFA, the dowels point the way forward to the next gallery, and to Hassinger’s own move from Los Angeles to the East Coast.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Here, color enters Hassinger’s work in the form of pink plastic bags, red crosses made from tape and the dark green of rose leaves affixed, like wallpaper, across two walls of a gallery. \u003cem>Heaven\u003c/em> serves as a backdrop for \u003cem>Beige\u003c/em> (1992) and \u003cem>Green\u003c/em> (1993), Hassinger’s first video works. The former documents the winter landscape seen on her commute across Long Island, the latter, the verdant images of summer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Here, color enters Hassinger’s work in the form of pink plastic bags, red crosses made from tape and the dark green of rose leaves affixed, like wallpaper, across two walls of a gallery. \u003cem>Heaven\u003c/em> serves as a backdrop for \u003cem>Beige\u003c/em> (1992) and \u003cem>Green\u003c/em> (1993), Hassinger’s first video works. The former documents the winter landscape seen on her commute across Long Island, the latter, the verdant images of summer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In two other works, Hassinger turns the camera on herself and her family, examining the construction of race (the 16mm film \u003cem>Daily Mask\u003c/em>) and her own complicated family tree (the video \u003cem>Birthright\u003c/em>). The exhibition creates a dark, sequestered corner for visitors to watch these pieces, the pink plastic bags of \u003cem>Love\u003c/em> warming the space.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In two other works, Hassinger turns the camera on herself and her family, examining the construction of race (the 16mm film \u003cem>Daily Mask\u003c/em>) and her own complicated family tree (the video \u003cem>Birthright\u003c/em>). The exhibition creates a dark, sequestered corner for visitors to watch these pieces, the pink plastic bags of \u003cem>Love\u003c/em> warming the space.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As to lingering: Some of Hassinger’s sculptural works are so large, so stunning, it might be easy to breeze by the much-smaller photographs and ephemera in and around the show’s vitrines. These include images of her Malcolm X-quoting mosaics in the New York City subway; documentation of the 1982 performance \u003cem>Flying\u003c/em>, Hassinger and her Studio Z collaborators smiling, arms spread; and pictures of the artist performing \u003cem>Pink Trash, \u003c/em>dispersing pink-painted detritus across three New York City parks. (\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/pink-trash-crescent-lawn-uc-berkeley\">Hassinger will perform \u003cem>Pink Trash\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on the Crescent Lawn, across the street from BAMPFA, on Sept. 20, 2026.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As to lingering: Some of Hassinger’s sculptural works are so large, so stunning, it might be easy to breeze by the much-smaller photographs and ephemera in and around the show’s vitrines. These include images of her Malcolm X-quoting mosaics in the New York City subway; documentation of the 1982 performance \u003cem>Flying\u003c/em>, Hassinger and her Studio Z collaborators smiling, arms spread; and pictures of the artist performing \u003cem>Pink Trash, \u003c/em>dispersing pink-painted detritus across three New York City parks. (\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/pink-trash-crescent-lawn-uc-berkeley\">Hassinger will perform \u003cem>Pink Trash\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on the Crescent Lawn, across the street from BAMPFA, on Sept. 20, 2026.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These pieces of documentation depict a deeply collaborative and joyful practice. Even when it’s Hassinger in the frame, we know there’s a photographer on the other side of the lens, making sure this moment — if not this object — is preserved as art history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Living Moving Growing \u003c/em>is the latest in a string of especially strong shows at BAMPFA. The museum is, as executive director Julie Rodrigues Widholm writes in the catalog that accompanies this exhibition, “[committed] to increasing the visibility of influential women artists and generating new scholarship on their work.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986355/theresa-hak-kyung-cha-multiple-offerings-bampfa-review\">Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Amalia Mesa-Bains\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916997/alison-knowles-retrospective-fluxus-bampfa-review\">Alison Knowles\u003c/a> retrospectives were all part of this effort. Even more exciting is the way these shows allow contemporary audiences to plot the connections between artists, thanks to the combined (if perhaps unintentional) efforts of multiple Bay Area institutions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>I was delighted, for instance, to see Suzanne Jackson’s name in Hassinger’s chronology. Jackson, the subject of a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982215/sfmoma-suzanne-jackson-what-is-love-review\">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art retrospective\u003c/a>, selected Hassinger as one of 10 artists to receive a public art commission through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), a WPA-style employment program, in 1978. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Presenting histories like these highlights not just individual artists’ accomplishments, but their equally important networks of collaboration and support. So many of Hassinger’s works are the result of these types of relationships — artworks made by many bodies and with the help of many hands. \u003cem>Pais/Ascension\u003c/em> (1976/2022) illustrates it perfectly: two wire ropes lean against a wall and towards each other, their ends splaying outward, overlapping and entwining.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Maren Hassinger: Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2155 Center St., Berkeley) through Nov. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "At BAMPFA, ‘Living Moving Growing’ chronicles over five decades of sculpture, performance, video and public art.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>During the 55 years of her materially expansive art career, repetition has become one of Maren Hassinger’s most powerful tools. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She started multiplying elements of her sculptures early on. In 1972, while still in graduate school at UCLA, she placed four large, loosely tied knots of thick hemp rope on the floor. Eight years later, she made \u003cem>Leaning\u003c/em>, 32 bundles of wire rope arranged at tottering angles. \u003cem>Consolation\u003c/em>, from 1996, is a grid of over 100 sprays of even thinner wire rope, an orderly rendition of ready-to-burst-apart dandelions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There could be something formulaic about repeating a gesture, of making a thing again and again. But in \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, Hassinger’s retrospective at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, her version of repetition is organic. What she captures is not the precision of mass-produced metal or plastic, but the proliferation of nature. \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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"gallery view with many small wire rope bundles in foreground, framed photos and large vinyl on wall behind\" class=\"wp-image-13990927\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_024_AMFA_art_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Installation view of ‘Maren Hassinger: Living Moving Growing’ at BAMPFA, with ‘Leaning,’ 1980 in the foreground. (Chris Grunder)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The exhibition, organized by BAMPFA curators Margot Norton and Anthony Graham, moves mostly chronologically from Hassinger’s early grad school work to the present day, presenting Hassinger’s fluid movement across sculpture, video, installation, performance and public art. The newest element, a participatory piece called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Wrenching News\u003c/a>\u003c/em> — made from twisted and tied pages of \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em> — will grow over the course of the exhibition. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the hands of another artist, Hassinger’s materials (wire rope, tree branches, plastic bags) might feel cold and spare. But in pieces like \u003cem>River\u003c/em>, a 1972 sculpture of steel chains entwined with nautical rope, the heft and scale of the industrial materials demonstrate the sheer physicality of Hassinger’s practice. You can’t see the art without seeing her, as photographed by her friend Adam Avila in the ’70s, unwinding thick cables of wire, crouching by rows of cast plaster, posing with her sculptures as if they’re dance partners.\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>Halfway through the show, duets abound. Recreations of three 1970s sculptures pair tree branches with wire rope. The silvery, bare bark blends with the slightly undulating wire, intermingling and simultaneously underlining their material contrasts. Movement — that the trees once experienced, that went into the making of this work — is never far away. \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/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg\" alt=\"installation view with large branch sculpture in foreground, small sticks in left corner and pink plastic bags on back wall\" class=\"wp-image-13990925\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Install_Living-Moving-Growing_2026_016_AMFA_art_2000-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left to right: Maren Hassinger, ‘Beach,’ 1980/2025; ‘Pas de Deux,’ 1977/2026; and ‘Love,’ 2008/2026. (Chris Grunder)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is especially the case with \u003cem>Beach\u003c/em>, a 1980 piece Hassinger first installed at Linda Goode Bryant’s \u003ca href=\"https://research.moma.org/c.php?g=1409558&p=10437691\">Just Above Midtown Gallery\u003c/a> in New York. A simple, repeated arrangement of angled wooden dowels and irregular plaster bases immediately conjures an image of long grasses blowing in the wind. At BAMPFA, the dowels point the way forward to the next gallery, and to Hassinger’s own move from Los Angeles to the East Coast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Here, color enters Hassinger’s work in the form of pink plastic bags, red crosses made from tape and the dark green of rose leaves affixed, like wallpaper, across two walls of a gallery. \u003cem>Heaven\u003c/em> serves as a backdrop for \u003cem>Beige\u003c/em> (1992) and \u003cem>Green\u003c/em> (1993), Hassinger’s first video works. The former documents the winter landscape seen on her commute across Long Island, the latter, the verdant images of summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In two other works, Hassinger turns the camera on herself and her family, examining the construction of race (the 16mm film \u003cem>Daily Mask\u003c/em>) and her own complicated family tree (the video \u003cem>Birthright\u003c/em>). The exhibition creates a dark, sequestered corner for visitors to watch these pieces, the pink plastic bags of \u003cem>Love\u003c/em> warming the space.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As to lingering: Some of Hassinger’s sculptural works are so large, so stunning, it might be easy to breeze by the much-smaller photographs and ephemera in and around the show’s vitrines. These include images of her Malcolm X-quoting mosaics in the New York City subway; documentation of the 1982 performance \u003cem>Flying\u003c/em>, Hassinger and her Studio Z collaborators smiling, arms spread; and pictures of the artist performing \u003cem>Pink Trash, \u003c/em>dispersing pink-painted detritus across three New York City parks. (\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/pink-trash-crescent-lawn-uc-berkeley\">Hassinger will perform \u003cem>Pink Trash\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on the Crescent Lawn, across the street from BAMPFA, on Sept. 20, 2026.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1570\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990928\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5.jpg 1570w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/1982_HASSINGER_Flying_Documentation-View-5-1536x1002.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1570px) 100vw, 1570px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Maren Hassinger, Juana Nash, Senga Nengudi, Ulysses Jenkins, Franklin Parker, Lofty Amono, “Nastyee,” and N’dugu Jungles, ‘Flying,’ 1982. A performance at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park. (Courtesy the artists and Susan Inglett Gallery; Photo by Adam Avila)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These pieces of documentation depict a deeply collaborative and joyful practice. Even when it’s Hassinger in the frame, we know there’s a photographer on the other side of the lens, making sure this moment — if not this object — is preserved as art history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Living Moving Growing \u003c/em>is the latest in a string of especially strong shows at BAMPFA. The museum is, as executive director Julie Rodrigues Widholm writes in the catalog that accompanies this exhibition, “[committed] to increasing the visibility of influential women artists and generating new scholarship on their work.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13986355/theresa-hak-kyung-cha-multiple-offerings-bampfa-review\">Theresa Hak Kyung Cha\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/event/wrenching-news-workshops\">Amalia Mesa-Bains\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916997/alison-knowles-retrospective-fluxus-bampfa-review\">Alison Knowles\u003c/a> retrospectives were all part of this effort. Even more exciting is the way these shows allow contemporary audiences to plot the connections between artists, thanks to the combined (if perhaps unintentional) efforts of multiple Bay Area institutions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I was delighted, for instance, to see Suzanne Jackson’s name in Hassinger’s chronology. Jackson, the subject of a recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13982215/sfmoma-suzanne-jackson-what-is-love-review\">San Francisco Museum of Modern Art retrospective\u003c/a>, selected Hassinger as one of 10 artists to receive a public art commission through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), a WPA-style employment program, in 1978. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Presenting histories like these highlights not just individual artists’ accomplishments, but their equally important networks of collaboration and support. So many of Hassinger’s works are the result of these types of relationships — artworks made by many bodies and with the help of many hands. \u003cem>Pais/Ascension\u003c/em> (1976/2022) illustrates it perfectly: two wire ropes lean against a wall and towards each other, their ends splaying outward, overlapping and entwining.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/maren-hassinger\">Maren Hassinger: Living Moving Growing\u003c/a>’ is on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (2155 Center St., Berkeley) through Nov. 29, 2026.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "SF Theater Troupe Faces Reality of City’s New Demographics",
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"content": "\u003cp>Even by the eccentric standards of Bay Area theatre, the San Francisco Neo-Futurists are a sight to behold. The local chapter of the Chicago experimental troupe has built a loyal following by taking the original troupe’s format – a weekly anthology show that attempts to stage 30 performance-art shorts in under 60 minutes – and injecting it with a uniquely Bay Area perspective.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That perspective was important when casting their two special-themed June editions of their weekly show \u003cem>The Infinite Wrench\u003c/em>. While searching for actors to perform the Juneteenth-themed \u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> and the LGBTQIA+ show \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em>, the reality of the Bay Area’s new demographics were made manifest, and the company had to bring in cast members from outside chapters of the Neo-Futurists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because the New York and Chicago chapters have larger ensembles, “we don’t tend to go out there for their specialty shows,” says co-artistic director Jeb Lehrman. “Generally, though, San Francisco sees a few more visitors and transfers than the other companies.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990824\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘Infinite Pride’ at El Rio in San Francisco. (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As with the regular weekly shows, \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> will ask audiences to select from a menu of 30 short plays, with its writer-performers attempting to work their way through the entire list before the always-on-display clock buzzes at the end of an hour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Topics run the gamut, from hilarious observances of life, painful confessions to the audience and even the cast holding still until an audience member interacts with a set piece. By the troupe’s own estimation, the San Francisco chapter has “premiered some 4,000 plays over the last 13 years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also produces five or six special shows per year, with \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> (boasting an all-queer ensemble) having been staged annually since 2014. This year’s edition will be a two-night event, performed at legendary San Francisco queer bars El Rio and The Stud.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s generally a little easier to sell a specialty show,” says \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> cast member Aster Light. “The regular show happens every weekend, so it’s less of an event, and because all my friends are queer, they tend to be drawn in to see an all-queer cast sharing our stories and our culture.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990821\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the second annual \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> has been a tougher sell. The one-night show will be performed in Oakland, as if reflecting the mass migration of Black artists away from San Francisco. It’s also the show that required bringing in the most out-of-towners to fill an ensemble of just a half-dozen performers.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The parallels aren’t lost on Ray Ray Young, a San Francisco Neo-Futurist since 2023, and one whose Black and queer identities reflect the intersection between the two casts. (Of the two shows, Young is only in \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Honestly, this has been a multiyear effort in the making,” says Young, who’s led efforts to diversify the troupe, and has been instrumental in the production of \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Even with all of that effort, we still unfortunately don’t quite have enough Black Neo-Futurists in the Bay Area to fill a show like this.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>With one member from Chicago and one from New York, “[It’s] been really exciting to work with them,” Young says. “And it strengthens our Neo-Futurist practice to get to collaborate with members of different ensembles.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though some cast members were facetious about what audiences could expect in the two shows (one \u003cem>Pride\u003c/em> cast member celebrated “[feeling] so represented by gorilla masks and basketballs and arm-heavy choreography in this particular show”), all involved agree that their shows represent activism in the face of nationwide hatred against both Black and queer Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked whom they’d like most to see their show, Light is direct and uncompromising: “I hope the ghost of Charlie Kirk is forced to watch it on repeat in hell.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/the-lower-bottom-playaz/69f135bd4462ee1056dde748/\">\u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ takes place Friday, June 19, at BAM House (540 Broadway, Oakland).\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfneofuturists.org/pride\">\u003cem>‘Infinite Pride 2026\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ runs Monday, June 22, at El Rio (3158 Mission St., San Francisco) and Tuesday, June 23, at The Stud (1123 Folsom St., San Francisco).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That perspective was important when casting their two special-themed June editions of their weekly show \u003cem>The Infinite Wrench\u003c/em>. While searching for actors to perform the Juneteenth-themed \u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> and the LGBTQIA+ show \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em>, the reality of the Bay Area’s new demographics were made manifest, and the company had to bring in cast members from outside chapters of the Neo-Futurists.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because the New York and Chicago chapters have larger ensembles, “we don’t tend to go out there for their specialty shows,” says co-artistic director Jeb Lehrman. “Generally, though, San Francisco sees a few more visitors and transfers than the other companies.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990824\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘Infinite Pride’ at El Rio in San Francisco. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Topics run the gamut, from hilarious observances of life, painful confessions to the audience and even the cast holding still until an audience member interacts with a set piece. By the troupe’s own estimation, the San Francisco chapter has “premiered some 4,000 plays over the last 13 years.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It also produces five or six special shows per year, with \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> (boasting an all-queer ensemble) having been staged annually since 2014. This year’s edition will be a two-night event, performed at legendary San Francisco queer bars El Rio and The Stud.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think it’s generally a little easier to sell a specialty show,” says \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> cast member Aster Light. “The regular show happens every weekend, so it’s less of an event, and because all my friends are queer, they tend to be drawn in to see an all-queer cast sharing our stories and our culture.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990821\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the second annual \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> has been a tougher sell. The one-night show will be performed in Oakland, as if reflecting the mass migration of Black artists away from San Francisco. It’s also the show that required bringing in the most out-of-towners to fill an ensemble of just a half-dozen performers.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The parallels aren’t lost on Ray Ray Young, a San Francisco Neo-Futurist since 2023, and one whose Black and queer identities reflect the intersection between the two casts. (Of the two shows, Young is only in \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the second annual \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> has been a tougher sell. The one-night show will be performed in Oakland, as if reflecting the mass migration of Black artists away from San Francisco. It’s also the show that required bringing in the most out-of-towners to fill an ensemble of just a half-dozen performers.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The parallels aren’t lost on Ray Ray Young, a San Francisco Neo-Futurist since 2023, and one whose Black and queer identities reflect the intersection between the two casts. (Of the two shows, Young is only in \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Honestly, this has been a multiyear effort in the making,” says Young, who’s led efforts to diversify the troupe, and has been instrumental in the production of \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Even with all of that effort, we still unfortunately don’t quite have enough Black Neo-Futurists in the Bay Area to fill a show like this.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>With one member from Chicago and one from New York, “[It’s] been really exciting to work with them,” Young says. “And it strengthens our Neo-Futurist practice to get to collaborate with members of different ensembles.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/the-lower-bottom-playaz/69f135bd4462ee1056dde748/\">\u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ takes place Friday, June 19, at BAM House (540 Broadway, Oakland).\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfneofuturists.org/pride\">\u003cem>‘Infinite Pride 2026\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ runs Monday, June 22, at El Rio (3158 Mission St., San Francisco) and Tuesday, June 23, at The Stud (1123 Folsom St., San Francisco).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "For a special all-Black show, the San Francisco Neo-Futurists have imported actors from outside the region.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even by the eccentric standards of Bay Area theatre, the San Francisco Neo-Futurists are a sight to behold. The local chapter of the Chicago experimental troupe has built a loyal following by taking the original troupe’s format – a weekly anthology show that attempts to stage 30 performance-art shorts in under 60 minutes – and injecting it with a uniquely Bay Area perspective.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That perspective was important when casting their two special-themed June editions of their weekly show \u003cem>The Infinite Wrench\u003c/em>. While searching for actors to perform the Juneteenth-themed \u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> and the LGBTQIA+ show \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em>, the reality of the Bay Area’s new demographics were made manifest, and the company had to bring in cast members from outside chapters of the Neo-Futurists.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because the New York and Chicago chapters have larger ensembles, “we don’t tend to go out there for their specialty shows,” says co-artistic director Jeb Lehrman. “Generally, though, San Francisco sees a few more visitors and transfers than the other companies.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990824\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-2025-Infinite-Pride-El-Rio-84-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘Infinite Pride’ at El Rio in San Francisco. (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As with the regular weekly shows, \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> will ask audiences to select from a menu of 30 short plays, with its writer-performers attempting to work their way through the entire list before the always-on-display clock buzzes at the end of an hour.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Topics run the gamut, from hilarious observances of life, painful confessions to the audience and even the cast holding still until an audience member interacts with a set piece. By the troupe’s own estimation, the San Francisco chapter has “premiered some 4,000 plays over the last 13 years.”\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 also produces five or six special shows per year, with \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> (boasting an all-queer ensemble) having been staged annually since 2014. This year’s edition will be a two-night event, performed at legendary San Francisco queer bars El Rio and The Stud.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think it’s generally a little easier to sell a specialty show,” says \u003cem>Infinite Pride\u003c/em> cast member Aster Light. “The regular show happens every weekend, so it’s less of an event, and because all my friends are queer, they tend to be drawn in to see an all-queer cast sharing our stories and our culture.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990821\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-125-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the second annual \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em> has been a tougher sell. The one-night show will be performed in Oakland, as if reflecting the mass migration of Black artists away from San Francisco. It’s also the show that required bringing in the most out-of-towners to fill an ensemble of just a half-dozen performers.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The parallels aren’t lost on Ray Ray Young, a San Francisco Neo-Futurist since 2023, and one whose Black and queer identities reflect the intersection between the two casts. (Of the two shows, Young is only in \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Honestly, this has been a multiyear effort in the making,” says Young, who’s led efforts to diversify the troupe, and has been instrumental in the production of \u003cem>Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Even with all of that effort, we still unfortunately don’t quite have enough Black Neo-Futurists in the Bay Area to fill a show like this.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>With one member from Chicago and one from New York, “[It’s] been really exciting to work with them,” Young says. “And it strengthens our Neo-Futurist practice to get to collaborate with members of different ensembles.”\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/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/SFNF-The-Blackest-Wrench-34-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A scene from the 2025 edition of the SF Neo-Futurists’ ‘The Blackest Wrench.’ (Kayleigh Shawn)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though some cast members were facetious about what audiences could expect in the two shows (one \u003cem>Pride\u003c/em> cast member celebrated “[feeling] so represented by gorilla masks and basketballs and arm-heavy choreography in this particular show”), all involved agree that their shows represent activism in the face of nationwide hatred against both Black and queer Americans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked whom they’d like most to see their show, Light is direct and uncompromising: “I hope the ghost of Charlie Kirk is forced to watch it on repeat in hell.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/the-lower-bottom-playaz/69f135bd4462ee1056dde748/\">\u003cem>The Blackest Wrench\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ takes place Friday, June 19, at BAM House (540 Broadway, Oakland).\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfneofuturists.org/pride\">\u003cem>‘Infinite Pride 2026\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>’ runs Monday, June 22, at El Rio (3158 Mission St., San Francisco) and Tuesday, June 23, at The Stud (1123 Folsom St., San Francisco).\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Jonathan Kiefer knows a little something about the inertia and distractions that can keep you from getting out of the house. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite being a bona fide film buff — Kiefer is a filmmaker, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/roxie-theater\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a> employee, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/california-college-of-the-arts\">California College of the Arts\u003c/a> film professor — he was surprised “and a little sad” at how rarely he was actually going to the movies. Earlier this year, he decided to take matters into his own hands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vitalsignsfilms.substack.com/\">Vital Signs Film Series\u003c/a> (aka “monthly proof of cinematic life”) launched last month at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.shapeshifterscinema.com/\">Shapeshifters Cinema\u003c/a>, a 40-seat theater best known for its experimental offerings. What Kiefer pitched wasn’t their ordinary fare — 16mm shorts, expanded cinema events, DIY workshops — but Kathleen Quillian and Gilbert Guerrero, Shapeshifters’ founders, were game. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Outside of the experimental film and the programming that we do, how do we just keep expanding?” Gilbert says. “We have this space, it’s just sitting here empty.” Why not host a weekend matinee? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series kicked off on May 2 with the prolific South Korean director Hong Sansoo’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://vitalsignsfilms.substack.com/p/may-3-what-does-that-nature-say-to\">What Does That Nature Say to You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. A short animation by fellow CCA faculty member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kotaezawa.com/\">Kota Ezawa\u003c/a> opened the program. The series’ second offering, Caroline Golum’s \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em>, screens this Sunday, June 21.\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://youtu.be/QuKics1aoFc?si=qapEP1Mh2JBpxCqt\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Vital Signs hopes to fill an untapped niche in the Bay Area film ecosystem. Not quite experimental and not quite mainstream, Vital Signs movies might be touring the international film festival circuit; they likely won’t be playing on a Bay Area screen anytime soon. Kiefer describes them as “adventurous stuff that is kind of indie, art house, slightly strange, noncommercial, very boutique offerings.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll wind up on the streaming platforms,” he explains. “But then with this type of film especially, it’s not as good just to watch it at home as it is to be in even a small room with just a few people.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Made on a budget of around $200,000, \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em> tells the story of the 14th-century Christian mystic \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich\">Julian of Norwich\u003c/a>, who recounted her visions in what is now considered the oldest surviving English-language text written by a woman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might think this is going to be cheeky to a point of detachment and super hipster, holding the audience at arm’s length, but it’s a very sincere piece,” Kiefer says. “And it’s really beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Golum, who’s based in Brooklyn, will be in attendance for a Q&A after the Shapeshifters screening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000.jpg\" alt=\"small crowd in theater seats looking at screen with multiple projectors running behind them\" class=\"wp-image-13990808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-768x505.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-1536x1011.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Too Much is Never Enough,’ a collaborative expanded cinema performance at Shapeshifters Cinema on Feb. 6, 2025 (Courtesy of Shapeshifters Cinema)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kiefer’s pitch came just as Shapeshifters was making its own ask. In March, the cinema launched a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shapeshifters-cinema-brewery-cafe\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to raise $60,000 to help cover immediate expenses. “The biggest donor to our organization over the years has been an unnamed shadow donor,” the GoFundMe explains, “and that has been us — the founding directors — who have kept the engine running with regular financial infusions from out of our own pockets.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded in 2012, Shapeshifters Cinema started as a monthly experimental film series, first at Oakland’s Arbor Cafe, then at the Temescal Arts Center. Since 2019, they’ve operated a microcinema and brewery in a Victorian near Jack London Square (Guerrero is an award-winning brewer). In 2023 they took over the next-door cafe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While workshop fees, rentals and food and beer sales help sustain the operation, Guerrero says Shapeshifters isn’t yet profitable. “From the business side of it, it’s just how do we get people to come in so we can pay the rent,” Guerrero says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the first Vital Signs screening didn’t have a huge turnout, Quillian says, the people who came \u003cem>were\u003c/em> first-time visitors. “That is something we’re excited about,” she says. “It’s going to open up space for people who are not necessarily into short experimental or performative work.” After all, it’s Shapeshifters’ fan base, now growing, that helped them raise over $53,000 in two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kiefer is well aware of the factors at play in the current arts funding landscape — and the importance of artist-run places like Shapeshifters. He tried to impart the lessons of indie filmmaking to his CCA students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Make what you can with what you have,” he says he told them. “Understand that institutions may or may not be helpful, or if they are, it might be in a limited way or for a limited time. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985413/california-college-of-the-arts-sfai-mills-art-school-closures\">closing of the school\u003c/a> seems like a brutal but effective example of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Vital Signs puts that indie mentality into practice, building a community of adventurous moviegoers one hard-to-see film at a time. Ben Rivers’ \u003ca href=\"https://grasshopperfilm.com/film/mares-nest/\">\u003cem>Mare’s Nest\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is scheduled for July 5, Patrick Wang’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://keithuhlich.substack.com/p/a-rimbaud\">A. Rimbaud\u003c/a>\u003c/em> for Aug. 2. Future screenings will include Artemis Shaw’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.artemisshaw.com/eye\">\u003cem>Removal of the Eye\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Sofia Bohdanowicz’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sofiabohdanowicz.com/films-1/measures-for-a-funeral\">\u003cem>Measures for a Funeral\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s no accident the series launched in spring, Kiefer says: “You start to see flowers blooming, and there’s a hope that’s associated with that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/shapeshifterscinema/2202635\">Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/a>’ screens Sunday, June 21, at 2 p.m. at Shapeshifters Cinema (857 5th St., Oakland). Director Caroline Golum will be in attendance.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The series kicked off on May 2 with the prolific South Korean director Hong Sansoo’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://vitalsignsfilms.substack.com/p/may-3-what-does-that-nature-say-to\">What Does That Nature Say to You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. A short animation by fellow CCA faculty member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kotaezawa.com/\">Kota Ezawa\u003c/a> opened the program. The series’ second offering, Caroline Golum’s \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em>, screens this Sunday, June 21.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Vital Signs hopes to fill an untapped niche in the Bay Area film ecosystem. Not quite experimental and not quite mainstream, Vital Signs movies might be touring the international film festival circuit; they likely won’t be playing on a Bay Area screen anytime soon. Kiefer describes them as “adventurous stuff that is kind of indie, art house, slightly strange, noncommercial, very boutique offerings.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll wind up on the streaming platforms,” he explains. “But then with this type of film especially, it’s not as good just to watch it at home as it is to be in even a small room with just a few people.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Made on a budget of around $200,000, \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em> tells the story of the 14th-century Christian mystic \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich\">Julian of Norwich\u003c/a>, who recounted her visions in what is now considered the oldest surviving English-language text written by a woman. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You might think this is going to be cheeky to a point of detachment and super hipster, holding the audience at arm’s length, but it’s a very sincere piece,” Kiefer says. “And it’s really beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Golum, who’s based in Brooklyn, will be in attendance for a Q&A after the Shapeshifters screening.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kiefer’s pitch came just as Shapeshifters was making its own ask. In March, the cinema launched a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shapeshifters-cinema-brewery-cafe\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to raise $60,000 to help cover immediate expenses. “The biggest donor to our organization over the years has been an unnamed shadow donor,” the GoFundMe explains, “and that has been us — the founding directors — who have kept the engine running with regular financial infusions from out of our own pockets.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Founded in 2012, Shapeshifters Cinema started as a monthly experimental film series, first at Oakland’s Arbor Cafe, then at the Temescal Arts Center. Since 2019, they’ve operated a microcinema and brewery in a Victorian near Jack London Square (Guerrero is an award-winning brewer). In 2023 they took over the next-door cafe.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While workshop fees, rentals and food and beer sales help sustain the operation, Guerrero says Shapeshifters isn’t yet profitable. “From the business side of it, it’s just how do we get people to come in so we can pay the rent,” Guerrero says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the first Vital Signs screening didn’t have a huge turnout, Quillian says, the people who came \u003cem>were\u003c/em> first-time visitors. “That is something we’re excited about,” she says. “It’s going to open up space for people who are not necessarily into short experimental or performative work.” After all, it’s Shapeshifters’ fan base, now growing, that helped them raise over $53,000 in two weeks.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kiefer is well aware of the factors at play in the current arts funding landscape — and the importance of artist-run places like Shapeshifters. He tried to impart the lessons of indie filmmaking to his CCA students. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Make what you can with what you have,” he says he told them. “Understand that institutions may or may not be helpful, or if they are, it might be in a limited way or for a limited time. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985413/california-college-of-the-arts-sfai-mills-art-school-closures\">closing of the school\u003c/a> seems like a brutal but effective example of that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Vital Signs puts that indie mentality into practice, building a community of adventurous moviegoers one hard-to-see film at a time. Ben Rivers’ \u003ca href=\"https://grasshopperfilm.com/film/mares-nest/\">\u003cem>Mare’s Nest\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is scheduled for July 5, Patrick Wang’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://keithuhlich.substack.com/p/a-rimbaud\">A. Rimbaud\u003c/a>\u003c/em> for Aug. 2. Future screenings will include Artemis Shaw’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.artemisshaw.com/eye\">\u003cem>Removal of the Eye\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Sofia Bohdanowicz’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sofiabohdanowicz.com/films-1/measures-for-a-funeral\">\u003cem>Measures for a Funeral\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s no accident the series launched in spring, Kiefer says: “You start to see flowers blooming, and there’s a hope that’s associated with that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/shapeshifterscinema/2202635\">Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/a>’ screens Sunday, June 21, at 2 p.m. at Shapeshifters Cinema (857 5th St., Oakland). Director Caroline Golum will be in attendance.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Jonathan Kiefer knows a little something about the inertia and distractions that can keep you from getting out of the house. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite being a bona fide film buff — Kiefer is a filmmaker, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/roxie-theater\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a> employee, and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/california-college-of-the-arts\">California College of the Arts\u003c/a> film professor — he was surprised “and a little sad” at how rarely he was actually going to the movies. Earlier this year, he decided to take matters into his own hands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://vitalsignsfilms.substack.com/\">Vital Signs Film Series\u003c/a> (aka “monthly proof of cinematic life”) launched last month at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.shapeshifterscinema.com/\">Shapeshifters Cinema\u003c/a>, a 40-seat theater best known for its experimental offerings. What Kiefer pitched wasn’t their ordinary fare — 16mm shorts, expanded cinema events, DIY workshops — but Kathleen Quillian and Gilbert Guerrero, Shapeshifters’ founders, were game. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Outside of the experimental film and the programming that we do, how do we just keep expanding?” Gilbert says. “We have this space, it’s just sitting here empty.” Why not host a weekend matinee? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The series kicked off on May 2 with the prolific South Korean director Hong Sansoo’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://vitalsignsfilms.substack.com/p/may-3-what-does-that-nature-say-to\">What Does That Nature Say to You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. A short animation by fellow CCA faculty member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kotaezawa.com/\">Kota Ezawa\u003c/a> opened the program. The series’ second offering, Caroline Golum’s \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em>, screens this Sunday, June 21.\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/QuKics1aoFc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QuKics1aoFc'\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>Vital Signs hopes to fill an untapped niche in the Bay Area film ecosystem. Not quite experimental and not quite mainstream, Vital Signs movies might be touring the international film festival circuit; they likely won’t be playing on a Bay Area screen anytime soon. Kiefer describes them as “adventurous stuff that is kind of indie, art house, slightly strange, noncommercial, very boutique offerings.”\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>“Maybe if you’re lucky, they’ll wind up on the streaming platforms,” he explains. “But then with this type of film especially, it’s not as good just to watch it at home as it is to be in even a small room with just a few people.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Made on a budget of around $200,000, \u003cem>Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/em> tells the story of the 14th-century Christian mystic \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich\">Julian of Norwich\u003c/a>, who recounted her visions in what is now considered the oldest surviving English-language text written by a woman. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might think this is going to be cheeky to a point of detachment and super hipster, holding the audience at arm’s length, but it’s a very sincere piece,” Kiefer says. “And it’s really beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Golum, who’s based in Brooklyn, will be in attendance for a Q&A after the Shapeshifters screening.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000.jpg\" alt=\"small crowd in theater seats looking at screen with multiple projectors running behind them\" class=\"wp-image-13990808\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-768x505.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Too-Much-is-Never-Enough_02-06-25_2000-1536x1011.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘Too Much is Never Enough,’ a collaborative expanded cinema performance at Shapeshifters Cinema on Feb. 6, 2025 (Courtesy of Shapeshifters Cinema)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kiefer’s pitch came just as Shapeshifters was making its own ask. In March, the cinema launched a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shapeshifters-cinema-brewery-cafe\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to raise $60,000 to help cover immediate expenses. “The biggest donor to our organization over the years has been an unnamed shadow donor,” the GoFundMe explains, “and that has been us — the founding directors — who have kept the engine running with regular financial infusions from out of our own pockets.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Founded in 2012, Shapeshifters Cinema started as a monthly experimental film series, first at Oakland’s Arbor Cafe, then at the Temescal Arts Center. Since 2019, they’ve operated a microcinema and brewery in a Victorian near Jack London Square (Guerrero is an award-winning brewer). In 2023 they took over the next-door cafe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While workshop fees, rentals and food and beer sales help sustain the operation, Guerrero says Shapeshifters isn’t yet profitable. “From the business side of it, it’s just how do we get people to come in so we can pay the rent,” Guerrero says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the first Vital Signs screening didn’t have a huge turnout, Quillian says, the people who came \u003cem>were\u003c/em> first-time visitors. “That is something we’re excited about,” she says. “It’s going to open up space for people who are not necessarily into short experimental or performative work.” After all, it’s Shapeshifters’ fan base, now growing, that helped them raise over $53,000 in two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kiefer is well aware of the factors at play in the current arts funding landscape — and the importance of artist-run places like Shapeshifters. He tried to impart the lessons of indie filmmaking to his CCA students. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Make what you can with what you have,” he says he told them. “Understand that institutions may or may not be helpful, or if they are, it might be in a limited way or for a limited time. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985413/california-college-of-the-arts-sfai-mills-art-school-closures\">closing of the school\u003c/a> seems like a brutal but effective example of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Vital Signs puts that indie mentality into practice, building a community of adventurous moviegoers one hard-to-see film at a time. Ben Rivers’ \u003ca href=\"https://grasshopperfilm.com/film/mares-nest/\">\u003cem>Mare’s Nest\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is scheduled for July 5, Patrick Wang’s \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://keithuhlich.substack.com/p/a-rimbaud\">A. Rimbaud\u003c/a>\u003c/em> for Aug. 2. Future screenings will include Artemis Shaw’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.artemisshaw.com/eye\">\u003cem>Removal of the Eye\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Sofia Bohdanowicz’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sofiabohdanowicz.com/films-1/measures-for-a-funeral\">\u003cem>Measures for a Funeral\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s no accident the series launched in spring, Kiefer says: “You start to see flowers blooming, and there’s a hope that’s associated with that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/shapeshifterscinema/2202635\">Revelations of Divine Love\u003c/a>’ screens Sunday, June 21, at 2 p.m. at Shapeshifters Cinema (857 5th St., Oakland). Director Caroline Golum will be in attendance.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Riding the New York City subway or walking on the streets of the West Village these days, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lorinbenedict/\">Loren Benedict\u003c/a> isn’t surprised when he’s recognized by fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In describing the freakish niche fame he’s attained in his mid-50s as a truly singular jazz vocalist, Benedict sounds amused but not mystified. The singer talks about the phenomenon with scientific detachment, befitting his day gig as a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I play places now, the venue is packed with a bunch of young musicians,” he says in a recent interview from his home in Emeryville. “It’s a pretty serious thing now.”\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=TU3DWucrVrc\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His social media-fueled notoriety has followed him home to the Bay Area, where Benedict’s been attracting double-takes since the 1990s with his uncanny vocals. Mentored by alto saxophone conceptualist Steve Coleman, Benedict honed a practice that centers on improvising with a syllabic vocabulary that sounds like it should be intelligible as a language, but isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s not unfair to call Benedict a scat singer. But jazz vocalists generally use scatting to solo like horn players, utilizing familiar onomatopoeias like “toodle-oot” and “dwee-bop” over chord changes to improvise melodic extensions. Benedict virtually never sings the tried-and-true scat singer’s fare, and instead deploys his own self-invented palette of vowels and consonants with a narrative flow that emerges like its own unusual song.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After contributing to the 2004 Steve Coleman and Five Elements album \u003cem>Lucidarium\u003c/em>, Benedict began collaborating with some of the Bay Area’s most adventurous artists. He’s recorded with guitarist John Scott’s Typical Orchestra, and is on saxophonist Howard Wiley’s albums inspired by music from Louisiana’s Angola State Prison: 2007’s \u003cem>The Angola Project\u003c/em> and 2010’s \u003cem>12 Gates to the City\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-1536x972.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lorin Benedict performs during SF Music Day at the War Memorial Performing Arts Center with drummer Marcos Morales and pianist Odalys Caro. (Scott Chernis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the past two decades, his most consistent ensemble has been the Holly Martins with saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and guitarist Eric Vogler, an eclectic-minded trio named after Joseph Cotten’s character in the classic 1949 film noir \u003cem>The Third Man\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Benedict didn’t really become widely known until 2022, when Los Angeles bassist Logan Kane gave him a key suggestion. While recording a duo album with Benedict, Kane, a Pleasanton native who got his start on the Bay Area music scene, noted that Benedict’s videos weren’t attracting much attention on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He said, ‘If you put them on Instagram, they’d take off,’” Benedict recalls. “Now I have way more followers than he has.”\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=CyTUjxF0Ol4\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Indeed, everyone wants an imaginary word with Benedict these days. He makes regular trips to New York, where he collaborates with some of the most celebrated musicians on the scene. In a success feedback loop, his name attracts audiences, which makes it easier to land plum engagements.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a series of gigs with jazz heavyweights in Los Angeles, including piano star Gerald Clayton, he’s got a wide array of activities in the Bay Area this month, including sitting in for several pieces at \u003ca href=\"https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/\">Mr. Tipple’s June 12\u003c/a> with New York saxophonist Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee, a rising player Benedict’s known since Nakadegawa-Lee was a student at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I cast a fairly wide net in terms of the music I like and participate in, and Nathan is like that, too,” Benedict says. “He’s very good at straight-ahead jazz, but extremely interested in free improv and other ways of organizing collective improvisation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Benedict is part of a multi-act evening curated by electronic musician Max Abner that includes geospatial projection artist Eric Theise and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm at the underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/beautysupply.arts/?hl=en\">Beauty Supply Arts in Oakland\u003c/a> on June 13, and joins Portland singer/songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://dice.fm/event/8egl7v-starry-eyed-cadet-baystar-bendrethegiant-and-the-revelator-17th-jun-kilowatt-san-francisco-tickets?pid=ff10e59d&_branch_match_id=1589324060205857097&utm_medium=partners_api&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9ZLyUxO1UvL1XdKSzU1MzO3NEk0NLcvyEyxTUszNEg1tUxRqytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAZvGppEgAAAA%3D\">BendreTheGiant on June 17\u003c/a> at Kilowatt in the Mission as part of a triple bill. And after years of attending jam sessions, he’s been asked to host the \u003ca href=\"Five%20Points%20jam%20session%20in%20San%20Jose\">session at Five Points\u003c/a> in San Jose on July 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No gig better captures Benedict’s ascension into the jazz firmament than his invitation to join piano star Taylor Eigsti’s concert at the \u003ca href=\"https://stanfordjazz.org/event/taylor-eigsti-quartet/\">Stanford Jazz Festival July 30\u003c/a> with vocalist Gretchen Parlato and North Carolina \u003ca href=\"ZachGrooves\">drummer Zack Grooves\u003c/a> (another artist who parlayed regional renown into social media fame via his YouTube channel).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eigsti, who’s won two Grammy Awards in recent years, realized that Benedict had broken through to younger musicians when he sat in at a Stanford Jazz Workshop jam session a few years ago “and every kid had their phone out,” he says. “They all knew about Lorin.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1506\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-768x578.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-1536x1157.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lorin Benedict, shown singing with pianist Santiago Liebson and bassist Jeong Lim Yang. (Rebecca Nako)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scat singing can be an acquired taste, and far too many mediocre practitioners have imbued it with an aura of cringe that can obscure the virtuosic flights of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Bobby McFerrin. In Benedict’s case, his vocabulary has a way of spilling off the stage, says Eigsti. He and his wife, cellist Marta Bagratuni, “try to speak to each other in Lorin’s language. Gretchen Parlato does that too. He’s been doing this for so long, he’s a legend.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His legend is fed by the fact that he spends his days crunching data regarding equations of state, which measure the relationship between the pressure applied to a material, its density, and the amount of energy it stores. Does he apply his physics background to his musical pyrotechnics?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It would be a much more interesting story if there was an overt connection, but there isn’t,” Benedict says. “My view is that there’s a limited amount you can communicate about science or math that’s purely auditory. It’s a real stretch to tell a story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, with social media, Benedict’s stories have entered jazz’s mainstream, adding a bracing dose of weirdness that’s in far too short supply.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-1536x972.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lorin Benedict performs during SF Music Day at the War Memorial Performing Arts Center with drummer Marcos Morales and pianist Odalys Caro.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the past two decades, his most consistent ensemble has been the Holly Martins with saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and guitarist Eric Vogler, an eclectic-minded trio named after Joseph Cotten’s character in the classic 1949 film noir \u003cem>The Third Man\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For the past two decades, his most consistent ensemble has been the Holly Martins with saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and guitarist Eric Vogler, an eclectic-minded trio named after Joseph Cotten’s character in the classic 1949 film noir \u003cem>The Third Man\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But Benedict didn’t really become widely known until 2022, when Los Angeles bassist Logan Kane gave him a key suggestion. While recording a duo album with Benedict, Kane, a Pleasanton native who got his start on the Bay Area music scene, noted that Benedict’s videos weren’t attracting much attention on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But Benedict didn’t really become widely known until 2022, when Los Angeles bassist Logan Kane gave him a key suggestion. While recording a duo album with Benedict, Kane, a Pleasanton native who got his start on the Bay Area music scene, noted that Benedict’s videos weren’t attracting much attention on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He said, ‘If you put them on Instagram, they’d take off,’” Benedict recalls. “Now I have way more followers than he has.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He said, ‘If you put them on Instagram, they’d take off,’” Benedict recalls. “Now I have way more followers than he has.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Indeed, everyone wants an imaginary word with Benedict these days. He makes regular trips to New York, where he collaborates with some of the most celebrated musicians on the scene. In a success feedback loop, his name attracts audiences, which makes it easier to land plum engagements.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a series of gigs with jazz heavyweights in Los Angeles, including piano star Gerald Clayton, he’s got a wide array of activities in the Bay Area this month, including sitting in for several pieces at \u003ca href=\"https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/\">Mr. Tipple’s June 12\u003c/a> with New York saxophonist Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee, a rising player Benedict’s known since Nakadegawa-Lee was a student at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a series of gigs with jazz heavyweights in Los Angeles, including piano star Gerald Clayton, he’s got a wide array of activities in the Bay Area this month, including sitting in for several pieces at \u003ca href=\"https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/\">Mr. Tipple’s June 12\u003c/a> with New York saxophonist Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee, a rising player Benedict’s known since Nakadegawa-Lee was a student at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I cast a fairly wide net in terms of the music I like and participate in, and Nathan is like that, too,” Benedict says. “He’s very good at straight-ahead jazz, but extremely interested in free improv and other ways of organizing collective improvisation.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I cast a fairly wide net in terms of the music I like and participate in, and Nathan is like that, too,” Benedict says. “He’s very good at straight-ahead jazz, but extremely interested in free improv and other ways of organizing collective improvisation.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Benedict is part of a multi-act evening curated by electronic musician Max Abner that includes geospatial projection artist Eric Theise and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm at the underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/beautysupply.arts/?hl=en\">Beauty Supply Arts in Oakland\u003c/a> on June 13, and joins Portland singer/songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://dice.fm/event/8egl7v-starry-eyed-cadet-baystar-bendrethegiant-and-the-revelator-17th-jun-kilowatt-san-francisco-tickets?pid=ff10e59d&_branch_match_id=1589324060205857097&utm_medium=partners_api&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9ZLyUxO1UvL1XdKSzU1MzO3NEk0NLcvyEyxTUszNEg1tUxRqytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAZvGppEgAAAA%3D\">BendreTheGiant on June 17\u003c/a> at Kilowatt in the Mission as part of a triple bill. And after years of attending jam sessions, he’s been asked to host the \u003ca href=\"Five%20Points%20jam%20session%20in%20San%20Jose\">session at Five Points\u003c/a> in San Jose on July 13.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>No gig better captures Benedict’s ascension into the jazz firmament than his invitation to join piano star Taylor Eigsti’s concert at the \u003ca href=\"https://stanfordjazz.org/event/taylor-eigsti-quartet/\">Stanford Jazz Festival July 30\u003c/a> with vocalist Gretchen Parlato and North Carolina \u003ca href=\"ZachGrooves\">drummer Zack Grooves\u003c/a> (another artist who parlayed regional renown into social media fame via his YouTube channel).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>No gig better captures Benedict’s ascension into the jazz firmament than his invitation to join piano star Taylor Eigsti’s concert at the \u003ca href=\"https://stanfordjazz.org/event/taylor-eigsti-quartet/\">Stanford Jazz Festival July 30\u003c/a> with vocalist Gretchen Parlato and North Carolina \u003ca href=\"ZachGrooves\">drummer Zack Grooves\u003c/a> (another artist who parlayed regional renown into social media fame via his YouTube channel).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Eigsti, who’s won two Grammy Awards in recent years, realized that Benedict had broken through to younger musicians when he sat in at a Stanford Jazz Workshop jam session a few years ago “and every kid had their phone out,” he says. “They all knew about Lorin.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Eigsti, who’s won two Grammy Awards in recent years, realized that Benedict had broken through to younger musicians when he sat in at a Stanford Jazz Workshop jam session a few years ago “and every kid had their phone out,” he says. “They all knew about Lorin.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Scat singing can be an acquired taste, and far too many mediocre practitioners have imbued it with an aura of cringe that can obscure the virtuosic flights of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Bobby McFerrin. In Benedict’s case, his vocabulary has a way of spilling off the stage, says Eigsti. He and his wife, cellist Marta Bagratuni, “try to speak to each other in Lorin’s language. Gretchen Parlato does that too. He’s been doing this for so long, he’s a legend.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>His legend is fed by the fact that he spends his days crunching data regarding equations of state, which measure the relationship between the pressure applied to a material, its density, and the amount of energy it stores. Does he apply his physics background to his musical pyrotechnics?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>His legend is fed by the fact that he spends his days crunching data regarding equations of state, which measure the relationship between the pressure applied to a material, its density, and the amount of energy it stores. Does he apply his physics background to his musical pyrotechnics?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It would be a much more interesting story if there was an overt connection, but there isn’t,” Benedict says. “My view is that there’s a limited amount you can communicate about science or math that’s purely auditory. It’s a real stretch to tell a story.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It would be a much more interesting story if there was an overt connection, but there isn’t,” Benedict says. “My view is that there’s a limited amount you can communicate about science or math that’s purely auditory. It’s a real stretch to tell a story.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Riding the New York City subway or walking on the streets of the West Village these days, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lorinbenedict/\">Loren Benedict\u003c/a> isn’t surprised when he’s recognized by fans.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In describing the freakish niche fame he’s attained in his mid-50s as a truly singular jazz vocalist, Benedict sounds amused but not mystified. The singer talks about the phenomenon with scientific detachment, befitting his day gig as a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I play places now, the venue is packed with a bunch of young musicians,” he says in a recent interview from his home in Emeryville. “It’s a pretty serious thing now.”\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/TU3DWucrVrc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/TU3DWucrVrc'\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>His social media-fueled notoriety has followed him home to the Bay Area, where Benedict’s been attracting double-takes since the 1990s with his uncanny vocals. Mentored by alto saxophone conceptualist Steve Coleman, Benedict honed a practice that centers on improvising with a syllabic vocabulary that sounds like it should be intelligible as a language, but isn’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s not unfair to call Benedict a scat singer. But jazz vocalists generally use scatting to solo like horn players, utilizing familiar onomatopoeias like “toodle-oot” and “dwee-bop” over chord changes to improvise melodic extensions. Benedict virtually never sings the tried-and-true scat singer’s fare, and instead deploys his own self-invented palette of vowels and consonants with a narrative flow that emerges like its own unusual song.\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>After contributing to the 2004 Steve Coleman and Five Elements album \u003cem>Lucidarium\u003c/em>, Benedict began collaborating with some of the Bay Area’s most adventurous artists. He’s recorded with guitarist John Scott’s Typical Orchestra, and is on saxophonist Howard Wiley’s albums inspired by music from Louisiana’s Angola State Prison: 2007’s \u003cem>The Angola Project\u003c/em> and 2010’s \u003cem>12 Gates to the City\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990605\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LB-Marcos-Morales-Odalys-Caro-photo-by-Scott-Chernis-1536x972.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lorin Benedict performs during SF Music Day at the War Memorial Performing Arts Center with drummer Marcos Morales and pianist Odalys Caro. (Scott Chernis)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the past two decades, his most consistent ensemble has been the Holly Martins with saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and guitarist Eric Vogler, an eclectic-minded trio named after Joseph Cotten’s character in the classic 1949 film noir \u003cem>The Third Man\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Benedict didn’t really become widely known until 2022, when Los Angeles bassist Logan Kane gave him a key suggestion. While recording a duo album with Benedict, Kane, a Pleasanton native who got his start on the Bay Area music scene, noted that Benedict’s videos weren’t attracting much attention on Facebook.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He said, ‘If you put them on Instagram, they’d take off,’” Benedict recalls. “Now I have way more followers than he has.”\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/CyTUjxF0Ol4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CyTUjxF0Ol4'\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>Indeed, everyone wants an imaginary word with Benedict these days. He makes regular trips to New York, where he collaborates with some of the most celebrated musicians on the scene. In a success feedback loop, his name attracts audiences, which makes it easier to land plum engagements.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a series of gigs with jazz heavyweights in Los Angeles, including piano star Gerald Clayton, he’s got a wide array of activities in the Bay Area this month, including sitting in for several pieces at \u003ca href=\"https://mrtipplessf.com/calendar/\">Mr. Tipple’s June 12\u003c/a> with New York saxophonist Nathan Nakadegawa-Lee, a rising player Benedict’s known since Nakadegawa-Lee was a student at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I cast a fairly wide net in terms of the music I like and participate in, and Nathan is like that, too,” Benedict says. “He’s very good at straight-ahead jazz, but extremely interested in free improv and other ways of organizing collective improvisation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Benedict is part of a multi-act evening curated by electronic musician Max Abner that includes geospatial projection artist Eric Theise and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm at the underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/beautysupply.arts/?hl=en\">Beauty Supply Arts in Oakland\u003c/a> on June 13, and joins Portland singer/songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://dice.fm/event/8egl7v-starry-eyed-cadet-baystar-bendrethegiant-and-the-revelator-17th-jun-kilowatt-san-francisco-tickets?pid=ff10e59d&_branch_match_id=1589324060205857097&utm_medium=partners_api&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9ZLyUxO1UvL1XdKSzU1MzO3NEk0NLcvyEyxTUszNEg1tUxRqytKTUstKsrMS49PKsovL04tsnXOKMrPTQUAZvGppEgAAAA%3D\">BendreTheGiant on June 17\u003c/a> at Kilowatt in the Mission as part of a triple bill. And after years of attending jam sessions, he’s been asked to host the \u003ca href=\"Five%20Points%20jam%20session%20in%20San%20Jose\">session at Five Points\u003c/a> in San Jose on July 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>No gig better captures Benedict’s ascension into the jazz firmament than his invitation to join piano star Taylor Eigsti’s concert at the \u003ca href=\"https://stanfordjazz.org/event/taylor-eigsti-quartet/\">Stanford Jazz Festival July 30\u003c/a> with vocalist Gretchen Parlato and North Carolina \u003ca href=\"ZachGrooves\">drummer Zack Grooves\u003c/a> (another artist who parlayed regional renown into social media fame via his YouTube channel).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Eigsti, who’s won two Grammy Awards in recent years, realized that Benedict had broken through to younger musicians when he sat in at a Stanford Jazz Workshop jam session a few years ago “and every kid had their phone out,” he says. “They all knew about Lorin.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1506\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990607\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-768x578.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/LBLim-YangSantiago-LiebsonMark-Ferber-photo-by-Rebecca-Nako-1536x1157.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lorin Benedict, shown singing with pianist Santiago Liebson and bassist Jeong Lim Yang. (Rebecca Nako)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Scat singing can be an acquired taste, and far too many mediocre practitioners have imbued it with an aura of cringe that can obscure the virtuosic flights of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Bobby McFerrin. In Benedict’s case, his vocabulary has a way of spilling off the stage, says Eigsti. He and his wife, cellist Marta Bagratuni, “try to speak to each other in Lorin’s language. Gretchen Parlato does that too. He’s been doing this for so long, he’s a legend.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His legend is fed by the fact that he spends his days crunching data regarding equations of state, which measure the relationship between the pressure applied to a material, its density, and the amount of energy it stores. Does he apply his physics background to his musical pyrotechnics?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It would be a much more interesting story if there was an overt connection, but there isn’t,” Benedict says. “My view is that there’s a limited amount you can communicate about science or math that’s purely auditory. It’s a real stretch to tell a story.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, with social media, Benedict’s stories have entered jazz’s mainstream, adding a bracing dose of weirdness that’s in far too short supply.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"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. ",
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"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.",
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"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>",
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"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?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
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