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"title": "A Californian Two-Spot Octopus Named Terrance Is a TikTok Sensation",
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"content": "\u003cp>The one thing 9-year-old Cal Clifford wanted more than anything since he was a toddler was a pet octopus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boy’s family in rural Edmond, Oklahoma, humored him with toy versions of an eight-legged mollusk, but as Cal got older it became clear that only the real thing would do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13951961']The child’s father, 36-year-old dentist Cameron Clifford, researched the possibility with a local aquarium store and before long Terrance the California two-spot octopus, also known as a bimac, was living in a watery enclosure at the family home southwest of Oklahoma City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really like to encourage our children’s interests,” said the older Clifford. “It’s magical to see a kid embrace their dreams and bring them to fruition. Cal has been infatuated with the natural world and with marine biology since he was very little.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus\">popular TikTok saga\u003c/a> was launched with the father narrating the tale of Terrance the cephalopod, using a faux British accent generated by the social media app. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of people were following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7347009867028270382\" data-video-id=\"7347009867028270382\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> AW SHUCKS. \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwater\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwater?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwater\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Reggae Relaxante Base - Dance Comercial Music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Reggae-Relaxante-Base-7146231087398668290?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Reggae Relaxante Base – Dance Comercial Music\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, the tale took a surprise turn when it was learned Terrance was actually a female as she laid some 50 eggs that the family initially assumed were unfertilized. Several weeks after that, teeny near-transparent octopus babies began hatching and were given names like Rocket Larry, Squid Cudi, Swim Shady, Jay-Sea and Sea-Yoncé.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7353825745661250862\" data-video-id=\"7353825745661250862\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> AN OCTOPOSSE \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"octomom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octomom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octomom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"biology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/biology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#biology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"carpetcleaners\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/carpetcleaners?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#carpetcleaners\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Shoptopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7353825857968540462?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Shoptopus\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal had burst into tears at the family dinner table when his father first announced that the local aquarium store had told him adopting an octopus would be possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Father and son together researched what was needed, deciding on a saltwater tank and water cycling system and ensuring they would be able to source food for the soft-bodied sea creature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family’s younger son Lyle and mom Kari also joined the project in their own ways. A family friend who is a reptile scientist has provided support and advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While female octopuses usually die soon after laying their eggs, Clifford said Terrance remains alive four months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7355098970932153646\" data-video-id=\"7355098970932153646\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> FB Marketplace IYKYK \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Shoptopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7355099371962583851?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Shoptopus\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clifford said the family has gained much from the experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13955125']“Aside from the physical, financial and emotional requirements of owning a species such as a bimac, you will learn a lot about yourself in the process,” the Arizona-born Clifford told TikTok followers in his app-generated accent. “There’s always some valve or seal that’s not completely closed, and your storm resistant carpet isn’t rated for gallons and gallons of seawater. You’ll learn that seawater and electricity don’t always get along.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You will learn new things and meet incredible people and will learn that wildlife is magnificent,” he added. “But most of all, you’ll learn to love a not-so-tiny octopus like Terrance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7356635947531849002\" data-video-id=\"7356635947531849002\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> THANK YOU OCTO-NATION 🐙 ❤️ \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"biology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/biology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#biology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"carpetcleaners\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/carpetcleaners?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#carpetcleaners\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Elevator Music (Music Background) - Music Background & Easy Listening Background Music & Haruto Nakamori\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Elevator-Music-Music-Background-6841973391990212610?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Elevator Music (Music Background) – Music Background & Easy Listening Background Music & Haruto Nakamori\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A well-intentioned dad bought his son an octopus. Things got wildly out of hand once she started laying eggs...",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The one thing 9-year-old Cal Clifford wanted more than anything since he was a toddler was a pet octopus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boy’s family in rural Edmond, Oklahoma, humored him with toy versions of an eight-legged mollusk, but as Cal got older it became clear that only the real thing would do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The child’s father, 36-year-old dentist Cameron Clifford, researched the possibility with a local aquarium store and before long Terrance the California two-spot octopus, also known as a bimac, was living in a watery enclosure at the family home southwest of Oklahoma City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really like to encourage our children’s interests,” said the older Clifford. “It’s magical to see a kid embrace their dreams and bring them to fruition. Cal has been infatuated with the natural world and with marine biology since he was very little.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus\">popular TikTok saga\u003c/a> was launched with the father narrating the tale of Terrance the cephalopod, using a faux British accent generated by the social media app. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of people were following.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7347009867028270382\" data-video-id=\"7347009867028270382\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> AW SHUCKS. \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwater\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwater?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwater\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Reggae Relaxante Base - Dance Comercial Music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Reggae-Relaxante-Base-7146231087398668290?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Reggae Relaxante Base – Dance Comercial Music\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within weeks, the tale took a surprise turn when it was learned Terrance was actually a female as she laid some 50 eggs that the family initially assumed were unfertilized. Several weeks after that, teeny near-transparent octopus babies began hatching and were given names like Rocket Larry, Squid Cudi, Swim Shady, Jay-Sea and Sea-Yoncé.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7353825745661250862\" data-video-id=\"7353825745661250862\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> AN OCTOPOSSE \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"octomom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octomom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octomom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"biology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/biology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#biology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"carpetcleaners\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/carpetcleaners?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#carpetcleaners\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Shoptopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7353825857968540462?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Shoptopus\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cal had burst into tears at the family dinner table when his father first announced that the local aquarium store had told him adopting an octopus would be possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Father and son together researched what was needed, deciding on a saltwater tank and water cycling system and ensuring they would be able to source food for the soft-bodied sea creature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family’s younger son Lyle and mom Kari also joined the project in their own ways. A family friend who is a reptile scientist has provided support and advice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While female octopuses usually die soon after laying their eggs, Clifford said Terrance remains alive four months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7355098970932153646\" data-video-id=\"7355098970932153646\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> FB Marketplace IYKYK \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"aquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#aquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"clambake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/clambake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#clambake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"petoctopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/petoctopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#petoctopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Shoptopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7355099371962583851?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Shoptopus\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Aside from the physical, financial and emotional requirements of owning a species such as a bimac, you will learn a lot about yourself in the process,” the Arizona-born Clifford told TikTok followers in his app-generated accent. “There’s always some valve or seal that’s not completely closed, and your storm resistant carpet isn’t rated for gallons and gallons of seawater. You’ll learn that seawater and electricity don’t always get along.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You will learn new things and meet incredible people and will learn that wildlife is magnificent,” he added. “But most of all, you’ll learn to love a not-so-tiny octopus like Terrance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus/video/7356635947531849002\" data-video-id=\"7356635947531849002\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@doctoktopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@doctoktopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@doctoktopus\u003c/a> THANK YOU OCTO-NATION 🐙 ❤️ \u003ca title=\"octopus\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/octopus?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#octopus\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"marinebiology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/marinebiology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#marinebiology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"shrimpdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/shrimpdaddy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#shrimpdaddy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwateraquarium\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwateraquarium?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwateraquarium\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fyp\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fyp\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"saltwatertank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/saltwatertank?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#saltwatertank\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"mom\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mom?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#mom\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crabcake\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crabcake?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#crabcake\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cephalopod\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cephalopod?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#cephalopod\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"biology\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/biology?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#biology\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"carpetcleaners\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/carpetcleaners?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#carpetcleaners\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Elevator Music (Music Background) - Music Background & Easy Listening Background Music & Haruto Nakamori\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Elevator-Music-Music-Background-6841973391990212610?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Elevator Music (Music Background) – Music Background & Easy Listening Background Music & Haruto Nakamori\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Why Taylor Swift, BTS, Drake and More May Have Their Music Taken Off TikTok",
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"content": "\u003cp>Universal Music Group \u003ca href=\"https://www.universalmusic.com/an-open-letter-to-the-artist-and-songwriter-community-why-we-must-call-time-out-on-tiktok/\">has threatened to remove\u003c/a> all of the music it owns from TikTok, unless the streaming platform agrees to more favorable terms for its vast catalog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between the social media giant and the world’s largest music company have intensified as they’ve worked to hammer out a new contract, says Tatiana Cirisano, a music industry analyst at Midia Research. The current one expires on Jan. 31, 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13936325']“UMG is kind of taking the nuclear option of removing all their music and trying to prove … that TikTok couldn’t exist if it didn’t have their catalog,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early Wednesday morning, UMG released what it called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.universalmusic.com/an-open-letter-to-the-artist-and-songwriter-community-why-we-must-call-time-out-on-tiktok/\">An Open Letter to the Artist And Songwriter Community\u003c/a> — Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok.” The letter, one suspects, is actually for music fans and tech watchdogs as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues,” the letter says of TikTok, noting the issues include protection against AI-generated recordings, online safety issues for users and higher compensation for its artists and songwriters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With respect to the issue of artist and songwriter compensation,” the letter continues, “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay. Today, as an indication of how little TikTok compensates artists and songwriters, despite its massive and growing user base, rapidly rising advertising revenue and increasing reliance on music-based content, TikTok accounts for only about 1% of our total revenue. Ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13931533']Compensation is the big sticking point here, says Cirisano. “I would also point out that this is probably going to do more for Universal Music Group as a company than it is for any of their individual artists and songwriters,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TikTokComms/status/1752539546233843884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1752539546233843884%7Ctwgr%5E9258156bd65d97b97e65ff72d32edcba3d1bf95a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2F7MnRSi3%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1\">a statement on social media\u003c/a>, TikTok accused UMG of promoting “false narratives and rhetoric” and of putting “greed above the interests of their artist and songwriter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher,” it says. “Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cirisano says the idea of TikTok building what UMG calls a “music-based business” has some merit. TikTok used to be just a place where artists could get exposure and market their music, she says. But the platform and its users are evolving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s becoming sort of a form of music consumption in its own right,” she says. “This is a space where especially young people are going on and listening to music … as they’re consuming. It’s a completely different experience than, say, adding a song to your Instagram story or things that were happening in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13929332']The dispute should not overly affect the well-being or popularity of the labels’ roster of celebrity artists, she adds, which includes Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Elton John. But for the many other musicians whose work has become a part of TikTok’s fabric, there are larger implications for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s this really fast growing sector of independent artists and what is commonly referred to as ‘the long tail’ that are also releasing their music to streaming services and competing for attention,” she says, referring to all of the other music floating around that’s available to be used. “There’s a lot of other music that TikTok users have access to beyond the major label catalog than they would have five or 10 years ago. UMG is still the most powerful player here, but I think those dynamics have shifted a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TikTok and other social media platforms, she says, are where new fandom and cultures are being built — and the music industry’s power players are wary of being left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Taylor+Swift%2C+Drake%2C+BTS+and+more+may+have+their+music+taken+off+TikTok+%E2%80%94+here%27s+why&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“UMG is kind of taking the nuclear option of removing all their music and trying to prove … that TikTok couldn’t exist if it didn’t have their catalog,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early Wednesday morning, UMG released what it called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.universalmusic.com/an-open-letter-to-the-artist-and-songwriter-community-why-we-must-call-time-out-on-tiktok/\">An Open Letter to the Artist And Songwriter Community\u003c/a> — Why We Must Call Time Out On TikTok.” The letter, one suspects, is actually for music fans and tech watchdogs as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues,” the letter says of TikTok, noting the issues include protection against AI-generated recordings, online safety issues for users and higher compensation for its artists and songwriters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Compensation is the big sticking point here, says Cirisano. “I would also point out that this is probably going to do more for Universal Music Group as a company than it is for any of their individual artists and songwriters,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/TikTokComms/status/1752539546233843884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1752539546233843884%7Ctwgr%5E9258156bd65d97b97e65ff72d32edcba3d1bf95a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fiframe.nbcnews.com%2F7MnRSi3%3F_showcaption%3Dtrueapp%3D1\">a statement on social media\u003c/a>, TikTok accused UMG of promoting “false narratives and rhetoric” and of putting “greed above the interests of their artist and songwriter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher,” it says. “Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cirisano says the idea of TikTok building what UMG calls a “music-based business” has some merit. TikTok used to be just a place where artists could get exposure and market their music, she says. But the platform and its users are evolving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s becoming sort of a form of music consumption in its own right,” she says. “This is a space where especially young people are going on and listening to music … as they’re consuming. It’s a completely different experience than, say, adding a song to your Instagram story or things that were happening in the past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The dispute should not overly affect the well-being or popularity of the labels’ roster of celebrity artists, she adds, which includes Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Elton John. But for the many other musicians whose work has become a part of TikTok’s fabric, there are larger implications for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s this really fast growing sector of independent artists and what is commonly referred to as ‘the long tail’ that are also releasing their music to streaming services and competing for attention,” she says, referring to all of the other music floating around that’s available to be used. “There’s a lot of other music that TikTok users have access to beyond the major label catalog than they would have five or 10 years ago. UMG is still the most powerful player here, but I think those dynamics have shifted a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TikTok and other social media platforms, she says, are where new fandom and cultures are being built — and the music industry’s power players are wary of being left behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Taylor+Swift%2C+Drake%2C+BTS+and+more+may+have+their+music+taken+off+TikTok+%E2%80%94+here%27s+why&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]I[/dropcap] didn’t want to start the year like this. I’m not the type of person who likes to feed into negativity, and I want to be clear: I absolutely love the Bay, where I was born and raised since 1987. I have the old Bay Bridge tattooed on my right arm to remind me where I come from — a symbol of what we’ve long stood for as an interconnected region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-13927875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot.jpg 180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot-160x184.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\">But at times, I hate it here, too. And after viral TikTok influencer \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125\">Keith Lee\u003c/a> suddenly cut his visit to the Bay Area short on Thursday, just twelve days into 2024, I can’t help but wonder: Are the Bay Area’s struggles actually worse than we’ve been telling ourselves?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, a former MMA fighter from Detroit, has built up a national following for his blunt, plainspoken food review videos, which he films inside his car. With more than 15 million followers on TikTok, the young tastemaker can completely change a restaurant’s fortunes with a single positive mention — especially the largely unknown, mostly Black-owned mom-and-pop businesses that he reviews. He’s been dubbed “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/keith-lee-bay-area-restaurants-18592120.php\">the internet’s most famous food critic\u003c/a>,” and there’s even a term to describe a restaurant he’s visited: It’s been “Keith Lee-d.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, when Lee announced that his first review tour of 2024 would be a trip to the Bay Area, local food lovers were positively giddy. But less than a week after he arrived, Lee unexpectedly cut his visit short, citing lackluster food, an allergic reaction and general shock and dismay at the living conditions he found in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By all accounts, it’s unlike Lee. He’s generally seen as conscientious, with no history of mindlessly tarnishing small businesses, let alone diminishing an entire region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Bay Area unsettled him. This is the first time Lee has ended a trip on short notice, explaining, in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125/video/7323079692276288798?lang=en\">farewell video\u003c/a>, that he “[doesn’t] believe the Bay is a place for tourists right now… the people of the Bay are just focused on \u003cem>surviving\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125/video/7323079692276288798\" data-video-id=\"7323079692276288798\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@keith_lee125\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@keith_lee125\u003c/a> Bay Area taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 \u003ca title=\"foodcritic\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foodcritic?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#foodcritic\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Keith Lee\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7323079767438871327?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Keith Lee\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok][dropcap]A[/dropcap]lthough I’m a food writer by title, I practically never watch food videos online, and I generally don’t care if Lee — or any other critic or influencer — thinks a greasy pouch of French fries should be scored a 7.2 or a 6.7. Ironically, I don’t really want to hear in detail about the food itself. Food either smacks, or it doesn’t. Rather, it’s the people, and the contexts — social, racial, economic, cultural — that feed my sense of wholeness, and which requires nuance and perspective to appreciate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps there’s something to be said for why, despite the Bay Area’s sparkling reputation as a food destination, Lee seemed unable to find very much that was even half-decent to eat. But when he implied, for basically the first time in his career, that the Bay Area is too out of pocket, too distressed, too dysfunctional, too disarrayed, too unsafe, too \u003cem>everything\u003c/em> except whatever trendy food-take people wanted to hear, I felt him. His seeming dissatisfaction with the Bay Area wasn’t even mostly about the food. It was about our living conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was born in the Bay to immigrant parents, raised in the Bay with hella types of friends and have seen a lot of shit here. But you can’t tell me that right now, in 2024, the Bay Area isn’t more overpriced, overcrowded and unlivable than it has been at any other point in my lifetime — even the food is often outrageously expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Check the housing prices. The other day, my dad genuinely asked me why I don’t consider buying a mobile home for my family because it’s “still affordable.” My wife and I have a son, and we both have master’s degrees. We’ve worked tremendously hard as first-generation college graduates. And we can’t afford much more than a room or two here. Many people here don’t have the time or money to chase after the most trending meal. They don’t even have regular access to meals. Period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13939383,arts_13907726,arts_13906384']How many more people living in tents do we have to pass by before we reach a collective tipping point? I know I’m not alone in feeling a sense of dystopia, even as a proud local. Neither is Lee in feeling that way as a curious outsider. And his comments are bringing that to light in a compassionate way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday night’s social media feeds provided ample evidence that Lee struck a nerve. I’ve never seen a piece of food content stir up more debate among Bay Area thought leaders, particularly in the local hip-hop community. Oakland lyricist Tajai from the mighty Souls of Mischief chimed in, agreeing with Lee: “This is not to be a doomsayer or be negative about the Bay, but I think we’ve gotten used to some shit, y’all, that is not normal.” In a \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RapNoir/status/1745696413043093755\">brief video\u003c/a>, he references a major Latin American city that’s twice the size of the Bay Area — and how we have a “600% higher homeless rate” than a “developing nation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popular San Francisco artist Stunnaman02 \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/stunnaman02/status/1745694988510679086\">got in on it as well\u003c/a>: “Keith Lee’s synopsis of The Bay was necessary. Humbling, environmentally The Bay is a shell of itself. Overpriced, not as crackin as it has been in the past, and economically Oakland is being stripped unfortunately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>East Oakland rapper ALLBLACK said he was “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/22NDWAYS/status/1745653462811935223\">embarrassed\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, other people made jokes about it all. Some posted clips from movies like \u003cem>Next Friday\u003c/em> (“\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Numbah1/status/1745688458960728386\">we live raw\u003c/a>”); others affirmed Lee’s synopsis but with extra spice (“I 100% agree. This mf [Bay Area] is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/marismenu/status/1745699350146421210\">raggedy\u003c/a>!”); more than a few called out his poor choices (“respectfully \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/paocarisweat/status/1745731992350781515\">keith lee kinda be eating anywhere\u003c/a>”); and some just playfully owned the crappiness of it all (“\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KhadijahTaine/status/1745692611636343262\">Bay Area can’t never keep anything\u003c/a>, the Raiders, The A’s, The Warriors, Keith Lee. Nothing.”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Dr. Ameer Hasan Loggins, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, pointed out that “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LeftSentThis/status/1745710522077716604\">some of y’all are focused on the food, when Lee was focused on the effects of structural inequality\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/RunJuly/status/1745692576274145790\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are all valid takes. And they all speak to a certain part of my Bay Area soul, upbringing and loyalty. There’s even a part of me that is like, \u003cem>man, who even is Keith Lee, and what does he know about us and our food scene?\u003c/em> And there’s been no shortage of Bay Area defenders hopping online to lightly condemn, or at minimum question, Lee’s take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rexx Life Raj’s manager, Ari Simon, \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RexxLifeAri/status/1745691709479223314\">stuck his chest out for the Bay\u003c/a>: “I fw Keith Lee but I think him cutting early reflects more on him than us… Sounds like bro bought into doomloop narrative and psyched himself out / was doin anything with not a lot of help lol (that sf burger spot).” Ari concluded that the issue is with Lee’s \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RexxLifeAri/status/1745694175482486874\">poor taste\u003c/a>, rather than the Bay Area’s shortcomings (“I’m either blaming lack of palette [sic] or lack of planning”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were plenty of comments along those lines — those who took up arms for our zip codes and were, to a degree, unwilling to hear Lee’s polite criticisms. But what many upset folks are missing is that Lee wasn’t necessarily saying the food here is trash. Instead, he’s fixated on something more important. He’s saying that the state of our day-to-day living — crime, safety, congestion, cost, tents, burned-out cars — is, in his eyes, precariously unwell, and bordering on social crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he also gave the Bay some deserved props, too. How could you not?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people from the Bay were absolutely amazing, and I’ll never forget the hospitality and the love that y’all showed me,” he said. Facts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902366\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902366\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg\" alt=\"Women laugh and smile at a street fair in Oakland.\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg 1560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Festival-goers attend First Friday in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Oakland First Fridays/\u003ca href=\"https://www.aliciarphoto.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Alicia Rodriguez\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Bay is special. It is diverse, flavorful and full of sauce. We dance a little different. This is the home of where game recognizes game. But the Bay Area is also struggling, and that’s okay to admit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m glad Keith Lee used his platform to bring attention to what really matters. It’s not just about what dish makes a good Instagram story. It’s not just about the succulence of those adobo wings at your favorite Filipino joint. It’s also about the conditions in which we are living — the amount of hours we’re working, the rent we’re paying, all while seeing our friends get pushed out, watching our parents and siblings sacrifice and make that longer commute just to stay on the edges of it all, having new neighbors move in and old ones get evicted, dodging a weaving car on the freeway, constantly generating side hustles, hoping that your window doesn’t get bipped even when there’s nothing in your car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lately, more than ever, I’ve been wondering: Is the Bay Area going to be okay? The gas and housing prices will come back down, right? People in need will receive care and support services, right? We can’t just keep running around and speeding through red lights while it’s all getting harder to sustain our families everyday, right? I guess we are all just either ignoring the madness, or participating in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least for one food influencer, who’s extensively traveled the country and seen his fair share of both struggling and thriving areas, the Bay Area in its current state doesn’t seem to be living up to its full potential and has become unwelcoming to many outsiders. And right now, maybe we should stop biting into a burger for a moment — no matter how good we think it is — and chew on that instead.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">I\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp> didn’t want to start the year like this. I’m not the type of person who likes to feed into negativity, and I want to be clear: I absolutely love the Bay, where I was born and raised since 1987. I have the old Bay Bridge tattooed on my right arm to remind me where I come from — a symbol of what we’ve long stood for as an interconnected region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-13927875\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot.jpg 180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Alan.Chazaro.headshot-160x184.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\">But at times, I hate it here, too. And after viral TikTok influencer \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125\">Keith Lee\u003c/a> suddenly cut his visit to the Bay Area short on Thursday, just twelve days into 2024, I can’t help but wonder: Are the Bay Area’s struggles actually worse than we’ve been telling ourselves?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee, a former MMA fighter from Detroit, has built up a national following for his blunt, plainspoken food review videos, which he films inside his car. With more than 15 million followers on TikTok, the young tastemaker can completely change a restaurant’s fortunes with a single positive mention — especially the largely unknown, mostly Black-owned mom-and-pop businesses that he reviews. He’s been dubbed “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/keith-lee-bay-area-restaurants-18592120.php\">the internet’s most famous food critic\u003c/a>,” and there’s even a term to describe a restaurant he’s visited: It’s been “Keith Lee-d.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, when Lee announced that his first review tour of 2024 would be a trip to the Bay Area, local food lovers were positively giddy. But less than a week after he arrived, Lee unexpectedly cut his visit short, citing lackluster food, an allergic reaction and general shock and dismay at the living conditions he found in the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By all accounts, it’s unlike Lee. He’s generally seen as conscientious, with no history of mindlessly tarnishing small businesses, let alone diminishing an entire region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Bay Area unsettled him. This is the first time Lee has ended a trip on short notice, explaining, in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125/video/7323079692276288798?lang=en\">farewell video\u003c/a>, that he “[doesn’t] believe the Bay is a place for tourists right now… the people of the Bay are just focused on \u003cem>surviving\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125/video/7323079692276288798\" data-video-id=\"7323079692276288798\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@keith_lee125\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@keith_lee125?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@keith_lee125\u003c/a> Bay Area taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 \u003ca title=\"foodcritic\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foodcritic?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#foodcritic\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Keith Lee\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7323079767438871327?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Keith Lee\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>lthough I’m a food writer by title, I practically never watch food videos online, and I generally don’t care if Lee — or any other critic or influencer — thinks a greasy pouch of French fries should be scored a 7.2 or a 6.7. Ironically, I don’t really want to hear in detail about the food itself. Food either smacks, or it doesn’t. Rather, it’s the people, and the contexts — social, racial, economic, cultural — that feed my sense of wholeness, and which requires nuance and perspective to appreciate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps there’s something to be said for why, despite the Bay Area’s sparkling reputation as a food destination, Lee seemed unable to find very much that was even half-decent to eat. But when he implied, for basically the first time in his career, that the Bay Area is too out of pocket, too distressed, too dysfunctional, too disarrayed, too unsafe, too \u003cem>everything\u003c/em> except whatever trendy food-take people wanted to hear, I felt him. His seeming dissatisfaction with the Bay Area wasn’t even mostly about the food. It was about our living conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was born in the Bay to immigrant parents, raised in the Bay with hella types of friends and have seen a lot of shit here. But you can’t tell me that right now, in 2024, the Bay Area isn’t more overpriced, overcrowded and unlivable than it has been at any other point in my lifetime — even the food is often outrageously expensive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Check the housing prices. The other day, my dad genuinely asked me why I don’t consider buying a mobile home for my family because it’s “still affordable.” My wife and I have a son, and we both have master’s degrees. We’ve worked tremendously hard as first-generation college graduates. And we can’t afford much more than a room or two here. Many people here don’t have the time or money to chase after the most trending meal. They don’t even have regular access to meals. Period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>How many more people living in tents do we have to pass by before we reach a collective tipping point? I know I’m not alone in feeling a sense of dystopia, even as a proud local. Neither is Lee in feeling that way as a curious outsider. And his comments are bringing that to light in a compassionate way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thursday night’s social media feeds provided ample evidence that Lee struck a nerve. I’ve never seen a piece of food content stir up more debate among Bay Area thought leaders, particularly in the local hip-hop community. Oakland lyricist Tajai from the mighty Souls of Mischief chimed in, agreeing with Lee: “This is not to be a doomsayer or be negative about the Bay, but I think we’ve gotten used to some shit, y’all, that is not normal.” In a \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RapNoir/status/1745696413043093755\">brief video\u003c/a>, he references a major Latin American city that’s twice the size of the Bay Area — and how we have a “600% higher homeless rate” than a “developing nation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popular San Francisco artist Stunnaman02 \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/stunnaman02/status/1745694988510679086\">got in on it as well\u003c/a>: “Keith Lee’s synopsis of The Bay was necessary. Humbling, environmentally The Bay is a shell of itself. Overpriced, not as crackin as it has been in the past, and economically Oakland is being stripped unfortunately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>East Oakland rapper ALLBLACK said he was “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/22NDWAYS/status/1745653462811935223\">embarrassed\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, other people made jokes about it all. Some posted clips from movies like \u003cem>Next Friday\u003c/em> (“\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Numbah1/status/1745688458960728386\">we live raw\u003c/a>”); others affirmed Lee’s synopsis but with extra spice (“I 100% agree. This mf [Bay Area] is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/marismenu/status/1745699350146421210\">raggedy\u003c/a>!”); more than a few called out his poor choices (“respectfully \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/paocarisweat/status/1745731992350781515\">keith lee kinda be eating anywhere\u003c/a>”); and some just playfully owned the crappiness of it all (“\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KhadijahTaine/status/1745692611636343262\">Bay Area can’t never keep anything\u003c/a>, the Raiders, The A’s, The Warriors, Keith Lee. Nothing.”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Dr. Ameer Hasan Loggins, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University, pointed out that “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LeftSentThis/status/1745710522077716604\">some of y’all are focused on the food, when Lee was focused on the effects of structural inequality\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>These are all valid takes. And they all speak to a certain part of my Bay Area soul, upbringing and loyalty. There’s even a part of me that is like, \u003cem>man, who even is Keith Lee, and what does he know about us and our food scene?\u003c/em> And there’s been no shortage of Bay Area defenders hopping online to lightly condemn, or at minimum question, Lee’s take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rexx Life Raj’s manager, Ari Simon, \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RexxLifeAri/status/1745691709479223314\">stuck his chest out for the Bay\u003c/a>: “I fw Keith Lee but I think him cutting early reflects more on him than us… Sounds like bro bought into doomloop narrative and psyched himself out / was doin anything with not a lot of help lol (that sf burger spot).” Ari concluded that the issue is with Lee’s \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RexxLifeAri/status/1745694175482486874\">poor taste\u003c/a>, rather than the Bay Area’s shortcomings (“I’m either blaming lack of palette [sic] or lack of planning”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were plenty of comments along those lines — those who took up arms for our zip codes and were, to a degree, unwilling to hear Lee’s polite criticisms. But what many upset folks are missing is that Lee wasn’t necessarily saying the food here is trash. Instead, he’s fixated on something more important. He’s saying that the state of our day-to-day living — crime, safety, congestion, cost, tents, burned-out cars — is, in his eyes, precariously unwell, and bordering on social crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he also gave the Bay some deserved props, too. How could you not?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The people from the Bay were absolutely amazing, and I’ll never forget the hospitality and the love that y’all showed me,” he said. Facts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902366\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902366\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg\" alt=\"Women laugh and smile at a street fair in Oakland.\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg 1560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Festival-goers attend First Friday in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Oakland First Fridays/\u003ca href=\"https://www.aliciarphoto.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Alicia Rodriguez\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>he Bay is special. It is diverse, flavorful and full of sauce. We dance a little different. This is the home of where game recognizes game. But the Bay Area is also struggling, and that’s okay to admit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m glad Keith Lee used his platform to bring attention to what really matters. It’s not just about what dish makes a good Instagram story. It’s not just about the succulence of those adobo wings at your favorite Filipino joint. It’s also about the conditions in which we are living — the amount of hours we’re working, the rent we’re paying, all while seeing our friends get pushed out, watching our parents and siblings sacrifice and make that longer commute just to stay on the edges of it all, having new neighbors move in and old ones get evicted, dodging a weaving car on the freeway, constantly generating side hustles, hoping that your window doesn’t get bipped even when there’s nothing in your car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lately, more than ever, I’ve been wondering: Is the Bay Area going to be okay? The gas and housing prices will come back down, right? People in need will receive care and support services, right? We can’t just keep running around and speeding through red lights while it’s all getting harder to sustain our families everyday, right? I guess we are all just either ignoring the madness, or participating in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least for one food influencer, who’s extensively traveled the country and seen his fair share of both struggling and thriving areas, the Bay Area in its current state doesn’t seem to be living up to its full potential and has become unwelcoming to many outsiders. And right now, maybe we should stop biting into a burger for a moment — no matter how good we think it is — and chew on that instead.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How Social Media Is Fueling a New Era of 'Latinextravagant' Restaurants",
"headTitle": "How Social Media Is Fueling a New Era of ‘Latinextravagant’ Restaurants | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]C[/dropcap]apturing the enormity of Latinidad is impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our diasporas are simply too sprawling and unwieldy. We are too bass-thumping. Too slippery. Too regionally layered and linguistically varied. Too contradictory, too bombastic, too fragmented, too migratory. Sometimes too nepotistic. Perhaps too open-hearted? We definitely resist simple definitions. (We can’t even internally agree on whether we call ourselves Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latine or, my personal favorite, Latin@).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I love us for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It makes sense, then, that our foods, which are equally hyphenated, uncategorizable and epic, push against the borders of tradition. Indeed, our culinary offerings are as sprawling and bold as our own communities are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a restaurant in Hayward that serves pupusas with the circumference of a pizza. Or, at a Dublin taqueria, a ridiculously gigantic bowl of phở birria next to a cake-sized pan dulce French toast that’ll feed an entire family. Down in San Jose, you can grub on generously-loaded baked potatoes topped with sour cream, jalapeños and al pastor. And in Richmond, when all else fails, there’s always the amalgam of Hot Cheetos on this and Doritos on that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936289\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936289\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A large pupusa cooking on a griddle is flipped using a pizza peel.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flipping one of Las Cabañas’ oversized pupusas on the griddle. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the words of \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/el_tragon_de_LA?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">L.A. Taco’s Memo Torres\u003c/a>, a journalist who often goes viral for showcasing imaginative Latinx meals, including both the \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/tiny-tamales-street-vendor\">tiniest\u003c/a> \u003cem>and\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/biggest-tamales-torrance-los-angeles\">largest\u003c/a> tamales in L.A.: “Latinos can be extra flamboyant.” It’s true. When it comes to cooking and eating, we tend to possess a Super Saiyan level of confidence. It’s a state of being that I’ve taken to calling “Latinextravagant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lifestyle doesn’t come without its flaws: cycles of dietary miseducation, questionable spending habits and social media vulturing. Certainly, the widespread influence of platforms like Instagram and TikTok has warped the foodscape, with businesses adjusting their models to meet the algorithm’s demands. But combining intergenerational family knowledge with internet trends is a major part of how today’s food businesses are able to thrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And no one seems to be doing it with as much out-of-pocket razzle dazzle as Latinx food entrepreneurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Pupusas the Size of a Pizza\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Perhaps no other eatery in the East Bay delivers a more Latinextravagant experience than Hayward’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pupuseria_las_cabanas/\">Pupuseria Las Cabañas\u003c/a>. A Salvadoran sit-down with a full bar, Las Cabañas is best known for its pizza-sized pupusas and dizzying selection of margaritas. When I went on a weekend after 10 p.m., lines snaked out the door. It felt like I was stepping into a family celebration, with abuelos cracking jokes beside sleeping infants while college-aged friends buzzed around.[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]‘Our foods, which are equally hyphenated, uncategorizable and epic, push against the borders of tradition.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Las Cabañas encapsulates the ways in which family legacy, comfort food, social media clout and intergenerational evolution intersect to create something uniquely appealing to modern eaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What does that look like? A plate of gargantuan pupusas locas. The dish hails from El Salvador, where larger-than-average pupusas have been cooked up for eons. But for owner Frankie Martinez, it’s about taking it over the top.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936288\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936288\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a goatee looks at the camera and leans against a wall inside a restaurant.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pupuseria Las Cabańas owner Frankie Martinez poses for a portrait at his Hayward restaurant. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make the pupusa loca, a giant lump of masa — which weighs several pounds and resembles a small medicine ball — gets flattened into something like pizza dough, then kneaded and knuckled into a girthy disc that gets filled with cheese and refried beans. The process to make a single pupusa loca takes roughly 10 minutes inside a narrow, scorching-hot kitchen. It’s finally plated with an optional birria topping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the somewhat gimmicky nature of the dish, there is an emphasis on made-from-scratch ingredients, giving the final product a fire-kissed freshness that can hold its own against pupusas of any diameter. Social media has played a role, too, in helping to increase the local pupuseria’s mojo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never knew how much [social media] would impact our sales,” Martinez says. “I had to hire a lot more people, put more systems in place. It’s not just our regular customers anymore, we get people who don’t even know what a pupusa is, so we’ve had to train our workers on how to even explain it. People are coming and just showing us something they saw on their phones and telling us that’s what they want. They’re not even looking at our menus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936294\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936294\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The interior of a restaurant with several tables full of customers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The restaurant is known for its festive, party-like atmosphere. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Martinez, the pupusa loca is so large that he only knows of one patron who has single-mouthedly finished it. The rest? They order it, take a selfie, attempt a few bites, then box it up to go — in an actual pizza box. (I shamefully admit my wife and I only ate about half, but we tried, damn it.) Martinez is aware that the spectacle and presentation of his food is just as important as the quality. It’s all part of his strategy. And it’s working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is on TikTok and Instagram,” says Cesar Arroyo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ieatcalifornia/\">a Bay Area food influencer\u003c/a> and Gen-Z immigrant from Mexico who went from working construction to consulting for restaurant owners like Martinez to promote brand growth. “Simple videos can go viral and save a whole business. It can sometimes be too much, to be honest with you. But you want to bring in a crowd. You want people to take a picture with something big. It’s exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While at Las Cabañas, you’ll also want to also check out their pupusa bombs — deep fried bolitas of masa stuffed with cheese, frijoles and, if you so desire, birria (what else?). They’re equally photogenic, with fun cheese pulls and gooey insides dripping out of the spherical pupusa shell. And if you’re feeling especially Latinextravagant, you can add an order of “Angelita’s Margarita.” Named after Martinez’s mother, the drink is an endearing tribute to the original “hustler” who first opened Las Cabañas in 2004. After she passed from an illness in 2015, Martinez has carried on his mother’s recipes but with a modernized, Instagram-friendly twist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936292\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936292\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fork and knife cut into a filled fried-looking ball.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cutting into the oozy, cheesy interior of a pupusa bomb. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The exposure has undoubtedly been good for Martinez’s family-owned business. He confirms a boost in clientele since he introduced the mammoth birria pupusas in 2018 that has been unlike anything previously seen in the restaurant’s multi-decade existence. This summer, numerous Bay Area food influencers — including Arroyo, whose IEatCalifornia account on Instagram has over 41,000 followers — have posted about the giant pupusa, which has led to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-pupuseria-las-cabanas-giant-pupusa-18362742.php\">mainstream news outlets\u003c/a> catching on. I personally found out about the pupuseria when a friend DMed me a viral video of the pupusa loca earlier this year. Despite living in Hayward for years, I hadn’t known about Las Cabañas prior to seeing it on social media. [pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Cesar Arroyo\"]‘You want to bring in a crowd. You want people to take a picture with something big.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We started doing more social media, especially in 2020 when the pandemic happened,” Martinez says. “When my mom was around, she was skeptical of it. She wanted us to do TV commercials. But I told her people don’t watch those as much anymore. I know she would be proud of where the restaurant is today and she would understand and support it. She’d be like ‘What are you doing now, aye mijo? Que no son bayuncadas.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>L.A. Taco’s Torres has noticed similar social media trends in Southern California, where many of the nation’s Latinx food trends — including \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/11/21/20937687/el-garage-quesabirria-birria-taco-richmond-instagram\">quesabirria\u003c/a> — originally took off. “[Social media] is a way for people to empower their business in their own style. Any chef who wants to be out of pocket can [do so].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnacksensei/video/7284136103475481902\" data-video-id=\"7284136103475481902\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@thesnacksensei\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnacksensei?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@thesnacksensei\u003c/a> The Biggest Pupusas In The Bay Area! 📍 Pupuseria Las Cabanas In Hayward CA 🔥 \u003ca title=\"pupusas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pupusas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pupusas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pupuseria\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pupuseria?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pupuseria\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bayarea\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayarea?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayarea\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Wild Thing (Re-Recorded) - Tone-Loc\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Wild-Thing-Re-Recorded-6717747275818387458?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Wild Thing (Re-Recorded) – Tone-Loc\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003cbr>\nHowever, it’s a flawed system — one that fosters a certain kind of gatekeeping, fetishization and even exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vultures of IG and TikTok, like anything, have a downside,” Torres continues. “With millions of followers, [some food influencers] charge $800 to $1,000 for an hour. That’s capitalism right there. I know a lot of influencers who invite me to eat with them, and their rates with vendors are fucking outrageous. But yeah, it’s catchy, to get on the map, to get attention. Especially for small vendors. Social media is where they can get their publicity for cheaper, even if influencers are charging an arm and an ass for content.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez hasn’t shied away from that approach, though, leveraging the Instagram-driven birria craze through popular food personalities like San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thesnacksensei/?hl=en\">Snack Sensei\u003c/a> to further blow up. The dynamic is complicated, as the social media buzz that comes with a made-for-glam dish like the pupusa loca is one of the easiest ways hard-working restaurateurs like Martinez can make their business stand out in a culinary landscape saturated with over-hyped content. It highlights this current generation of foodmakers’ larger struggles to present their cultural foods to a wider audience — foods that, in many cases, were simply overlooked in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13938219\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13938219\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A female line cook uses a spatula to lift a giant pupusa onto a plate.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Irma Morales, a cook at Las Cabañas, places a finished pupusa onto a plate. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>A Cultural Marriage of Birria and Phở\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In one of Dublin’s sleepiest, least glamorous strip malls, you’ll find what may be the most underappreciated fusion eatery in our region: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/taqueriaaztecadublinca/\">Taqueria Azteca\u003c/a>. Acquired in 1998 by Luong “Lu” Dang, a Vietnamese war refugee who arrived in the East Bay in the ‘70s, the shop has maintained its down-to-earth, homely Mexican vibes from previous ownership, while loudly introducing some of Dang’s zanier combinations, like Bochata (boba + horchata) and birria-filled bao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Azteca is the proud home of quesabirria grilled cheese sandwiches and — my wife’s favorite — pan dulce French toast. Served on a massive, custom-made concha from \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/JuanitaMarketTracy/\">Juanita Market #4 in Tracy\u003c/a>, the dense, pink beauty is buttered up and prepared like any other French toast, with an optional tray of ham and eggs on the side. To be mega-clear, this pan dulce has the acreage of a cake, with a heft that can only be described as intimidating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937819\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549.jpg\" alt=\"a tray of pink pan dulce french toast is topped with strawberries and served with a hefty side of eggs and ham\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taqueria Azteca’s pan dulce French toast is topped with strawberries and served with a hefty side of eggs and ham on a cafeteria-sized tray. \u003ccite>(Briana Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the restaurant’s flagship item is its bone-in birria phở — an eye-popping amount of noodles swimming around in consommé broth, with a “dinosaur bone” of meat casually laid on top. For the average eater, it more than suffices as lunch and dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Years ago, I didn’t have the nuts to do this,” Dang says. “But the Bay Area has a huge Vietnamese and Latino community, so everyone loves to see it. At first we were all clumsy with it, but we found our rhythm and are learning how to do it properly. Ask the [Latino] cooks here what they eat. They’re the ones making stuff that’s personal to them, and we each add our own touches. We eat our own food every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Dang’s case, it’s not so much about pushing forward a family tradition as it is about fusing immigrant experiences. Married to Estefany Garcia, an immigrant from Michoacán, Dang has extensively toured various pueblos around Mexico, listing off dishes that even I — the son of Mexicans whose own mother lives in Veracruz — didn’t recognize, including corundas, uchepos and morisquetas. Together, Dang and Garcia are organically uniting their cultures through a genuine, love-bound exploration of their own brand of Latinextravagant cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937818\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937818\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541.jpg\" alt=\"a bone-in slab of Mexican birria is served in a giant bowl of Vietnamese pho\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Dublin, a bone-in slab of Mexican birria is served in a giant bowl of Vietnamese phở. \u003ccite>(Briana Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It allows us to open up our kitchen in ways that are both traditional and non-traditional,” he says. “We’re always blending. At home, she might cook phở, and then she’ll make tinga and we’ll mix it. I added birria to bao, as well. The bao bun is a very different texture [from tortillas]. It’s soft and chewy and crispy, inside and out. It’s fun and easy to share. And it’s so damn good to eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The internet has played a major role for Lu and Garcia’s concoctions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Social media] is a communication channel unlike before,” says Lu. “I used to do TV and radio in the 2000s, and it was completely hit or miss. For small businesses like us, we can’t afford that. With Instagram, it levels the playing field. We eat with our eyes first. Something that we can do to grab your attention is to make it over-the-top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bayareafoodz/video/7293918581539048734\" data-video-id=\"7293918581539048734\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bayareafoodz?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@bayareafoodz\u003c/a> Check out this Big ass taco i got from @taqueriaaztecadublin its get no better than this \u003ca title=\"bayarea\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayarea?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayarea\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tacos\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tacos?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tacos\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tacostuesday\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tacostuesday?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tacostuesday\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayareafoodz?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayareafoodz\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7293918667434773279?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Bayareafoodz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a small, otherwise modest eatery where Latino construction workers, white suburban moms and Asian elders mingle, Azteca is among the most unexpectedly “epic” dining experiences I’ve found in the Bay. Lu is extremely passionate about keeping Azteca’s foods playful and inviting — a major element of Mexican food that attracted him when he first came to it as an outsider. It’s something that Latinextravagant foods tend to do: They compel others to join in and share.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Beyond the Big Dishes\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s not always about dishing out the largest super-sized taco on the block. It’s also about paying homage in smaller, but equally creative, ways. After all, there’s a reason antojitos locos (or “crazy snacks”) have also gone viral throughout Mexico and Central America, and have now reached the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent favorite of mine is the Tostielote, an open-faced bag of Tostitos buried under esquites, parmesan cheese, sour cream, butter and mayonnaise. I recommend the version at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_ptbtSSyQ\">Junior’s Roaster\u003c/a>, a food truck located in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957907/this-is-our-city-san-joses-berryessa-flea-market-vendors-fight-to-stay\">the San José Flea Market\u003c/a>. There, you’ll encounter an old-school roasting machine that is used to prepare elotes, esquites and papas horneadas (baked potatoes). You can add any mix of meats (carne asada, al pastor, pollo asado), junk food (Flamin’ Hots, Ruffles, Takis) and hot sauces for a customized perfection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13914234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A foil-wrapped burrito and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos on red and white checkered butcher paper.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Flamin’ Hot Cheeto burrito is by far the most popular item at Taqueria El Mezcal, which has locations in San Pablo, Hayward and San Lorenzo. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elmezcalsanpablo/\">Taqueria El Mezcal\u003c/a>, a humble local chain with three locations scattered throughout the East Bay, is known for its fiery, snack-inspired dishes. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13913985/hot-cheeto-burrito-taqueria-el-mezcal-richard-montanez-san-pablo\">Officially recognized by Chester Cheetah for its Hot Cheetos burrito\u003c/a>, the restaurant unveiled a new botana-inspired masterpiece this summer: the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alan_chazaro/status/1696339131289203181\">Doritos chilaquiles burrito\u003c/a>. It includes a bag’s worth of spicy nacho Doritos, refried beans, three fried eggs, crema, guacamole and your choice of meat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13931115,arts_13920483,arts_13913985']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>None of these Latinextravagant foods are exactly calorie-conscious. And for the most part, that’s okay: The restaurants themselves wouldn’t suggest that customers eat this stuff every day, and they aren’t necessarily challenging anyone to take down a giant burrito or pupusa on their own, either. The super-sized dishes are meant to be novelty foods — a memorable experience rather than your daily source of sustenance. And in many cases, immigrant foodmakers are simply tailoring their menus in response to their TikTok and Instagram numbers, even bantering and discussing ideas with commenters in the reply sections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a recipe that has, at least so far, proven itself successful for the times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s mostly a marketing thing, but [Latinx businesses] do really think out of the box,” Arroyo, the influencer, says. “Some people don’t like it, but I believe in food bringing people together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When done well, the Latinextravagant approach to food attracts more people to the table than ever. At our core, Latinx diasporas are simply too big to be boxed in, and our foods could never fit inside any one nation’s stomach. But still, we try our best to share it with everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13938220\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13938220\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Rubber gloved hand sprinkles chopped cilantro onto an oversized pupusa topped the meat.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The finishing touch: sprinkling chopped onions and cilantro onto a giant — and truly Latinextravagant — pupusa. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pupuseria_las_cabanas/\">Pupuseria Las Cabañas\u003c/a> is located at 30030 Mission Blvd. in Hayward. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/taqueriaaztecadublinca/\">Taqueria Azteca\u003c/a> is located at 7155 Amador Plaza Rd. in Dublin.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">C\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>apturing the enormity of Latinidad is impossible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our diasporas are simply too sprawling and unwieldy. We are too bass-thumping. Too slippery. Too regionally layered and linguistically varied. Too contradictory, too bombastic, too fragmented, too migratory. Sometimes too nepotistic. Perhaps too open-hearted? We definitely resist simple definitions. (We can’t even internally agree on whether we call ourselves Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latine or, my personal favorite, Latin@).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I love us for that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It makes sense, then, that our foods, which are equally hyphenated, uncategorizable and epic, push against the borders of tradition. Indeed, our culinary offerings are as sprawling and bold as our own communities are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Picture a restaurant in Hayward that serves pupusas with the circumference of a pizza. Or, at a Dublin taqueria, a ridiculously gigantic bowl of phở birria next to a cake-sized pan dulce French toast that’ll feed an entire family. Down in San Jose, you can grub on generously-loaded baked potatoes topped with sour cream, jalapeños and al pastor. And in Richmond, when all else fails, there’s always the amalgam of Hot Cheetos on this and Doritos on that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936289\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936289\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A large pupusa cooking on a griddle is flipped using a pizza peel.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-013-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flipping one of Las Cabañas’ oversized pupusas on the griddle. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the words of \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/el_tragon_de_LA?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">L.A. Taco’s Memo Torres\u003c/a>, a journalist who often goes viral for showcasing imaginative Latinx meals, including both the \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/tiny-tamales-street-vendor\">tiniest\u003c/a> \u003cem>and\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://lataco.com/biggest-tamales-torrance-los-angeles\">largest\u003c/a> tamales in L.A.: “Latinos can be extra flamboyant.” It’s true. When it comes to cooking and eating, we tend to possess a Super Saiyan level of confidence. It’s a state of being that I’ve taken to calling “Latinextravagant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lifestyle doesn’t come without its flaws: cycles of dietary miseducation, questionable spending habits and social media vulturing. Certainly, the widespread influence of platforms like Instagram and TikTok has warped the foodscape, with businesses adjusting their models to meet the algorithm’s demands. But combining intergenerational family knowledge with internet trends is a major part of how today’s food businesses are able to thrive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And no one seems to be doing it with as much out-of-pocket razzle dazzle as Latinx food entrepreneurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Pupusas the Size of a Pizza\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Perhaps no other eatery in the East Bay delivers a more Latinextravagant experience than Hayward’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pupuseria_las_cabanas/\">Pupuseria Las Cabañas\u003c/a>. A Salvadoran sit-down with a full bar, Las Cabañas is best known for its pizza-sized pupusas and dizzying selection of margaritas. When I went on a weekend after 10 p.m., lines snaked out the door. It felt like I was stepping into a family celebration, with abuelos cracking jokes beside sleeping infants while college-aged friends buzzed around.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Las Cabañas encapsulates the ways in which family legacy, comfort food, social media clout and intergenerational evolution intersect to create something uniquely appealing to modern eaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What does that look like? A plate of gargantuan pupusas locas. The dish hails from El Salvador, where larger-than-average pupusas have been cooked up for eons. But for owner Frankie Martinez, it’s about taking it over the top.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936288\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936288\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a goatee looks at the camera and leans against a wall inside a restaurant.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-004-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pupuseria Las Cabańas owner Frankie Martinez poses for a portrait at his Hayward restaurant. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make the pupusa loca, a giant lump of masa — which weighs several pounds and resembles a small medicine ball — gets flattened into something like pizza dough, then kneaded and knuckled into a girthy disc that gets filled with cheese and refried beans. The process to make a single pupusa loca takes roughly 10 minutes inside a narrow, scorching-hot kitchen. It’s finally plated with an optional birria topping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the somewhat gimmicky nature of the dish, there is an emphasis on made-from-scratch ingredients, giving the final product a fire-kissed freshness that can hold its own against pupusas of any diameter. Social media has played a role, too, in helping to increase the local pupuseria’s mojo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never knew how much [social media] would impact our sales,” Martinez says. “I had to hire a lot more people, put more systems in place. It’s not just our regular customers anymore, we get people who don’t even know what a pupusa is, so we’ve had to train our workers on how to even explain it. People are coming and just showing us something they saw on their phones and telling us that’s what they want. They’re not even looking at our menus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936294\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936294\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"The interior of a restaurant with several tables full of customers.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-033-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The restaurant is known for its festive, party-like atmosphere. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to Martinez, the pupusa loca is so large that he only knows of one patron who has single-mouthedly finished it. The rest? They order it, take a selfie, attempt a few bites, then box it up to go — in an actual pizza box. (I shamefully admit my wife and I only ate about half, but we tried, damn it.) Martinez is aware that the spectacle and presentation of his food is just as important as the quality. It’s all part of his strategy. And it’s working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everybody is on TikTok and Instagram,” says Cesar Arroyo, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ieatcalifornia/\">a Bay Area food influencer\u003c/a> and Gen-Z immigrant from Mexico who went from working construction to consulting for restaurant owners like Martinez to promote brand growth. “Simple videos can go viral and save a whole business. It can sometimes be too much, to be honest with you. But you want to bring in a crowd. You want people to take a picture with something big. It’s exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While at Las Cabañas, you’ll also want to also check out their pupusa bombs — deep fried bolitas of masa stuffed with cheese, frijoles and, if you so desire, birria (what else?). They’re equally photogenic, with fun cheese pulls and gooey insides dripping out of the spherical pupusa shell. And if you’re feeling especially Latinextravagant, you can add an order of “Angelita’s Margarita.” Named after Martinez’s mother, the drink is an endearing tribute to the original “hustler” who first opened Las Cabañas in 2004. After she passed from an illness in 2015, Martinez has carried on his mother’s recipes but with a modernized, Instagram-friendly twist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936292\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936292\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A fork and knife cut into a filled fried-looking ball.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-029-JY-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cutting into the oozy, cheesy interior of a pupusa bomb. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The exposure has undoubtedly been good for Martinez’s family-owned business. He confirms a boost in clientele since he introduced the mammoth birria pupusas in 2018 that has been unlike anything previously seen in the restaurant’s multi-decade existence. This summer, numerous Bay Area food influencers — including Arroyo, whose IEatCalifornia account on Instagram has over 41,000 followers — have posted about the giant pupusa, which has led to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/bay-area-pupuseria-las-cabanas-giant-pupusa-18362742.php\">mainstream news outlets\u003c/a> catching on. I personally found out about the pupuseria when a friend DMed me a viral video of the pupusa loca earlier this year. Despite living in Hayward for years, I hadn’t known about Las Cabañas prior to seeing it on social media. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We started doing more social media, especially in 2020 when the pandemic happened,” Martinez says. “When my mom was around, she was skeptical of it. She wanted us to do TV commercials. But I told her people don’t watch those as much anymore. I know she would be proud of where the restaurant is today and she would understand and support it. She’d be like ‘What are you doing now, aye mijo? Que no son bayuncadas.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>L.A. Taco’s Torres has noticed similar social media trends in Southern California, where many of the nation’s Latinx food trends — including \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/11/21/20937687/el-garage-quesabirria-birria-taco-richmond-instagram\">quesabirria\u003c/a> — originally took off. “[Social media] is a way for people to empower their business in their own style. Any chef who wants to be out of pocket can [do so].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnacksensei/video/7284136103475481902\" data-video-id=\"7284136103475481902\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@thesnacksensei\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@thesnacksensei?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@thesnacksensei\u003c/a> The Biggest Pupusas In The Bay Area! 📍 Pupuseria Las Cabanas In Hayward CA 🔥 \u003ca title=\"pupusas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pupusas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pupusas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"pupuseria\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/pupuseria?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#pupuseria\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bayarea\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayarea?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayarea\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Wild Thing (Re-Recorded) - Tone-Loc\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Wild-Thing-Re-Recorded-6717747275818387458?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Wild Thing (Re-Recorded) – Tone-Loc\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nHowever, it’s a flawed system — one that fosters a certain kind of gatekeeping, fetishization and even exploitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vultures of IG and TikTok, like anything, have a downside,” Torres continues. “With millions of followers, [some food influencers] charge $800 to $1,000 for an hour. That’s capitalism right there. I know a lot of influencers who invite me to eat with them, and their rates with vendors are fucking outrageous. But yeah, it’s catchy, to get on the map, to get attention. Especially for small vendors. Social media is where they can get their publicity for cheaper, even if influencers are charging an arm and an ass for content.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Martinez hasn’t shied away from that approach, though, leveraging the Instagram-driven birria craze through popular food personalities like San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thesnacksensei/?hl=en\">Snack Sensei\u003c/a> to further blow up. The dynamic is complicated, as the social media buzz that comes with a made-for-glam dish like the pupusa loca is one of the easiest ways hard-working restaurateurs like Martinez can make their business stand out in a culinary landscape saturated with over-hyped content. It highlights this current generation of foodmakers’ larger struggles to present their cultural foods to a wider audience — foods that, in many cases, were simply overlooked in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13938219\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13938219\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A female line cook uses a spatula to lift a giant pupusa onto a plate.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-018-JY-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Irma Morales, a cook at Las Cabañas, places a finished pupusa onto a plate. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>A Cultural Marriage of Birria and Phở\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In one of Dublin’s sleepiest, least glamorous strip malls, you’ll find what may be the most underappreciated fusion eatery in our region: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/taqueriaaztecadublinca/\">Taqueria Azteca\u003c/a>. Acquired in 1998 by Luong “Lu” Dang, a Vietnamese war refugee who arrived in the East Bay in the ‘70s, the shop has maintained its down-to-earth, homely Mexican vibes from previous ownership, while loudly introducing some of Dang’s zanier combinations, like Bochata (boba + horchata) and birria-filled bao.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Azteca is the proud home of quesabirria grilled cheese sandwiches and — my wife’s favorite — pan dulce French toast. Served on a massive, custom-made concha from \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/JuanitaMarketTracy/\">Juanita Market #4 in Tracy\u003c/a>, the dense, pink beauty is buttered up and prepared like any other French toast, with an optional tray of ham and eggs on the side. To be mega-clear, this pan dulce has the acreage of a cake, with a heft that can only be described as intimidating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937819\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937819\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549.jpg\" alt=\"a tray of pink pan dulce french toast is topped with strawberries and served with a hefty side of eggs and ham\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5549-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taqueria Azteca’s pan dulce French toast is topped with strawberries and served with a hefty side of eggs and ham on a cafeteria-sized tray. \u003ccite>(Briana Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But the restaurant’s flagship item is its bone-in birria phở — an eye-popping amount of noodles swimming around in consommé broth, with a “dinosaur bone” of meat casually laid on top. For the average eater, it more than suffices as lunch and dinner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Years ago, I didn’t have the nuts to do this,” Dang says. “But the Bay Area has a huge Vietnamese and Latino community, so everyone loves to see it. At first we were all clumsy with it, but we found our rhythm and are learning how to do it properly. Ask the [Latino] cooks here what they eat. They’re the ones making stuff that’s personal to them, and we each add our own touches. We eat our own food every day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Dang’s case, it’s not so much about pushing forward a family tradition as it is about fusing immigrant experiences. Married to Estefany Garcia, an immigrant from Michoacán, Dang has extensively toured various pueblos around Mexico, listing off dishes that even I — the son of Mexicans whose own mother lives in Veracruz — didn’t recognize, including corundas, uchepos and morisquetas. Together, Dang and Garcia are organically uniting their cultures through a genuine, love-bound exploration of their own brand of Latinextravagant cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937818\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937818\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541.jpg\" alt=\"a bone-in slab of Mexican birria is served in a giant bowl of Vietnamese pho\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/IMG_5541-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Dublin, a bone-in slab of Mexican birria is served in a giant bowl of Vietnamese phở. \u003ccite>(Briana Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It allows us to open up our kitchen in ways that are both traditional and non-traditional,” he says. “We’re always blending. At home, she might cook phở, and then she’ll make tinga and we’ll mix it. I added birria to bao, as well. The bao bun is a very different texture [from tortillas]. It’s soft and chewy and crispy, inside and out. It’s fun and easy to share. And it’s so damn good to eat.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The internet has played a major role for Lu and Garcia’s concoctions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Social media] is a communication channel unlike before,” says Lu. “I used to do TV and radio in the 2000s, and it was completely hit or miss. For small businesses like us, we can’t afford that. With Instagram, it levels the playing field. We eat with our eyes first. Something that we can do to grab your attention is to make it over-the-top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bayareafoodz/video/7293918581539048734\" data-video-id=\"7293918581539048734\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bayareafoodz?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@bayareafoodz\u003c/a> Check out this Big ass taco i got from @taqueriaaztecadublin its get no better than this \u003ca title=\"bayarea\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayarea?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayarea\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tacos\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tacos?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tacos\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tacostuesday\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tacostuesday?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tacostuesday\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bayareafoodz?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bayareafoodz\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Bayareafoodz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7293918667434773279?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Bayareafoodz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a small, otherwise modest eatery where Latino construction workers, white suburban moms and Asian elders mingle, Azteca is among the most unexpectedly “epic” dining experiences I’ve found in the Bay. Lu is extremely passionate about keeping Azteca’s foods playful and inviting — a major element of Mexican food that attracted him when he first came to it as an outsider. It’s something that Latinextravagant foods tend to do: They compel others to join in and share.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Beyond the Big Dishes\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It’s not always about dishing out the largest super-sized taco on the block. It’s also about paying homage in smaller, but equally creative, ways. After all, there’s a reason antojitos locos (or “crazy snacks”) have also gone viral throughout Mexico and Central America, and have now reached the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent favorite of mine is the Tostielote, an open-faced bag of Tostitos buried under esquites, parmesan cheese, sour cream, butter and mayonnaise. I recommend the version at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_ptbtSSyQ\">Junior’s Roaster\u003c/a>, a food truck located in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957907/this-is-our-city-san-joses-berryessa-flea-market-vendors-fight-to-stay\">the San José Flea Market\u003c/a>. There, you’ll encounter an old-school roasting machine that is used to prepare elotes, esquites and papas horneadas (baked potatoes). You can add any mix of meats (carne asada, al pastor, pollo asado), junk food (Flamin’ Hots, Ruffles, Takis) and hot sauces for a customized perfection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13914234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A foil-wrapped burrito and a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos on red and white checkered butcher paper.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/hotcheetoburrito_lead-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Flamin’ Hot Cheeto burrito is by far the most popular item at Taqueria El Mezcal, which has locations in San Pablo, Hayward and San Lorenzo. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/elmezcalsanpablo/\">Taqueria El Mezcal\u003c/a>, a humble local chain with three locations scattered throughout the East Bay, is known for its fiery, snack-inspired dishes. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13913985/hot-cheeto-burrito-taqueria-el-mezcal-richard-montanez-san-pablo\">Officially recognized by Chester Cheetah for its Hot Cheetos burrito\u003c/a>, the restaurant unveiled a new botana-inspired masterpiece this summer: the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alan_chazaro/status/1696339131289203181\">Doritos chilaquiles burrito\u003c/a>. It includes a bag’s worth of spicy nacho Doritos, refried beans, three fried eggs, crema, guacamole and your choice of meat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>None of these Latinextravagant foods are exactly calorie-conscious. And for the most part, that’s okay: The restaurants themselves wouldn’t suggest that customers eat this stuff every day, and they aren’t necessarily challenging anyone to take down a giant burrito or pupusa on their own, either. The super-sized dishes are meant to be novelty foods — a memorable experience rather than your daily source of sustenance. And in many cases, immigrant foodmakers are simply tailoring their menus in response to their TikTok and Instagram numbers, even bantering and discussing ideas with commenters in the reply sections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a recipe that has, at least so far, proven itself successful for the times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s mostly a marketing thing, but [Latinx businesses] do really think out of the box,” Arroyo, the influencer, says. “Some people don’t like it, but I believe in food bringing people together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When done well, the Latinextravagant approach to food attracts more people to the table than ever. At our core, Latinx diasporas are simply too big to be boxed in, and our foods could never fit inside any one nation’s stomach. But still, we try our best to share it with everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13938220\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13938220\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Rubber gloved hand sprinkles chopped cilantro onto an oversized pupusa topped the meat.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/20230927-Biggest-Pupusa-020-JY-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The finishing touch: sprinkling chopped onions and cilantro onto a giant — and truly Latinextravagant — pupusa. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pupuseria_las_cabanas/\">Pupuseria Las Cabañas\u003c/a> is located at 30030 Mission Blvd. in Hayward. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/taqueriaaztecadublinca/\">Taqueria Azteca\u003c/a> is located at 7155 Amador Plaza Rd. in Dublin.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The Coolest Place on Earth: The Public Library",
"headTitle": "The Coolest Place on Earth: The Public Library | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairfield’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mychal3ts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mychal Threets\u003c/a> is a superstar librarian, who readily professes the importance of childhood literacy, library access, and mental health. Because of that, he’s amassed a social media following that rivals your favorite artists and entertainers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the children’s reading area of the Fairfield Civic Center Library, where the walls are decorated with numbers and letters inspired by the book \u003cem>Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, \u003c/em>Threets records videos that he shares with hundreds of thousands of people across multiple social media platforms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A tall and thin African-American man who has a big afro and a bigger smile, Threets uses his platform to share his personal story, as well as suggestions for books and uplifting affirmations for those in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week on Rightnowish, we talk to Mychal Threets about what it’s like to be a social media star and how the public library system is a place for all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@mychal3ts/video/7290207177757789483\" data-video-id=\"7290207177757789483\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@mychal3ts\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@mychal3ts?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@mychal3ts\u003c/a> \n\u003cp>The library is better with you in it! You belong ☺️ \u003ca title=\"booktok\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/booktok?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#BookTok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"librarytiktok\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/librarytiktok?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#LibraryTikTok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"storytime\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/storytime?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#Storytime\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - mychal\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7290207258082904875?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound - mychal\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> \u003cscript async src=\"https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js\">\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8392445443&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is just our giant picture book area. This over here is probably like the primary spot where I always tell all the stories on social media, on Instagram, on Tik Tok and Twitter. I think I’m usually standing right over there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up everyone, I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw. Welcome to Rightnowish! Today, our team is taking y’all to the coolest place on earth… the library!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The library?! Yeah, I said the library fool.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Look, the library is this place where dreams originate, and plans take shape. Where meetings are held and solitude is found. Where our youngest, as well as our more seasoned community members, take their time to slowly read.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s where, as a kid, summer book programs gave me free tickets to Oakland A’s games. And as a young journalist, I’d spend hours inside the Oakland History Center, looking through their historical maps and archival periodicals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each library is different, and every library system is unique. But what grounds them all, is that the public library is one of the few spaces in society that is open to all. And for that, it’s sacred. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, we’re joined by a person who recognizes just how special the library is: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mychal Threets. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a librarian at the Fairfield Civic Library in Fairfield, California. And he’s kind of a big deal. He makes social media videos about the library system, banned books, and the importance of mental health awareness, and he shares them to an audience of hundreds of thousands followers. His videos have gone viral and he’s touched the hearts of many. And recently, Rightnowish’s Marisol Medina-Cadena and I pulled up to his information desk and talked to him about what makes his library– and all libraries– sacred spaces for everyone, right after this.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Fairfield Civic Center Library. What’s the significance of this place to you? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, it literally is my childhood home away from home as a homeschool kid, grew up in this library, came here every single week. As a kid, my mom homeschooled me. It’s where she came to get resources for homeschooling, came to storytimes, came to programs, brought my childhood cat to this library’s pet parade, very proudly held her while she received a ribbon. But then fast forward, I ended up getting my first library card from this library at the age of five. So library cards have always been special to me. I have a library card tattooed on my arm. They’ve just always meant something to me from a very early age. And then this place is also just special to me. Just again, growing up here, first library card, but it’s also where I got my first library job as a shelver. I’ve held several jobs in the library world over the last ten years, and I’m now the supervisor of this library that we’re in right now.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Was there a specific moment for you as a young adult where it clicked, the significance of this library? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think the significance of this library. I think just libraries in general being a safe space for me from a very early age. I’m not shy at all about suffering from mental health, from anxiety, depression, panic disorder, nightmare disorder. I didn’t realize it at the age of eight, that I had anxiety and all those things, but I’ve traced it back to that time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …And this library was always very special to me, and that’s where I felt comfortable. The books were my very first friend. If it sounds cliché to say, but it’s very true that I was one of those kids that books meant the world to me because it was hard for me to make friends, let alone as a homeschool kid. But as a shy, introverted, anxious kid, it was even more difficult. So this library was special, and I felt safe… safe here from as early as I could remember. I’ve always felt that way in libraries everywhere I go. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena, host: \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How Pen and I found out about you is through the viral videos that you post online. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Mychal Threets (in a clip, singing): “\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are some books in this house. There are some books in this house. There’s some…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I just want to know, like, what’s the overall message you’re trying to promote about libraries through those videos? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, so those videos, I never expected those videos to go viral. And at the time I was hoping that maybe a thousand people would see that video. And my overall message with these videos is just to remind people of one, that the library exists. I think so many people don’t even remember that they have a local library. They don’t realize that the library is more than books. Some libraries have better budgets than other libraries, my library, for example. But you’d be surprised to learn that your library may have more than books, that it has musical instruments, board games, video games, but more importantly, just remind people that they do belong. I feel like I’ve said the word belong 100,000 times since all these videos took off. But like, it’s so… it’s so special to me that that is what the library is for. You could be unhoused, you could be mentally ill, you can be a kid, teenager, grown-up without kids. The library is a place for you. It’s a place where you can be your authentic self, whatever that means to you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not a place where you’re going to be judged walking in. There is no expectations. When you come to the local library, you don’t even need a library card. I love when people come into the library and flash a library card like we’re Costco. And I’m like, you don’t have to do that. I love that I can see your library card, but you can just walk in. Like, you can just go, you can read books, you can read the newspaper. We even print out people one time passes for the computer. You don’t even need a library card to use our computers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But so yeah, I think just reminding people that the library exists, that it’s different from what they used to be. We don’t shush people anymore. I’ve been shushed far more times than I’ve shushed people. And just everybody should come and visit their local library. It’s pretty much my whole message behind those videos. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Can you set up that viral video that you said got like over a million views? Like what was the message you were saying specifically in that one?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the first video that took off is the one of the kid who asked me if I’m a boy librarian or a girl librarian\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">where a kid and their grown up were at the… at the desk with me, helping them check out books, and I could see the kid kind of like stealing glances at their grown up. And I was like, oh, they’re going to say something and say… are they going to, are they going to mock my hair? Are they going to mock my shirt? Is it going to be my general appearance? And I was wearing a mask, too, so I just saw I heard the kid kind of like go to their grown up, “Mama, is it a boy librarian or a girl librarian?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And you could see, like the grown-ups’ eyes get wide like, oh, how is he going to react to this? But I think the grown-up did a great thing that they were just like, “Oh, let’s let’s ask him. I’m sure, I’m sure he’ll let us know.” And so the kid is like, “Are you a boy librarian or a girl librarian?” And I was like, “Oh, I’m a boy librarian.” And then I shared, I shared that video and then just so many people resonated with it. I think my message behind that video is just to applaud the grown up for saying, ‘Let’s teach my kid something new. Let’s teach him that it’s okay to ask people questions, to be… to be vulnerable.’ So just a kid having the courage to ask, a grown up being like this isn’t a taboo subject, let’s find out if this person is a boy librarian, a girl librarian. Let’s give them the space to say what they are, what they identify with. And then again, I thought that video was going to get maybe a thousand views. And it’s been- just been seen by over a million people now. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do people in Fairfield, like when you’re at the grocery store or the gas station, do they recognize you? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few people do. It’s actually… it’s actually more so outside of Solano County that more people seem to recognize me. I went on a trip to Hawaii and several people were like, Oh, you’re the library guy. You’re that guy from social media. Or I went to like, an Oakland A’s game. And I think like… I think five people, like, made me take selfies with them. But it does happen here in Fairfield. I’ve gone to like, Safeway and people are like, It’s you. I just want to say hi. Or even like I live in an apartment complex not too far from here. I like, I ran downstairs yesterday. The person waiting in the car was like, Oh, it’s you. I’ve seen your videos. I can’t believe it. So I have been recognized. It’s very awkward. It’s very strange. I think I’ve actually, I’ve had like an older library user coming here before, say like, “I have to take a picture with you to show, to show my granddaughter.” But she didn’t know how to take the selfie, so I had to take a selfie for the person, of her and I. So that was probably like the most like, adorable but awkward encounter I’ve had thus far. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You mentioned a couple of these before, but when people think of the library, it’s often just books, a place to go, study, and be shushed. I’m wondering what are some of the misconceptions that you’re looking to debunk with your work? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, I think I think the first one is the one that we talked about, that libraries are more than books. And this number two is the one that you just talked about, about being shushed. I like to call like, my library, like a loud library, like you have to use like, your library voice to a degree. But I’m trying, in trying to like most to make sure people belong, make sure they’re welcome. Like a little bit of noise is acceptable. Like there have been so many times in my 9, 10 months of being a supervisor back at this library were people with kids who are neurodivergent on the spectrum, have ADHD, other fe- other things, have admitted that they don’t like coming to the library because they feel like they don’t belong, because their kids are going to get shushed. Like “I don’t think my kid will ever be able to become a library kid,” which of course makes me feel very sad.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I tell those kids… those kids and those grown ups, I’m like, ‘Just… just try it out. Like, take it, take it different times. Like you can come one visit if it’s too much, go take a step outside, come back inside, come back next week, try again.’ I tell them like if your kid is making noise, being happy, I’m like, I take that as a badge of honor. I’m like, that means your kid is having fun at the library, even if it’s not books they’re having fun with the toys. That’s the whole reason we have a children’s library is for people to, like, learn what the library’s all about. That it is for them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the library is no longer a place. I mean, some libraries you are going to get shushed more than others. But my library, Solano County libraries are not ones where you’re often going to get shushed. I mean, you can’t come in and you can’t curse out library staff. You can’t like, just start playing your app videos, your YouTube videos along that as loud as you can. If we get complaints, we’ll talk to you. But there is a certain level of noise that we… that we allow in the library and we’re also doing cool things, like the Vallejo Springstowne Library did a punk rock show not too long ago. They had some punk rock concerts in the back of their parking lot. The Vallejo John F Kennedy Library had the rapper La Russell performing in… in the libraries. So libraries are doing new things. So those are the myths that I want to debunk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And why is it important to have someone like that, like repopularizing the brand of the public library? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think… I think that’s why it takes… I mean, you have so many more figures who are like who are making books in libraries popular. Like, you have like, Steph Curry has a book club and Malala has a book club. La Russell has a book. I think Amanda Gorman is a poet who is like taking the world by storm. So she’s a different type of person. But I think it’s important to have these people talking about books, talking about the importance of libraries, because there are so many young people who are listening. I mean, libraries for everybody, kids, teens and adults and grown ups. But the kids are like who we’re trying to reach, who we’re trying to make sure that the world is better for. And having these influential figures makes it so that they know if they like that, they they’re not worried about looking cool. They’re like, Oh, these people are making books cool, they’re making libraries cool. I’m a library nerd. I’ve always thought libraries and books were super cool. So it’s cool to see these cool people who are actually cool making books in libraries cool. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On that note of like, accessibility, I mean, that’s probably the tenets of public libraries. And you know, we live in an information age where we’re constantly bombarded with information on our phones, computers, anything. So like, what is the role of the library to, like, give quality information, if you will, or like promote media literacy or anything about that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s so much that the library does for, for promoting literacy, for promoting accessibility. There’s so many different realms, I think just for access, accessibility for literacy, that’s where like, schools and libraries have a great relationship and connection. Schools do something called AR levels, accelerated reader levels. So basically, if you’re at third grade reading level, fourth grade reading level, you’re looking for a book that falls within those levels which is very complicated. And oftentimes it unfortunately sets kids back because kids learn at different rates. So sometimes some kids may not be able to read at the grade level that they’re at. So I mentioned that because libraries don’t have weird- we don’t arrange things by that level. We have like third grade reading lists, but all of our books are just chapter books, picture books, nonfiction books. We don’t break it into first grade, second grade, third grade, because we acknowledge that everybody learns at a different rate, and we want people to feel comfortable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We want them to fall in love with reading. That’s our important first priority is that falling in love with literature, with literacy, and then we can work on getting you to that grade level. So I think that’s that part of accessibility. But then the other part of accessibility is just making sure that, like we talked about, that there is a place that they can come to. So I think accessibility for the mentally ill, for the unhoused, which I think people don’t often think about them when it comes to accessibility, but there has to be a place for them to flock to, to go to when they have nowhere else to go. And that’s what the public library is. It is a place like we talked about, that there is no expectation. They can just come in out of the elements. They can sit. If you’re having a panic attack, you can come into the library. You can ask us for help. Or as a person who goes through panic attacks, sometimes you can just have a panic attack in peace inside of the library, which I know is a weird thing to say, but at least it is a place of welcoming. And so I think there are so many different aspects of accessibility when it comes to the library and literacy as well. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re very almost profoundly up front about the intersection of mental health and your work. And I’m wondering why is it important for you to share your story first?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s important for me to share my story of mental health just because I didn’t have any such stories when I was… when I was a kid. I think.. I think I mentioned that, having anxiety at the age of eight, it’s not something I knew what it was. Being 33, mental health was still very stigmatized when I was a kid. So for me, like, I don’t… I don’t have the platform that others seem to think I do, but whatever version of platform I do have, I do want to talk about mental health, just so. just to normalize it, just to show people that it does exist and that it’s okay to not be okay. I\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">made a silly remix of, of, of Get Low by Little Jon. And so like 369 is okay to not be fine…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets (in clip, singing): \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“369, it’s okay to not be fine, hope you can crush this day one more time…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, I think me talking about it just shows people that there’s other people out there that are suffering but are still persevering, that are still surviving and even being successful because I’ve been a library worker for ten years. So I have a various level of success. So I think talking about mental health just shows people that it’s okay to not be okay. You can keep on going. And oftentimes that’s why I release my library stories. Either I’m having a hard day or people message me on social media and say, ‘Oh, I’m having a hard day. I’m having a really big bout of anxiety.’ So many times the stories I release are dedicated to those people who are having a hard day, or they’re kind of like what I would tell myself on my hard days. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I even made another like, mental health call for help video where I was like, ‘Oh, like if you’re watching this video, like in your bed, laying down right now…’ And so many people were like, ‘I was watching that video laying down in my bed right now.’ I even had a grown-up came- come up to me in the library that day and was like, “Hi, Mr. Michael, I just wanna let you know that I saw your video. And I came to the library. I got out of bed and I visited the library.” So, so that’s super cool to see it happening in real life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The library has kind of become this de facto like support wraparound services because those services often don’t exist in our communities. And so libraries, librarians, and library staff are often like the front lines, if you will, of like mental health, cause they’re coming into contact with people living with mental health. Has there been an experience here, about that, that really crystallized like why it’s important for librarians to have those… that knowledge base?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Honestly, every day at the public library is a reminder of why it’s important that we do, we need to be aware of these services or at least have the ability to put people in touch with these services. I hear just people telling me like, how much it helps that me and my library staff say hello to them on a daily basis, or people have literally told us like, ‘Oh, you guys, you guys saved my life. Like just by saying hi. Like, you guys actually care. Like we’re actually important to you.’ Or even a day or two ago, I told the story about how there’s an unhoused person on our loading dock, and my staff was like, ‘Oh, we need… we need this person who just moved to a different area.’ That’s okay. They’re blocking the staff entrance. It makes it’s hard for them to come inside. So I went and spoke with that person. I said, ‘Oh, hey, it’s me again. Michael with the library. Just spoke with you not too long ago. I know it feels like it’s been forever. It’s only been an hour. Just seeing if you can try to just get all your stuff moved to a different area. Like you don’t have to go far. I just want my library people to be able to walk through.’ They were like “Sure, sure, I promise. Give me 5 minutes. I’ll try to move as quick as I can, get my stuff away.” And I was about to go inside, I said, ‘You know what? The library is open. You’re more than welcome to come on inside. You can just hang out inside.’ Library was open until 8:00 that day. They were very surprised. They’re like, “Really? Like, I can come inside?” I’m like, ‘Yes. Library’s for you. You belong in this library. Keep on doing your thing.’ Basically, the library is a community hub. The library exists for the community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My interest in talking to you is that I see you and also the public library system as an agent of change. When I think of the public library system, when I didn’t have money to go to a coffee shop, I would go to a library and send off my resume and try to get into this economy and work my way up. I also see it as a safe space, as you said, for people experiencing mental health ups and downs, as well as a way to battle some of the things that you see in the news where it’s like everything from book bans to misinformation. And so I front load that question all to ask you, like when you wake up in the morning, do you see yourself as an agent of change? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think I am. But I do believe that every school librarian, public librarian, academic librarian, all the library workers, they’re all agents of change, working to make the world a better place. Be it banned books, celebrating just the freedom to freedom to read. Just saying that we’re not trying to make it any, any big thing. We’re not trying to push anything on you, on your kids. We just want them to be able to see themselves, to feel seen, to feel represented, to feel that they belong. The library is happy. We’re waiting for you. We can’t wait to see you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Big thank you to Mychal Threets! Thanks for the work you do and the service you provide, in real life and online. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For all of you interested in learning more about Mychal’s work, you can find him on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram under “Mychal3ts” And that’s spelled M-Y-C-H-A-L, the number 3, TS. He’s also on Facebook under his first name, Mychal spelled M-Y-C-H-A-L and his last name is Threets, T-H-R-E-E-T-S. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by Marisol Medina-Cadena and me, Pendarvis Harshaw. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Hambrick. Our engineer is Christopher Beale. And Sheree Bishop is the Rightnowish intern and was the camera person on this trip. Be sure to look out for that video on your social media platforms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Xorje Olivares, Cesar Saldaña, and Katie Sprenger. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you all for listening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode is dedicated to all of the library lovers and a special shout out to those who will soon discover the magic of the local public library.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, go get you a mother loving library card, fool. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, p\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">eace.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Librarian Mychal Threets is a social media star who says the public library system is a place for all.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fairfield’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mychal3ts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mychal Threets\u003c/a> is a superstar librarian, who readily professes the importance of childhood literacy, library access, and mental health. Because of that, he’s amassed a social media following that rivals your favorite artists and entertainers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the children’s reading area of the Fairfield Civic Center Library, where the walls are decorated with numbers and letters inspired by the book \u003cem>Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, \u003c/em>Threets records videos that he shares with hundreds of thousands of people across multiple social media platforms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A tall and thin African-American man who has a big afro and a bigger smile, Threets uses his platform to share his personal story, as well as suggestions for books and uplifting affirmations for those in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week on Rightnowish, we talk to Mychal Threets about what it’s like to be a social media star and how the public library system is a place for all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@mychal3ts/video/7290207177757789483\" data-video-id=\"7290207177757789483\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@mychal3ts\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@mychal3ts?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@mychal3ts\u003c/a> \n\u003cp>The library is better with you in it! You belong ☺️ \u003ca title=\"booktok\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/booktok?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#BookTok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"librarytiktok\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/librarytiktok?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#LibraryTikTok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"storytime\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/storytime?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#Storytime\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - mychal\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7290207258082904875?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound - mychal\u003c/a> \u003c/p>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> \u003cscript async src=\"https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js\">\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8392445443&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is just our giant picture book area. This over here is probably like the primary spot where I always tell all the stories on social media, on Instagram, on Tik Tok and Twitter. I think I’m usually standing right over there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up everyone, I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw. Welcome to Rightnowish! Today, our team is taking y’all to the coolest place on earth… the library!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The library?! Yeah, I said the library fool.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Look, the library is this place where dreams originate, and plans take shape. Where meetings are held and solitude is found. Where our youngest, as well as our more seasoned community members, take their time to slowly read.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s where, as a kid, summer book programs gave me free tickets to Oakland A’s games. And as a young journalist, I’d spend hours inside the Oakland History Center, looking through their historical maps and archival periodicals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each library is different, and every library system is unique. But what grounds them all, is that the public library is one of the few spaces in society that is open to all. And for that, it’s sacred. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, we’re joined by a person who recognizes just how special the library is: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mychal Threets. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a librarian at the Fairfield Civic Library in Fairfield, California. And he’s kind of a big deal. He makes social media videos about the library system, banned books, and the importance of mental health awareness, and he shares them to an audience of hundreds of thousands followers. His videos have gone viral and he’s touched the hearts of many. And recently, Rightnowish’s Marisol Medina-Cadena and I pulled up to his information desk and talked to him about what makes his library– and all libraries– sacred spaces for everyone, right after this.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The Fairfield Civic Center Library. What’s the significance of this place to you? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, it literally is my childhood home away from home as a homeschool kid, grew up in this library, came here every single week. As a kid, my mom homeschooled me. It’s where she came to get resources for homeschooling, came to storytimes, came to programs, brought my childhood cat to this library’s pet parade, very proudly held her while she received a ribbon. But then fast forward, I ended up getting my first library card from this library at the age of five. So library cards have always been special to me. I have a library card tattooed on my arm. They’ve just always meant something to me from a very early age. And then this place is also just special to me. Just again, growing up here, first library card, but it’s also where I got my first library job as a shelver. I’ve held several jobs in the library world over the last ten years, and I’m now the supervisor of this library that we’re in right now.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Was there a specific moment for you as a young adult where it clicked, the significance of this library? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think the significance of this library. I think just libraries in general being a safe space for me from a very early age. I’m not shy at all about suffering from mental health, from anxiety, depression, panic disorder, nightmare disorder. I didn’t realize it at the age of eight, that I had anxiety and all those things, but I’ve traced it back to that time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …And this library was always very special to me, and that’s where I felt comfortable. The books were my very first friend. If it sounds cliché to say, but it’s very true that I was one of those kids that books meant the world to me because it was hard for me to make friends, let alone as a homeschool kid. But as a shy, introverted, anxious kid, it was even more difficult. So this library was special, and I felt safe… safe here from as early as I could remember. I’ve always felt that way in libraries everywhere I go. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena, host: \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How Pen and I found out about you is through the viral videos that you post online. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003ci>Mychal Threets (in a clip, singing): “\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are some books in this house. There are some books in this house. There’s some…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I just want to know, like, what’s the overall message you’re trying to promote about libraries through those videos? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, so those videos, I never expected those videos to go viral. And at the time I was hoping that maybe a thousand people would see that video. And my overall message with these videos is just to remind people of one, that the library exists. I think so many people don’t even remember that they have a local library. They don’t realize that the library is more than books. Some libraries have better budgets than other libraries, my library, for example. But you’d be surprised to learn that your library may have more than books, that it has musical instruments, board games, video games, but more importantly, just remind people that they do belong. I feel like I’ve said the word belong 100,000 times since all these videos took off. But like, it’s so… it’s so special to me that that is what the library is for. You could be unhoused, you could be mentally ill, you can be a kid, teenager, grown-up without kids. The library is a place for you. It’s a place where you can be your authentic self, whatever that means to you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not a place where you’re going to be judged walking in. There is no expectations. When you come to the local library, you don’t even need a library card. I love when people come into the library and flash a library card like we’re Costco. And I’m like, you don’t have to do that. I love that I can see your library card, but you can just walk in. Like, you can just go, you can read books, you can read the newspaper. We even print out people one time passes for the computer. You don’t even need a library card to use our computers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But so yeah, I think just reminding people that the library exists, that it’s different from what they used to be. We don’t shush people anymore. I’ve been shushed far more times than I’ve shushed people. And just everybody should come and visit their local library. It’s pretty much my whole message behind those videos. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Can you set up that viral video that you said got like over a million views? Like what was the message you were saying specifically in that one?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the first video that took off is the one of the kid who asked me if I’m a boy librarian or a girl librarian\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">where a kid and their grown up were at the… at the desk with me, helping them check out books, and I could see the kid kind of like stealing glances at their grown up. And I was like, oh, they’re going to say something and say… are they going to, are they going to mock my hair? Are they going to mock my shirt? Is it going to be my general appearance? And I was wearing a mask, too, so I just saw I heard the kid kind of like go to their grown up, “Mama, is it a boy librarian or a girl librarian?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And you could see, like the grown-ups’ eyes get wide like, oh, how is he going to react to this? But I think the grown-up did a great thing that they were just like, “Oh, let’s let’s ask him. I’m sure, I’m sure he’ll let us know.” And so the kid is like, “Are you a boy librarian or a girl librarian?” And I was like, “Oh, I’m a boy librarian.” And then I shared, I shared that video and then just so many people resonated with it. I think my message behind that video is just to applaud the grown up for saying, ‘Let’s teach my kid something new. Let’s teach him that it’s okay to ask people questions, to be… to be vulnerable.’ So just a kid having the courage to ask, a grown up being like this isn’t a taboo subject, let’s find out if this person is a boy librarian, a girl librarian. Let’s give them the space to say what they are, what they identify with. And then again, I thought that video was going to get maybe a thousand views. And it’s been- just been seen by over a million people now. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do people in Fairfield, like when you’re at the grocery store or the gas station, do they recognize you? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few people do. It’s actually… it’s actually more so outside of Solano County that more people seem to recognize me. I went on a trip to Hawaii and several people were like, Oh, you’re the library guy. You’re that guy from social media. Or I went to like, an Oakland A’s game. And I think like… I think five people, like, made me take selfies with them. But it does happen here in Fairfield. I’ve gone to like, Safeway and people are like, It’s you. I just want to say hi. Or even like I live in an apartment complex not too far from here. I like, I ran downstairs yesterday. The person waiting in the car was like, Oh, it’s you. I’ve seen your videos. I can’t believe it. So I have been recognized. It’s very awkward. It’s very strange. I think I’ve actually, I’ve had like an older library user coming here before, say like, “I have to take a picture with you to show, to show my granddaughter.” But she didn’t know how to take the selfie, so I had to take a selfie for the person, of her and I. So that was probably like the most like, adorable but awkward encounter I’ve had thus far. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You mentioned a couple of these before, but when people think of the library, it’s often just books, a place to go, study, and be shushed. I’m wondering what are some of the misconceptions that you’re looking to debunk with your work? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, I think I think the first one is the one that we talked about, that libraries are more than books. And this number two is the one that you just talked about, about being shushed. I like to call like, my library, like a loud library, like you have to use like, your library voice to a degree. But I’m trying, in trying to like most to make sure people belong, make sure they’re welcome. Like a little bit of noise is acceptable. Like there have been so many times in my 9, 10 months of being a supervisor back at this library were people with kids who are neurodivergent on the spectrum, have ADHD, other fe- other things, have admitted that they don’t like coming to the library because they feel like they don’t belong, because their kids are going to get shushed. Like “I don’t think my kid will ever be able to become a library kid,” which of course makes me feel very sad.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I tell those kids… those kids and those grown ups, I’m like, ‘Just… just try it out. Like, take it, take it different times. Like you can come one visit if it’s too much, go take a step outside, come back inside, come back next week, try again.’ I tell them like if your kid is making noise, being happy, I’m like, I take that as a badge of honor. I’m like, that means your kid is having fun at the library, even if it’s not books they’re having fun with the toys. That’s the whole reason we have a children’s library is for people to, like, learn what the library’s all about. That it is for them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the library is no longer a place. I mean, some libraries you are going to get shushed more than others. But my library, Solano County libraries are not ones where you’re often going to get shushed. I mean, you can’t come in and you can’t curse out library staff. You can’t like, just start playing your app videos, your YouTube videos along that as loud as you can. If we get complaints, we’ll talk to you. But there is a certain level of noise that we… that we allow in the library and we’re also doing cool things, like the Vallejo Springstowne Library did a punk rock show not too long ago. They had some punk rock concerts in the back of their parking lot. The Vallejo John F Kennedy Library had the rapper La Russell performing in… in the libraries. So libraries are doing new things. So those are the myths that I want to debunk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And why is it important to have someone like that, like repopularizing the brand of the public library? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think… I think that’s why it takes… I mean, you have so many more figures who are like who are making books in libraries popular. Like, you have like, Steph Curry has a book club and Malala has a book club. La Russell has a book. I think Amanda Gorman is a poet who is like taking the world by storm. So she’s a different type of person. But I think it’s important to have these people talking about books, talking about the importance of libraries, because there are so many young people who are listening. I mean, libraries for everybody, kids, teens and adults and grown ups. But the kids are like who we’re trying to reach, who we’re trying to make sure that the world is better for. And having these influential figures makes it so that they know if they like that, they they’re not worried about looking cool. They’re like, Oh, these people are making books cool, they’re making libraries cool. I’m a library nerd. I’ve always thought libraries and books were super cool. So it’s cool to see these cool people who are actually cool making books in libraries cool. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On that note of like, accessibility, I mean, that’s probably the tenets of public libraries. And you know, we live in an information age where we’re constantly bombarded with information on our phones, computers, anything. So like, what is the role of the library to, like, give quality information, if you will, or like promote media literacy or anything about that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s so much that the library does for, for promoting literacy, for promoting accessibility. There’s so many different realms, I think just for access, accessibility for literacy, that’s where like, schools and libraries have a great relationship and connection. Schools do something called AR levels, accelerated reader levels. So basically, if you’re at third grade reading level, fourth grade reading level, you’re looking for a book that falls within those levels which is very complicated. And oftentimes it unfortunately sets kids back because kids learn at different rates. So sometimes some kids may not be able to read at the grade level that they’re at. So I mentioned that because libraries don’t have weird- we don’t arrange things by that level. We have like third grade reading lists, but all of our books are just chapter books, picture books, nonfiction books. We don’t break it into first grade, second grade, third grade, because we acknowledge that everybody learns at a different rate, and we want people to feel comfortable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We want them to fall in love with reading. That’s our important first priority is that falling in love with literature, with literacy, and then we can work on getting you to that grade level. So I think that’s that part of accessibility. But then the other part of accessibility is just making sure that, like we talked about, that there is a place that they can come to. So I think accessibility for the mentally ill, for the unhoused, which I think people don’t often think about them when it comes to accessibility, but there has to be a place for them to flock to, to go to when they have nowhere else to go. And that’s what the public library is. It is a place like we talked about, that there is no expectation. They can just come in out of the elements. They can sit. If you’re having a panic attack, you can come into the library. You can ask us for help. Or as a person who goes through panic attacks, sometimes you can just have a panic attack in peace inside of the library, which I know is a weird thing to say, but at least it is a place of welcoming. And so I think there are so many different aspects of accessibility when it comes to the library and literacy as well. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re very almost profoundly up front about the intersection of mental health and your work. And I’m wondering why is it important for you to share your story first?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s important for me to share my story of mental health just because I didn’t have any such stories when I was… when I was a kid. I think.. I think I mentioned that, having anxiety at the age of eight, it’s not something I knew what it was. Being 33, mental health was still very stigmatized when I was a kid. So for me, like, I don’t… I don’t have the platform that others seem to think I do, but whatever version of platform I do have, I do want to talk about mental health, just so. just to normalize it, just to show people that it does exist and that it’s okay to not be okay. I\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">made a silly remix of, of, of Get Low by Little Jon. And so like 369 is okay to not be fine…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets (in clip, singing): \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“369, it’s okay to not be fine, hope you can crush this day one more time…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, I think me talking about it just shows people that there’s other people out there that are suffering but are still persevering, that are still surviving and even being successful because I’ve been a library worker for ten years. So I have a various level of success. So I think talking about mental health just shows people that it’s okay to not be okay. You can keep on going. And oftentimes that’s why I release my library stories. Either I’m having a hard day or people message me on social media and say, ‘Oh, I’m having a hard day. I’m having a really big bout of anxiety.’ So many times the stories I release are dedicated to those people who are having a hard day, or they’re kind of like what I would tell myself on my hard days. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I even made another like, mental health call for help video where I was like, ‘Oh, like if you’re watching this video, like in your bed, laying down right now…’ And so many people were like, ‘I was watching that video laying down in my bed right now.’ I even had a grown-up came- come up to me in the library that day and was like, “Hi, Mr. Michael, I just wanna let you know that I saw your video. And I came to the library. I got out of bed and I visited the library.” So, so that’s super cool to see it happening in real life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The library has kind of become this de facto like support wraparound services because those services often don’t exist in our communities. And so libraries, librarians, and library staff are often like the front lines, if you will, of like mental health, cause they’re coming into contact with people living with mental health. Has there been an experience here, about that, that really crystallized like why it’s important for librarians to have those… that knowledge base?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Honestly, every day at the public library is a reminder of why it’s important that we do, we need to be aware of these services or at least have the ability to put people in touch with these services. I hear just people telling me like, how much it helps that me and my library staff say hello to them on a daily basis, or people have literally told us like, ‘Oh, you guys, you guys saved my life. Like just by saying hi. Like, you guys actually care. Like we’re actually important to you.’ Or even a day or two ago, I told the story about how there’s an unhoused person on our loading dock, and my staff was like, ‘Oh, we need… we need this person who just moved to a different area.’ That’s okay. They’re blocking the staff entrance. It makes it’s hard for them to come inside. So I went and spoke with that person. I said, ‘Oh, hey, it’s me again. Michael with the library. Just spoke with you not too long ago. I know it feels like it’s been forever. It’s only been an hour. Just seeing if you can try to just get all your stuff moved to a different area. Like you don’t have to go far. I just want my library people to be able to walk through.’ They were like “Sure, sure, I promise. Give me 5 minutes. I’ll try to move as quick as I can, get my stuff away.” And I was about to go inside, I said, ‘You know what? The library is open. You’re more than welcome to come on inside. You can just hang out inside.’ Library was open until 8:00 that day. They were very surprised. They’re like, “Really? Like, I can come inside?” I’m like, ‘Yes. Library’s for you. You belong in this library. Keep on doing your thing.’ Basically, the library is a community hub. The library exists for the community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My interest in talking to you is that I see you and also the public library system as an agent of change. When I think of the public library system, when I didn’t have money to go to a coffee shop, I would go to a library and send off my resume and try to get into this economy and work my way up. I also see it as a safe space, as you said, for people experiencing mental health ups and downs, as well as a way to battle some of the things that you see in the news where it’s like everything from book bans to misinformation. And so I front load that question all to ask you, like when you wake up in the morning, do you see yourself as an agent of change? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mychal Threets:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think I am. But I do believe that every school librarian, public librarian, academic librarian, all the library workers, they’re all agents of change, working to make the world a better place. Be it banned books, celebrating just the freedom to freedom to read. Just saying that we’re not trying to make it any, any big thing. We’re not trying to push anything on you, on your kids. We just want them to be able to see themselves, to feel seen, to feel represented, to feel that they belong. The library is happy. We’re waiting for you. We can’t wait to see you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Big thank you to Mychal Threets! Thanks for the work you do and the service you provide, in real life and online. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For all of you interested in learning more about Mychal’s work, you can find him on Twitter, TikTok and Instagram under “Mychal3ts” And that’s spelled M-Y-C-H-A-L, the number 3, TS. He’s also on Facebook under his first name, Mychal spelled M-Y-C-H-A-L and his last name is Threets, T-H-R-E-E-T-S. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by Marisol Medina-Cadena and me, Pendarvis Harshaw. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Hambrick. Our engineer is Christopher Beale. And Sheree Bishop is the Rightnowish intern and was the camera person on this trip. Be sure to look out for that video on your social media platforms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Xorje Olivares, Cesar Saldaña, and Katie Sprenger. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you all for listening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode is dedicated to all of the library lovers and a special shout out to those who will soon discover the magic of the local public library.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, go get you a mother loving library card, fool. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, p\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">eace.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"title": "This New Richmond Taco Truck Is a Cheesy, Meaty Social Media Sensation",
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"content": "\u003cp>As a crowd lines up in front of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselrulas/?hl=en\">Tacos El Rulas #2\u003c/a> food truck on a recent Friday night, the real show is happening a few feet away in a long, tented section of the parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bookended by a big charcoal grill on one side and a spinning, sizzling al pastor trompo on the other, the taqueros work their magic on the flat-tops. They hand-press fresh tortillas, griddle onions and bell peppers in bacon fat, and layer heaps of well-charred meat and melted cheese to assemble the over-the-top creations that have become the truck’s calling card: the “papá loca” (a Mexican American analogue to the fully loaded baked potato) and the alambre — a cheesy, street food–style mixed grill that’s popular in Mexico City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What I love about El Rulas is the backyard party vibe — something about the tight cluster of picnic tables and cheerful banda music and the smell of smoky grilled meats seeping deep into your clothes. All in all, it’s about as fun a place as there is right now to grab tacos in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot.jpg\" alt=\"The Tacos El Rulas #2 taco truck displays the red, green and white of the Mexican flag. To its left, the truck's taqueros prepare food on flat-top grills. To the right is a tented dining area with picnic tables.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The taco truck’s parking lot setup feels as festive as a backyard party. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When a lot of people are here, it just feels like a small get-together,” says Angeles Lopez, a high school senior who helps her father, Raul Ramirez Rodriguez, operate the business. “It doesn’t really feel like I’m working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tacos El Rulas isn’t exactly a newcomer to the East Bay taco scene. Early in the pandemic, one of its trucks — known for its \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2021/2/11/22275500/tacos-el-rulas-truck-berkeley-quesabirria-torta-cubana-handmade-tortillas\">outlandishly overstuffed tortas\u003c/a> — debuted in the parking lot of a Berkeley auto shop. Its second truck used to be stationed at a smaller, more out-of-the-way location in Richmond, on Rumrill Road, before moving to its current spot on \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/a-richmond-taco-crawl-2-1/\">23rd Street\u003c/a> in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13915646,arts_13923359']\u003c/span>The new location’s popularity is, at least in part, a social media success story. I had driven past a few dozen times since it opened but, even as a fan of the Berkeley truck, never got around to stopping by. Then, a few weeks ago, three or four different \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Csmwe4OpYEd/?hl=en\">food influencer\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CsuHiSGtc7I/?hl=en\">videos\u003c/a> featuring Tacos El Rulas popped up on my Instagram feed in the span of a couple of days — this despite the fact that the truck has almost no presence on \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-el-rulas-richmond\">Yelp\u003c/a> or in traditional food media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez explains that the viral Instagram and TikTok videos are a deliberate part of their marketing strategy. When business lagged in the taco truck’s first couple of months, her father reached out directly to several prominent Bay Area food influencers to see if they’d be willing to help him promote his food (for a fee, of course). It seems \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs6kFO_rIuI/?hl=en\">nearly all of them\u003c/a> said yes. According to Lopez, early boosters like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Csbu6DarI8D/?hl=en\">@booziebrunch\u003c/a> were instrumental in helping to introduce Tacos El Rulas to the Black community, which now forms a large part of the truck’s fanbase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931130\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931130\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre.jpg\" alt=\"A cheesy mix of meat, bell pappers, and onions served in an aluminum tray with a stack of corn tortillas on top.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The alambre in all its glory. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holding a taco stuffed with cheesy meat, onions, and peppers.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemble your own tacos. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of course, El Rulas’ massively portioned alambres and papás locas are uniquely suited for social media. (Everyone loves a good cheese pull, after all.) And it doesn’t hurt that those specific items — only available at the Richmond location — are legitimately delicious. The alambre is a gut-busting mix of chorizo, bacon, onions, peppers, pineapple, melted cheese and your choice of meat. As a crowning touch, a squirt of Worcestershire and Maggi seasoning adds a unique, almost stir fry–like savoriness, and the whole thing comes topped with a stack of handmade tortillas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The papá loca is just as much of a crowd-pleaser: a couple of big-ass potatoes topped with an unconscionable amount of butter, bacon, cheese, onions, guacamole and, again, your choice of meat. A day’s worth of calories, probably, though it’s still hard to stop myself from eating the whole thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill.jpg\" alt=\"A man in black uses tongs to flip a rack of ribs cooking on the grill. A long chorizo sausage is coiled overhead on the frame of the grill.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The grill station features whole racks of pork ribs, ribeye steaks and a long coil of chorizo cooking overhead. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If anything, the Tacos El Rulas menu has so many options that it can be intimidating for a first-timer. Their signature meat is Mexico City–style al pastor sliced off a pineapple-topped vertical spit, but every time I’ve visited, something new has caught my eye: garlic-butter shrimp, racks of pork ribs, flame-grilled ribeye steaks. They do the trendy \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/11/21/20937687/el-garage-quesabirria-birria-taco-richmond-instagram\">quesabirria tacos\u003c/a> here, as well as extra-crunchy vampiro tacos and quesadillas made with their fresh, hand-pressed tortillas. And while the mammoth torta Cubana has always been a star at the Berkeley truck, the Richmond location has a stand-alone torta menu with a whopping 18 varieties — more than you’ll find just about anywhere other than a dedicated torta shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Something for everyone” might not be your typical taco truck credo, but so far, Tacos El Rulas’ maximalist, social media–driven approach seems to be working. Lopez says that customers regularly drive from as far away as Vallejo or San Francisco, often because they saw the alambre or the papá loca on TikTok or Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time someone tells me that, I get amazed and surprised,” Lopez says. “But they always end up liking our food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931126\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931126\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl in a black long-sleeved Nirvana T-shirt stands in front of a green taco truck.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1439\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angeles Lopez (left), a rising high school senior, helps her father run both of the Tacos El Rulas food trucks. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselrulas/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Tacos El Rulas #2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is located at 232 23rd St. in Richmond, in a parking lot shared by a beauty salon and an astrology shop. It’s open Sundays–Thursdays from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Fridays–Saurdays from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As a crowd lines up in front of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselrulas/?hl=en\">Tacos El Rulas #2\u003c/a> food truck on a recent Friday night, the real show is happening a few feet away in a long, tented section of the parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bookended by a big charcoal grill on one side and a spinning, sizzling al pastor trompo on the other, the taqueros work their magic on the flat-tops. They hand-press fresh tortillas, griddle onions and bell peppers in bacon fat, and layer heaps of well-charred meat and melted cheese to assemble the over-the-top creations that have become the truck’s calling card: the “papá loca” (a Mexican American analogue to the fully loaded baked potato) and the alambre — a cheesy, street food–style mixed grill that’s popular in Mexico City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What I love about El Rulas is the backyard party vibe — something about the tight cluster of picnic tables and cheerful banda music and the smell of smoky grilled meats seeping deep into your clothes. All in all, it’s about as fun a place as there is right now to grab tacos in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot.jpg\" alt=\"The Tacos El Rulas #2 taco truck displays the red, green and white of the Mexican flag. To its left, the truck's taqueros prepare food on flat-top grills. To the right is a tented dining area with picnic tables.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_lot-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The taco truck’s parking lot setup feels as festive as a backyard party. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When a lot of people are here, it just feels like a small get-together,” says Angeles Lopez, a high school senior who helps her father, Raul Ramirez Rodriguez, operate the business. “It doesn’t really feel like I’m working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tacos El Rulas isn’t exactly a newcomer to the East Bay taco scene. Early in the pandemic, one of its trucks — known for its \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2021/2/11/22275500/tacos-el-rulas-truck-berkeley-quesabirria-torta-cubana-handmade-tortillas\">outlandishly overstuffed tortas\u003c/a> — debuted in the parking lot of a Berkeley auto shop. Its second truck used to be stationed at a smaller, more out-of-the-way location in Richmond, on Rumrill Road, before moving to its current spot on \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/a-richmond-taco-crawl-2-1/\">23rd Street\u003c/a> in March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>The new location’s popularity is, at least in part, a social media success story. I had driven past a few dozen times since it opened but, even as a fan of the Berkeley truck, never got around to stopping by. Then, a few weeks ago, three or four different \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Csmwe4OpYEd/?hl=en\">food influencer\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CsuHiSGtc7I/?hl=en\">videos\u003c/a> featuring Tacos El Rulas popped up on my Instagram feed in the span of a couple of days — this despite the fact that the truck has almost no presence on \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-el-rulas-richmond\">Yelp\u003c/a> or in traditional food media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lopez explains that the viral Instagram and TikTok videos are a deliberate part of their marketing strategy. When business lagged in the taco truck’s first couple of months, her father reached out directly to several prominent Bay Area food influencers to see if they’d be willing to help him promote his food (for a fee, of course). It seems \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs6kFO_rIuI/?hl=en\">nearly all of them\u003c/a> said yes. According to Lopez, early boosters like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Csbu6DarI8D/?hl=en\">@booziebrunch\u003c/a> were instrumental in helping to introduce Tacos El Rulas to the Black community, which now forms a large part of the truck’s fanbase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931130\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931130\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre.jpg\" alt=\"A cheesy mix of meat, bell pappers, and onions served in an aluminum tray with a stack of corn tortillas on top.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The alambre in all its glory. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holding a taco stuffed with cheesy meat, onions, and peppers.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_alambre-closeup-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemble your own tacos. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Of course, El Rulas’ massively portioned alambres and papás locas are uniquely suited for social media. (Everyone loves a good cheese pull, after all.) And it doesn’t hurt that those specific items — only available at the Richmond location — are legitimately delicious. The alambre is a gut-busting mix of chorizo, bacon, onions, peppers, pineapple, melted cheese and your choice of meat. As a crowning touch, a squirt of Worcestershire and Maggi seasoning adds a unique, almost stir fry–like savoriness, and the whole thing comes topped with a stack of handmade tortillas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The papá loca is just as much of a crowd-pleaser: a couple of big-ass potatoes topped with an unconscionable amount of butter, bacon, cheese, onions, guacamole and, again, your choice of meat. A day’s worth of calories, probably, though it’s still hard to stop myself from eating the whole thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill.jpg\" alt=\"A man in black uses tongs to flip a rack of ribs cooking on the grill. A long chorizo sausage is coiled overhead on the frame of the grill.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_grill-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The grill station features whole racks of pork ribs, ribeye steaks and a long coil of chorizo cooking overhead. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If anything, the Tacos El Rulas menu has so many options that it can be intimidating for a first-timer. Their signature meat is Mexico City–style al pastor sliced off a pineapple-topped vertical spit, but every time I’ve visited, something new has caught my eye: garlic-butter shrimp, racks of pork ribs, flame-grilled ribeye steaks. They do the trendy \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2019/11/21/20937687/el-garage-quesabirria-birria-taco-richmond-instagram\">quesabirria tacos\u003c/a> here, as well as extra-crunchy vampiro tacos and quesadillas made with their fresh, hand-pressed tortillas. And while the mammoth torta Cubana has always been a star at the Berkeley truck, the Richmond location has a stand-alone torta menu with a whopping 18 varieties — more than you’ll find just about anywhere other than a dedicated torta shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Something for everyone” might not be your typical taco truck credo, but so far, Tacos El Rulas’ maximalist, social media–driven approach seems to be working. Lopez says that customers regularly drive from as far away as Vallejo or San Francisco, often because they saw the alambre or the papá loca on TikTok or Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time someone tells me that, I get amazed and surprised,” Lopez says. “But they always end up liking our food.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931126\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931126\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles.jpg\" alt=\"A teenage girl in a black long-sleeved Nirvana T-shirt stands in front of a green taco truck.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1439\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tacos-el-rulas_angeles-1536x1151.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angeles Lopez (left), a rising high school senior, helps her father run both of the Tacos El Rulas food trucks. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tacoselrulas/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Tacos El Rulas #2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is located at 232 23rd St. in Richmond, in a parking lot shared by a beauty salon and an astrology shop. It’s open Sundays–Thursdays from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Fridays–Saurdays from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Heaven Has a Bathrobe-Clad Receptionist Named Denise. She’s Helping TikTok Grieve",
"headTitle": "Heaven Has a Bathrobe-Clad Receptionist Named Denise. She’s Helping TikTok Grieve | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>If you ask anyone on TikTok what happens when you die, there’s a decent chance they’ll put it this way: You appear in a waiting room. You’re wearing a bathrobe. And you’re greeted not by St. Peter or Mother Mary, but by a gum-snapping, keyboard-clacking \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7210484666183404846\">New Yorker named Denise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As heaven’s receptionist, Denise will hand you a welcome packet and ask what you want your ghost outfit to be. She’ll fill you in on heaven’s amenities (there’s a free margarita bar), and she’ll likely leave you with a little bit of gossip, lowering her voice to gripe about Paul Revere’s latest email (all caps, subject line: URGENT) or that time in the nail salon when Jackie Kennedy met Marilyn Monroe (“like two cats on a hot tin roof”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7210484666183404846\" data-video-id=\"7210484666183404846\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"greenscreen\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreen?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#greenscreen\u003c/a> there have been many requests for more footage of denise on the job. You go Denise \u003ca title=\"ghostoutfit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ghostoutfit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ghostoutfit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Bossa nova that looks good in a cafe(976272) - MiYAMO\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Bossa-nova-that-looks-good-in-a-cafe-976272-6941084509500606466?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Bossa nova that looks good in a cafe(976272) – MiYAMO\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>But for all her office-gal kvetching, Denise is a people person. When someone shows up in the waiting room with fear or confusion — having \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7218385592424336682\">died too young\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\">too soon\u003c/a> — it’s Denise who’s there to scoop them up in a hug and show them all of heaven’s silver linings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for the TikTokers watching along, she has become a tool for thinking through the afterlife — and for grieving those who’ve already made their way there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The real Denise is a 26-year-old pageant queen\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Though arguably just as poignant as \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/01/31/801540105/a-goodbye-to-the-good-place\">\u003cem>The Good Place\u003c/em>\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1213570\">\u003cem>Field of Dreams\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the world of heaven’s reception is a low-fi, short-form experience. And like most TikTok series, it’s the imaginings of one person alone: Taryn Delanie Smith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13929334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A beautiful young woman of color stands on the red carpet of the Lincoln Center, wearing a white dress and a sash.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taryn Delanie Smith, pictured here at the opening of New York’s David Geffen Hall, entered the Miss New York pageant after she’d built a strong following on TikTok. \u003ccite>(Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Lincoln Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old, better known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21\">@taryntino21\u003c/a>, considers herself first and foremost a content creator — she has gained 1.2 million TikTok followers in two years of posting. But she’s an offline celebrity in her own right as well, having been crowned 2022’s Miss New York and runner-up in the Miss America competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But before Smith had any sort of platform, she herself was a receptionist, working long hours to pay her way through a master’s degree in international communication. It’s that experience that she pulls from to inform Denise’s character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13893843']“I got promoted to the call center eventually, which was definitely not the promotion I thought it’d be,” Smith said in an interview with NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even heaven’s receptionist has to go through the same mundane daily dramas as any earthly office worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s the slew of entitled folks who think they deserve the Angel Premium Plus package but are short on the cost: 7,899 good deeds. But then there’s the creepy resident with red eyes who keeps abusing a downstairs pass to terrorize a suburban family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7234535523090533674\" data-video-id=\"7234535523090533674\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> So many tammy fans out here smh she IS trying to turn her ghoulish life around guys \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ It is a looped file of 3 minutes and 29 seconds.(1066513) - Clar Music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/It-is-a-looped-file-of-3-minutes-and-29-seconds-1066513-6997857279706712065?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ It is a looped file of 3 minutes and 29 seconds.(1066513) – Clar Music\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003ch3>“Why can’t we just let women do it all?”\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s these types of creative, world-building details that keep Smith’s audience so hooked. But like all great ideas, Denise’s character was born in the least grandiose of ways — as a stray thought in the shower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was standing there thinking, ‘If I die in a chicken suit, then I have to wear the chicken suit forever.’ Can you imagine a ghost coming to you in a chicken suit?” Smith said. “And I just couldn’t stop giggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She hopped out of the shower and into a robe and towel, found the first stock image of heaven that came up on Google and made what she thought would be the stupidest video on the internet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, the heaven’s receptionist videos have been viewed over 37 million times on Smith’s TikTok page, and at least 22 million times on other platforms. Smith gets recognized on the street as Denise more often than she does as Miss New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213844985483939115\" data-video-id=\"7213844985483939115\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Someone in Michigan is having a horrible 2023 \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ 4 beat Jazz instrumental music. Live style. - Masanobu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/4-beat-Jazz-instrumental-music-Live-style-6817537371345520641?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ 4 beat Jazz instrumental music. Live style. – Masanobu\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Holding those dual identities might be incongruous in some minds, but for Smith, it just works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why can’t we just let women do it all? Just let them be their beautiful, silly, authentic selves,” she said. “I didn’t really think I’d be pushing the envelope just by being myself and being a beauty queen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13909111']The same authenticity that plays well with today’s Generation Z audiences helped her stand out onstage. Shunning \u003ca href=\"https://www.glamour.com/story/black-women-beauty-pageants-natural-hair\">archaic Black beauty standards\u003c/a>, Smith competed in Miss New York with her natural hair, a move that ultimately earned her \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tiktok-comedian-taryn-delanie-smith-195837879.html\">more praise than criticism\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, she said, she has faced more criticism for her comedy than her looks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For people that are fans of pageantry, they don’t get my TikTok characters. Some of them would be like, ‘I don’t get it. Why is she being so weird?’ And I’m not being weird. I’m having fun. I’m being silly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would love for more adults to be able to release that inhibition, even if it’s just in private,” she said. “I think humans were meant to create things. We just get in our own way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>When Denise gets personal, the comments get real\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The more Smith shows up as her uninhibited self, the more the audience adopts the same mindset. If you’re not careful, the humor can chip away at the hardened edges of grief, revealing something soft and raw underneath.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to kill the vibe,” one user \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7211276665647828267\">wrote in the comments section early on\u003c/a>, “but these make me so happy because I imagine someone sweet like you greeted my mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without warning, Smith broke with the humor in her sixth Denise video. As the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” ran low in the background, she tenderly welcomed another commenter’s mother into heaven by name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, it’s all right. Come forward. I know who you are. You’re Gerry, right?” \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\">Denise says as she looks up from her laptop\u003c/a>, her face full of sheer kindness. “You are so loved. I’m already getting prayer mail for you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\" data-video-id=\"7213123155471224107\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Replying to @jennifertavernier13 for you and your mama ❤️ she absolutely qualified for angel premium plus btw! \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Somewhere Over The Rainbow_What A Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Somewhere-Over-The-RainbowWhat-A-Wonderful-World-6981484589350455298?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Somewhere Over The Rainbow_What A Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For such a personal message, it had wide resonance. The video has racked up over 10,000 comments, many of them filled with heart emojis and stories about even more lost loved ones — people missing mothers also, coincidentally, named Gerry, but also lost babies, aunts, great-uncles, older brothers, younger sisters, grandparents, celebrity idols and beloved pets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13922668']Smith said she receives many, sometimes “hundreds,” of emails and comments every week requesting that she insert specific people into her videos. The stories are so touching that she can’t read them all because of how much she’ll cry. But some days she still tries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m actually very spiritual. I believe in this stuff. I’ve lost people that I talk to all the time,” she said. “Because love just doesn’t … it can’t go away. It’s too big. When you love somebody the way my mom loves me, the way I love my friends, it can’t be contained in this boring earthly body.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Grief arises on TikTok the way it does in the real world: randomly\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In the real world, we carry a persistent expectation that our grief will expire. Funerals come and go. Bereavement leave ends. Friends stop asking how you’re doing out of fear of saying the wrong thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on TikTok, in what can often be an endless sea of noise and distraction, images of grief can arise randomly in the algorithm just as easily as reminders of your loved ones pop up uninvited as you move through the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The difference on the platform is that you’re often, by default, not alone in the experience. The video may be confessional, theatrical or didactic, but there’s a good chance it’s going to feature a human you can see and connect to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like each successive generation breaks a boundary when it comes to sharing grief,” said Megan Devine, a psychotherapist who studies grief and is the author of \u003cem>It’s OK That You’re Not OK.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On TikTok, you get rewarded for immediacy, which feeds into the sense of, ‘We should be talking about this more,'” Devine said. “It’s making big overwhelming issues digestible. … It’s safer to explore the edges of what we can tell the truth about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hashtag #Grief is among TikTok’s most popular, with over 9 billion individual posts. And even in that huge conversation, Smith’s videos about Denise manage to stand out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7232036504267164970\" data-video-id=\"7232036504267164970\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Parts of this email were shared with permission from @Becca Darling ❤️ it took me awhile to be able to record this one without getting teary. Hugs becca. \u003ca title=\"grief\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/grief?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#grief\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Taryn Delanie🤠\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7232036530368318254?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Taryn Delanie🤠\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What she does so intuitively well is pair grief with a dose of playfulness, and also with secularity and spirituality, authenticity and vulnerability, the personal and the universal — all combining into a potent catharsis cocktail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13916203']But above all, “she’s speaking to the most human need: the need for connection,” Devine said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thankfully for Denise’s fans, Smith, too, is in it for the human connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only reason I do this is because of the collaborative nature of it,” she said, adding that she has found the most inspiration for the videos in the comments section. “As long as we’re still doing this together as a team, then I’m here for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Heaven+has+a+bathrobe-clad+receptionist+named+Denise.+She%27s+helping+TikTok+grieve&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If you ask anyone on TikTok what happens when you die, there’s a decent chance they’ll put it this way: You appear in a waiting room. You’re wearing a bathrobe. And you’re greeted not by St. Peter or Mother Mary, but by a gum-snapping, keyboard-clacking \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7210484666183404846\">New Yorker named Denise\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As heaven’s receptionist, Denise will hand you a welcome packet and ask what you want your ghost outfit to be. She’ll fill you in on heaven’s amenities (there’s a free margarita bar), and she’ll likely leave you with a little bit of gossip, lowering her voice to gripe about Paul Revere’s latest email (all caps, subject line: URGENT) or that time in the nail salon when Jackie Kennedy met Marilyn Monroe (“like two cats on a hot tin roof”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7210484666183404846\" data-video-id=\"7210484666183404846\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"greenscreen\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreen?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#greenscreen\u003c/a> there have been many requests for more footage of denise on the job. You go Denise \u003ca title=\"ghostoutfit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ghostoutfit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ghostoutfit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Bossa nova that looks good in a cafe(976272) - MiYAMO\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Bossa-nova-that-looks-good-in-a-cafe-976272-6941084509500606466?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Bossa nova that looks good in a cafe(976272) – MiYAMO\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>But for all her office-gal kvetching, Denise is a people person. When someone shows up in the waiting room with fear or confusion — having \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7218385592424336682\">died too young\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\">too soon\u003c/a> — it’s Denise who’s there to scoop them up in a hug and show them all of heaven’s silver linings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for the TikTokers watching along, she has become a tool for thinking through the afterlife — and for grieving those who’ve already made their way there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The real Denise is a 26-year-old pageant queen\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Though arguably just as poignant as \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/01/31/801540105/a-goodbye-to-the-good-place\">\u003cem>The Good Place\u003c/em>\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1213570\">\u003cem>Field of Dreams\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the world of heaven’s reception is a low-fi, short-form experience. And like most TikTok series, it’s the imaginings of one person alone: Taryn Delanie Smith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13929334\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A beautiful young woman of color stands on the red carpet of the Lincoln Center, wearing a white dress and a sash.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/gettyimages-1436869743-684d86d413c78aba2bef24d3f13d895af6b06b65-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taryn Delanie Smith, pictured here at the opening of New York’s David Geffen Hall, entered the Miss New York pageant after she’d built a strong following on TikTok. \u003ccite>(Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Lincoln Center)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old, better known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21\">@taryntino21\u003c/a>, considers herself first and foremost a content creator — she has gained 1.2 million TikTok followers in two years of posting. But she’s an offline celebrity in her own right as well, having been crowned 2022’s Miss New York and runner-up in the Miss America competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But before Smith had any sort of platform, she herself was a receptionist, working long hours to pay her way through a master’s degree in international communication. It’s that experience that she pulls from to inform Denise’s character.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I got promoted to the call center eventually, which was definitely not the promotion I thought it’d be,” Smith said in an interview with NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even heaven’s receptionist has to go through the same mundane daily dramas as any earthly office worker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s the slew of entitled folks who think they deserve the Angel Premium Plus package but are short on the cost: 7,899 good deeds. But then there’s the creepy resident with red eyes who keeps abusing a downstairs pass to terrorize a suburban family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7234535523090533674\" data-video-id=\"7234535523090533674\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> So many tammy fans out here smh she IS trying to turn her ghoulish life around guys \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ It is a looped file of 3 minutes and 29 seconds.(1066513) - Clar Music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/It-is-a-looped-file-of-3-minutes-and-29-seconds-1066513-6997857279706712065?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ It is a looped file of 3 minutes and 29 seconds.(1066513) – Clar Music\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003ch3>“Why can’t we just let women do it all?”\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s these types of creative, world-building details that keep Smith’s audience so hooked. But like all great ideas, Denise’s character was born in the least grandiose of ways — as a stray thought in the shower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was standing there thinking, ‘If I die in a chicken suit, then I have to wear the chicken suit forever.’ Can you imagine a ghost coming to you in a chicken suit?” Smith said. “And I just couldn’t stop giggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She hopped out of the shower and into a robe and towel, found the first stock image of heaven that came up on Google and made what she thought would be the stupidest video on the internet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, the heaven’s receptionist videos have been viewed over 37 million times on Smith’s TikTok page, and at least 22 million times on other platforms. Smith gets recognized on the street as Denise more often than she does as Miss New York.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213844985483939115\" data-video-id=\"7213844985483939115\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Someone in Michigan is having a horrible 2023 \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ 4 beat Jazz instrumental music. Live style. - Masanobu\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/4-beat-Jazz-instrumental-music-Live-style-6817537371345520641?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ 4 beat Jazz instrumental music. Live style. – Masanobu\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Holding those dual identities might be incongruous in some minds, but for Smith, it just works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why can’t we just let women do it all? Just let them be their beautiful, silly, authentic selves,” she said. “I didn’t really think I’d be pushing the envelope just by being myself and being a beauty queen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The same authenticity that plays well with today’s Generation Z audiences helped her stand out onstage. Shunning \u003ca href=\"https://www.glamour.com/story/black-women-beauty-pageants-natural-hair\">archaic Black beauty standards\u003c/a>, Smith competed in Miss New York with her natural hair, a move that ultimately earned her \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tiktok-comedian-taryn-delanie-smith-195837879.html\">more praise than criticism\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, she said, she has faced more criticism for her comedy than her looks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For people that are fans of pageantry, they don’t get my TikTok characters. Some of them would be like, ‘I don’t get it. Why is she being so weird?’ And I’m not being weird. I’m having fun. I’m being silly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would love for more adults to be able to release that inhibition, even if it’s just in private,” she said. “I think humans were meant to create things. We just get in our own way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>When Denise gets personal, the comments get real\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The more Smith shows up as her uninhibited self, the more the audience adopts the same mindset. If you’re not careful, the humor can chip away at the hardened edges of grief, revealing something soft and raw underneath.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to kill the vibe,” one user \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7211276665647828267\">wrote in the comments section early on\u003c/a>, “but these make me so happy because I imagine someone sweet like you greeted my mom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without warning, Smith broke with the humor in her sixth Denise video. As the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” ran low in the background, she tenderly welcomed another commenter’s mother into heaven by name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No, it’s all right. Come forward. I know who you are. You’re Gerry, right?” \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\">Denise says as she looks up from her laptop\u003c/a>, her face full of sheer kindness. “You are so loved. I’m already getting prayer mail for you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7213123155471224107\" data-video-id=\"7213123155471224107\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Replying to @jennifertavernier13 for you and your mama ❤️ she absolutely qualified for angel premium plus btw! \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Somewhere Over The Rainbow_What A Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Somewhere-Over-The-RainbowWhat-A-Wonderful-World-6981484589350455298?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Somewhere Over The Rainbow_What A Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For such a personal message, it had wide resonance. The video has racked up over 10,000 comments, many of them filled with heart emojis and stories about even more lost loved ones — people missing mothers also, coincidentally, named Gerry, but also lost babies, aunts, great-uncles, older brothers, younger sisters, grandparents, celebrity idols and beloved pets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Smith said she receives many, sometimes “hundreds,” of emails and comments every week requesting that she insert specific people into her videos. The stories are so touching that she can’t read them all because of how much she’ll cry. But some days she still tries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m actually very spiritual. I believe in this stuff. I’ve lost people that I talk to all the time,” she said. “Because love just doesn’t … it can’t go away. It’s too big. When you love somebody the way my mom loves me, the way I love my friends, it can’t be contained in this boring earthly body.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Grief arises on TikTok the way it does in the real world: randomly\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In the real world, we carry a persistent expectation that our grief will expire. Funerals come and go. Bereavement leave ends. Friends stop asking how you’re doing out of fear of saying the wrong thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on TikTok, in what can often be an endless sea of noise and distraction, images of grief can arise randomly in the algorithm just as easily as reminders of your loved ones pop up uninvited as you move through the day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The difference on the platform is that you’re often, by default, not alone in the experience. The video may be confessional, theatrical or didactic, but there’s a good chance it’s going to feature a human you can see and connect to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s like each successive generation breaks a boundary when it comes to sharing grief,” said Megan Devine, a psychotherapist who studies grief and is the author of \u003cem>It’s OK That You’re Not OK.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On TikTok, you get rewarded for immediacy, which feeds into the sense of, ‘We should be talking about this more,'” Devine said. “It’s making big overwhelming issues digestible. … It’s safer to explore the edges of what we can tell the truth about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hashtag #Grief is among TikTok’s most popular, with over 9 billion individual posts. And even in that huge conversation, Smith’s videos about Denise manage to stand out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21/video/7232036504267164970\" data-video-id=\"7232036504267164970\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@taryntino21\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@taryntino21?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@taryntino21\u003c/a> Parts of this email were shared with permission from @Becca Darling ❤️ it took me awhile to be able to record this one without getting teary. Hugs becca. \u003ca title=\"grief\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/grief?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#grief\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"heaven\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/heaven?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#heaven\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"receptionist\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/receptionist?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#receptionist\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Taryn Delanie🤠\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7232036530368318254?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Taryn Delanie🤠\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What she does so intuitively well is pair grief with a dose of playfulness, and also with secularity and spirituality, authenticity and vulnerability, the personal and the universal — all combining into a potent catharsis cocktail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But above all, “she’s speaking to the most human need: the need for connection,” Devine said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thankfully for Denise’s fans, Smith, too, is in it for the human connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only reason I do this is because of the collaborative nature of it,” she said, adding that she has found the most inspiration for the videos in the comments section. “As long as we’re still doing this together as a team, then I’m here for it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Heaven+has+a+bathrobe-clad+receptionist+named+Denise.+She%27s+helping+TikTok+grieve&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Meet the Oakland Guy Making Fun of Your Favorite California Punk Bands",
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"headTitle": "Meet the Oakland Guy Making Fun of Your Favorite California Punk Bands | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>His name is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabekatz_music/\">Gabe Katz\u003c/a>. He’s 37 years old and lives in Oakland. And for weeks, punks all over the Bay Area (and beyond) have been sharing his hilarious impersonations of California’s favorite punk bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz, a music teacher by day and \u003ca href=\"https://gabekatz1.bandcamp.com/\">guitarist\u003c/a> and punk rock drummer by night, also co-hosts \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turd-polisher/id1513288302\">\u003cem>Turd Polisher\u003c/em>\u003c/a>: a podcast that relentlessly (and gloriously) dismantles guests’ least favorite songs of all time. In short, the man understands song structure. And punk rock. And hilarity. Which is how he came up with the now-widely shared, supremely knowing, one-minute takedowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all started back in January with the Rancid one. “Every Rancid Song” expertly captures the essence of the East Bay quartet in five easy steps:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓Enunciation that’s just a little bit British\u003cbr>\n✓Talking about walking\u003cbr>\n✓References to drab infrastructural entities\u003cbr>\n✓A vague suggestion of poverty\u003cbr>\n✓Gratuitously mentioning geographic locations (Rancid does this so often, \u003ca href=\"https://i.redd.it/qhjhwdivfnv01.jpg\">someone on Reddit made a map\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7194630909063384362\" data-video-id=\"7194630909063384362\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Rancid Song \u003ca title=\"punk\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancid\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancid?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancid\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancidpunks\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancidpunks?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancidpunks\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"oakland\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/oakland?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#oakland\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"hellcatrecords\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hellcatrecords?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#hellcatrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedy?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedy\u003c/a> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7194630908639759150?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a> \u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> [tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Rancid’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HZ5Bd6DUY\">Olympia, WA\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJy823DXgk4\">Lulu\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOx4U3sCuQ\">Nihilism\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next up is Katz’s “Every NOFX Song,” which perfectly encapsulates the San Francisco pop punks using the following elements:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A reference to drugs\u003cbr>\n✓At least one person’s full name\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to a bar\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to another band\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to pee\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom!\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7201598891245030698\" data-video-id=\"7201598891245030698\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every NoFX song. \u003ca title=\"nofx\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nofx?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nofx\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmike\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmike?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmike\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmikeddude\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmikeddude?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmikeddude\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatwreckchords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatwreckchords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatwreckchords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sanfrancisco\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sanfrancisco\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fishermanswharf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fishermanswharf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fishermanswharf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"vanswarpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vanswarpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#vanswarpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"warpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/warpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#warpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"theeparkside\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/theeparkside?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#theeparkside\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7201598923704929070?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to NOFX’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZ2sha5994\">Kids of the K-Hole\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-Gjg_vi3A\">Seeing Double at the Triple Rock\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4IEFLgYAoc\">See Her Pee\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s “Every Bad Religion Song,” which captures the So-Cal legends using the following formula:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A staccato delivery\u003cbr>\n✓References to scientific pursuits\u003cbr>\n✓Rolling your eyes at God\u003cbr>\n✓Relentless assonance\u003cbr>\n✓Throwing shade at mindless mainstream culture\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7215641460652297518\" data-video-id=\"7215641460652297518\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Bad Religion song. \u003ca title=\"badreligion\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/badreligion?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#badreligion\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"epitaphrecords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/epitaphrecords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#epitaphrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"gabekatzcomedy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gabekatzcomedy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#gabekatzcomedy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7215641415353781035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Bad Religion’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kcpP-8jfM\">American Jesus\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzhiQA6-Aw\">Atomic Garden\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JikOUxstTZ4\">Modern Day Catastrophists\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz says we can definitely expect more videos like these from him in future, but asked which other bands he has in his sights, he says simply: “I cannot divulge that information at this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz is hoping to move into comedy writing and voice acting full-time soon. Asked why he started making fun of these beloved bands in the first place, he is firm. “They had it coming,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Place your bets now on who’s got it coming next. Lagwagon? Dead Kennedys? Green Day? Pennywise? Black Flag? Fingers crossed for all of the above.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"title": "Hear Every Rancid and NOFX Song in Under Two Minutes | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>His name is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabekatz_music/\">Gabe Katz\u003c/a>. He’s 37 years old and lives in Oakland. And for weeks, punks all over the Bay Area (and beyond) have been sharing his hilarious impersonations of California’s favorite punk bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz, a music teacher by day and \u003ca href=\"https://gabekatz1.bandcamp.com/\">guitarist\u003c/a> and punk rock drummer by night, also co-hosts \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turd-polisher/id1513288302\">\u003cem>Turd Polisher\u003c/em>\u003c/a>: a podcast that relentlessly (and gloriously) dismantles guests’ least favorite songs of all time. In short, the man understands song structure. And punk rock. And hilarity. Which is how he came up with the now-widely shared, supremely knowing, one-minute takedowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all started back in January with the Rancid one. “Every Rancid Song” expertly captures the essence of the East Bay quartet in five easy steps:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓Enunciation that’s just a little bit British\u003cbr>\n✓Talking about walking\u003cbr>\n✓References to drab infrastructural entities\u003cbr>\n✓A vague suggestion of poverty\u003cbr>\n✓Gratuitously mentioning geographic locations (Rancid does this so often, \u003ca href=\"https://i.redd.it/qhjhwdivfnv01.jpg\">someone on Reddit made a map\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7194630909063384362\" data-video-id=\"7194630909063384362\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Rancid Song \u003ca title=\"punk\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancid\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancid?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancid\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancidpunks\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancidpunks?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancidpunks\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"oakland\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/oakland?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#oakland\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"hellcatrecords\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hellcatrecords?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#hellcatrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedy?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedy\u003c/a> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7194630908639759150?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a> \u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Rancid’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HZ5Bd6DUY\">Olympia, WA\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJy823DXgk4\">Lulu\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOx4U3sCuQ\">Nihilism\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next up is Katz’s “Every NOFX Song,” which perfectly encapsulates the San Francisco pop punks using the following elements:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A reference to drugs\u003cbr>\n✓At least one person’s full name\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to a bar\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to another band\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to pee\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom!\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7201598891245030698\" data-video-id=\"7201598891245030698\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every NoFX song. \u003ca title=\"nofx\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nofx?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nofx\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmike\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmike?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmike\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmikeddude\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmikeddude?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmikeddude\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatwreckchords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatwreckchords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatwreckchords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sanfrancisco\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sanfrancisco\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fishermanswharf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fishermanswharf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fishermanswharf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"vanswarpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vanswarpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#vanswarpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"warpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/warpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#warpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"theeparkside\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/theeparkside?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#theeparkside\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7201598923704929070?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to NOFX’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZ2sha5994\">Kids of the K-Hole\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-Gjg_vi3A\">Seeing Double at the Triple Rock\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4IEFLgYAoc\">See Her Pee\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s “Every Bad Religion Song,” which captures the So-Cal legends using the following formula:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A staccato delivery\u003cbr>\n✓References to scientific pursuits\u003cbr>\n✓Rolling your eyes at God\u003cbr>\n✓Relentless assonance\u003cbr>\n✓Throwing shade at mindless mainstream culture\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7215641460652297518\" data-video-id=\"7215641460652297518\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Bad Religion song. \u003ca title=\"badreligion\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/badreligion?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#badreligion\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"epitaphrecords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/epitaphrecords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#epitaphrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"gabekatzcomedy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gabekatzcomedy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#gabekatzcomedy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7215641415353781035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Bad Religion’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kcpP-8jfM\">American Jesus\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzhiQA6-Aw\">Atomic Garden\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JikOUxstTZ4\">Modern Day Catastrophists\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz says we can definitely expect more videos like these from him in future, but asked which other bands he has in his sights, he says simply: “I cannot divulge that information at this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz is hoping to move into comedy writing and voice acting full-time soon. Asked why he started making fun of these beloved bands in the first place, he is firm. “They had it coming,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Place your bets now on who’s got it coming next. Lagwagon? Dead Kennedys? Green Day? Pennywise? Black Flag? Fingers crossed for all of the above.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Full Guide to the Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Andrew Callaghan",
"headTitle": "A Full Guide to the Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Andrew Callaghan | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Andrew Callaghan, a documentarian behind YouTube’s \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em> and HBO’s \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em>, is known for chronicling spectacles from Phish shows to white nationalist rallies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this month, the 25-year-old was himself the story after thousands of social media users saw a pattern of misconduct in first- and second-hand accounts of women’s experiences that were shared across platforms in public comments and videos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan addressed the allegations in an Instagram post on Sunday, apologizing to the women and pledging to examine his behavior in therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many who follow Callaghan’s work, the incident raises questions about Gen Z’s tolerance for sexually questionable behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s an account of what has happened as of Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Who is Andrew Callaghan?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13923923\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 608px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13923923\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8.jpg\" alt=\"An unkempt young white man with messy shoulder length hair looks into a camera. He is sitting in a white living room.\" width=\"608\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8.jpg 608w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8-160x90.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">YouTube star and documentary film-maker Andrew Callaghan has publicly apologized after women came forward to say he sexually assaulted or coerced them.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Callaghan is a self-styled journalist for the digital age whose irreverent YouTube videos have earned him fame across several platforms. His brand, \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em> news, has 600,000 followers on Instagram and another 2.25 million on YouTube.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan got his start while a student at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he launched a YouTube series called \u003cem>Quarter Confessions.\u003c/em> Wearing pale suits and carrying a corded microphone, Callaghan interviewed intoxicated Bourbon Street party-goers, editing together their wildest statements with quick cuts and intentionally outdated effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, he took that style of filmmaking across the country in a beat-up RV, stopping for interviews at sites like a flat-earthers’ conference and the Talladega Speedway. The show, \u003cem>All Gas No Brakes\u003c/em>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/style/all-gas-no-brakes.html\">fell apart in 2021 after a contract dispute\u003c/a> with its production company, Doing Things Media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan then started the Patreon-funded\u003cem> Channel 5. \u003c/em>The series has amassed over 106 million YouTube views since April 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His following has only broadened since the Dec. 30 release of his first HBO documentary, \u003cem>This Place Rules, \u003c/em>which examines the cultural divisions underlying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH_rX9S6sU8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In interviews with legacy journalists about his unfiltered reporting, Callaghan has defended his popularity among younger millennials and elder Gen Z’ers as a bit of media mockery in the service of media literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says giving airtime to fringe voices is an actual form of reporting in an age of overwhelming journalistic punditry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When there is a massive divide in America, you’re going to find interviews on the fringe,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/12/31/1146453216/andrew-callaghan-on-new-jan-6-documentary-this-place-rules\">said in a recent interview with NPR\u003c/a>. “What we try to do is physically speak to people, actually show up and be there and ask people simple questions like, ‘What’s on your mind? How are you feeling?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he lets the subjects “guide the conversation” in contrast to cable news reporters who use talking-head panels to “get the viewer as pissed off as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Here’s when the allegations began to spread\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The claims against Callaghan began to go viral on Jan. 5, when a TikTok user who goes by the name Caroline Elise (@cornbreadasserole) posted a 2-minute video saying Callaghan pressured her into performing sexual acts with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13923167']She said Callaghan, whom she’d been messaging on Instagram, asked to stay over at her house because he’d had a falling out with a crew member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very clear about the fact that we are not hooking up,” she said. “He gets in my bed and wears me down to the point where I eventually do agree to do things I wasn’t proud of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 7, she posted again, sharing screenshots of messages she exchanged with Callaghan in 2021 and a photo of them together. She also shared screenshots of at least 10 messages from people saying they’d had a similar experience with Callaghan or knew of someone who had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise has since deleted the videos from her TikTok feed, saying the response had diminished her mental health. But other users have saved and continue to share the videos across other platforms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/waveninja1/status/1612866496266645505\">One version of it posted to Twitter\u003c/a> has been viewed over 756,000 times. \u003ca href=\"https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1702531869\">A version shared on a Twitch livestream\u003c/a> has over 833,000 views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/waveninja1/status/1612866496266645505\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise said she didn’t want to talk directly to NPR also for mental health reasons. She instead put us in touch with a long-time friend, whose name we’ve agreed to withhold over her fears of online harassment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The friend said that Callaghan knew how Caroline Elise felt about the incident months before she’d ever posted it to TikTok. The friend shared screenshots of Instagram posts from August 2021, in which the friend warned other women in her city that Callaghan had “knowingly assaulted my friend and got away with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The friend also shared screenshots of a text message conversation that took place between Callaghan and Caroline Elise in December 2021, after Caroline Elise had confronted Callaghan about his behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one long message, Callaghan said he recognized that the social power dynamics at play “can dramatically warp consent” and had tried to unpack his behavior in therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also said that “prior partners” from New Orleans and Nashville had reached out to him in response to the Instagram posts and had “started dialogues with him that have benefitted all our lives for the better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to do whatever I possibly can to be accountable and support you in whatever way you’d like,” the message continues. “It would mean the world to me to be able to have an open conversation with you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A second accuser claims Callaghan sexually assaulted her in 2019\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s video prompted another woman, a TikTok user who goes by the name Dana (@moldyfreckle), to come forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a series of videos, Dana said Callaghan assaulted her on a drive home from dinner, first kissing her neck, then putting his hand down her pants and putting her hands on his crotch as she was telling him to stop. Callaghan left the car after she’d asked multiple times, Dana said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle/video/7186167704103996715\" data-video-id=\"7186167704103996715\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@moldyfreckle\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@moldyfreckle\u003c/a> Part 4. This will be my last video tonight. \u003ca title=\"andrewcallaghan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/andrewcallaghan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#andrewcallaghan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"allgasnobrakes\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/allgasnobrakes?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#allgasnobrakes\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisplacerules\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisplacerules?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#thisplacerules\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"channel5\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/channel5?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#channel5\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - DJ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7186167830167997226?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – DJ\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dana later posted a video showing screenshots of her messages with Callahan in January 2019. She hasn’t responded to multiple requests from NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addressing the responses to her videos, Dana dismissed ideas that she was seeking clout, money or trying to sabotage Callaghan’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to let someone else go through this alone,” she said in her TikTok post, referencing Caroline’s video. “I’m just saying the truth right now and I don’t care what you believe, but I want other women who he’s affected to feel comfortable talking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the stories from Dana and Caroline Elise have remained the most widely shared and commented upon, several other people have since posted in comments or videos claiming similarly pushy sexual behavior. They say their experiences with Callaghan formed a pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How did Callaghan respond?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, Callaghan thanked the people who’d spoken out about “different ways in which my behavior has made them feel uncomfortable or pressured during a sexual situation” and apologized to them, as well as his collaborators. He did not single out any particular accusations, or confirm or deny any specific accusations circulating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CndGN_Av97E/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He did, however, say that he thought many of the accusations were missing important contextual information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to make a few things clear: I’ve always taken no for an answer,” he said. “As far as consent, I’ve never overstepped that line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Up until this point, I didn’t really realize that I had this pattern that affected multiple people,” he said, later adding that he thought going home from a bar alone “made you a loser” and that “persistence was a form of flattery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan had largely laid low online and in public \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/01/this-place-rules-is-a-peoples-history-of-january-6-documentary-npr-cnn/\">since a tumultuous live interview\u003c/a> with \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/events/822709/this-place-rules-hbo-original-screening-and-conversation-with-gonzo-journalist-andrew-callaghan-on-the-jan-6-insurrection\">NPR member station WBUR\u003c/a> on Jan. 4. He explained in the video that he’d waited nearly two weeks to respond because he was in a state of shock and “spiraled into a mental health crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan also said he believes alcohol may have contributed to his decision-making and said that he’s planning to join a 12-step program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dana \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD8g_ZfcrEo\">posted YouTube\u003c/a> and TikTok videos on Wednesday evening saying that she didn’t believe the apology was genuine and she didn’t forgive him, but also that she was finished talking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle/video/7189806338938178862\" data-video-id=\"7189806338938178862\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@moldyfreckle\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@moldyfreckle\u003c/a>\u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - DJ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7189806337738443566?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – DJ\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m fed up, and I know other people are getting fed up,” she said. “It’s called karma. It’s not blackmail. It’s not revenge, it’s just how it goes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise had not publicly addressed Callaghan’s statements at the time of publication.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What about the blackmail claims?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Three days before Callaghan’s Instagram video, news outlets \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/12/andrew-callaghan-all-gas-no-brakes-responds-sexual-assault-accusation/\">like TMZ\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/andrew-callaghan-allegations-tim-heidecker-1235484693/\">\u003cem>Variety\u003c/em> \u003c/a>published portions of a statement, shared by a “legal representative” for Callaghan, which acknowledged Callaghan’s need to re-evaluate his behavior but also pointed to “multiple sides to a story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While every dynamic is open to interpretation and proper communication is critical from all those involved, repeated requests for money should not be part of these conversations,” reads the statement, according to both outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Callaghan’s agent or publicist responded to NPR’s request for confirmation of the statement. Callaghan hasn’t responded to multiple NPR attempts to reach him through his social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s friend shared a screenshot of one message Caroline Elise sent to Callaghan six days before posting the allegations on TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message includes the handle of Caroline Elise’s Venmo account. She wrote Callaghan could use it if “HBO cuts you a fat check, and you in any way feel like helping contribute to the massive amounts of therapy bills I have accrued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s friend told NPR that’s the only time Caroline Elise had brought up the prospect of him reimbursing her in their conversations together. Callaghan never responded to the text, Caroline Elise’s friend said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise confirmed through her friend that she shared the allegation to raise awareness of Callaghan’s behavior. She has no plans to file a police report or a lawsuit, her friend told NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13923922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 591px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13923922\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"591\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8.jpg 591w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot provided to NPR by a close friend of the TikTok user Caroline, who claims Andrew Callaghan coerced her into having sex in 2021. \u003ccite>(Screenshot provided to NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>How did Callaghan’s fans react to the allegations?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The claims, statements and reaction quickly spread on several social media platforms, where users, many of them anonymous, dissected Callaghan’s behavior in ways reminiscent of 2016’s #MeToo eruption, but with new cancel culture considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Reddit forum r/Channel5ive, which is in the top 5% of Reddit communities by size, was once dedicated to Callaghan fan adoration. Now it contains over 100 posts dedicated to investigating the allegations and debating which of the alleged behaviors crossed the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drinking with someone, inviting someone into your home, even inviting someone into your bed does not equal consent,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Channel5ive/comments/105vp67/whatever_the_truth_is_we_as_a_community_need_to/\">wrote one user in a post\u003c/a> that received 1,100 up votes and 382 comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not saying let’s just ‘cancel’ the whole thing, but I really don’t like people saying we can just separate his journalism from his misconduct,” posted another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to requests by users, moderators eventually removed a Patreon link supporting Callaghan’s work and replaced it with a link to the National Women’s Law Center, which helps victims of sexual assault.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/_letterbxmb/status/1612620941619597313\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>YouTube and Twitch streamers whose audiences overlap with Callaghan’s also parsed through the allegations and apology, trying to glean universal lessons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twitch streamer Hasan Piker (@Hasanabi), who boasts 2.3 million subscribers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woYpUM0EKqg\">said in his third video mentioning the allegations\u003c/a> that Callaghan’s apology is promising but that it’s only natural that his fans wait before passing judgment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are not going to read this with any kind of charitability,” because Callaghan hasn’t done anything yet to demonstrate how he’s changed, Piker predicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What does this mean for ‘Channel 5’ and Callaghan’s work?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his video apology, Callaghan said he wasn’t sure what comes next, but he wanted to take a step back from public life while he processed his behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m only 25 years old and I have my whole life ahead of me,” he said, adding that reporting was still his first love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tim Heidecker, a comedian who helped produce \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em>, addressed the allegations on \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/234-atsuko-okatsuka/id1153746716?i=1000594133836\">his \u003cem>Office Hours\u003c/em> podcast last Thursday\u003c/a> by saying he had no plans to collaborate with Callaghan again in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/OfficeHrsLive/status/1613596594925981696\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have no professional relationship with Andrew at this time and have no plans to have any relationship with him,” Heidecker said, speaking on behalf of his comedy and production partner, Eric Wareheim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A publicist for Heidecker and Wareheim told NPR the pair had no updated comments on Callaghan’s apology. The press offices for A24 and HBO did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The YouTube page for \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em>, which had been sharing clips from \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em> for the last three weeks, hasn’t posted a new video since the week the allegations surfaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+full+guide+to+the+sexual+misconduct+allegations+against+YouTuber+Andrew+Callaghan&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The documentarian behind ‘This Place Rules’ said he’s seeking therapy after women said he sexually assaulted or coerced them.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Andrew Callaghan, a documentarian behind YouTube’s \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em> and HBO’s \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em>, is known for chronicling spectacles from Phish shows to white nationalist rallies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this month, the 25-year-old was himself the story after thousands of social media users saw a pattern of misconduct in first- and second-hand accounts of women’s experiences that were shared across platforms in public comments and videos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan addressed the allegations in an Instagram post on Sunday, apologizing to the women and pledging to examine his behavior in therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many who follow Callaghan’s work, the incident raises questions about Gen Z’s tolerance for sexually questionable behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s an account of what has happened as of Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Who is Andrew Callaghan?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13923923\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 608px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13923923\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8.jpg\" alt=\"An unkempt young white man with messy shoulder length hair looks into a camera. He is sitting in a white living room.\" width=\"608\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8.jpg 608w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/capture_wide-e15ad23b11e9a25a474b5b0de2e6401ac69bd3a8-160x90.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">YouTube star and documentary film-maker Andrew Callaghan has publicly apologized after women came forward to say he sexually assaulted or coerced them.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Callaghan is a self-styled journalist for the digital age whose irreverent YouTube videos have earned him fame across several platforms. His brand, \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em> news, has 600,000 followers on Instagram and another 2.25 million on YouTube.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan got his start while a student at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he launched a YouTube series called \u003cem>Quarter Confessions.\u003c/em> Wearing pale suits and carrying a corded microphone, Callaghan interviewed intoxicated Bourbon Street party-goers, editing together their wildest statements with quick cuts and intentionally outdated effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, he took that style of filmmaking across the country in a beat-up RV, stopping for interviews at sites like a flat-earthers’ conference and the Talladega Speedway. The show, \u003cem>All Gas No Brakes\u003c/em>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/style/all-gas-no-brakes.html\">fell apart in 2021 after a contract dispute\u003c/a> with its production company, Doing Things Media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan then started the Patreon-funded\u003cem> Channel 5. \u003c/em>The series has amassed over 106 million YouTube views since April 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His following has only broadened since the Dec. 30 release of his first HBO documentary, \u003cem>This Place Rules, \u003c/em>which examines the cultural divisions underlying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.\u003c/p>\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/MH_rX9S6sU8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/MH_rX9S6sU8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In interviews with legacy journalists about his unfiltered reporting, Callaghan has defended his popularity among younger millennials and elder Gen Z’ers as a bit of media mockery in the service of media literacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says giving airtime to fringe voices is an actual form of reporting in an age of overwhelming journalistic punditry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When there is a massive divide in America, you’re going to find interviews on the fringe,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/12/31/1146453216/andrew-callaghan-on-new-jan-6-documentary-this-place-rules\">said in a recent interview with NPR\u003c/a>. “What we try to do is physically speak to people, actually show up and be there and ask people simple questions like, ‘What’s on your mind? How are you feeling?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he lets the subjects “guide the conversation” in contrast to cable news reporters who use talking-head panels to “get the viewer as pissed off as possible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Here’s when the allegations began to spread\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The claims against Callaghan began to go viral on Jan. 5, when a TikTok user who goes by the name Caroline Elise (@cornbreadasserole) posted a 2-minute video saying Callaghan pressured her into performing sexual acts with him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>She said Callaghan, whom she’d been messaging on Instagram, asked to stay over at her house because he’d had a falling out with a crew member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very clear about the fact that we are not hooking up,” she said. “He gets in my bed and wears me down to the point where I eventually do agree to do things I wasn’t proud of.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Jan. 7, she posted again, sharing screenshots of messages she exchanged with Callaghan in 2021 and a photo of them together. She also shared screenshots of at least 10 messages from people saying they’d had a similar experience with Callaghan or knew of someone who had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise has since deleted the videos from her TikTok feed, saying the response had diminished her mental health. But other users have saved and continue to share the videos across other platforms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/waveninja1/status/1612866496266645505\">One version of it posted to Twitter\u003c/a> has been viewed over 756,000 times. \u003ca href=\"https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1702531869\">A version shared on a Twitch livestream\u003c/a> has over 833,000 views.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise said she didn’t want to talk directly to NPR also for mental health reasons. She instead put us in touch with a long-time friend, whose name we’ve agreed to withhold over her fears of online harassment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The friend said that Callaghan knew how Caroline Elise felt about the incident months before she’d ever posted it to TikTok. The friend shared screenshots of Instagram posts from August 2021, in which the friend warned other women in her city that Callaghan had “knowingly assaulted my friend and got away with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The friend also shared screenshots of a text message conversation that took place between Callaghan and Caroline Elise in December 2021, after Caroline Elise had confronted Callaghan about his behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one long message, Callaghan said he recognized that the social power dynamics at play “can dramatically warp consent” and had tried to unpack his behavior in therapy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also said that “prior partners” from New Orleans and Nashville had reached out to him in response to the Instagram posts and had “started dialogues with him that have benefitted all our lives for the better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to do whatever I possibly can to be accountable and support you in whatever way you’d like,” the message continues. “It would mean the world to me to be able to have an open conversation with you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A second accuser claims Callaghan sexually assaulted her in 2019\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s video prompted another woman, a TikTok user who goes by the name Dana (@moldyfreckle), to come forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a series of videos, Dana said Callaghan assaulted her on a drive home from dinner, first kissing her neck, then putting his hand down her pants and putting her hands on his crotch as she was telling him to stop. Callaghan left the car after she’d asked multiple times, Dana said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle/video/7186167704103996715\" data-video-id=\"7186167704103996715\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@moldyfreckle\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@moldyfreckle\u003c/a> Part 4. This will be my last video tonight. \u003ca title=\"andrewcallaghan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/andrewcallaghan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#andrewcallaghan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"allgasnobrakes\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/allgasnobrakes?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#allgasnobrakes\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisplacerules\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisplacerules?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#thisplacerules\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"channel5\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/channel5?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#channel5\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - DJ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7186167830167997226?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – DJ\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dana later posted a video showing screenshots of her messages with Callahan in January 2019. She hasn’t responded to multiple requests from NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addressing the responses to her videos, Dana dismissed ideas that she was seeking clout, money or trying to sabotage Callaghan’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to let someone else go through this alone,” she said in her TikTok post, referencing Caroline’s video. “I’m just saying the truth right now and I don’t care what you believe, but I want other women who he’s affected to feel comfortable talking about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the stories from Dana and Caroline Elise have remained the most widely shared and commented upon, several other people have since posted in comments or videos claiming similarly pushy sexual behavior. They say their experiences with Callaghan formed a pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How did Callaghan respond?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In a video posted to Instagram on Sunday, Callaghan thanked the people who’d spoken out about “different ways in which my behavior has made them feel uncomfortable or pressured during a sexual situation” and apologized to them, as well as his collaborators. He did not single out any particular accusations, or confirm or deny any specific accusations circulating.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>He did, however, say that he thought many of the accusations were missing important contextual information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to make a few things clear: I’ve always taken no for an answer,” he said. “As far as consent, I’ve never overstepped that line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Up until this point, I didn’t really realize that I had this pattern that affected multiple people,” he said, later adding that he thought going home from a bar alone “made you a loser” and that “persistence was a form of flattery.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan had largely laid low online and in public \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/01/this-place-rules-is-a-peoples-history-of-january-6-documentary-npr-cnn/\">since a tumultuous live interview\u003c/a> with \u003ca href=\"https://www.wbur.org/events/822709/this-place-rules-hbo-original-screening-and-conversation-with-gonzo-journalist-andrew-callaghan-on-the-jan-6-insurrection\">NPR member station WBUR\u003c/a> on Jan. 4. He explained in the video that he’d waited nearly two weeks to respond because he was in a state of shock and “spiraled into a mental health crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Callaghan also said he believes alcohol may have contributed to his decision-making and said that he’s planning to join a 12-step program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dana \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD8g_ZfcrEo\">posted YouTube\u003c/a> and TikTok videos on Wednesday evening saying that she didn’t believe the apology was genuine and she didn’t forgive him, but also that she was finished talking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle/video/7189806338938178862\" data-video-id=\"7189806338938178862\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@moldyfreckle\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@moldyfreckle?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@moldyfreckle\u003c/a>\u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - DJ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7189806337738443566?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – DJ\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m fed up, and I know other people are getting fed up,” she said. “It’s called karma. It’s not blackmail. It’s not revenge, it’s just how it goes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise had not publicly addressed Callaghan’s statements at the time of publication.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What about the blackmail claims?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Three days before Callaghan’s Instagram video, news outlets \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/12/andrew-callaghan-all-gas-no-brakes-responds-sexual-assault-accusation/\">like TMZ\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/andrew-callaghan-allegations-tim-heidecker-1235484693/\">\u003cem>Variety\u003c/em> \u003c/a>published portions of a statement, shared by a “legal representative” for Callaghan, which acknowledged Callaghan’s need to re-evaluate his behavior but also pointed to “multiple sides to a story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While every dynamic is open to interpretation and proper communication is critical from all those involved, repeated requests for money should not be part of these conversations,” reads the statement, according to both outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Callaghan’s agent or publicist responded to NPR’s request for confirmation of the statement. Callaghan hasn’t responded to multiple NPR attempts to reach him through his social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s friend shared a screenshot of one message Caroline Elise sent to Callaghan six days before posting the allegations on TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The message includes the handle of Caroline Elise’s Venmo account. She wrote Callaghan could use it if “HBO cuts you a fat check, and you in any way feel like helping contribute to the massive amounts of therapy bills I have accrued.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise’s friend told NPR that’s the only time Caroline Elise had brought up the prospect of him reimbursing her in their conversations together. Callaghan never responded to the text, Caroline Elise’s friend said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Caroline Elise confirmed through her friend that she shared the allegation to raise awareness of Callaghan’s behavior. She has no plans to file a police report or a lawsuit, her friend told NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13923922\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 591px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13923922\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"591\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8.jpg 591w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/renderedimage-98424a307d1029db4726b0768b665280a04664c8-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot provided to NPR by a close friend of the TikTok user Caroline, who claims Andrew Callaghan coerced her into having sex in 2021. \u003ccite>(Screenshot provided to NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>How did Callaghan’s fans react to the allegations?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The claims, statements and reaction quickly spread on several social media platforms, where users, many of them anonymous, dissected Callaghan’s behavior in ways reminiscent of 2016’s #MeToo eruption, but with new cancel culture considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Reddit forum r/Channel5ive, which is in the top 5% of Reddit communities by size, was once dedicated to Callaghan fan adoration. Now it contains over 100 posts dedicated to investigating the allegations and debating which of the alleged behaviors crossed the line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Drinking with someone, inviting someone into your home, even inviting someone into your bed does not equal consent,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Channel5ive/comments/105vp67/whatever_the_truth_is_we_as_a_community_need_to/\">wrote one user in a post\u003c/a> that received 1,100 up votes and 382 comments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not saying let’s just ‘cancel’ the whole thing, but I really don’t like people saying we can just separate his journalism from his misconduct,” posted another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to requests by users, moderators eventually removed a Patreon link supporting Callaghan’s work and replaced it with a link to the National Women’s Law Center, which helps victims of sexual assault.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>YouTube and Twitch streamers whose audiences overlap with Callaghan’s also parsed through the allegations and apology, trying to glean universal lessons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twitch streamer Hasan Piker (@Hasanabi), who boasts 2.3 million subscribers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woYpUM0EKqg\">said in his third video mentioning the allegations\u003c/a> that Callaghan’s apology is promising but that it’s only natural that his fans wait before passing judgment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are not going to read this with any kind of charitability,” because Callaghan hasn’t done anything yet to demonstrate how he’s changed, Piker predicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What does this mean for ‘Channel 5’ and Callaghan’s work?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In his video apology, Callaghan said he wasn’t sure what comes next, but he wanted to take a step back from public life while he processed his behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m only 25 years old and I have my whole life ahead of me,” he said, adding that reporting was still his first love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tim Heidecker, a comedian who helped produce \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em>, addressed the allegations on \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/234-atsuko-okatsuka/id1153746716?i=1000594133836\">his \u003cem>Office Hours\u003c/em> podcast last Thursday\u003c/a> by saying he had no plans to collaborate with Callaghan again in the future.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>“We have no professional relationship with Andrew at this time and have no plans to have any relationship with him,” Heidecker said, speaking on behalf of his comedy and production partner, Eric Wareheim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A publicist for Heidecker and Wareheim told NPR the pair had no updated comments on Callaghan’s apology. The press offices for A24 and HBO did not respond to NPR’s requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The YouTube page for \u003cem>Channel 5\u003c/em>, which had been sharing clips from \u003cem>This Place Rules\u003c/em> for the last three weeks, hasn’t posted a new video since the week the allegations surfaced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+full+guide+to+the+sexual+misconduct+allegations+against+YouTuber+Andrew+Callaghan&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Silky, long, straight hair and lightly tanned skin. Thin, upturned noses and puffy, pouty lips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what a typical Latina looks like, according to the viral TikTok trend “\u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/11/11169730/copy-paste-latina-tiktok-trend\">copy-paste Latinas\u003c/a>.” This Eurocentric stereotype ignores the diversity of a group composed of every race, body type and hair texture that exists. The trend erupted in popularity in November, with TikTokers volunteering themselves as models for this combination of exoticized facial features and heavy, glamorous makeup — a callback to the “spicy Latina” cliche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13919834']As one of the fastest-growing demographics in the U.S., Latinos are finally solidifying their presence in popular culture. This newfound attention has its downsides: Creators are using tired tropes to ride the wave of relevance — and some are even misrepresenting themselves as Latino for clout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And although Latinidad is a cultural identity that’s uniquely difficult to define, it’s being widely appropriated as fodder for content creation. Whether it’s the popularization of aesthetics like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@amsiedad/video/7117006314991029509?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&q=little%20mexican%20girl%20core&t=1670019670733\">little Mexican girl-core\u003c/a>” or Bad Bunny declaring “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/arts/music/bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti.html\">now everyone wants to be Latino\u003c/a>,” there’s plenty of evidence the issue is pervasive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such co-opting can start with influencers and celebrities adopting styles associated with Latinidad, like large hoop earrings, or clothes inspired by the Cholo aesthetic derived from Los Angeles Chicano culture. It’s a gateway to adopting stereotypical mannerisms, ways of speaking, and attitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this isn’t as brazen as cultural mimicry like \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/apr/14/blackfishing-black-is-cool-unless-youre-actually-black\">Blackfishing\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asianfishing_l_6283c26ee4b0c2dce6557958\">Asianfishing\u003c/a>, Latino-fishing — pretending to be Latino — warps what Latin culture is and who gets to create it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Latinx identity in mainstream music\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you feel you’re hearing more music in Spanish than ever before, you are. “Latin music,” a category typically associated with genres like reggaeton, dembow and bachata, has seen a surge in popularity since 2015. Revenue and streaming numbers have been climbing steadily, thanks to the commercial success of artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, Maluma and Karol G.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Categorizing so many musical styles under one term fails to recognize their variety, individuality and deep historical origins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13919253']“‘Latin music’ is a term that I really hate. I think that it flattens everything that we are about and allows for Latino-fishing to happen because the umbrella term of Latin music encompasses reggaeton and dembow, and it’s mostly misconstrued as [only] that,” says Venezuelan-American poet, writer and music journalist E.R. Pulgar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When commercial entities market “Latin music,” they overlook genres that aren’t lucrative or well-known. Selecting a handful of sounds to represent an entire ethnicity gives an inaccurate picture of who creates “Latin music,” and who listens to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you take away all of that specificity and take away all of that history, you end up with a European wearing gigantic hoops on the cover of the ‘Viva Latino!’ Spotify playlist. And no one questions it,” says Pulgar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re referring to Rosalía, a key name in any discussion of Latino-fishing. The Spanish pop star and producer has gained global success from the genre-mashing music she sings in her native tongue, blending elements of bachata, reggaeton, champeta, neoperreo and other Latin genres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The end result is the widespread misconception that Rosalía is Latina. It’s a narrative she’s had plenty of assistance in creating, including her repeated nominations and wins at the Latin Grammys, and her inclusion in Latin music roundups and playlists on streaming services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/B0bKH8ehi3X/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics point to Rosalía’s use of these genres and aesthetics as appropriation, a stark shift away from the flamenco-inspired music that made her famous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘I don’t know how many times I’ve had to explain to people that Rosalía’s not Latina,” Pulgar says. “It still shocks me. Do you not hear the accent? I don’t know if it’s a lack of [understanding of] geography. I don’t know if it’s the very successful marketing of it all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/07/10583721/is-rosalia-latina\">In an essay for \u003cem>Refinery29\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Michelle Santiago Cortés cites other celebrities who profited from ethnic and cultural ambiguity, like Enrique Iglesias and Penelope Cruz in the late 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13918498']“We could argue that, in their rise to fame, these individuals took advantage of the work of oppressed people responsible for the Latin Explosion and expanded the audience for Spanish-language music. But that assumes that the music and entertainment industries value Black and brown people, which they do not,” she writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a more recent example, take Ariana Grande, who’s been criticized for cultural appropriation like using \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/clip-ariana-grandes-changing-accent-confuses-fans-goes-viral-tiktok-1722049\">African American Vernacular English\u003c/a> and sporting \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/01/223146/ariana-grande-fixed-misspelled-japanese-bbq-tattoo\">misinformed kanji tattoos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the years, these corporate attempts at “coolness” have been more \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/the-problem-with-blackfishing-jesy-nelson\">quickly rejected\u003c/a> in the mainstream cultural conversation. Now, on uncurated platforms, misunderstandings of identity have become a trend for anyone to partake in on their social media, without a savvy audience willing to call it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The social media trickle-down\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The imitation or mockery of identity groups for attention has proved to be a consistent hit with social algorithms. With Latinos, this started \u003cem>within\u003c/em> the community, with videos centering on “hot Cheeto girls” appearing around 2020. The phenomenon painted Latina teenagers in public schools as loud, obnoxious and ghetto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Content like this was an easy win, because creators could appeal to anyone who had witnessed this stereotype. Add in trends like “copy-paste Latinas,” and you set the stage for the promotion of stereotypes and fetishization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@iluvd3ft0ness/video/7158818343850659118\" data-video-id=\"7158818343850659118\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@iluvd3ft0ness\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@iluvd3ft0ness?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@iluvd3ft0ness\u003c/a> they be so pretty bruh😩 \u003ca title=\"fypシ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp%E3%82%B7?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#fypシ\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ My humps - MARLEY NYC\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/My-humps-6765935697976134406?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ My humps – MARLEY NYC\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, such public inside jokes have evolved. On TikTok, where videos and their respective audio tracks can be plucked for use by other users, an increasing number of viral audios have come from reggaeton songs, or are spoken in Spanish, encouraging users to lip sync or dance along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popularity of this music gave some users a different idea: Why not make content relating to the songs — like relationships, infidelity, and the well-meme’d concept of being “toxico” in relationships — even if they’re not Latino?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Users were especially upset with popular creator Chiara King. Though fluent in Spanish, King is from the U.K. — and made grand statements about Latinas in relationships with hashtags like “latin trend” and “toxica.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a now-deleted video, King is doing her makeup with the caption “A Latina’s mind 24/7,” while lip syncing an audio about her boyfriend maybe cheating. In the hashtags she wrote, “I’m not Latina but I relate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@chiaraking/video/7125131196299808006\" data-video-id=\"7125131196299808006\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@chiaraking\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@chiaraking?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@chiaraking\u003c/a> The better translated version \u003ca title=\"latintrend\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/latintrend?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#latintrend\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"toxica\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/toxica?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#toxica\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Con Una Prima Déjame Revisarte El Celular 2 - 👸🏽 Ingrid Laien 💎\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Con-Una-Prima-D%C3%A9jame-Revisarte-El-Celular-2-7106867367401048837?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ Con Una Prima Déjame Revisarte El Celular 2 – 👸🏽 Ingrid Laien 💎\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For graduate student and content creator Marlene Ramirez, King’s appropriation felt familiar in a very unwelcome way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It was upsetting] to see her, as a white woman, take on these tropes and profit off of them,” she says.“She was presenting Latinas in a very toxic way. I think that was definitely very triggering for me as someone who has had to conform to certain standards of whiteness, especially in the academic and professional space,” Ramirez knows these stereotypes well, but has found them notably more pointed lately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People want to look like us, people want to copy our culture, and they reduce us to this ‘spicy’ [trope], like we’re emotionally dysregulated,” she adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13912477']These trends impact how she’s perceived offline, too, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very passionate, but there’s a historical context to it I feel that’s missing. I noticed it in the way that I’ve been perceived these last two years. I feel like I’ve been much more fetishized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For any cultural group, being reduced to a narrow set of misinformed characteristics is an unwelcome shift from being ignored in the cultural zeitgeist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for content creators vying for views before their wave of relevance has passed, identity can be merely a costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+Latin+identity+became+fodder+for+content&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Silky, long, straight hair and lightly tanned skin. Thin, upturned noses and puffy, pouty lips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what a typical Latina looks like, according to the viral TikTok trend “\u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/11/11169730/copy-paste-latina-tiktok-trend\">copy-paste Latinas\u003c/a>.” This Eurocentric stereotype ignores the diversity of a group composed of every race, body type and hair texture that exists. The trend erupted in popularity in November, with TikTokers volunteering themselves as models for this combination of exoticized facial features and heavy, glamorous makeup — a callback to the “spicy Latina” cliche.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As one of the fastest-growing demographics in the U.S., Latinos are finally solidifying their presence in popular culture. This newfound attention has its downsides: Creators are using tired tropes to ride the wave of relevance — and some are even misrepresenting themselves as Latino for clout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And although Latinidad is a cultural identity that’s uniquely difficult to define, it’s being widely appropriated as fodder for content creation. Whether it’s the popularization of aesthetics like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@amsiedad/video/7117006314991029509?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&q=little%20mexican%20girl%20core&t=1670019670733\">little Mexican girl-core\u003c/a>” or Bad Bunny declaring “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/arts/music/bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti.html\">now everyone wants to be Latino\u003c/a>,” there’s plenty of evidence the issue is pervasive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such co-opting can start with influencers and celebrities adopting styles associated with Latinidad, like large hoop earrings, or clothes inspired by the Cholo aesthetic derived from Los Angeles Chicano culture. It’s a gateway to adopting stereotypical mannerisms, ways of speaking, and attitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this isn’t as brazen as cultural mimicry like \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/apr/14/blackfishing-black-is-cool-unless-youre-actually-black\">Blackfishing\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/asianfishing_l_6283c26ee4b0c2dce6557958\">Asianfishing\u003c/a>, Latino-fishing — pretending to be Latino — warps what Latin culture is and who gets to create it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Latinx identity in mainstream music\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you feel you’re hearing more music in Spanish than ever before, you are. “Latin music,” a category typically associated with genres like reggaeton, dembow and bachata, has seen a surge in popularity since 2015. Revenue and streaming numbers have been climbing steadily, thanks to the commercial success of artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, Maluma and Karol G.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Categorizing so many musical styles under one term fails to recognize their variety, individuality and deep historical origins.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“‘Latin music’ is a term that I really hate. I think that it flattens everything that we are about and allows for Latino-fishing to happen because the umbrella term of Latin music encompasses reggaeton and dembow, and it’s mostly misconstrued as [only] that,” says Venezuelan-American poet, writer and music journalist E.R. Pulgar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When commercial entities market “Latin music,” they overlook genres that aren’t lucrative or well-known. Selecting a handful of sounds to represent an entire ethnicity gives an inaccurate picture of who creates “Latin music,” and who listens to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you take away all of that specificity and take away all of that history, you end up with a European wearing gigantic hoops on the cover of the ‘Viva Latino!’ Spotify playlist. And no one questions it,” says Pulgar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re referring to Rosalía, a key name in any discussion of Latino-fishing. The Spanish pop star and producer has gained global success from the genre-mashing music she sings in her native tongue, blending elements of bachata, reggaeton, champeta, neoperreo and other Latin genres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The end result is the widespread misconception that Rosalía is Latina. It’s a narrative she’s had plenty of assistance in creating, including her repeated nominations and wins at the Latin Grammys, and her inclusion in Latin music roundups and playlists on streaming services.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Critics point to Rosalía’s use of these genres and aesthetics as appropriation, a stark shift away from the flamenco-inspired music that made her famous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>‘I don’t know how many times I’ve had to explain to people that Rosalía’s not Latina,” Pulgar says. “It still shocks me. Do you not hear the accent? I don’t know if it’s a lack of [understanding of] geography. I don’t know if it’s the very successful marketing of it all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/07/10583721/is-rosalia-latina\">In an essay for \u003cem>Refinery29\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Michelle Santiago Cortés cites other celebrities who profited from ethnic and cultural ambiguity, like Enrique Iglesias and Penelope Cruz in the late 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We could argue that, in their rise to fame, these individuals took advantage of the work of oppressed people responsible for the Latin Explosion and expanded the audience for Spanish-language music. But that assumes that the music and entertainment industries value Black and brown people, which they do not,” she writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a more recent example, take Ariana Grande, who’s been criticized for cultural appropriation like using \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/clip-ariana-grandes-changing-accent-confuses-fans-goes-viral-tiktok-1722049\">African American Vernacular English\u003c/a> and sporting \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/01/223146/ariana-grande-fixed-misspelled-japanese-bbq-tattoo\">misinformed kanji tattoos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the years, these corporate attempts at “coolness” have been more \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/the-problem-with-blackfishing-jesy-nelson\">quickly rejected\u003c/a> in the mainstream cultural conversation. Now, on uncurated platforms, misunderstandings of identity have become a trend for anyone to partake in on their social media, without a savvy audience willing to call it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>The social media trickle-down\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The imitation or mockery of identity groups for attention has proved to be a consistent hit with social algorithms. With Latinos, this started \u003cem>within\u003c/em> the community, with videos centering on “hot Cheeto girls” appearing around 2020. The phenomenon painted Latina teenagers in public schools as loud, obnoxious and ghetto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Content like this was an easy win, because creators could appeal to anyone who had witnessed this stereotype. Add in trends like “copy-paste Latinas,” and you set the stage for the promotion of stereotypes and fetishization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@iluvd3ft0ness/video/7158818343850659118\" data-video-id=\"7158818343850659118\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@iluvd3ft0ness\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@iluvd3ft0ness?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@iluvd3ft0ness\u003c/a> they be so pretty bruh😩 \u003ca title=\"fypシ\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp%E3%82%B7?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#fypシ\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ My humps - MARLEY NYC\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/My-humps-6765935697976134406?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ My humps – MARLEY NYC\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, such public inside jokes have evolved. On TikTok, where videos and their respective audio tracks can be plucked for use by other users, an increasing number of viral audios have come from reggaeton songs, or are spoken in Spanish, encouraging users to lip sync or dance along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The popularity of this music gave some users a different idea: Why not make content relating to the songs — like relationships, infidelity, and the well-meme’d concept of being “toxico” in relationships — even if they’re not Latino?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Users were especially upset with popular creator Chiara King. Though fluent in Spanish, King is from the U.K. — and made grand statements about Latinas in relationships with hashtags like “latin trend” and “toxica.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a now-deleted video, King is doing her makeup with the caption “A Latina’s mind 24/7,” while lip syncing an audio about her boyfriend maybe cheating. In the hashtags she wrote, “I’m not Latina but I relate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@chiaraking/video/7125131196299808006\" data-video-id=\"7125131196299808006\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@chiaraking\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@chiaraking?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@chiaraking\u003c/a> The better translated version \u003ca title=\"latintrend\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/latintrend?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#latintrend\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"toxica\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/toxica?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#toxica\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Con Una Prima Déjame Revisarte El Celular 2 - 👸🏽 Ingrid Laien 💎\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Con-Una-Prima-D%C3%A9jame-Revisarte-El-Celular-2-7106867367401048837?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ Con Una Prima Déjame Revisarte El Celular 2 – 👸🏽 Ingrid Laien 💎\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For graduate student and content creator Marlene Ramirez, King’s appropriation felt familiar in a very unwelcome way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[It was upsetting] to see her, as a white woman, take on these tropes and profit off of them,” she says.“She was presenting Latinas in a very toxic way. I think that was definitely very triggering for me as someone who has had to conform to certain standards of whiteness, especially in the academic and professional space,” Ramirez knows these stereotypes well, but has found them notably more pointed lately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People want to look like us, people want to copy our culture, and they reduce us to this ‘spicy’ [trope], like we’re emotionally dysregulated,” she adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>These trends impact how she’s perceived offline, too, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re very passionate, but there’s a historical context to it I feel that’s missing. I noticed it in the way that I’ve been perceived these last two years. I feel like I’ve been much more fetishized.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For any cultural group, being reduced to a narrow set of misinformed characteristics is an unwelcome shift from being ignored in the cultural zeitgeist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for content creators vying for views before their wave of relevance has passed, identity can be merely a costume.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=How+Latin+identity+became+fodder+for+content&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Why Everyone is Talking About Negroni Sbagliato — And How to Make Your Own",
"headTitle": "Why Everyone is Talking About Negroni Sbagliato — And How to Make Your Own | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Move over, Aperol spritz. The reign of Negroni sbagliato has just begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cocktail — made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and sparkling wine instead of the traditional gin — has taken over social media, thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax/video/7149523510589754670?_r=1&_t=8WQ7RsdTACM&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7149523510589754670\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">behind-the-scenes interview\u003c/a> promoting \u003cem>House of the Dragon\u003c/em> on HBO’s TikTok account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax/video/7149523510589754670\" data-video-id=\"7149523510589754670\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@hbomax\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@hbomax\u003c/a> I’ll take one of each. \u003ca title=\"houseofthedragon\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/houseofthedragon?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#houseofthedragon\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ a negroni sbagliato w prosecco l hbo max - hbomax\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/a-negroni-sbagliato-w-prosecco-l-hbo-max-7149523537730997035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ a negroni sbagliato w prosecco l hbo max – hbomax\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the clip, stars Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke — who play the feuding Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent respectively — are asking each other about their drink of choice in real life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D’Arcy, who’s nonbinary, says they prefer a Negroni, before adding “\u003cem>sbagliato\u003c/em>” in their signature breathy voice. The actor then raises their eyebrows, leans in closer, and flirtatiously explains that it means “with prosecco in it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cooke responds with an enthralled “Ooh, stunning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The interaction immediately went viral, especially among queer fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/sckberry/status/1579469179534860294\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Bars are getting flooded with orders\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>More than 15,000 TikTok videos have been posted using the original sound from the D’Arcy and Cooke interview, racking up millions of views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, social media is full of people promising to rush to their local bar to order a “Negroni sbagliato with prosecco in it.” Mixologists and lifestyle accounts are \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@join_jules/video/7152252066084228395?_r=1&_t=8WQA8P9FPFi&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7152252066084228395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sharing recipes.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And bartenders are joking about needing to stock up on ingredients before there’s a shortage (which has happened before when other TikTok recipes went viral, with ingredients such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/22832651/viral-tiktok-recipes-food-shortages\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kewpie mayo and feta cheese\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@raynemcgowan/video/7152957536277286190\" data-video-id=\"7152957536277286190\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@raynemcgowan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@raynemcgowan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@raynemcgowan\u003c/a> negroni 🔥 spagliato🔥🔥with prosecco in it 🥵 \u003ca title=\"wlwtiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wlwtiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#wlwtiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lesbiansoftiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lesbiansoftiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#lesbiansoftiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"emmadarcy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/emmadarcy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#emmadarcy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cubbyholenyc\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cubbyholenyc?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#cubbyholenyc\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Rayne McGowan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7152957575422593834?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – Rayne McGowan\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>But the meme is a bit of a misnomer\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While fans will forever know the meme as “Negroni… \u003cem>sbagliato… \u003c/em>with prosecco in it,” that’s not how someone would usually order it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sbagliato means “mistaken” or “broken” in Italian — a reference to substituting the gin in a traditional Negroni for sparkling wine. So saying “with prosecco” is \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@leah.kilpatrick/video/7152343541237452078?_r=1&_t=8WQA4RFHcEg&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7152343541237452078\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">redundant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can just order it as a sbagliato, experts say. Here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R5DKp2dwr0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an example\u003c/a> of how to pronounce it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/jillboard/status/1579581191195619328\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How to make your own mistake\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you want to give the sbagliato a whirl from the comfort of your own home — perhaps this Sunday while you’re watching \u003cem>House of the Dragon\u003c/em> — here’s what you’ll need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cocktail itself is simple. You’ll need three ingredients: Campari, sweet vermouth and prosecco. Some recipes suggest an equal 1:1:1 ratio, but you may want to adjust to your personal taste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A quick recipe:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Add ice to your glass.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pour in 1.5 oz of sweet vermouth.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Add 1.5 oz of Campari and stir.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Top off your glass with prosecco.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Add a slice of orange for garnish, if you’re so inclined.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get in there and make Emma proud.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+everyone+is+talking+about+Negroni+sbagliato+%E2%80%94+and+how+to+make+your+own&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Move over, Aperol spritz. The reign of Negroni sbagliato has just begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cocktail — made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and sparkling wine instead of the traditional gin — has taken over social media, thanks to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax/video/7149523510589754670?_r=1&_t=8WQ7RsdTACM&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7149523510589754670\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">behind-the-scenes interview\u003c/a> promoting \u003cem>House of the Dragon\u003c/em> on HBO’s TikTok account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax/video/7149523510589754670\" data-video-id=\"7149523510589754670\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@hbomax\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hbomax?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@hbomax\u003c/a> I’ll take one of each. \u003ca title=\"houseofthedragon\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/houseofthedragon?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#houseofthedragon\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ a negroni sbagliato w prosecco l hbo max - hbomax\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/a-negroni-sbagliato-w-prosecco-l-hbo-max-7149523537730997035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ a negroni sbagliato w prosecco l hbo max – hbomax\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003ch3>Bars are getting flooded with orders\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>More than 15,000 TikTok videos have been posted using the original sound from the D’Arcy and Cooke interview, racking up millions of views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, social media is full of people promising to rush to their local bar to order a “Negroni sbagliato with prosecco in it.” Mixologists and lifestyle accounts are \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@join_jules/video/7152252066084228395?_r=1&_t=8WQA8P9FPFi&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7152252066084228395\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sharing recipes.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And bartenders are joking about needing to stock up on ingredients before there’s a shortage (which has happened before when other TikTok recipes went viral, with ingredients such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/22832651/viral-tiktok-recipes-food-shortages\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kewpie mayo and feta cheese\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@raynemcgowan/video/7152957536277286190\" data-video-id=\"7152957536277286190\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@raynemcgowan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@raynemcgowan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@raynemcgowan\u003c/a> negroni 🔥 spagliato🔥🔥with prosecco in it 🥵 \u003ca title=\"wlwtiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wlwtiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#wlwtiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lesbiansoftiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lesbiansoftiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#lesbiansoftiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"emmadarcy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/emmadarcy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#emmadarcy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"cubbyholenyc\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cubbyholenyc?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#cubbyholenyc\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Rayne McGowan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7152957575422593834?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">♬ original sound – Rayne McGowan\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>But the meme is a bit of a misnomer\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While fans will forever know the meme as “Negroni… \u003cem>sbagliato… \u003c/em>with prosecco in it,” that’s not how someone would usually order it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sbagliato means “mistaken” or “broken” in Italian — a reference to substituting the gin in a traditional Negroni for sparkling wine. So saying “with prosecco” is \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@leah.kilpatrick/video/7152343541237452078?_r=1&_t=8WQA4RFHcEg&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7152343541237452078\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">redundant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can just order it as a sbagliato, experts say. Here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R5DKp2dwr0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an example\u003c/a> of how to pronounce it.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003ch3>How to make your own mistake\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If you want to give the sbagliato a whirl from the comfort of your own home — perhaps this Sunday while you’re watching \u003cem>House of the Dragon\u003c/em> — here’s what you’ll need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The cocktail itself is simple. You’ll need three ingredients: Campari, sweet vermouth and prosecco. Some recipes suggest an equal 1:1:1 ratio, but you may want to adjust to your personal taste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A quick recipe:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Add ice to your glass.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Pour in 1.5 oz of sweet vermouth.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Add 1.5 oz of Campari and stir.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Top off your glass with prosecco.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Add a slice of orange for garnish, if you’re so inclined.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Get in there and make Emma proud.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Why+everyone+is+talking+about+Negroni+sbagliato+%E2%80%94+and+how+to+make+your+own&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Gen Z is Driving Sales of Romance Books to the Top of Bestseller Lists",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ask a Gen Z woman what she’s read recently, and there’s a good chance two names will come up: Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gen Z is my favorite of all generations for so many reasons, and their love for reading is just one of the many,” Hoover said. “I love that they are consuming books and sharing books and recommending books. They’re reading so much—not only my books, but books across genres.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_10353585']For months, Hoover and Henry have occupied multiple spots on the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> paperback trade fiction bestsellers list. The success of these contemporary romance writers has been driven in large part by Gen Z readers—and social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the right person finding the book at the right time and then sharing it with the right people,” said Henry. Her novels \u003cem>Beach Read\u003c/em>, \u003cem>People We Meet on Vacation\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Book Lovers \u003c/em>are all bestsellers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hoover’s upcoming book, \u003cem>It Starts With Us—\u003c/em>the highly anticipated sequel to \u003cem>It Ends With Us \u003c/em>from 2016—has more pre-orders than any novel in Simon & Schuster history—and there are still seven weeks to publication. Its pre-orders have surpassed Stephen King’s \u003cem>Dr. Sleep\u003c/em>, which went on sale in 2013—the publishing company’s previous leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What makes a romance novel a Gen Z hit\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A decade ago, the main demographic for romance was women ages 35 to 54. But in the past several years, that has widened to include women 18 to 54, according to Colleen Hoover’s publicist Ariele Fredman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gen Z is a huge audience for romance,” she said. “If you think about it, like millennials, their youth has been marked by global and social upset and unrest in many ways, so looking for a happy ever after or an emotional outlet in a book seems like a healthy way of coping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13896736']Kaileigh Klein, a 19-year-old college student in Ontario, Canada said she loves Hoover’s books for just this reason—for the big emotions she writes about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People [my age] gravitate towards her novels because they’re really emotional. I feel like even if you can’t express emotion in real life, reading it on paper, it’s really easy to connect to it and relate to it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sahar Kariem, a 22-year-old stylist from Maryland, said Emily Henry’s “balance of romance and life lessons,” as well as themes of coming of age, have cemented Henry as one of her favorite authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/10/213494/romance-novel-cover-trend-modern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marketing trends\u003c/a>, like covering contemporary romance novel jackets with cartoon figures and bright colors, has also helped pull in a younger audience, according to Leah Koch, who co-owns The Ripped Bodice, a romance bookstore in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that I’ll ever have a grasp on it, but I’d like to think they’re responding to the entertainment factor,” Hoover said. “The last few years have been wild in the best way, and I’m very grateful to readers who continue to share my books and the books of other authors on their social platforms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Social media pushing romance to younger readers\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Much of the success of the romance genre with Gen Z readers is driven by \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRAvPau1/?k=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BookTok\u003c/a>, a subcommunity on TikTok for recommending, reviewing, and discussing books. Sales for authors whose books have gone viral on TikTok had reached 12.5 million in 2022, as of July, according to NPD BookScan, a data service that tracks U.S. book sales. And as of April, nearly 41 percent of TikTok’s global users were between the ages of 18 and 24—with more than half of those being women, according to Statista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleen Hoover is especially savvy at knowing how to connect with her fans. She’s a frequent TikTok user, regularly engaging with her almost 950,000 followers. Emily Henry has chosen another approach, leaving the space to readers—giving her an almost a mythical presence on the platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bookstore owner Koch said she’s noticed a large increase in younger customers coming into the store since early 2021—something she “100 percent” attributes to TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll get a rush of customers asking for something random and we’re like, ‘Why does everyone want this specific book?'” Koch said. The answer is always TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13873288']Ali Hazelwood, whose 2021 debut book \u003cem>The Love Hypothesis\u003c/em> became a smash BookTok hit, said she had no idea of the book’s virality until a friend told her a TikTok recommending it had 2 million views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way BookTok talks about books is very different from your traditional review,” Hazelwood said. “They make me want to buy my book.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ripped Bodice’s top selling book, Koch said, is Hoover’s \u003cem>It Ends With Us\u003c/em>. Though it’s not new, it received a surge in popularity last year thanks to BookTok. The book hit No. 1 on the\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2022/01/16/combined-print-and-e-book-fiction/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem> New York Times\u003c/em> bestseller list\u003c/a> in January 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>BookTok reduces romance stigma, but upholds whiteness\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Koch said, what gets a reader in their teens or early 20s to pick up a romance novel is if they’re able to relate to a character’s feelings and circumstances. But this doesn’t mean a character has to be exactly the same as them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve never heard a Gen Z reader say, ‘I don’t want to read this because I can’t personally relate to the characters [in race or sexuality],” Koch said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, the majority of the most successful BookTok romance novels are about white, straight characters and by white authors, with a few notable exceptions. The books that go viral on TikTok tend to be by white authors, and mostly white women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are so many books that I think are excellent and don’t make [bestsellers] lists, and so many of these books are written by non-white authors,” Hazelwood said. “There’s definitely a pattern and a marked disadvantage that authors of color have to face in publishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13892784']Henry shared similar sentiments—and said she often wonders why certain authors, like Kennedy Ryan, haven’t blown up on BookTok yet. She also said she wouldn’t be in the contemporary romance game if it weren’t for women of color like Helen Hoang and Jasmine Guillory, whose 2018 debut novels made her realize there was an audience for a book like \u003cem>Beach Read.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a broader issue than just BookTok—according to The Ripped Bodice’s annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.therippedbodicela.com/state-racial-diversity-romance-publishing-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report\u003c/a>, only 7.8 percent of romance books published in 2021 were written by BIPOC authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s so many good books by Black authors that get ignored,” said Gen Z reader Kariem, who herself is Black and Muslim. “I think a lot of books by white authors are just advertised more, and there’s a lot of up and coming authors that don’t have the same resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Henry also reflected on the issue. “I don’t know what we do to help BookTok make space for more authors beyond the white authors who are having this moment,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But overall, the romance writers at the top of the bestsellers lists today said they rejoice in Gen Z’s openness about loving the romance genre. It’s “this embracing of pleasure and sexuality and openness to the things that make you feel good without denigrating those as like a lower form of art,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hazelwood said she, and so many others, grew up embarrassed of reading romance novels. “I just hope that this new generation is growing up without all that stigma that was unjustifiably there to begin with. Now [reading romance] is super cool,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Gen+Z+is+driving+sales+of+romance+books+to+the+top+of+bestseller+lists&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ask a Gen Z woman what she’s read recently, and there’s a good chance two names will come up: Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gen Z is my favorite of all generations for so many reasons, and their love for reading is just one of the many,” Hoover said. “I love that they are consuming books and sharing books and recommending books. They’re reading so much—not only my books, but books across genres.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For months, Hoover and Henry have occupied multiple spots on the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> paperback trade fiction bestsellers list. The success of these contemporary romance writers has been driven in large part by Gen Z readers—and social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the right person finding the book at the right time and then sharing it with the right people,” said Henry. Her novels \u003cem>Beach Read\u003c/em>, \u003cem>People We Meet on Vacation\u003c/em>, and \u003cem>Book Lovers \u003c/em>are all bestsellers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hoover’s upcoming book, \u003cem>It Starts With Us—\u003c/em>the highly anticipated sequel to \u003cem>It Ends With Us \u003c/em>from 2016—has more pre-orders than any novel in Simon & Schuster history—and there are still seven weeks to publication. Its pre-orders have surpassed Stephen King’s \u003cem>Dr. Sleep\u003c/em>, which went on sale in 2013—the publishing company’s previous leader.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What makes a romance novel a Gen Z hit\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>A decade ago, the main demographic for romance was women ages 35 to 54. But in the past several years, that has widened to include women 18 to 54, according to Colleen Hoover’s publicist Ariele Fredman.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Kaileigh Klein, a 19-year-old college student in Ontario, Canada said she loves Hoover’s books for just this reason—for the big emotions she writes about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People [my age] gravitate towards her novels because they’re really emotional. I feel like even if you can’t express emotion in real life, reading it on paper, it’s really easy to connect to it and relate to it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sahar Kariem, a 22-year-old stylist from Maryland, said Emily Henry’s “balance of romance and life lessons,” as well as themes of coming of age, have cemented Henry as one of her favorite authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/10/213494/romance-novel-cover-trend-modern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marketing trends\u003c/a>, like covering contemporary romance novel jackets with cartoon figures and bright colors, has also helped pull in a younger audience, according to Leah Koch, who co-owns The Ripped Bodice, a romance bookstore in Los Angeles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know that I’ll ever have a grasp on it, but I’d like to think they’re responding to the entertainment factor,” Hoover said. “The last few years have been wild in the best way, and I’m very grateful to readers who continue to share my books and the books of other authors on their social platforms.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Social media pushing romance to younger readers\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Much of the success of the romance genre with Gen Z readers is driven by \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRAvPau1/?k=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BookTok\u003c/a>, a subcommunity on TikTok for recommending, reviewing, and discussing books. Sales for authors whose books have gone viral on TikTok had reached 12.5 million in 2022, as of July, according to NPD BookScan, a data service that tracks U.S. book sales. And as of April, nearly 41 percent of TikTok’s global users were between the ages of 18 and 24—with more than half of those being women, according to Statista.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Colleen Hoover is especially savvy at knowing how to connect with her fans. She’s a frequent TikTok user, regularly engaging with her almost 950,000 followers. Emily Henry has chosen another approach, leaving the space to readers—giving her an almost a mythical presence on the platform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bookstore owner Koch said she’s noticed a large increase in younger customers coming into the store since early 2021—something she “100 percent” attributes to TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll get a rush of customers asking for something random and we’re like, ‘Why does everyone want this specific book?'” Koch said. The answer is always TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ali Hazelwood, whose 2021 debut book \u003cem>The Love Hypothesis\u003c/em> became a smash BookTok hit, said she had no idea of the book’s virality until a friend told her a TikTok recommending it had 2 million views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The way BookTok talks about books is very different from your traditional review,” Hazelwood said. “They make me want to buy my book.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Ripped Bodice’s top selling book, Koch said, is Hoover’s \u003cem>It Ends With Us\u003c/em>. Though it’s not new, it received a surge in popularity last year thanks to BookTok. The book hit No. 1 on the\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2022/01/16/combined-print-and-e-book-fiction/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem> New York Times\u003c/em> bestseller list\u003c/a> in January 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>BookTok reduces romance stigma, but upholds whiteness\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ultimately, Koch said, what gets a reader in their teens or early 20s to pick up a romance novel is if they’re able to relate to a character’s feelings and circumstances. But this doesn’t mean a character has to be exactly the same as them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve never heard a Gen Z reader say, ‘I don’t want to read this because I can’t personally relate to the characters [in race or sexuality],” Koch said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, the majority of the most successful BookTok romance novels are about white, straight characters and by white authors, with a few notable exceptions. The books that go viral on TikTok tend to be by white authors, and mostly white women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are so many books that I think are excellent and don’t make [bestsellers] lists, and so many of these books are written by non-white authors,” Hazelwood said. “There’s definitely a pattern and a marked disadvantage that authors of color have to face in publishing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Henry shared similar sentiments—and said she often wonders why certain authors, like Kennedy Ryan, haven’t blown up on BookTok yet. She also said she wouldn’t be in the contemporary romance game if it weren’t for women of color like Helen Hoang and Jasmine Guillory, whose 2018 debut novels made her realize there was an audience for a book like \u003cem>Beach Read.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a broader issue than just BookTok—according to The Ripped Bodice’s annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.therippedbodicela.com/state-racial-diversity-romance-publishing-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report\u003c/a>, only 7.8 percent of romance books published in 2021 were written by BIPOC authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s so many good books by Black authors that get ignored,” said Gen Z reader Kariem, who herself is Black and Muslim. “I think a lot of books by white authors are just advertised more, and there’s a lot of up and coming authors that don’t have the same resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Henry also reflected on the issue. “I don’t know what we do to help BookTok make space for more authors beyond the white authors who are having this moment,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But overall, the romance writers at the top of the bestsellers lists today said they rejoice in Gen Z’s openness about loving the romance genre. It’s “this embracing of pleasure and sexuality and openness to the things that make you feel good without denigrating those as like a lower form of art,” Henry said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hazelwood said she, and so many others, grew up embarrassed of reading romance novels. “I just hope that this new generation is growing up without all that stigma that was unjustifiably there to begin with. Now [reading romance] is super cool,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Gen+Z+is+driving+sales+of+romance+books+to+the+top+of+bestseller+lists&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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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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"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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"radiolab": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
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"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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"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
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