For San José’s Kaleena Zanders, Dance Music Is ‘a Magical Experience’
Oakland Artist AroMa Isn’t Defined By Time
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"content": "\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kaleenazanders/?hl=en\">Kaleena Zanders\u003c/a>’ song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31i2vFa7r8s\">The Light\u003c/a>” blasted through my headphones, I pedaled faster.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soundtracked by energetic hi-hats, symphonic strings, a bass line from the underworld and Zanders’ heavenly vocals, my bike ride became a spiritual experience. And I’m clearly not the only one moved by Zanders’ music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Zanders has played nightclubs and festivals, and even once had a song featured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ispot.tv/ad/waIE/toyota-super-bowl-2018-good-odds-song-by-kaleena-zanders\">a Super Bowl Toyota commercial\u003c/a>. Her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/0clTTK9wSXFKpTTtGq2sun\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>\u003c/em> dropped last month. It’s been highlighted by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/up-coming-dance-artist-of-month-kaleena-zanders-april-2026-1236230807/\">Billboard\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> with two of its songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfP41vP8dQ\">Stronger Than Machines\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1dPFBPt1_M\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>,” spotlighted by ESPN.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg\" alt=\"A person standing behind a DJ table at a crowded outdoors event.\" class=\"wp-image-13991110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing at Outside Lands in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 2024, grew up playing sports and frequenting Hot Topic in San José. (Harp Digital Media)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As Zanders launches \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaleenazanders.com/tour\">a multiple-city tour\u003c/a> with stops across the United States and Canada, she gives credit to her upbringing in San José for making it possible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Emo fits and musical theater\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I ended up going to Independence High School,” Zanders tells me during a recent video call, “and I played a ton of sports.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a teenage basketball and rugby player, Zanders also got deep into her emo bag with fits from Hot Topic at Eastridge Mall, across the street from where she lived. While fashion and athletics were important, art proved significant in her upbringing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Musical theater was a huge part of my life,” says Zanders, who took classes at the \u003ca href=\"https://sanjoseacademyofmusic.com/san-jose-childrens-chorus/\">San Jose Children’s Choir \u003c/a>from the age of 8 to the age of 11. She had no problem singing to herself, but Zanders was a shy about appearing on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was really caught off guard that my mom would put me in these musical theater classes,” Zanders reflects. But it all makes sense now. “I remember coming alive on stage,” Zanders says. “I get it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mO0mYdan3w\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Having a musical outlet proved vital as she navigated her teenage years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Understanding that I’m queer,” says Zanders, “that was actually pretty hard for me in high school.” So she leaned into music, practicing on a piano in her mom’s garage, and eventually taking guitar lessons — which got her into rock music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In college, Zanders played in a band, Moulder’s Lounge, which she calls “the most euphoric, life-changing experience.” The band allowed her to combine musical theater, instrumentation and rock music, and would’ve been big, Zanders believes, if they’d stayed together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders eventually moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Musicians Institute. One day, while she was working at Trader Joe’s in Hollywood, a friend told her about a DJ who needed someone to provide vocals for an EDM track. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t the kind of kid that could go out and rave,” Zanders says with a laugh; her mother wouldn’t have allowed it. “I literally knew nothing of rave culture,” she says. But she quickly learned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg\" alt=\"The crowd's view of a person standing behind the DJ tables.\" class=\"wp-image-13991111\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘I make music that’s rooted in love,’ says Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands in 2024. (Harp Digital Media)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big diva vocals’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders now plays in nightclubs as well as sports arenas. They’re two very different settings, except that both are male-dominated. Simply by being present in those spaces, Zanders tells me, “as a woman, as a Black woman, as a queer woman, I naturally am gonna make some sort of statement. I don’t even need to say anything.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pivoting from writing verses and choruses of rock lyrics to short top-lines for dance anthems wasn’t easy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Simplifying her lyrics felt like “it was like a diss to the art,” Zanders says. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you only need one or two lines?’” But after digging deeper into the history of dance, and the work of artists like \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_S.\">Robin S.\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_(musician)\">Sonique\u003c/a>, Zanders understood the power of “big diva vocals.” With only a few choice lyrics, Zanders affirms, one can “still very much understand, in a potent way, what the song is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Featuring Shift K3Y, Bipolar Sunshine and Hayley May, each of the seven songs on \u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> pack in a load of emotions and storytelling. Even the album name has multiple meanings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMl_XIjVAsg\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heartbroken after an acquaintance stole something of hers, it hit Zanders that life is a free-for-all with no rules, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Look at these motherfuckers, they’re out here just stealing shit,” she says. “Okay, fuck! Let me have the audacity to do what I wanna do, which is \u003cem>good\u003c/em> stuff. But let me not be afraid, because these people aren’t afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A family lineage\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> could also describe Zanders herself. She’s an athletic pianist and former mohawked rocker who loves pop music and sings like gospel is in her blood. She also benefited from her mother’s guidance, inherited her’s father’s vocal abilities and stands on the shoulders of her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She was a prolific piano player,” Zanders says of her grandmother, a choir director who died when Zanders was just an infant but who left behind a trove of archival recordings. “Hearing that,” Zanders explains, “made me think, ‘Oh, okay, this is where some of my musical abilities come from.'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders does not claim any one faith. But whether her music’s blasting through a sound system in a New York nightclub, playing at an outdoors festival in Canada or slapping in the headphones of a journalist riding a bike in California, the spiritual element is evident.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Dance music,” Zanders professes, “it can be a magical experience.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleena Zanders performs Friday, July 17 as part of the three-day Dirtybird Cookout and Northern Nights musical festival in Piercy, California. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/northernnights/events/dirtybird-campout-x-northern-nights-music-festival-2026-160064\">Tickets and more details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kaleenazanders/?hl=en\">Kaleena Zanders\u003c/a>’ song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31i2vFa7r8s\">The Light\u003c/a>” blasted through my headphones, I pedaled faster.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Soundtracked by energetic hi-hats, symphonic strings, a bass line from the underworld and Zanders’ heavenly vocals, my bike ride became a spiritual experience. And I’m clearly not the only one moved by Zanders’ music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Soundtracked by energetic hi-hats, symphonic strings, a bass line from the underworld and Zanders’ heavenly vocals, my bike ride became a spiritual experience. And I’m clearly not the only one moved by Zanders’ music.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Zanders has played nightclubs and festivals, and even once had a song featured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ispot.tv/ad/waIE/toyota-super-bowl-2018-good-odds-song-by-kaleena-zanders\">a Super Bowl Toyota commercial\u003c/a>. Her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/0clTTK9wSXFKpTTtGq2sun\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>\u003c/em> dropped last month. It’s been highlighted by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/up-coming-dance-artist-of-month-kaleena-zanders-april-2026-1236230807/\">Billboard\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> with two of its songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfP41vP8dQ\">Stronger Than Machines\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1dPFBPt1_M\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>,” spotlighted by ESPN.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Zanders has played nightclubs and festivals, and even once had a song featured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ispot.tv/ad/waIE/toyota-super-bowl-2018-good-odds-song-by-kaleena-zanders\">a Super Bowl Toyota commercial\u003c/a>. Her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/0clTTK9wSXFKpTTtGq2sun\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>\u003c/em> dropped last month. It’s been highlighted by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/up-coming-dance-artist-of-month-kaleena-zanders-april-2026-1236230807/\">Billboard\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> with two of its songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfP41vP8dQ\">Stronger Than Machines\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1dPFBPt1_M\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>,” spotlighted by ESPN.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg\" alt=\"A person standing behind a DJ table at a crowded outdoors event.\" class=\"wp-image-13991110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing at Outside Lands in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 2024, grew up playing sports and frequenting Hot Topic in San José.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg\" alt=\"A person standing behind a DJ table at a crowded outdoors event.\" class=\"wp-image-13991110\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing at Outside Lands in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 2024, grew up playing sports and frequenting Hot Topic in San José.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As Zanders launches \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaleenazanders.com/tour\">a multiple-city tour\u003c/a> with stops across the United States and Canada, she gives credit to her upbringing in San José for making it possible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As Zanders launches \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaleenazanders.com/tour\">a multiple-city tour\u003c/a> with stops across the United States and Canada, she gives credit to her upbringing in San José for making it possible.\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Emo fits and musical theater",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I ended up going to Independence High School,” Zanders tells me during a recent video call, “and I played a ton of sports.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I ended up going to Independence High School,” Zanders tells me during a recent video call, “and I played a ton of sports.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a teenage basketball and rugby player, Zanders also got deep into her emo bag with fits from Hot Topic at Eastridge Mall, across the street from where she lived. While fashion and athletics were important, art proved significant in her upbringing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As a teenage basketball and rugby player, Zanders also got deep into her emo bag with fits from Hot Topic at Eastridge Mall, across the street from where she lived. While fashion and athletics were important, art proved significant in her upbringing.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Musical theater was a huge part of my life,” says Zanders, who took classes at the \u003ca href=\"https://sanjoseacademyofmusic.com/san-jose-childrens-chorus/\">San Jose Children’s Choir \u003c/a>from the age of 8 to the age of 11. She had no problem singing to herself, but Zanders was a shy about appearing on stage.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Musical theater was a huge part of my life,” says Zanders, who took classes at the \u003ca href=\"https://sanjoseacademyofmusic.com/san-jose-childrens-chorus/\">San Jose Children’s Choir \u003c/a>from the age of 8 to the age of 11. She had no problem singing to herself, but Zanders was a shy about appearing on stage.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was really caught off guard that my mom would put me in these musical theater classes,” Zanders reflects. But it all makes sense now. “I remember coming alive on stage,” Zanders says. “I get it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was really caught off guard that my mom would put me in these musical theater classes,” Zanders reflects. But it all makes sense now. “I remember coming alive on stage,” Zanders says. “I get it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mO0mYdan3w\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Having a musical outlet proved vital as she navigated her teenage years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Understanding that I’m queer,” says Zanders, “that was actually pretty hard for me in high school.” So she leaned into music, practicing on a piano in her mom’s garage, and eventually taking guitar lessons — which got her into rock music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Understanding that I’m queer,” says Zanders, “that was actually pretty hard for me in high school.” So she leaned into music, practicing on a piano in her mom’s garage, and eventually taking guitar lessons — which got her into rock music.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In college, Zanders played in a band, Moulder’s Lounge, which she calls “the most euphoric, life-changing experience.” The band allowed her to combine musical theater, instrumentation and rock music, and would’ve been big, Zanders believes, if they’d stayed together.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In college, Zanders played in a band, Moulder’s Lounge, which she calls “the most euphoric, life-changing experience.” The band allowed her to combine musical theater, instrumentation and rock music, and would’ve been big, Zanders believes, if they’d stayed together.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Zanders eventually moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Musicians Institute. One day, while she was working at Trader Joe’s in Hollywood, a friend told her about a DJ who needed someone to provide vocals for an EDM track. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Zanders eventually moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Musicians Institute. One day, while she was working at Trader Joe’s in Hollywood, a friend told her about a DJ who needed someone to provide vocals for an EDM track. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t the kind of kid that could go out and rave,” Zanders says with a laugh; her mother wouldn’t have allowed it. “I literally knew nothing of rave culture,” she says. But she quickly learned.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t the kind of kid that could go out and rave,” Zanders says with a laugh; her mother wouldn’t have allowed it. “I literally knew nothing of rave culture,” she says. But she quickly learned.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg\" alt=\"The crowd's view of a person standing behind the DJ tables.\" class=\"wp-image-13991111\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘I make music that’s rooted in love,’ says Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands in 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg\" alt=\"The crowd's view of a person standing behind the DJ tables.\" class=\"wp-image-13991111\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘I make music that’s rooted in love,’ says Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands in 2024.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Zanders now plays in nightclubs as well as sports arenas. They’re two very different settings, except that both are male-dominated. Simply by being present in those spaces, Zanders tells me, “as a woman, as a Black woman, as a queer woman, I naturally am gonna make some sort of statement. I don’t even need to say anything.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Zanders now plays in nightclubs as well as sports arenas. They’re two very different settings, except that both are male-dominated. Simply by being present in those spaces, Zanders tells me, “as a woman, as a Black woman, as a queer woman, I naturally am gonna make some sort of statement. I don’t even need to say anything.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pivoting from writing verses and choruses of rock lyrics to short top-lines for dance anthems wasn’t easy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Pivoting from writing verses and choruses of rock lyrics to short top-lines for dance anthems wasn’t easy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Simplifying her lyrics felt like “it was like a diss to the art,” Zanders says. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you only need one or two lines?’” But after digging deeper into the history of dance, and the work of artists like \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_S.\">Robin S.\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_(musician)\">Sonique\u003c/a>, Zanders understood the power of “big diva vocals.” With only a few choice lyrics, Zanders affirms, one can “still very much understand, in a potent way, what the song is about.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Simplifying her lyrics felt like “it was like a diss to the art,” Zanders says. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you only need one or two lines?’” But after digging deeper into the history of dance, and the work of artists like \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_S.\">Robin S.\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_(musician)\">Sonique\u003c/a>, Zanders understood the power of “big diva vocals.” With only a few choice lyrics, Zanders affirms, one can “still very much understand, in a potent way, what the song is about.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Featuring Shift K3Y, Bipolar Sunshine and Hayley May, each of the seven songs on \u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> pack in a load of emotions and storytelling. Even the album name has multiple meanings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Featuring Shift K3Y, Bipolar Sunshine and Hayley May, each of the seven songs on \u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> pack in a load of emotions and storytelling. Even the album name has multiple meanings.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMl_XIjVAsg\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMl_XIjVAsg\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Heartbroken after an acquaintance stole something of hers, it hit Zanders that life is a free-for-all with no rules, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Look at these motherfuckers, they’re out here just stealing shit,” she says. “Okay, fuck! Let me have the audacity to do what I wanna do, which is \u003cem>good\u003c/em> stuff. But let me not be afraid, because these people aren’t afraid.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> could also describe Zanders herself. She’s an athletic pianist and former mohawked rocker who loves pop music and sings like gospel is in her blood. She also benefited from her mother’s guidance, inherited her’s father’s vocal abilities and stands on the shoulders of her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She was a prolific piano player,” Zanders says of her grandmother, a choir director who died when Zanders was just an infant but who left behind a trove of archival recordings. “Hearing that,” Zanders explains, “made me think, ‘Oh, okay, this is where some of my musical abilities come from.'”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Zanders does not claim any one faith. But whether her music’s blasting through a sound system in a New York nightclub, playing at an outdoors festival in Canada or slapping in the headphones of a journalist riding a bike in California, the spiritual element is evident.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleena Zanders performs Friday, July 17 as part of the three-day Dirtybird Cookout and Northern Nights musical festival in Piercy, California. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/northernnights/events/dirtybird-campout-x-northern-nights-music-festival-2026-160064\">Tickets and more details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kaleenazanders/?hl=en\">Kaleena Zanders\u003c/a>’ song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31i2vFa7r8s\">The Light\u003c/a>” blasted through my headphones, I pedaled faster.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Soundtracked by energetic hi-hats, symphonic strings, a bass line from the underworld and Zanders’ heavenly vocals, my bike ride became a spiritual experience. And I’m clearly not the only one moved by Zanders’ music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a decade, Zanders has played nightclubs and festivals, and even once had a song featured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.ispot.tv/ad/waIE/toyota-super-bowl-2018-good-odds-song-by-kaleena-zanders\">a Super Bowl Toyota commercial\u003c/a>. Her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/0clTTK9wSXFKpTTtGq2sun\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>\u003c/em> dropped last month. It’s been highlighted by \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/up-coming-dance-artist-of-month-kaleena-zanders-april-2026-1236230807/\">Billboard\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> with two of its songs, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfP41vP8dQ\">Stronger Than Machines\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1dPFBPt1_M\">Anything Goes\u003c/a>,” spotlighted by ESPN.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg\" alt=\"A person standing behind a DJ table at a crowded outdoors event.\" class=\"wp-image-13991110\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125811-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing at Outside Lands in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in 2024, grew up playing sports and frequenting Hot Topic in San José. (Harp Digital Media)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As Zanders launches \u003ca href=\"https://www.kaleenazanders.com/tour\">a multiple-city tour\u003c/a> with stops across the United States and Canada, she gives credit to her upbringing in San José for making it possible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Emo fits and musical theater\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I ended up going to Independence High School,” Zanders tells me during a recent video call, “and I played a ton of sports.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a teenage basketball and rugby player, Zanders also got deep into her emo bag with fits from Hot Topic at Eastridge Mall, across the street from where she lived. While fashion and athletics were important, art proved significant in her upbringing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Musical theater was a huge part of my life,” says Zanders, who took classes at the \u003ca href=\"https://sanjoseacademyofmusic.com/san-jose-childrens-chorus/\">San Jose Children’s Choir \u003c/a>from the age of 8 to the age of 11. She had no problem singing to herself, but Zanders was a shy about appearing on stage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was really caught off guard that my mom would put me in these musical theater classes,” Zanders reflects. But it all makes sense now. “I remember coming alive on stage,” Zanders says. “I get it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/0mO0mYdan3w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/0mO0mYdan3w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Having a musical outlet proved vital as she navigated her teenage years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Understanding that I’m queer,” says Zanders, “that was actually pretty hard for me in high school.” So she leaned into music, practicing on a piano in her mom’s garage, and eventually taking guitar lessons — which got her into rock music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In college, Zanders played in a band, Moulder’s Lounge, which she calls “the most euphoric, life-changing experience.” The band allowed her to combine musical theater, instrumentation and rock music, and would’ve been big, Zanders believes, if they’d stayed together.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders eventually moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at the Musicians Institute. One day, while she was working at Trader Joe’s in Hollywood, a friend told her about a DJ who needed someone to provide vocals for an EDM track. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wasn’t the kind of kid that could go out and rave,” Zanders says with a laugh; her mother wouldn’t have allowed it. “I literally knew nothing of rave culture,” she says. But she quickly learned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg\" alt=\"The crowd's view of a person standing behind the DJ tables.\" class=\"wp-image-13991111\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_20260625_125757-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">‘I make music that’s rooted in love,’ says Kaleena Zanders, pictured performing in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands in 2024. (Harp Digital Media)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Big diva vocals’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders now plays in nightclubs as well as sports arenas. They’re two very different settings, except that both are male-dominated. Simply by being present in those spaces, Zanders tells me, “as a woman, as a Black woman, as a queer woman, I naturally am gonna make some sort of statement. I don’t even need to say anything.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pivoting from writing verses and choruses of rock lyrics to short top-lines for dance anthems wasn’t easy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Simplifying her lyrics felt like “it was like a diss to the art,” Zanders says. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you only need one or two lines?’” But after digging deeper into the history of dance, and the work of artists like \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_S.\">Robin S.\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_(musician)\">Sonique\u003c/a>, Zanders understood the power of “big diva vocals.” With only a few choice lyrics, Zanders affirms, one can “still very much understand, in a potent way, what the song is about.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Featuring Shift K3Y, Bipolar Sunshine and Hayley May, each of the seven songs on \u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> pack in a load of emotions and storytelling. Even the album name has multiple meanings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/AMl_XIjVAsg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/AMl_XIjVAsg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heartbroken after an acquaintance stole something of hers, it hit Zanders that life is a free-for-all with no rules, for better or for worse.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Look at these motherfuckers, they’re out here just stealing shit,” she says. “Okay, fuck! Let me have the audacity to do what I wanna do, which is \u003cem>good\u003c/em> stuff. But let me not be afraid, because these people aren’t afraid.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A family lineage\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Anything Goes\u003c/em> could also describe Zanders herself. She’s an athletic pianist and former mohawked rocker who loves pop music and sings like gospel is in her blood. She also benefited from her mother’s guidance, inherited her’s father’s vocal abilities and stands on the shoulders of her grandmother.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She was a prolific piano player,” Zanders says of her grandmother, a choir director who died when Zanders was just an infant but who left behind a trove of archival recordings. “Hearing that,” Zanders explains, “made me think, ‘Oh, okay, this is where some of my musical abilities come from.'”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Zanders does not claim any one faith. But whether her music’s blasting through a sound system in a New York nightclub, playing at an outdoors festival in Canada or slapping in the headphones of a journalist riding a bike in California, the spiritual element is evident.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Dance music,” Zanders professes, “it can be a magical experience.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Kaleena Zanders performs Friday, July 17 as part of the three-day Dirtybird Cookout and Northern Nights musical festival in Piercy, California. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/northernnights/events/dirtybird-campout-x-northern-nights-music-festival-2026-160064\">Tickets and more details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>All of AroMa’s art, from the drip to the slap, hinges on a relationship with time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>AroMa’s fashion pairs edginess with antiquity. Their film visuals are simultaneously classic and fresh. And their music combines crying alt-rock guitar riffs and big orchestral strings with R&B soul and introspective lyrics, creating a sound that spans decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“On the eve of my 10th birthday,” AroMa says, “I realized that when you go to double-digits, you never go back to single-digits.” The realization made it clear that certain things are finite. “And that terrified me,” AroMa admits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To combat that anxiety, AroMa began a process of either urgently “chasing time,” or completely running away from the construct, so as to not be “captive to the finite nature of temporal beings.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of a person dramatically performing on stage.\" class=\"wp-image-13990963\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I love making music, and I love performing it live,” says AroMa. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On June 26 at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, AroMa will perform music from \u003ca href=\"https://aromamusic.bandcamp.com/album/smitten\">their latest EP \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, as well as pieces from their forthcoming project, on a lineup with the band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/spa_band/\">Spa\u003c/a> and the duo \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/closegood_/\">closegood\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a>. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/transbayarea/\">Trans Bay\u003c/a> and hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/living4rayy/#\">RAY\u003c/a>, AroMa guarantees some refined fashion statements from artists and attendees alike.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But AroMa has no idea what they plan on wearing yet. And that’s part of their stragey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I honestly wait to the very last minute to pick a lot of my outfits,” says AroMa, for whom procrastination lights a fire.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I love the ‘grandma aesthetic’,” they tell me, crediting their Big Mama’s influence. “When I was a kid, I thought she was the coolest person,” says AroMa of their grandmother. “I was meant to be like her; I didn’t know that that meant eventually I also would have a wig collection.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNBsHZpeSxA\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with matching antique hairpieces, big black leather belts and fly feathered garments, the added element to AroMa’s sense of style is time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their first full-length project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://i-d.co/article/aroma-zoombug-queer-musical-short-film/\">ZoomBug\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “a radically queer musical about race cars and shitty exs,” was written in a bout of anxiety about time passing. When it dropped in 2018, the campy musical became something of a local cult classic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The film centers a fake band, played by real musicians. Oddly enough, it was that collective that catalyzed AroMa’s music career. “My first-ever live music performance was because somebody asked the \u003cem>ZoomBug\u003c/em> band to play a New Year’s Eve show,”AroMa tells me. “We weren’t even a real band.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That experience opened the door for more productions. AroMa was making music videos for other artists when they began working on another film, \u003cem>Moon Baby\u003c/em>. But when the pandemic stalled the production, AroMa fully turned to music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I low-key hate releasing music,” says AroMa. “But it needs to be done.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a black feathered top, big black belt and sunglasses poses in front of a flaming red background.\" class=\"wp-image-13990962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">AroMa. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The songs on their four-track EP \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em> were workshopped for months. Some marinated for years. Leadoff track “Goldmine” was written five years ago, when AroMa and their bandmates first got their studio space in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It felt like, ‘okay, this space, in this moment, is the beginning of a big change,” recalls AroMa. With a desk, a basic sound system and furniture they’d repurposed, the venue allowed the collective to celebrate being chaotic; that sentiment is reflected in the song. “‘Goldmine’,” says AroMa, “was written at the start of something new. A big leap, the beginning of some significant evolution.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/CifBJ2OXC0I?si=klMOjei6mVrK1oLN\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creating the song “Territory” gave AroMa trouble, as the “character” in the song is an “overzealous, big-voiced, very brash” person trying something for the very first time. AroMa had to sound apprehensive, yet confident. After years of refining the track to show trepidation and also declare that they’re here to “embrace the fucking journey that’s ahead,” says AroMa, the song is all about “allowing yourself to feel, and be affected and be loved.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creating the track “Eyes” was about overcoming a different artistic hurdle: having your stuff stolen. Three years ago, thieves didn’t just steal their hard drive from their car — they stole the whole vehicle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Although we lost the track,” AroMa laments, “the live version of the song was developed so much by us just playing it over, and over, and over.” That’s the version that appears on the EP.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Armageddon,” the final track on the project, also had to be re-recorded. Like “Territory,” the song is about trying something new for the first time, but in place of hesitation, “it’s like embracing the consequence in a rapturous way,” says AroMa. With an urgent, bold sound, the song is the EP’s crescendo, sending listeners off into the horizon. AroMa says it’s their way of saying “goodbye, traveler.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990988\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">AroMa performing live. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though there’s an air of “alternative rock soul” throughout \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>, AroMa’s music is less about genre and more about the “characters” that represent facets of who they were when they wrote the song.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As time passes, the version of AroMa who finishes a song is different from the one who started the creative process. And as they grow, their sound constantly changes (AroMa makes hip-hop music as well). But the way that AroMa tells stories in the music remains consistent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m not so interested in perfecting a formula, I’m not trying to create a new genre,” says AroMa. “I’ll flow in and out of whatever the fuck feels right.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AroMa performs at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a> on Friday, June 26, at Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>AroMa’s fashion pairs edginess with antiquity. Their film visuals are simultaneously classic and fresh. And their music combines crying alt-rock guitar riffs and big orchestral strings with R&B soul and introspective lyrics, creating a sound that spans decades.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“On the eve of my 10th birthday,” AroMa says, “I realized that when you go to double-digits, you never go back to single-digits.” The realization made it clear that certain things are finite. “And that terrified me,” AroMa admits.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On June 26 at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, AroMa will perform music from \u003ca href=\"https://aromamusic.bandcamp.com/album/smitten\">their latest EP \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, as well as pieces from their forthcoming project, on a lineup with the band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/spa_band/\">Spa\u003c/a> and the duo \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/closegood_/\">closegood\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a>. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/transbayarea/\">Trans Bay\u003c/a> and hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/living4rayy/#\">RAY\u003c/a>, AroMa guarantees some refined fashion statements from artists and attendees alike.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I love the ‘grandma aesthetic’,” they tell me, crediting their Big Mama’s influence. “When I was a kid, I thought she was the coolest person,” says AroMa of their grandmother. “I was meant to be like her; I didn’t know that that meant eventually I also would have a wig collection.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Creating the song “Territory” gave AroMa trouble, as the “character” in the song is an “overzealous, big-voiced, very brash” person trying something for the very first time. AroMa had to sound apprehensive, yet confident. After years of refining the track to show trepidation and also declare that they’re here to “embrace the fucking journey that’s ahead,” says AroMa, the song is all about “allowing yourself to feel, and be affected and be loved.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Creating the track “Eyes” was about overcoming a different artistic hurdle: having your stuff stolen. Three years ago, thieves didn’t just steal their hard drive from their car — they stole the whole vehicle. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Although we lost the track,” AroMa laments, “the live version of the song was developed so much by us just playing it over, and over, and over.” That’s the version that appears on the EP.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Armageddon,” the final track on the project, also had to be re-recorded. Like “Territory,” the song is about trying something new for the first time, but in place of hesitation, “it’s like embracing the consequence in a rapturous way,” says AroMa. With an urgent, bold sound, the song is the EP’s crescendo, sending listeners off into the horizon. AroMa says it’s their way of saying “goodbye, traveler.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though there’s an air of “alternative rock soul” throughout \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>, AroMa’s music is less about genre and more about the “characters” that represent facets of who they were when they wrote the song.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m not so interested in perfecting a formula, I’m not trying to create a new genre,” says AroMa. “I’ll flow in and out of whatever the fuck feels right.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AroMa performs at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a> on Friday, June 26, at Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The multidisciplinary artist spans music, film and fashion.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>All of AroMa’s art, from the drip to the slap, hinges on a relationship with time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>AroMa’s fashion pairs edginess with antiquity. Their film visuals are simultaneously classic and fresh. And their music combines crying alt-rock guitar riffs and big orchestral strings with R&B soul and introspective lyrics, creating a sound that spans decades.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“On the eve of my 10th birthday,” AroMa says, “I realized that when you go to double-digits, you never go back to single-digits.” The realization made it clear that certain things are finite. “And that terrified me,” AroMa admits.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To combat that anxiety, AroMa began a process of either urgently “chasing time,” or completely running away from the construct, so as to not be “captive to the finite nature of temporal beings.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of a person dramatically performing on stage.\" class=\"wp-image-13990963\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-6-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">“I love making music, and I love performing it live,” says AroMa. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On June 26 at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, AroMa will perform music from \u003ca href=\"https://aromamusic.bandcamp.com/album/smitten\">their latest EP \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, as well as pieces from their forthcoming project, on a lineup with the band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/spa_band/\">Spa\u003c/a> and the duo \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/closegood_/\">closegood\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a>. Presented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/transbayarea/\">Trans Bay\u003c/a> and hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/living4rayy/#\">RAY\u003c/a>, AroMa guarantees some refined fashion statements from artists and attendees alike.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But AroMa has no idea what they plan on wearing yet. And that’s part of their stragey.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I honestly wait to the very last minute to pick a lot of my outfits,” says AroMa, for whom procrastination lights a fire.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I love the ‘grandma aesthetic’,” they tell me, crediting their Big Mama’s influence. “When I was a kid, I thought she was the coolest person,” says AroMa of their grandmother. “I was meant to be like her; I didn’t know that that meant eventually I also would have a wig collection.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/cNBsHZpeSxA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/cNBsHZpeSxA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Along with matching antique hairpieces, big black leather belts and fly feathered garments, the added element to AroMa’s sense of style is time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Their first full-length project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://i-d.co/article/aroma-zoombug-queer-musical-short-film/\">ZoomBug\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “a radically queer musical about race cars and shitty exs,” was written in a bout of anxiety about time passing. When it dropped in 2018, the campy musical became something of a local cult classic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The film centers a fake band, played by real musicians. Oddly enough, it was that collective that catalyzed AroMa’s music career. “My first-ever live music performance was because somebody asked the \u003cem>ZoomBug\u003c/em> band to play a New Year’s Eve show,”AroMa tells me. “We weren’t even a real band.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That experience opened the door for more productions. AroMa was making music videos for other artists when they began working on another film, \u003cem>Moon Baby\u003c/em>. But when the pandemic stalled the production, AroMa fully turned to music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I low-key hate releasing music,” says AroMa. “But it needs to be done.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a black feathered top, big black belt and sunglasses poses in front of a flaming red background.\" class=\"wp-image-13990962\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-5-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">AroMa. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The songs on their four-track EP \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em> were workshopped for months. Some marinated for years. Leadoff track “Goldmine” was written five years ago, when AroMa and their bandmates first got their studio space in downtown Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It felt like, ‘okay, this space, in this moment, is the beginning of a big change,” recalls AroMa. With a desk, a basic sound system and furniture they’d repurposed, the venue allowed the collective to celebrate being chaotic; that sentiment is reflected in the song. “‘Goldmine’,” says AroMa, “was written at the start of something new. A big leap, the beginning of some significant evolution.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/CifBJ2OXC0I'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CifBJ2OXC0I'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creating the song “Territory” gave AroMa trouble, as the “character” in the song is an “overzealous, big-voiced, very brash” person trying something for the very first time. AroMa had to sound apprehensive, yet confident. After years of refining the track to show trepidation and also declare that they’re here to “embrace the fucking journey that’s ahead,” says AroMa, the song is all about “allowing yourself to feel, and be affected and be loved.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Creating the track “Eyes” was about overcoming a different artistic hurdle: having your stuff stolen. Three years ago, thieves didn’t just steal their hard drive from their car — they stole the whole vehicle. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Although we lost the track,” AroMa laments, “the live version of the song was developed so much by us just playing it over, and over, and over.” That’s the version that appears on the EP.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Armageddon,” the final track on the project, also had to be re-recorded. Like “Territory,” the song is about trying something new for the first time, but in place of hesitation, “it’s like embracing the consequence in a rapturous way,” says AroMa. With an urgent, bold sound, the song is the EP’s crescendo, sending listeners off into the horizon. AroMa says it’s their way of saying “goodbye, traveler.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990988\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/0-4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">AroMa performing live. (Onome Uyovbievbo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though there’s an air of “alternative rock soul” throughout \u003cem>Smitten\u003c/em>, AroMa’s music is less about genre and more about the “characters” that represent facets of who they were when they wrote the song.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As time passes, the version of AroMa who finishes a song is different from the one who started the creative process. And as they grow, their sound constantly changes (AroMa makes hip-hop music as well). But the way that AroMa tells stories in the music remains consistent.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m not so interested in perfecting a formula, I’m not trying to create a new genre,” says AroMa. “I’ll flow in and out of whatever the fuck feels right.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>AroMa performs at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">MASC4MASQUERADE BALL\u003c/a> on Friday, June 26, at Eli’s Mile High Club (3629 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.elismilehighclub.com/events/trans-bay-area-presents-masc4masquerade\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Oakland-Raised Satya Colors Her Past on Debut Album ‘Yellow House’",
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"content": "\u003cp>Oakland-raised singer Satya possesses a magnificently colorful voice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a sultry deep-purple, interspersed with shades of bluegrass. Certain notes carry the worn-leather brown of a good country twang, and others are pure white robes of a full choir. Her lyrics paint a dark angsty hue of ’90s alternative R&B, rich with self-prescribed affirmations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And as the 25 year-old musician celebrates her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://satsatmusic.com/\">Yellow House\u003c/a>\u003c/em> this week with a listening party at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://bggh.shop/\">Blk Girls Green House\u003c/a>, she continues to fine-tune her sound.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for that rich, multi-hued voice? “I’m still finding it,” Satya tells me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Given that her album addresses maturation, healing and honoring the agency that comes along with adulthood, she’s finding her voice in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoQTdypADXM\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An Oakland School of the Arts graduate who studied vocal arrangement, Satya also plays piano and guitar, and is learning the bass. She loves playing and singing with others, working on harmonies and making songs that have a “a full sound,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up listening to Aretha Franklin,” Satya tells me, explaining a love for gospel music and “wide sounds.” Now, as she matures, she’s learning to experiment with lower and softer ranges, while still relishing in large soundscapes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yellow House\u003c/em> showcases her far-reaching vocal range, interwoven with the production of Nashville-based musician \u003ca href=\"https://colinlinden.net/\">Colin Linden\u003c/a>. Now based in Los Angeles, Satya recorded the entire album in Tennessee. Along the way, she made a stop in New Orleans for college — an experience that truly set her on her musical path.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While studying the music industry at Loyola University, the pandemic hit and school shut down. Uninspired by online classes, she dropped out. “And I just stayed in New Orleans,” she says. “And I fell in love with it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through her circle of friends, Satya traveled the South. But the Crescent City had her heart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She cut her teeth as a musician in the Big Easy, performing original music and gigging around town with a band. Looking back, “New Orleans shaped me so much as an artist and a musician,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Years passed and she moved back to the west coast, landing in Southern California and chipping away at her first album. Though she eventually recorded it in Nashville, the songs on \u003cem>Yellow House\u003c/em> draw heavily on her experience growing up in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman stands inside of a house, against a wall and near a window, wearing a white shirt and khaki pants, as she looks into the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-13990392\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Satya’s album ‘Yellow House’ draws on her coming-of-age process, and is dedicated to her own transformation. (Lola Lankford)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The title track, “Yellow House,” is about the actual home she lived in as a kid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the song, the guitar and drums are dark and heavy, and the lyrics pull from past trauma. But a tempo shift toward the end of the track connotes optimism; as the guitar strums build, Satya shares details of her house: “Yellow house, lemon trees, wooden floor, she laid face down / Yellow house, dead birds, pill bottles missing from the cabinet/ What if I say that I / Say that I’m done with all your madness?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In just under a minute, Satya juxtaposes dark grey memories with a slice of light. Sonically, it’s as if a character in a noir film walked into a scene wearing a canary-colored sundress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Immediately following is “Circles,” the first song Satya wrote for the album, which starts with a dark simple guitar riff and builds to a crescendo of keys, drums and vocals. With lyrics like “I dream of the hallway,” the song references that same yellow house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I was tracing feelings back and memories back,” Satya reflects, “I sometimes felt like my energy was in that house still.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The album cover art for Satya’s ‘Yellow House.’ (Giant Music)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Album closer “Cicadas” directly draws from Satya’s time in New Orleans, complete with the sound of raindrops falling. Two covers — the Grateful Dead’s “Box of Rain” and Lucinda Williams’ “Fruits of My Labor” — show that she’s not limited by genre.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s in “Heaven’s Cry” where Satya speaks directly to her transformation process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over a bright melody, Satya sings, “Fell from the sky, don’t know how, don’t know why / Closing my eyes, take one step at a time.” As the track unfolds, she describes persevering through rough waters, guided by voices from heaven.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I grew up with a lot of imbalance,” she says. “A lot of open-endedness, a lot of loose ends.” Transitions and grief were a constant, she adds. “I really just had to make a decision to leave home because it didn’t feel safe anymore.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Satya’s goal now is to be the fullest form of herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I want to be expressive, and follow what really gives me joy,” Staya says. Living without fear and resetting her body are part of it. But ultimately, “it’s about knowing that I’m safe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Satya’s ‘Yellow House’ is available June 5 on streaming platforms. She hosts a listening party at Blk Girls Green House on June 6. \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/yellow-house-album-release\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While studying the music industry at Loyola University, the pandemic hit and school shut down. Uninspired by online classes, she dropped out. “And I just stayed in New Orleans,” she says. “And I fell in love with it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She cut her teeth as a musician in the Big Easy, performing original music and gigging around town with a band. Looking back, “New Orleans shaped me so much as an artist and a musician,” she says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Years passed and she moved back to the west coast, landing in Southern California and chipping away at her first album. Though she eventually recorded it in Nashville, the songs on \u003cem>Yellow House\u003c/em> draw heavily on her experience growing up in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the song, the guitar and drums are dark and heavy, and the lyrics pull from past trauma. But a tempo shift toward the end of the track connotes optimism; as the guitar strums build, Satya shares details of her house: “Yellow house, lemon trees, wooden floor, she laid face down / Yellow house, dead birds, pill bottles missing from the cabinet/ What if I say that I / Say that I’m done with all your madness?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In just under a minute, Satya juxtaposes dark grey memories with a slice of light. Sonically, it’s as if a character in a noir film walked into a scene wearing a canary-colored sundress.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Immediately following is “Circles,” the first song Satya wrote for the album, which starts with a dark simple guitar riff and builds to a crescendo of keys, drums and vocals. With lyrics like “I dream of the hallway,” the song references that same yellow house.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Immediately following is “Circles,” the first song Satya wrote for the album, which starts with a dark simple guitar riff and builds to a crescendo of keys, drums and vocals. With lyrics like “I dream of the hallway,” the song references that same yellow house.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When I was tracing feelings back and memories back,” Satya reflects, “I sometimes felt like my energy was in that house still.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Over a bright melody, Satya sings, “Fell from the sky, don’t know how, don’t know why / Closing my eyes, take one step at a time.” As the track unfolds, she describes persevering through rough waters, guided by voices from heaven.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I grew up with a lot of imbalance,” she says. “A lot of open-endedness, a lot of loose ends.” Transitions and grief were a constant, she adds. “I really just had to make a decision to leave home because it didn’t feel safe anymore.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I want to be expressive, and follow what really gives me joy,” Staya says. Living without fear and resetting her body are part of it. But ultimately, “it’s about knowing that I’m safe.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Satya’s ‘Yellow House’ is available June 5 on streaming platforms. She hosts a listening party at Blk Girls Green House on June 6. \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/yellow-house-album-release\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The singer’s personal songs are painted in many hues — and she’s still finding her voice, she says.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Oakland-raised singer Satya possesses a magnificently colorful voice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a sultry deep-purple, interspersed with shades of bluegrass. Certain notes carry the worn-leather brown of a good country twang, and others are pure white robes of a full choir. Her lyrics paint a dark angsty hue of ’90s alternative R&B, rich with self-prescribed affirmations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And as the 25 year-old musician celebrates her debut album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://satsatmusic.com/\">Yellow House\u003c/a>\u003c/em> this week with a listening party at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://bggh.shop/\">Blk Girls Green House\u003c/a>, she continues to fine-tune her sound.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As for that rich, multi-hued voice? “I’m still finding it,” Satya tells me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Given that her album addresses maturation, healing and honoring the agency that comes along with adulthood, she’s finding her voice in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/YoQTdypADXM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YoQTdypADXM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An Oakland School of the Arts graduate who studied vocal arrangement, Satya also plays piano and guitar, and is learning the bass. She loves playing and singing with others, working on harmonies and making songs that have a “a full sound,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up listening to Aretha Franklin,” Satya tells me, explaining a love for gospel music and “wide sounds.” Now, as she matures, she’s learning to experiment with lower and softer ranges, while still relishing in large soundscapes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yellow House\u003c/em> showcases her far-reaching vocal range, interwoven with the production of Nashville-based musician \u003ca href=\"https://colinlinden.net/\">Colin Linden\u003c/a>. Now based in Los Angeles, Satya recorded the entire album in Tennessee. Along the way, she made a stop in New Orleans for college — an experience that truly set her on her musical path.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While studying the music industry at Loyola University, the pandemic hit and school shut down. Uninspired by online classes, she dropped out. “And I just stayed in New Orleans,” she says. “And I fell in love with it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through her circle of friends, Satya traveled the South. But the Crescent City had her heart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She cut her teeth as a musician in the Big Easy, performing original music and gigging around town with a band. Looking back, “New Orleans shaped me so much as an artist and a musician,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Years passed and she moved back to the west coast, landing in Southern California and chipping away at her first album. Though she eventually recorded it in Nashville, the songs on \u003cem>Yellow House\u003c/em> draw heavily on her experience growing up in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman stands inside of a house, against a wall and near a window, wearing a white shirt and khaki pants, as she looks into the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-13990392\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-scaled.jpg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/jqfQvzpz-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Satya’s album ‘Yellow House’ draws on her coming-of-age process, and is dedicated to her own transformation. (Lola Lankford)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The title track, “Yellow House,” is about the actual home she lived in as a kid.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the song, the guitar and drums are dark and heavy, and the lyrics pull from past trauma. But a tempo shift toward the end of the track connotes optimism; as the guitar strums build, Satya shares details of her house: “Yellow house, lemon trees, wooden floor, she laid face down / Yellow house, dead birds, pill bottles missing from the cabinet/ What if I say that I / Say that I’m done with all your madness?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In just under a minute, Satya juxtaposes dark grey memories with a slice of light. Sonically, it’s as if a character in a noir film walked into a scene wearing a canary-colored sundress.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Immediately following is “Circles,” the first song Satya wrote for the album, which starts with a dark simple guitar riff and builds to a crescendo of keys, drums and vocals. With lyrics like “I dream of the hallway,” the song references that same yellow house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When I was tracing feelings back and memories back,” Satya reflects, “I sometimes felt like my energy was in that house still.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/Satya-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The album cover art for Satya’s ‘Yellow House.’ (Giant Music)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Album closer “Cicadas” directly draws from Satya’s time in New Orleans, complete with the sound of raindrops falling. Two covers — the Grateful Dead’s “Box of Rain” and Lucinda Williams’ “Fruits of My Labor” — show that she’s not limited by genre.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But it’s in “Heaven’s Cry” where Satya speaks directly to her transformation process.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over a bright melody, Satya sings, “Fell from the sky, don’t know how, don’t know why / Closing my eyes, take one step at a time.” As the track unfolds, she describes persevering through rough waters, guided by voices from heaven.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I grew up with a lot of imbalance,” she says. “A lot of open-endedness, a lot of loose ends.” Transitions and grief were a constant, she adds. “I really just had to make a decision to leave home because it didn’t feel safe anymore.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Satya’s goal now is to be the fullest form of herself.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I want to be expressive, and follow what really gives me joy,” Staya says. Living without fear and resetting her body are part of it. But ultimately, “it’s about knowing that I’m safe.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Satya’s ‘Yellow House’ is available June 5 on streaming platforms. She hosts a listening party at Blk Girls Green House on June 6. \u003ca href=\"https://posh.vip/e/yellow-house-album-release\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "saying-what-you-wont-baby-gas-monique-dating-podcast",
"title": "‘Saying What You Won’t’ Podcast Sparks Dating Debates and Breakthroughs",
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"content": "\u003cp>With candid conversations about sexual fantasies, celebrity crushes and scandalous confessions, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> \u003c/a>podcast has attracted a devout following.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, married hosts Monique and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz are taking the show on the road with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">California mini-tour\u003c/a> that kicks off its Bay Area portion in San José on June 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s some fun chaos,” Baby Gas says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1942\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two people hosting an event on stage\" class=\"wp-image-13990327\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg 1942w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-160x211.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-768x1012.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1165x1536.jpg 1165w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1554x2048.jpg 1554w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1942px) 100vw, 1942px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The key to a healthy relationship? Transparency and feeling safe to express yourself, according to Monique and Baby Gas. (Sergio Robledo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> leans into the raunchy and explicit. In episodes, well-known entertainers detail their sex lives. And at live events, audience members share intimate details with complete strangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might leave more open-minded,” Monique says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monique and Baby Gas set the tone for transparency by talking about their particular style of non-monogamy, where they both date women outside their relationship. The judgement-free zone they’ve created offers a bit of a balm for a contentious topic: the Bay Area’s dirty dating scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It helps the general public by opening up conversations,” Baby Gas says. “Take one of our clips and show your partner. Spark that convo you’ve always wanted to spark.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since launching the show, first as an Instagram Live series during pandemic shutdowns, Monique and Baby Gas have covered a range of topics: favorite sexual positions, dreams about ex-lovers and even the art of feeding your blindfolded partner something random from your cabinet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you got some cumin in there, give her a spoonful of that,” Baby Gas jokes, referring to an earlier segment. And while there’s plenty of humor and a bit of shock value, there’s also some profound points about how we can all more genuinely relate to one another.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People in a crowd, seated at an event. Laughing and smiling.\" class=\"wp-image-13990326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees at the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ live podcast event take the mic to ask questions and share stories with the crowd. (Joel Barba)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a generation where the divorce rate is high as hell,” says Baby Gas. “\u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces\">Marriages are down\u003c/a>. Commitment? People are scared of commitment. Dating in the Bay Area? People have certain fears or PTSD.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Baby Gas says this region “is super player,” and unfortunately the term has two definitions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can either keep it player” or “be a player,” he says. Keeping it player refers to being transparent and putting all your cards on the table, letting your partner make an informed decision. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Baby Gas puts it simply: “If you want to rock with me, you’re going to rock me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side of the coin, “being a player” alludes to a trickster — someone who uses their “mouthpiece” to mislead. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s why people have insecurities,” he surmises, noting that dishonesty is not gender-specific. Having hard, transparent conversations in a safe place is the remedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s not only the basis for the podcast, it’s the foundation for Monique and Baby Gas’ friendship, a bond that has grown into a uniquely Bay Area version of a healthy relationship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We just we talk a lot of shit to each other,” Monique says, reflecting on their union and the origins of the podcast. They regularly debate about aliens or the type of women she likes versus the type he likes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We started as friends first,” she adds, “and we’ve just always kept that, we still talk to each other like friends.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The husband and wife come from different backgrounds. Baby Gas is an outspoken lyricist from the hood, and Monique is a relatively shy creative from the suburbs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a> at one point held down the Oakland imprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jDPru1QVwyU?si=OsBMGhONVbtIiydJ&t=2887\">Thizz Latin label\u003c/a>. After releasing notable songs like 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9mwpET_w28&list=RDf9mwpET_w28&start_radio=1\">30 On Me\u003c/a>” and 2019’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDlgHiAXCE\">Life In The Ghetto\u003c/a>,” featuring E-40, he took a brief hiatus from music to focus on family. He returned to the scene at the top of 2026 with his album \u003cem>Ghetto Vato 2: Siempre Ghetto\u003c/em>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\">La Raza\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I definitely make sure that I utilize my platform for my people,” says Baby Gas, whose parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. Raised in East Oakland in a majority African American community, Baby Gas recalls performing tributes to Harriet Tubman and singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as a kid. Those experiences still influence his art.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I speak for Black and Brown communities at the end of the day,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mrstraphours/\">Monique\u003c/a>, who is from Vacaville, was born to a Salvadorian mother and a Creole father whose roots go back five generations in Richmond. Growing up as a mixed kid, she says, came with its own particular set of challenges. “My school was predominantly either white or Hispanic, so sometimes it was hard for me to fit in,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Monique found solace in storytelling, and is now getting ready to publish\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/demohniasworld/\"> her first book\u003c/a> later this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I have a character, it’s called Demohnia” she says, describing an animated being with horns and a halo, an ode to the duality of her Gemini astrological sign. Based in a dark fantasy, complete with metaphors and parallels to her own lived experience, Monique says creating this story has been a form of therapy for her. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not super bright rainbows,” she warns. Her world is murky with traces of light piercing through. “Demohnia was a character that just lingered in my head as a kid,” Monique explains. “She’s really like my alter ego.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1098\" height=\"1646\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg\" alt=\"Two people, a man and a woman, pose for a photo. The man sits with a piece of black tape on his mouth while the woman stands behind him.\" class=\"wp-image-13990323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg 1098w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Monique Meraz and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz, hosts of the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ podcast. (Ricardo Escalera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While discussing the couple’s many creative pursuits, Baby Gas is clear: “Before the artistry, we’re parents.” They’re raising five children, which adds fodder to their podcast discussions. “We talk about kids, we talk about the struggles and the things that we run into while being a blended family,” Baby Gas says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much like their relationship, there’s a certain balance to the podcast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one episode, East Oakland standout rapper ALLBLACK shares that his idea of intimacy is “living” in his partner’s skin. And in another episode, Stockton rap star EBK Leebo opens up about growing past “thugging” and enjoying child-like joy with his friends.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the end, each conversation revolves around sharing tender truths.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everybody always says ‘communication is key,’ right?” Baby Gas says. “But we believe that \u003cem>transparency\u003c/em> is the key to it all.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It took growth to get to this level of understanding, the couple admits. “If I say how I really feel or my opinion on this, I feel safe having conversations even if he might disagree,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She’ll drop her opinion, I’ll drop my opinion,” adds Baby Gas, “and then we talk about it there, or once the guest leaves and the cameras stop rolling.” Never straying too far from the origins of their connection, he says, they readily take time to ask each other the hard questions: “So, what do you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> think about that?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">Saying What You Won’t\u003c/a>’ podcast has live shows throughout June and July in San José, San Francisco, Modesto, Fresno and Los Angeles. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">Event details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>With candid conversations about sexual fantasies, celebrity crushes and scandalous confessions, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> \u003c/a>podcast has attracted a devout following.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, married hosts Monique and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz are taking the show on the road with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">California mini-tour\u003c/a> that kicks off its Bay Area portion in San José on June 13.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, married hosts Monique and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz are taking the show on the road with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">California mini-tour\u003c/a> that kicks off its Bay Area portion in San José on June 13.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s some fun chaos,” Baby Gas says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s some fun chaos,” Baby Gas says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two people hosting an event on stage\" class=\"wp-image-13990327\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg 1942w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-160x211.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-768x1012.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1165x1536.jpg 1165w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1554x2048.jpg 1554w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The key to a healthy relationship? Transparency and feeling safe to express yourself, according to Monique and Baby Gas.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two people hosting an event on stage\" class=\"wp-image-13990327\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The key to a healthy relationship? Transparency and feeling safe to express yourself, according to Monique and Baby Gas.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> leans into the raunchy and explicit. In episodes, well-known entertainers detail their sex lives. And at live events, audience members share intimate details with complete strangers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> leans into the raunchy and explicit. In episodes, well-known entertainers detail their sex lives. And at live events, audience members share intimate details with complete strangers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You might leave more open-minded,” Monique says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You might leave more open-minded,” Monique says. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Monique and Baby Gas set the tone for transparency by talking about their particular style of non-monogamy, where they both date women outside their relationship. The judgement-free zone they’ve created offers a bit of a balm for a contentious topic: the Bay Area’s dirty dating scene.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Monique and Baby Gas set the tone for transparency by talking about their particular style of non-monogamy, where they both date women outside their relationship. The judgement-free zone they’ve created offers a bit of a balm for a contentious topic: the Bay Area’s dirty dating scene.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It helps the general public by opening up conversations,” Baby Gas says. “Take one of our clips and show your partner. Spark that convo you’ve always wanted to spark.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It helps the general public by opening up conversations,” Baby Gas says. “Take one of our clips and show your partner. Spark that convo you’ve always wanted to spark.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since launching the show, first as an Instagram Live series during pandemic shutdowns, Monique and Baby Gas have covered a range of topics: favorite sexual positions, dreams about ex-lovers and even the art of feeding your blindfolded partner something random from your cabinet. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since launching the show, first as an Instagram Live series during pandemic shutdowns, Monique and Baby Gas have covered a range of topics: favorite sexual positions, dreams about ex-lovers and even the art of feeding your blindfolded partner something random from your cabinet. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If you got some cumin in there, give her a spoonful of that,” Baby Gas jokes, referring to an earlier segment. And while there’s plenty of humor and a bit of shock value, there’s also some profound points about how we can all more genuinely relate to one another.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If you got some cumin in there, give her a spoonful of that,” Baby Gas jokes, referring to an earlier segment. And while there’s plenty of humor and a bit of shock value, there’s also some profound points about how we can all more genuinely relate to one another.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People in a crowd, seated at an event. Laughing and smiling.\" class=\"wp-image-13990326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees at the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ live podcast event take the mic to ask questions and share stories with the crowd.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People in a crowd, seated at an event. Laughing and smiling.\" class=\"wp-image-13990326\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees at the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ live podcast event take the mic to ask questions and share stories with the crowd.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a generation where the divorce rate is high as hell,” says Baby Gas. “\u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces\">Marriages are down\u003c/a>. Commitment? People are scared of commitment. Dating in the Bay Area? People have certain fears or PTSD.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a generation where the divorce rate is high as hell,” says Baby Gas. “\u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces\">Marriages are down\u003c/a>. Commitment? People are scared of commitment. Dating in the Bay Area? People have certain fears or PTSD.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Baby Gas says this region “is super player,” and unfortunately the term has two definitions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Baby Gas says this region “is super player,” and unfortunately the term has two definitions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can either keep it player” or “be a player,” he says. Keeping it player refers to being transparent and putting all your cards on the table, letting your partner make an informed decision. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You can either keep it player” or “be a player,” he says. Keeping it player refers to being transparent and putting all your cards on the table, letting your partner make an informed decision. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Baby Gas puts it simply: “If you want to rock with me, you’re going to rock me.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Baby Gas puts it simply: “If you want to rock with me, you’re going to rock me.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the other side of the coin, “being a player” alludes to a trickster — someone who uses their “mouthpiece” to mislead. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the other side of the coin, “being a player” alludes to a trickster — someone who uses their “mouthpiece” to mislead. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That’s why people have insecurities,” he surmises, noting that dishonesty is not gender-specific. Having hard, transparent conversations in a safe place is the remedy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“That’s why people have insecurities,” he surmises, noting that dishonesty is not gender-specific. Having hard, transparent conversations in a safe place is the remedy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That’s not only the basis for the podcast, it’s the foundation for Monique and Baby Gas’ friendship, a bond that has grown into a uniquely Bay Area version of a healthy relationship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That’s not only the basis for the podcast, it’s the foundation for Monique and Baby Gas’ friendship, a bond that has grown into a uniquely Bay Area version of a healthy relationship.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We just we talk a lot of shit to each other,” Monique says, reflecting on their union and the origins of the podcast. They regularly debate about aliens or the type of women she likes versus the type he likes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We just we talk a lot of shit to each other,” Monique says, reflecting on their union and the origins of the podcast. They regularly debate about aliens or the type of women she likes versus the type he likes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We started as friends first,” she adds, “and we’ve just always kept that, we still talk to each other like friends.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We started as friends first,” she adds, “and we’ve just always kept that, we still talk to each other like friends.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The husband and wife come from different backgrounds. Baby Gas is an outspoken lyricist from the hood, and Monique is a relatively shy creative from the suburbs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The husband and wife come from different backgrounds. Baby Gas is an outspoken lyricist from the hood, and Monique is a relatively shy creative from the suburbs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a> at one point held down the Oakland imprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jDPru1QVwyU?si=OsBMGhONVbtIiydJ&t=2887\">Thizz Latin label\u003c/a>. After releasing notable songs like 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9mwpET_w28&list=RDf9mwpET_w28&start_radio=1\">30 On Me\u003c/a>” and 2019’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDlgHiAXCE\">Life In The Ghetto\u003c/a>,” featuring E-40, he took a brief hiatus from music to focus on family. He returned to the scene at the top of 2026 with his album \u003cem>Ghetto Vato 2: Siempre Ghetto\u003c/em>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\">La Raza\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a> at one point held down the Oakland imprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jDPru1QVwyU?si=OsBMGhONVbtIiydJ&t=2887\">Thizz Latin label\u003c/a>. After releasing notable songs like 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9mwpET_w28&list=RDf9mwpET_w28&start_radio=1\">30 On Me\u003c/a>” and 2019’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDlgHiAXCE\">Life In The Ghetto\u003c/a>,” featuring E-40, he took a brief hiatus from music to focus on family. He returned to the scene at the top of 2026 with his album \u003cem>Ghetto Vato 2: Siempre Ghetto\u003c/em>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\">La Raza\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I definitely make sure that I utilize my platform for my people,” says Baby Gas, whose parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. Raised in East Oakland in a majority African American community, Baby Gas recalls performing tributes to Harriet Tubman and singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as a kid. Those experiences still influence his art.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I definitely make sure that I utilize my platform for my people,” says Baby Gas, whose parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. Raised in East Oakland in a majority African American community, Baby Gas recalls performing tributes to Harriet Tubman and singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as a kid. Those experiences still influence his art.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I speak for Black and Brown communities at the end of the day,” he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I speak for Black and Brown communities at the end of the day,” he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mrstraphours/\">Monique\u003c/a>, who is from Vacaville, was born to a Salvadorian mother and a Creole father whose roots go back five generations in Richmond. Growing up as a mixed kid, she says, came with its own particular set of challenges. “My school was predominantly either white or Hispanic, so sometimes it was hard for me to fit in,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mrstraphours/\">Monique\u003c/a>, who is from Vacaville, was born to a Salvadorian mother and a Creole father whose roots go back five generations in Richmond. Growing up as a mixed kid, she says, came with its own particular set of challenges. “My school was predominantly either white or Hispanic, so sometimes it was hard for me to fit in,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Monique found solace in storytelling, and is now getting ready to publish\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/demohniasworld/\"> her first book\u003c/a> later this summer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have a character, it’s called Demohnia” she says, describing an animated being with horns and a halo, an ode to the duality of her Gemini astrological sign. Based in a dark fantasy, complete with metaphors and parallels to her own lived experience, Monique says creating this story has been a form of therapy for her. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s not super bright rainbows,” she warns. Her world is murky with traces of light piercing through. “Demohnia was a character that just lingered in my head as a kid,” Monique explains. “She’s really like my alter ego.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s not super bright rainbows,” she warns. Her world is murky with traces of light piercing through. “Demohnia was a character that just lingered in my head as a kid,” Monique explains. “She’s really like my alter ego.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg\" alt=\"Two people, a man and a woman, pose for a photo. The man sits with a piece of black tape on his mouth while the woman stands behind him.\" class=\"wp-image-13990323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg 1098w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Monique Meraz and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz, hosts of the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ podcast. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While discussing the couple’s many creative pursuits, Baby Gas is clear: “Before the artistry, we’re parents.” They’re raising five children, which adds fodder to their podcast discussions. “We talk about kids, we talk about the struggles and the things that we run into while being a blended family,” Baby Gas says. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Much like their relationship, there’s a certain balance to the podcast.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In one episode, East Oakland standout rapper ALLBLACK shares that his idea of intimacy is “living” in his partner’s skin. And in another episode, Stockton rap star EBK Leebo opens up about growing past “thugging” and enjoying child-like joy with his friends.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In one episode, East Oakland standout rapper ALLBLACK shares that his idea of intimacy is “living” in his partner’s skin. And in another episode, Stockton rap star EBK Leebo opens up about growing past “thugging” and enjoying child-like joy with his friends.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Everybody always says ‘communication is key,’ right?” Baby Gas says. “But we believe that \u003cem>transparency\u003c/em> is the key to it all.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Everybody always says ‘communication is key,’ right?” Baby Gas says. “But we believe that \u003cem>transparency\u003c/em> is the key to it all.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It took growth to get to this level of understanding, the couple admits. “If I say how I really feel or my opinion on this, I feel safe having conversations even if he might disagree,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“She’ll drop her opinion, I’ll drop my opinion,” adds Baby Gas, “and then we talk about it there, or once the guest leaves and the cameras stop rolling.” Never straying too far from the origins of their connection, he says, they readily take time to ask each other the hard questions: “So, what do you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> think about that?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“She’ll drop her opinion, I’ll drop my opinion,” adds Baby Gas, “and then we talk about it there, or once the guest leaves and the cameras stop rolling.” Never straying too far from the origins of their connection, he says, they readily take time to ask each other the hard questions: “So, what do you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> think about that?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">Saying What You Won’t\u003c/a>’ podcast has live shows throughout June and July in San José, San Francisco, Modesto, Fresno and Los Angeles. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">Event details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With candid conversations about sexual fantasies, celebrity crushes and scandalous confessions, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> \u003c/a>podcast has attracted a devout following.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, married hosts Monique and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz are taking the show on the road with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">California mini-tour\u003c/a> that kicks off its Bay Area portion in San José on June 13.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s some fun chaos,” Baby Gas says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1942\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Two people hosting an event on stage\" class=\"wp-image-13990327\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-scaled.jpg 1942w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-160x211.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-768x1012.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1165x1536.jpg 1165w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05767-1554x2048.jpg 1554w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1942px) 100vw, 1942px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The key to a healthy relationship? Transparency and feeling safe to express yourself, according to Monique and Baby Gas. (Sergio Robledo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saying What You Won’t\u003c/em> leans into the raunchy and explicit. In episodes, well-known entertainers detail their sex lives. And at live events, audience members share intimate details with complete strangers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might leave more open-minded,” Monique says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Monique and Baby Gas set the tone for transparency by talking about their particular style of non-monogamy, where they both date women outside their relationship. The judgement-free zone they’ve created offers a bit of a balm for a contentious topic: the Bay Area’s dirty dating scene.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It helps the general public by opening up conversations,” Baby Gas says. “Take one of our clips and show your partner. Spark that convo you’ve always wanted to spark.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since launching the show, first as an Instagram Live series during pandemic shutdowns, Monique and Baby Gas have covered a range of topics: favorite sexual positions, dreams about ex-lovers and even the art of feeding your blindfolded partner something random from your cabinet. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you got some cumin in there, give her a spoonful of that,” Baby Gas jokes, referring to an earlier segment. And while there’s plenty of humor and a bit of shock value, there’s also some profound points about how we can all more genuinely relate to one another.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1706\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People in a crowd, seated at an event. Laughing and smiling.\" class=\"wp-image-13990326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-scaled.jpg 1706w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/DSC05799-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1706px) 100vw, 1706px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Attendees at the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ live podcast event take the mic to ask questions and share stories with the crowd. (Joel Barba)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a generation where the divorce rate is high as hell,” says Baby Gas. “\u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces\">Marriages are down\u003c/a>. Commitment? People are scared of commitment. Dating in the Bay Area? People have certain fears or PTSD.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Baby Gas says this region “is super player,” and unfortunately the term has two definitions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can either keep it player” or “be a player,” he says. Keeping it player refers to being transparent and putting all your cards on the table, letting your partner make an informed decision. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Baby Gas puts it simply: “If you want to rock with me, you’re going to rock me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side of the coin, “being a player” alludes to a trickster — someone who uses their “mouthpiece” to mislead. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That’s why people have insecurities,” he surmises, noting that dishonesty is not gender-specific. Having hard, transparent conversations in a safe place is the remedy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That’s not only the basis for the podcast, it’s the foundation for Monique and Baby Gas’ friendship, a bond that has grown into a uniquely Bay Area version of a healthy relationship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We just we talk a lot of shit to each other,” Monique says, reflecting on their union and the origins of the podcast. They regularly debate about aliens or the type of women she likes versus the type he likes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We started as friends first,” she adds, “and we’ve just always kept that, we still talk to each other like friends.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/QH1R_8rLOTY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/QH1R_8rLOTY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The husband and wife come from different backgrounds. Baby Gas is an outspoken lyricist from the hood, and Monique is a relatively shy creative from the suburbs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\">Baby Gas\u003c/a> at one point held down the Oakland imprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jDPru1QVwyU?si=OsBMGhONVbtIiydJ&t=2887\">Thizz Latin label\u003c/a>. After releasing notable songs like 2016’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9mwpET_w28&list=RDf9mwpET_w28&start_radio=1\">30 On Me\u003c/a>” and 2019’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXDlgHiAXCE\">Life In The Ghetto\u003c/a>,” featuring E-40, he took a brief hiatus from music to focus on family. He returned to the scene at the top of 2026 with his album \u003cem>Ghetto Vato 2: Siempre Ghetto\u003c/em>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH1R_8rLOTY&list=RDQH1R_8rLOTY&start_radio=1\">La Raza\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I definitely make sure that I utilize my platform for my people,” says Baby Gas, whose parents are from Mexico and El Salvador. Raised in East Oakland in a majority African American community, Baby Gas recalls performing tributes to Harriet Tubman and singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as a kid. Those experiences still influence his art.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I speak for Black and Brown communities at the end of the day,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mrstraphours/\">Monique\u003c/a>, who is from Vacaville, was born to a Salvadorian mother and a Creole father whose roots go back five generations in Richmond. Growing up as a mixed kid, she says, came with its own particular set of challenges. “My school was predominantly either white or Hispanic, so sometimes it was hard for me to fit in,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Monique found solace in storytelling, and is now getting ready to publish\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/demohniasworld/\"> her first book\u003c/a> later this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I have a character, it’s called Demohnia” she says, describing an animated being with horns and a halo, an ode to the duality of her Gemini astrological sign. Based in a dark fantasy, complete with metaphors and parallels to her own lived experience, Monique says creating this story has been a form of therapy for her. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s not super bright rainbows,” she warns. Her world is murky with traces of light piercing through. “Demohnia was a character that just lingered in my head as a kid,” Monique explains. “She’s really like my alter ego.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1098\" height=\"1646\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg\" alt=\"Two people, a man and a woman, pose for a photo. The man sits with a piece of black tape on his mouth while the woman stands behind him.\" class=\"wp-image-13990323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538.jpg 1098w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/IMG_3538-1025x1536.jpg 1025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1098px) 100vw, 1098px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Monique Meraz and Alejandro “Baby Gas” Meraz, hosts of the ‘Saying What You Won’t’ podcast. (Ricardo Escalera)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While discussing the couple’s many creative pursuits, Baby Gas is clear: “Before the artistry, we’re parents.” They’re raising five children, which adds fodder to their podcast discussions. “We talk about kids, we talk about the struggles and the things that we run into while being a blended family,” Baby Gas says. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Much like their relationship, there’s a certain balance to the podcast.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one episode, East Oakland standout rapper ALLBLACK shares that his idea of intimacy is “living” in his partner’s skin. And in another episode, Stockton rap star EBK Leebo opens up about growing past “thugging” and enjoying child-like joy with his friends.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the end, each conversation revolves around sharing tender truths.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everybody always says ‘communication is key,’ right?” Baby Gas says. “But we believe that \u003cem>transparency\u003c/em> is the key to it all.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It took growth to get to this level of understanding, the couple admits. “If I say how I really feel or my opinion on this, I feel safe having conversations even if he might disagree,” Monique says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“She’ll drop her opinion, I’ll drop my opinion,” adds Baby Gas, “and then we talk about it there, or once the guest leaves and the cameras stop rolling.” Never straying too far from the origins of their connection, he says, they readily take time to ask each other the hard questions: “So, what do you \u003cem>really\u003c/em> think about that?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003chr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@Sayingwhatyouwontpodcast/videos\">Saying What You Won’t\u003c/a>’ podcast has live shows throughout June and July in San José, San Francisco, Modesto, Fresno and Los Angeles. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/you-wont-say-it-tour-4838190\">Event details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Last Wednesday night, as Chaka Khan’s song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RecY5iZn6B0\">Like Sugar\u003c/a>” blasted over the sound system at the Calvin Simmons Theatre at Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, rows of folks in fly attire stood and danced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On stage, wearing an all-black ensemble complete with golden rings on her fingers, her trademark auburn-colored hair flowing beyond her shoulders, 10-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Chaka Khan danced as well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crowd had just taken in a fireside chat that covered a range of topics from Khan’s career: Sarah Vaughan’s influence; her experience with the group Rufus; raising children while traveling and performing; and the feeling of owning 80 acres of land in Georgia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khan opened up about her time as a member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Chicago, where she was a friend of the late Chairman Fred Hampton. And she took questions from the crowd; at one point she got an aspiring singer to perform on the spot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the event, Khan also sang, performing the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEHkZi5m8dI\">Destiny\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCdDQPPhHzg\">Alfie\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLKYWiUMxs\">I Love You Porgy\u003c/a>,” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVI2I9m7ybM\">Love Me Still\u003c/a>” to thunderous applause.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman and Black man stride across stage in front of large audience\" class=\"wp-image-13990153\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chaka Khan and host Chann Berry walk onto the stage at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The flowing performance and intimate conversation was a product of the renowned artist’s relationship to the host, filmmaker and longtime friend of Chaka Khan, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/d.channsinberry/\">D. Channsin “Chann” Berry\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spiritually aligned,” Berry tells me while discussing their friendship. “And have been for many, many, many years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ahead of the event, while sitting in a dressing room with white walls and a soft evening light coming through a western-facing window, Berry tells me all about his connection with Khan and why he chose to kick off his \u003cem>Conversations in Music\u003c/em> live podcast series in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A musician and filmmaker himself, known for producing and directing \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966396/\">Dark Girls\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2011) and\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11951482/\">\u003cem>Dark Girls \u003c/em>2\u003c/a> (2020), as well as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0924207/\">The Black Line\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2013) and\u003ca href=\"https://chicagodefender.com/149951/\"> \u003cem>The Church House… Sexuality In The Black Church\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2015), Berry is originally from New Jersey. After attending Rutgers University he launched his career by taking a cross-country leap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And it was where God wanted me to be,” Berry says, discussing his move to Oakland in the 1980s. “There’s something magical and special for a young Black man coming from New Jersey or New York, and landing in the Bay.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As an artist, he found this region nurturing. “It was just positive energy that came to me and from everybody,” says Berry, “whether I’m in Oakland or I’m in San Francisco, or I’m in Sausalito, Marin or Tiburon.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Filmmaker and talk show host Chann Berry poses backstage before ‘Conversations in Music’ with special guest Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He harnessed that positive energy and support, and over the span of a decade he produced his first film, titled \u003cem>My Father’s Music… Jazz\u003c/em>. The documentary featured Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Mary Stallings, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan and Carlos Santana.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It premiered at the Castro in San Francisco to a packed audience,” says Berry, who at the time was terrified because he pieced the whole film together with pocket money earned while working multiple media-related jobs, including as a jock on 102.9 KBLX. “I saved up my coins — and a lot of people helped me out as well — and did my first film.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Berry later moved to Los Angeles. For eight years he worked in development for feature films at Disney, delivering million dollar checks and learning how the industry works. “I got a chance to find out what the business was all about from the mouse,” Berry says with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A filmmaker and songwriter, his career has included collaborations with the likes of Bill Duke, Oprah and Prince. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wrote a song for Rosie Gaines,” Berry says, referring to the singer from Pittsburg known for her hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUlBXdjG-Z8\">Closer than Close\u003c/a>,” and her duet with Tevin Campbell from the film\u003cem> A Goofy Movie,\u003c/em> “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4asUD0Ip5c\">I2I\u003c/a>” (Eye to Eye). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gaines, a member of Prince’s New Power Generation group, worked with Prince to “Pain,” a song Berry wrote. Then she called Berry. “She told me to sit down,” says Berry. “Prince gets on the phone, and then he’s like ‘Nice to meet you. Funky song, man. I hope you like what I did to it.’” The musicians then played the song over the phone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was just laid out, man!” Berry exclaims, eyes growing wide behind his glasses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members arrive and gather in the lobby before ‘Conversations in Music’ featuring Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Due to Prince’s conflict with Warner Bros. at the time, their version of the song was never released. Berry took it back and Chaka Khan later recorded it. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKl25pRHlY\">Pain\u003c/a>” appeared on the soundtrack for the hit TV show \u003cem>Living Single.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But his connection with Khan goes back far before that track, and prior to Berry’s first film.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was like 16, she was 21,” Berry says, discussing their first interaction. “She was with Rufus, and they had come to North New Jersey, to Symphony Hall, to do a concert. And I was a fan.” He met her backstage and their friendship developed from there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As Berry worked, he learned to navigate “the system” by retaining independence as a film producer. He locked in on telling stories that center Black women, tailoring his works for Black audiences. And at the same time, Khan’s career progressed profoundly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after numerous hit songs and dealing with the highs and lows of stardom, Khan is a member of the Rock & Roll of Fame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her music has influenced generations, and her songs have been widely sampled. One of Kanye West’s first hits, “Through The Wire” was pulled from Khan’s 1985 groove “Through the Fire.” And Mac Dre’s classic “Too Hard for The F*ckin Radio,” which was recently interpolated by Drake, was built on a sample from Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” (which was written by Stevie Wonder).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members listen as Chaka Khan speaks during ‘Conversations in Music’ at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked why he’d start his series of live podcast events by interviewing Chaka Khan, Berry simply retorts, “Because she’s an icon.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He adds that Khan is one of “the last great vocalists of our time.” He puts her alongside Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and Barbra Streisand as voices we’ll never hear again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the lofty admiration, their close relationship was on display all evening. The audience laughed and made comments as the duo talked like two old friends having a phone conversation. And at the end of the event, they showed just how in-step they are.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As “Like Sugar” played over the sound system and the audience got up to dance, Khan’s old friend was the first one two-stepping alongside her.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Khan opened up about her time as a member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Chicago, where she was a friend of the late Chairman Fred Hampton. And she took questions from the crowd; at one point she got an aspiring singer to perform on the spot.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the event, Khan also sang, performing the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEHkZi5m8dI\">Destiny\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCdDQPPhHzg\">Alfie\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLKYWiUMxs\">I Love You Porgy\u003c/a>,” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVI2I9m7ybM\">Love Me Still\u003c/a>” to thunderous applause.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman and Black man stride across stage in front of large audience\" class=\"wp-image-13990153\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chaka Khan and host Chann Berry walk onto the stage at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re spiritually aligned,” Berry tells me while discussing their friendship. “And have been for many, many, many years.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ahead of the event, while sitting in a dressing room with white walls and a soft evening light coming through a western-facing window, Berry tells me all about his connection with Khan and why he chose to kick off his \u003cem>Conversations in Music\u003c/em> live podcast series in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A musician and filmmaker himself, known for producing and directing \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966396/\">Dark Girls\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2011) and\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11951482/\">\u003cem>Dark Girls \u003c/em>2\u003c/a> (2020), as well as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0924207/\">The Black Line\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2013) and\u003ca href=\"https://chicagodefender.com/149951/\"> \u003cem>The Church House… Sexuality In The Black Church\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2015), Berry is originally from New Jersey. After attending Rutgers University he launched his career by taking a cross-country leap. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A musician and filmmaker himself, known for producing and directing \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966396/\">Dark Girls\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2011) and\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11951482/\">\u003cem>Dark Girls \u003c/em>2\u003c/a> (2020), as well as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0924207/\">The Black Line\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2013) and\u003ca href=\"https://chicagodefender.com/149951/\"> \u003cem>The Church House… Sexuality In The Black Church\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2015), Berry is originally from New Jersey. After attending Rutgers University he launched his career by taking a cross-country leap. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“And it was where God wanted me to be,” Berry says, discussing his move to Oakland in the 1980s. “There’s something magical and special for a young Black man coming from New Jersey or New York, and landing in the Bay.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As an artist, he found this region nurturing. “It was just positive energy that came to me and from everybody,” says Berry, “whether I’m in Oakland or I’m in San Francisco, or I’m in Sausalito, Marin or Tiburon.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Filmmaker and talk show host Chann Berry poses backstage before ‘Conversations in Music’ with special guest Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He harnessed that positive energy and support, and over the span of a decade he produced his first film, titled \u003cem>My Father’s Music… Jazz\u003c/em>. The documentary featured Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Mary Stallings, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan and Carlos Santana.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He harnessed that positive energy and support, and over the span of a decade he produced his first film, titled \u003cem>My Father’s Music… Jazz\u003c/em>. The documentary featured Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Mary Stallings, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan and Carlos Santana.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It premiered at the Castro in San Francisco to a packed audience,” says Berry, who at the time was terrified because he pieced the whole film together with pocket money earned while working multiple media-related jobs, including as a jock on 102.9 KBLX. “I saved up my coins — and a lot of people helped me out as well — and did my first film.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It premiered at the Castro in San Francisco to a packed audience,” says Berry, who at the time was terrified because he pieced the whole film together with pocket money earned while working multiple media-related jobs, including as a jock on 102.9 KBLX. “I saved up my coins — and a lot of people helped me out as well — and did my first film.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Berry later moved to Los Angeles. For eight years he worked in development for feature films at Disney, delivering million dollar checks and learning how the industry works. “I got a chance to find out what the business was all about from the mouse,” Berry says with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A filmmaker and songwriter, his career has included collaborations with the likes of Bill Duke, Oprah and Prince. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wrote a song for Rosie Gaines,” Berry says, referring to the singer from Pittsburg known for her hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUlBXdjG-Z8\">Closer than Close\u003c/a>,” and her duet with Tevin Campbell from the film\u003cem> A Goofy Movie,\u003c/em> “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4asUD0Ip5c\">I2I\u003c/a>” (Eye to Eye). \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wrote a song for Rosie Gaines,” Berry says, referring to the singer from Pittsburg known for her hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUlBXdjG-Z8\">Closer than Close\u003c/a>,” and her duet with Tevin Campbell from the film\u003cem> A Goofy Movie,\u003c/em> “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4asUD0Ip5c\">I2I\u003c/a>” (Eye to Eye). \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Gaines, a member of Prince’s New Power Generation group, worked with Prince to “Pain,” a song Berry wrote. Then she called Berry. “She told me to sit down,” says Berry. “Prince gets on the phone, and then he’s like ‘Nice to meet you. Funky song, man. I hope you like what I did to it.’” The musicians then played the song over the phone. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Gaines, a member of Prince’s New Power Generation group, worked with Prince to “Pain,” a song Berry wrote. Then she called Berry. “She told me to sit down,” says Berry. “Prince gets on the phone, and then he’s like ‘Nice to meet you. Funky song, man. I hope you like what I did to it.’” The musicians then played the song over the phone. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was just laid out, man!” Berry exclaims, eyes growing wide behind his glasses. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members arrive and gather in the lobby before ‘Conversations in Music’ featuring Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990156\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members arrive and gather in the lobby before ‘Conversations in Music’ featuring Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Due to Prince’s conflict with Warner Bros. at the time, their version of the song was never released. Berry took it back and Chaka Khan later recorded it. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKl25pRHlY\">Pain\u003c/a>” appeared on the soundtrack for the hit TV show \u003cem>Living Single.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Due to Prince’s conflict with Warner Bros. at the time, their version of the song was never released. Berry took it back and Chaka Khan later recorded it. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKl25pRHlY\">Pain\u003c/a>” appeared on the soundtrack for the hit TV show \u003cem>Living Single.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But his connection with Khan goes back far before that track, and prior to Berry’s first film.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was like 16, she was 21,” Berry says, discussing their first interaction. “She was with Rufus, and they had come to North New Jersey, to Symphony Hall, to do a concert. And I was a fan.” He met her backstage and their friendship developed from there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was like 16, she was 21,” Berry says, discussing their first interaction. “She was with Rufus, and they had come to North New Jersey, to Symphony Hall, to do a concert. And I was a fan.” He met her backstage and their friendship developed from there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As Berry worked, he learned to navigate “the system” by retaining independence as a film producer. He locked in on telling stories that center Black women, tailoring his works for Black audiences. And at the same time, Khan’s career progressed profoundly.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, after numerous hit songs and dealing with the highs and lows of stardom, Khan is a member of the Rock & Roll of Fame. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Her music has influenced generations, and her songs have been widely sampled. One of Kanye West’s first hits, “Through The Wire” was pulled from Khan’s 1985 groove “Through the Fire.” And Mac Dre’s classic “Too Hard for The F*ckin Radio,” which was recently interpolated by Drake, was built on a sample from Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” (which was written by Stevie Wonder).\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Her music has influenced generations, and her songs have been widely sampled. One of Kanye West’s first hits, “Through The Wire” was pulled from Khan’s 1985 groove “Through the Fire.” And Mac Dre’s classic “Too Hard for The F*ckin Radio,” which was recently interpolated by Drake, was built on a sample from Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” (which was written by Stevie Wonder).\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members listen as Chaka Khan speaks during ‘Conversations in Music’ at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When asked why he’d start his series of live podcast events by interviewing Chaka Khan, Berry simply retorts, “Because she’s an icon.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He adds that Khan is one of “the last great vocalists of our time.” He puts her alongside Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and Barbra Streisand as voices we’ll never hear again. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Despite the lofty admiration, their close relationship was on display all evening. The audience laughed and made comments as the duo talked like two old friends having a phone conversation. And at the end of the event, they showed just how in-step they are.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Despite the lofty admiration, their close relationship was on display all evening. The audience laughed and made comments as the duo talked like two old friends having a phone conversation. And at the end of the event, they showed just how in-step they are.\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last Wednesday night, as Chaka Khan’s song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RecY5iZn6B0\">Like Sugar\u003c/a>” blasted over the sound system at the Calvin Simmons Theatre at Oakland’s Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, rows of folks in fly attire stood and danced.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On stage, wearing an all-black ensemble complete with golden rings on her fingers, her trademark auburn-colored hair flowing beyond her shoulders, 10-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Chaka Khan danced as well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The crowd had just taken in a fireside chat that covered a range of topics from Khan’s career: Sarah Vaughan’s influence; her experience with the group Rufus; raising children while traveling and performing; and the feeling of owning 80 acres of land in Georgia.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Khan opened up about her time as a member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Chicago, where she was a friend of the late Chairman Fred Hampton. And she took questions from the crowd; at one point she got an aspiring singer to perform on the spot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>During the event, Khan also sang, performing the songs “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEHkZi5m8dI\">Destiny\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCdDQPPhHzg\">Alfie\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyLKYWiUMxs\">I Love You Porgy\u003c/a>,” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVI2I9m7ybM\">Love Me Still\u003c/a>” to thunderous applause.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Black woman and Black man stride across stage in front of large audience\" class=\"wp-image-13990153\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_008-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chaka Khan and host Chann Berry walk onto the stage at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The flowing performance and intimate conversation was a product of the renowned artist’s relationship to the host, filmmaker and longtime friend of Chaka Khan, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/d.channsinberry/\">D. Channsin “Chann” Berry\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re spiritually aligned,” Berry tells me while discussing their friendship. “And have been for many, many, many years.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ahead of the event, while sitting in a dressing room with white walls and a soft evening light coming through a western-facing window, Berry tells me all about his connection with Khan and why he chose to kick off his \u003cem>Conversations in Music\u003c/em> live podcast series in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A musician and filmmaker himself, known for producing and directing \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966396/\">Dark Girls\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2011) and\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11951482/\">\u003cem>Dark Girls \u003c/em>2\u003c/a> (2020), as well as \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0924207/\">The Black Line\u003c/a>\u003c/em> (2013) and\u003ca href=\"https://chicagodefender.com/149951/\"> \u003cem>The Church House… Sexuality In The Black Church\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (2015), Berry is originally from New Jersey. After attending Rutgers University he launched his career by taking a cross-country leap. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“And it was where God wanted me to be,” Berry says, discussing his move to Oakland in the 1980s. “There’s something magical and special for a young Black man coming from New Jersey or New York, and landing in the Bay.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As an artist, he found this region nurturing. “It was just positive energy that came to me and from everybody,” says Berry, “whether I’m in Oakland or I’m in San Francisco, or I’m in Sausalito, Marin or Tiburon.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_003-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Filmmaker and talk show host Chann Berry poses backstage before ‘Conversations in Music’ with special guest Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He harnessed that positive energy and support, and over the span of a decade he produced his first film, titled \u003cem>My Father’s Music… Jazz\u003c/em>. The documentary featured Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Mary Stallings, Stanley Turrentine, Oscar Peterson, Joe Williams, Chaka Khan and Carlos Santana.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It premiered at the Castro in San Francisco to a packed audience,” says Berry, who at the time was terrified because he pieced the whole film together with pocket money earned while working multiple media-related jobs, including as a jock on 102.9 KBLX. “I saved up my coins — and a lot of people helped me out as well — and did my first film.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Berry later moved to Los Angeles. For eight years he worked in development for feature films at Disney, delivering million dollar checks and learning how the industry works. “I got a chance to find out what the business was all about from the mouse,” Berry says with a laugh.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A filmmaker and songwriter, his career has included collaborations with the likes of Bill Duke, Oprah and Prince. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I wrote a song for Rosie Gaines,” Berry says, referring to the singer from Pittsburg known for her hit song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUlBXdjG-Z8\">Closer than Close\u003c/a>,” and her duet with Tevin Campbell from the film\u003cem> A Goofy Movie,\u003c/em> “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4asUD0Ip5c\">I2I\u003c/a>” (Eye to Eye). \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gaines, a member of Prince’s New Power Generation group, worked with Prince to “Pain,” a song Berry wrote. Then she called Berry. “She told me to sit down,” says Berry. “Prince gets on the phone, and then he’s like ‘Nice to meet you. Funky song, man. I hope you like what I did to it.’” The musicians then played the song over the phone. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was just laid out, man!” Berry exclaims, eyes growing wide behind his glasses. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_014-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members arrive and gather in the lobby before ‘Conversations in Music’ featuring Chaka Khan at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Due to Prince’s conflict with Warner Bros. at the time, their version of the song was never released. Berry took it back and Chaka Khan later recorded it. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YKl25pRHlY\">Pain\u003c/a>” appeared on the soundtrack for the hit TV show \u003cem>Living Single.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But his connection with Khan goes back far before that track, and prior to Berry’s first film.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was like 16, she was 21,” Berry says, discussing their first interaction. “She was with Rufus, and they had come to North New Jersey, to Symphony Hall, to do a concert. And I was a fan.” He met her backstage and their friendship developed from there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As Berry worked, he learned to navigate “the system” by retaining independence as a film producer. He locked in on telling stories that center Black women, tailoring his works for Black audiences. And at the same time, Khan’s career progressed profoundly.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Now, after numerous hit songs and dealing with the highs and lows of stardom, Khan is a member of the Rock & Roll of Fame. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Her music has influenced generations, and her songs have been widely sampled. One of Kanye West’s first hits, “Through The Wire” was pulled from Khan’s 1985 groove “Through the Fire.” And Mac Dre’s classic “Too Hard for The F*ckin Radio,” which was recently interpolated by Drake, was built on a sample from Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good” (which was written by Stevie Wonder).\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13990154\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/052026CHAKA-KHAN_GH_009-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Audience members listen as Chaka Khan speaks during ‘Conversations in Music’ at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland on May 20, 2026. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When asked why he’d start his series of live podcast events by interviewing Chaka Khan, Berry simply retorts, “Because she’s an icon.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He adds that Khan is one of “the last great vocalists of our time.” He puts her alongside Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and Barbra Streisand as voices we’ll never hear again. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Despite the lofty admiration, their close relationship was on display all evening. The audience laughed and made comments as the duo talked like two old friends having a phone conversation. And at the end of the event, they showed just how in-step they are.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As “Like Sugar” played over the sound system and the audience got up to dance, Khan’s old friend was the first one two-stepping alongside her.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "best-benches-views-bay-area-nature",
"title": "10 Favorite Benches, Overlooks and Sitting Spots in the Bay Area",
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"headTitle": "10 Favorite Benches, Overlooks and Sitting Spots in the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">2026 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area has a remarkable track record when it comes to sitting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s where Otis Redding famously sung about sitting on the dock, watching the tide roll away. It’s the home of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/504-protest-disability-community-and-civil-rights.htm\">504 Disability Rights sit-in\u003c/a> of 1977. Hell, this is the place where \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#e-40-films-tell-me-when-to-go-video\">E-40 sat in his scraper watchin’ \u003cem>Oakland Gone Wild\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Ta-dow\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve long traveled this region in search of the most prominent perches to park my posterior, from benches along bumpy Bayshore Road on the backside of Benicia to the barracks at the old naval air station in Alameda. I’ve watched the ground squirrels dart across the grassy terrain while relaxing at Bedwell Bay Park in Atherton. And I’ve stretched out while witnessing flocks of birds fly over the muddy shores of Suisun City’s Montezuma Slough. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below are my favorite benches, views and overlooks, drawn from years of exploring the Bay Area. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990010\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At the end of Wharf Road in Bolinas sits a bench that feels as if it’s at the end of the Earth. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Wharf Road in Bolinas\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Just behind a seawall that stands about a dozen feet tall, there’s a bench at the end of Wharf Road, and it’s calling your name. One sit on it and your mind will flow out into the Pacific Ocean, sinking into a current of thoughts and reflections. Meditation? Nope, this is traveling space and time, all because of a seaside bench.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990009\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paths and benches at San José’s Alviso Marina County Park provide views of the sunken bay.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Alviso Marina County Park\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Let’s take a trip to a subterranean seat. On the other side of the Bay Area is San José’s Alviso Marina County Park, situated 13 feet below sea level. The views from the park, meanwhile, place the bay’s southern coast in full context, allowing you to see from Fremont to Palo Alto on a clear day. Leaning on a railing or sitting off a boat dock both encouraged. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990006\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990006\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Battery Mendell overlooks the Pacific Ocean from high in the Marin Headlands. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Battery Mendell at the Marin Headlands\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Now let’s head to the high cliffs of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11753198/nuclear-missiles-in-marin-oh-yeah-in-fact-all-around-the-bay-at-one-time-2\">Marin Headlands\u003c/a>, where the natural landscape and military bunkers create a unique mix of Bay Area history. With over 2,000 acres of hillsides and beaches to explore, it’s hard to choose one spot. But at the end of Mendell Road, just past Battery Mendell, you’ll find an old military bunker that faces the ocean. What was once the site of a high-level defense apparatus is now an optimal place for sitting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990005\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Spirit Ship on Mare Island in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Spirit Ship at Mare Island, Vallejo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another remnant of the Bay Area’s military history is Mare Island. The former Naval shipyard is home to some of the most unique views in the region, including the convergence of the Sacramento River, Napa River and San Pablo Bay. Just past the island’s military cemetery and up a wide trail stands a huge metal sculpture in the shape of a ship. It’s adorned with thin metal pieces inscribed with names and uplifting messages. Dedicated to the shipyard workers, the piece was erected after the island was decommissioned and reopened for public use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The swing at the Albany Bulb. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Albany Bulb, and specifically the swing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many know about Albany Bulb, one of the coolest landfill sights in the world. It’s an open-air museum. It’s a dog park. It’s an exhibit of political messages wrapped up in a piece of land that juts out from Albany like a miniature peninsula. And between the industrial ruins, leftovers from encampments and graffiti marking two teens’ undying love for one another, there’s a swing. And it’s a really good swing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990003\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Atop Training Hill on the Western States Trail. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Training Hill near Cool, Calif.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking to get a little further out into the greater Northern Californian region, there’s this place called Cool, California, just outside of Auburn. At the intersection of the North Fork America River and the Middle Fork American River lies the Western States Trail. There are a number of paths to take, some calm paths through woodland, others rocky riverside walkways. And then there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/training-hill-loop-via-rim-trail-and-olmstead-loop\">Training Hill\u003c/a>. It’s a beast. A 14-mile loop that takes an average of six hours to complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the top of that trek, there’s a magnificent bench. Donated by a local Boy Scout troop, the polished slab of wood is a beacon for hikers who’ve just traversed the tumultuous terrain. As you sit and take in some fresh air, you might even realize that you can see the Sierra Mountains from there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Briefly noted\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stones Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Elk Grove\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking to take a day trip, get out of the Bay and see a place off the beaten path in the Central Valley? May I present to you: Stones Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It’s quaint, not much to it. A walking path and an amphitheater. There’s a cool directional sign that marks how far you are from San Francisco (as well as \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_Island_(Texas)\">Pelican Island\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/kauai\">Kauai\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/refuge/moosehorn\">Moosehorn)\u003c/a>. And there’s wildlife: birds, rabbits and even an occasional lizard. Most importantly, there are some really peaceful places to sit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BIG ART at Point San Pablo in Richmond\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If public art and nature are your jam, look no further than Point San Pablo in Richmond. It’s tough to get to — one missed exit and you’re in Marin County. But if you’re leaving Richmond, and you take the last exit before the Richmond Bridge, after about a 10 minute drive down a windy road you’ll find one of the best kept secrets in the Bay Area. A huge bumble bee, an ancient sculpture. A stage. Goats. A small restaurant and even a handful of house boats. This place has it all. It even has a few benches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alameda Creek Overlook (Little Yosemite), Livermore\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enjoy big historic pieces of nature, but need to save on gas? Alameda Creek Overlook in Livermore is often called “little Yosemite,” and guess what? It isn’t Yosemite. But if you squint… it’s still not Yosemite. But it’s nice! There’s hiking paths, a creek, plants, birds, horses and huge boulders that one can climb to check out the entire overlook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>USS San Francisco Memorial overlooking Battery Lobos\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge at the northwestern edge of San Francisco is Lands End, home to the USS San Francisco Memorial. Walk through the parking lot down a set of stairs (or you can get there by taking the trail), and there’s a bench where you can sit and watch the pelicans fly by at eye-level. On certain days, the fog rolls in all around you.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">2026 Summer Arts Guide to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more\u003c/a> in the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area has a remarkable track record when it comes to sitting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s where Otis Redding famously sung about sitting on the dock, watching the tide roll away. It’s the home of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/504-protest-disability-community-and-civil-rights.htm\">504 Disability Rights sit-in\u003c/a> of 1977. Hell, this is the place where \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#e-40-films-tell-me-when-to-go-video\">E-40 sat in his scraper watchin’ \u003cem>Oakland Gone Wild\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Ta-dow\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ve long traveled this region in search of the most prominent perches to park my posterior, from benches along bumpy Bayshore Road on the backside of Benicia to the barracks at the old naval air station in Alameda. I’ve watched the ground squirrels dart across the grassy terrain while relaxing at Bedwell Bay Park in Atherton. And I’ve stretched out while witnessing flocks of birds fly over the muddy shores of Suisun City’s Montezuma Slough. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below are my favorite benches, views and overlooks, drawn from years of exploring the Bay Area. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990010\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_7686-scaled-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At the end of Wharf Road in Bolinas sits a bench that feels as if it’s at the end of the Earth. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Wharf Road in Bolinas\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Just behind a seawall that stands about a dozen feet tall, there’s a bench at the end of Wharf Road, and it’s calling your name. One sit on it and your mind will flow out into the Pacific Ocean, sinking into a current of thoughts and reflections. Meditation? Nope, this is traveling space and time, all because of a seaside bench.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990009\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3076-scaled-1-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paths and benches at San José’s Alviso Marina County Park provide views of the sunken bay.\u003cbr> \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Alviso Marina County Park\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Let’s take a trip to a subterranean seat. On the other side of the Bay Area is San José’s Alviso Marina County Park, situated 13 feet below sea level. The views from the park, meanwhile, place the bay’s southern coast in full context, allowing you to see from Fremont to Palo Alto on a clear day. Leaning on a railing or sitting off a boat dock both encouraged. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990006\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990006\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_5788-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Battery Mendell overlooks the Pacific Ocean from high in the Marin Headlands. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Battery Mendell at the Marin Headlands\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Now let’s head to the high cliffs of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11753198/nuclear-missiles-in-marin-oh-yeah-in-fact-all-around-the-bay-at-one-time-2\">Marin Headlands\u003c/a>, where the natural landscape and military bunkers create a unique mix of Bay Area history. With over 2,000 acres of hillsides and beaches to explore, it’s hard to choose one spot. But at the end of Mendell Road, just past Battery Mendell, you’ll find an old military bunker that faces the ocean. What was once the site of a high-level defense apparatus is now an optimal place for sitting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990005\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_6267-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Spirit Ship on Mare Island in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Spirit Ship at Mare Island, Vallejo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another remnant of the Bay Area’s military history is Mare Island. The former Naval shipyard is home to some of the most unique views in the region, including the convergence of the Sacramento River, Napa River and San Pablo Bay. Just past the island’s military cemetery and up a wide trail stands a huge metal sculpture in the shape of a ship. It’s adorned with thin metal pieces inscribed with names and uplifting messages. Dedicated to the shipyard workers, the piece was erected after the island was decommissioned and reopened for public use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2152-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The swing at the Albany Bulb. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Albany Bulb, and specifically the swing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Many know about Albany Bulb, one of the coolest landfill sights in the world. It’s an open-air museum. It’s a dog park. It’s an exhibit of political messages wrapped up in a piece of land that juts out from Albany like a miniature peninsula. And between the industrial ruins, leftovers from encampments and graffiti marking two teens’ undying love for one another, there’s a swing. And it’s a really good swing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13990003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13990003\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_2683-600x600.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Atop Training Hill on the Western States Trail. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Training Hill near Cool, Calif.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you’re looking to get a little further out into the greater Northern Californian region, there’s this place called Cool, California, just outside of Auburn. At the intersection of the North Fork America River and the Middle Fork American River lies the Western States Trail. There are a number of paths to take, some calm paths through woodland, others rocky riverside walkways. And then there’s the \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/training-hill-loop-via-rim-trail-and-olmstead-loop\">Training Hill\u003c/a>. It’s a beast. A 14-mile loop that takes an average of six hours to complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the top of that trek, there’s a magnificent bench. Donated by a local Boy Scout troop, the polished slab of wood is a beacon for hikers who’ve just traversed the tumultuous terrain. As you sit and take in some fresh air, you might even realize that you can see the Sierra Mountains from there.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Briefly noted\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stones Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Elk Grove\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking to take a day trip, get out of the Bay and see a place off the beaten path in the Central Valley? May I present to you: Stones Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It’s quaint, not much to it. A walking path and an amphitheater. There’s a cool directional sign that marks how far you are from San Francisco (as well as \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican_Island_(Texas)\">Pelican Island\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/kauai\">Kauai\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.fws.gov/refuge/moosehorn\">Moosehorn)\u003c/a>. And there’s wildlife: birds, rabbits and even an occasional lizard. Most importantly, there are some really peaceful places to sit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>BIG ART at Point San Pablo in Richmond\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If public art and nature are your jam, look no further than Point San Pablo in Richmond. It’s tough to get to — one missed exit and you’re in Marin County. But if you’re leaving Richmond, and you take the last exit before the Richmond Bridge, after about a 10 minute drive down a windy road you’ll find one of the best kept secrets in the Bay Area. A huge bumble bee, an ancient sculpture. A stage. Goats. A small restaurant and even a handful of house boats. This place has it all. It even has a few benches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alameda Creek Overlook (Little Yosemite), Livermore\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enjoy big historic pieces of nature, but need to save on gas? Alameda Creek Overlook in Livermore is often called “little Yosemite,” and guess what? It isn’t Yosemite. But if you squint… it’s still not Yosemite. But it’s nice! There’s hiking paths, a creek, plants, birds, horses and huge boulders that one can climb to check out the entire overlook.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>USS San Francisco Memorial overlooking Battery Lobos\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge at the northwestern edge of San Francisco is Lands End, home to the USS San Francisco Memorial. Walk through the parking lot down a set of stairs (or you can get there by taking the trail), and there’s a bench where you can sit and watch the pelicans fly by at eye-level. On certain days, the fog rolls in all around you.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "With His Mother’s Support, A Young Oakland Boxer Carries on The Town's Deep Legacy",
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"content": "\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oakland-lightning-boxing-car-crash/4006888/\">a car smashed through the front doors\u003c/a> of Lightning’s Boxing Club in East Oakland this past New Year’s Eve, the young fighters who’d found sanctuary at the facility went looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That explains why there’s currently a boxing ring inside downtown Oakland’s landmark nightclub \u003ca href=\"https://geoffreyslive.com/\">Geoffery’s Inner Circle\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up two flights of stairs, past framed images of superstars who’ve performed on the Geoffrey’s stage, there’s all the amenities of a boxing gym. Punching bags suspended from the ceiling. Weights stacked near a bench press.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a recent visit, a boxer jumps rope in the mirror on the far side, while another gets lessons from the gym’s owner, coach Kris “Lightning” Lopez. In the center of the room is a traditional boxing ring, and shadowboxing in the middle of it is a determined young man named Thomas McElroy Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989346 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189.jpg\" alt=\"A young African American man shadowboxing in a boxing ring. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. and his friends train daily in downtown Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A nationally top-ranked amateur fighter with medal-wining bouts behind him and miles of potential in front of him, McElroy Jr. and his circle of boxing friends represent the next wave of boxers carrying the baton for the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His story, along with other rising fighters, is illuminated in the new four-part documentary series \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sonsofthesweetscience.com/\">Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of great fighters from this gym, and all around Oakland,” McElroy Jr. tells me. At 19 years old, he’s fully aware of the legacy of this soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retired Olympic gold medalist \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/281958\">Andre Ward\u003c/a> and current World Boxing Organization welterweight champion \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/741718\">Devin Haney\u003c/a> both started in the Town. Notable fighters like \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/100759\">Bilal Mahasin\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/873678\">Amari Jones\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/853206\">Anthony Garnica\u003c/a> learned the ropes here, as did \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/048243\">Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/25178\">Juaquin “Killer” Gallardo\u003c/a>, a 1996 U.S. Olympic team alternate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first African American fighter to win the Light Heavyweight title, \u003ca href=\"https://www.britishvintageboxing.com/blogs/news/john-henry-lewis-sensationally-humble\">John Henry Lewis\u003c/a>, spent his adult years in the East Bay, running a gym with his brothers. (He was also the father of \u003ca href=\"https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/joan-tarika-lewis\">Joan Tarika Lewis\u003c/a>, the first woman to join the Black Panther Party.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting on the Town’s lineage, McElroy says, “I’m just adding the cherry on top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989368 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white image of a young African American man wearing multiple medals around his neck. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1303\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-1536x1001.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. has accomplished a lot as an amateur fighter. Now, he’s looking to turn pro. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Formerly ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 143-pound weight class, McElroy recently moved up to the 154-pound division, where he’s ranked No. 6. Fresh from winning an exhibition fight by unanimous decision in Las Vegas this past weekend, McElroy Jr. is preparing for the Junior Olympics in June — which he predicts will be his last tournament before turning pro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with that, he’ll start the next chapter of a story he started as a baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a picture of him with his big old boxing gloves on,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/renee_electronika/\">Renée Moncada-McElroy\u003c/a>. “He’s literally been doing this all his life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989355\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989355 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738.jpg\" alt=\"An African American toddler wearing boxing gloves and kicking a punching bag. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As a toddler, Thomas McElroy Jr. put on his first pair of boxing gloves — and he hasn’t stopped fighting since. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s not just about boxing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Moncada-McElroy, McElroy Jr.’s mother, is also the creator of the documentary series \u003cem>Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/em>; the latest production credit on her already stacked résumé.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s worked as a producer for the reality show \u003cem>Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce\u003c/em> and the nature show \u003cem>Man vs. Fish\u003c/em>. She also directed on the series \u003cem>Chain Gang Girls\u003c/em> and was the force behind a documentary about Oakland rap legend Too Short, \u003cem>Life Is: The Life and Times of Todd Shaw\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this one is different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about boxing,” says Moncada-McElroy, explaining her goal to show the ring as a rite of passage. “Coming of age under pressure,” as she calls it, “\u003cem>and\u003c/em> it’s connected to real-world stakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989364\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989364 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242.jpg\" alt=\"A young African American man wears boxing gloves as he poses for a photo next to his mother and father. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. and his parents, Renée Moncada-McElroy and Thomas McElroy.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The series was filmed around 2021, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and numerous other high-profile extrajudicial murders of Black people. “The gym was a safe space for them during that time,” says the filmmaker, recognizing the pressure that her son and his friends faced as teenage Black men in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She credits coaches Kris Lopez and Abe Morones for creating a place for young people to fully express themselves. “The gyms are social service agencies,” asserts Moncada-McElroy. “They’re an alternative to the streets for a lot of these boys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in finding a bit of escape, the influence of the Town isn’t far behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Oakland style of boxing,” says coach Kris Lopez, “is an intellectual style of boxing.” The best fighters from the region, he says, have a great understanding of distance, and of keeping their front guard hand up at a 45-degree angle. They also make tremendous use of the jab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a balanced style that doesn’t rely on power punching, but instead focuses on rhythm, good fundamentals, sharp lines and timing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not going to catch an Oakland fighter sitting in the shell too long,” says Lopez. “They’re going to dictate the fight with the jab and be more like a sniper, landing clean shots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989365\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989365 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183.jpg\" alt=\"A coach and young boxer secure gloves and get ready to train. \" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coach Kris “Lightning” Lopez secures the gloves on a young boxer’s hands before a training session. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to the technical aspects of the sport, the community safety net and coming-of-age experience, the series centers fatherhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rattling off a list of great boxers, male and female, Moncada-McElroy notes how deeply their fathers (or father figures) were involved in their upbringing. Thomas McElroy Jr. is no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A mother’s love, a father’s guidance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“I love that my son is achieving all that he wants to achieve so far in boxing,” says the elder Thomas McElroy. “There’s so much you can learn from boxing that doesn’t have anything to do with punching and not getting punched.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy, as one half of the acclaimed music production team \u003ca href=\"https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thomas-mcelroy-mn0000488357#songs\">Foster and McElroy\u003c/a>, has produced hits for legendary groups En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Toné!, as well as Timex Social Club and Club Nouveau.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also a longtime Muay Thai kickboxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989372\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989372 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733.jpg\" alt=\"A boy stands in a boxing ring, as his father stands outside of the ring looking on in admiration. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"2507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-768x963.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-1225x1536.jpg 1225w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-1634x2048.jpg 1634w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. has been training with his father all his life. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Boxing is a beautiful art, it’s a craft,” says McElroy, describing the lessons his son is gleaning in the ring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes a certain type of person to want to become a boxer, McElroy says. Most folks avoid conflict. “They don’t want to get in the ring and fight, they’d rather run,” he says. “And then some people run toward the flame, you know? They don’t mind getting burned. They don’t mind getting heated up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy says, “They just add to the flame when they get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy Jr. maintains a healthy relationship with his father, somebody he says he can talk to any time. “He’s a very cool dude,” adds the young boxer, referring to him as a coach, trainer and an all-around person in his corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I look at my dad,” McElroy Jr. says, “as more than just a father.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oakland boxing is different\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The importance of family support, the intricate mindset of a young boxer and the texture of the Town are all prominent in the first episode of \u003cem>Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one scene, fathers deescalate a potentially bad situation where a boxer doesn’t have proper equipment. In another brief clip, Moncada-McElroy holds her son close as he processes emotions after a rough fight. And in yet another scene, McElroy Jr. and his friends smile wide as they jump into a swimming pool, evidence that they retain their childlike joy in the midst of constantly training for battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989370 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220.jpg\" alt=\"A silhouette of a boxer swinging at a suspended weight bag.\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In addition to boxing, Thomas McElroy Jr. is a visual artist, musician and craftsman. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By fusing narrative storytelling with a very intentional soundtrack, Moncada-McElroy guides the viewers through the emotions that come with fighting — both inside and outside the ring. In the end, for an activity that involves getting punched in the face, she creates a language that expresses the \u003cem>poetry\u003c/em> of the sport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s strategy, it’s precision, timing and control,” she says. “And so I wanted to make sure that I used certain tools or certain formats to communicate the language that boxing has.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moncada-McElroy breaks that language down into a bit of a paradox, one that parallels the knotty nature of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s complicated,” she says, comparing the Town to the sport. “You have opportunities, but you also have limitations. There’s community, but there’s also isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within Oakland’s style of boxing, she sees a deeper dichotomy: “There’s a sort of lightheartedness,” Moncada-McElroy says of the boxers she watches, “but they do take care of business when they get in the ring … They may not start it, but they’re gonna finish it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the existential questions that the boxing gym currently faces illustrate a duality. It’s unfortunate that a stolen car busted through the gym’s front wall six months ago. It’s also truly beautiful that a storied nightclub and cultural hub would open up its space and allow its young athletes to continue to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out that the secrets to being an incredible city and a respected fighter are one and the same: support from community, a bit of conflict, and a confident jab. And balance — always maintain your balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The first episode of ‘Sons of the Sweet Science’ is available to watch now. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sonsofthesweetscience.com/\">Check the series site for upcoming episodes and more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oakland-lightning-boxing-car-crash/4006888/\">a car smashed through the front doors\u003c/a> of Lightning’s Boxing Club in East Oakland this past New Year’s Eve, the young fighters who’d found sanctuary at the facility went looking for a new home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That explains why there’s currently a boxing ring inside downtown Oakland’s landmark nightclub \u003ca href=\"https://geoffreyslive.com/\">Geoffery’s Inner Circle\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Up two flights of stairs, past framed images of superstars who’ve performed on the Geoffrey’s stage, there’s all the amenities of a boxing gym. Punching bags suspended from the ceiling. Weights stacked near a bench press.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During a recent visit, a boxer jumps rope in the mirror on the far side, while another gets lessons from the gym’s owner, coach Kris “Lightning” Lopez. In the center of the room is a traditional boxing ring, and shadowboxing in the middle of it is a determined young man named Thomas McElroy Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989346 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189.jpg\" alt=\"A young African American man shadowboxing in a boxing ring. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01189-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. and his friends train daily in downtown Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A nationally top-ranked amateur fighter with medal-wining bouts behind him and miles of potential in front of him, McElroy Jr. and his circle of boxing friends represent the next wave of boxers carrying the baton for the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His story, along with other rising fighters, is illuminated in the new four-part documentary series \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sonsofthesweetscience.com/\">Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot of great fighters from this gym, and all around Oakland,” McElroy Jr. tells me. At 19 years old, he’s fully aware of the legacy of this soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Retired Olympic gold medalist \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/281958\">Andre Ward\u003c/a> and current World Boxing Organization welterweight champion \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/741718\">Devin Haney\u003c/a> both started in the Town. Notable fighters like \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/100759\">Bilal Mahasin\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/873678\">Amari Jones\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/853206\">Anthony Garnica\u003c/a> learned the ropes here, as did \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/048243\">Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/25178\">Juaquin “Killer” Gallardo\u003c/a>, a 1996 U.S. Olympic team alternate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first African American fighter to win the Light Heavyweight title, \u003ca href=\"https://www.britishvintageboxing.com/blogs/news/john-henry-lewis-sensationally-humble\">John Henry Lewis\u003c/a>, spent his adult years in the East Bay, running a gym with his brothers. (He was also the father of \u003ca href=\"https://www.illustrationhistory.org/artists/joan-tarika-lewis\">Joan Tarika Lewis\u003c/a>, the first woman to join the Black Panther Party.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting on the Town’s lineage, McElroy says, “I’m just adding the cherry on top.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989368 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white image of a young African American man wearing multiple medals around his neck. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1303\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/image1-1536x1001.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. has accomplished a lot as an amateur fighter. Now, he’s looking to turn pro. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Formerly ranked No. 2 in the nation in the 143-pound weight class, McElroy recently moved up to the 154-pound division, where he’s ranked No. 6. Fresh from winning an exhibition fight by unanimous decision in Las Vegas this past weekend, McElroy Jr. is preparing for the Junior Olympics in June — which he predicts will be his last tournament before turning pro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with that, he’ll start the next chapter of a story he started as a baby.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a picture of him with his big old boxing gloves on,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/renee_electronika/\">Renée Moncada-McElroy\u003c/a>. “He’s literally been doing this all his life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989355\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989355 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738.jpg\" alt=\"An African American toddler wearing boxing gloves and kicking a punching bag. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3738-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As a toddler, Thomas McElroy Jr. put on his first pair of boxing gloves — and he hasn’t stopped fighting since. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s not just about boxing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Moncada-McElroy, McElroy Jr.’s mother, is also the creator of the documentary series \u003cem>Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/em>; the latest production credit on her already stacked résumé.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s worked as a producer for the reality show \u003cem>Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce\u003c/em> and the nature show \u003cem>Man vs. Fish\u003c/em>. She also directed on the series \u003cem>Chain Gang Girls\u003c/em> and was the force behind a documentary about Oakland rap legend Too Short, \u003cem>Life Is: The Life and Times of Todd Shaw\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this one is different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about boxing,” says Moncada-McElroy, explaining her goal to show the ring as a rite of passage. “Coming of age under pressure,” as she calls it, “\u003cem>and\u003c/em> it’s connected to real-world stakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989364\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989364 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242.jpg\" alt=\"A young African American man wears boxing gloves as he poses for a photo next to his mother and father. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1337\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01242-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. and his parents, Renée Moncada-McElroy and Thomas McElroy.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The series was filmed around 2021, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and numerous other high-profile extrajudicial murders of Black people. “The gym was a safe space for them during that time,” says the filmmaker, recognizing the pressure that her son and his friends faced as teenage Black men in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She credits coaches Kris Lopez and Abe Morones for creating a place for young people to fully express themselves. “The gyms are social service agencies,” asserts Moncada-McElroy. “They’re an alternative to the streets for a lot of these boys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even in finding a bit of escape, the influence of the Town isn’t far behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Oakland style of boxing,” says coach Kris Lopez, “is an intellectual style of boxing.” The best fighters from the region, he says, have a great understanding of distance, and of keeping their front guard hand up at a 45-degree angle. They also make tremendous use of the jab.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a balanced style that doesn’t rely on power punching, but instead focuses on rhythm, good fundamentals, sharp lines and timing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not going to catch an Oakland fighter sitting in the shell too long,” says Lopez. “They’re going to dictate the fight with the jab and be more like a sniper, landing clean shots.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989365\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989365 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183.jpg\" alt=\"A coach and young boxer secure gloves and get ready to train. \" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01183-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coach Kris “Lightning” Lopez secures the gloves on a young boxer’s hands before a training session. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to the technical aspects of the sport, the community safety net and coming-of-age experience, the series centers fatherhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rattling off a list of great boxers, male and female, Moncada-McElroy notes how deeply their fathers (or father figures) were involved in their upbringing. Thomas McElroy Jr. is no different.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A mother’s love, a father’s guidance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“I love that my son is achieving all that he wants to achieve so far in boxing,” says the elder Thomas McElroy. “There’s so much you can learn from boxing that doesn’t have anything to do with punching and not getting punched.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy, as one half of the acclaimed music production team \u003ca href=\"https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thomas-mcelroy-mn0000488357#songs\">Foster and McElroy\u003c/a>, has produced hits for legendary groups En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Toné!, as well as Timex Social Club and Club Nouveau.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also a longtime Muay Thai kickboxer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989372\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989372 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733.jpg\" alt=\"A boy stands in a boxing ring, as his father stands outside of the ring looking on in admiration. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"2507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-768x963.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-1225x1536.jpg 1225w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_3733-1634x2048.jpg 1634w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thomas McElroy Jr. has been training with his father all his life. \u003ccite>(Renée Moncada-McElroy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Boxing is a beautiful art, it’s a craft,” says McElroy, describing the lessons his son is gleaning in the ring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It takes a certain type of person to want to become a boxer, McElroy says. Most folks avoid conflict. “They don’t want to get in the ring and fight, they’d rather run,” he says. “And then some people run toward the flame, you know? They don’t mind getting burned. They don’t mind getting heated up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy says, “They just add to the flame when they get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McElroy Jr. maintains a healthy relationship with his father, somebody he says he can talk to any time. “He’s a very cool dude,” adds the young boxer, referring to him as a coach, trainer and an all-around person in his corner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I look at my dad,” McElroy Jr. says, “as more than just a father.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Oakland boxing is different\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The importance of family support, the intricate mindset of a young boxer and the texture of the Town are all prominent in the first episode of \u003cem>Sons of the Sweet Science\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one scene, fathers deescalate a potentially bad situation where a boxer doesn’t have proper equipment. In another brief clip, Moncada-McElroy holds her son close as he processes emotions after a rough fight. And in yet another scene, McElroy Jr. and his friends smile wide as they jump into a swimming pool, evidence that they retain their childlike joy in the midst of constantly training for battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1616px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989370 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220.jpg\" alt=\"A silhouette of a boxer swinging at a suspended weight bag.\" width=\"1616\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220.jpg 1616w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/DSC01220-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1616px) 100vw, 1616px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In addition to boxing, Thomas McElroy Jr. is a visual artist, musician and craftsman. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By fusing narrative storytelling with a very intentional soundtrack, Moncada-McElroy guides the viewers through the emotions that come with fighting — both inside and outside the ring. In the end, for an activity that involves getting punched in the face, she creates a language that expresses the \u003cem>poetry\u003c/em> of the sport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s strategy, it’s precision, timing and control,” she says. “And so I wanted to make sure that I used certain tools or certain formats to communicate the language that boxing has.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moncada-McElroy breaks that language down into a bit of a paradox, one that parallels the knotty nature of Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s complicated,” she says, comparing the Town to the sport. “You have opportunities, but you also have limitations. There’s community, but there’s also isolation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within Oakland’s style of boxing, she sees a deeper dichotomy: “There’s a sort of lightheartedness,” Moncada-McElroy says of the boxers she watches, “but they do take care of business when they get in the ring … They may not start it, but they’re gonna finish it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the existential questions that the boxing gym currently faces illustrate a duality. It’s unfortunate that a stolen car busted through the gym’s front wall six months ago. It’s also truly beautiful that a storied nightclub and cultural hub would open up its space and allow its young athletes to continue to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out that the secrets to being an incredible city and a respected fighter are one and the same: support from community, a bit of conflict, and a confident jab. And balance — always maintain your balance.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The first episode of ‘Sons of the Sweet Science’ is available to watch now. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sonsofthesweetscience.com/\">Check the series site for upcoming episodes and more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "catchlight-photo-walk-san-francisco-mission-district",
"title": "Looking At The Ground: A Photo Walk Through Frisco",
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"headTitle": "Looking At The Ground: A Photo Walk Through Frisco | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s just after 9 a.m. Saturday morning, and I’m late for my adult field trip. No bag lunch, forgot my name tag and I’m rolling solo — clearly not adhering to the buddy system. But I got my camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pablocirca/\">pablo circa\u003c/a> stands in front of about 40 to 50 other camera-toting people, explaining that we’re set to embark on a journey through the Mission: down Clarion Alley, around Dolores Park and back to KQED headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meet up & photo walk is a part of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> Visual Storytelling Summit. Pablo, co-founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/camerasandcoffeeclub/\">Cameras and Coffee Club\u003c/a>, leads us on a two-hour exercise in artistic exploration and community building; a reminder that photography doesn’t have to be a solo sport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m in the back of the crowd, chit-chatting and cracking jokes with some familiar faces as we head out. A few blocks into our journey, Pablo tells us to be aware of a turd on the corner of 17th and Harrison streets. From that point on, I take note of the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman walks past and looks down at a hypodermic needle on the ground in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photographer Fatosh Arabacıoğlu walks past a hypodermic needle in San Francisco’s Clarion Alley. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s pavement is evidence of a unique civilization. Urban decay alongside glimpses of innovation. Expensive cars and unhoused people. Fallen leaves entangled with discarded trash. Everywhere, political messages on stickers and tags; artwork rules the avenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I kneel down to photograph the words “CURB CREEPS” painted on the street, renowned photographer and dancer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tracibartlow/\">Traci Bartlow\u003c/a> makes my day by telling me she enjoys watching my process, and seeing what catches my eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989145\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989145\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569.jpg\" alt='The words \"CURB CREEPS\" etched in aerosol spray on the corner of 17th and Capp Street in San Francisco.' width=\"1900\" height=\"2360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569.jpg 1900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-1237x1536.jpg 1237w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-1649x2048.jpg 1649w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The words ‘CURB CREEPS’ spraypainted on the corner of 17th and Capp Street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And in that, she names my internal reaction on the photo walk: by seeing other photographers on this excursion work in real time, my eye became a bit more keen. What are other folks \u003cem>not\u003c/em> seeing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re all on the same street, and we have essentially the same tools. But what sticks out to you? What story do you tell? What gives you a unique perspective? That’s what I kept asking myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989140\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989140\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Fallen pink flower pedals line the curb of a street in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fallen pink flower pedals line the curb along 17th Street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Murals made for dope backgrounds as people posed for portraits. Photographers took candid images of moped-riding delivery men. Others clicked away making landscape portraits of the MUNI bus along Mission Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I kept my eyes affixed to the sidewalk. Gum stains, dried paint, a dead rat and a small bush growing through the pavement. A soiled pair of pants and the six-pack plastic ring that we used to cut up back in the ’90s. “How in the hell are companies still making those?” I asked to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989146\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Translucent 6-pack plastic rings sit in front of a mural in an alleyway. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">How is it still legal to produce six-pack plastic rings? \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we walked, the conversations flowed. Photographers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqncd_lfBf/\">Rudi Tcruz\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/galexsir/\">Galex Tcruz\u003c/a> joked about the need to focus less on our 9-5s and more on our 5-10s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shamikaszn/\">Shamika\u003c/a>, a part-time multi-hyphenate creative and full-time cyber threat intelligence analyst at Twilio, told me about the theory of recycled faces. Now I can’t stop seeing the similarities in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lost in a conversation with educator and portrait photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/madannud21\">Adam Dunn\u003c/a> about his move from Cleveland to Sebastopol, I hesitated and missed out on a photo of an older woman in front of her business, cleaning the stoop. The perspective of the water hitting the sidewalk would’ve been refreshing, but the conversation’s currents were too strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989143\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926.jpg\" alt=\"A condom wrapper rests on the street in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2402\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-768x961.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-1228x1536.jpg 1228w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-1637x2048.jpg 1637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A condom wrapper straddles the lines in the concrete on the street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One photographer told me about his unique telephoto lens, another told me about the evolution of microchips inside the camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, our posse crossed paths with a bunch of adorable dogs and their owners. I thought we were going to heal the world right then and there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A close image of a dog in a park. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the many dogs enjoying a Saturday at Dolores Park in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At another moment, I stopped on a corner to watch photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hourvoyses/\">Darius Riley\u003c/a> capture the smiles of a family walking down Valencia Street. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13964439/east-palo-alto-hidden-beauty-photography-darius-riley\">extremely talented photographer\u003c/a>, Riley goes on group photo walks regularly, he says, “because they offer spaces to be connected with other photographers, and also be inspired.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more photography community events, things that bring us together,” he says. An entrepreneur and artist from East Palo Alto who often works in isolation, Riley finds solace and affirmation in the creative circles of Oakland and Frisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13989141\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be in company with other people who are in the same field, and recognize me for my craft,” he says, “is very validating and makes me want to keep going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s right. Photography is an isolating sport. At times, I’ll bring my camera to an event as my plus-one, hiding behind the lens instead of socializing. But at a photo walk, the device becomes a way to introduce yourself to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before even telling me their names, people would ask questions like “What are you shooting with?” or “Who do you shoot for?” One person asked me, “What are you taking photos of?” I answered, “The ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A dead rat near a curb in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A local rat laid to rest in a curbside grave. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was musician and photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fatoshphotography/\">Fatosh Arabacıoğlu\u003c/a>’s first time out with the group, and she didn’t know what to expect. “But it ended up being one of those days where you just \u003cem>click\u003c/em> with people instantly,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photography is so much richer as a shared experience — creating art while learning about others and seeing what inspires them lit something inside her during the event. She’s already scheduled get-togethers with new friends made from the photo walk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A fallen piece of fruit sits in font of a colorfully painted portrait image of an African American man.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In San Francisco’s Clarion Alley, a fallen piece of fruit rests in front of an image of the late Oakland-raised lyricist, Stephen ‘Baba Zumbi’ Gaines. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This particular photo walk only happens once or twice a year. But the Cameras and Coffee Club offers monthly meet ups, mostly in the East Bay. Those gatherings, pablo circa says, are “intended to slow things down,” giving space and opportunity for visual storytellers “to connect around the craft and shift out of their usual rhythm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what the two-hour walk did for me. After all the conversations and photos, I left with a handful of new photographer friends and a new perspective on the streets of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s just after 9 a.m. Saturday morning, and I’m late for my adult field trip. No bag lunch, forgot my name tag and I’m rolling solo — clearly not adhering to the buddy system. But I got my camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/pablocirca/\">pablo circa\u003c/a> stands in front of about 40 to 50 other camera-toting people, explaining that we’re set to embark on a journey through the Mission: down Clarion Alley, around Dolores Park and back to KQED headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meet up & photo walk is a part of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/\">CatchLight\u003c/a> Visual Storytelling Summit. Pablo, co-founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/camerasandcoffeeclub/\">Cameras and Coffee Club\u003c/a>, leads us on a two-hour exercise in artistic exploration and community building; a reminder that photography doesn’t have to be a solo sport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m in the back of the crowd, chit-chatting and cracking jokes with some familiar faces as we head out. A few blocks into our journey, Pablo tells us to be aware of a turd on the corner of 17th and Harrison streets. From that point on, I take note of the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman walks past and looks down at a hypodermic needle on the ground in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1152-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photographer Fatosh Arabacıoğlu walks past a hypodermic needle in San Francisco’s Clarion Alley. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s pavement is evidence of a unique civilization. Urban decay alongside glimpses of innovation. Expensive cars and unhoused people. Fallen leaves entangled with discarded trash. Everywhere, political messages on stickers and tags; artwork rules the avenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I kneel down to photograph the words “CURB CREEPS” painted on the street, renowned photographer and dancer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tracibartlow/\">Traci Bartlow\u003c/a> makes my day by telling me she enjoys watching my process, and seeing what catches my eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989145\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989145\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569.jpg\" alt='The words \"CURB CREEPS\" etched in aerosol spray on the corner of 17th and Capp Street in San Francisco.' width=\"1900\" height=\"2360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569.jpg 1900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-1237x1536.jpg 1237w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1204-scaled-e1777922504569-1649x2048.jpg 1649w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The words ‘CURB CREEPS’ spraypainted on the corner of 17th and Capp Street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And in that, she names my internal reaction on the photo walk: by seeing other photographers on this excursion work in real time, my eye became a bit more keen. What are other folks \u003cem>not\u003c/em> seeing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re all on the same street, and we have essentially the same tools. But what sticks out to you? What story do you tell? What gives you a unique perspective? That’s what I kept asking myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989140\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989140\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Fallen pink flower pedals line the curb of a street in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1205-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fallen pink flower pedals line the curb along 17th Street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Murals made for dope backgrounds as people posed for portraits. Photographers took candid images of moped-riding delivery men. Others clicked away making landscape portraits of the MUNI bus along Mission Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I kept my eyes affixed to the sidewalk. Gum stains, dried paint, a dead rat and a small bush growing through the pavement. A soiled pair of pants and the six-pack plastic ring that we used to cut up back in the ’90s. “How in the hell are companies still making those?” I asked to anyone within earshot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989146\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989146\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Translucent 6-pack plastic rings sit in front of a mural in an alleyway. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1166-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">How is it still legal to produce six-pack plastic rings? \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we walked, the conversations flowed. Photographers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BAqncd_lfBf/\">Rudi Tcruz\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/galexsir/\">Galex Tcruz\u003c/a> joked about the need to focus less on our 9-5s and more on our 5-10s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/shamikaszn/\">Shamika\u003c/a>, a part-time multi-hyphenate creative and full-time cyber threat intelligence analyst at Twilio, told me about the theory of recycled faces. Now I can’t stop seeing the similarities in people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lost in a conversation with educator and portrait photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/madannud21\">Adam Dunn\u003c/a> about his move from Cleveland to Sebastopol, I hesitated and missed out on a photo of an older woman in front of her business, cleaning the stoop. The perspective of the water hitting the sidewalk would’ve been refreshing, but the conversation’s currents were too strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989143\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989143\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926.jpg\" alt=\"A condom wrapper rests on the street in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2402\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-768x961.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-1228x1536.jpg 1228w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1211-scaled-e1777919408926-1637x2048.jpg 1637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A condom wrapper straddles the lines in the concrete on the street in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One photographer told me about his unique telephoto lens, another told me about the evolution of microchips inside the camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, our posse crossed paths with a bunch of adorable dogs and their owners. I thought we were going to heal the world right then and there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989151\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989151\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A close image of a dog in a park. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1194-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the many dogs enjoying a Saturday at Dolores Park in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At another moment, I stopped on a corner to watch photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hourvoyses/\">Darius Riley\u003c/a> capture the smiles of a family walking down Valencia Street. An \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13964439/east-palo-alto-hidden-beauty-photography-darius-riley\">extremely talented photographer\u003c/a>, Riley goes on group photo walks regularly, he says, “because they offer spaces to be connected with other photographers, and also be inspired.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more photography community events, things that bring us together,” he says. An entrepreneur and artist from East Palo Alto who often works in isolation, Riley finds solace and affirmation in the creative circles of Oakland and Frisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13989141\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1178-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To be in company with other people who are in the same field, and recognize me for my craft,” he says, “is very validating and makes me want to keep going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s right. Photography is an isolating sport. At times, I’ll bring my camera to an event as my plus-one, hiding behind the lens instead of socializing. But at a photo walk, the device becomes a way to introduce yourself to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before even telling me their names, people would ask questions like “What are you shooting with?” or “Who do you shoot for?” One person asked me, “What are you taking photos of?” I answered, “The ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989148\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A dead rat near a curb in San Francisco. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1209-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A local rat laid to rest in a curbside grave. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was musician and photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fatoshphotography/\">Fatosh Arabacıoğlu\u003c/a>’s first time out with the group, and she didn’t know what to expect. “But it ended up being one of those days where you just \u003cem>click\u003c/em> with people instantly,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photography is so much richer as a shared experience — creating art while learning about others and seeing what inspires them lit something inside her during the event. She’s already scheduled get-togethers with new friends made from the photo walk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A fallen piece of fruit sits in font of a colorfully painted portrait image of an African American man.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/IMG_1160-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In San Francisco’s Clarion Alley, a fallen piece of fruit rests in front of an image of the late Oakland-raised lyricist, Stephen ‘Baba Zumbi’ Gaines. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This particular photo walk only happens once or twice a year. But the Cameras and Coffee Club offers monthly meet ups, mostly in the East Bay. Those gatherings, pablo circa says, are “intended to slow things down,” giving space and opportunity for visual storytellers “to connect around the craft and shift out of their usual rhythm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what the two-hour walk did for me. After all the conversations and photos, I left with a handful of new photographer friends and a new perspective on the streets of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Two of the biggest rising stars in hip-hop will descend upon Stanford’s campus this weekend for a free show, \u003ca href=\"https://live.stanford.edu/events/26-frost/blackfest/\">Stanford Blackfest\u003c/a>. On Sunday, May 3, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/samaracyn/\">Samara Cyn\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jidsv/\">J.I.D\u003c/a>. are set to rock the university’s outdoor amphitheater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An annual showcase of top-tier talent combined with a family-reunion vibe, Stanford Blackfest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956365/larry-june-stanford-blackfest-free\">dates back five decades\u003c/a>. The event started as a social gathering for African American students, organized by the Black Community Services Center and the Black Student Union. Over the years it’s welcomed some of the biggest names in music, including Future, E-40, Kendrick Lamar and more. Last year, San Francisco’s Larry June brought a healthy dose of game to The Farm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cyn, a frequent collaborator with Oakland’s Ovrkast., has etched a large following over the past five years. The Los Angeles-based artist recently released \u003cem>Detour,\u003c/em> a follow-up to her acclaimed 2024 album \u003cem>The Drive Home\u003c/em>. Last year, she was named\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/samara-cyn-backroads-hip-hop-rookie-of-month-may-2025-1235983647/\"> Billboard’s Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month\u003c/a>, was included in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaYynzCLOgs\">2025 XXL Freshman class\u003c/a> and performed on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWBlOZ5L1bw\">\u003cem>The Daily Show\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaYynzCLOgs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J.I.D. is a former college football player who found his passion in wordplay, and rose to lyrical prominence as a member of J. Cole’s Dreamville Records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Never Story\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Forever Story\u003c/em> are highlights of his output, which includes some notable EPs and a wide range of features with Eminem, Imagine Dragons and more. A Grammy-nominated wordsmith and Billboard-charting artist, his claim to fame is arguably the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MICViuyL4Lg\">Surround Sound Challenge\u003c/a>” (or “Ceiling Challenge”), a viral phenomenon of people dancing to his song “Surround Sound” as filmed from the ceiling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Samara Cyn and J.I.D. are talented writers who can float melodically over beats, vocally harmonizing with heavy bass lines and mixing catchy hooks with clever wordplay. Given the talent on stage, attendees are advised to show up early and be prepared for a musical treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Stanford Blackfest 2026 takes place May 3, 2026, at Stanford’s Frost Amphitheater (351 Lasuen St., Stanford). \u003ca href=\"https://live.stanford.edu/s/event?EventID=16602\">Details and more information here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Two of the biggest rising stars in hip-hop will descend upon Stanford’s campus this weekend for a free show, \u003ca href=\"https://live.stanford.edu/events/26-frost/blackfest/\">Stanford Blackfest\u003c/a>. On Sunday, May 3, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/samaracyn/\">Samara Cyn\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jidsv/\">J.I.D\u003c/a>. are set to rock the university’s outdoor amphitheater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An annual showcase of top-tier talent combined with a family-reunion vibe, Stanford Blackfest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956365/larry-june-stanford-blackfest-free\">dates back five decades\u003c/a>. The event started as a social gathering for African American students, organized by the Black Community Services Center and the Black Student Union. Over the years it’s welcomed some of the biggest names in music, including Future, E-40, Kendrick Lamar and more. Last year, San Francisco’s Larry June brought a healthy dose of game to The Farm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cyn, a frequent collaborator with Oakland’s Ovrkast., has etched a large following over the past five years. The Los Angeles-based artist recently released \u003cem>Detour,\u003c/em> a follow-up to her acclaimed 2024 album \u003cem>The Drive Home\u003c/em>. Last year, she was named\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/samara-cyn-backroads-hip-hop-rookie-of-month-may-2025-1235983647/\"> Billboard’s Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month\u003c/a>, was included in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaYynzCLOgs\">2025 XXL Freshman class\u003c/a> and performed on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWBlOZ5L1bw\">\u003cem>The Daily Show\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\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/gaYynzCLOgs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gaYynzCLOgs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>J.I.D. is a former college football player who found his passion in wordplay, and rose to lyrical prominence as a member of J. Cole’s Dreamville Records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
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"here-and-now": {
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"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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