New Podcast Visits Central Valley Towns, Celebrating 'The Other California'

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To a lot of people outside our state, California is one of two places: L.A. or San Francisco. Hollywood or high tech. The beaches or the redwoods. And frankly, to a lot of Californians who live here, there’s a vast part of our state that people consider “drive-through” country: the San Joaquin Valley, which stretches from the Sierra Nevada to the Coastal range, from Stockton to Bakersfield. It’s a place that – culturally, politically, and geographically – could almost be its own state. It’s “The Other California.” That’s the name of a new podcast from our friends at KVPR that explores the richness of this region. Each episode takes listeners on a journey to visit a different small town. We chat with host Alice Daniel and reporter Kathleen Schock, and hear excerpts from the podcast, including a profile of an 87-year-old rodeo star, and a visit to the historically Black farmworker community of Fairmead.