Fresno's Best

Today, we have Rev. Simon Biasell on the show today. Simon is the pastor at the Big Red Church and Co-Executive Director of Woven Coalition for Justice. For more than twenty years, Simon has worked to build radical hospitality within faith-based groups and is passionate about connecting and organizing community members to speak truth to power. Simon graduated from Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary...

Today, we have Jarron Young on the show. Jarron was born and raised in fresno California and is the co-owner and operator of Phill's Family Grill. In partnership with older brother Phillip Young, they thrive to excel as entrepreneurs by continuing the legacy of late Father Phillip Young owner and operator of Phills Corner Grill in Clovis They are excited to soon be serving Fresno with their twist...

Today, we have Naomi Marie on the show. Naomi is a Fresno Artist born and educated in Fresno, California. She is involved in everything from Art Hop to Murals to teaching Art to students. Her goal, above all, is to bring more positivity back to Fresno’s Art scene. Books: Van Gogh: The Life  Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith  Artist Recommendations:  https://www.instagram.com/aiww/ https://www....

Today, we have Emily Dewise on the show. Emily is the founder of Emmies Swim School, where she gives swim and aquatic instruction. Coming from a family of aquatic instructors, Emily found her passion early and hopes to teach many kids across Fresno to learn to love swimming. With the days starting to warm up, I thought this would be the perfect conversation as we start to dream about swimming pool...

Today, we have Jeremy Hofer on the show. Jeremy is the Lending Manager for Self Help's Charter School division where he assists mission-oriented developers and nonprofits finance charter schools that lead to deep community impact. Before joining Self-Help in 2018, he directed Access Plus Capital, a CDFI loan fund serving small businesses.  Over the course of ten years he developed and managed the...

Today, we have Patrick Burriel on the show. Patrick is a Client Advocate with My Time Recovery and runs a sober living community with Next Door Ministries. Patrick is an incredible person and has a lot of deep wisdom to share. This podcast is deeply personal for me as I have watched family members struggle to work through addiction and I know a lot of people have family members or friends who have...

Today, we have Kaysha Rajani on the show. As the Founder and Creative Director of Curated Giftables, Kaysha Rajani is passionate about building and strengthening relationships through gifting. After enjoying a fifteen-year career in marketing and communications, she launched her company that specializes in large-scale, custom gifting for businesses and events, primarily serving California’s Centra...

Today, we have Keith Newton on the show. Keith has been a woodworker since his early teens. Over the course of a lifetime, he has honed his skills. He always strives for harmony with the wood and the piece the wood finally becomes. Keith chooses his logs carefully and orients them on the sawmill for the maximum benefit the log will yield. The cut slabs dry for three and a half years. Logs are urba...

Diego Arambula is transitioning into the role of Vice President of Educational Transformation at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, following over five years as a Managing Partner at Transcend, where he collaborated with educators nationwide to reimagine learning environments. His journey in public education began in 2005 at Summit Public Schools, where he served in various c...

Today, we have Isabel Dieppa on the show. Isabel is a journalist, roller skater and performing artist. She founded Fresno Skate Party in 2021. When she is not roller skating Isabel spends her time cosplaying and dancing. You can follow her on Instagram, and Tik Tok @isabelsdieppa Use the code frensoskateparty people can get %5 at Pigeon Roller Skate Shop ( link here ) Books: Pride and Prejudice Ja...

Today we have Arthur Moye on the show. Arthur is the CEO of Full Circle Brewing, Co. in Fresno, California. Formerly a CalCPA Chapter President, after 15 years of homebrewing, he went rogue and sold his CPA practice to purchase Fresno’s longest running brewery. With a background in accounting, he took a leap of faith to see how he could extend his experience with numbers to drive his passion for c...

Today, we have Enrique Meza on the show. Enrique is the founder and creative director of Meza Studios. He was born and raised in California’s Central Valley. He is a proud son of immigrant labor workers. Connection is a recurrent theme in his creative work, and deriving human emotions is what challenges him. His goal is to leave his audience with a sense of connection and adoration for its subject...

Nat Strafaci is a licensed therapist, clinical supervisor, psychic medium, and spiritual herbalist living and working on Lenape and Yokuts land. Their private practice centers the healing of Queer and Trans People of Color at the intersection of spirituality and mental health. They are a graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work and the Sacred Vibes Apothecary Spiritual Herbalism Appre...

Today, we have Alison LeClair on the show of the Breadroom Bakery. Alison made her first loaf of bread in 2008, while studying speciality cake baking. Almost 10 years later and still thinking fondly of that first Pullman loaf, she began keeping a sourdough starter and casually baking with it in 2017. It wasn’t long before she realized that baking bread for people was a very cool way to spend her t...

Today we have Elliott Balch on the show. Elliott is the president and CEO of the Downtown Fresno Partnership, which is a 501(c) 6. The Partnership is leading downtown Fresno toward its future as a vibrant hub of business activity by promoting downtown’s image; supporting physical improvements and development; advocating for merchants; and hosting special events that bring new life to the historic...

Today we have another crossover episode with the sister program to this show that I produce called The History of CA Podcast. The interview is with two of the wonderful hosts of the amazing podcast Water Talk, one of my personal favorite podcasts which explores all things related to water, with an emphasis on California Water issues, but also covering broader areas as well.  The first is Dr. Malli...

Today, we have Christa Wiens on the show. Christa is the executive director of Central Valley Justice Coalition and the focus of our conversation is human trafficking, both globally and locally. We dig into definitions, tactics used by traffickers, signs someone is being trafficked, differences between sex trafficking and forced labor, beyond the obvious, common misconceptions, approaches to educa...

Marilyn Cowley is CEO and founder of PREM PR and Social and if there is someone in town whose opinion on marketing in this complicated environment I would trust, it would definitely be Marilyn’s. In this episode, we discuss internships, strategizing majors in college, old school marketing tactics, the state of email marketing, motivational speakers, the importance of habits, ballroom dancing, ethi...

Today, we have Liana Pierce on the show. Liana is the owner of and instructor at Four Corners Yoga Studio in Northeast Fresno. We discuss pain in Yoga, the comparison game, yoga and fitness, common mistakes, conflicts with religious worldview, overrated poses and clothes, the benefit of retreats, the business side of operating a studio, what she has learned about Fresno in teaching classes and ope...

Today we have Ellen Armour on the show. Ellen is a native of California's San Joaquin Valley, where she lived until attending UCLA. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition from the School of Arts & Architecture, and went on to work in project management for the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Google, Chevron, international consulting firm Turner & Townsend, and TETER Arc...

Today, I have an interview with Alex Treas and Jenn Guerra. Both from the valley, they share a passion for the growing technology industry here and, after the fallout from Bitwise, are striking out with a new venture called Reclaim Technologies that aims to help businesses and organizations leverage technology to achieve their goals.  Reclaim Technologies Website Books: Running Lean: Iterate from...

Today, we have Anna Covarrubias and Marcee Rodriguez of The Pie Mamas on the show. These two home bakers turned a passion into a thriving business and are baking some of the most beautiful pies in Fresno. Please enjoy our fascinating conversation about our favorite holiday dessert. The Pie Mamas Website

Today, we have Timothy Yeager on the show. Yeager is the Chief Clinical Officer at Centria Healthcare which is the leading provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy to children with autism in the country. Our conversation is wide-ranging covering ABA, pragmatism, NY-style pizza, reducing burnout in the helping industry, diagnosis as determinism, and more. Books Radical Candor: Be a Kick-...

Brooke is spear-heading a campaign to bring a library to the Tower District of Fresno. As a librarian, the host of this podcast couldn't be more supportive of expanding library access to as many people as possible. Please support the project in any way you can!  The Campaign's Website Books:  Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce The Alienist by Caleb Carr A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by...

Today's episode is a repost from my other podcast, History of California Podcast, with Katherine Blunt. Katherine Blunt is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric and What it Means for America’s Power Grid. The book, a national bestseller, won the 2022 Golden Poppy award for nonfiction. Her coverage of PG&E, a collaboration...