Fresno's Best

Today we have Josh Tehee on the show. Josh is a journalist, podcaster, and music critic. Josh is one of those people that follow to keep a pulse on the culture of Fresno. As you might expect, this is a wide ranging conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.   Links:   Music  Turnstile Deafheaven Sun Umbra   Books  Dune Messiah Frank Herbert   Blogs/Sites   The Fresnan   Brooklyn Vegan   The AV Club  ...

Today we have Dr. Rong-Huey Liu on the show. Hailed as “a phenomenal, expressive oboist”, Taiwanese American, Dr. Rong-Huey Liu is one of Southern California’s most active oboists. She holds principal positions in the Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Ballet Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, and Riverside Philharmonic. Dr. Liu has played all over the world and has worked as a...

Today we have Andreas Borgeas on the show. Borgeas is a State Senator who represents the Eighth District of California. He has worked in numerous international professional and academic capacities; including, as a Fulbright Scholar, Contributing Fellow for the Woodrow Wilson Center, Policy Specialist Fellow at the US Embassy in Kazakhstan and as Commissioner on the US-China Economic and Security R...

Today we have Venita Blackburn on the show. Works by Venita have appeared in newyorker.com, Harper’s, Story, McSweeney’s, Apogee, Split Lip Magazine, the Iowa Review, DIAGRAM, Foglifter, Electric Literature, the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Paris Review, and others. She was awarded a Bread Loaf Fellowship in 2014 and several Pushcart prize nominations. She received the Prairie Schooner book priz...

Today, we have Bridgette Boothe on the show. Bridgette is the director of the Fresno Bully Rescue. Bridgette and her team are doing great work to home some of the most misunderstood dogs. Topics Covered:  Where do you like to eat in Fresno?  What are some of the most common myths about “pit bulls”?  How did foreclosures lead to the creation of your organization?  What would we need to do to get to...

T oday we have Jes Therkelson on the show. Jes Therkelsen is a documentary storyteller, filmmaker, photographer, and educator who has been telling the stories of others for over fifteen years. His most recent project, a short documentary film entitled One Step At A Time, follows three men as they overcome drug addiction and homelessness in California’s Central Valley. The film was an official sele...

Today we have Kevin Meikle on the show. As Director of Aviation of the Fresno Yosemite Airport, Mr. Meikle is the Chief Executive Officer Central California’s aviation system, which includes Fresno Yosemite International and Fresno Chandler Executive airports. FAT is a small hub airport served by seven domestic and two international airlines. FAT has enjoyed 70% growth since the Great Recession in...

Welcome to Fresno’s Best Podcast, I’m your host Jordan Mattox. Today we have Ryan Jacobsen on the Show. Ryan Jacobsen, of Easton, is the CEO for FCFB. Jacobsen is no stranger to Farm Bureau or agriculture. He is the fourth generation of two Fresno County farm families and previously served as FCFB's governmental affairs coordinator and as the organization's membership coordinator, beginning in 200...

Today we have Dr. Kathleen Schock on the show.  Dr. Schock is the host of Valley Edition. A Fresno native, Dr. Schock has a bachelor’s in international relations from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State. Dr. Schock has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and communications. H...

Today we have Bryan Harley on the show. Bryan is the executive director of CMACTV, a non-profit organization created to help citizens, schools, non-profits, public agencies and others better connect with our Fresno/Clovis community through the use of media. Bryan also has a lot of experience beyond the camera and an IMDB worth perusing. We talk about film, media literacy, pizza in Fresno, and more...

Today, we have Mark Standriff on the show. A former radio host and a mover in conservative politics, Standriff now directs Beautify Fresno, a campaign to clean up Fresno that you’ve probably seen on Instagram or heard about in the media. Books:  The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt  Our Patreon Page  

Today we have Dr. Karen Crozier on the show. Dr Crozier is a proud native and resident of Fresno and is driving innovation, and change, on racial and environmental   justice in agencies and individuals. Dr. Crozier received her B.A. in Psychology from UCLA in 1991, and her M.A. in Education (Early Childhood) from California State University, Fresno in 1996 along with her multiple-subjects teacher’...

Today, we have on the show City Councilman Nelson Esparza. Councilman Esparza represents District 7 in Fresno. Born and raised in the central valley, Nelson did his education southern California at UC Riverside and UCLA before returning to the valley to make a difference on city council. We talk about a lot in this podcast and if you enjoyed my conversation with his colleague Tyler Maxwell, you wi...

Today we have John Gliatta on the show. Mr. Gliatta was appointed in August 2017 as Independent Police Reviewer for the Office of Independent Review, which provides a neutral, third-party review of police policies, procedures, strategies, and internal investigations. He comes to the City of Fresno from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked as a Crime Analyst for their Patrol Division...

Today, we have Susie Harder on the show. Susie is a licesnced speech and language pathologist and is an experienced clinician who devotes much of her passion to working with children, teens, and adults who stutter. She works in both private practice and the school setting to help support children who stutter. In addition to direct therapy, Susie trains speech-language pathologists to work more eff...

Today we have Dr. Bradley Hart on the show. Dr. Hart has a Masters in Philosophy from St. Andrews and a PhD from Cambridge University. In 2018, he published the book Hitler’s American Friends which won the German Studies Association Sybil Halpern Milton Book Prize. Dr. Hart is currently an associate professor at Fresno State. This is one of those wide-ranging podcasts where we wander intellectuall...

Today our guest is Isabel Machado. Attorney Machado is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), practices exclusively in the area of immigration law with a focus on family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, and complex deportation and removal defense. Like her clients, Machado is a immigrant and those experiences have propelled Machado into helping others purs...

Today, we have Rob Saroyan on the show. Rob is the president of Valley Children’s Foundation and the Guilds of Valley Children’s. Rob has worked with multiple governors and served as the director of development at Fresno State. This was fascinating conversation and we cover topics of philanthropy, development, Armenian food and much more. Links:  Valley Children's Foundation   Our Patreon Page   B...

Today we have Fresno County Superintendant Jim Yovino on the show. Jim attended both California State University, Fresno and Fresno Pacific University. Jim has held positions in education from classroom teacher and coach to principal in Fresno, Dinuba, Central and Clovis unified school districts. Prior to his appointment as the 21st Superintendent of Schools for Fresno County on July 1, 2013, Jim...

Today we have on the show Brynn Saito. Brynn is the author of two books of poetry and co-founder of Yonsei Memory Project (YMP). YMP uses art and storytelling to connect the WWII-era incarceration of the Japanese American community with current struggles for justice. Her poetry has been nominated for a Northern California Book Award and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, and Ameri...

Today, we have a combined episode with Jeff and Brandon who host the show the Preacher’s Hour, a local program that focuses on religion in our modern time and giving clear advice in an increasingly unclear world. I have enjoyed their show and want to champion local podcasts, so you’ll see more partnerships in the future meant to highlight other people doing good work in town. Links:  Preacher's Ho...

Today we have Sharon Weaver on the show. Sharon is the executive director of the San Joaquin River Parkway & Conservation Trust, which works to protect the 22-mile stretch of the river between Friant Dam and Highway 99. This was a wonderful conversation about environmental protection, water rights, the politics of development, and much more. Please support our podcast by leaving a rating and r...

Today, we have Jaime Ramirez on the show. Jaime has been a fixture in the Fresno community as the coach for Fresno Pacific University and it was announced that Jaime will take over as the Sporting Director for the Central Valley Fuego FC, who will play their first season in 2022. We spend most of this podcast though talking about coaching, motivation, education, talent development, and the future...

On today's show we have Dr. Andrew Fiala, professor of ethics and philosophy at Fresno State. This was a great conversation; we had a lot to talk about! We talk about ethics, ancient philosophy, war, vegatarianism, the popularity of stoicism and much more. Please enjoy.  Recommended Books  The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker  Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker  About Andrew Fiala  His...

Today, we have Rachel Dunston on the show a custom cake baker in Fresno who has appeared on Food Network. Rachel’s cakes are absolutely stunning, and I encourage you to visit her instagram page linked below to see for yourself.   Rachel's Instagram Page Rachel's Website   Support Us Our Patreon Page