Fresno's Best

Today we have on the show Tyler Maxwell, the city council representative from District 4. Tyler recently had success getting a free bus fare program passed and is working on a few different things to improve the lives of Fresnans.  Books A Promised Land by Barack Obama  The Power Broker by Robert Caro  Support Us!  Our Patreon Page  

Today, we have Lindsay Callahan on the show. Lindsay is the director of United Way Fresno and Madera. She has that 10,000 foot view on difficult issues that is so helpful in thinking about the ways for our community to move forward. This was a great conversation!  Books:  Essentialism Greg McKeown Whistling Vivaldi Claude M. Steele Support Us: Our Patreon Page  

Today, we have Jim Boren on the show. Jim is a journalist, longtime editor of the Fresno Bee, and, most recently, the executive director of the Institute for Media and Public Trust at Fresno State. This was a great conversation and we really dig into some weighty topics after the perfunctory burrito conversations at the beginnings. Books All the President's Men Boys on the Bus The Road to Characte...

Today’s episode is probably my favorite episode so far and it is all due to my wonderful guest Rei Hotoda, whose biography and resume are so expansive that it would be hard to do it justice here. Rei is now in her third season as Music Director of the Fresno Philharmonic and guest conducted around the world. An accomplished conductor and pianist, Rei studied at Eastman School of Music in Rochester...

Today we have on the Mikey Seay from all the famous fresno media outlets including the blog The Fresnan, and the podcasts the Perfect Pour and Flowing with Famous. He’s the Fresno guy. We obviously have a lot to talk about and we actually spend a lot of time talking about food, content that I know people like listening to. We also unveil the new name of Clovis!  Books  Murder in the Garden Scott M...

On the show today, we have Chris Roup. She is the executive director of the Fresno office of the Naitional Alliance on Mental Illness, a organization that does amazing things to support and advocate for people struggling with mental illness and the families that support them. We talk about mental illness, portrayals of mental illness in hollywood, her own journey, tri tip, and Wonder Woman. Recomm...

On the show today, we have Donald Munro, our local arts and music reporter, who worked at the Fresno Bee for 25 years covering the arts and culture, and now runs his own site called the Munro Review where he has continued this work independently. In this pod, we cover the local music scene, theater, criticism, book recommendations, and much more. Please enjoy my conversation with Donald Munro.  Li...

In this first episode of season two of our program, we speak with Phil Arballo, congressional candidate and financial advisor, about politics, in general and what was happening today in Washington D.C., race and culture, bicycles, breakfast burritos and much more.   

Today, we have the Tower Quartet on the show. They are easily my favorite group of classical musicians in town. For the record, though, I don't know that many. They are a brilliant group of musicians making beautiful music. Please enjoy this episode and support us below: Our Patreon Page  

On today’s episode, we have Sara Borjas. Sara is a Fresno poet. Her debut collection of poetry, Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff was published by Noemi Press in 2019 as part of the Akrilica series and received a 2020 American Book Award. Her work can be found in Ploughshares, The Rumpus, Poem-a-Day by The Academy of American Poets, and The Offing, amongst others. She is a lecturer in the De...

On today’s episode, we have Paul Swearengin. Paul has served as a sportscaster/talk show host, business owner, health care business developer and is a founder of a church. More recently, Paul has started the wonderful podcast the Non-partisan Evangelical as well as being the co-host of Fresno famous podcast Two Guys Talking Fresno. In this episode, which we recorded before election, we diagnose th...

Today, we have Sergio Cortes on the podcast. Sergio is the owner and Creative Director of Agape Creative studio . He received from Fresno State with a degree in Mass Communications and Journalism. Birthed from his advocacy work, Sergio started a political multimedia studio for the San Joaquin that is targeted towards Millennials and Gen Z called uS park valley , a creative outlet to deliver news t...

In this episode, I interview Jessica Mast-Foss. Jessica is a rural Oklahoman Mennonite girl turned urban Fresno ecumenical woman. Jessica grew up in central Oklahoma, moved to Fresno at age fourteen, and fell in love with the town within a few weeks of her move. She graduated from Fresno Pacific University with a degree in Biblical and Religious Studies and a minor in Peacemaking and Conflict Stud...

Like me, y’all probably exhausted by election drama. So today’s episode will be nice reprieve from all that. Today, we have on the show, the artist Elowyn, who you may know from a beautiful watercolors on Instagram. Elowyn is a Fresno-based artist. I loved this conversation and art is a topic that I don’t get to dig into often, so here we go. Support Us on Patreon!  

Our guest today is Lee Herrick. Lee is the author of many books and his poems have been featured in more magazines than I can count. He served as Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. And he teaches at Fresno City College and in the MFA Program at Sierra Nevada College. I am just going to prepare you for the nerdy poetry talk that will follow, but as always we talk about food, we talk about hip hop...

We have two guests on today: Chris DeLeon and Amber Donat. They are two of leaders behind a huge urban farming project in Southwest Fresno. The Yosemite Village Permaculture Community Garden and Urban Farm Incubator (Yo’Ville) is a 7.5 acre fresh food production space planned and designed to collaboratively enlist and serve the residents of Southwest Fresno— an important community struggling with...

In this episode, we interview Dr. Patrick Fontes. Dr. Fontes is a fourth-generation Chicano Fresnan. His great grandparents crossed over into El Paso during the Mexican Revolution in 1917, then made their journey over to Fresno, building an adobe home around 1920. Dr. Fontes received his PhD in American History from Stanford University. His research interests include Mexican American history, immi...

In this episode, we interview Nayantara Rodrigues, the president of Namaste for Compassion, an amazing organization that brings Yoga to at-risk groups. Nayantara is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and an instructor at California State University in the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation. Books The Body Keeps Score The Four Agreements The Seat of the Soul Out...

In this episode, we interview Steve Skibbie, photographer and downtown advocate. We talk about a lot of stuff, including the state of photography industry, historical preservation, the importance of walking, and much more. Books Black New Yorkers The Warmth of Other Suns Caste Support us! Our Patreon page

In this episode, we speak with the Ashleys, the two amazing women behind the internet's best vegan recipe blog. We talk about overrated and underrated vegetables, the journey to veganism, the psychological effects of giving up animal products, favorite restaurants and chefs, and much more. Their Website Eat Figs, Not Pigs Documentaries : Cowspiracy Forks Over Knives Vegucated Books The China Study...

Hey everyone! Today's episode is a request for support. We encouraging those who enjoy our episodes to consider contributing to our Patreon page, linked below. We want to continue to produce this show for many years to come, but, to get there, we will need your help. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for our next interview dropping this Friday. Patreon Page

In this episode, we talk with Vince Mancini, writer, film critic, and podcaster, of Film Drunk Frotcast. Mancini writes for Uproxx.com, and we dig into journalism in the valley, rethinking food truck concepts, the benefits of MFA programs, what's wrong with those soundscapes in NPR podcasts, and much more. Enjoy! Vince's Outlets Filmdrunk Frot Cast His writing Book Recommendations Blue Latitudes T...

In this episode, we unveil our new intro song for the podcast produced by local artist BKR. After the unveiling, we speak with BKR about the music scene in Fresno, his hip hop journey, culture vultures, and much more. Enjoy!  Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/fresnosbest

In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Cruz, LGBTQ+ Resource Center Manager, and Emily Johnson, Community Outreach Coordinator, both who are working hard to create an infrastructure and support services for LGBTQ folks in the Fresno and the central valley. A great conversation and an important topic that is not covered in many places in local media. Further reading: How to be an Antiracist White...

In this episode, we interview the Executive Director of Fresno Metro Ministry, Keith Bergthold. We talk about the history of development in Fresno, building costs, Blackstone Avenue, Lao food, motorcycles, and much more. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pusig Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work Matthew B. Crawford Food Fix Mark Hyman