Ojai: Talk of the Town

Scott Johnson is one of California's leading architects and designers. He joins the podcast to talk about his first commission in California, the Fox Plaza in Los Angeles, which, before it opened, served as a major character itself in "Die Hard," one of the most successful action films of all time. We also talk about his background, getting his undergraduate degree from Stanford and...

Here's a reboot of a fan favorite: Noel Paul Stookey, the Paul of Peter, Paul & Mary. He not only rode the folk wave of the early 1960s with such indelible songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon," "If I Had a Hammer" and helping popularize a young Minnesotan bard who went by the stage name of Bob Dylan, but helped created it. He shares the iconic trio's origin story as w...

"The Morning Show," starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, is Apple TV's flagship show this fall with its lightning-quick writing, superb acting and tense, plot-driven examinations of the cultural landscape. It is the brainchild of director and executive producer Leder, the latest project in her brilliant career. Season Three debuts September 13th, and brings in a new featu...

Dr. J.B. Dyas joins the podcast with his partner Cynthia Allen to talk about his approach to management — a process to train leaders in this American art form's give-and-take, improvisation and collaborative insights. They tell us that jazz is all about listening, and how jazz can train you to be a better listener, "and a better listener is a better leader." He and Cynthia has been t...

As of posting time, SAG/AFTRA (actors) and WGA (writers) were still on strike. Our guest Hawk Koch has been through a few strikes in his six decades in the entertainment industry, on both sides of the table. The studios have their offer on the table, so do the writers and actors, and talks continue. Hawk has been heartened by the Barbenheimer phenomenon with people returning to the theaters after...

Dave Spanbock has been both an artist and gallerist in his extensive career, mostly as an abstract artist, drawing geometrical shapes, mostly squares, freehand and experimenting with colors and the moods and emotion they evoke. On a walk along Ojai Avenue, going past the derelict hulk of what was once the flourishing community that was the bowling alley, he had an inspiration that Ojai, for all it...

Mark Lewis talks about his research and epic OQ story about the House Un-American Affairs Committee and the defiant screenwriters who put their livelihoods at risk. Many of the Hollywood 19 lived in Ojai, including Michael Wilson, Paul Jarrico and Dalton Trumbo. From the vault of our podcast conversation in 2021.

With recent testimony from a whistleblowing intelligence officer and bipartisan calls for disclosure of the government's extensive reporting of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (the government's new phrase of art for UFOs), and information revealed about the possession of alien technology, few people are better place to comment on these startling developments than Ojai resident Bob Salas. I...

Jeremy B. Cohen took over the reins as Artistic Director of the Ojai Playwrights Conference from the legendary Robert Egan, who led the conference through the past 23 years into its status as one of the leading new play development forums in the world. Cohen will call upon his multitude of contacts in the field to help this year's eight chosen playwrights realize their vision through the inten...

The Ojai Film Society opens their free summer series in Libbey Bowl on July 28th with "Going Varsity in Mariachi" about the world of competitive high school mariachi in south Texas. The film is fresh off its warm reception at the Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers Alejandro Vasquez and Sam Osborn bring this vibrant world to life through the highs and lows of the Edinburgh North High Scho...

With the Emmy nominees released this week, it's a good time to post up our interview with Mike Milano, whose film "137 Shots" about a tragic police killing of two motorists in Cleveland was one of last year's nominees. We talk about a wide range of topics, focusing on the racial environment of his hometown in Cleveland, the hurdles to getting this hard-hitting project done, and t...

Matt LaVere is Ventura County's First District Supervisor, representing much of Ojai and Ventura with more than 160,000 constituents. He is also former mayor of Ventura and replaced Steve Bennett, now California State Assemblyman. Elected to office just as the pandemic swept through the world, LaVere was on the front lines of the local response, working closely with Ojai city and hospital offi...

With his height, flowing blond hair and most often being barefoot, Dennis Shives is among the most singular, and representative, of Ojai's citizens. Ojai born and raised, Dennis has made his living as an artist - both musician and visual artist - ever since. He claims inspiration from his grandmother, who taught art until age 91. His career was honored with a very memorable retrospective of hi...

John Broesamle, professor, author, historian, ardent conservationist and Ojai Living Treasure, has passed away, leaving behind an enduring legacy of open space and environmental awareness. His awakening happened early in his life when he watched the farm fields of Long Beach give way to the cookie-cutter developments of post-War II southern California. He did not want that to happen to Ojai. Born...

Peter Strauss burst on to the scene in the wildly popular 1976 miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man" as successful entrepreneur Rudy Jordache, alongside Nick Nolte as the hard luck brother, Tom. He went to a prolific career on film, television and stage. His most recent role was headlining "Love Amid the Ruins" with JoBeth Williams at the Laguna Playhouse, and he also recently starre...

The American Association of Retired Persons is the largest nonprofit group in the world with 38 million members. And it all began right here in Ojai in 1957 over dinner for six people at the Ojai Valley Inn. One of the persons was Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, a formidably tall redhead who changed the way the nation thought about aging. Craig Walker joins the podcast to talk about his recently published...

Dr. Nomi Prins, the author, former Goldman Sachs executive and Ojai resident joins the podcast to talk about her work explaining the world of high finance and how bankers continue to rig the system for their benefit. Her latest work, "Permanent Distortion," came out last year and dives deep into the trillions of dollars of fiat currency pumped into the global financial system during the...

In a reprise of Episode 64, we bring back Chumash elder and lifelong Ojai native Julie Tumamait-Stenslie to talk about her diverse tribe, their tragic history and hopeful future. Julie grew up in Ojai with an idyllic childhood as the youngest of seven children, playing in the Ventura river bottom. Her father, Vincent, was a revered Chumash elder and keeper of the traditional folkways. Julie appren...

Quail Springs farm is a 450-acre permaculture project in the Lockwood Valley north of Ojai, where they farm, herd, build and teach in as sustainable manner as possible. Ashwin and Alexx, the co-directors, join the podcast to talk about sustainability, the growth of their on-line courses, and the successes of their buildings in withstanding severe heat and receiving top certifications. The ranch wa...

Beth Pratt, head of the National Wildlife Federation for California, attracted national attention recently when the beloved mountain lion, P-22, died in Los Angeles and she arranged for an inspiring funeral ceremony. P-22 became a media sensation when he crossed the 101 and 405 freeways more than 10 years ago to carve out a territory for himself in Griffith Park. She came to Ojai recently to give...

Ingrid Boulting was raised primarily by her grandparents in South Africa as her parents went to pursue careers in England and France. Her mother was a model and actress, and her father was a writer and director. She herself moved to London when she was 7, and she herself went to "a show-biz school" before being selected for the Royal Ballet School. It was a rough adjustment, as Afrikaans...

Kimberly Cluff, as the legal director of the California Tribal Families Coalition, sat in as the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the Brackeen v. Haaland case last November. The case is about an adoption and directly threatens the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, which sought to put an end to centuries of Native American children being taken from their families and put up for adoption by whi...

The Ojai Women's Fund was started seven years ago by Karen Evenden, Peggy Russell and Kyle Crowner with $50,000 to donate and a big vision for reshaping and democratizing philanthropy in Ojai. It is patterned after a fund Karen was familiar with in Seattle. The idea is that it is affordable to anyone with a desire to make Ojai a better place to live. So far, they've disbursed more than $60...

The country's oldest amateur tennis tournament, The Ojai Tennis Tournament, affectionately known as "The Ojai" returns April 26-30 with 1,400 players and 500 volunteers. Steve Pratt and Brian Teacher join us to talk about the tournament's astonishing history and importance to the world of tennis. Teacher, multiple Ojai champion, winner of the Pac-8 single and doubles title in 197...

Richard Hajas, chairman of the Casitas Municipal Water District, and a lifelong water industry veteran, has been through many drought-flood cycles in his life. Born in Ventura, he's lived in Ojai for 40 years, and is a former operations manager of two major water districts: Casitas Municipal Water District and Camrosa Water District in eastern Camarillo. He's built important projects, including th...