Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina

Political strategist Wade Cowper, managing partner for Hidden Gems Public Relations talks with journalist Josh Molina about public relations, local journalism and social media. Cowper has advised a variety of elected officials, including Kate Ford, Meagan Harmon, Alejandra Gutierrez, Gabe Escobedo and Virginia Alvarez. He was also managed James Joyce III's campaign that saw him surpass the incumbe...

Tapping Into Brian Barnwell’s Brain WRITTEN by Josh Molina Brian Barnwell greeted me with a cup of coffee. “Do you have any Stevia and cream? I asked. (Yes, I am a lightweight and I like my coffee sweet). “We don’t have any Stevia,” he said. “But would you like a scoop of ice cream in it?” Oh yeah, now he was talking my language. “You put ice cream in coffee,” I asked? “Every morning,” Barnwell sa...

Bobbi McGinnis, chairwoman of the Santa Barbara County Republican Party, opens up about the 2024 election and the party's efforts to gain seats on the South Coast. McGinnis said the effort to unseat Third District Supervisorial incumbent Joan Hartmann is strong and that the party will make a play for the state Assembly seat held by Gregg Hart. McGinnis also talks about the First District Superviso...

Dean Wilson, host of Good Life TV, talks about the importance of positive thinking, faith, and dwelling in the good things in life. Wilson, a Westmont graduate, shares his personal story, including overcoming major life challenges, and his recommitment to God and his family. Wilson, the son of pastor, also talks about the importance of being inclusive, and not judging others and believing in the b...

Robin Elander, executive director of the Santa Barbara Downtown Association, offers expert insight into the health of State Street, retail, restaurants and the future of a corridor experiencing major change. Elanders explains how restaurants, retail merchants, bicyclists, pedestrians (and maybe cars) can all work together to create a State Street that works for everybody. We also discus Paseo Nuev...

Sportswriter John Zant is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable. In this podcast, hear his amazing stories of covering sports for more than four decades. Zant is the consummate community local journalist. He also covered professional sports and the multiple Olympic games. Zant recalls his illustrious career, what drove him, how he found his stories. He also...

Geography professor Geordie Armstrong returns for a conversation with Josh Molina about the hysteria surrounding the epic blockbuster movie Barbie. Armstrong explains the patriarchy and how it hurts women and men. She shares stories about her days playing with Barbie and Skipper and how her mother discouraged her from playing with Barbie because she was too "sexy." Armstrong then talks about why S...

Goleta resident Jana Brody wrote "Sit Behind The Nets," a book about how her mother, Linda Goldbloom, was hit by a foul ball at Dodger Stadium in the 9th inning and died later from the blow. Her chronicles the incident, but also Brody's effort to increase the height of nets at baseball stadiums all across Major League Baseball. You can find the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chaucer's and other b...

Harwood "Bendy" White sits down with Josh Molina to talk about Santa Barbara's housing crisis, height limits, outdoor dining, and his memoir about life in Santa Barbara. White also reflects on the end of the Santa Barbara News-Press and what that means to the community. White spent 14 years on the city planning commission, as well as time on the county planning commission and city water commission...

Los Angeles Times enterprise reporter James Rainey talks about his front page story on the Santa Barbara News-Press, his reporting and what he learned about the end of the daily print newspaper. Rainey shares his views on the media landscape and discusses the importance of journalism and why it matters to our democracy. Rainey shares his experiences covering his biggest stories, including reportin...

Craig Smith rose to the prominence in media circles in the 2000s with his popular tipster media blog. He was the go-to-source for local media news and saw the popularity of the blog rise amid the News-Press drama. Smith first launched the blog to cover the Michael Jackson trial, but quickly he became a voice for those wanting to tip him information about News-Press stories in and out of the buildi...

Earl Warren Showgrounds CEO Ben Sprague explains the pickleball controversy currently consuming the Showgrounds and his plan to resolve the issue. Sprague opens up about the new mission of the Showgrounds and its attempt to become more financially sustainable through diverse programming. Sprague says Earl Warren is Santa Barbara's events center and he wants everyone to know it's place for them to...

New York Times Best-Selling author and frequent Joe Rogan guest @skepticmagazine founder Michael Shermer chats with Josh Molina about climate change, RFK Jr., doomers, culture wars, vaccines and much more in this hour-long podcast. Shermer, whose Skeptic magazine regularly offers science-based stories that debunk conspiracy theories. Shermer's latest book is Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe th...

"The time is now," to save the planet says Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon, who is also an environmental geology professor at Santa Barbara City City College. Sneddon talks with Josh Molina about "doomerism" and Eliot Jacobson's views on the planet, which he shared in a recent edition of Santa Barbara Talks. Sneddon does not dispute the data, but has a different attitude about how...

Watch the full video on YouTube. Dr. Eliot Jacobson is a doomer with a website called "Watching the World Go Bye, Eliot Jacobson's Collapse of Everything Blog. In this podcast he talks about three dramatic climate events happening at once: ocean temperature rise in the north Atlantic, diminishing ice near Antarctica and rising global temperatures. "While climate scientists have been talking about...

Joshua Molina is a journalist and college instructor who interviews a wide variety of people on the issues of education, housing, politics, culture and business. Molina is a former reporter at the San Jose Mercury News and teaches at Cal State University, Northridge and Santa Barbara City College. Visit SantaBarbaraPodcasts.com or SantaBarbaraTalks.com to sign up for his newsletter and make a cont...

Santa Barbara Restaurant Owner Laura Knight talks about Pascucci, her legendary restaurant on State Street, and the challenges facing downtown and State Street. Knight has owned the restaurant for 30 years. In this podcast she talks about the controversy over outdoor dining, the future of State Street, and the role of cars and bicycles. Knight and Molina also remember Babatunde Folayemi, who held...

A candid conversation with California Republican treasurer on politics, COVID battle and being LGBTQ+ Republican. Greg Gandrud is a force in conservative politics. A former Carpinteria City Councilman, Gandrud was came out as gay early in his political tenure. He was a Trump supporter, and now is backing DeSantis for president. In this podcast he talks about nearly dying from COVID-19 complication...

Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission Member Keith Butler talks housing, Trump, Chat GPT State St. De la Guerra Plaza in this fantastic podcast about Santa Barbara. Butler, a marketing expert, brings his views on protecting Santa Barbara's unique charm, while also supporting housing, in this smart podcast about Santa Barbara's policies amid massive state demands to build more housing. He's a...

District216.com founder and Chief Dreamer Jacob Tell says "we are in an inflection point for humanity," as he talks about his social club District216.com. "I personally have had incredibly potent experiences," Tell said. Jacob Tell is an entrepreneur who founded e-commerce marketing firm Oniracom and LoDo studios, where he hosts special events. In this podcast, Tell talks about the formation of th...

Conservative activist Thomas Cole sits down with Josh Molina to discuss a possible congressional run. Cole chimes in on schools, fentanyl, guns, and a variety of topical issues. He is the founder of 805analytics.com and Coalition4Liberty.com. Cole also shares details of his upbringing and what shaped his conservative values. Joshua Molina is journalist who currently writes for Noozhawk and teaches...

Santa Barbara TV Production Supervisor Tony Ruggieri discusses his amazing career at City Hall. Ruggieri led the city's effort to become a powerhouse of city content available on YouTube and on local cable. For Ruggieri, the job has always been about transparency and public service, and finding the best ways to serve the public. In this podcast, Josh and Tony talk about highlights from meetings ov...

Architect Brian Cearnal explains the drama behind the 250-room hotel project proposed for Santa Barbara's waterfront. The Wright family has proposed merging six lots to build 250 hotel rooms, but the city planning commissioners expressed concern that this site would better serve the community if it were housing. Cearnal walks us through the history of the site, and why hotel is preferred over hous...

Dr. Jarrell Jackman, former executive director of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation chats with Josh Molina about his new book: Santa Barbara's Royal Presidio, The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Spain's Last Adobe Fortress. Jackman reveals the stories of the presidio's creation, its original purpose, and then some of the political fights to restore the fortress, in the face of oppositio...

Santa Barbara County 2nd District Supervisor Laura Capps talks with Josh Molina after her first 100 days in office about the housing crisis, the recent eviction notices in Isla Vista, the cannabis revenue shortfall and poverty in the county. Capps spent six years on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board is a big-time political player having worked in Washington, D.C., with the President Clinton a...