Talk of the Bay from KSQD

Host Chris Krohn interviews actor, playwright, and director Michael Gene Sullivan of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. The interview centers on the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s upcoming performances of Wreckage, a musical tragicomedy written by and starring Sullivan, and a bit of history of his involvement with the Troupe. The Tony Award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe returns to Santa Cruz with Wre...

Omar and Adela welcome Melita León, a proud Watsonville native and daughter of farmworker parents from Mexico. Melita is a Health Program Specialist with the California Department of Public Health and a lecturer in Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. Together we’ll explore the power of Ethnic Studies, Public Health, and why building healthier, more just communities starts with...

Hosts Omar Dieguez and Adela welcome historian, author, artist, and retired Cabrillo College professor Dr. Enrique M. Buelna for an inspiring conversation about Chicano history, identity, and social justice. Dr. Buelna discusses his journey from the son of Mexican immigrants to becoming a leading scholar of Chicano studies, the importance of preserving overlooked histories, the political roots of...

  Shira Cion is the Executive and Artistic Director of the renowned Bay Area women’s ensemble Kitka . Shira was born in Hartford, CT, to an Eastern European Jewish family known for its compulsive harmonizing habits. Active as a performer, producer, arts administrator, and cultural worker since her teens, Shira received her musical education in classical performance (oboe and English hor...

On KSQD’s Talk of the Bay , host Cheryl Williams in conversation with filmmaker Aaron Johnson about his short film Dark and Tender . The film explores the prejudices and stereotypes that Black men face and the ways those experiences can shape identity, relationships, and community. Community members are invited to attend a screening of Dark and Tender on Wednesday, July 15 , hosted by Santa...

Enjoy Andrew Schoneberg’s lively conversation with Alison Van Diggelen. She’s a journalist and interviewer for the BBC, PRX, and other public broadcasters. And she’s the author of a recent book entitled “The Love Project”. It’s based on her conversations with people from the Monterey area, sharing their stories of love, loss, resilience, and joy.

Host Omar Dieguez welcomes members of the Tri-County Doula collective in Watsonville. These women promote and provide culturally rooted, multilingual care for families through pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

Parades and parties had a strong showing across the nation this July 4. Some endured sweltering heat and humidity, but in Aptos, K-Squid enjoyed the fog, and the crowds, and hooped it up with the rest of the community for American’s 250 anniversary while Squid on the Street Suki Wessling swam through the happy attendees and captured our “time capsule” recording. _________________...

Omar Dieguez and Adela welcome Bobby Marchessault, Watsonville educator and Vice President of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers Committee on Political Education. The discussed important work being done in the PVUSD and some of the biggest issues facing schools today: transparency and accountability, as well as recent cuts to mental health services, counselors, and special education programs...

  Saru Jayaraman (JD, Yale, MPP Harvard) is an academic at UC Berkeley and the President of One Fair Wage , which organizes to raise wages and end subminimum wages nationwide. She was named one of CNN’s “Top10 Visionary Women”, a White House Champion of Change in 2014, a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner (2015), the San Francisco Chronicle ‘Visionary of the Year’, and most recent...

Omar Dieguez speaks with Mark Weller for an update on the campaign to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides near schools and communities on the central coast. Nine months after Omar’s hunger strike to raise awareness about this community health issue, what progress has been made, and what remains to be done?    

If you’re interested in children’s education, quiz games, storytelling, or poetry, I’ll bet you’ll find this program facinating. My guest is Howard Schrager. He’s the owner of Lemon Tree Press, which publishes educational books for elementary school aged children which he writes. Howard was a Waldorf teacher for 29 years.

Omar Dieguez and Adela Naranjo sit down with Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) Executive Director Consuelo Alba and filmmaker Brenda Avila-Hanna to discuss the profound impact of storytelling, community healing, and art as resistance. The conversation highlights how the festival grew from a passionate, grassroots volunteer effort in 2012 into a vital year-round nonprofit ecosystem that centers under...

Omar Dieguez hosts a powerful and heartfelt conversation exploring the human connections between Gaza and the Central Coast. Many people see Gaza as a distant conflict, but for members of our own community, its impacts are deeply personal and immediate. This program brings together stories of loss, resilience, culture, and solidarity from people whose lives are directly connected to what is happen...

Our Squid on the Street, Suki Wessling, was at the Santa Cruz Pride Festival this week asking a simple question: What do you love about community radio? It turns out there’s lot to love! Listen in as KSQD fans and community radio aficionados talk about what is special about radio made by the people, for the people. Top photo by Denise Gallant. Photos below by Rob Darrow.

Coming up on Inside Education on Sunday at 7PM, meet Andres Martinez, a high school junior who’s already making a difference in his community. From coaching youth sports and serving on the City Youth Council to advocating for local issues like Protect Salinas Renters, Andres shares how faith, service, and leadership shape his vision for the future. Join us for an inspiring conversation with...

WIth only 58% of the votes in California’s governor’s race counted, we look at the decided races in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and discuss what all this could mean for the midterms. With former Senator Bill Monning, and reporters P.K. Hattis, Jesse Kathan, and Tony Russomanno.

Writer Steve Kettmann joined Talk of the Bay on May 27th to talk about Dusty Baker, who spent nearly 50 years in professional baseball as both a player and coach before stepping away from the game in 2023. Kettmann co-authored Baker’s autobiography called Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life in which Baker reflects on his career and the lessons it taught him about leadership, perseverance and...

From The Streets , hosts Omar and Adela  feature the inspiring HOPE Club from Watsonville High School, a youth-led movement creating safe spaces for healing, unity, peace, and support. Hear powerful conversations about grief, mental wellness, leadership, and community healing. “May Peace Prevail on Earth” Watsonville High Hope Club Unveils Peace Pole, Watsonville, California, USA.

Music and stories by Uncle George Kahumoku, Jr. George Kahumoku Jr. is often called Hawai‘i’s Renaissance Man—and for good reason. A multiple Grammy and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award-winning slack key guitar master, George is also a prolific songwriter, performer, teacher, visual artist, storyteller, author, farmer, and entrepreneur. In 2003, he launched The Slack Key Show: Masters of Hawaiian Music, the...

Professor Nolan Higdon of UC Santa Cruz and the Gaslight Gazette Blog on Substack attempts to untangle the tangle of hype and hyperbole surrounding the insertion of AI into most aspects of our online lives. This interview is by Humanities Intern, Daymia Rousseau.

In 2012, Wayne Harris was invited by the U.S. State Department to travel to Palestine to do workshops and perform a piece about Martin Luther King, Jr. Feeling at times a tool of the Government, spreading a story of peace to oppressed people, he falls into an unexpected journey . . . and maybe the joke’s on Uncle Sam. Host Suki Wessling interviews Wayne Harris , actor and write of ‘Drapetoma...

From the Streets hosts Omar Dieguez & Adela Naranjowe , sit down with Watsonville familia Araceli Gonzales, Primo Gonzales, and their daughters Abby & Emilia to talk about keeping Chicano, Pachuco, Pachuca, Rockabilly, and Lowrider culture alive for future generations. From classic cars and vintage fashion to community work, toy drives, and cultural pride—this family represents love for cu...

On May 6, 2026, a candidate’s forum was held live on the air that included all five candidates: Joy Schendeldecker, Chris Krohn, Gillian Greensite, Ryan Coonerty, and Ami Chen-Mills. Talk of the Bay host Len Beyea was the moderator.

In April, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to establish the county’s first-ever youth commission. The commission was tasked with studying how the county can foster greater youth participation in local government in order to share recommendations with elected leaders who can actually change policy. To tell us more about the freshly-formed committee, Talk of the Ba...