The Finest

"Dispatch From Paradise" writer Cora Lee went searching for ghosts in Presidio Park, but her exploration of San Diego's supernatural underbelly didn't stop there. She visited San Diego's many mysterious cults in person, meeting members and observing their practices, and explored a long-running family dynasty of fortune tellers that has sometimes drawn law enforcement and media attention. In this H...

San Diego's rising rock trio Slacker helped launch the pilot phase of the new KPBS Music Series with a live performance — loud, joyful and a little chaotic in the best way, but played with real precision and skill. Dressed in button-down shirts and ties, the band tore through their songs on the KPBS patio as the lunchtime crowd cheered. We sat down with the band right after their set to talk about...

San Diego's Cameron Mofid set out on an audacious quest: to break the record for being the youngest person to visit every country in the world. His journey took him to 195 nations, from peaceful capitals to conflict zones few dare to enter. Along the way, he faced moments of danger and discovery, including assuming a fake identity in Yemen to navigating a terrorist threat in Somalia and making a b...

For our 20th episode, The Finest team reflects on our season so far — the episodes that made the biggest impact, what still lingers with us months later and a taste of the gems left on the cutting-room floor. From Our Lady of Guadalupe to birding and romantasy books, we revisit comments from fans (and critics) and how these stories continue to resonate. Julia and Anthony also share a quick list of...

Mabel’s Gone Fishing is more than a seafood restaurant in North Park — it’s a Michelin Bib Gourmand honoree that quickly became part of the neighborhood’s cultural fabric. We meet owner Chelsea Coleman, whose family history includes longtime Padres announcer Jerry Coleman and a KPBS love story. Together with her team, she has built a space that blends local ingredients, Spanish and Portuguese flav...

What happens when a TV station pauses its regular programming to auction off everything from kitchen utensils and European vacations to toilet seats and rare art — with guests like Big Bird and Dick Van Dyke dropping by? In San Diego, those broadcasts became unforgettable. This episode dives into the history of the KPBS auction — a weeklong fundraising marathon that energized the community for mor...

In this episode, recorded live at the KPBS San Diego Book Festival , authors Emily Greenberg ( "Alternative Facts" ) and Moses Ose Utomi ( "Forever Desert" trilogy ) delve into storytelling across genres. Greenberg's politically charged, experimental fiction and Utomi's fantasy, rooted in West African mythology, may appear vastly different, but both investigate how societies — real and imagined —...

In 1975, Lucky's Breakfast, also known as Lucky's Golden Phenix, opened in North Park with a few U-shaped booths, a short-order griddle and a man named Lucky Wong at the helm. Well into his 80s, Lucky worked as a one-man show: He took every order from memory, cooked and served every plate and made every customer feel like family. "Everybody thought they were special to him," said Ruth Kramer, a lo...

Blink-182 is the biggest band to ever come out of San Diego. But their path — from the dungeon of the original SOMA to global stardom — was shaped by a lot more than just talent. With music journalist Dan Ozzi , co-author of bassist Mark Hoppus' new memoir, "Fahrenheit 182," we revisit the band's early years and the lucky breaks that helped launch them, from skate videos to a last-minute drummer s...

Romantasy has become one of the fastest-growing book genres in publishing — a blend of epic love stories and magical stakes that's capturing the imaginations of readers. Once dismissed as unserious or overly indulgent, the genre is now being embraced by a new wave of fans, thanks in part to #BookTok , viral buzz and social commentary that touches on real-world issues through fantastical stories.&n...

Port of Entry is a KPBS podcast that tells cross-border stories that connect us — from people whose lives are shaped by the border itself. The show is fascinating and fun, always taking listeners to new places and introducing them to incredible people and stories from both San Diego and Tijuana. In this bonus episode, we're sharing a recent installment of Port of Entry that the whole Finest team l...

Isauro "Junior" Inocencio, Ron Recaido and Romali Licudan grew up as second-generation Filipino Americans in Southeast San Diego during the 1990s. As violence intensified in their community, they found inspiration in comics, hip-hop and murals. They formed a crew to create large-scale, permission-granted graffiti on a neighborhood wall. Their goal was to express themselves and offer something posi...

The Kumeyaay have long told stories through rock art, vivid images carved into stone that preserved culture, memory and meaning. Today, that tradition continues in a new comic book created by Kumeyaay educators and historians to challenge the erasure of Indigenous history in California classrooms. Co-written by SDSU professor Ethan Banegas, a member of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, the book...

San Diego is one of the most biodiverse birding regions in North America, with more than 500 recorded species — and its annual Bird Festival draws crowds from around the country. One of its most popular (and ambitious) events is the "100 or More" challenge: a daylong sprint to identify at least 100 different birds. Photos: Meet the birds (and the birders) from the "100 Birds or More" field trip In...

What started as a low-key folk set behind a desk in a newsroom has become one of music's most iconic stages. This year, NPR's Tiny Desk Contest drew a record-breaking nearly 7,500 entries. Among them were 75 hopefuls from San Diego, all dreaming of a breakthrough moment. In this episode, we spotlight two rising artists who stood out for their originality and emotional depth: Aleah Discavage, whose...

Our Lady of Guadalupe is everywhere in art, memory and protest. She's instantly recognizable — hands in prayer, floral dress, starry mantle — but she represents much more than religious devotion. Her 500-year history weaves through colonial violence, activism, survival and cultural adaptation. Today, she remains a powerful symbol, embraced across generations, communities and identities. "She's per...

In this first-ever bonus episode of The Finest, we're flipping things around. Host Julia Dixon Evans sits down with producer Anthony Wallace and editor Chrissy Nguyen in a casual conversation recorded at the SDSU theater next to KPBS. We unpack big questions (what is art?), share our hottest takes (sorry, Mona Lisa) and talk about how the show comes together each week. You'll hear how each of us b...

For decades, alt-weeklies like the San Diego Reader were a city's rebellious voice, digging into local politics, covering underground arts and publishing stories no one else would. But their survival depended on classified ads and print advertising, both of which were decimated by Craigslist and the rise of digital media. Now, one by one, these once-essential papers are vanishing. As the Reader en...

For most of her adult life, artist Mary Jhun has drawn inspiration from a distinct muse: fractured silhouettes of girls, embellished with surreal details. Her paintings have been a way to process trauma, loneliness and despair, while also serving as a fascinating feedback loop into and out of her vivid dream life. She experiences the "girls" in dreams as she paints them, using these visions as fue...

For indie musicians like Julianna Zachariou, Spotify has made music more accessible than ever — but at a cost. With payouts that amount to less than a penny per stream, she's had to turn to crowdfunding and direct fan support to fund her projects. She opens up about the personal toll these struggles take and how she's found ways to stay true to her craft while facing these challenges. "On my bad d...

What does it mean to be a "government artist" in San Diego? Outgoing Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez shares the lessons he's learned from his two-year term, where he brought the city's neighborhoods to life through his vivid poetry. As Paola Capó-García takes on the mantle, she talks about her plans to bring a fresh perspective to the role and expand poetry's reach. "I think that poetry has a way...

San Diego's music scene is full of talent, but making a living off your art? That's a different story. Shua , a Southeast San Diego artist with over a million Spotify streams, has lived both extremes: signing a record deal and later facing near homelessness. In this episode, he shares the highs and lows of his career, what it means to be an independent musician today and why fan support is more cr...

What happens when a viral tea brand moves beyond the café model? For Amy Truong and Lani Gobaleza, it meant embracing a deeper purpose — blending sustainability, mindfulness and tradition. PARU Tea has evolved from a trendy matcha destination into a space dedicated to single origin, custom loose-leaf tea and tea experiences. But their journey is more than just a business pivot, it's a love story r...

San Diego's creative scene is thriving in unexpected ways. Musicians are crowdfunding their careers. Tea culture is evolving. A painter's lost dreams spark a bold new vision. The city's last alt-weekly falls, but its rebellious spirit fights on. And in a rare conversation, the city's outgoing and incoming poets laureate dig into the power of words. The Finest brings you the artists, advocates and...