Unheard Voices

This month DJ Dupsie brings back two former guests, Sheyna Burns and Christina Audas. Sheyna Burns dishes with us about the 1st Annual California Earthworkers Summit happening Sept. 11-12, 2025 at the University of California, Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology Farm. The California Earthworkers Summit, of which Sheyna is the Executive Director, “is an annual statewide gathering […]

On Unheard Voices, Friday, February 4, 2022 Ami Chen-Mills asks the question: Can Regenerative Agriculture Save the World?  Join your host Ami Chen as she interviews local organic farmer, Javier Zamora, who worked his way up from working in the farm fields to owning his own thriving, organic farm in Aromas. We will also be joined by […]

On UNHEARD VOICES  December 3, 2021,  join KSQD as Ami Chen welcomes Will Parrish, a long-time political organizer and investigative journalist, writing frequently on defending Indigenous peoples’ land.  In 2017, Parrish co-wrote a 15-part series on the Indigenous-led struggle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a series voted by readers of The Intercept as “The Most Essential […]

On UNHEARD VOICES December 10, 2021 Host Gloria Nieto welcomes Mimi Hall, former Santa Cruz County Health Services Director, and, State Senator John Laird.   Together they discuss the recent agreement to save Watsonville Community Hospital from closing. Local government and non-profits have joined to take over the hospital. Have a listen and learn about the deeper […]

On Unheard Voices, Friday, November 12, 2021  Host Gloria Nieto welcomes Richelle Noroyan, former Santa Cruz city council member. Now the Director of Coporate and Community Relations for the Second Harvest Food Bank Richelle shares how the Food Bank stepped up during the pandemic and how they work to solve food insecurity in the county.

On November 26, 2021 Thairie Richie interviews Damani Thomas, owner Oswald Restaurant.  If you have ever enjoyed the creative and delicious offerings at Oswald over the years, join the show to learn how Damani got into the restaurant business and how the restaurant navigated the pandemic. Damani also shares about the Black Kings men’s group and […]

Ami Chen interviews Alvin Dawkins, co-host of the spiritual-political Heart of America YouTube show with Ami, and author of the forthcoming memoir, From Prison to Purpose. Dawkins was born in prison, then adopted and raised in the ugliness of Alabama’s Jim Crow segregation and apartheid, in the heart and center of the 1960s Civil Rights movement for […]

On Unheard Voices, November 19, 20201 host Bobby Bishop interviewed Wayne Hedgpeth, Founder and Director of  New Jersey’s Bridge Program. Together, Bobby and Wayne explore how the Bridge Program assists ex-felons to transition from prison to half way houses and find success integrating back into society with the assistance of the Therapeutic Community Treatment Modality. […]

On Friday, October 3oth at 3pm, host Gloria Nieto welcomed Oscar Paz, Education Coordinator for Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Each show is hosted by a member of our diverse collective of people from backgrounds under-represented in the media and in power.  Unheard Voices looks at historical and current events as well as systemic issues, […]

On Friday, October 22nd at 3pm, host Thairie Ritchie welcomed community organizer and activist, Faith Brown. She is currently planning a March in Santa Cruz on Saturday November 13th, to address missing women and lack of justice they received. Each show is hosted by a member of our diverse collective of people from backgrounds under-represented […]

On Friday, October 8th  at 3 pm, host Gloria Nieto welcomed former Border Patrol agent Jenn Budd for a follow-up look at immigration at the southern border. Jenn has just returned from Del Rio, Texas and will discuss the systemic racism shown by the Border Patrol, including the mistreatment of Haitian asylum seekers. Each show is hosted by a […]

On Unheard Voices, Friday, September 17, 2021 Host Bobby Bishop welcomes members of the Second Saturday Network. Created by local community leaders in the early 1990s to unify and support African Heritage families, activities now include providing educational support and funding family subsistence micro loans in east africa. You can connect with the Second Saturday Network here: https://secondnet....

On Friday, October 1st at 3pm,  host Ami Chen Mills-Naim welcomed Justine Lee, Executive Director of Living Room Conversations, and co-creator of Make America Dinner Again. Justine’s work is focused on building understanding across ideological differences, and inspiring civic engagement through small group conversations. Her work in the bridge-building space has been featured on NPR, The Gua...

On Friday, September 24th at 3pm host Thairie Ritchie welcomed Ayo Banjo, the former UCSC student body president, and current chair of the campus NAACP. They discussed  current social justice issues affecting Santa Cruz and the nation. Unheard Voices looks at historical and current events as well as systemic issues, primarily affecting members of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) [&#8...

On Friday, September 10th, host Gloria Nieto welcomed María Elena De La Garza , for a conversation about immigration, indigenous languages, and social justice. Born and raised in Watsonville, Maria Elena brings 30 years of nonprofit experience to her work as executive director of the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz. She strives to amplify the voices of immigrants, Latino […]

On Friday, September 3rd at 3pm, host Ami Chen Mills-Naim welcomed journalist Michael Mechanic for a follow-up interview. A former staff writer at Metro Santa Cruz, Mechanic is now a Senior Editor at Mother Jones magazine. Ami and Michael discuss his new book, Jackpot, which looks at the growing income gap in the United States. How does wealth actually affect […]

On Friday, August 27th  at 3pm, host Thairie Ritchie welcomed local community organizer Juan Dominguez, they looked at recent news involving all of us, and especially related to people of color.   Among the topics: -recent census results and population trends -addressing past injustices to native populations in Australia, Colorado, and California, including the El […]

On Friday, August 13th at 3pm, Bobby Bishop welcomed Craig Littlepage, former Athletic Director at the University of Virginia. First African American AD in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 17 years at the helm. They discussed what opportunities there are for people of color in Sports Management and administration. Join us for a conversation about racism, opportunities, and celebration, on […]

On Friday, August 6 at 3pm, the Revered Elisha Christopher from the Center for Spiritual Living in Santa Cruz spoke with Ami Chen about his childhood, growing up gay in a conservative Baptist community in Southern California, and his personal struggles with mental health issues and psychiatric medications. Also, how he transcended these, and became involved […]

On Friday July 30th, 2021 host Thairie Ritchie welcomed Bella Bonner (founder of Black Surf Club Santa Cruz and Member of Blended Bridge). Unheard Voices is a weekly program that aims to create dialogue and raise awareness in the community at large.  Each show is hosted by a member of our diverse collective of people from […]

On Friday July 23rd, 2021 host Thairie Ritchie welcomed Marissa Molina, a local activist and artist. They discussed her community work, along with current events and how they affect us all. Unheard Voices is a weekly program that aims to create dialogue and raise awareness in the community at large.  Each show is hosted by a […]

On Friday, July 2nd, 2021 host Ami Chen welcomed her former colleague and fellow former staff writer at MetroSanta Cruz–now a Senior Editor at Mother Jones magazine–Michael Mechanic, about his newly released book from Simon and Schuster, Jackpot. The book covers the growing income gap in the United States, and how wealth actually affects the […]

On Friday, June, 27th, 2021 Host Thairie Ritchie welcomed activist and artist Thomas Sage Pederson. They discussed his work with Juneteenth and other community events, as well as his podcast series of interviews with artists and local personalities. They also looked at recent events in local and national news.   Unheard Voices is a derivative of […]

Bobby Bishop hosts a discussion of the Juneteenth holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It’s an opportunity to celebrate, to reflect on historic struggles for civil rights, and look at the on-going work for justice. Guests are community activist Raymond Evans, who started the annual Juneteenth events in Santa Cruz, and […]

On Friday June 4th, 2021 host Ami Chen Mills-Naim looked at the intersection of spirituality with social and political activism. Ami’s guest is Antoinette Parekh, a local Zen Buddhist priest in the lineage of Suzuki Roshi. With a long history of environmental and social justice activism. They discussed the role of spirituality in the social and […]