The Conversation

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The Conversation is a weekday show on HPR’s news and information program stream, KHPR 88.1FM. For, by, and about the people of Hawaii, The shows host Chris Vandercook will be talking to all sorts of people about all sorts of things, from the state’s budge

Hawaii Public Radio


    • Aug 4, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 50m AVG DURATION
    • 1,644 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Conversation

    The Conversation: Lahaina's banyan; Domestic Violence Action Center

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2025 51:57


    Theo Morrison with the Lahaina Restoration Foundation shares plans for a park under Lahaina's historical banyan tree; David Tumilowicz with the Domestic Violence Action Center discusses federal funding cuts and staff departures

    The Conversation: Hawaiʻi's film industry; NPR Short Wave

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2025 53:59


    Local film industry professionals form the Hawaiʻi Film Alliance; NPR "Short Wave" co-hosts Emily Kwong and Regina Barber dive into the ocean in a new series called "Sea Camp"

    The Conversation: Tsunami gridlock; Remote control car drifting

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2025 53:49


    Transportation officials on the lessons learned from Tuesday's tsunami traffic jams; A community forms around a tiny race track

    The Conversation: Gov. Green on tsunami aftermath; State fire marshal

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2025 53:55


    Gov. Green discusses the latest damage assessments after yesterday's tsunami scare; Hawaiʻi's new state fire marshal shares what she's learned during her first two months on the job

    The Conversation: UH Medical School; Entrepreneurship at HPU

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2025 53:54


    University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine Dean Sam Shomaker discusses challenges and opportunities in health care as students gear up for a new academic year; Hawaiʻi Pacific University College of Business Dean Amy Nguyen-Chyung discusses a new $700,000 initiative to jump-start entrepreneurship

    The Conversation: David Ige on the rule of law; Poet Pádraig Ó Tuama

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2025 51:40


    Former Hawaiʻi Gov. David Ige and former Hawaiʻi State Sen. Randy Iwase discuss the rule of law; Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama to give talks on Oʻahu and Maui as part of the Merwin Conservancy's "In the Green Room" series

    The Conservation hana hou: Hawaiʻi's specialty crops

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2025 51:52


    Today, we're giving the spotlight to Hawaiʻi's lesser-known specialty crops.

    The Conversation: Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center; Hydrofoil competition

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2025 33:12


    Louis Erteschik, executive director of Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center, discusses possible federal funding cuts; Hydrofoil champions Edo Tanas and Annie Reickert talk about their wins in the Molokaʻi 2 Oʻahu race across the Kaiwi Channel

    The Conversation: USPS turns 250; Media blackouts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2025 34:13


    United States Postal Service spokesperson John Hyatt shares highlights from 250 years of mail delivery; Fernanda Camarena with the Poynter Institute discusses the consequences of media blackouts

    The Conversation: Rural health; Zuckerberg on Kauaʻi

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2025 51:51


    Rural health advocate John Desfur talks about how transportation shapes health care in rural Hawaiʻi; Investigative reporter Guthrie Scrimgeour delves into Mark Zuckerberg's land holdings on Kauaʻi

    The Conversation: Hilo banyan tree hazards; State senator on the rule of law

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2025 53:49


    Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda discusses inspections of Hilo's historic banyan trees after human remains were found under one tree that fell over last weekend; State Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Karl Rhoads talks about an upcoming informational briefing on the rule of law with U.S. Rep. Ed Case

    The Conversation: Public media funding eliminated; Gov. Josh Green

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2025 53:45


    HPR News Director Bill Dorman shares what the elimination of federal funding for public media means for HPR; Gov. Josh Green talks about what's next for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority and the possible impact of low vaccination rates among students

    The Conversation: Public media funding; National Education Association

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 53:52


    HPR News Director Bill Dorman shares the latest on the Trump administration's move to claw back federal funding for public media; Castle High School English teacher Jamie Stidger pushes the National Education Association to recognize that all students have a right to an education, regardless of their immigration status, in their national platform

    The Conversation: Federal spending cuts; Eating our roots

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 53:46


    The Conversation talks with experts about what federal spending cuts mean for education and health care; Chef Ippy Aiona talks about getting comfortable in front of the camera for his award-winning docuseries "Eating Our Roots"

    The Conversation: Army to expand arsenal in Hawaiʻi; Comedian Sheng Wang

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 51:48


    Major General Marcus Evans discusses the U.S. Army's plan to add long-range missiles to its arsenal in Hawaiʻi; Comedian Sheng Wang talks about how he got his start in comedy

    The Conversation: Falls of Clyde; Navy leases on Kauaʻi

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 53:32


    Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation director Ed Sniffen discusses plans to scuttle Falls of Clyde; The Navy has released a draft environmental impact statement for the continued use of over 8,000 acres of state land near Barking Sands

    The Conversation: A hana hou show on the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 51:49


    On today's program, we revisit the recent changes at the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, the agency that has long overseen Hawaiʻi's largest industry.

    The Conversation: Filipino survivors of the Lahaina wildfire; Hawaiʻi's airports

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 53:47


    The author of report on Filipino survivors of the Lahaina wildfire push back on a characterization of its findings by the Department of Homeland Security; HDOT director Ed Sniffen talks about efforts to modernize Hawaiʻi's airports

    The Conversation: U.S. Rep. Ed Case on immigration; Office of Hawaiian Affairs budget

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 52:24


    U.S. Rep. Ed Case shares his thoughts on immigration policy and the recently passed GOP-led spending bill; Office of Hawaiian Affairs chair Kai Kahele breaks down the agency's budget

    The Conversation: A call-in on illegal fireworks

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 53:43


    We're opening our phone lines to discuss the crackdown on illegal fireworks. Have a comment or question? Call 808-941-3689 during the live show or email talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.

    The Conservation: Tourism; Pope Leo XIV's ancestry

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 54:05


    Keith Vieira with KV & Associates Hospitality Consultants shares his outlook on tourism; Genealogist Jari Honora talks about Pope Leo XIV's ancestry as Hawaiʻi marks nearly two centuries since the first arrival of a Catholic priest in the islands

    The Conservation: HTA next steps; Apple TV's Chief of War

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 53:49


    DBEDT director James Tokioka discusses next steps for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority; "Chief of War" co-creator Thomas Paʻa Sibbett shares why he wants to bring the story of the unification of the Hawaiian islands to an international audience

    The Conversation: UH Astronomy; Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority's history

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 48:56


    University of Hawaiʻi's Institute for Astronomy Director Doug Simons discusses the proposed federal funding cuts to science; Former Gov. Ben Cayetano reflects on the origin of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority as the agency faces restructuring

    The Conversation: Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority; Maui sand dune restoration

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2025 53:56


    What's next for the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority?; Maui County conservationists work to restore the island's sand dunes with native plants

    The Conversation: Gov. Josh Green; Progress on the Skyline

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 53:55


    Gov. Josh Green discusses the Hawaiʻi Tourism Agency's restructuring, proposed Medicaid cuts; HART officials share progress on the Skyline, which is expected to open its second segment in October

    The Conversation: Hawaiʻi's dependence on oil; Math teacher trainings

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 53:49


    Hawaiʻi Chief Energy Officer Mark Glick discusses Hawaiʻi's dependence on oil amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East; The National Council on Teacher Quality rates Hawaiʻi's math teacher training as "unacceptable"

    The Conversation: Stories from Tehran; The fight over pesticide use on Kauaʻi

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 51:54


    Oʻahu resident Maseeh Ganjali shares what he's been hearing from family members in Tehran; Travel writer Kelsey Timmerman dives into a decade-long legal battle over pesticide use on Kauaʻi

    The Conversation: Iran attack on U.S. base; New UH athletics director

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 53:45


    HPR's Bill Dorman reports on how the recent U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran affect military operations in the Indo-Pacific region; The University of Hawaiʻi names a new athletics director;

    The Conversation Hana Hou: Local businesses

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 51:54


    Today, The Conversation is digging into its archives to revisit interviews with local businesses that have been part of Hawaiʻi's landscape through multiple generations.

    The Conversation: Small businesses; Hawaiʻi Supreme Court chief justice retires

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 53:36


    Maui Brewing Co. CEO Garrett Marrero discusses the state of small business in Hawaiʻi;

    The Conversation: Extinction vortex; History of the Kawaihae Canoe Club

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 53:52


    Researcher Chris Kyriazis explains the "extinction vortex" facing some endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers; Authors Manny Veincent and Kim Ann Curtain recount the founding the Kawaihae Canoe Club in their new book "Born of Two Oceans"

    The Conversation: "No Kings" protests; The story of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 53:44


    HPR speaks to participants of the "No Kings" protests in Honolulu; L&L's Eddie Flores Jr. chronicles his journey in the new book "Franchising the American Dream"

    The Conversation: UH research funding cuts; Jazz harpist wins Doris Duke award

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 53:45


    University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa interim provost Vassilis Syrmos explains how proposed cuts to federal funding would affect research; Grammy-nominated jazz harpist Brandee Younger is recognized by the Doris Duke Foundation

    The Conversation: Public media funding; Immigration concerns in COFA communities

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 53:52


    U.S. House lawmakers have voted to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; Advocate Austin Haleyalpiy with COFA CAN discusses concerns in the COFA community about immigration raids

    The Conversation: The future of public media; Kuleana lands

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 51:56


    HPR's Bill Dorman breaks down the brewing fight over public media funding; A Yale professor digs into her family history after she unexpectedly inherits kuleana lands

    The Conversation: FBI leadership; Local bar owner in James Beard final round

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 53:47


    Honolulu's new Special Agent in Charge discusses the priorities of the FBI under Trump; Pint + Jigger co-owner Dave Newman makes it to the final round of a new cocktail service category of the James Beard awards

    The Conversation: Cirque du Soleil's ʻAuana

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 51:45


    Today, the Conversation is revisiting interviews with the creators and performers in Cirque du Soleil's ʻAuana!

    The Conversation: EMS responds to Honolulu bus crash; South Korean elections

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 51:41


    Dr. Jim Ireland with Honolulu EMS discusses the response to a major crash between a city bus and a pick-up truck; South Korea has elected a new president months after the country faced a martial law crisis

    The Conversation: Thirty Meter Telescope; Hawaiʻi Convention Center

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 51:47


    John De Fries, executive director of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, responds to TMT funding cuts; State Comptroller Keith Regan provides an update on repairs to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center's leaky roof

    The Conversation: Funding cut for TMT; Point-in-Time count in Waikīkī

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 51:40


    Mayor Kimo Alameda, community members react to the National Science Foundation's decision to cut funding for the Thirty Meter Telescope; HPR joins an early morning Point-in-Time count in Waikīkī

    The Conversation: Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke; Medicare fraud prevention

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 50:25


    Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke says Hawaiʻi stands to lose $6 million in broadband funding under President Trump's proposed spending bill; Tips on how to identify Medicare scams

    The Conversation: Lawsuit seeks to protect marine monument; Gene editing

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 52:02


    Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against President Trump's move to relax protections in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument; The UH Institute for Biogenesis Research provides an update on advances in gene editing

    The Conversation: Tariffs and tea; New developments in gene editing

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 50:14


    Byron Goo, CEO of Tea Chest Hawaiʻi, talks about how tariffs are affecting the tea trade; Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, discusses developments in gene-editing with CRISPR

    The Conversation: Tariffs impact coffee growers; Farmers' mental health

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 53:45


    Ralph Gaston of Rusty's Hawaiian Coffee lays out how tariffs are affecting Kona coffee growers; Overstory's Noelle Fujii-Oride reports on a new program to support mental wellness among farmers

    The Conversation: Tariffs; Polynesian Cultural Festival in Kentucky

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 53:44


    Designer Jalene Kanani of Noho Home talks about how tariffs are affecting her textile business; Kaila Chung, director of Hui Kaululehua, leads the first Polynesian Cultural Festival in Louisville, Kentucky

    The Conversation: How tariffs are affecting Hawaiʻi businesses

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 51:15


    Today on The Conversation, we're taking an in-depth look at how tariffs are affecting Hawaiʻi businesses.

    The Conversation: 'Lilo & Stitch'; Beer competition

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 53:02


    We revisit an interview with Chris Sanders, the voice and creator of Stitch, ahead of the premiere of Disney's live-action "Lilo & Stitch"; HPR's Cathrine Cluett Pactol shares about Ka La'i Ola, a housing initiative that aims to meet the needs of those who lost their homes to the Maui wildfires

    The Conversation: Downtown Honolulu; Keeping keiki fed on summer break

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 53:46


    Urban planning experts discuss how to revitalize downtown Honolulu; Tariffs and cuts to federal grants affect local school lunch providers

    The Conversation: Mākua Valley; Hula and health

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 52:54


    The military has released a report signalling it may drastically reduce its footprint on Oʻahu; A hula hālau of breast cancer survivors discuss their shared journey

    The Conversation: Small business owners talk tariffs; Hula and health

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 53:47


    Small Kine Gift owners detail how tariffs are affecting store prices; What is the relationship between hula and health?

    The Conversation: Fireworks industry seeks tariff exemption; Marion Jones

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 53:51


    The firework industry is seeking an exemption to Trump's tariffs on China; Two-time Olympian Marion Jones prepares for the Honolulu Triathlon

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