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


    • Jun 26, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 50m AVG DURATION
    • 1,619 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Conversation

    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

    The Conversation: Gov. Green on military land leases; Species-spanning medicine

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 53:51


    Gov. Josh Green discusses military land leases; Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz shares what we can learn from animals to improve human health

    The Conversation: Climate; Zen Buddhist lessons for times of crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2025 53:48


    HPR's Savannah Harriman-Pote reports on efforts to slash transportation emissions to get the state back on track towards its climate goals; Author and zen master Norma Wong shares lessons on spiritualism and activism during crisis from her new book "When No Thing Works"

    The Conversation: SCOTUS upholds ban on transgender military members; Chinatown

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 53:42


    The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to move forward with an executive order disqualifying transgender people from military service; Uncertainty around tariffs affects Chinatown business owners

    The Conversation: Mild recession forecast for HI; Special session

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 53:40


    The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization forecasts a "mild recession" for Hawaiʻi; Top lawmakers discuss the possibility of a special session amid economic woes

    The Conversation Hana Hou: Celebrating canoe crops

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2025 53:49


    Today on The Conversation, we're revisiting some of our favorite interviews about the plants that Polynesian voyagers brought to Hawaiʻi and the role they play agriculture today.

    The Conversation: Live from Waikīkī; Coastal erosion

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2025 53:41


    Today, The Conversation broadcasts live from Waikīkī and provides an in-depth look at the fight to save Oʻahu's iconic beachfront from coastal erosion.

    The Conversation: Bishop Museum federal funding; Whale gut microbiomes

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 53:51


    Bishop Museum leadership discusses the status of the museum's federal funding; Researcher Ryan Bos shares what scientists can learn from whale poop

    The Conversation: State sues oil industry; HI County public corruption case

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 53:47


    The federal government has tried to block the state's lawsuit against the oil industry with a lawsuit of its own; Pat Tummons of Environment Hawaiʻi gives an update on a public corruption case prompted by her reporting

    The Conversation: Public media funding at risk; Pōhakuloa

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 53:47


    What does a recent executive order calling to strip public media of federal funding mean for HPR?; The Army has completed its final Environmental Impact Statement for Pōhakuloa

    The Conversation: Legal battles in Trump's first 100 days; Workers' March

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 50:34


    Hawaiʻi's top law officials speak at a UH Law School forum about the state's legal battles against the Trump administration; A march for International Workers' Day rallies support for federal workers

    The Conversation: Funding cut for native seed bank project; Manu-o-Kū festival

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 51:42


    The Lyon Arboretum has lost a federal grant to digitize its collection of rare Hawaiian seeds; Honolulu celebrates the Manu-o-Kū

    The Conversation: Trump's 100 days in office; DOGE impact tracker

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 53:49


    Former UH law school dean Avi Soifer reflects on the rule of law during President Trump's first 100 days in office; Capital & Main senior reporter Marcus Baram talks about the launch of his newsroom's DOGE impact tracker

    The Conversation: Deep-sea mining; New Waiʻanae caterpillar discovered

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 53:43


    Trump calls for mining the sea floor in new executive order; Scientists have discovered a new species of caterpillar in the Waiʻanae Mountains, nicknamed "the bone collector."

    The Conversation Hana Hou: Ocean stories caught on film

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 51:52


    Today on The Conversation, we're replaying interviews with filmmakers who focus on stories of the ocean.

    The Conversation: State legislature; Hawaiʻi History Day competition

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 53:42


    Lawmakers rush to pass bills before the end of the legislative session; HPR hears from the winners of the Hawaiʻi History Day competition

    The Conversation: Tariffs affect flowers and fashion; Kingfishers

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 51:54


    Tariffs are impacting the local floral industry and popular Hawaiʻi fashion brands; A flock of endangered kingfishers has been introduced to Palmyra Atoll

    The Conversation: Fed cuts hit UH; Trump's commercial fishing order

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 53:35


    HPR's Maddie Bender reports on how federal funding cuts are impacting the University of Hawaiʻi; Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Fishery Council, responds to environmentalists' concerns about a Trump order allowing commercial fishing within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument

    The Conversation: Fishing in marine national monument; Merrie Monarch

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 53:48


    Maxx Phillips of the Center for Biological Diversity discusses President Donald Trump's executive order allowing commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument; Matthew Loke, administrator of the state Agricultural Development Division, on increasing egg prices and significant price changes at the grocery store as tariffs take effect

    The Conversation: A call-in show on Social Security concerns

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2025 53:54


    Today, The Conversation hosts a call-in show with guests from AARP to discuss Social Security concerns. Call in live, or leave a voicemail at 808-792-8217. You can also email The Conversation at talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.

    The Conversation: Disaster recovery; Lt. Gov. Luke talks ag priorities

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 53:49


    Anthony Giancatarino, strategic partner for the nonprofit Taproot Earth, discusses empowering under-served communities in the wake of disaster; Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke meets with USDA officials to discuss Hawaiʻi's agricultural priorities

    The Conversation: Tariffs' role in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi's overthrow; Sea level rise

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 53:33


    Historian Ronald Williams Jr. takes a look at the role tariffs played in the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi; Researcher Richelle Moskvichev shares evidence that sea levels in Hawaiʻi are rising faster than expected

    The Conversation: Tariffs; Pacific Forums celebrates 50 years

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 51:48


    Johnson Choi, president of the Hong Kong China Hawaiʻi Chamber of Commerce, discusses the tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China; Pacific Forum, a think tank with a mission of contributing to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, celebrates 50 years

    The Conversation: What tariffs could mean for Hawaiʻi; Measles vaccine

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 53:46


    How could tariffs impact consumer prices in Hawaiʻi?; The Hawaiʻi Department of Health confirms a second presumptive case of the measles in a Hawaiʻi resident

    The Conversation: Measles; Student funds scholarships through recycling

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 37:54


    Dr. Jim Ireland provides the latest information on the confirmed case of measles on Oʻahu; Junior Genshu Price wins the Gloria Barron Prize for his work collecting money from recycled bottles and cans to fund scholarships

    The Conversation: French diplomat visits Hawaiʻi; Peace Corps

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 37:24


    A Consul General of France meets with military and state officials in Hawaiʻi; Peace Corps braces for the possibility of cuts after DOGE visit

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