Podcasts about East Bay

Bay Curious listener Mary Newsom went on a lot of walks during the coronavirus pandemic. While hiking in the Oakland and Berkeley hills, she noticed that wildlife had come back to the golf courses located in East Bay parks. But once shelter-in-place lifted and golfers were back at it, all she saw were golf balls -- everywhere. It made her wonder, why are there so many golf courses in public parks in the Bay Area? Do they help the parks financially? Additional Resources: Why Are There so Many Public Golf Courses in the Bay Area? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcastsThis story was reported by Sarah Wright. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MustangSoccer.com: Fred Wilson's club in the East Bay. Founded 1972, roughly 5,400 players across Mustang and the Mt. Diablo Mustang affiliate. Fred's email is fred.wilson@mustangsoccer.com and he means it when he says he will take the meeting. Mustang Soccer Data and Analytics: The club's public page on what they measure and why. BeyondPulse.com: Heart rate and workload monitoring worn on a belt, no vest to plug in. Matt Pell is the CEO. All 445 competitive players at Mustang are on it. Bepro.ai: Game analytics AI that tags 74 match moments per player with a video clip attached to every one. FIFA approved and used at the professional level. Pixellot.com: Mustang's main camera supplier for automated game filming. WinningLeader.com: Jeremy Boone's leadership program. Mustang ran their leadership group and then their coaches through it from August to December. CoachingYouthHoops.com: The one stop shop for youth coaches. Practice plans, season planning, and the resources behind this show. HeySai.com: Text based assistant that takes the administrative pain out of youth sports. Get on the wait list, launching this fall. (Say it "Hey Sammy," spelled H E Y S A I.) Coach Bill sits down with Fred Wilson, a Bay Area youth soccer legend who started as a volunteer rec coach at Mustang Soccer in 1989 and now oversees one of the largest and most respected clubs in the country. Along the way he helped launch the San Jose Earthquakes Academy and spent eight years there. The conversation opens with the hard question. Mustang measures heart rate, workload, game analytics, and eventually psychological profiles. So at what point does helping a kid improve turn into watching a kid too closely? Fred's answer is the thread that runs through the whole hour: the data is only ever a starting point, because you cannot measure head and heart, and none of it works without the relationship. From there it goes into the tech stack, the culture work Mustang did with Winning Leader, how a volunteer board evolved into a collaborative governance structure, why kids should play multiple sports, and a rapid fire round that every club director should sit with. Fred's central caution about the data era. All the biodata, game analytics, and psychological profiling in the world still leave out the intangibles a kid brings to the field. The measurement only earns trust when there is a real relationship behind it with the player and with the family, and when everyone understands the purpose clearly. The purpose is an objective basis from which a player can improve. Nothing more, nothing less. When Fred started down this road, a friend told him he did not want to, because he would drown in data and need a data scientist to explain it. That turned out to be exactly true. Mustang had spreadsheets full of statistics and players looking at them asking what any of it meant, with no comparative and no predictive value at the youth level. Two people fixed it. Dana Taylor, a former Quakes colleague, came in as the data scientist who made it usable for coaches. And a parent in the club who does analytics across industries looked at roughly 800 to 900 games of data and found patterns. That analysis surfaced 19 algorithms hiding in the data that identified KPIs tied to winning. The one Fred quotes: when Mustang broke the defensive third of the opponent more often than the opponent broke theirs, they won 94 percent of the time. Those were being pulled manually at first. Mustang went back to Bepro and asked them to generate it inside the system. Now a coach opens it and sees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of Coaching Call, Sifu Rafael welcomes Dr. Cynthia Rapaido, accomplished educator, author, and educational leadership expert with more than 30 years of experience in K through 12 education.Throughout her career, Cynthia has served as a teacher, assistant principal, high school principal, leadership coach, consultant, and mentor. Her influence also extends into higher education, where she has served as a faculty lecturer, dissertation advisor, and university field supervisor at institutions including UC Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, and California State University, East Bay.Her research and speaking explore educational leadership, multicultural competency, school climate, diversity, emotional intelligence, and the challenges facing today's educators and administrators.Cynthia's leadership has earned national recognition, including being named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States. She was also named California Secondary Co-Administrator of the Year and was a finalist for the national Assistant Principal of the Year award.Her book, Step Up Your School Leadership Game: The New Administrators' Guide, provides practical lessons to help school leaders navigate challenges with greater confidence and purpose.Join us for a powerful conversation about leadership, education, communication, emotional intelligence, mentorship, and what it takes to lead when the decisions you make impact generations to come.Watch on YouTube and subscribe:https://www.youtube.com/@sifurafaeltv?sub_confirmation=1Sifu Rafael is a master instructor and founder of Speaking Prowess, combining communication and leadership to help people unlock their potential with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.This episode is brought to you by Sifu's Mind Body Method, a lifestyle transformation blending movement, mindset, nutrition, hydration, fasting, journaling, and faith. Learn more at sifumethod.comThat's where connecting with Sifu Rafael matters.Through Speaking Prowess and Sifu's Mind Body Method, Sifu Rafael helps leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts refine their message, command a room, and step onto more stages with clarity and confidence. From podcasts and live shows to keynote stages and curated experiences, he helps people get seen, heard, and positioned as trusted voices in their industry.If you know you're meant to speak, lead, and impact at a higher level, this conversation is your invitation.Visit sifurafael.com to connect, explore speaking opportunities, and start positioning yourself for more stages, stronger presence, and real influence.#coachingcall #sifurafael #education #leadership #schoolleadership #communication #educationalleadership

Piedmont in the East Bay is a bit of an oddity: a city less than 2 square miles large in the middle of Oakland — but not part of it. It's now one of the wealthiest cities in the Bay Area, and some Oakland residents want to ‘Cancel Piedmont' in order to confront the region's inequality. Today, we're sharing a 2019 episode from our friends at Bay Curious about the city's history. It's a story about Piedmont, but it's really a story that starts in Oakland. Links: Why Is Piedmont a Separate City From Oakland? Bay Curious Explains Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck near San Leandro in Alameda County at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, shaking much of the East Bay. The quake was initially reported as a 4.1 before being downgraded. Several aftershocks followed, BART briefly slowed trains, and no damage or injuries were immediately reported. Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Broeske & Musson' on all platforms: --- The ‘Broeske & Musson Podcast’ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you listen to podcasts. --- ‘Broeske & Musson' Weekdays 9-11 AM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Facebook | Podcast| X | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Hosts Miko Lee & Guest Host Mia Nakano celebrate Bayanihan in Ballhalla. Bayanihan is a core Filipino cultural value of community unity, and Balhalla is the home arena of the Golden State Valkyries. Apex Express was invited to join Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries game. We speak with the community behind this cultural celebration. That includes Al Perez, artists Venazir Martinez and Kristian Kabuay, and coach Carolyn Sideco about the history of Philippines and basketball. Links for more information: More information on our guests: Golden State Valkyries Al Perez, President of the Filipino American Arts Exposition Artist Venazir Martinez DJ P-LO Cultural Practitioner Kristian Kabuay Carolyn Sideco Coaching Kapwa Raquel Redondiez SOMA Pilpinas     Show Transcript: [00:00:00] Opening: Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express. [00:01:13] Miko Lee: Welcome to Apex Express. I'm your host, Miko Lee, and tonight is Bayanihan in Ballhalla. Bayanihan is a core Filipino cultural value of community unity, and Balhalla is the home arena of the Golden State Valkyries. Apex Express was invited to join Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries game. Tonight, please join me and my guest host, Mia Nakano, as we speak with the community behind this cultural celebration. That includes Al Perez, artists Venazir Martinez and Kristian Kabuay, and coach Carolyn Sideco about the history of Philippines and basketball. Join us. Today I have the honor of having my bestie with me who's gonna co-host Welcome to Apex, Mia Nakano.  [00:01:59] Mia Nakano: Hi, Miko. Thank you for having me.  [00:02:01] Miko Lee: I was invited to a Valkyries game, and I said, “Oh, my gosh, I need somebody with me that can speak basketball.” And so I thought of you.  [00:02:10] Mia Nakano: And here we are. And the Valkyries do put on a show. That's one of the things that makes them so great.  [00:02:15] Miko Lee: Yeah, it was super fun. It was Filipino Heritage Night, and so we got a chance to talk with the different artists that are there, what is the night about, what's the cultural celebration. What were some of the things that stood out to you?  [00:02:28] Mia Nakano: I think that it really got to the roots of, one, what a great sports city San Francisco and then just the broader Bay Area is, and two, the deep connections to the Filipino community that exists within the Bay Area. When you look at how historically the Warriors really came up and the fan shots from when they were at Oracle Arena, the huge fan base that was there initially was the Filipino community. To see that translate in a very different way as the Valkyries are coming up in the WNBA as this incredible team, second year, on their way to probably making the playoffs for the second year in a row, bringing that community back, particularly with all the connections of the artists, the activations, and even the food that they have in Chase Arena brings it full circle. [00:03:26] Miko Lee: Having Natalie Nakase as the coach there is so powerful and important representation for Asian Americans as well. The other thing that stood out to me was I did not know there was this history of basketball in the Philippines, and then to talk to the different guests on our show tonight about what that history represents, where it comes from, the connection to colonization, and then also how it's really developed into its own cultural phenomena in the Philippines. [00:03:55] Mia Nakano: I played basketball- All throughout junior high and high school and was very immersed in it in Southern California, but I had no idea that basketball was the national sport of the Philippines. After we came back from the game, I did a little a bit of a deep dive, and it was really wonderful to see that it actually started in the Philippines as a women's sport? And it was making sports more accessible to folks, and also very clearly connected to,, roots of colonization and religion. But to still have that anchor and connection there, and then this interesting juxtaposition where right now there has still never been a Filipina player in the WNBA. There are folks who people really thought were almost gonna make it. So there's still that one last phase that they need to break into this sport that is their national sport, but in the United States they're not quite there yet in terms of representation.  [00:04:55] Miko Lee: And talking with Coach Caroline, which people can hear later in the episode, about that history and how it was intended to be this women's sport in the Philippines because it was easier. They thought they'd give it to the women to play. But the men were watching going like, “Oh, this looks fun. This looks more fun than baseball. So it really just took off. I love that transition for that it went and across the country. A few of our guests talked about tenement basketball courts. It's just so wildly different from this country.  [00:05:25] Mia Nakano: I think that that is contextually just how sports are played in a lot of different countries in the world where they don't have access. When you think about people playing football, right, like soccer, in different areas where they are playing barefoot. They are playing in dirt or, like, fields that are not necessarily fields. I think that in the context of playing basketball differently in the Philippines versus the United States or even in European leagues, when the United States goes to play in the Olympics, even though you have the USA women's team, USA men's teams who are supposed to be the best of the best in the world, the way that the game is played at that particular level and arena is quite different. And so they all have to adjust to the physicality, to how calls are called just slightly differently. With smaller players in the WNBA what I find really incredible, and this is what Carolyn talks about a little bit, is like the layup packages? When you get close to the rim, you don't have a Filipino who just goes up and makes a regular layup. They do it with flair, right? There's a part of that maybe is a little bit of showmanship, but also it's a part of trying to sneak your way around bigger players so that you can get the basket. And anybody that you play against, even in a league that is familiar to you, you're gonna have to change your game up, and play to your strength, and also just know what you can't do in the game, and go to another person who has more of those strengths  [00:07:03] Miko Lee: One of the other things that stood out to me in talking with one of the artists, Christian, who was there in the outside, in the cultural area, and he was doing, pre-Filipino writing with folks, and we'll interview him later in the episode. He was saying how he does this activity at a lot of different games, but it was very different. That was the first time at the Valkyries, and he said the crowd was so different, that it felt like back in the day. It felt like community. There weren't tech bros. You feel like it, The audience was way more women, As someone that goes to Warriors' and Valkyries' games, do you notice a difference in the audience?    [00:07:41] Mia Nakano: The first Valkyries game that I had the opportunity to go to last year was their Pride Night, and that is the game that my wife and I always go to for the Warriors. It's a special feeling there. I noticed there was a whole parking lot area for strollers on different levels. There was such great energy, and people just talking about the game, people cheering or rooting for players on the other team. There was not a lot of negative energy going around. When Christian mentions, the tech bro energy, the people rolling around with Patagonia shirts, and sweatshirts, that is so true. You truly feel this family environment that's also very queer friendly. There's so many folks of color, and they're not just there because the team's winning, because last year we didn't know if the team was gonna win or not. They were just showing up. The Valkyries have really created such a strong culture that is team based. That's what you see with the Valkyries, but I also think that that's a testament to the coach, to the players, who really trust in one another, and to the community that we have in the Bay Area. I think even the players did not understand when they came here what they were stepping into, and they talk about talking to other players on opposing teams who are like, “Is it always like this? Is it every night?” They're like, “Every single night, this is how our fans are, and we love it.”  [00:09:14] Miko Lee: So it's in different WNBA hometowns it's not like that? [00:09:18] Mia Nakano: Absolutely not. The Valkyries have sold out every single game from day one. They are the first WNBA team, and I think the first women's professional sports team, to reach $100 billion in valuation. then you see other teams, like the Atlantic Dream, who are playing in arenas of 3,500, or the Dallas Wings, who are playing in much smaller arenas, even though they have all these franchise players like Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers and AZ Fudd. The Dallas Wings are actually moving to the same arena that the Mavericks are gonna play in next year. It's an interesting juxtaposition given where the context of our world is at, who's in office right now, the battles that we're having to fight to keep women's rights, queer rights, trans rights in the forefront and not have them stripped away. Yet on the other side of this, we have this huge, meteoric rise of women's sports, and it's not just basketball. It's baseball. It's hockey. It's all these different leagues that are starting to emerge and have huge fan bases where you can watch women's professional sports all year round. They're nationally televised games. [00:10:31] Miko Lee: Thank you for the history lesson and current events of women's sports. I love it. One of the other things that was really special for this Filipino heritage night was the halftime show where they had DJ P-Lo playing. And then they brought onto the court, the director of SOMA Pilipinas, Raquel Redondiez, and she runs San Francisco's Filipino Cultural Heritage District. She got her name on a Valkyries jersey, and was announced in the halftime moment as a big show. [00:11:05] Mia Nakano: I had a conversation with her said, ” the work that you are doing, particularly in this moment, bringing together the artists, the culture of Filipinos and Filipino history is so critical right now because so many of our communities, cultures, and stories are getting erased, that we are the culture bearers and culture keepers, and so thank you for doing that work.” [00:11:31] Miko Lee: SOMA Pilipinas, for those that don't know, was established as a Filipino cultural heritage district in 2016 and was one of the first in the state designated as an arts district by California Arts Council in 2017. So they do so much great work, they host great things from the, United States of Asian America Festival every year. Self-defense workshops for women. I've taken those in Kapwa Gardens that were amazing. They do mental health services for Filipino folks and provided groceries and COVID education and, Filipino language training, and then artists, as you were saying. They pulled together all these different folks, for this wonderful night to introduce a sense of heritage and a sense of pride that was really powerful. [00:12:19] Mia Nakano: , It's a really lovely connection back to the Filipinos banding together with Chinese American folks in Chinatown that really helped create the broader Asian American movement and what that word and power even means. [00:12:38] Miko Lee: From the I-Hotel to today [00:12:40] Mia Nakano: exactly, and all of that being really anchored and rooted in San Francisco, as well as everything that Larry Itliong did with union organizing that I think has just recently started to get recognized in the broader social justice movement.  [00:12:58] Miko Lee: I'll put links to past shows that we've done on the I-Hotel, on Larry Itliong, because folks, if they don't know about either of those movement le- leaders and huge moments in our Asian American history, they should. It's powerful part of our labor and housing rights history. Were there other things that stood out to you at this Valkyries game? [00:13:20] Mia Nakano: I know that this is probably not gonna be a surprise to you, but the fact that we honestly just got to go behind the scenes and see the inner workings of what the Valkyries, the tunnels and getting lost and trying to figure out where we're going. [00:13:34] Miko Lee: It was a maze down there, by the way. It was like, which direction? Go to this press room. No, this press room. This place. It was very much kind of, in theater-wise, it's like going backstage and seeing how the tech is done.  [00:13:46] Mia Nakano: The thing that was the most exciting about this unique experience was being able to see Natalie Nakase talk after the game, and the snippet in here is really incredible because it shed light into not just who she is as a coach and how she approached the game, but her investment in people, and the importance of seeing people for their full selves, and the importance of the whole WNBA as a league, as a business. They have a lot of money and power, so who are we gonna lift up? It's a always a very intentional choice of what is happening at Chase Arena, at the Valkyries nights, these heritage nights that really uplift so many wonderful communities that are doing incredible work.  [00:14:36] Miko Lee: We're gonna get a chance to do an interview with Coach Natalie in a different episode, so stay tuned for that. Is there anything else that you would like to share with our audience?  [00:14:45] Mia Nakano: Go see a Valkyries game. Go to Balhalla. It will change your life.  [00:14:50] Miko Lee: Experience Balhalla. Okay. Thank you for joining me, and hopefully you'll join me back when we do an interview with Coach Natalie too.  [00:14:59] Mia Nakano: Oh, absolutely.  [00:15:00] Miko Lee: To frame the conversation, we start with Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, the first Asian American woman to coach a WNBA team. Last year, she was named WNBA Coach of the Year, and at the post-game presser, a reporter asked her, “Tonight is Filipino National Heritage Night, so can you talk a little bit about what it means for fans to be seen around the league?” This is her response. [00:15:25] Natalie Nakase: Yeah. It's huge. I love the fact that we can celebrate and acknowledge different cultures. I'm really big on that. I think it gives people almost like a superpower or a confidence for, you know, the day to be recognized like that and to be celebrated for everything that their, their culture brings. it also, I think, educates people about different cultures. And so I love the fact that we're super intentional about that because I think we have to do that more than not. And, it's exciting. I think this world needs more celebration. I think this world needs more love, more care, especially when some people are not seen as much. [00:16:01] Miko Lee: In the very loud outdoor Chase Arena area, we spoke with several of the folks involved in Filipino Heritage Night at the Valkyries. Please note that the sound quality is due to the nature of being outside a really excited fan base at the game. First off, listen in as we hear from Al Perez, who helped to curate this community celebration. [00:16:23] Al Perez: Hello, my name is Al Perez. I am a community organizer. I'm serving as president of a nonprofit called the Filipino American Arts Exposition, and we partnered with the Valkyries to help curate their cultural activation for Filipino Heritage Night tonight. [00:16:41] Miko Lee: Since the Valkyries are named after women warriors, is there a Filipina version of a woman warrior? [00:16:48] Al Perez: Absolutely. We have one that's local. Her name is Victoria Manalo Draves. She was the first American woman to win two Olympic golds in the Olympics in nine- 1928. She happens to be Filipina-American. So yeah, she was born and raised here in, in San Francisco Bay Area, so we're very proud of her to be, to represent us and be the warrior and an inspiration for all of us.  [00:17:11] Miko Lee: Excellent. And since Valhalla or Valhalla is the space that we want to get to, what is the Filipino version of that place you want to see? [00:17:19] Al Perez: Wow. [00:17:20] Miko Lee: That perfect world you wanna get to. [00:17:21] Al Perez: I think for us, we have this tradition called bayanihan. That's when we help each other towards a common goal. Yes. No matter how Herculean that task is, it's just coming together to help each other. So it's not necessarily a destination. It's more like an attitude of, coming together as a community towards a common goal, towards a cultural pride and community empowerment. [00:17:46] Miko Lee: Great. And tell us what you're doing here today with all these groups. [00:17:47] Al Perez: So we have an outreach table here because we're part of the organizing committee to curate tonight's event. So we actually have an event next weekend called the Pistahan Parade and Festival. It's the largest Filipino cultural celebration in the country, happening August 8th and 9th at the Yerba Buena Gardens, so please come check us out. There's a big parade down Market Street on Saturday to kick off the festival weekend, and then the festival's at the Yerba Buena Gardens, 11 to 5. We're here to promote that event as well as all our other upcoming events in the fall. We're also curating the Filipino Heritage Night with the Golden State Warriors, with the Giants, San Jose Sharks, and San Jose Earthquakes. And then one more. October is Filipino American History Month in the country. So we also produce official celebration proclamation by the mayor at City Hall. So we have a reception, we have entertainment, and we light the City Hall building with Philippine flag colors.  [00:18:42] Miko Lee: And when folks are coming out to these Filipino nights, what should they expect? What's happening?  [00:18:47] Al Perez: Our goal is to be here to be in community, to help showcase our beautiful culture, our traditions. So when these events happen, we usually have, cultural performances, either a pre-game or a halftime. Tonight you're gonna see, P-Lo, a Filipino rapper and a hip hop singer. Here in the plaza we have some basketball hoops, because basketball is a big thing in the Philippines, our national sport. There's also, Sarap Shop is a concession inside. They have Filipino food there. Our goal is to get people a little taste of our Filipino culture, so hopefully they'll be inspired to, to learn more about our community and our culture. [00:19:29] Miko Lee: And what's your dream for the game tonight?  [00:19:31] Al Perez: Of course, to win, right? Number, yeah, number one, Valkyries to win. And also, I hope that people will come and learn about our culture, and to appreciate it more. Maybe it will inspire them to try some Filipino food, or even come to our Pistahan Festival next weekend. Also Señor Sisig is right here in the plaza. They also do fusion Filipino food. I'm hoping that, by being here, people can get to be a little bit more familiar and curious about Filipino culture and community. We have such a, vibrant and diverse culture, we love to be in community. Our food's delicious, and entertainment's fantastic. So come check us out wherever and whenever you can.  [00:20:14] Mia Nakano: I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the artists who are here and the community organizations that are here tonight.  [00:20:19] Al Perez: So there's several of us nonprofit organizations here. Our group's the Filipino American Arts Exposition, our mission is more about broadening awareness and deepening understanding of Filipino culture and traditions by doing these cultural events. There's another group here called Young Filipino Professionals Association, or YFPA. They're more about, , uplifting young entrepreneurs, young career-minded, individuals to help them on their path to being more successful. There's also SoMa Pilipinas Cultural District is here. That's a new, relatively new, neighborhood in San Francisco. You know, there's Chinatown, there's Japantown, there's North Beach, so now we also have a Filipino community. It's called SoMa Pilipinas, they're also celebrating their 10th anniversary this year as being, designated as a cultural district. There's also Venazir is a visual artist. She's doing live art mural here inspired by Filipino culture and the intersection of culture and basketball. So it's a great way for people to kind of learn about our fine arts, our visual arts, and our he- heritage. Kristian Cabuay is doing script writing of traditional pre-colonial Philippine script. You know, Chinese and Japanese have their own script writing. The Phi- Filipino community also did before we were colonized by Spain. It's kind of almost forgotten and almost wiped out, so there's a few people now that's trying to revive that, that old tradition of writing .. It's called Baybayin.    [00:21:42] Mia Nakano: Can you talk a little bit about the history or why basketball is the national sport of the Philippines?   [00:21:48] Al Perez: Yeah. It's interesting. Yeah, why is basketball the national sport? I'm not sure exactly, but I think it has to do when after the Philippines was colonized by Spain, and then it, the country became, a commonwealth of the United States, right? And during that time, a lot of Americans came to the Philippines, to establish educational institutions, and one of them is sports. It just got introduced to us, and somehow it clicked. Everybody loves basketball. No matter where you are in the Philippines, in every little barrio, every little town, there's always a game happening [00:22:21] Miko Lee: So are people playing in school, like they start in elementary school, or is it more community based?  [00:22:26] Al Perez: I think it's both. It's just kinda grow, ingrown when you're just a kid growing up in your community. There's always basketball around you, surrounded by basketball. And then of course in more, elementary, high school, it became more teams dynamic, and you got competitions , intramural games. Even between little neighborhoods and little towns, they also have competitions. It's really a big deal. In fact, they love NBA. All the American basketball players are so popular. Everybody knows who they are. [00:22:54] Miko Lee: Al mentioned artist Venazir Martinez, and we pulled her away from the beautiful mural she was creating to talk with us. Again, this is outside, so the sound is quite loud. Venazir is a muralist and a visual anthropreneur. She weaves a tapestry of narratives that explore the connections between human traditions and the ever-changing landscapes that shape them. Listen as she tells us about her work and how she utilizes a symbolic red thread [00:23:25] Venazir Martinez: I'm Venazir Martinez. I am a muralist and a visual entrepreneur, and I am invited to create a live painting for the Golden State Valkyries. [00:23:36] Miko Lee: What has inspired you to create this work of art? [00:23:39] Venazir Martinez: So first and foremost, of course, women empowerment, and we have a lot of very talented Filipino Americans who play basketball. In the Philippines, because I grew up in the Philippines, basketball is such a huge deal. Everywhere in the most promote areas in the Philippines, basketball is their way of enjoying themselves and just pretty much having a time of their life. Basketball tenements are everywhere in the most remote areas in the Philippines. There's this concept of Filipino resiliency that I wanted to incorporate in my work, there are basketball hoops that is made out of wood scraps and like discarded metals. I wanted to highlight that part of Philippine ingenuity. That's why I'm here is to just shed light on that beautiful concept of Filipino ingenuity that we have.  [00:24:40] Miko Lee: I love that. Thank you for sharing. Can you break down what a basketball tenement is?  [00:24:44] Venazir Martinez: Oh, basketball tenement. So tenement courts, these are,.. How do I say this? In America, there's basketball courts that is, like, roofed. Okay. With a roof, and-  [00:24:54] Miko Lee: Like in a gymnasium.  [00:24:56] Venazir Martinez: In a gymnasium, yes. But in the Philippines, anywhere can be a basketball tenement court. They'll just put up a basketball hoop in a pole, like an electricity pole, and they can already play basketball in that area. [00:25:12] Miko Lee: So their court's just made up anywhere. Yeah. Anywhere in the community.  [00:25:14] Venazir Martinez: Anywhere in the community, in the most remote areas in the Philippines, they do that all the time. I grew up in the Philippines, so, it's that really is an immersive experience of having to see basketball really change lives for young people in our community. [00:25:32] Miko Lee: So we're at a WNBA game, and I'm wondering if there was a woman basketball player that you looked up to when you were growing up.  [00:25:39] Venazir Martinez: Growing up, my dad plays basketball. That's the only experience I know that, remembering what basketball is like. ‘Cause I'm mostly in martial arts. But here I am trying to experience a different, like, more empowering way of sports. And it's when I came to America that I experienced this kind of really, it's kind of empowering.  [00:26:01] Miko Lee: And since the Valkyries are women warriors, is there a Filipina equivalent of the woman warrior? Is there a Filipina equivalent of a woman warrior? [00:26:01] Venazir Martinez: There's a lot. There's a lot of very empowering Filipina. First and foremost, it's the Filipina community leaders that I know of in the Bay Area. They are my women warriors. They helped me from the ground up. They created a home for me. They, you know, so they welcomed me. The filipina community in the Bay Area welcomed me. They're all women.  [00:26:31] Miko Lee: Who would you say are some of those folks, some of those women?  [00:26:34] Venazir Martinez: Sonia Villarin, she wears so many hats. She's president of Filipina Food Movement, founder of summer camp in the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in San Francisco. She was the, senior vice president for Bank of America Global Leasing, and she welcomed her home to me and, pretty much, helped me establish my life here as an artist. So those are my women warriors. [00:27:00] Miko Lee: And when people see your beautiful work, what do you want them to walk away with feeling? [00:27:05] Venazir Martinez: I want them to take a second look again in my work, because these, my work pretty much talks about Filipino immigrants, and immigration at large, and pretty much our contributions and the harvested hopes that we have contributed in this cultural landscape,  [00:27:28] Miko Lee: this show is a pop-up tonight, so where can folks find out more about your work or see your work in the community? [00:27:34] Venazir Martinez: I have a huge, huge mural, 2,500 square feet mural in 5th and Folsom in San Francisco, downtown San Francisco in SoMa. It's called Ani, meaning to harvest. There's one in downtown Santa Cruz. There is one in Yuba City. There are multiple murals in Michigan, in New York, mostly in Queens. It's pretty much everywhere, but if you follow the red thread, which is my signature, my artist signature, you'll know that it's my work.  [00:28:08] Miko Lee: Thank you so much. Thank you so very much. Appreciate you taking the time. Another artist presenting their work was Kristian Kabuay working on pre-Philippines calligraphy. His line was so long that we ended up interviewing him separately. Christian is an artist, entrepreneur, futurist who specializes in endangered writing systems and tattoos from the Philippines. Hello, and welcome to Apex Express. Can you tell me your name, your background and what you were doing at the Valkyries Filipino Heritage Night? [00:28:40] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. My name is Kristian Kabuay. I'm a cultural practitioner specializing in our old, uh, pre-colonial, I say pre-Philippine, writing system and tattooing traditions. I was at the Valkyries, Filipino Heritage Night to interact with the community. I've done a lot of work with the Warriors, you know, going back to Oracle for these cultural nights, the Giants, as well. So most of the teams in the Bay Area, but it was my first time with the Valkyries, and it was quite different. [00:29:16] Miko Lee: How was it different?  [00:29:17] Kristian Kabuay: The vibe was, um… I'm telling everybody that it was my first Valkyries game, too. So the vibe was different. It reminds me of the old Oracle, it wasn't full of, like, tech money that are, you know, Patagonia vests watching the game. It felt very homegrown and it just brought me back to those days in old Oakland A's and when the Warriors were in Oracle. [00:29:42] Miko Lee: What does that evoke for you? What is that feeling like?  [00:29:46] Kristian Kabuay: It gives me a stronger sense of community and the audience is different. The demographics is different. There isn't that toxic male energy. I don't have to worry about someone being drunk and going off and, it was very homey and welcoming. It brings back, as a kid, when I used to watch A's games in the bleachers, watching at Oracle, the community, and not everyone was there to be seen. They were really there for the team.  [00:30:15] Miko Lee: Oh, I love that. I actually do feel like it is, it's such a we're together community vibe. [00:30:20] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. They even had the wave. I know some snooty teams, they don't have the wave, so-  [00:30:26] Miko Lee: That wave went on for a long time, too.  [00:30:29] Kristian Kabuay: Exactly. I've been to a lot of games. They're, “Oh, I don't wanna look stupid,” or whatever? So that's a big part of my childhood.  [00:30:36] Miko Lee: So I was gonna try and talk with you at the game like I did the other artists, but you had a huge line waiting to see you and talk to you. Talk with me a little bit more about your art form and this pre-clo colonization form of writing.  [00:30:52] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. Most civilizations had a writing system. It was prior to the land alphabet when the Spanish came and colonized the Philippines in the 1500s. We have this writing. There's only one ethnolinguistic group left in the Philippines that writes it. I come from a background of calligraphy, graffiti and abstract art. When I started to practice it, I incorporated those things. Later I found that I had to become an educator. Then starting to do the cultural festivals. Then you make your parents proud. It wasn't until I started to interact with the community that, there was this responsibility. I didn't come from a highly academic background, but I was being invited to Stanford and Berkeley to give talks about this. So, you know, that imposter syndrome kicked in. Because of the efforts that I've started in, 2010s, the idea of education around this specific writing system, my service isn't really needed. It's out there. Wikipedia, even AI can do it now, and there's a lot of influencers on TikTok that are, building on the stuff that I did 10 years ago. It goes in line with my idea of putting myself out of business. ‘Cause if it's a cultural practice, then you shouldn't be this gatekeeper, this apex of this this knowledge or this practice. It needs to be spread  [00:32:15] Miko Lee: What is the writing system called?  [00:32:17] Kristian Kabuay: A couple names. One of the popular names is Baybayin, and that literally means to spell. It's an adverb, but then it became a noun. So there's many different names depending on the languages in the Philippines.  [00:32:30] Miko Lee: And you said that there's a village of folks that still utilize it. Have you been there?  [00:32:34] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, I was there in 2016 with a research trip. I stayed with them for a few days to learn, a bit about more about the culture and to donate some time and volunteer, 'cause there's the Mangyan Heritage Foundation. I did some technology work with them. But then also meet with the elders that were there. The village elder did an interview for a film project that I'm doing, but also met the heirs, the daughters in the family that ultimately inherited this practice. [00:33:02] Miko Lee: And so they know that you're teaching this cultural practice around the world, and what is their opinion of that? What do they think?  [00:33:09] Kristian Kabuay: They like it, because it's a different perspective, and a lot of questions. When I go home they go, “Oh, why are you interested in this?” It's a totally different perspective. ‘Cause out here, we have our identity, and the diaspora issues. But back home, because of circumstances, colonization, et cetera, then, the priority is to eat, to live, not to preserve these cultural practices. I've had some indigenous elders tell me that when People come over there, to do their dissertation and they need to figure out their paper to get their PhD. They ask them, “What are you doing to preserve this?” It's kind of extractive or, like, information gathering. Honestly, it really is you strip it down, it is, survival: food, clothing, and shelter.  [00:33:52] Miko Lee: When people were standing in line for you at the actual Valkyrie's game, what were they asking you to write? Were they asking you to write notes or their name, or what was the request?  [00:34:03] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. Yeah, the line… I was telling people I've never had a line that long when I've done the Warriors. So- … you know, it's kind of different.  [00:34:10] Miko Lee: That's interesting. Just saying [00:34:11] Kristian Kabuay: Yes. I was writing mainly people's names- Mm um, and some words. Maybe a, a good third were non-Filipino, some were there just curious and asking and cultural sharing. Someone knows a Filipino and they go, “Oh, can you write mahal kita?” Like, I love you. And so, we pick up things, just here in the Bay Area. I have conversations with people wanna hear a family name that I never heard about. I say, “Whoa, where's your family from?” Kids learn the stories on how they combine names and some of the origins. It's always interesting when I do this with folks. [00:34:44] Miko Lee: I love that. And you're also a tattoo artist. Do you use some of this writing in your tattoo artistry?  [00:34:51] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, I do. And that's where the separation between the art and the cultural practice is. Where the writing wasn't tattooed traditionally, but that's where I kind of balance the art. And I separate those two where art is my expression, my personal expression on paper or maybe even on a body, but a cultural practice is more about them and their lineage. So I have to be clear to make those two distinctions.  [00:35:20] Miko Lee: So a question I've asked all the different people that have been involved in this night is that the Valkyries are based on women warriors, and I wonder if there's a Filipina woman warrior that comes to mind to you? [00:35:32] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, there is. There's one that, part of the lore. Where my dad's from, in his area called Pangasinan, the land of the salt. There's a princess warrior named Princess Urduja that was thought of as a great warrior. This specific Princess Urduja has that Valkyrie's spirit. All the artwork that you see and Academics will say, “Oh, it's you're romanticizing,” and things like that. But you know what? We need a little romance in our lives, right? And romance leads to action.  [00:36:03] Miko Lee: Ah, we certainly do. I'm wondering, with all those people, the long line that stood waiting for you, and you're having these conversations, what would you like them to walk away with after interacting with you?  [00:36:14] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah. That's why there was a sign, and I took a picture of it. It doesn't say, Philippine writing. So it says pre-Philippine calligraphy. I made that term up in 2007 as a way to jolt someone's idea of what pre-Hispanic, pre-colonial is. ‘Cause those things kinda just fly overhead. But if I said pre-Philippines, people, they take a step back and they, “What's that mean?” Or they try to have a smart comeback, “Well, what were we before then?” And my question's always then, “Well, I don't know. Let's talk about it.” That gray area, that being uncomfortable, leads to more curiosity, and ultimately, that's what I want folks to go ahead and, you know… oh, I have this banana leaf. I ran out of index cards. I brought 100 of them. I had these banana leaves that I just meant to decorate the table. I said, “You know what? Let me write on these banana leaves like how our ancestors did.” People are asking, “Oh, what, we wrote on banana leaves?” I'm all, “Yeah, we wrote on, organic materials.” So this thing is probably gonna wilt away in a few weeks or a month or so, but that's how it is. So it's a metaphor for our physical selves, but then also, the message. Maybe they can go ahead and learn how to write it themselves or until we reconnect again. [00:37:31] Miko Lee: Hmm. That's beautiful. And how can our audience find out more about you and your work?  [00:37:36] Kristian Kabuay: Yeah, you can just search for me online. My last name's K-A-B-U-A-Y. First name's Kristian, both with a K. All over the internets and the socials, pretty easy to find.  [00:37:46] Miko Lee: Thank you. And we'll put links to your website in our show notes, so thank you so much for chatting with me today. [00:37:52] Kristian Kabuay: Thanks, Miko [00:37:54] Miko Lee: I honestly didn't know that basketball was such a revered sport in the Philippines. So wanting to find out more, I reached out to a bunch of community folks, and multiple people said, “Reach out to Coach Carolyn Sudeco. She's the one. She's in the know.” So talking to me from her vacation spot halfway around the world is Coaching Kapwa's Carolyn Sudeco. Welcome, Carolyn Sideco, to Apex Express. I'm so happy to have you here.  [00:38:19] Carolyn Sideco: Thank you for having me.  [00:38:21] Miko Lee: Can you first start by telling me who are your people and what legacy do you carry with you? [00:38:27] Carolyn Sideco: Oh my gosh, my people are, collectively, folks who identify as, Philippinics, Filipina, Filipino, and American, and, migratory, and those who claim blood relation and those who I'm still looking for. I live in San Francisco, California, Ohlone land, and also in the land of Choctaw Bulbancha, which is New Orleans, Louisiana. Those are the two places I reside.  [00:39:04] Miko Lee: Can you share about your work with Coaching Kapwa?  [00:39:08] Carolyn Sideco: Coaching Kapwa is what I love to do, and my background professionally is as a certified athletic administrator. I'm a physical educator at the high school level by profession, by certification, by training. But really what I love to do, and so what I do in my consultancy, is I explore and I examine and I think about and learn about everything related to sports cultures and how the culture of sports in all its various ways affect our societies. Specifically, I geek out over learning about my own Filipino American histories and other peoples. Learning that through the concept or the constructs of culture and how sports really is, for me, the funnest way to investigate who I am and who we are to each other. I call myself a sports relationship coach. I am a sports cultures consultant. I also like to identify as a sports liberator. [00:40:16] Miko Lee: Ooh, can you break down what a sports liberator is? [00:40:20] Carolyn Sideco: Miko, I took that from a friend of mine, Danya Cabello, also from the East Bay. Played at Cal, played professionally, and when I first met her years ago, she identified as such, and I said, “That is exactly the kind of person that I wanna be, like, in sports.” I wanted sports to be a way that I could share with people who we are to one another. I wanted to teach young people that they can express themselves in a way that helps make them feel free. With my background in sports administration, I was feeling like the sports industrial complex was really the antithesis of that. And what a lot of people in my profession were striving for was this success that was not defined in the same way that I was defining what my liberation was, and what I felt through sports. So I adopted that. I asked Dania, “Can I call myself a sports liberator too?” And she said, “Girl, you call yourself whatever you want.” So that's what I go by.  [00:41:37] Miko Lee: Ooh, thank you for sharing. That's so interesting in the midst of our kind of capitalization of sports, how corporate it has become. Interesting. Thanks. I also wanted to thank you for sharing with me, Rafe Bartholomew's Hoop Nation and Cassidy Hubbard's, Hoop's Paradise. So those, along with your YouTubes, really gave me a grounding in the connection to between basketball and the Philippines. I'll put a link to those in the show notes for other people that like to do deep dives like me. But can you just give our audience a sense of why basketball is so popular in the Philippines?  [00:42:10] Carolyn Sideco: I learned about the history of basketball and Filipino culture in the Philippines through various people, Rafe Bartholomew one of them, and his book Pacific Rims. A friend of mine here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin Santos, was doing his master's thesis on the history of basketball in the Philippines, and putting an ethnic studies frame on it, so he was the one who actually, practiced his thesis and presentation with me, and I learned a lot through him, and through other people as I was learning about this myself, and how basketball when it was initially, or as we, the modern game of basketball was invented, by Dr. Naismith in Massachusetts with the peach tree basket. Most of us are familiar with that history, but also that was around the time of the Philippine-American War, and US colonization was at its beginning. And so what did the United States export, was its culture, and a lot of that was through sports, mainly baseball, 'cause baseball was already the national pastime. Basketball was relatively new, and basketball was taught in the Philippines also, like in conjunction with the American education system by teachers, by the Thomasites, and by others who were using that form of colonization. They gave basketball to the women and the girls, because it was the lesser sport. It was the newer sport, so it was the lesser sport. They gave it to the women. The men were supposed to play baseball. The Philippines is a collective society- Baseball is a spread out sport, and people aren't close to one another. You're out on a field, it's hella hot, and it's boring. [00:44:17] Miko Lee: Agree. Totally agree …  [00:44:19] Carolyn Sideco: it's easy, to make this assumption that these people playing baseball were watching the girls and women play basketball, and it's faster. Close to one another. It's easy to make a space. So they started playing basketball.  [00:44:39] Miko Lee: Also, you don't need all the things. You need a ball. [00:44:41] Carolyn Sideco: Exactly. In the early days, you didn't even need shoes. Yeah. So it took off in that way because basketball already itself was an activity that Filipino people, kinda took hold of already, and they made it their own. Trained teams started forming and the Philippines had national teams that were already very successful in Asian context, so Asian tournaments they were dominating. In 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association became the first men's, basketball league in Asia, and the first after the NBA in America. So the Philippines has had a long history of relationship with the sport of basketball, but because it's been so long, the sport itself was formed in response to all the cultural aspects that were already existing, right? a lot of town squares had basketball courts 'cause it was so easy to put there. So the same plazas, meeting spaces where people would have their town gatherings, social places, were also courts  [00:45:56] Miko Lee: And why do you think or just surmise that basketball has taken off more than, football or American term soccer, which is developed so much in other countries, which is also a little bit more communal? [00:46:08] Carolyn Sideco: My opinion is that American colonization, in the United States dictated, much more the United States cannot dictate because football or soccer is a more global sport, and the US didn't have as much stake in guiding that as a colonization tool as they did basketball. [00:46:29] Miko Lee: Hmm. Interesting. Speaking of the colonization and politics, I'm wondering about the connection between basketball and politics. In, Cassidy's podcast, they were talking about a politician who released their own basketball shoe, which is wild to me. Yes. So I wonder if there's other connections between basketball or politics, and if that's generally somebody who's more on the colonizer's viewpoint or more conservative viewpoint. Hmm.  [00:46:58] Carolyn Sideco: Hmm. Interesting. I, hmm, I go back and forth with this a lot, Miko, the colonizing tool that is sports, especially the capitalistic sort of, extraction, of sports, right? Of its players, who I like to think of as workers. They're also workers, right? The professional, Philippine Basketball Association is not much different than even professional sports in America with the way they're set up, right? You have owning groups or companies, and so you have these ways that exploitation and that workers' rights are… how do I say it? Because it's at the professional level, these concepts are very much at play, excuse the pun. The Philippines also has a governmental arm related to sports. So sports in and of itself is recognized, right? It doesn't have as much of this sort of altruistic thing as, as we say in the United States, like the sports is like the good of mankind, like that sort of thing. Like, I think, you know-  [00:48:08] Miko Lee: The kind of Olympic idea of unity, it brings us all together. [00:48:11] Carolyn Sideco: Right, like that, those conceptual sorts of virtues.  [00:48:15] Miko Lee: Mm-hmm.  [00:48:15] Carolyn Sideco: Yeah. So in the Philippines, I think it's so much more practical because it's fun, and you could get in a game anywhere, and it's accessible. Mm-hmm. It's accessible to all strata, economic strata, right? You see basketball courts everywhere, in rural areas in cities. Everywhere you'll see basketball courts. The Philippines itself as a country- I think that relationship to sports is something different than the American relationship to professional sports, where dominance and, winning and, beating others and making as much money as possible in that is at the forefront. In the United States even with youth sports now. I do some consulting work, especially in youth sports spaces, and the privatization and the extraction of the youth sports space is, is… We could go on all day about that. I think, this is obviously from a Filipino American perspective. For sure. I've never lived in the Philippines. I was born in the Philippines, but my relationship to the Philippines is also, being mitigated by how I experience American sports, right? So when I think about how I've experienced basketball when I've gone to the Philippines, , and it's the same as any aspect of that culture, right? It's warm, it's welcoming, it's friendly, and those are the cultural aspects that kind of, , supersede the fact that basketball… Basketball has its place, but it's in service to the cultural needs, right? To the need to be social, to participate in a town gathering. It's so sociopolitical.- And because it is, it's still a colonizing tool, right? But it's still mitigated in a way that I think just like Filipino basketball players are so, like, quick. They're known for quickness, agility, and finesse, and, like, drama, right? I used to joke around, like, you can always tell where a Filipino basketball player is in the United States 'cause no Filipino who has Filipino blood in them can do a regular layup. Like they have to make it all fancy. I think that, those sorts of aspects that are not tangible, that bring to light, the way a culture of people affect the sport. it enables a culture to push out through the boundaries of that sport what was given to them. What was given to them is, “This is how you play. These are the rules,” and all that kinda stuff, and that's great, but Filipino history of basketball is always, like, how do you integrate all the really cool things about your culture? It's something that's very different, and it emerges as something that's not quite American. [00:51:36] Miko Lee: Thank you so much. I'm wondering how our audience can find out more about you and your work.  [00:51:43] Carolyn Sideco: They can, follow me on Instagram at coachingkapwa, K-A-P-W-A. Kapwa is the Filipino word for the concept of interrelationship, interconnectedness. And so everything I learned about being, being a person really is through being a good teammate, and sports is the funnest way, like I've said before to practice being a good teammate  [00:52:12] Miko Lee: Thank you so much, Coach, for sharing with me about Sports Liberation and your work, and I'll put links to all that in our show notes. And I thank you so much for joining us on Apex Express.  [00:52:23] Carolyn Sideco: Thank you, Miko [00:52:25] Miko Lee: Please check out our website, kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about our show and our guests tonight. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world because your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by Ayame Keane-Lee, Anuj Vaidya, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Jalena Keane-Lee, Miko Lee, Miata Tan, Preti Mangala-Shekar and Swati Rayasam. Tonight's show was produced by me Miko Lee, and edited by Ayame Keane-Lee. Have a great night.    The post APEX Express – 8.13.26 – Bayanihan in Ballhalla appeared first on KPFA.

00:08 Walter Riley, longtime civil rights attorney and fixture of struggles for justice in the East Bay, co-author of the book about his life entitled Civil Rights and Structural Attacks: Conversations with Walter Riley. [This is a rebroadcast of an interview originally recorded in June] The post Walter Riley [rebroadcast] appeared first on KPFA.

What does democratic socialism look like when you're the one responsible for balancing the budget? Hayward Councilmember George Syrop, one of two elected members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in the East Bay, joins Steve Tavares and Trishala Vinnakota for a wide-ranging conversation on governing, progressive politics, and the growing influence of billionaires in American democracy. "As an elected official, I feel like I am managing the crumbs of a collapsing and failing state," Syrop says, as he argues that decades of disinvestment have left local governments struggling to provide basic services. The discussion explores the future of Hayward's progressive movement, the city's unexpected $30 million budget deficit last year, strategies for strengthening economic development, long-awaited improvements to the much-maligned Hayward Loop, and Syrop's leadership in advancing the city's Israel divestment resolution. The conversation also turns to the high-stakes CA-4 special election, where Syrop argues frontrunner Aisha Wahab must define the race on her own terms as millions of dollars in outside spending, including  massive AIPAC support for Melissa Hernandez down the stretch.

00:00 – 26:53 – On a Monday, JMV opens the show by providing his thoughts on the Brickyard 400 and the lack of fans that attended. He explains why it's been a tough time trying to make the event matter more. While he explains ratings are overrated, he explains why there's only so much you can do to make the event popular. 26:53 – 44:05 – Kevin Lee from Trackside and Fox Sports joins and John asks him what IMS can do to boost the popularity of the event. JMV asks if it's possible to do the race the week after the 500 and why he wishes F1 was still here, while Kevin explains the differences as to why the Brickyard doesn't have as much of an appeal. Kevin comments on the Carson Kvapil controversy after he scuffed the yard of bricks. 44:05 – 47:52 – JMV wonders if people out there know the origin of the Eastbay Dunk after video dropped over the weekend of Tyrese Haliburton doing it. 47:52 – 1:12:53 – Gene Simmons of KISS is performing at the Indiana State Fair on August 20th, and he joins JMV to talk about the KISS Army and tells the story of how they surrounded a radio station after they didn't play KISS. Gene touches on the importance of fans when you're in the music business and entertainment business at large. He also reflects on being a 6th grade teacher and how vital learning is. He also talks about the making of "I am Indianapolis". 1:12:53 – 1:26:24 – John wants to know if Tyrese Haliburton was able to throw down the Eastbay dunk BEFORE the achilles injury. Loyal listener Fulton had an accident at his softball game over the weekend and sends JMV the video accompaniment. 1:26:24 – 1:36:06 – We finally find out the Eastbay dunk connection to Anderson high school and the Wigwam before news drops that rookie linebacker CJ Allen and Alec Pierce will be on the Physically Unable to Perform list to open camp. 1:36:06 – 2:04:41 – John revisits a song he played over the weekend on the JMV Takeover and why it reflects the true freedom he has on Saturday nights. Then, Stephen Holder of ESPN joins to comment on if the CJ Allen PUP list designation is surprising. How worried the Colts should be with Alec Pierce still out, will they sign another WR? Plus, should we be shocked Daniel Jones is ready for camp and what should we expect when they start joint practicing with other teams? Stephen also outlines his biggest questions about the Colts heading into the year before we lose him due to the bad weather. 2:04:41 – 2:17:28 - JMV runs through the day's news of the Colts PUP listings, why there are more questions this year than last heading into camp, and looks at the training camp schedule 2:17:28 – 2:22:01 - We get to Caitlin Clark's comments from All-Star weekend about just wanting to play basketball before JMV gives away tickets to the Indiana State Fair. Support the show: https://1075thefan.com/the-ride-with-jmv/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second quarter of 2026 saw a return to new market highs with global stock market returns bouncing back after a mostly negative first quarter. But it has been a year of contradictions: as markets push to new highs, consumer sentiment has fallen to record lows. And while the focus of market conversation has been around the record size of the SpaceX IPO and the competition among large AI companies, small companies and emerging markets have been the market leaders, each posting returns above 40% for the last twelve months. Get the full report from East Bay HERE. Summary: Stock and bond markets gained ground around the world during Q2. Emerging markets and U.S small-cap stocks have led the way this quarter. Geopolitical and macroeconomic forces continue to provide uncertainty. Glass half-full: Stocks were up around the world in Q2 and continued to touch new all-time highs. Bonds of most credit and maturity types also gained during the quarter. Unemployment remains historically low. The U.S. economy continues to grow. Glass half-empty: The war in Iran is ongoing. Inflation has begun to re-accelerate, and markets now expect the Fed to hike rates rather than cut rates by year's end. U.S. consumer sentiment is near all-time lows. Investment markets continue to be volatile around the world. Follow this link for a recording of Eastbay's video presentation.  Get our Outlook from Quarter 1 2026 HERE. The post S5E16 – 2Q 2026 Market Commentary and Economic Outlook appeared first on Shotwell Rutter Baer.

DJ Jesse Luscious hypes 2 East Bay Punk bands touring the UK now: Neutrals & ArnoCorps, checks out 2 not-yet-released La Vida Es Un Mus records from Nekra & Rat Cage, serves a double shot of Astoria pop punk The Steinways & The Unlovables, & spins known & unknown Chicagoland classics from Naked Raygun, Ambition Mission, The Effigies, Group Of Individuals, & The Mentally Ill. He plays new tracks from Jah Wobble and Tian Qiyi, Southpaw, Instigators, Mutiny, & Sunswarm as well as classics from The Domestics, Soul Glo, Checkers, Head, Ramones, Slammies, Hellbound Heist, Jello Biafra With The Melvins, Hellbillys, Citizen Fish, The Heads, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Undertones! Neutrals- Personal Computing Arnocorps- Pumping Iron (edit) Domestics- Purchases Mentally Ill- Padded Cell Soul Glo- We Wants Revenge (edit) Checkers- Running With Scissors Head- American Classic Ramones- 53rd And 3rd Steinways- Carrie Goldberg (edit) Unlovables- If You Were Here Ambition Mission- History Defeats Itself Southpaw- Subjects Naked Raygun- Rat Patrol Effigies- Body Bag Group Of Individuals- World Civil War Slammies- Manager Breakdown Slammies- P-U-S Instigators- Full Circle Stiff Little Fingers- Wasted Life (edit) Mutiny- Anthem Citizen Fish- Dividing Lines Jah Wobble And Tian Qiyi- Tomorrow Never Knows Heads- Spliff Riff (Garage Tape) Jello Biafra With The Melvins- Halo Of Flies Undertones- My Perfect Cousin Nekra- All We Get Is Us Rat Cage- Steady On Now Hellbound Heist- Wake The Dead Hellbillys- Blank Generation Sunswarm- Sunswarm

Vince Fakhoury Horn speaks with Mushim Patricia Ikeda about working class dharma—from growing up as "the minority of Greensburg, Ohio" in a third-generation Japanese American family, to training in penniless Korean Zen temples where renovating the building was the practice. Along the way: bliss bunnies, samadhi junkies, mutual aid networks, and why affordability may be the grassroots issue of 2026.

Today we welcome author, environmental attorney and pro-democracy activist, Gary Lucks, whose new book “We Are the Power,” is a how-to guide for community activists.  As the founder of two East Bay progressive groups he has built one of California' most active grassroots networks, and helped raise millions of dollars, delivering critical support to Democrats in swing districts across the country.  Lucks spoke with us about why he wrote the book, what the Democrats need to do to find their way out of the wilderness, and what to make of the Left-Moderate  split that threatens to tear the party apart. 1:20 AI Bills in #caleg 1:53 A look at the Billionaire Tax 2:45 Op Ed Policy 7:43 The Top 100 9:19 Jonesin' For a Cure 12:44 Gary Lucks 15:57 Focus of "We Are the Power" 19:16 "The circular firing squad" 22:06 50 Shades of Blue 26:35 Tea Party populism vs. Democratic populist movement 33:14 The age issue 40:12 How to reconnect with MAGA 44:11 Where to find the book 45:15 #WWCA Want to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donation here: capitolweekly.net/donations/ Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang  "#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Now, it's time for New Arrivals, our pocket sized book tour with Bay Area authors. Vanessa Hua lives in the East Bay. Her new novel, "Coyoteland," is set in a fictional Bay Area suburb, and takes place about a year into the Covid pandemic. It's about wealth, privilege and the housing market, as well as territory, predator, and prey.

Song: Sing Your Roots Music by: Eileen Hazel Guest Singers: Becky Peterson, Karen Chickering, Molly Moerdyk   Notes: There's a slightly strange sound quality in this one, as something weird was going on with my mic when recording... maybe we were so rooted and grounded singing this that we changed the electricity in the room?! I invited three friends over to sing Eileen's round with me, and a little delightful chaos ensued... pick a place to start singing the song, with one of us or in between us, and see what happens. I wonder how we would all be if we felt that sense of deep rootedness, combined with a rise to the stars?   Songwriter Info: After many years of singing, composing, and performing, Elieen discovered her deepest love in community singing. The joy and deep connection found in singing together deeply fed her soul. Since 2023, Elieen has been facilitating community song circles in the East Bay. She especially loves co-facilitating with other song leaders and cultivating spaces that feel joyful, welcoming, and harmonious.  In the last few years, Eileen's connection to the Muse has opened in new ways. The songs flowing through her are now largely created for community singing—meant to be shared, experienced, and sung together. The songs she creates emanate from a place of spirit, drawing inspiration from her profound connection to the natural world, and to our communities. Visit her website (eileenhazel.com) to see what's coming up.   Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share but Eileen always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:44 Start time of reprise: 00:13:13   Links: Eileen's Website: eileenhazel.com Bandcamp to buy music: https://eileenhazel.bandcamp.com/. More music on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-hazel Eileen's own recording of Sing Your Roots: https://soundcloud.com/eileen-hazel/sing-your-roots   Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, minor, round   Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share   Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Vanessa Hua lives in the East Bay. Her novel, Coyoteland, came out May 12th, 2026. It's about wealth, privilege and the housing market, as well as territory, predator, and prey.

Last year, San Francisco established new parking restrictions. They were aimed at curbing the city's growing number of people living out of their vehicles, mostly RVs. The stated goal was to take RVs off city streets, and get those who lived in the vehicles into more permanent housing. But while city efforts to reduce the number of RVs appears to be succeeding, the crackdown has left hundreds of former RV tenants without any shelter. Yesica Prado is an investigative reporter with El Tecolote. She also lives in an RV in the East Bay and has reported extensively about on vehicular homelessness. She spoke recently with KALW's news editor Sunni Khalid about her most recent reporting.

For the first time, East Bay Insiders founder Steve Tavares tells the behind-the-scenes story of how he was unexpectedly pulled into what would become the East Bay's sprawling public corruption scandal. Steve reveals the alleged efforts to influence his reporting surrounding an infamous 2023 Vietnam trip, including escalating offers of money that he later believes were intended to discourage negative coverage. He walks listeners through what happened, how he responded, and how the story ultimately became part of the FBI's ongoing public corruption investigation. The episode also explores newly surfaced allegations by an unincorporated Livermore resident involving a figure who also appears in the broader FBI story.

In this episode of Restorative Works!, we are joined by Heather Gardley, a leader deeply committed to advancing community-centered approaches through restorative practices in higher education. Heather shares insights from her work supporting schools and organizations in building cultures rooted in trust, belonging, and accountability. Heather invites us to consider how we can implement restorative practices on campuses to build community, whether that be during new student orientation, student employee training, problem solving spaces, or when conflicts occur. Through moving stories of real-world impact, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how restorative practices can help transform not only institutions, but also the ways we show up for one another in our daily work. Heather Gardley serves as the Director of Student Conduct, Rights & Responsibilities at California State University, East Bay. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, she is recognized as a strategic and thoughtful leader committed to fostering ethical development, student advocacy, and retention. Her work is grounded in a student-centered approach, with a strong emphasis on care, accountability, and growth. A dedicated restorative practitioner, Heather brings a balanced perspective to student conduct work, prioritizing both responsibility and support. Heather earned her bachelor's degree from San José State University and a master's degree in organizational communication from CSU East Bay. She is also a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., reflecting her ongoing commitment to service, leadership, and community engagement. Tune in to discover how restorative practices can transform educational higher ed spaces and support the work of joining students and strengthening campus community.

Cal State East Bay head basketball coach Bryan Rooney discussing his team's historic 33-1 season and their connecting style of play. Rooney explained how his team implemented the "tagging up" system where all five players engage in defensive rebounding immediately after shots go up, creating pressure defense and transition opportunities. He detailed how the system connects full-court and half-court defense, emphasizing that defensive engagement starts as soon as possessions are decided rather than waiting for specific situations.Bryan Rooney has won over 300 games and during the 2025-26 at East Bay, Rooney guided the team to a historic 33-1 record, a perfect 22-0 CCAA mark (first undefeated conference season in league history), CCAA and NCAA West Regional championships, and an Elite Eight appearance. For this performance he was named the 2026 Clarence “Big House” Gaines National Coach of the Year, NABC Division II National Coach of the Year, and CCAA Coach of the Year.Rooney discussed the importance of playing "complementary basketball" where offensive and defensive efforts support each other, and shared how they tracked metrics like corner touches and transition grading to monitor player development. He also explained how his coaching staff operated with defined roles, allowing Rooney to focus more on leadership rather than specific tactical decisions. The coach emphasized the program's focus on "transformative" player development and role clarity, noting that players were encouraged to understand their interconnected responsibilities rather than individual statistics.

Our Summer in the Cities tour rolls into Detroit, where factory smoke hangs over freeways, muscle cars idle outside strip‑mall studios, and the music feels as combustible as the city's history. Don and Dude drop the needle on two albums that channel Detroit's battle‑rap ferocity, auto‑plant grind, and dive‑bar chaos into raw, world‑shaking sound.The AlbumsEminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)Eminem turns his Detroit battle‑rap roots into a major‑label pressure cooker, a dense, confrontational set about fame, family, and the fallout of turning dark humor into pop spectacle. Short skits, horror‑movie beats, and shifting personas blur the line between Marshall, Eminem, and Slim Shady, as he wrestles with celebrity, censorship, and his own worst impulses in rooms that feel as cramped and tense as a late‑night studio booth off 8 Mile.The Stooges – Raw Power (1973)Raw Power captures the Stooges as Detroit street‑corner nihilism collides with glam‑era flash, all squalling guitars, blown‑out mixes, and Iggy Pop yowling like a man trying to tear down the stage with his bare hands. Produced in London but rooted in Midwestern decay, the record plays like a barely controlled club gig where riffs, feedback, and self‑destruction fuse into the blueprint for punk, grunge, and every noisy band that ever tried to sound as dangerous as a burned‑out block at 3 a.m.Diggin' AlbumsJohnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight (2026)Groove‑centered, genre‑blurring rock from Sturgill Simpson's alter‑ego project, fusing country, funk, disco, and psychedelic textures into a loose late‑night concept about tension, release, and bodies in motion under flickering bar‑room lights.Green Day – Dookie (1994)Punchy, hyper‑melodic pop‑punk where slacker anxiety, boredom, and relationship drama collide with chain‑smoked hooks and fast‑paced riffs, turning East Bay misfit energy into a generation‑defining alt‑rock sugar rush.Midland – Stages (2026)Modern honky‑tonk from a Texas trio steeped in 70s bar‑room twang, trading in steel‑guitar shimmer, road‑worn harmonies, and bittersweet odes to small‑town bars, busted romances, and long nights chasing neon‑lit memories.Interpol – This Mirror Weighs a Ton (2026)Moody, late‑period New York indie rock where interlocking guitars, woodwinds, and layered harmonies float through shadowy, skyscraper‑lit arrangements, stretching their sleek, brooding sound into more spacious, slow‑burning territory.Follow & SupportFollow the show on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky @albumnerds, and support the podcast by subscribing, rating, reviewing, and sharing it with another music obsessive who still loves hearing whole albums front to back.“Detroit isn't just a national treasure. It IS America.” – Anthony Bourdain

DJ Jesse Luscious tells stories of his time in the East Bay Punk Scene with Neurosis, AFI, Filth, Monsula, Jack Acid, Black Fork, Pinhead Gunpowder, Blatz, Fuel, Grimple, Downfall, Rancid, Dead And Gone, Special Forces, and Operation Ivy. He digs into 2 new reissues from Damaged Goods Records- Thee Headcoatees & King Salami and the Cumberland 3- and new releases from Seven Crowns, Damage Control, & Taxi Girls. He spins classics from Dillinger Four, Warlock Pinchers, Amyl & The Sniffers, Verbal Assault, & The Clash, and reveals the Luscious Listener's Choice!  Seven Crowns- Haunted Head Verbal Assault- Trial Damage Control- Obstacles (w/ Leaether Strap) Warlock Pinchers- We Got The Beast (edit) Thee Headcoatees- Dirty Old Man King Salami And The Cumberland Three- The Pulpo Dance Cryptkeeper Five- Just Junk Dillinger Four- Maximum Piss & Vinegar Taxi Girls- Say It!  Amyl And The Sniffers- Maggot Filth- Scarred For Life (edit) Blatz- Berkeley Is My Baby (And I Want To Kill It) (edit) Monsula- Razors Fuel- The Name Is… (edit) Pinhead Gunpowder- Freedom Is Pinhead Gunpowder- Losers Of The Year Downfall- North Berkeley Operation Ivy- Sound System (edit) Special Forces- Make The Leaders Fight Jack Acid- GBH Black Fork- Who Put The Narc In Anarchy Black Fork- Let's Shoot Maria (Deadbeats Cover) AFI- High School Football Hero Rancid- Union Blood Grimple- Vivisick (edit) Dead And Gone- Wires Neurosis- The Choice Clash- Revolution Rock

Few politicians have left a bigger mark on the East Bay than Don Perata. In a candid and often hilarious conversation, the former State Senate President Pro Tem, assemblymember, Alameda County supervisor, and almost-Oakland mayor reflects on a career that helped shape California politics for more than four decades. Perata discusses how Sacramento has changed—and why he believes the Legislature is worse off today than when he led the Senate. He shares his perspective on the FBI corruption investigation surrounding former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, explains being flummoxed about how to fix Oakland, and revisits the triumphs, feuds, and colorful characters that defined his long political career. Along the way, Perata offers stories only an insider could tell, mixing sharp political observations with the self-effacing humor and blunt honesty that made him one of the East Bay's most influential—and controversial—figures.

Six gay men were stabbed to death near San Francisco's Ocean Beach in the mid-1970s, and the detective working the case today believes their killer is still alive in the East Bay.SOURCES, LINKS, AND PRINT VERSION: https://weirddarkness.com/doodler-sfLook for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.

The Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in 2021, after the hasty conclusion to a 20 year U.S. occupation. Since then, music has been officially banned in the country. Musicians are driven underground, instruments are destroyed, and recordings are contraband.Here in the East Bay, one Afghan-American is working hard to preserve what he can. He's digitizing tapes he's sourced from back home and posting them in an online database he started calling the Afghan Cassette Archive. But getting those tapes out of Afghanistan is not as simple as an online order… It's an illegal, expensive, and dangerous odyssey.Reporter Christopher Alam met up with Omid J, aka OMJVinyls, at his Oakland studio to check out his rare collection.

How Shameem Shah Is Helping Businesses Win With Agentic AI | XpentorShameem Shah | Founder & Tech Advisor, Xpentor (Bud Lake, NJ)LinkedIn: Xpentor (search E-X-P-E-N-T-O-R)Website: www.xpentor.comConnect & Inquire: via LinkedIn or the Xpentor website"AI is just refrigeration for us. Now, are you going to create your own Coca-Cola?" — Shameem ShahWhat separates a real, scalable AI build from something you slapped together on a no-code tool? On this episode of Diversified Game, Kellen Coleman sits down with Shameem Shah, founder of Xpentor, a software and technology consulting firm out of New Jersey serving insurance, higher education, NGOs, and government since 2008.Shameem breaks down the shift from generative AI to agentic AI, why most no-code builds fail to scale without the right data model and architectural foundation, and how his team uses AI to crush compliance and speed-to-market in the insurance industry.We get into his internal tool Cognax, real use cases from medical colleges to underwriting, why an MVP at $2,000 to $5,000 beats a blind $100,000 commitment, and his big-picture take on where AI is taking all of us.No surface-level hype. Real architecture, real problems, real solutions.Learn the mindset and moves that lead to real results. Please visit my website to get more information: http://diversifiedgame.com/

Trevor talks to Prez Moy about being a multi instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and activist from the East Bay. They talk Trysten and Sayge, The Original Sinfluencer, and what it is like working at a church. Support Belief It Or Not Created by Trevor Poelman Produced and Edited by Jamie Carlisle Produced by Michael Mongiardi Art by Joel Jackson Music by Devon Hyland Special Thanks to The Sonar Network Visit https://www.beliefitornot.com/ Email enquiries to Trevor.Poelman@BeliefItOrNot.com Follow Belief It Or Not: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beliefitornot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beliefitornotpodcast/ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/beliefitornot.bsky.social TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@beliefitornot Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/beliefitornot Brought to you By: The Sonar Network https://thesonarnetwork.com/

There's a red flag fire warning in the East Bay. Our favorite homewrecker is atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Sarah helps Ariana Grande with a remix. MGK got sick from his massive tattoo undertaking. Matty is surprisingly optimistic about his personal life today. Legendary country musicians are lined up for Farm Aid. Bob is confused about The White Stripes. Vuvuzelas are banned from the World Cup. People keep stealing the MILF magnet from The Vagina Museum. Seven things you should never touch in a hotel room according to people who work there.

Hour 1: How can Supergirl have pierced ears when her skin is bullet proof? PSA: People are mean on the internet. The World Cup starts tomorrow, but nobody seems to care. Oakland's Crappy Childhood Fairy sues after a fine for practicing without a license. 1 in 10 people have missed a once in a lifetime moment because they were looking at their phone. Hour 2: We have life experience. Don't tell us we don't. A new TLC show reminds Vinnie of a few friends he had as a kid. Could you outlast the jungle? A little dose of Taylor Swift. The Marin County Fair is coming up, and Sarah's excited. An OnlyFans creator accidentally killed one of her clients. Judge Sarah is in the house to decide what the proper punishment should be. Plus, Iced tea season is upon us! Hour 3: New friendship hack: Get your colonoscopies together. Matt Damon tries out rapping. “Journalists” are harassing Nancy Guthrie's town. Some guy is claiming John Wick was stolen from him. Keanu Reeves is perfect. Let's Bridge The Gap! The weekly battle of the generations is BACK with two previous losers. Today, either Guru or Joe Spadoni will redeem themselves. The other... yikes. Hour 4: There's a red flag fire warning in the East Bay. Our favorite homewrecker is atop the Billboard Hot 100 this week. Sarah helps Ariana Grande with a remix. MGK got sick from his massive tattoo undertaking. Matty is surprisingly optimistic about his personal life today. Legendary country musicians are lined up for Farm Aid. Bob is confused about The White Stripes. Vuvuzelas are banned from the World Cup. People keep stealing the MILF magnet from The Vagina Museum. Seven things you should never touch in a hotel room according to people who work there.

The 1990s is considered by many to be the golden age of sneaker culture and there was one catalogue sneakerheads could not get enough of. The Eastbay Catalogue was a portal into an exclusive community no matter where you lived in the world. In this episode of History of the 90s host Kathy Kenzora talks to the founders of the mail order publication that is remembered as the sneakerhead bible.Guest info:Rick Gering and Art Juedes cowrote The Book of Eastbay with Brandon SneedShow info:Instagram: @that90spodcastEmail: 1995podcast@gmail.comSubstack: @historyofthe90s Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the Contacts Coaching podcast, host Justin Clymo welcomes back Cal State East Bay men's basketball coach Bryan Rooney to unpack the program's dramatic turnaround from 11–17 to an undefeated run until a loss in the Elite Eight, finishing at 33-1. Rooney credits player commitment, continuity, the team mantra “just get better,” and this season's theme “burn the boats,” emphasizing role definition, accountability, and dominating roles across both players and staff. He explains how relationships, habits, staying present, and not reinventing the wheel helped sustain success under pressure, shares moments showing player-led ownership and deep teammate care, and describes weekly one-on-one meetings as a nonnegotiable culture builder. Rooney also discusses empowering assistants, adapting tactically (including sending five to the boards), navigating recruiting and the transfer portal case-by-case, the importance of administrative alignment, and guarding culture by prioritizing character fit.00:00 Welcome Back Coach Rooney00:27 Quick Coaching Background01:16 From 11 Wins to Elite Eight02:33 Burn the Boats Mindset04:16 Pressure Proof Habits06:51 Team First Chemistry09:07 Family Moments and Loss11:30 Weekly Meetings and Trust13:53 Making Roles Matter17:24 Keeping the Fringe Ready20:27 Player Led Turning Points23:33 Empowering the Staff26:51 Trust and Effort Standards28:46 Staying Present in Success29:49 Next Game Focus30:20 Control The Controllables31:27 Transfer Portal Reality37:16 One Year Journeys40:20 Alignment And Innovation43:37 Turnaround Lessons47:24 Raising The Ceiling48:43 Protecting Culture50:16 Authentic Gratitude52:47 Closing Thoughts

In the novel, “The Curse of Hester Gardens” a Black mother lives in a Michigan housing project with her teen sons. She's raising them alone while her husband serves time in prison. Hester Gardens is haunted and cursed.. But not just by ghosts. Injustices like systemic oppression, poverty, and gun violence have also become monsters in the residents' lives. Tamika Thompson is the author of  “The Curse of Hester Gardens.” She is from Detroit and now lives in the East Bay. She talked with KALW's Jeneé Darden, host of the Sights and Sounds show. In this excerpt from their conversations, she reflects on how her personal experience witnessing gun violence growing up in Detroit inspired her book.

Today, an East Bay author channels the monsters of injustice into a new horror novel. Then, one bookstore owner is helping people connect and envision brighter futures.

Today for KPFA Radio's Women's Magazine, we  celebrate Pride month by talking about some of the films I recommend that are showing  at the   the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, hosted by Frameline.  Frameline  was founded in 1977 and is the longest-running, largest, and most widely recognized queer film exhibition in the world so this year marks 50 years of Frameline films.  The films run from June 17th thru June 27th and are shown in both SF and the East Bay. We talk to Allegra Madsen,  the director of SF Frameline.    And then Lisa Dettmer  talks to Cheri Gaulke about her new documentary “Acting Like Women” which looks at the Art, activism, and female-powered performance burst onto the scene in 1970s Los Angeles, forming a tight-knit and transformative creative community. Centered around the early days of the Woman's Building, these artists explored the body, gender, and identity — challenging the entrenched sexism of the art world while forging groundbreaking new modes of expression that would influence generations to come. We also  talk to Sasha Water, director of the new documentary Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World which  weaves Oliver's own words through rare archival materials and candid reflections from those who knew and admired her, including John Waters, Stephen Colbert, and Oprah Winfrey. From her formative years marked by hardship to her quiet life in Provincetown with her longtime partner, the film traces the journey of a poet who found salvation in attention — to nature, to language, and to love. Tender, contemplative, and deeply human, this documentary invites us not only to understand Mary Oliver's life, but to reflect on our own. Then we talk to two of the women behind the Queer Women of Color Film Festival,  managing director Kebo Drew and founding Executive/Artistic Director of QWOCMAP, Madeleine Lim. The QWOCFF features 49 films across seven curated screenings at San Francisco's historic Presidio Theatre. It includes  Filmmaker Q&As and  community celebrations among other events. Every screening is  fully accessible with open captions, audio description, and ASL interpretation. For 22 years, QWOCFF has been where LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers bring their work showing  films  from across continents and generations. The in person festival is June 12-14 at the Presidio Theatre, 99 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco.   And lastly Judith Masur  will remember lesbian feminist disability justice activist Jill Lessing who died last month at 83.    The post SF Frameline, QWOCMAP and remembering Jill Lessing appeared first on KPFA.

The votes are in, and the June Primary election results are already reshaping East Bay politics. This week, Steve Tavares, Trishala Vinnakota, and Justin Berton break down the surprising defeat of Oakland's Measure E parcel tax, the outcomes of revenue measures in Hayward and Castro Valley, and what the results could mean for future tax and bond proposals across Alameda County. In congressional politics, Aisha Wahab emerged as the clear frontrunner in the crowded 14th Congressional District race. We also analyzes Scott Sakakihara's strong performance in the 10th State Senate District contest, the latest developments in the Alameda County District Attorney race between Ursula Jones Dickson and Pamela Price, and what California voters signaled in the governor's race. Plus, what these results reveal about the political mood of East Bay voters heading into November—and an introduction to the newest member of the East Bay Insiders team.

Special thanks to Triangle for sponsoring this episode. Triangle's founder, Matt, is offering a complimentary one-hour strategy session for founders seeking to grow their personal brand. I can't recommend this service enough, and get in quick as there are only three remaining slots available this month! Get in touch at matt@mattswain.com or book directly at https://www.triangle-branding.com/book-a-call What if the blueprint for building a multi-million dollar business from scratch was sitting right in front of you? In this episode of World's Greatest Business Thinkers, host Nick Hague speaks with Art Juedes and Rick Gering, co-founders of Eastbay,  about how a chance meeting at a Wisconsin 10K race led to the creation of Eastbay, one of the most influential mail-order athletic retailers in history. Starting with just 108 pairs of running shoes, they built a multi-million-dollar business by focusing relentlessly on direct customer access, operational excellence, and fast adaptation to customer behavior.  The conversation explores how Eastbay survived supplier crises, built loyalty through community rather than marketing, and maintained a 40-year partnership grounded in trust and compromise. It's a masterclass in customer obsession, entrepreneurial resilience, and building enduring competitive advantage without massive capital.  What You Will Learn: How to build a competitive advantage through radical customer focus Why operational excellence becomes your moat when you lack capital The pivot principle: Let your customers redesign your business model:  How to navigate supplier relationships when you're undercapitalized Why trust and compromise are the non-negotiable foundations of long-term partnerships The framework for decision-making under uncertainty   If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions for doing this are here.   About Guest: Rick Gering and Art Juedes are co-founders of East Bay, the pioneering mail-order athletic footwear retailer that revolutionized direct-to-consumer sports retail. Born two days apart in June 1952 in Warsaw, Wisconsin, these lifelong runners transformed their passion for athletics and customer service into a business empire that grew from a basement operation to a $35+ million enterprise before their 1997 sale to Foot Locker. Their expertise spans supply chain innovation, brand building in competitive markets, and creating loyal communities through exceptional customer experience, lessons forged during the "sneaker wars" of the 1980s and 90s, when they secured exclusive partnerships with Nike, Reebok, and emerging brands like Under Armour.   Quotes: "We were at our wits' end trying to figure out how we would get product, how we would get shoes because we had no money. There were three of us who originally were going to go into it, and I had called Art to maybe be the fourth because he was the one who would have made it work. It was a number of chances all put together, by people who didn't really know what the end game was going to be." - Rick "Our first sale became our second business plan. Once the kids tried the shoes on, they weren't giving them up; they were selling right there. The kids couldn't wait to get the shoes so much that they loved them, so we realized that our idea to take orders and send shoes later was out the door." - Art "There weren't a lot of other distractions, so we really could focus on the athlete and our customer, listen and learn, and figure out what makes what's important to them. In a larger town, there's so much more noise that even the athletes get distracted. The big thing that we did differently than any other retail store is go directly to the kids." - Rick "We decided to go all in on the Nike Air line. If that line didn't sell, we were toast. But it was a great seismic shift for East Bay because Jordan was a seismic shift in the shoe and footwear industry. Before that, everyone looked at athletic footwear as equipment, and after that, athletic footwear became part of your identity." - Art Keywords: Primary Keywords (Core Themes): East Bay running shoes, mail order business, sneaker entrepreneurship, direct-to-athlete business model, small town startup, customer-centric business strategy, athletic footwear industry, Nike Air Jordan partnership, business partnership success, mail order catalog strategy Secondary Keywords (Related Subtopics): inventory management startup, supplier relationships Nike Reebok, business pivots adaptation, catalog marketing strategy, mail order logistics, athletic retail innovation, team sports sales, sneaker culture history, vertical integration business, customer service excellence, competitive advantage small business   Episode Resources: The Book of Eastbay on Amazon World's Greatest Business Thinkers on Apple Podcasts World's Greatest Business Thinkers on Spotify World's Greatest Business Thinkers on YouTube

The June primary is finally here, and we're breaking down every major race shaping the East Bay and California politics. Steve Tavares is joined by special guests Rocky Fernandez, California Democratic Party Region 5 director, and former San Leandro Councilmember Lee Thomas for a wide-ranging preview of Election Day. The panel analyzes the wide-open race for governor, the battle to replace Eric Swalwell in the 14th Congressional District, the closely watched Alameda County DA race, key Superior Court contests and Oakland's Measure E parcel tax, which could have major implications for city services and public safety.

Is the Bay Area Actually Worth It? An Honest Answer From a 40-Year LocalEveryone online has an opinion about the Bay Area — "too expensive," "California taxes will destroy you," "traffic is unbearable." Most of those takes come from people who've never lived here, or who left and never came back. The reality is more nuanced, and if you're weighing a job offer from Google, Apple, NVIDIA, or Meta right now, you deserve a straight answer.Spencer Hsu is a top-producing Silicon Valley real estate agent and a 40-year Bay Area native who has helped hundreds of tech professionals relocate here. This isn't a sales pitch — it's an unfiltered, data-backed breakdown of every major concern people have before making the move, based on real transactions and real conversations with people who've been exactly where you are.

The Eastbay Founders Reveal How Sneaker Culture REALLY Started

On this episode of the Connecting Faith to Life podcast, Pastor Tommy and Pastor Trey interviewed Pastor Logan Catoe, lead Pastor of Northwood East Bay.

Steve Tavares and Trishala Vinnakota welcome back Justin Berton to break down the week in East Bay politics and why our mothers are so great. Happy Mother's Day! We recap the first-ever East Bay Insiders SD10 debate, including standout performances from Anne Kepner and David Cohen, sharp insights on housing and AI, and why Scott Sakakihara largely escaped scrutiny over his Palantir ties. Why is the open CA14 congressional race so boring? The inside story behind a last-minute canceled debate, while the panel also digs into the governor's race, Xavier Becerra's momentum, Matt Mahan and Katie Porter's struggles. And finally, we debate whether Oakland's new City Council majority is trying to change the city's anything-goes reputation after approving a $915,000 fine for illegally cutting down 38 trees, and is it a turning point?

A low-pressure first date in the East Bay turned into what Chris thought was a real connection. He says he and Danielle had that rare mix of playful chemistry and deeper conversation that made everything feel natural. So why did she ghost him afterward?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are companies that sell shoes. And then there are companies that shape the way an entire generation experiences them. Eastbay was the latter... and most people have no idea how improbable the whole thing was.Art Juedes and Rick Gering started Eastbay out of a store in Wausau, Wisconsin. Two coaches with 16 years of combined college education, zero business courses between them, and a vision that shoe stores in this country were failing athletes. No one specialized. No one had inventory. No one knew what they were talking about when you called. So Art and Rick decided they would be the ones who did.What followed was one of the most consequential stories in sneaker history... one that most of us lived through without ever knowing the people behind it.In this episode of Outside The Box, Nick sits down with Art and Rick to talk about the moment Nike pulled 40% of their business overnight because Eastbay was too successful at mail order, how Shaquille O'Neal showing up to a Nike meeting in all Eastbay gear helped get them the exclusive back, the tent sales in Wausau where Air Jordans moved out of a parking lot and lines stretched for half a mile, Kevin Plank pitching Under Armour to them before Under Armour was anything, and why they invested $100,000 in a digital camera in 1989 so they could produce a catalog every three weeks while Phil Knight was asking how they did it so fast.Nick's personal connection to Eastbay runs deep... four siblings fighting over one catalog until his mom finally ordered a fifth. He built the original Eastbay Blog for Sole Collector. And this conversation is, as he puts it, probably one of the most important sneaker history conversations he's ever had on any show.Art and Rick's new book, The Book of Eastbay, is available now at BookofEastBay.com. All profits go to the Little Warriors Foundation, a childhood cancer charity.More Sneaker Business Insights at TheSneakerNewsletter.com

There are companies that sell shoes. And then there are companies that shape the way an entire generation experiences them. Eastbay was the latter... and most people have no idea how improbable the whole thing was.Art Juedes and Rick Gering started Eastbay out of a store in Wausau, Wisconsin. Two coaches with 16 years of combined college education, zero business courses between them, and a vision that shoe stores in this country were failing athletes. No one specialized. No one had inventory. No one knew what they were talking about when you called. So Art and Rick decided they would be the ones who did.What followed was one of the most consequential stories in sneaker history... one that most of us lived through without ever knowing the people behind it.In this episode of Outside The Box, Nick sits down with Art and Rick to talk about the moment Nike pulled 40% of their business overnight because Eastbay was too successful at mail order, how Shaquille O'Neal showing up to a Nike meeting in all Eastbay gear helped get them the exclusive back, the tent sales in Wausau where Air Jordans moved out of a parking lot and lines stretched for half a mile, Kevin Plank pitching Under Armour to them before Under Armour was anything, and why they invested $100,000 in a digital camera in 1989 so they could produce a catalog every three weeks while Phil Knight was asking how they did it so fast.Nick's personal connection to Eastbay runs deep... four siblings fighting over one catalog until his mom finally ordered a fifth. He built the original Eastbay Blog for Sole Collector. And this conversation is, as he puts it, probably one of the most important sneaker history conversations he's ever had on any show.Art and Rick's new book, The Book of Eastbay, is available now at BookofEastBay.com. All profits go to the Little Warriors Foundation, a childhood cancer charity.More Sneaker Business Insights at TheSneakerNewsletter.com

Send us Fan MailLouisville goalie Hailey Richards joins the podcast to break down her journey from fifth-grade volunteer goalie in the East Bay to playing in the ACC. Hailey talks about training with Goldsmith Lacrosse growing up, working with Ted Glenn at Goalie Solutions throughout high school ("you're not human, you're a goalie"), and the mental game work she's done with Tim Cassie at Focus Lacrosse — including how saying "next play" with real confidence versus saying it half-heartedly completely changes the result.She gets into the recruiting advice she wishes she'd had (keep an open mind and prioritize multi-coach camps), the adjustments she had to make jumping into ACC speed as a freshman, and the rough first start against UNC that lit the fire under her. Hailey also shares the mantra her coach Daly and sports psychologist Lindsay Cash have her leaning on this season — "your eyes are the anchor" — and how she uses it to stay present when her mind starts drifting to the last shot or the next one.Plus: her 16-save double-OT performance against Ohio State, why little-Hailey check-ins help her get out of a slump, gear talk on the Gait setup with U's, and her final advice for goalies everywhere — have fun and trust yourself.Support the show

In a small, bunker-like laboratory in the East Bay hills, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin created some of the world's most powerful psychedelic drugs. Astonishingly, he didn't try to hide his activities. On the contrary, Sasha published instruction manuals on how to make his mind-expanding compounds, and his farm in Lafayette became a mecca for scientists, therapists, artists, and others who were drawn into his world of pharmacological experimentation. Along with his wife, Ann, Sasha was a pioneer who helped lay the groundwork for the therapeutic use and decriminalization of psychoactive drugs that is unfolding today. Although Sasha and Ann both passed away, their legacy is being carried on at the Shulgin Farm, which continues to be a space for psychedelic research, educational gatherings, and other activities. On May 2, the Shulgin Foundation will be launching “MDMA: From Molecule to Movement” at the Berkeley Alembic, an exhibit tracing the history of Shulgin's influence in synthesizing and spreading the drug now known widely as “molly.” This episode features interviews with Wendy Tucker, chair of the Shulgin Foundation, Paul Daley, co-founder of the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute, and Shulgin Foundation director Megan Bowers. Get comfortable, because we're going deep with this one! To see photos and links related to this episode, visit: https://eastbayyesterday.com/episodes/no-casual-experiments/ Don't forget to follow the East Bay Yesterday Substack for updates on events, boat tours, exhibits, and other local history news: https://eastbayyesterday.substack.com/ Donate to keep this show alive: www.patreon.com/c/eastbayyesterday

Recorded live at the East Bay Delta Waterfowl Chapter dinner, this episode features sponsors, local outfitters, and club leaders as they discuss fundraising, blind builds, and regional conservation efforts. Guests share hunting stories, highlight youth involvement, and celebrate the community spirit that supports habitat projects and future generations of waterfowlers.

Join us as Pandora and Chesed share their explorations in polyamory, dating, kink, play parties and so much more. They've been sex friends since 2023, and like to use the term “otter partners” to describe their playful, cuddly connection. Throughout our conversation it's clear how adventurous they both are and how they seamlessly weave the kinky and sexy side of things into their everyday lives. Since 2025, Pandora and Chesed have been collaborators at SlutStack, a blog and podcast for overthinking sex and relationships (and sharing stories of wholesome degeneracy). They also co-organized the first SlutCon in 2025 with Aella. SlutCon is a multi-day sexuality education conference and celebration of SlutHood. Pandora (aka Dr. Bimbo) is a Berkeley-based blogger with about a decade of ethical non-monogamy experience. She writes at SlutStack about sex, kink, dating, and polyamory. After completing her PhD in engineering, she left academia to try out life as a full-time slut. Lately, she had been enjoying leaning into kitchen table polyamory, including navigating life in a group house with her boyfriends. Chesed (aka little otter) is an East Bay-based writer and collaborator at SlutStack. She also has a day job in healthcare, and will be raising her first kid by the time this episode airs. Chesed is best described as "surprisingly agentic for a sex doll." She is married, and she and her husband live with two other ethically non-monogamous couples. She is one of the most poly “not poly” people you'll meet. Check out the full show notes here. Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! $10 Off - Online STI Testing

If you grew up flipping through the Eastbay catalog, this one's for you.Mike sits down with Art and Rick, the two men behind one of the most beloved institutions in sneaker and athletic culture. Born two days apart in the same hospital, lifelong friends, and eventual business partners... their story is one of those rare ones that almost sounds made up. They break down how a simple idea rooted in getting the best athletic footwear to young athletes turned into a cultural phenomenon that shaped how a generation discovered sneakers. They also talk about their new book, The Book of Eastbay, which chronicles the whole journey... and yes, the proceeds go to childhood cancer research through the Little Water Foundation. Check out the book and read the prologue at bookofeastbay.com.Order from Bookshop.org to support your local book store of choice: https://bookshop.org/a/122044/9798892790697Subscribe the newsletter: https://www.thesneakernewsletter.com/SUPPORT THE SHOW:Donate Through Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/sneakerhistoryBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/nickengvallEarly Access, Exclusive Videos, and Content On Patreon: https://patreon.com/sneakerhistoryIf you are interested in advertising to our audience, contact us: podcast@sneakerhistory.comCHECK OUT OUR OTHER SHOWS:For the Formula 1 Fans - Exhaust Notes: https://exhaustnotes.fmFor the Fitted Hat Fans - Crown and Stitch: https://crownandstitch.comFor the Cars & Sneakers Fans - Cars & Kicks: https://carsxkicks.comFor the Creators & Creatives - Outside The Box: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/outside-the-box-convos-with-creators/id1050172106[Links contain affiliate links; we may receive a small commission if you purchase after clicking a link. A great way to support the pod!]—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––—––––Our podcast is proudly...Recorded on Riverside: http://www.riverside.fm/?via=sneakerhistoryHosted & Distributed By Captivate: https://bit.ly/3j2muPbGET IN TOUCH:Robbie - robbie@sneakerhistory.comMike - mike@sneakerhistory.comRohit - rohit@sneakerhistory.comNick - nick@sneakerhistory.comDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

Abbie is joined by adolescent medicine specialist Dr. Lauren Hartman to talk about what it really means to care for kids in a culture obsessed with shrinking them.They explore the rise in eating disorders among younger children, the sneaky evolution of diet culture into “wellness,” and the complicated, high-stakes reality of GLP-1 medications in adolescence. At its heart, this conversation is about protecting kids from shame — and helping parents trust their instincts.In this episode, we discuss:* What adolescent medicine actually is — and why ages 10–25 (and even younger) require specialized, developmentally informed care* The moment that shifted Lauren away from weight-centric medicine* Why disordered eating is on the rise in young kids* How diet culture has become more insidious under the branding of “health,” “wellness,” and “longevity”* Early red flags parents can look for* The impact of social media on both girls and boys — from protein obsession to muscle dysmorphia* What happens when doctors dismiss parental concerns because a child's BMI is “normal”* A nuanced conversation about GLP-1 medications in adolescents* How to repair harm — whether you're a parent, provider, or educatorThis is a conversation about growth — literal and emotional. About letting kids develop in bodies that are allowed to change. And about building systems of care that prioritize safety over stigma.Dr. Hartman's book: https://www.aspengroveayam.com/copy-of-presentations-publicationsDr. Hartman is double board certified in Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrics. She is known for her patient-centered approach, and has dedicated her career to supporting teens, young adults, and their loved ones as they navigate adolescence.  She aims to focus on the strengths in every patient and nurture a sense of hope to help support them to live their most fulfilling and healthy lives.  She has held numerous leadership positions, including the chair of adolescent medicine at Kaiser Permanente for Northern California, the director of the pediatric eating disorder program in the East Bay, and served as the West Coast Medical Director at Equip.  She also helped create programs and held leadership positions in multidisciplinary programs for gender expansive youth and pediatric autonomic disorders.With more than a decade of dedicated practice, she has honed her skills in the specialized field of adolescent medicine, particularly in the realm of eating disorders in the hospital, outpatient and virtual settings. Support the show: Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribeApply for Abbie's Group Membership:Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group Social media:Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcastFind Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellnessPodcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroyPodcast Editing by Brian WaltersThis podcast is ad-free and support comes from your support on Substack. Subscribe HERE. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe