Episodes

  • What Makes a Burrito…a Burrito?

    What Makes a Burrito…a Burrito?
    May 10 2024
    When most people think of a burrito, the “mission-style” burrito probably comes to mind. Rice, beans, meat – and maybe guacamole or salsa – wrapped in a giant flour tortilla and served in foil. Popularized across the country by the Chipotle chain, the mission-style burrito has its roots in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. But just because it’s the most popular, is it the best? Los Angeles and San Diego each provide their own unique offerings and in a state as diverse as California, burritos are always evolving. We’ll revisit the legends around some popular burrito varieties, learn about your favorites and try to settle if there’s one style that deserves to be called California’s burrito. Guests: Bill Esparza, writer, Eater LA; author, "L.A. Mexicano: Recipes, People and Places" Cesar Hernandez, associate restaurant critic, San Francisco Chronicle Luke Winkie, staff writer, Slate
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    56 mins
  • Gary Shteyngart on a Lonely Week on the World’s Largest Cruise Ship

    Gary Shteyngart on a Lonely Week on the World’s Largest Cruise Ship
    May 10 2024
    Author and seasoned travel writer Gary Shteyngart had never been on a ship larger than the Staten Island Ferry before he embarked on the inaugural voyage of the “Icon of the Seas,” the world’s largest cruise ship. Proudly sporting a “Daddy’s Little Meatball” t-shirt that he hoped would be a conversation starter and aiming to make new friends, Shteyngart instead experienced loneliness and despair. He chronicles his experience in the Atlantic Magazine piece “Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever.” Shteyngart joins us to talk about this journey, his life as a travel writer and the vacations that can make you feel part of — or alienated from — the rest of the world. Guest: Gary Shteyngart, writer. His latest piece for the Atlantic is titled "Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever"; author, "Our Country Friends, "Little Failure: A Memoir," and "Super Sad True Love Story."
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    56 mins
  • Is Hollywood’s New ‘Magical, Colorblind Past’ a Good Thing?

    Is Hollywood’s New ‘Magical, Colorblind Past’ a Good Thing?
    May 9 2024
    Recent Hollywood films and TV shows have taken to presenting a “Magical Multiracial Past,” according to filmmaker Kabir Chibber in a recent New York Times Magazine article. It’s a past where “every race exists, cheerfully and seemingly as equals, in the same place at the same time. History becomes an emoji, its flesh tone changing as needed.” Some of the backlash to so-called colorblind casting has been outright racist. But some of the pushback has come from artists of color who feel uncomfortable with utopic depictions that erase the racism of past eras. As Chibber argues, “the problem, for viewers, isn’t wokeness run amok; it’s the incoherence of the world we are watching.” We’ll talk about the benefits and drawbacks of colorblind and color-conscious casting — and the uncomfortable truths it forces us to address. Guests: Kabir Chibber, writer and filmmaker Brandon David Wilson, writer; educator; filmmaker Maurice Emmanuel Parent, actor, director and professor of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, Tufts University
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    56 mins
  • House GOP Targets Berkeley Schools in Antisemitism Hearing

    House GOP Targets Berkeley Schools in Antisemitism Hearing
    May 9 2024
    Berkeley Unified School District superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel testified before Congress on Wednesday as part of hearings examining how K-12 school districts are handling anti-semitism in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. Republicans say the education leaders invited to testify – from Berkeley, New York City, and Montgomery County, Maryland – have failed to respond to antisemitic incidents in their schools. But Ford Morthel rejected allegations that antisemitism is “pervasive” in Berkeley, and said that the district is indeed addressing issues as they come up. We’ll discuss the hearings, the politics behind them, and how they fit into Republicans’ broader efforts to reform education in the U.S. Guests: Dana Goldstein, reporter covering education and families, New York Times Sara Hossaini, reporter, KQED Radio Bianca Quilantan, higher education reporter, Politico
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    56 mins
  • Illia Ponomarenko on Reporting From Ukraine’s Front Lines

    Illia Ponomarenko on Reporting From Ukraine’s Front Lines
    May 8 2024
    When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Illia Ponomarenko was a 29-year-old journalist for the newspaper he co-founded, The Kyiv Independent. His daily, on-the-ground reporting quickly captured an international audience: by 2023 the German media organization Der Spiegel called him “likely the best-known Ukrainian after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.” Ponomarenko’s new book, “I Will Show You How It Was,” provides a first-person account of the Battle of Kyiv and its impact on civilians. “Life during the Battle of Kyiv,” he writes, “was a bizarre mixture of inconceivable inspiration, unity, and pride—and at the same time, of dark grief and mourning.” We talk to Ponomarenko about what he’s witnessed over the past two years and his plea for America to “do the right thing.” Guest: Illia Ponomarenko, journalist and author, “I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv”; former defense and security reporter, The Kyiv Post; co-founder, The Kyiv Independent. He has covered the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict's beginning, as well as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022
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    56 mins
  • Lookout Santa Cruz Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Its Storm Coverage

    Lookout Santa Cruz Wins 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Its Storm Coverage
    May 8 2024
    The 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting was awarded to the staff of Lookout Santa Cruz on Monday. The prize committee praised the tiny, digital-only media outlet for its “detailed and nimble community-focused coverage” of the catastrophic flooding and mudslides last year that did great damage to the Santa Cruz area. We’ll talk to the staff about the media outlet, which was founded in 2020, its coverage, and the future of local journalism. Guests: Ken Doctor, CEO and founder, Lookout Santa Cruz. Doctor writes regularly for Harvard's Nieman Journalism Tamsin McMahon, managing editor, Lookout Santa Cruz Christopher Neely, correspondent, Lookout Santa Cruz
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    56 mins
  • Amor Towles on his New Short Story Collection 'Table for Two'

    Amor Towles on his New Short Story Collection 'Table for Two'
    May 7 2024
    Amor Towles says the title of his new book “Table for Two” arose from a subconscious conviction “that our lives can often change materially due to a single conversation.” And it’s the power of a conversation – or a chance encounter or a sudden decision – to force a personal or historical reckoning that animate the characters in his latest work, a collection of six stories and a novella set in in New York and Los Angeles. We talk to Towles, who’s also the bestselling author of “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “The Lincoln Highway,” about finding inspiration for his stories, how history informs his work and what it’s like to see his novels adapted for the screen. Guests: Amor Towles, author, "Table for Two." His other books include "The Lincoln Highway," "A Gentleman in Moscow" and "Rules of Civility."
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    56 mins
  • SFMOMA’s New Collaboration with Artists with Disabilities

    SFMOMA’s New Collaboration with Artists with Disabilities
    May 7 2024
    If you go to the SFMOMA right now, it’ll be hard to miss the massive, 32-foot wide mural depicting a utopian, fantastical and hopeful version of San Francisco. The mural is the opening to a historic exhibition, “The House that Art Built,” which showcases eleven artists with developmental disabilities who are associated with Oakland-based nonprofit Creative Growth. In addition to the exhibition, SFMOMA has also permanently acquired more than 100 works created by artists with developmental disabilities. We’ll talk about the stunning exhibition, the acquisition and the future for artists with disabilities in the Bay Area. Guests: Joseph Alef, artist, Creative Growth; Alef has a painting in the SFMOMA Susan Janow, artist, Creative Growth; Janow has a video piece in the SFMOMA; her work was previously acquired by the SFMOMA in 2018 William Scott, artist, Creative Growth; Scott has a mural in the SFMOMA; his work was previously acquired by the SFMOMA in 2017 Chris Bedford, director, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) Tom Di Maria, executive director, Creative Growth Art Center
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    56 mins