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Dr. Jenn Capps is the President of Cabrillo College. Jenn became President at Cabrillo College in January 2026 and has been on the job for 8 months.  Jenn grew up in the Washington D.C. area, after earning a number of college degrees including her PhD in Counselor education. She has served in a variety of roles in colleges and universities including instructor, professor, dean and provost – mostly in Colorado, then at Cal Poly Humboldt until she became president at Cabrillo. In addition to her academic credentials, Jenn is an out member of the LGBTQ+ community. Listen in to learn more abo...

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When Barbara Winslow moved to Seattle with her husband in the late 60s, she was already a radical feminist. But when she joined up with other women in the struggle for their basic rights, she became an effective activist. In this conversation, we explore Barbara’s work, the importance of thinking local when fighting for civil rights, and her advice for the new generation fighting the same old battles we thought we’d won.

Visit BABBLERY.com for more information, transcript, and links.

About The Babblery:

The B...

When you think of the 1980s, you might picture fun pop music, Day-Glo sweatshirts, and a carefree era. What you may not realize is how close the United States and the Soviet Union came to a full-blown nuclear war.

Written and directed by Michael Russell Gunn, Brink of War takes us back to 1986 at the nuclear arms summit in Iceland. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev meet to discuss reducing nuclear weapons on both sides. The film offers a compelling look at how each leader views the other country’s political systems. Reagan sees the So...

Who are the Deny-o-sours and Solutionaries?

 “Be Bold America!” Airs August 21, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)

It’s 2026, just a little over halfway through Donald-the-Deny-o-sour’s second term and the world is seemingly on fire.

As if record heat waves, fires, and floods on multiple continents aren’t bad enough … the regular rollbacks the Trump administration is boldly (and not the good kind) making, would be comical were it not so serious!

And as if pouring kerosene on the fire isn’t bad enough, Deny-o-sours are gaslighting everyone they can by calling the Solutionaries a...

Our Operations Assistant, Casey Sustaita-Paz, ventured out to Monterey for Car Week last weekend. Not only to spot some beautiful, rare cars, but also to connect with and get to know people in the local Car Community. On the ground, Casey captured some of the sights, sounds, and conversations that make Monterey Car Week such a unique experience. He found that Car Week is about much more than the cars—it’s about the people, stories, and connections that bring the community together.

Plutonium Pit Production–The Risks and Costs of US Plans to Build New Nuclear Weapons with Dr. Dylan K. Spaulding of the Union of Concerned Scientists

On Sustainability Now!  Sunday, August 16th, 2026, 5-6 PM on KSQD

The United States is planning a $1.7 trillion overhaul of its entire nuclear arsenal, designing new warheads and investing in new bombers, missiles, and submarines to carry them, all in the name of “modernization.”  It’s not that the current generations of platforms and warheads won’t work; it’s more that Admirals, Generals and Presidents don’t trust devices that were deployed when th...

Angelica Glass who lives in Santa Cruz, California, just published her book entitled, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.” in which she shares her journey about walking every street in Santa Cruz County between 2013 and 2020. In the opening chapter, she shared how she met her wife Ellen at the age of 37 and were among the first same sex couples in Santa Cruz County to become legally married in 2008. Together, they have raised two sons. 

In a recent Santa Cruz Sentinel article, she talked about her book:  “We all tell ourselves stories about who we are, and we don’t al...

Miss You, Love You, written and directed by comedian Jim Rash, takes a long and winding road to examine grief and loss in cathartic and surprising ways. Nominated for Outstanding Television Movie for the 2026 Emmy Awards, this film follows Diane Patterson, a widow preparing for the funeral of her second husband, and Jamie Simms, the personal assistant of Diane’s son. Actors Alison Janney and Andrew Rannells deliver powerful depictions of an unlikely pairing longing for connection. Dealing with the disappointment of her son not showing up for the funeral, Diane strings Jamie along to assist her in funeral pr...

Steve Pleich expresses how housing is a human right. Photo courtesy of Kindel Media.

Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened this month and is on track to break box-office records while entertaining summer moviegoers with a solid storyline, relatable subplots, and a more “true to his roots” Peter Parker than the 2021 predecessor, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes us on a visual and emotional ride. Albeit about 20 minutes too long, clocking in at 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, thrills in the opening cityscape scenes as he fights...

Who is the Man Behind the Curtain? It’s Russell Vought!

Be Bold America!

August 7, 2026

“We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. … When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because  they are increasingly viewed as the villains.” – Russell Vought, Director, US Office of Management and Budget

Public service was viewed as an honorable profession. In 1986, Ronald Reagan uttered words that were designed to divide The People from their Government. Those words were:

“The nine most terrifying...

Barry Eichengreen is George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1997-98 he was Senior Policy Advisor at the International Monetary Fund. He graduated from UCSC in 1974. Professor Eichengreen has been awarded numerous honors and awards all over the globe. He is probably the world’s most respected expert in financial crises, monetary systems, and economic history, especially the global role of currencies, central banking, and the political economy of globalization. For over 20 years, he is a regular monthly columnist for Project Sy...

Rainbow Connections is a $7.8 million Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Innovations Project led by Monterey County Behavioral Health. The initiative aims to strengthen the links between youth-serving systems and community-based organizations, creating “human bridges” that foster environments of support, inclusion, and belonging for LGBTQIA+ youth across home, school, and community settings. Join the show to hear about how this grant is supporting LGBTQ+ youth across Monterey County.  Kacey Rodenbush is the director of the grant and Sam Gomez is the Deputy Director of Epicenter that is a partner in the grant. Epicenter is based in Salinas and empowers young peopl...

Trump’s War on California’s Environment

with

on Sustainability Now! Sunday, August 2nd, 2026

 The Trump Administration has declared war on California and is hell-bent on eliminating any and all of the state’s environmental protections. As part of its “drill baby, drill” strategy, it is moving to open the California Coast to oil drilling and to increase exploration and extraction on BLM lands across the state.  And not wanting to stay out of the action, the Supreme Court recently ruled that the makers of the herbicide Roundup do no...

Episode 93: Why do so many devoted mothers feel like they are falling short? In this episode of State of Mind, host Debra Sloss explores the emotional pressure mothers face when real parenting collides with idealized images of what motherhood is supposed to be.

Psychotherapist and author Jessica Tomich Sorci joins the conversation to share an Internal Family Systems perspective on maternal mental health. Through her “Mom Parts Method.” Jessica helps mothers understand the inner voices and reactions that can emerge in parenting — including self-criticism, anxiety, anger, guilt, resentment, and grief — as parts that are trying to protect or commun...

When you hear the name George Washington, you probably picture the brave general crossing the Delaware or commanding the nation as its first president.  The film, Young Washington instead focuses on the experiences that shaped him into the leader history remembers. Directed and co-written by Jon Erwin, along with Deiderik Hoogstraten and Tom Provost, Young Washington explores the formative events that defined Washington’s character.

In 1743, at just eleven years old, he loses his father to a sudden illness. His mother, played by Mary-Louise Parker, tells him he is now the man of the house. His older half...

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Artist, author, educator—Enid Baxter Ryce is on a roll. She's changed her careers on both sides: In her creative work, she is now publishing books rather than working with museums. As an educator, she is using her experience teaching students of all ages to train teachers on how to get students off their screens and back into the natural world.

These changes have been heralded by a sudden-seeming blossoming of publishing activity on her part, beautifully illustrated books that explore the natural and spiritual worlds. But in this...

Remarkably Bright Creatures, directed by Olivia Newman, breathes life into a story about grief, hope, and the philosophical musings of an octopus. Adapting from the novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt, this heartwarming film delivers both laughter and tears, but unfortunately falls short with uneven pacing and the predictability of its plot.

Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus voiced by Alfred Molina, is a resident of the aquarium in Sowell Bay, Washington. Through his narration, we learn of his high intelligence and attitude toward humans, which is generally unfavorable, except to the cleaning lady of...

The 2026 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music takes place in downtown Santa Cruz from July 26 to August 9. The theme this year is “We the Dreamers” and features four world premiere Festival Commissions, eight West Coast premieres, and two U.S. premieres, brought to life by a dynamic global roster of over 20 composers and an extraordinary array of guest artists. 

“We the Dreamers is both an invitation and a responsibility…and we are asking how music can help imagine a more expansive ‘we’” says Music Director Cristian Măcelaru. 

Two queer composers who will be featured are Elena Kats-Cherin...

Relationships are the center of most of our lives, and marriage infiltrates and shapes our identity so fundamentally we can either get lost altogether or blossom in a unique, commingled unfolding. In The Invite Olivia Wilde’s third feature film, a weary suburban couple in their mid-40s, played by Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen, have a comedically explosive encounter with their slightly older, aggressively bohemian neighbors, played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, whose boisterous eroticism has penetrated the walls and their psyches, stirring their irritation and fascination.

Angela and Joe, Wilde and Rogan’s chara...

The Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network With Dylan Skybrook, Network Manager

On Sustainability Now! Sunday, July 19th from 5-6 PM

The Santa Cruz Mountains cover more than 1,000 square miles of the Central California Coast, running from just south of San Francisco all the way down to the Salinas Valley.  The region has been actively stewarded for thousands of years by indigenous people and is a place of significant cultural, biological, and environmental diversity which supports many native plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth.  Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for a conversation about the mou...

Jason Dove Mark is the author, most recently, of The Earth Said Remember Me: How to Revive Our Memories and Restore the Planet. He has served as editor-in-chief of Sierra magazine and editor of Earth Island Journal. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Atlantic. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

The midway break in the interview includes an excerpt of the song “If a Tree Falls”, written and performed by Bruce Cockburn, from his 2009 release Slice O’ Life.

June is Pride Month and many Pride events have occurred across the state and nation. One of the final prides of the month is Monterey Peninsula Pride that took place on the last Saturday of June.  Hear from Monterey Pride Vice Chair Nick Zafritos and Grand Marshal David Reichard talk about the parade and festival and many events of Monterey Peninsula Pride.  

Just when you think a movie has already topped itself, think again. While many believed Toy Story 4 was the final farewell to Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang, Toy Story 5 proves there was one more story worth telling.

Written and directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris, Toy Story 5 explores the growing impact of technology on childhood play. Featuring the familiar voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack, the film follows Bonnie, who inherited Andy’s beloved toys. Although she loves using her imagination, she struggles to make friends. When her parents buy her a Lily...

Parades and parties had a strong showing across the nation this July 4. Some endured sweltering heat and humidity, but in Aptos, K-Squid enjoyed the fog, and the crowds, and hooped it up with the rest of the community for American’s 250 anniversary while Squid on the Street Suki Wessling swam through the happy attendees and captured our “time capsule” recording.

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Our thanks to the fabulous folks who made it shine: Gary Shapiro and his lady love, Robynn Smith, for supplying, and driving, their wonderfully vintage Ford F-150; Robynn and her friend Diane who created a giant...

Every Voter Deserves a Voice That Matters!

“Be Bold America!” Live Interview*

Friday, July 3, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)

Times have changed! 45% of today’s voters identify as political independents. They are rejecting rigid opinions. Now, there is a non-partisan reform organization who are advancing fair participation for independent-minded voters.

The Independent Voter Project (IVP) is focused on three reforms:

• Open primaries for every voter! Over 26 million Americans are locked out of primary elections simply because they refuse to join a political party. The independent Voter Project is leading the fight...

The San Francisco Bay Area—An Environmental History With David D. Schmidt  On Sustainability Now!  Sunday, July 5th, from 5-6 PM on KSQD

Over the past four centuries, the transformation of the Greater San Francisco Bay Region has been extraordinary.  What was once a near paradise for a few hundred thousand indigenous First Peoples is now home to nearly 8 million whose accumulated activities since the arrival of Europeans have created an industrialized landscape interspersed with large areas of open space where nature is in recovery. How did this happen? Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for a conversation with David D. Schmi...

Episode 92: Traumatic brain injuries, often called TBIs, can happen in an instant — through a fall, car or bike accident, assault, sports injury, or everyday mishap — yet their effects often unfold over weeks, months, or even years. This episode of State of Mind explores how brain injury can affect mental health, identity, relationships, and daily life.

Host Debra Sloss speaks with JoAnne Jones, author of Headstrong: Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury, about the severe brain injury she sustained after a violent assault at age 62. JoAnne shares her experience of surviving, adapting, and finding meaning after a life-changing trauma with l...

The Pride 2026 parade took place on Sunday, June 7 with more than 70 contingents and more than 3000 spectators along the parade route in downtown Santa Cruz. There were three announcer stands where each contingent was announced along the route.  One of the highlights was the NorCal Pride Band that made their first appearance – a band composed of musicians from schools across Santa Cruz County.  We welcomed Santa Cruz High School band director Christy Latham and Drum Major Joaquin Fitzsimmons to the show.

Disclosure Day Film Review By Molly Sullivan

Disclosure Day, the anticipated new film from director Steven Spielberg, is layered with themes and hidden meanings throughout this thought-provoking alien drama. Starring Emily Blunt, John O’Connor, and Colin Firth, the film explores the idea that extraterrestrials have been known to the U.S. government for decades—and that the time has finally come to reveal the truth. Emily Blunt stars as Margaret Fairchild, a local TV meteorologist hoping to land an anchor job in a larger market. She lives with her semi- supportive, if somewhat comedic, boyfriend, played by W...

With surrealist, colorful visuals and powerful, uplifting messaging, I Love Boosters is a breath of fresh air in a cinematic landscape relying on reboots and nostalgia. Written and directed by Boots Riley, which you might also know from his 2018 film Sorry to Bother You, this film centers on a ragtag group of boosters attempting to create a better reality for themselves and their community.

Set in Oakland, a group of friends that call themselves the Velvet Gang make a living by boosting, or stealing, all the high-end fashion items they can and selling them at a remarkable...

DJ Dupsie kicks off The Sunday Dinner 2nd Annual Summer Music Series with Being Black, Rocks! A celebration of Black artists who created, reshaped, and continue to influence the genre of Rock’n’Roll!

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Merle Hoffman opened one of America’s first legal abortion clinics in 1971—and she’s been fighting for our rights ever since. In this conversation, the founder of Choices Women’s Medical Center reflects on fifty-plus years on the front lines of the reproductive rights movement: what she’s learned, what she’s lost, and why she refuses to stop pushing that rock up the hill. Listen in as Merle Hoffman shares how she finds joy and purpose in the struggle.

Visit BABBLERY.com for more information, transcript, and links.

Ab...

 “The Global Crackdown on Free Expression”

In Honor of Project Censored’s 50th Anniversary

 “Be Bold America!” Airs June 19, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)

In this interview, on the global crackdown of free expression, Dr. Steve Macek from North Central College in Illinois will discuss his work to combat the growing attacks on free speech and academic freedom in the U.S. and around the world.

Over the past decade, free speech and academic freedom have faced a synchronized, global decline. This erosion is not limited to traditional autocracies; it has increasingly taken route within...

Secret Sounds of Ponds and Other Animal Music

with

On Sustainability Now!  Sunday, June 21st, 2026, from 5-6 PM on KSQD

Who knew that ponds make music?  To the eye and ears, they seem silent and tranquil—except at night when, maybe, choruses of frogs serenade listeners.  But ponds are much noisier than that: you have to be very quiet and have the right equipment to really hear what’s going on.  And there is a lot going on: both the critters and the plants speak out.  Indeed, nature is full o...

In this episode of Moment of Truth, host Meilin Obinata interviews James Weller about his journey into activism and community service. In the Santa Cruz area, people have heard his name in connection with a variety of causes, from public transportation to affordable housing development. But you might be surprised to learn about his involvement in COPA (Communities Organized in relational Power in Action) and the AFC (Association of Faith Communities) From his San Francisco roots, learning at the feet of Alan Watts, inspired by the organizing principles of Saul Alinsky, to being nurtured by the religious academic communities...

Backrooms, directed and co‑scored by YouTube phenom Kane Parsons, marks his feature debut—a science‑fiction psychological horror film arriving just in time for summer audiences.

The film opens with a framing device: scientists recover footage shot by their missing colleague, Naren Warne, who became separated from his team inside the Backrooms. The Async Research Institute had been exploring this vast extradimensional maze when he vanished. What they find on his camera sets the tone—endless rooms, outdated furniture, crooked doorframes, and the oppressive buzz of fluorescent lights. The environment resembles an abandoned call center, and it’s mor...

My guest for this podcast is Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, founder of Sunkissed Mozart, a organization that presents chamber music by world-class musicians, locally. She’s a world-class musician herself, a superb violinist.

This podcast features an interview with Cindy, and excepts from some of her chamber music performances.  ( This is part 1 of an hour long show; part 2 continues right where this one leaves off.  Part 2 can be found whereever you are accessing part 1. )

Cindy Wu enjoys a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Cindy has...

My guest for this podcast is Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, founder of Sunkissed Mozart, a organization that presents chamber music by world-class musicians, locally. She’s a world-class musician herself, a superb violinist.

This podcast features an interview with Cindy, and excepts from some of her chamber music performances.  ( This is part 2 of an hour long show.   Part 1 can be found whereever you are accessing part 2. )

Cindy Wu enjoys a career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Cindy has been featured as a soloist with top-tier orche...

Omar Dieguez and Adela Naranjo sit down with Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) Executive Director Consuelo Alba and filmmaker Brenda Avila-Hanna to discuss the profound impact of storytelling, community healing, and art as resistance. The conversation highlights how the festival grew from a passionate, grassroots volunteer effort in 2012 into a vital year-round nonprofit ecosystem that […]