Talk of the Bay KSQD - Latest News

On Tuesday’s Talk of the Bay, at 5PM, we take a deep dive into a local documentary which is making its way across the country and the world into film festivals. If you ever wondered what it’s like to call Santa Cruz your hometown, while you are homeless, then you won’t want to miss this […]

On Talk of the Bay at 5PM, March 2, 2026, host Meilin Obinata dives into the proposed California Billionaire Tax Act with Seema Kanani from the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers union and Kris Cuaresma-Primm who are supporting this voter initiative aimed at helping make up shortfalls caused by deep cuts to federal programs.    Obinata also […]

To kick off Women’s History Month, on March 6th a very special event returns to the Museum of Art and History in downtown Santa Cruz. It is called HERstory, and it celebrates the important women of Santa Cruz County—past, present, and future. The event features performances, special activities and, most importantly, talks from extraordinary women […]

In a victory in the indigenous landback movement. The Amah Mutsun Land Trust and Peninsula Open Space Trust have purchased the 2,284 acre Juristac property,(Formerly Sargeant Ranch),  preventing the building of a gravel pit mine, and returning the land to its original inhabitants. We hear from Amah Mutsun tribal chairman, Ed Ketchum about the history […]

Guest Tom Llewellyn grew up in the small rural enclave of Canyon, California, where sharing food, road work days, and fighting fires together as a community was common. Full disclosure, I also grew up there, but we didn’t cross paths until recently in Bonny Doon. Growing out of that belief in the collective wisdom of […]

Andrew Schoneberg was fortunate to meet and interview Dr. Elisa Lagana.  Dr. Lagana is a natural psychic, remote viewer and clairvoyant. For the past 15 years, she has worked professionally as a remote viewer, offering accurate, real-world insight to clients across the globe. Her work has contributed to the prediction of major world events outcomes […]

Joan Hammell is a board member with the Santa Cruz County SPCA. More than just a place to adopt or give up a beloved pet, the organization has broadened its mission to help humans and animals help each other in often profound ways.

Fraud and identity theft targeting immigrants are on the rise, according to Claudia Abasto Rivella of Latinan, a legal aid nonprofit serving three central coast counties, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey. Even Ms. Abasto Revilla, a lawyer, has had her identity stolen and used to extort people in North Carolina seeking green cards. She […]

  Consuelo Alba is the Executive Director & Co-Founder of the Watsonville Film Festival. Consuelo is a visionary arts leader harnessing the transformative power of film and culture to ignite social change in Santa Cruz County and beyond.  Under her leadership, the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) has grown from a grassroots collective into a nationally […]

David Hahklotubbe is a Death Doula and Gerontologist, as well as a motivational speaker.  Death Doulas serve people who are about to die, their families and loved ones.  Their goal is to provide counseling, wisdom, and peace of mind, as well as practical help for families and loved ones navigating the practical aspects of dealing […]

Host Meilin Obinata takes a deep dive with an environmental activist, professional musician and educator: Adam Scow. In this conversation, we learn about Adam’s musical life, his origin story, and what motivates him to engage in public service. He also provides some surprising lessons for activists about political life, plus advice and encouragement to those […]

The IRS funds a program, Project SCOUT, which offers free help with tax preparation and filing for low-income residents, including seniors and those on disability. In this interview we speak with two volunteers working with Project SCOUT during tax season, Mathilde Rand and Jan Shirchild about how listeners can get assistance in Santa Cruz and […]

Members of the Teamsters local 2010 labor union were out on strike all week in the freezing rain, pressing the CSUs to come back to then negotiating table. This interview with Anthony Cardinale, Union Representative for CSUMB explores the who, what, why and how of the strike.

On Monday’s Talk of the Bay, at 5pm, host Meilin Obinata welcomed two Salinas area activists to the show to discuss the role of money in Salinas politics: rapper and activist Cal Paradox, who recently released an album dedicated to Salinas politics called “Politics As Usual”, and president of LULAC (League of United Latin […]

  On Monday’s Talk of the Bay, at 5pm, host Meilin Obinata welcomes two Salinas area activists to the show to discuss the role of money in Salinas politics: rapper and activist Cal Paradox, who recently released an album dedicated to Salinas politics called “Politics As Usual”, and president of LULAC (League of United Latin […]

Arts Council For Monterey County is a non-profit, who’s goal is to make arts accessable to everyone in Monterey County.  Arts4MC connects local artists and arts groups with local communities and schools.  They fund music, theater, dance, and fine arts instuction in schools.  Arts4MC sponsors public art, such as murals and exhibitions, and provides grants […]

Professor Rebecca Braslau has served on the faculty at UC Santa Cruz since 1991, where she is a professor of chemistry. She has a BA from Reed College, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, and carried out postdoctoral studies with Bernd Giese at Universitat Basel, the oldest university in Switzerland. She […]

CEO of Santa Cruz County, Nicole Coburn describes SHIELD as an emergency preparedness project, but the emergency is not natural, it’s in the form of a raid by ICE similar to what we saw in Minneapolis. As the DHS expands the scope of its operations, injury, and even death have resulted. What are the protocols […]

Do you ever feel helpless to influence big events? Want to make a difference locally but don’t know where to start? Karen Delaney, the soon-to-be-retiring Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County has some ideas on how to plug in, tune in, and get to work volunteering for a cause you care […]

Saabira Chaudhuri is a London-based journalist and the author of Consumed – How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic. She frequently writes about sustainability, plastics, corporate strategy, environmental regulation and consumer culture. Her work has been published in outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Bloomberg, The New Scientist, The […]

Andrew Schoneberg interviewed David Bean about his extensive history in radio and the recording industry.  He shares interesting information about the history of local radio in the Monterey Bay, including KSQD, KUSP, and KAZU.

Host Chris Krohn welcomes Hector Marin to the airwaves for a deeper dive so we can get to know him beyond his role as the organizer of the “Save the Catalyst” campaign. Krohn and Marin discuss the City of Santa Cruz housing-related ballot measures B and C, as well as the sugar tax, Z. We […]

From a very early age, Parisa Karimi Molan dreamed of becoming a singer. Growing up in a musical family—her father was a singer and tar player—she was surrounded by melodies, even as she lived in Iran, where women are forbidden to sing publicly. Despite this, she studied music for nearly twenty years in secrecy […]

Who ever said awards shows are no place for politics? Former Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold made local history this past weekend when he took home a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album. The longtime local politician, who served on the board for 12 years, became the first Santa Cruz County supervisor to […]

Angel Garcia, our guest, is a spokesperson for Californians for Pesticide Reform which just filed a lawsuit against the state of California for dragging their feet on clarifying pesticide regulations. Here is their recent press release further explaining the reason for the suit. They claim the state’s approach to regulation is both confusing and dangerous, […]

My guest is Kischka Bluspiro organizer of the local Sunday Assembly Santa Cruz, which is a secular (non-religious) gathering that promotes community and inspiration. They gather monthly to listen to inspiring speakers, sing together, and get to know each other. They also have small groups based on specific interests (games, movie night, etc.), and they’ll […]

On today’s Talk of the Bay, we explore the role of recalls and censures in electoral politics. Host Meilin Obinata welcomes Raul Urena, former mayor of the border town, Calexico, who was elected into office with 70% of the vote but later the subject of a successful recall by the Republican Party which weaponized Urena’s […]

Spencer Critchley is an award-winning communication strategist and national media commentator with experience in journalism, digital media, public relations, advertising, and music. He’s the author of Patriots of Two Nations and host of the podcast Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good, and founder of Boots Road Group. He talks with me about the moment […]

Film maker Ana Blanco and biologist Natasha Benjamin team up for a film about saving the kelp forests and their link to local coastal economies. The local premiere of the film shows on February 6th at the surfshop, the Santa Cruz Boardroom on 41st Avenue and includes a discussion and action talk. Sequoias of the […]

Representative Jimmy Panetta held a press conference on Thursday, January 28th to affirm his opposition to passing a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security which oversees ICE. Ami Chen Mills and Nyanko Nyasu were there and have this report.

Talk of the Bay, host George Cadman discusses the history and the future of The Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz with her guests Alyssa Pullen owner of the Teahouse Spa, David Bean host of KSQD’s New Squid in Town music program and local music scene expert, and Hector Marin, organizer of the the Save the […]

On this Monday’s Talk of the Bay, your host Meilin Obinata invites you to learn about the latest fiery news regarding the Rail and Trail Project. Guests Lani Faulkner of Equity Transit and former candidate for District 1 County Supervisor, Stephanie Auld a disability and elderly rights transportation advocate and James Weller a land […]

Talk of the Bay host George Cadman spoke with Jess on January 20th about her Substack & social media videos, her activism, and what motivates her. They also spoke about using anger and grief as fuel for good. There are so many attacks on our democracy, our rights, and our bodies every day, that it […]

On Monday, January 21, thousands of marchers filled the streets of Santa Cruz to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Your Squid on the Street was there! Special thanks to Daymia Rousseau for their help editing.

There are some 5 million Iranians living in the United States. A large population live in the Monterey Bay and the Bay Area. On this program, we hear from activist/student Elnaz Sarbar, Data Scientist, Azadeh Sanjari, and Santa Cruz City Council member, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson about what they are hearing from family members. Since the government […]

Join host Omar Dieguez for a powerful conversation with Yanely Martinez, longtime Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS) organizer, Camila, a rising future leader in the movement, and Señor Torres, representing a family rooted in generations of activism fighting pesticide exposure in our communities. From Monterey County to Sacramento and the Pajaro Valley, this episode highlights […]

Nolan Higdon, profesessor of media studies at UCSC discusses the way the U.S. media is framing what is happening in Venezuela leading up to and after the kidnapping of President Maduro.

Ocean advocate, Dan Haifley discusses the intricacies and urgency of preventing oil drilling and mining off California’s coastline, as the Trump administration goes all in for “drill, baby drill” policies that would open the coastal waters to extractive industries. The deadline for comment is January 23rd. Comments can be submitted to the Federal Register by […]

Zaya Ralitza Benazzo was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. For as long as she can remember, she has been fascinated with exploring life’s big questions. She feels most at home in nature and, increasingly, within herself. Zaya is a producer and film director with engineering, environmental science, and film degrees. For many years, […]

Talk of the Bay’s George Cadman hosts a conversation on the controversy surrounding Flock Safety, and their cameras that appear to track more than just license-plates.  After revelations that the police have illegally shared data with ICE and other agencies, the Santa Cruz City Council will meet Tuesday, January 13th, to consider ending the contract […]