Rightnowish: Recent Episodes

KQED

Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.

Jewelry designer and brand creator of Wyphys, Chelsea Macalino-Calalay exudes fierceness, but also serenity. Rocking bleached brows that match her shag-mullet, a crystal blue gem on her canine tooth, delicate rings, and a thick gold chain, heart pendant choker, that was inherited from her auntie, Macalino-Calalay’s style is all encompassing. If her style and brand aesthetic was personified in a doll, it’d be more akin to Bratz then Barbie, because her custom jewelry pieces are about making statements, not meant to take the backseat to the wardrobe. Maintaining a relationship to the homeland is also a big part of Macalino-Calalay's craft and reflected in her Whyphys jewelry. Take her recent collection, Palengke, named after the wet markets in the Philippines. The beaded earrings and charm necklaces pay tribute to the ingredients and foods she’d see while visiting. One pair of dangly earrings is made up of peach quartz, a green glass bead, and dalmatian jasper to replicate the layered, multicolored rice cake snack sapin-sapin. Macalino-Calalay’s gold plated Wyphys jewelry is colorful, spunky, and perfectly suited for all the occasions -- stunting at the workplace, hanging with the homies, even hittin’ up the skateparks. Macalino-Calalay actually beta tests the durability of her bling by skating with it, because as she says, she makes accessories for the “sweaty girlies” and “active people” who don't sacrifice comfort for fashion. On this week’s episode of Rightnowish, Chelsea Macalino-Calalay talks about adornment with bling, the historical significance of gold for Pinoy folks, and how her Wyphy creations are a celebration of friendship, queerness and the hyphy state of mind.

The dahlia is San Francisco’s official flower and it’s also a favorite for the Excelsior raised floral designer, Jessica Alicia Cotrim. Her love for San Francisco and her neighborhood is on full display when you walk into her cozy shop, Beija Flor Flower Gallery. Between the hanging dried roses, there’s Muni inspired artwork and pieces flaunting the 415 area code. The register table is adorned with hella stickers promoting local businesses and creatives. Besides repping her San Francisco pride, Cotrim’s store honors her Brazilian and Salvadoran roots. When the words “beija” and “flor” are paired together in Brazilian Portuguese, it translates to hummingbird. Cotrim says the symbolism of the hummingbird in Salvadoran and other Latino cultures represents the spirits of loved ones that have passed on. In this way, her business Beija Flor honors her family’s lineage that shaped her craftsmanship and work ethic. When creating custom bouquets Cotrim seeks to match customers' energy and desires with flowers and she does that by tapping into her ancestral intuition to bring forth healing floral experiences. On this episode of Rightnowish, Jessica Alicia Cotrim talks to me about the ways flowers can promote wellness and how we can cultivate our intuition with the help of our flower friends.

When Sophia Mitty first started to sew, she was making it work from her bedroom. She’d place a wooden board on top of her bed as a makeshift table in order to cut out patterns. Nowadays, Mitty has her own work space to really spread out and create. Located in South San Francisco, her studio complete with heavy duty industrial sewing machines, affectionately dubbed “Sew City” (or “The Stu” for short) is a playground of color. In foggy frisco, where gray skies are plentiful, Mitty’s colorful hand-dyed and painted garments pop. Her line of denim jackets and utility pants for femmes offer classic and clean silhouettes with a funky twist. They come in shades like tangerine, cherry red, kiwi green, even earthy pigments like rust. Marbled patterns are options too. “I use clothing as therapy, as a way to set the mood of the day. It's the easiest way to change your everyday life or make some kind of difference.” On this episode of Rightnowish, clothing maker Sophia Mitty talks about stitching her pride for the 415, how color therapy influences her wardrobe, and why leaning into goofiness can help us dress for joy.

The Bay Area is home to enchanting ecosystems. For starters, we have sand dunes, golden grassland hills, redwood forests, and the pacific coast. Whenever I get a waft of the marine fog or the cool Bay breeze, I feel cleansed. Now imagine being able to take in that smell whenever or wherever you are. That’s precisely what the fragrance, Memoria, by Mauricio Garicia conjures. The perfumer’s fascination with fragrance began in his abuelita’s garden. In foggy South San Francisco, her small backyard was an oasis of potted plants and greenery growing off trellises. “I remember crushing the rosemary with my fingers and the pericón, the grandmother mint, and the jasmine,” reflects Mauricio Garica. “My grandmother really loved flowers, especially fragrant ones. I certainly inherited that love from her.” With this ancestral inheritance and a deep reverence for plants native to Mexico as well as ecology of the Bay Area, Garcia’s boutique perfume line, Herbcraft Perfumery, honors the sacredness of the natural world. It’s why he refers to his perfumes as eau d’esprit, or spirit waters. These spirit waters are intended as offerings — to anoint ones wrist or neck as well as for filling the air in ones living space, especially around altars, mirrors and candles. In this way, Garcia believes his fragrances help facilitate connection with the spirit world and ancestors. On this episode of Rightnowish, Mauricio Garcia poetically breaks down the science of why scent is tied to memory and how the ritual of adorning our bodies with fragrance can empower and enchant.

In a city that gives the cold shoulder to working class people and creative folks that aren't backed by trust funds or tech money, Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore opens their doors to those who still care about the artistic soul of San Francisco. It's a place where you can walk in and be greeted with a warm "Hey hermano, Hey prima, Hey familia," and strike up a conversation with the booksellers, fellow readers or local writers that frequent the Mission shop. It's a venue where folks can read to a supportive inter generational audience, a gallery space showcasing artists of color, a community sanctuary to just stop in and exhale a deep breath from the chaos of the city. It's a vibe that is tended to and nurtured by co-owner and poet Josiah Luis Alderete. Coming of age in San Francisco in the 90s, he became immersed in the vibrant literary scene bourgeoning in the Mission. "People say North Beach is the heart of a literary scene in San Pancho or in San Francisco, and I'd say, nah, man, it's the Mission," he muses. As bookstores and cafes from that era have shuttered in the neighborhood, Alderete is helping keep the Mission poetry scene alive through organizing and booking local writers to read and share their work at the 24th street bookstore. In our conversation back in March 2022, Josiah shared literary history of the Mission, why Axolotl's show up in his pocho poems, and how his work is a form of memory keeping. Read the transcript

On today's show we're passing the microphone to Dr. Felicia Gangloff- Bailey and Karega Bailey, hosts of the SOL Affirmations podcast. Karega and Felicia are both educators, and members of the R&B-soul-hip-hop band SOL Development. They're also a married couple who’ve navigated the harsh realities of losing loved ones to gun violence, as well as the unfortunate passing of their first child, who was just a newborn, as they've previously discussed on Rightnowish. In this episode, Felicia and Karega talk about taking a recent trip with their two year-old, Kamali, and realizing how much their child has grown. With that growth, there is both beauty and struggle. Through reflecting on the experience, they share how it stands as an ever-important reminder to be present because no matter what you're going through-- good or bad-- this too shall pass.

Elena Pinderhughes has been around the East Bay jazz scene since before she learned how to walk. Since recording her first published work as a kid, she has gone on to share stages with Herbie Hancock and work with Carlos Santana. She's also played NPR's Tiny Desk with Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) and even rocked onstage with Future at Coachella . But Elena says she wouldn't be where she is today without family support and the musical institutions of the East Bay. Working with her brother, pianist and vocalist Samora Pinderhughes, assisted her growth at home, while organizations like the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra aided her progress in the community. Elena is preparing for the next iteration of her career, relying on the tools given to her by the Bay Area's multi-talented musical community, as she moves into the world of scoring films, making R&B music and more.

Raised in musical family, Giulio Xavier Cetto's musical influences range from his Venezuelan-Italian heritage to Bay Area rap. Giulio can play multiple styles and genres with ease, but at the intersection of jazz and hip hop is where his artistry truly shines. He brings an electric energy to his performances, encouraging audiences to not only vibe, but to get up and dance. Playing tribute to these genres, Giulio hosts and performs at a reoccurring "Sunday Slaps" night at San Francisco's beloved jazz venue, Black Cat. He also curates a weekly jazz set at Golden Gate Park's Stowe Lake Boathouse. Between gigging and recording with notable musicians including Kev Choice, Spelling, Kassa Overall, and Fantastic Negrito, he leads and composes original music for his own jazz band, Big Trippin. On their debut album, which drops this year, you can hear Giulio's passion for jazz and hip hop. On Rightnowish, Giulio talks about his favorite San Francisco venues to perform in, how the synthesis between jazz and hip-hop shape his sound and why the bass (upright and electric) is the heart of music.

Dr. Angela Wellman’s musical journey traces back to her upbringing in Kansas City, MO. As a young person involved in a music training initiative that was backed by the CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program, she found the trombone– or rather, it found her. In 2005, after music carried her around the map, Angela founded the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music as a way to assist Black and brown kids in accessing musical education. Now, after receiving numerous accolades for her work, including the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Study Fellowship and being inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame, Dr. Wellman recently completed her doctorate degree in education. The focus of her dissertation: the importance of access to music for Black and brown children.

Dimming one's light in the face of haters is not something Lidia Rodriguez knows how to do. Whenever she gets comments from guys about her size or gender, the baritone player is quick to clap back with a joke and prove them wrong. "When I'm playing my bari sax, I feel huge. I feel powerful. I feel seven feet tall. I feel like no one could tell me s**t. Like I feel so good about myself. " Lidia Rodriguez is a musical force performing and recording across genre. She gets down playing cumbia with La Misa Negra, rocks stages with electronic group Madame Gandhi, and even goes dumb while performing with the Golden State Warriors brass band, the Bay Blue Notes. Growing up in Mudville a.k.a Stockton, and later attending San Jose State, Lidia says she is a product of public music education. Now, as an educator herself, teaching bilingual music lessons, Lidia is not only training the next generation of musicians but also nurturing students to be self compassionate and authentically themselves. On this week's Rightnowish, Lidia Rodriguez talks about the power of showing up as her full self (a queer and Latina saxophonist) in music spaces and her mission to spread the power of "peace, love and sax."

Welcome to the first episode of Liner Notes, the Rightnowish podcast series all about jazz in the Bay Area. We're starting this off with a conversation with someone who has a wealth of knowledge, especially when it comes to jazz, Greg Bridges. As a journalist and longtime radio host at Bay Area radio stations KCSM and KPFA, Greg is steeped in Bay Area jazz history. As a reoccurring host of events like the San Jose Jazz Festival, he also has his finger on the current pulse of the culture.

It seems like LarrenWong can do a little bit of everything.He's a former linebacker who played football at James Logan High School and Northwestern University, before signing a professional contract with the Seattle Seahawks. He's an avid reader, student of art history and a talented painter. He's a rising R&B star who sings, writes and plays the guitar; earlier this year he dropped a quality album titled, Songs That I Hate To Sing.Raised in Union City where he was exposed to different cultures, competitive athletes and creative individuals, Larren says his earliest musical influence came from inside of own his home. His grandfather, Mr. B (Butler Wong), was a former member of the New York Philharmonic and one of Larren's first musical instructors.Larren took those lessons and built on them. He learned to play the guitar and write music. After stepping away from his football career, Larren jumped full-time into music and he's been making waves ever since.His work is spreading. Earlier this year Larren was invited to perform the song "Mama" off his latest project for the web-based musical performance series, COLORS Studios.And this week Larren sits down with the Rightnowish team to discuss it all.

Filmmaker Maria Victoria Ponce was raised in Richmond, CA. She’s mastered the art of telling stories that speak to her individual experience of coming up there, as well as the awkwardness that’s universally found in the process of growing up– no matter where you’re from. Recently, she invited Rightnowish host Pendarvis Harshaw and producer Marisol Medina-Cadena to stop by and see the family photos that inspire her coming of age films. They discussed the inspiration for her films and what it means to rep Richmond's Latino community. A 2022 Ranin Fellow, Maria says she now has the resources to tell more stories about Richmond, and plans to expand to other genres, including drama and horror. Watch her film Ruda. Read the transcript

This week on Rightnowish, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at KQED’s Mindshift Podcast. It’s all about new approaches to raising and educating children. I didn’t have my first Black teacher until 7th grade, and only one after that until college. When I became a teacher, that’s when it clicked: representation matters, as does exposure to a diverse set of life experiences. In this episode, Mindshift host Nimah Gobir, speaks to Micia Mosely, founder and director of the Black Teacher Project (BTP). They talk about the need for Black teachers in the classroom—not just for Black students—but for all of society.

Today we’re passing the mic to a group that’s doing some substantive work, both in the community and in the media. The Hella Black Podcast, hosted by Delency Parham and Abbas Muntaqim, is a show focused on movements toward Black liberation. Right now the Hella Black Podcast is running a unique series called Tales Of The Town. It’s produced by former Rightnowish guest and award winning filmmaker, Maya Cueva. Over the course of 12 weeks, Tales of The Town is looking back at historical movements for Black liberation in Oakland, and diving into current efforts as well. On top of that, they’re making sure to note the arts and culture that has, and continues to fuel movements. So this week, we’re featuring episode number four from the Tales of The Town series. This episode dives into the history of West Oakland’s 7th Street, once a main thoroughfare for Black artists– home to jazz clubs and show venues where folks like Aretha Franklin would perform. That is, until eminent domain brought about BART train tracks and a freeway that ran right through the community, ultimately causing many businesses to close. A blow to the neighborhood that still lingers to this day. Abbas and Delency talk about that and more on this episode.

At the heart of Día de los Muertos is a celebration of the cycle of life. It's a time to talk with our dead. We sing to them, prepare altars with flower and food offerings, and share stories to keep their memories alive. It's both a sacred and joyous time. Here in the Bay Area, we go all out for the tradition. Elaborate public altars are constructed in parks, schools, and community spaces. Museums and galleries have exhibits with Day of the Dead themed art and installations. It's truly a moment of visibility for Latino/x culture and tradition. But it wasn't always this way in the Bay Area or the United States, for that matter. To shed light on the history of how Day of the Dead became such a tradition here in the Bay, we are talking to artist and curator Rio Yañez.

Read the transcript here

October 25, 2022 marks the third anniversary of the launch of the Rightnowish podcast! This week, we’re revisiting an episode that’s emblematic of this show’s ethos. In July of 2021 we published an episode featuring Alameda’s own producer and DJ, Trackademicks. Known as the “cool collar scholar” from the HNRL collective, Trackademicks is a music producer who makes original songs and has a knack for remixing popular tracks, and adding that Bay Area flavor. In the early 2000s, his "Tell Me When To Go" remix cemented his name in the Bay Area musical history books. When we talked last year, we discussed the history of Hyphy music and how he, as a Black and Filipino person, sees remixing as a part of his DNA. Since then, he’s DJ’d at functions in LA, and he’s produced more music including some forthcoming remix projects, like this mashup of Janet Jackson and Andre 3000. Check it out. Annnnndddddd…Trackademicks has recently gotten married! Congrats to him and his partner!

Read the Transcript

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Inside of a classic Queen Anne victorian in West Oakland, photographer Traci Bartlow displays beautifully framed images of the people who shaped hip-hop culture in the Bay Area, and across the nation. Her house doubles as a photography museum and a boutique hotel, that tells the complex story of multiple generations of Black folks, land ownership and community. This week we go back to the 90s as Traci takes us on a tour of B-Love's Guesthouse. Read the transcript for this episode. Information to visit Traci's photo exhibit, "Oakland Picture Lady"

Fremont photographer Sydney Welch has compiled a collection of photos that serve as a highlight reel for the latest wave of talented hip-hop and R&B artists emerging from the Bay Area, including Stunnaman02, LaRussell, Kehlani, P-Lo, Su'Lan, Larry June, and Rexx Life Raj. Her images are captured at concerts, showing artists rocking the stage or having an intimate moment backstage. She has Polaroid photos taken at parties and magazine-style portraits shot on film. Most importantly: Sydney's images aren't taken from an outsider perspective. Before becoming a professional photographer, Sydney would attend concerts as a fan of Bay Area hip-hop and R&B. This week Sydney Welch tells us how she relies on grace to navigate the notoriously treacherous music industry and why she's so passionate about representing the Bay. Read the transcript.

There's a lot going on in the world. On top of the constant grind that capitalism demands, there's news of natural disasters, inflation, war and conflicts. And that's in addition to the interpersonal issues we all face. We could use a little more laughter in our lives. So last month, Rightnowish held an event called, Put Your Phone Down! A Rightnowish Comedy Night at KQED's headquarters in San Francisco. Hosted by Pendarvis Harshaw and Rightnowish producer Marisol Medina-Cadena, the evening consisted of a quick Q&A and an open mic segment where audience members came up and cracked some jokes. After the ice was broken and the punchlines were rollin ', three talented local comedians– Mike Evans Jr., Jackie Keliiaa, and Dara M. Wilson, stepped on the stage, one at a time, to headline the event. In this week's episode, we share a bit of that night. Read the transcript here. Check out a video of the full event here.

"It's only on you for the rest of your life," reads the Instagram bio of tattoo artist Shannon Anderson aka Mo' Better. A widely recognized tattoo artist, he's done notable pieces on famous athletes and entertainers, But he's also inked multiple generations of Bay Area families. He's a self-taught tattoo veteran who is paving the way for others to traverse an industry that hasn't been to kind to people who look like he does. For the past twelve years, Mo'Better's been the owner of Inkestry Custom Tattoos. But before he held a tattoo gun, he was known as a talented air brush artist, and before that he was a skilled barber. He learned each craft out of necessity. And each craft has earned him money, broadened his following and expanded his community. For the final entry in our series on tattoo culture in the Bay Area, we talk to Mo' Better about his craft, and his life. Read the transcript here.

"People really want something that brings meaning into their life," says Sabreena Haque, a well-known henna artist and burgeoning tattoo artist. Henna is an important part of wedding rituals and birthday celebrations. Similar to tattoos, henna plays an important role in times of transition. Sabreena says the practice of receiving henna, which involves sitting still and letting the paste sink into your skin, is an opportunity for people to set intentions. "As the henna fades, that's when the intentions deepen," she says. After the paste has faded away, the memories of the experience and thoughts about how to move forward linger. This week, Sabreena tells us about her family and her craft, and shares what philosophy has seeped into her byway of doing body art for the community. Read the transcript here.

Sophia Blum, also known as Pio Poke, is a master of the stick-and-poke (or hand poke) method of tattooing. With a handheld needle, she creates detailed textile designs and images of feathers, arrows, birds and botanicals. On top of being a skilled artist, she's in the business of changing the industry — after recognizing unfair labor practices within traditional tattoo parlors, where owners get the lion's share of the the revenue and workers make a small percentage, Blum organized with other artists and formed Thorns Tattoo, a worker-owned studio. This week, we talk with Pio Poke about manually making her mark, as well as the importance of workers' rights and bodily autonomy. Read the episode transcript here.

Our series, Permanent Behavior: Getting Tatted in the Bay, starts with tattoo artist Miguel "Bounce" Perez. Perez has vivid childhood memories of art created by his family: His mother drew “chola-style” portraits of women with feathered hair and sharp brows, while his uncles created lettering in Cali-Chicano Old English script. His father was part of a car club in his West Berkeley community, a neighborhood that was also home to a number of aerosol graffiti murals. All of this poured into Perez, and laid the foundation for what he does today. He's a versatile artist, who sees collaboration with his clients as central to his work. He's done touch-ups for people who've been incarcerated, and even inked a team of mathletes. His art is detailed and graphic, ranging from Mayan Goddesses to anime characters. Perez says he doesn't have a "specialty," but he often does cover-ups of older tattoos; a community service of sorts. He's also part of the art collective Trust Your Struggle, which paints murals in countries for historically colonized and under-resourced communities. Given Perez's experiences with both impermanent aerosol and indelible ink, we figured he'd be the best person to start this exploration into the culture of tattooing in the Bay Area, and what it feels like to create permanent artwork-- if such a thing exists. Read the transcript here.

On Rightnowish, we feature a lot of stories about art that's here today, gone tomorrow—and we wanted to find art that lasts forever. So, we turned to tattoos. Permanent Behavior, our four-part series on tattooing in the Bay, kicks off this week. In these stories, we dive into the permanence of ink, as it resides on impermanent beings. We hear from the creators of the tattoos—the artists behind the needles—all of whom come from a unique mixture of crews, cultures and countries of origin. The artwork, as well as the stories behind the art, are unlike anything you’ll see (or hear) anywhere else. Help make Rightnowish better — take our survey!

Growing up, Robert Liu-Trujillo didn't see himself represented in the books he read. So after he became a dad, he wanted to make sure his son would have stories to relate to. Liu-Trujillo set forth on a path to fill the void. And in doing so, he's contributed to the effort to create a culturally aware and racially just future for all of us. Initially an illustrator, he became an author and has published eight books. He often uses watercolors to create scenes that are full of bright hues and earth tones. His characters are from cultures and communities that have been historically overlooked in the US early childhood literature circles. And his books are written in English and Spanish. With the historical evidence that people of color aren't proportionately represented in children's books, and the ongoing fight to ban certain books that address race and racism, it's extremely clear why Robert's work is important right now.

The Rightnowish team is working on some new and exciting projects — but first, we want to hear from YOU. Do you listen to the show? What do you want to hear more of? What's missing? By filling out a quick survey, you can help shape the future of Rightnowish. Check it out: https://bit.ly/3C4MRzt

Last year, renowned writer and San Francisco Poet Laureate, Tongo Eisen-Martin, told us that it's not enough to simply be a poet. "The poet needs to just come on down to the trenches," he said, explaining that quality writing comes from the lived experience of participating in community activism. In direct application of his own philosophy, Tongo has been involved with the occupation of Parker Elementary School, where organizers are fighting against the latest round of school closures in Oakland Unified School District — schools that are located in communities that are largely populated by Black and brown students. Tongo has been a part of the group's Freedom Friday events, where artists of all sorts are invited to show up and perform. As the fight against the school closures continue, we're going into the archives this week to share Tongo's poem, "A Sketch of Genocide."

This week on Rightnowish, we're passing the microphone to the team at The Stoop podcast. In this episode, hosts Leila Day and Hana Baba introduce us to folks practicing healthy alternatives to monogamy, including author and educator Kevin Patterson, who describes his polyamory as "relationship anarchy." "Every person that I meet, our relationship just sort of forms naturally," he says. "I don't try to put anybody in one box or another if that's not what suits this person." Writer Crystal Byrd Farmer identifies as being solo polyamorous. "Solo poly means that I'm not entwined with another person, so I'm not living with them, I'm not sharing finances with somebody, I'm not doing child care responsibilities with somebody else. I'm kind of my own person. I still have romantic and sexual relationships with multiple people, but it's really like I'm in my own house and do my own thing," she says. And Intro, Ambi and Ex — the triad from the podcast Bloc'd — share their perspectives on polyamory, sexual identity and impending parenthood. "I just had a feeling that if we got together, we would be able to figure out the rest," says Ex. What you're going to hear originally aired on The Stoop in 2021 but it's always a good time to talk about the many manifestations of love.

San Francisco lyricist and graffiti writer Dregs One is making sure Bay Area hip-hop culture is properly documented, and at the same time he's becoming a recognized historian. In a series of videos he simply calls "History of The Bay," Dregs is using TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to highlight aspects of Bay Area culture that are often overlooked. In one video he dives into the use of local slang, noting that music "slaps" and food doesn't. Dregs has multiple videos honoring the work of legendary aerosol artist Mike "Dream" Francisco of the TDK crew, among numerous posts he's done in dedication to local graff writers. Dregs' videos are short, often sprinkled with a touch of wry humor, and always laced with game straight from the soil. I talked to him about what it means to have thousands of views on his videos and how the work of documenting a culture that is often word of mouth inherently brings forth differing opinions. Dregs, who is still deep in the rap game and enmeshed in the world of visual arts, says it's not easy to continuously make videos and do the heavy lifting of keeping the "Frisco-ism" alive, but he loves seeing how many people his work is influencing — and that's what matters the most.

In Indigenous protocol, we're beginning this week's episode honoring the original stewards of this land that many of us in Frisco now occupy — the ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone. Now, let's take a trip down Valencia Street to La Misión. The neighborhood is home to not one, but two rich cultural districts. Calle 24 Latino Cultural District was first established in 1999. More recently, in 2020, it was joined by the American Indian Cultural District — a home base for the Urban Native community. Its aim is to uplift the culture, history, and continuing contributions of American Indians in San Francisco and beyond. On this week's Rightnowish, we introduce you to some of the people behind this cultural district that's the first of its kind in the Golden State. Mary Travis-Allen (Mayagna, Chortega, Seneca) is the President of the District's Advisory Board and recalls memories of "Little Rez" along 16th Street. Debbie Santiago (Washoe, Osage) and her mother, Alberta Snyder (Washoe) share their memories about the SFUSD's Indian Education Program that ran out of the American Indian Cultural Center on Valencia Street in the 70s and 80s. Karen Waukazoo (Lakota) remembers her late mother and local hero, Helen Waukazoo, who co-founded Friendship House, the oldest social service organization in the United States run by and for American Indians. Last but not least, we venture to the waterfront at Fort Mason to talk with Sharaya Souza (Taos Pueblo, Ute, Kiowa), the Executive Director of the American Indian Cultural District about the legacy of the Alcatraz occupation. There are so many Native stories alive in La Misión — we hope this is just the start to more of us hearing about them.

Joshua Neal is a viral sensation, using social media platforms to share his acting talents and social commentary with the world, and simultaneously launching his career. Multiple times a week, Neal posts short comedic videos where he plays all the roles, writes all the scripts, and produces all the stories. He can be seen smoking fake cigarettes as a bad guy or wearing a towel on his head as he takes on the role of an angry girlfriend—all in service of telling humorous stories that resonate with people's real-life experiences. His posts have been shared widely, and have reached the digital doorsteps of Hollywood luminaries like Ava DuVernay. Neal, a writer and creator who grew up in Union City and currently lives in Hayward, now has a foot in the door of major production circles, and he did it by simply creating content from the confines of his parents' crib. This week Joshua Neal shares a little bit of his own story, as well as what it takes to consistently make viral videos.

Maya Cueva makes documentary films that cover the heavy topics: immigration, reproductive justice and xenophobia. Her latest, On The Divide, follows the stories of three Latinx people whose lives interconnect through the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021, and is available to stream free of charge through July 18, 2022 at POV. Cueva says her journey into professional storytelling began after covering current events at Youth Radio (now YR Media) as a teen. While attending Ithaca College in New York, she began work on her first film, The Provider, which follows Dr. Shannon Carr as she performs abortions in Texas in the midst of a heated battle for reproductive rights. She's also made Ale Libre, which follows reproductive rights organizer and undocumented activist Alejandra Pablos in her fight against deportation, and Only the Moon/ Solamente La Luna, an animated film about her father’s immigration experience to the U.S. from Peru.

Nenna Joiner owns Feelmore, a queer-friendly sex toy shop with locations in Berkeley and Oakland. Noticing the lack of Black queer spaces beyond the monthly “RnB nights” at many local clubs, they decided to open the Feelmore Social Club in Downtown Oakland, a bar slated to open in 2022. “This energy that they feel in Feelmore is akin to the energy that they're going to feel here,” Joiner assures, “We want to be open a long time.” Joiner speaks about re-imagining the Black queer space, and the role of the Black queer dollar in the community. This series was produced and reported by Corey Antonio Rose. For more information, visit Rightnowish.

The rich LGBT history of the Tenderloin goes back farther than any bricks thrown at Stonewall, and Transgender Cultural District President and Chief Strategist Aria Sa’id makes it her job to preserve that history. Her work in securing tenant protections, workforce development, arts and cultural heritage preservation, and cultural competency for the residents of the historic Tenderloin neighborhood has taken the idea of ‘safe space’ beyond the bars and into our daily lives. Sa’id speaks with us about what makes a space ‘safe,’ and the effect that empowering the most vulnerable within a community has on the rest of us. This series was produced and reported by Corey Antonio Rose. For more information, visit Rightnowish.

When Rodney Barnette first moved to San Francisco in 1969, he noticed that “it wasn’t all rah rah gay capital of the world.” His experiences with racism in San Francisco’s historic gay community led him to open the New Eagle Creek Saloon, the city’s first Black-owned gay bar, in 1990. Over 30 years later, Barnette speaks about why Black-affirming queer spaces are still needed, and what he took away from his experience operating one. This series was produced and reported by Corey Antonio Rose. For more information, visit Rightnowish.

Friendships can be hard for anyone. As an adult you need to navigate staying in contact with old friends, getting past the awkward early stage of new friends, and deciding if certain friendships are healthy or unhealthy. This doesn't even touch on time constraints, and the difficulty of hangs since the beginning of the pandemic. But maybe we make friendships harder than they have to be? This week on Rightnowish, we're making new friends! This is a special crossover episode with YR Media's Adult ISH podcast. After spending a day riding around with Adult ISH host Nyge Turner's hometown of Richmond, we jump into a conversation about how some friendships are as old as our collection of basketball shorts, while new friendships are hidden behind different social barriers of adulthood. We hope you enjoy, friend.

I met Mu'min years ago through creative Bay Area circles, now I count her as a friend, and she's flourished in her craft. From her film, Jinn, winning the SXSW Special Jury Recognition Award for Writing to writing for acclaimed shows, Queen Sugar, the Blindspotting series, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, and Insecure. But way before all of that, Nijla attended UC Berkeley, where her experiences in June Jordan’s Poetry for the People Program left an indelible mark. She still writes poetry to this day. In late April Mu’min shared some of her work with the Bay Podcast's Maria Esquinca in celebration of National Poetry Month. This week we're sharing that episode with you.

Babette Thomas is searching for artistic Black utopias. Thomas is the host of the latest season of SFMOMA's Raw Material podcast. In their series, "Visions of Black Futurity," they look at representation, identity and different historical through-lines in Black Art. Woven into the podcast is the story of curator Evangeline "EJ" Montgomery, a major player in the Black Arts scene. And EJ began her storied career in the 60s, right here in California, creating influential exhibits in the East Bay. This week on Rightnowish, we're featuring an episode that also dives into the stories of the famed Sci-Fi author Octavia Butler, landscape painter Richard Mayhew, and local visual artist Sydney Cain aka Sage Stargate (who has also been featured on Rightnowish). Throughout, Thomas hones in on the question, “Where will we host our Black art spaces of the future?” Listen to the full series on the "Raw Material" page.

Mission District-based muralist Josué Rojas and his mother, Esther García are a dynamic duo. Josué has painted murals across San Francisco and beyond, often using images that celebrate culture and community. Esther picked up painting during the pandemic, but she's been leaving her mark on the neighborhood for decades. As she sold small goods on the street, Esther built a reputation for her sage-like presence around the way. Josué remembers times when she'd be asked to pray over people, and she'd kindly oblige. Her presence is so strong that she got in good with local artists collectives, like the Chulita Vinyl Club. And the artist JR incorporated Esther's image into The Chronicles of San Francisco, a gigantic mural that was in the main entrance to the San Francisco Musuem of Modern Art. Although Esther didn't understand Josué's art career at first, she watched Josue's journey as he earned a Masters of Fine Arts from Boston University, served as the executive director of Acción Latina and became a well-respected muralists on the streets of his hometown. Now, at 75, Esther has been learning how to paint under the tutelage of one very demanding teacher: her son. And she tells me that she doesn't like what they paint-- she loves it.

Terisa's poetry emerges from climate change and its impact on marginalized communities. She also writes poems from the perspective of her hyphenated identity: raised in San Francisco with deep Samoan roots. In our conversation, Terisa looks back at January's underwater eruption that caused massive tsunamis in Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and other nations in Oceania. Initially, the disaster made headlines and relief efforts filled social media feeds, but Terisa questions what sustained care looks like for those impacted by a changing global climate. After speaking on this topic at venues across the country and around the world, even addressing members of the United Nations, Terisa Siagatonu discusses climate justice and how she "languages" her experience.

It's a sunny afternoon in McLaren Park in San Francisco's Excelsior District. Throngs of people are gathered on either side of a roadway that snakes down a steep hill. As they watch, a person riding what looks like a giant black Converse sneaker whooshes past. Coming up close behind it, a cast-iron bathtub whizzes by on what could’ve been the frame of a lawn mower. Then another driver — this one clinging for dear life onto what looks like a torpedo — hurtles by, inches off the ground.

This was the first Artists' Soapbox Derby held by the San Francisco Museum of Art — what we now know as SFMOMA — on May 18, 1975. It was a race for homemade cars. No engines! You just needed to be able to roll, steer and stop.

On April 10, SFMOMA is reviving its Soapbox Derby in McLaren Park. Homemade cars that can coast under the power of their own gravity will have their turn in the spotlight, careening down an 800-foot hill. It’s free and open to the public.

This week, we’re airing an episode from KQED’s Bay Curious that takes us back to the first Soapbox Derby in 1975 and it’s surprising twists in the road.

Over punchy-uptempo beats with stupid-heavy bass lines, Pallaví AKA Fijiana turns social tropes on their heads. Her evocative visuals mix sexuality with tradition while her lyrics address appropriation and diaspora. Fijiana says her Indo-Fijian heritage, her Richmond upbringing and rap influences like Lil Kim and Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, helped create the artist and person she is today. In making music that pushes social norms, she's encountered backlash with a heavy dose of sexism. Fijiana says a guiding light has been conversations with her father and his acceptance of her work. This week Fijiana talks to us about all of that, and her latest album Thirst.

For some young folks, there comes a time when they age out of child-serving social services. Their safety nets get thinner and they can struggle to find their footing with limited resources or experience. These sixteen to twenty-four-year-olds are called "transitional age youth" or TAY. This is the crowd that Desire Johnson-Forte helps. She cares because she was once one of them. Desire is currently the Executive Director of The BIZ (Black Intergenerational Zeal) Stoop. The organization has three main goals: First, to increase Black life expectancy through group conversations addressing fatalism. Second, helping young folks from the east bay tell their stories and shifting public narratives about them. Third, the Biz Stoop helps young people earn a living wage and build businesses through coaching, economic education and financial support. Desire has been doing thins kind of work since she was a young person transitioning into adulthood, dealing with all that life threw at her. This week Desire shares a bit of her story, why her work is important right now, and how she grew from a place where she needed assistance to being the person who provides.

A storm's been brewing over legal cannabis in Oakland. And Chaney Turner thinks it has the potential to wash away small business owners-- especially People of Color. Chaney Turner, current Chair of the Oakland Cannabis Commission, has seen robberies reach new heights as organized heists hit cannabis supply chains, from grow operations to retailers. It was especially intense during the summer of 2020, but this past fall, another string of caravan burglaries shook the industry, and resulted in distressed workers and millions in lost inventory. Turner says the Oakland Police Department's response to the burglaries was disappointing and frustrating to business owners. Turner heard retailers experienced slow response times and poor communication from OPD. Some operators were also told to take matters into their own hands by arming themselves. While they have seen some improvement in communication from the police, for cannabis operators in Oakland paying sky high taxes, the approach still leaves something to be desired. On this week's show Turner talks about the state of legalized marijuana and how it intersects with these robberies, banking, equity, community safety, and how Turner understand why some would hesitate to leave the illicit market.

Just imagine: you're a poet whose starting out on the scene and you've spent weeks working up the courage to share your work. You get to the venue there’s a raucous crowd of OG poets, they're cheering, but they're also waiting to see what's up with each person as the step to the mic. If the OG poets think your poem is a cheap knockoff of someone else's work, they'll throw peanut shells against the bar's aluminum walls. That sound will stay with you. This might sound chaotic and harsh (and don't worry this is not how open mics in the bay roll these days) but it was the environment where Spanglish speaking pocho poet Josiah Luis Alderete sharpened his performance chops. In the mid '80s and '90s, Thursday nights at Cafe Babar in the Mission District was an epicenter for San Francisco's poetry scene. Cafe Babar was the spot. Josiah remembers poets would show up from the East Bay, the Fillmore, even New York. Sitting on wooden benches, you could hear the words of Julia Vinograd, Juan Felipe Herrera, David Lerner, David West and Jack Micheline. "Babar really opened my eyes and my heart to what poetry was. I remember leaving that place like leaving the church after you get saved... This is flor y canto! This is poesía! That fucking fire coming out of mouth! That truth." In our conversation, poet Josiah shares some literary history of the Mission, why Axolotl's show up in his work, and how co-owing Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Gallery is helping keep the Mission's poetry scene alive.

Krea Gomez has seen tough love play out in many ways. As a young adult, she was kicked out of her home for “being bad,” now she’s practicing tough love in her own way. In her work with young adults – and her own children – she sets boundaries and goals while teaching independence with care. Krea is also the Director of Local Initiatives at the Young Women’s Freedom Center and has been a loud voice trying to close juvenile justice halls and get kids out of the system.

In the Bay Area, “showing love” is something we toss around all the time. One man who embodies this is the tie-dye wearing, weed smoking, big smiling man named Oopz. He and his crew are known for throwing fun-loving parties at the Shmop House where the air grows thick with cannabis smoke. In this episode, he tells us his journey to becoming an extrovert, and the time his community love was tested when someone was shot at the Shmop House.

AB Banks, defines love as "doing the right thing with a passion." That means taking care of themselves and their folks, because self-love can be communal and revolutionary. Day-to-day AB works with the People’s Programs in Oakland, supporting their unhoused neighbors through clinics and food donations. Outside of that, AB is deep in the practice of meditation. After setting out on a personal journey to learn the art of meditation, which included a trip abroad to study with renowned practitioners. AB has recently launched the Mad Chill series of short meditative videos with the aim of making this practice more accessible. In our conversation, AB shares what they've learned and some of the tools they've acquired on this journey to understanding the various shapes self-love can take.

You don't have to look very long to find tributes to Frida Kahlo in San Francisco. Frida inspired murals cover walls throughout the Mission, street vendors near the Embarcadero sell clothes and earrings with her likeness, and there's a street named after her in the Ingleside neighborhood. This devotion to Frida makes perfect sense because Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived in San Francisco, not once, but twice. During their last stay in TK YEAR, Diego Rivera painted a 74-foot long, 30-ton fresco in front of a live audience at the the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. The mural is rich with details depicting Ancient Mexico, the California Gold Rush, a bustling 1940s San Francisco, and historical figures from Latin America and the United States. You can stare at it for an hour and still miss details. Now this Pan American Unity mural is on display for free at the SFMOMA until the summer of 2023, you can visit it as often as you like to fully take in its message and power. To learn more about the Pan American Unity mural's backstory and the controversy it sparked, we figured it'd be a good time to revisit a story that first ran on KQED's Bay Curious podcast. The episode also dives into Frida's artistic development and how a Santa Rosa horticulturalist influenced her art.

As a cancer survivor, Caroline Chung tells me expressing herself through music has been healing. But it's not always smooth sailing. Chung says she's been overlooked for gigs simply because of her identity-- an Asian woman who plays the upright bass. "Hey, I'm a female jazz bassist," says Chung. "It's like nobody really cares, because it's the ‘boys club’." Despite this, Chung has found collaborators in people poets and other jazz musicians. After releasing two(FC) projects last year, Chung is gearing up for another push in 2022-- starting with this weekend's show at SF Jazz. But before you see her in performance or check out her music, I invite you to get a little more of her story... Rightnowish.

Erena Shimoda takes photos underwater. She creates majestic images of people in pools. Her subjects can be seen posing in wheelchairs, dancing with tulle, adorned in mermaid attire, or wrapped in Shibari ropes. Some of her models are people who've lived through physical or mental trauma. Erena helps them slip into water, release their experiences, and hopefully reemerge anew. It's a nod to religious practices around water, like baptisms in Catholicism, the holy dips in India's Ganges River and the water meditations of Shintoism rooted in Erena's motherland, Japan. It's also a healing practice backed by science. As we dive deeper into the new year, this episode we're talking to Erena about her journey photographing the healing power of water.

This country is extremely divided, always has been. When you combine the issues of racism, sexism and other isms that have plagued us for ages and mix in the division that's risen over this drawn out pandemic, you could see why some people might feel comfortable and complacent in their silos. But let's do something about it. I'm asking you to get out of that comfort zone, reach out and connect with another person or group. It's a simple ask: build a bridge. This week, for the final Rightnowish episode of 2021, I'm encouraging you all to take a step toward building bridges by making some community connections. Take a listen and let's get into it.

This past Independence Day, Oakland's Marty Aranaydo found himself a long way from the town. Marty had joined up with the NDN Collective to scale a 100-foot grain silo in Rapid City, South Dakota. Atop it, the group unfurled a massive inverted American flag with the words, "LANDBACK" across it. The direct action called for more than the transfer of territory back to indigenous tribes, on the bottom corner of the flag they also wrote "1505," to represent the growing number of indigenous children's unmarked graves that have been found at native boarding schools throughout the US and Canada. While Marty is a well-known DJ and aerosol writer, he isn't new to this kind of work. His family was involved in the original occupation of Alcatraz, direct action for social change is in his blood.

In the fall of 2019, we interviewed her about taking a quick break from country music to write a roller skating anthem: a vibey R&B song called "Roll Out." In her latest project, Race Records, she's come back to her roots as a country singer. Given that there's been a whole pandemic, a rise in the popularity of rollerskating and new music released that speaks to Miko's origins as a singer, we figured it'd be good to check in with Miko Marks for this week's show.

This Thanksgiving-- Friendsgiving, Thankstaking, or whatever you call this holiday-- I'm turning the microphones on the Rightnowish team and asking the hard questions about food, friend and feelings. For this episode I'm joined by Rightnowish producer Marisol Medina-Cadena and editor Jessica Placzek. We dive into our holiday experiences, the music that we turn to as the weather gets cold, and we take some time to appreciate you-- the listeners. This episode was made for your listening pleasure, to be enjoyed while cooking, eating, or doing some exercise to shake off that meal you've just consumed. As I say at the end of the show, and will reiterate here: I hope you all eat well and nourish yourselves this holiday.

Every Wednesday evening, the 1Up Crew gathers at In The Groove Studios in downtown Oakland for a free open lab session. That's where you'll see folks perfecting their moves and dancing in a variety of styles: turfing, ballroom, pop locking and krumping. It's all in preparation for monthly battles against other crews. Some of the battles are freestyle, others are three-on-three dance-offs where teams choreograph routines in a format that's similar to the movie, "You Got Served." But this is real life, real people and a real story about dancing in Oakland-- as shown through one of the crew’s leaders, Tarik Rollerson, a third generation dancer from the town, who is part of a community that’s creating a new way of giggin’. We all know that in the Bay Area, “We dance a little different.” Today, Tarik gives us some insight on why we move the way we do.

At first it may seem like an odd-pairing: a white guy who is a silver-spoon-fed techie from the East Coast and a Black woman from Oakland who is a hard working natural genius in the field of engineering. But through a series of events that unravel in the new play, "Cofounders", the two learn to co-exist. This week, we talk art and tech, and what can be done to curb the perceived divisions between the two.

December 7, 2021 marks 80 years since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an act that would lead to the United States' formal involvement in WWII. In support of the war effort, the Bay Area soon became home to a number of small factories and larger shipyards where huge vessels were manufactured, like Sausalito's Marinship. As jobs opened up in this industry, hundreds of thousands of African Americans migrated from the South in search of better paying careers and less racism. What they found in Northern California, along with jobs, was housing discrimination and racist unions. On top of that, their contributions from that period have been largely overlooked in historical documentaries and public memory. Now, thanks to a group of young people who grew up on that same hallowed ground in Marin County, the tales of some of the Black workers at Marinship are being shared through beats and rhymes. The Marinovators, a collection of a dozen teenagers working under the guidance of MC Jahi, recently released the album "A Way Out Of No Way," which highlights the tales of African American laborers at Marinship like Rodessa Battle, Annie Small, and Joseph James.

Jane Handcock has written for some of the top names in music, and now it's her turn to step into the limelight. She's an R&B vocalist from Richmond, who has penned songs for the likes of Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, Teddy Riley and Tyrese. As of late she's worked with the Grand Nationxl collective, dropping multiple songs on their group productions as well as a solo project of her own. Now Jane, who got her start singing in East Bay churches, has relocated to Los Angeles where she's on the verge of dropping a project under the guidance of the legendary Snoop Dogg. This week, we discuss how Jane is handling the pivot from being "the most known-unknown" ghostwriter out here, to being a star in her own right.

In Evelyn LaChapelle's first team meeting at a new job in the cannabis industry, they were discussing sales when she noticed a "righteous anger" brewing inside her. "My paperwork says I went to jail for over a hundred kilos of cannabis," says Evelyn, "and they're talking sales goals in kilos." Since Evelyn was incarcerated for marijuana related charges, she's worked in the hospitality industry, for others in the cannabis industry and has recently become the CEO of a cannabis company called 87 Months, named for the amount of time she was sentenced. But this journey has not been easy. Evelyn had a front row seat in California's changing cannabis laws, the whiplash from the speed of these shifts, and the inequitable ways the industry can shake out. She's also been a witness to the difficulty and lack of support in the re-entry process. And she's one of thousands. Over 10 years ago, California was ordered to reduce it's prison population due to severe overcrowding, and more recently the pandemic forced the state to release even more people. On the outside, many are met with self-doubt, issues with learning new technology or discrimination based on their record.

East Oakland's Capolow is a rapper on the rise. Known for his high-energy anthem songs and his catchy "aye-aye!" ad lib, Capolow's music is ringing bells in the Bay Area and beyond. He made an album called "Oakland Nights" with Kamaiyah, and has made individual tracks with E-40, ALLBLACK, and Nef The Pharaoh. But before he was a rapper – ten years ago – Capolow was one of the students in my class at Oakland Tech.

"Dynamite" Daisy Bamberger stands inside the ring by herself, shadowboxing. She's surrounded by free weights, kettle balls, punching bags and framed photos from old tournaments. Daisy continues to go through her routine. It's a routine that's obviously working for her. Daisy is a highly decorated 19 year-old boxer from Hayward. After ranking number one in the country and winning 10 national championships, she's setting her sights on competing in the 2024 Olympics. And the dream started right here, at Lightning's Boxing Club. She's been punching these bags since she was in elementary school. Boxing is in her blood. Her father, Mario Bamberger, is a boxer and now trains her. As a product of Hayward High School, the same school that birthed legendary boxer Andre Ward, Daisy looks to carry on the East Bay Boxing legacy. This week on the podcast we hear how becoming a boxing champion has not been as simple as floating like a butterfly. As a child, Daisy was teased about being overweight. Through hard training and personal sacrifice, Daisy overcame her bullies and laid the foundation for a run at Olympic gold.

Xiomara's "Chardonnay" was my song this summer. The track is an audio version of driving down Highway 1 at sunset. Smooth and melodic, with an earnest message to the listener-- advising them to steer clear of that glass of wine they're considering purchasing. Xiomara says that "Chardonnay" is a metaphor about living within your means and "examining this desire for some far off things, some opulent thing, and getting real and saying nah I need to let that go and stay in the moment." That track is a single off her album, Sistas, a project that showcases Xiomara's ability to move through a spectrum of musical genres, while telling stories that speak to the experiences of sistas in her life. This week, we get a chance to talk to the East Bay musician about the influences she pulls from as an artist, and how she hopes to influence others with her work.

At San Francisco's Public Glass, locals have the opportunity to get hands on experience in this ancient and evolving craft. The organization's executive director, Nathan Watson, says his mission is to ensure that Public Glass isn't just located in the Bayview neighborhood, but actually involves community members in their work.

Have you ever wanted nail art that highlights your favorite Disney Movie? Maybe nails that show Mulan below a cherry tree, or Alice at her Wonderland tea party, or maybe you want to see Stitch getting into shenanigans across your hands... Whatever your preference, Vivian Xue Rahey has you covered. These conversation pieces are clear fan favorites online. Vivian's Pamper Nail Gallery has hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok, and millions more views. It's a unique art form. And luckily for the fans, getting these fly nails has gotten easier. Since the start of the pandemic, Vivian Rahey, has switched up her "Disneyland of Nails" business model: moving from appointments in the salon where nails are painted on site, to an e-commerce model where you can order press-on sets that arrive to your doorstep already bedazzled and painted with scenes from your favorite flick. Despite changes to the model, the company is staying true to the vision she first described to me in the Spring of 2019. Today, we're revisiting that conversation with the queen of Disney nails and hearing how this art-based business not only stayed afloat, but expanded in the midst of a global pandemic.

Tajai Massey sees Hiero day as a physical manifestation of the Souls of Mischief's most famous song, "93 Til Infiinty", where he and the other emcees give listeners a taste of life in Oakland. These days, living in Oakland, it's hard to ignore the growing wealth disparities, the massive unsheltered population, and continued gentrification. "A lot of folks I see during Hiero Day, they've had to move away, to Stockton, Sac, L.A... anywhere that's cheaper than here. But we see them on Hiero Day, so it's like a big family reunion," says Tajai. Another unfortunate change in the Bay Area: fewer affordable art spaces. This week on Rightnowish, we talk to Tajai about the intersection of culture and the built environment, and the importance of having access to space in order to share, celebrate and create culture.

Wolfe-Goldsmith teamed up with a handful of artists to create the 5th Story NFT art gallery, where murals were adapted into augmented reality by Black Terminus Labs. They are also converting the art into three dimensional pieces that will be housed on the blockchain network and sold as NFTs, which will allow the creators to have more control over the value of their work. Wolfe-Goldsmith is a talented muralist behind some of the largest new pieces of public artwork in Oakland, including the two-story mural of the women of the Black Panther Party in West Oakland, and he huge mural of Stoney Creations and Yanni Brump on Telegraph and 17th. You can also see her depiction of an African American woman dancing on the side of the Oakland Tribune Tower in the heart of the town. But this latest project is one she hopes will change the future of murals and hopefully bring more stability into the livelihood of muralists.

Prentice Powell is an East Bay poet whose been working from home a lot lately. This has caused some confusion for his kids, "They were just like, 'So dad, do you have a job?'" Powell does have a job, and does big things: he's performed his poems on The Arsenio Hall Show, Verses and Flow, and in the upcoming Nick Cannon movie, She Ball. And just this week, Powell concluded a residency at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC with Fiveology, a poetry group of his longtime friends and collaborators. For Powell, poetry is his work, his passion, a way to express what he feels and work out what he thinks. And while he puts a lot of his life into his poems, he's decided there are certain topics to keep off the page and the stage, and certain poems he'd like to leave in the past. This week on Rightnowish, Prentice Powell talks about fatherhood and poetry: how sometimes they mix and sometimes they don't.

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the health of individuals and communities around the world, Harvey Lozada focused on the stories coming from the neighborhood just south of San Francisco's Market Street, the SOMA District. Through the film “It Takes The Hood to Save The Hood," Lozada shows how community organizations shifted their focus from being community resources, to being first responders.

Bookcases and bird feeders take shape amid the whir of chop saws, the bang of hammers and the trill of drills. Behind the power tools are girls and non-binary youth, mostly in high school and middle school, but the youngest builders start at age 9. West Berkeley's Girls Garage was founded by Emily Pilloton-Lam in 2013, the organization's mission is to make sure young women and non-binary teens have the physical and metaphorical tools to get the job – any job – done. This week, we're back to talking to people in-person for the first time in over a year. And what better way to get out there than to jump into the saw dust and discuss all that comes from the process of building.

In 2006, when music producer Trackademicks remixed the smash hit by E-40 and Keak Da Sneak, "Tell Me When To Go," he created a cultural jewel that sent waves throughout the Yay. The remix took a seminal song from the Hyphy Movement, added a unique wrinkle, and then proceeded to make your face melt. The track could be heard at pep rallies in the valley, in nightclubs in San Francisco and blasting out of the front grill speakers of Chevy vans as they smashed through Deep East Oakland. Trackademicks, a half-Black and half-Filipino guy who was raised in Alameda, looks at his own lineage and says remixing things is in his DNA, literally. It was already in the music too, the Hyphy movement has its own history of mixing genres, which allowed it to birth something unique in The Bay. Now, as a number of rappers (including Trackademicks) make music that harkens back to that era, we thought it'd be a good time to discuss how the big sun glasses, fun dances, and uptempo music of the Hyphy Movement came to be.

Dueñas Car Club is a sisterhood that rolls on 100-spoke rims. Founded in 2019 and based in Sunnyvale, the head of the club is Angel Romero. She's been cruising the strip since she was a kid as a passenger in her mother's lowrider. It was through her mother that Angel inherited her passion for cool cars, cruising through the city, and serving the community. Now, the members of the car club work with local organization to hold toy drives and distribute safety kits. They also pull up to events like car hops and car shows, stunting in full force. Angel says it's amazing to see the look on the people's faces when their fleet of dope cars driven by women pulls through, but it's the young women whose imaginations they really love to inspire. This week we discuss coordinating outfits with the color of your lowrider, the criminalization of lowriding culture, and how Angel is passing on her love of cars to the next generation of young women.

Santa Rosa’s Randy Harlan and Bolinas’ Garnett Silver-Hall are known for using wheelchairs the same way others use skateboards-- grinding on rails and riding off ramps. The duo are both adaptive athletes in the "chair skating" community and founders of Northern California's Wheelchair Motor Cross-- WCMX. After connecting through mutual friends, the two have skated at parks in Northern California and competed in Southern California. Now Randy and Garnett teach other folks how to become involved in adaptive sports. This week we hear how it feels to drop into a bowl at the skatepark and the dangers of attempting a backflip in a wheelchair.

Marsha Howard grew up in the skateboarding mecca of San Francisco. After getting her first board as a gift from a St. Anthony's Christmas donation program when she was 13 or 14, she's skated with friends in front of the Ferry Building and bombed down the windy roads of Twin Peaks. She's also worked at Thrasher Magazine and been a skateboarding fashion model. Nowadays she's a teacher and skates for exercise and mental health while using videos of her falling and getting back on her board to teach her elementary school students about perseverance. This week, we talk to Marsha Howard about growing up skateboarding in this mecca and how she navigated the 'boys club' and assembled a circle of non-male skaters around herself.

For his daughter's fourth birthday, Pen adopted an adorable gray and white kitten. His thinking? It'll teach his child about the responsibility of loving and caring for a living creature. Instead, Pen got the lesson. In this special Father's Day episode of Rightnowish, Pen brings you into the story of his daughter, Z, their cat, Skye, and his revelation about where responsibility ultimately resides when you're a parent.

Berkeley’s Omar "Meez" Jones is a biker, photographer, graphic designer and entrepreneur. One of his top talents is his ability to take his lifestyle and make a living off of it. Earlier this year, a series of Apple billboards promoting their "Hometown" campaign sprung up all around the Bay Area, featuring the silhouetted images of two bikers hitting wheelies. Those bikers are Jones and his good friend from North Oakland, Almighty Gio. What I saw as a major tech company leveraging culture to earn cool points, Jones sees as a platform benefiting the culture he represents. While there's room for both to be true, Jones points out something that I overlooked: we breed hustlers in this region, so he'll figure out a way to make it work in his favor. On top of that, Jones is working to expand opportunities to a younger generation of East Bay bikers, setting them up with brands and employment opportunities. Tune in for the second entry on the intersection of wheels, community, and culture as Jones and I discuss biking, billboards, and being a community "big bro."

From 1979 to 1988, Richard was a part of the Golden Rollers, a trio of skaters who performed in Golden Gate Park every Sunday. Since first getting his roll on, Richard has been featured in the television pilot, Dancing Wheels, was Damon Wayan's skating stunt double, performed on stage with Vaughn Mason and has been featured in Ebony Magazine. Richard also has custom wheels that bear his name, and worked with Riedell to manufacture a signature skating boot with no laces called, No Strings Attached. Richard has also taught thousands of people his signature skating style of "Roller Dance" (even Dr. Oz) through in-person classes and video tutorials. And he's noticed skatings rising popularity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. On social media, videos of skaters in fly fits doing tricks to the latest hits has made for top tier content, especially on TikTok. While Richard appreciates the growing appreciation for the art of quad skating, he wants to make sure folks know that skating is a deep-seated culture with a history that pre-dates the internet, and moves that sparkled on the rink long before most viral stars were born.

In 2018 the Hasta Muerte coffee shop in East Oakland made national headlines when they asked Oakland police officers to leave their cafe. Matt Gereghty, part-owner of the cooperative cafe, was the first person to tell an officer the cafe's policy of asking cops to leave. He read from a collectively written script the staff had composed before opening the shop. Gereghty tells me it wasn't meant to be a major thing, just the cafe's attempts to ensure peace of mind for their customers by creating a space without cops. They serve a community where people have had traumatic experiences with police officers, or live in fear due to their documentation status. Keep in mind it was 2018, and President Donald Trump's pro-police and anti-immigration rhetoric was flooding media. When people found out about the policy, it led to pro-Trump, right wing protestors waving American flags with thin blue lines in front of the cafe. Hasta Muerte also received a letter from the president of the Oakland Police Association saying the policy was “a matter of concern for all Oakland Police Officers.” The story was covered locally and nationally; it grew to the point that they even mentioned it on The View. But Hasta Muerte hasn't officially talked to any publications about what happened until now. This week on Rightnowish, we discuss this East Oakland cafe's community-based approach to safety, cops and the media.

After winning an MTV reality TV show contest about a dozen years ago, Rocky Rivera landed a gig at Rolling Stone. That was a crowning moment in her career as a journalist. Since then, Rocky Rivera's enjoyed a successful musical career and expanded her world as an educator in Oakland public schools. Most recently she published an autobiographical collection of essays, Snakeskin, which takes a look back at her storied career and personal life. Rocky Rivera, who was raised in San Francisco, uses the book to express the importance of restorative justice practices. Addressing conflict without using punitive models is something that works in the classroom and the community, as well as in art.

Kate Dash, aka Been Milky, is one of the coolest mothers you'll ever meet. She likes to bomb down huge San Francisco hills on a skateboard, she notoriously dyes her hair bright colors, she's a cannabis connoisseur and she's on the verge of launching a brand called Milky's World. Been Milky, whose name honors the fact that mothers have the ability to feed all of humankind, sees mothers as the most important beings walking this earth. And since she's a photographer, she can show us exactly what she sees. Her photography captures vivid images of her friends, many of them mothers, and of course, her own kids.

Artist Paola de la Calle plays with images and symbols that recall her childhood, her family's homeland in Colombia, and explores themes of citizenship and the politics of food. Bananas, tv satellites, door knocker hoops, sugar cane, and social security cards, to name a few, repeat in her work. She experiments with these images and themes across mediums. Paola's linocut prints, embellished flags, collaged posters and ceramics ask viewers to dig deeper into the colorful imagery.

Through blogs and TikTok videos Brena Jean discusses what it means to be one of the millions of people living with lipedema. The rarely diagnosed chronic disorder affects mostly women and causes fat cells within the body to build up and harden instead of burn; it's often confused with obesity or lymphedema. As a result, many people living with lipedema don't know they have it. Or, in Brena Jean's case, she recognized the condition but struggled to prove it to medical professionals. This week, Brean Jean and I discuss how she's taking internet trolls to school and what it means to fight fatphobia within the American healthcare system.

Alan Chazaro uses poetry to explore Bay Area culture, his love for hip-hop, and machismo stereotypes. We first talked in 2019 about his first poetry collection, This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album. Since then, Chazaro moved to Mexico, travelled through Central and South America, and then, ultimately, returned to the Bay Area. Chazaro has also been dabbling in the journalism trade-- with stories that range from the first woman to play professional men's basketball to the tale of a notable Oakland A's hot dog vendor. Chazaro has even freelanced for KQED. In addition to all of that and teaching English, Chazaro just published his second book, Pińata Theory, which takes a deeper dive into his Mexican-American identity, Hip-Hop and deconstructing concepts of masculinity. Since April is National Poetry Month, it seems like a good time to revisit our first conversation. And because so much has changed since then-- traveling, book publication and more-- we brought him back to give us a life update and a poem.

To hear other poets on Rightnowish here's a playlist: https://spoti.fi/3tnZpe5

A few days ahead of April 15th -- 415 Day -- we're talking to two artists from San Francisco who have lived, fought, partied, and made art for their hometown. Jules Retzlaff (Cereal For The Kids) and Sachiel Rosen (Baghead) are the duo behind the film and album, Dedicated To Those Who.

Jackie Keliiaa is a stand-up comedian raised in Hayward and based in Oakland. She's unapologetically Bay, and proud of her Yerington, Paiute and Washoe roots. She's also funny af. Building off Charlie Hill's legacy, Keliiaa cracks jokes about colonialism, Native culture and family, alongside her trials and tribulations with dating. Before the pandemic, you could catch her shows at Punchline San Francisco, Comedy Oakland and Tommy T's. She's featured alongside other Native comedians in the televised 'First Nation Comedy Experience'. She also produces events that showcase woman of color comics, and she just launched a podcast where she interviews creative friends. One of her latest endeavors includes contributing a chapter in the newly published book, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy. It's a deep dive into the under-appreciated legacy of Native comedians, taking its name from an iconic Charlie Hill joke, "My people are from Wisconsin. We used to be from New York... We had a little real estate problem."

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Filmmaker Cheryl Dunye is a legend. She’s best known for her seminal film, Watermelon Woman, which takes a critical look at the depiction of Black women in cinema; 2021 marks 25 years since it debuted. In making that film, Dunye, a graduate of Temple University and Rutgers University, created her own style of filmmaking known as “Dunyementary.”

Oakland-based filmmaker Theo Hollingsworth knows about nerds. Back when he attended Howard University, he was given the nickname “spoken nerd” because of his personality and passion for poetry. More recently, Hollingsworth’s independently produced comedic sci-fi series, Sirius Lee: The Problematic Time Transplant, dives into its own nerdom with quantum physics while addressing outdated perspectives on masculinity, gentrification and much more.

San Francisco State graduates Alba Roland Mejia and Jon Warfield Harrison are in the early stages of their careers as filmmakers. They’ve released a handful of short films which are artistic, a bit experimental and occasionally include a dash of science fiction. Their first collaboration, My Own Mecca, looks at a day in the life of a young man at a crossroads, learning to navigate relationships, rent and the world around him. Their most recent work, Blackness is Everything, is an experimental film that features the faces and talents of some pretty well-known Bay Area-based Black artists. The short film, made possible with the support of BAYCAT, debuted in February and made for a quality visual experience in the middle of Black History Month.

Maya Cueva makes documentary films that cover the heavy topics: immigration, reproductive justice and xenophobia. Cueva says her journey into professional storytelling began after covering current events at Youth Radio (now YR Media) as a teen. While attending Ithaca College in New York, she began work on her first film, The Provider, which follows Dr. Shannon Carr as she performs abortions in Texas in the midst of a heated battle for reproductive rights. That film led to another, On The Divide, which looks at the last abortion clinic on the U.S./Mexico border; the film is currently in production. Between creating those films, she's produced an animated film about her father’s immigration experience to the U.S. from Peru, Only the Moon/ Solamente La Luna. And earlier this month Cueva debuted Ale Libre. This story follows reproductive rights organizer and undocumented activist Alejandra Pablos in her fight against deportation. The film recently debuted at the Big Sky Doc Fest, and later this month will be showing at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, Salem Film Festival and the Thin Line Fest.

Tongo Eisen-Martin, San Francisco's eighth poet laureate, says it's not enough to simply be a poet. "The poet needs to just come on down to the trenches," he says. His suggestion for writers out there is to get involved in your community, whether that's passing out flyers or organizing a mutual aid program. "That experience is what you synthesize good revolutionary poetry from." This week on Righnowish, Eisen-Martin joins us for a brief but powerful interview that includes a performance of his poem, "A Sketch of Genocide."

Antoine Johnson stands at the intersection of hip-hop culture, HIV/ AIDS history, and the great institutions of higher learning in Northern California. A graduate of Oakland's Castlemont High School and Sacramento State University, Johnson is now a PhD candidate at UCSF where he's researching the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and how the community-- including a group of Black women in Oakland-- responded.

Lyricist Champ Green is probably your favorite Bay Area rapper's favorite rapper. He's been putting in work for some time, and over the past calendar year he's been on a music-making mission. And he's not showing any signs of slowing. His clever wordplay and wisdom-filled rhymes can be found on a project with DJ Basta, a recent single and video with Mistah FAB, and multiple tracks with the Grand Nationxl collective. And next week he's scheduled to release Pleasantly Plump 2 with DJ Twelvz.

Neo-soul and hip-hop artist Jada Imani gets her inspiration from a range of lived experiences: parking tickets, lessons from her parents, and Mac Dre lyrics. Despite the pandemic, Jada has been dropping three-track EPs every first Friday since October, and plans to continue to do so until March. It's a legacy of the collaborations and vibe she cultivated while organizing and hosting First Friday events at the Alan Blueford Center in Oakland for over 3 years. While honoring her origins, she's also incorporating inspiration from her new surroundings -- like Hawaiian tree frogs. This week on Rightnowish we talk to Jada Imani about astrology, 'high vibration clapbacks' and how music was her access to culture when she was a small girl in a small town.

For the next month, Rightnowish will be featuring artists with local roots who are taking the sounds of the Bay to a national stage. YMTK is an R&B and hip-hop artist who grew up in Oakland and currently resides in Los Angeles. In his music catalog, you'll find his collaborations with P-Lo, IamSu!, Rexx Life Raj, and many more. YMTK has also written lyrics for emerging artists like the East Bay's Marteen and Compton's Gemaine. But while sheltering-in-place over this past year, YMTK says he's been exploring his creative process as an individual. "... when you are creating by yourself, it’s like really on you," YMTK says. And as a creative person, second guessing himself is common, but this time in solitude has proven to be a "swift kick in the ass to really focus on YMTK," he says. But, focusing on self and going through the process of doing soul work isn't a foreign concept to YMTK. He spent his childhood in the church and says it has given his music a foundation, no matter if it's a dance track or a prayer song. In addition to discussing the role spirituality plays in his life and art, we talk hoops, hanging with Mr. Cooper, and shooting your shot as a musical artist in the middle of a pandemic.

Nappy Nina is a lyricist with a smooth-sultry delivery that's almost jazz-like, especially when coupled with some signature Boom-Bap production. In her songs, she raps about breakups, missing Oakland, the disappointing produce in Brooklyn, and navigating rough financial waters. She's gotten mentions from the Grammys and Bandcamp. And she's been working on a streak of exciting projects. For an organization called Flocabulary, Nina was commissioned to pen a rhyme that tells the story of Toni Morrison. And this year, she's built on that momentum by dropping a new single,"Pandemy Stimmy," which features Stas Thee Boss. Soon, she'll release a new EP, Double Down, in collaboration with New Jersey-based producer, J Words.

Dale Johnson grew up in East Oakland with stories of his grandfather riding horses on a Texas ranch. For years horses were just part of a family story. But one day, a pair of polo boots caught Dale's eye and he was brought back into the world of equestrians. Now Dale and his horse, Sunny, are deep in the horseback community. Last fall, they joined other riders, like Brianna Noble, to ride through San Francisco's Sunnydale Projects on Halloween dressed up like Wakandans . They were also part of the Ride Out to Vote campaign last November. This week on Rightnowish, Dale and I talk about what it means to be a polo player and an equestrian in the face of race and class stereotypes that come with being an African American man from East Oakland.

Breena Nuñez is an Afro Guatemalan-Salvadoran cartoonist who grew up on the Bay Area's peninsula. Now she lives in the East Bay. Nuñez's illustrations cover everything from commentaries about electoral politics to autobiographical comics about gender, sexuality and race. African ancestry in Central America is a through-line in Nuñez's work. Sometimes she explicitly brings it up in the captions, other times she subtly alludes to it through hairstyles or a character's skin tone. Earlier this year, Nuñez and her partner Lawrence Lindell co-founded Laneha House, a small press where they publish their work and the work of The BAYlies collective. And just this month, the two got married.

Alex Trapps-Chabala is a young genealogist whose main focus is tracing the lineage of African American people. He grew up between Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood and the Bay Area. But as preteen, his family sent him to live with with relatives in Alabama to get some discipline for an attitude problem. It was that time spent in the south that pushed Alex toward becoming a genealogist. Alex says that while in Alabama, his grandmother taught him about his family and showed him how to dig through archives and records in order to uncover more information. As he got more invested in genealogy, he saw gaps in how African American history is told, as well as opportunities to illuminate more Black family histories. Alex began pulling up vital records, census records and even digitizing records of home births. With the help of others in genealogists, Alex is compiling a database he hopes will be a resource for African American families. Now through his startup, The KinConnector, Alex is aiming to have an easy to use database that fills voids in African American histories.

Vincent-Ray Williams III is the Operations Coordinator at Oakland's LGBTQ Community Center. Through this position Vincent has a hand in developing the Center's Glenn Burke Wellness Clinic. The clinic, which is named after the Oakland A's player who was discriminated against for being the first openly gay major league player, is set to open early next year. Vincent says the clinic will focus on HIV/ AIDS testing and prevention. Vincent, who was born HIV positive, says dispelling negative notions of people living with the virus is the work he finds most purposeful.

Abdulalim A’Omer grew up in a tight-knit Muslim Eritrean community in South Berkeley. He says that experience exposed him to a little bit of everything-- fashion, basketball, family, politics, religion, technology and more. It all proved to be a foundational part of Abdulalim's multifaceted Everything brand, which wants to ask its users, what's your everything? Abdulalim, or Abdul for short, is the oldest of four boys. His parents immigrated from Eritrea, allowing him to become a college educated entrepreneur. Their sacrifices aren't lost on him and he maintains a connection to their homeland. But recently, he's watched Eritrea become enmeshed in a brewing civil conflict in the neighboring country of Ethiopia. In this week's episode of Rightnowish we talk to Abdulalim about how he is using technology and art to bring people into his world of culture, community and ... everything.

Deanna Van Buren is an architect, but she goes far beyond just designing buildings. She uses her craft to demonstrate new structures for justice in our society. Van Buren is the co-founder and Executive Director of Designing Justice, an organization that she says focuses on "ending mass incarceration through innovations in the built environment, using both finance and design together." Designing Justice has launched projects across the country: They're behind a Peace Making project in Syracuse, a restorative justice project in Detroit, and they're looking to convert an Atlanta jail into a community center. Locally, they've refurbished a MUNI bus to create a mobile school in San Francisco and in East Oakland, they've built a community center based in restorative justice practices. This week on Rightnowish, Deanna Van Buren discusses what it means to design for a more equitable society.

Comic Luna Malbroux loves to stay informed, and she also loves to laugh. By prioritizing joy in her life, she has the energy to confront racism, sexism and the stress of this election season. Just this week, Malbroux-- who is also a musician and sex coach in training-- spent election night co-hosting a live event for the San Francisco AIDS foundation. She brought the laughs and she brought some deep political knowledge. In this week's episode of Rightnowish, Luna's got jokes and wisdom on how to find pleasure in these tense times. Hit the play button to catch some serotonin.

Denis Ivan Perez Bravo is an East Bay-based photographer and organizer who isn't shy about jumping right into the action. The images he captures on the front lines of protests in Northern California show the intense struggle of today's social movements. The risk of bodily harm can come from both sides of a scrimmage. While covering the news, Dennis has been hit by projectiles fired from police weapons and risks being trampled by crowds of protestors. On top of that, Denis is undocumented, so he's literally risking his freedom. But he says that his photos are worth it. Beyond capturing images from the front lines in the battle for justice and liberation, Denis also fills his camera rolls with shots of community sporting events and cultural affairs from his neighborhood in Richmond, CA. This week on Rightnowish, we talk to Denis about what it means to be on the front line, and why he sometimes crosses that line.

Two years ago Tayleur Crenshaw and Maud Alcorn started the arts collective, Gold Beams. It began as an open mic Crenshaw hosted in her living room -- called Second Mondays -- which eventually grew into a larger monthly event at Red Bay Coffee headquarters in East Oakland. "It’s like emotional stories that they kind of leave at the altar at Second Mondays. And us as community aunties, we are there to rub the backs and to listen and be an ear. We’re just here for people’s emotional journeys," says Crenshaw. Since shelter-in-place orders came down this spring, Gold Beams has pivoted while staying productive. They're doing a filmed series of intimate performances highlighting Black artists, called Fourth Mondays. They're also working in collaboration with Welcome To The Table to produce a series of filmed conversations about relationships amongst Black artists in the Bay Area. It's called, In Real Life: A Conversation Between Black Men and Women. And if that's not enough, they've also mounted a photo exhibition, which largely features the work of Dorean Raye, myself and other photographers who've captured their events; the framed images are posted at Oakstop at 1721 Broadway in downtown Oakland. The exhibition is titled, Mondays Were Never the Same, and is open for timed reservations. But do it fast, it's only scheduled to be up until November 6th.

In January of this year, Cat Brooks and the Anti Police-Terror Project launched a service where trained professionals respond to mental health crises; it's an alternative to people calling the police to handle the situation. The service, Mental Health First, or M.H. First, initially launched in Sacramento, and began serving Oakland this summer. Brooks says that M.H. First's work is just one part of the effort to refund the community and divest from overspending on police. This week on Rightnowish, Brooks discusses M.H. First, the racism she encountered as a young person and she traces her origins in organizing back to the killing of Oscar Grant-- a case which was recently been reopened.

On 17th and Telegraph, on the backside of YR media's Oakland headquarters, there's a mural that stretches the length of the three story building. The colorful artwork was painted by Rachel Wolfe Goldsmith and shows two people: one with their fist raised to the sky wearing a shirt that says "they/them", and another person looking calmly at you, sort of inviting you in. The models for the mural are artist and musician Stoney Creation, and Yanni Brump, a non-binary model, party thrower and public speaker. I was familiar with both Goldsmith and Stoney Creation before, but I didn't know Yanni until I posted a picture of the mural. A friend tagged Yanni in the post, and looking at their page, I got a glimpse into all the things they do. I reached out to Yanni and learned how they went from shy, to living their life unapologetically. Now you can see them posing for Vogue, walking in New York Fashion Week, speaking at protests, using TikTok videos as a tool to teach self love and being the face of this HUGE MURAL in downtown Oakland. This week on Rightnowish, Yanni Brump gives us a crash course on finding the courage within to trust in yourself.

About two years ago photographer Scott La Rockwell started taking photos of longtime Oakland residents, and interviewing them about their roots in the Town. He published the pieces online, calling it: the Townfolk Project. He says he initially planned to take photos of 100 folks from a cross section of backgrounds and neighborhoods, but with COVID-19, things slowed down. He’s sitting on about 20 published interviews. But this past summer, when store owners boarded up their buildings to discourage any vandalism that might come after peaceful protests, Scott’s project got an unexpected canvas: the windows of a building on 13th and Broadway. Now about a dozen of Scott’s photos of artists, activists and folks who’ve been putting on for the greater good of Oakland are mounted on one of the most prominent corners of the city. This week, we talk to Scott La Rockwell about the importance of showing the community to itself, especially at a time when people are so divided.

Regina Y. Evans works with a team of folks to assemble altars on International Boulevard in Oakland, a hub for adult sex workers as well as the sex trafficking of minors. Regina says the goal of the work is to be present for the girls-- "Beloveds" as she calls them. The altars are decorated with art, flowers, letters and fabrics, and since the start of the pandemic, she's been adding hand sanitizer, condoms and PPE. Regina says her team builds these altars as an offering and that she doesn't directly approach the Beloveds, instead she allows the altars to be an opening for interactions. For Regina, spirituality, social commentary and artistry all weave together in her mission to abolish the sex trafficking of minors. You can see this in all her work: She owns the vintage boutique, Regina's Door, which also serves as a safe haven for at-risk youth and survivors of human trafficking. And in addition to designing costumes for stage shows, she writes and performs her own plays-- which are informed by the work she does on the streets of Oakland.

A few years back, Victor Harris Jr. was selling maple peach bourbon cheesecakes at an Oakland event. He says an older African American woman sampled a slice and he watched as her eyes rolled back in her head before they re-focused on on him. She asked Victor to come closer, so he leaned in and she smacked him softly in the face. Then she complimented his work and ordered a cake to go. Victor, who is DJ, a former race car driver, a poet and owner of Reuschelle's Cheesecakes, hasn't been working any events this year due to concerns around COVID-19, but he's still finding ways to bring his sweets to peeps. He's selling at the Castro Valley Farmers Market, and the Temescal Farmers Market in Oakland. He's also doing personal deliveries-- and he says that's his favorite part of the job. This week, I interview Victor about the origin of his cheesecakes and his poetry, which caught the ear of Rightnowish listener Rebecca Hensler, who suggested we interview Victor.

Ashleyanne Krigbaum spins vinyl at weddings and dive bars, sound designs museum audio tours, and was the founding producer of KQED's arts and culture podcast, Rightnowish. You might've heard of it. Ashleyanne, who can trace her East Bay roots back for a few generations, grew up along the Delta in the town of Bethel Island. And after calling Berkley home for the past couple of years, she's decided to move to the Los Angeles area, where she'll embark on a great career opportunity-- and also enjoy a new romantic partnership. Before Ashleyanne left the KQED team, we put her in the hot seat and asked her the hard questions. You know, like: what does it take to produce a weekly arts and culture show? What's her philosophy on creative collaboration? And what's the story behind her technicolor hair?

Erina Alejo is an educator, artist and cultural artifact keeper. But when asked how they self-identify, Alejo says they're, "a third-generation renter." Alejo's grand-aunt immigrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1959. Soon after, other family members joined. They lived in the East Bay city of Pittsburg, before moving to San Francisco. They've been renters the whole time. Now Alejo, who spent their early years in the Mission District before being priced out and moving to the Excelsior, says they've been watching the story of gentrification unfold through a unique lens.

Oakland's Joshua Johnson knows about the commitment, focus and strategy it takes to compete at a high level. He's a professional NFL quarterback with over ten years of experience in the league. And recently, he's taken those same qualities to the world of online gaming. Johnson is a co-founder of the Ultimate Gaming League (UGL), an e-sports platform where gamers compete, create community, and talk trash to one another. Beyond fun and games, Johnson says there are ample entrepreneurial opportunities in the world of digital gaming, especially when it comes to individuals branding themselves. Johnson's aim is to make sure folks in his community are taking full advantage of the platforms that are growing more popular by the day.

With all that's going on in the world, some folks might overlook the presidential election that's in less than three months. But not Tracey L. Ross, and she's getting the word out about the importance of this election. Tracey, who was raised and politicized in Oakland, currently works as the Director of Federal Policy and Narrative Change at PolicyLink. This means she serves as a bridge between policy researchers and elected officials. She has a unique sense of America's national political landscape and she wants to make sure people are aware of what's at stake this coming fall, and how that will inform elections to come.

Michael Muscadine was born and raised in East Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, where his family goes back several generations. Muscadine says that's where his grandfather, John Melendrez, instilled in him the idea of community oriented social activism. Now Muscadine works as a life coach at the Fruitvale-based nonprofit, CURYJ, which stands for Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice. Muscadine works directly with young folks-- many of whom have had run-ins with the justice system-- to assure that they have resources like food and housing. Muscadine also works at a community garden in the same neighborhood where he works and lives. Through gardening, and his work at CURYJ, he's literally planting seeds in the same place he has deep roots.

As the Director of Homeless Services for the Alameda Health System and the Chief Clinical Officer with Health Leads, Dr. Damon Francis has his hands full. Before the pandemic, Dr. Damon performed heath checkups, tests, and provided resources for people living without shelter and those living with HIV. This year he's taken on treating people living with the virus and informing people how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. When he talks about quelling the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Damon relies on something he learned while working with people living with HIV/ AIDS: you can't demonize human behavior. He believes that people are going to be people; he just wants them to do so in the most informed and healthy way possible. So, when it comes to the ongoing conversation about gatherings in public spaces, like Oakland's Lake Merritt, Dr. Damon doesn't condemn people, instead he asks them to socialize in the healthiest fashion possible: wearing masks, washing hands, staying more than six-feet apart; he also suggests looking at the Alameda County Health Department's page for further information.

Amir Abdul-Shakur's Instagram page, AmirThePhotographer, looks like a community yearbook. His shots are mostly portraits of Black folks in Oakland, and show each individual in their own radiant light. His images, some of protests and others of parties, all seem to have an underlying joyous sentiment.

Dania Cabello is a former professional fútbol player, who now teaches the sport to young folks through the program Oakland Street Stylers. She was one of the main characters in the film Futbolistas 4 Life and is a producer on the series, The North Pole. But her most recent venture involves juicing marijuana leaves to make healing salves and bath salts; and her company is called Ojo De La Sol. After mastering her remedies in her kitchen, Dania says she went through the long bureaucratic process of filing paperwork, getting her products tested and when she finally got access to a space where she could mass produce, that's when the first shelter-in-place orders came down from Governor Newsom. Since then, she's struggled to get her products into stores, as meetings are hard to arrange while socially distancing. But nonetheless, she's managed to set up her online shop and sell her her salves and bath salts through a digital storefront. After all, this is a time where masses could use medicine.

"I'm doing a flip off the boat," said Jarrel Phillips, breaking down last year's performance at Remembering 1619, a play directed by Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre, which acknowledges the first shipment of enslaved Africans reaching Virginia 400 years ago. "I'm one of the ones that decides, 'I'm not having this, yo, I'm out,'" says Jarrel, summarizing his character in the play. His onstage persona is much like Jarrel in real life: acrobatic, resilient and close to his roots. From the stage, Jarrel tells the story of Africans surviving in the Western hemisphere. In real life, Jarrel is part the story of how African Americans have survived on the West Coast of the United States.

DAGHE Digital is just about as unique as they come. He's a West Oakland kid, who's clear about his West African roots, as his family hails from Nigeria. He grew up a socialite who turf danced and threw "functions" for people who weren't old enough to go to legit clubs. He's grown to become a brand creator, clothing designer, music producer and more. But his main job? Going stupid on the turntables and microphone at some of the biggest events. I first sat down to interview him in Oakland last summer, and talked about the other side of DAGHE. You know, the cerebral side, the side that likes to have "business meetings" with himself while he runs the lake. Since shelter-in-place, he channeled his love of running towards a Peace and Wellness run to show solidarity with the protests.

Is police reform actually achievable? That's the question I'm most interested in asking Regina Jackson. Ms. Regina, as she's often called, has been the Executive Director of the East Oakland Youth Development Center since 1994. That's where she perfected her system of mentorship and community engagement. In 2017, Ms. Regina was elected to a four-year term as the Chair of the Oakland Police Commission-- an independent review board that works outside of OPD to oversee policies and practices within the department. Ms. Regina's goal is to bring her philosophies on mentorship and community development to the Oakland Police Commission, in the hopes that it will result in substantial reform to the Oakland Police Department-- which has been under a federal monitor since 2003. Ms. Regina is powerful and competent, but given all that I've experienced with police in America, especially over these past few weeks-- with footage of George Floyd's Death and the tale of Breonna Taylor's death, I've grown more pessimistic about the potential of "reforming" police departments in America, Oakland's included. But if anyone is going to make a dent in police reform, it's going to be someone like Ms. Regina.

Hadiyah Daché is an esthetician from East Palo Alto, who recently relocated her Fairy Glow Mother business to Oakland. Her skincare work covers everything finding remedies for acne to waxing intimate areas, and there's so much more to it. In this conversation, we touch on Hadiyah's roots in EPA, her entrepreneurial drive and why skincare is deeper than just applying sunblock-- which she suggests you do multiple times of day if you're outside in the summer months. Correction: Hadiyah's last name is Daché.

Sydney Nycole is a singer and songwriter from Berkeley who has been making music since she was a teen. And although her father (and manager) Gary Reeves has been in the industry since the 1980s, Sydney found this passion on her own. Once it was established that Sydney, a free spirit who has no problem speaking her mind, was on the path to becoming an artist, it was on Gary to make sure he did his best to be there to support her and to know when to step back and let Sydney do her own thing. In this conversation, Gary talks about how his experiences working with the likes of Michael Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Blair Underwood informed what it's like to be a father in the entertainment industry. Sydney also offers some insight into what her father has done to help her on her path.

Poet Tiffany Banks is the host of Speak On It, a weekly poetry night that usually takes place at Liege Lounge in Old Oakland. But since California has been sheltering in place, the poetry night has taken to the digital realm-- and now the talented performers hop on a big Zoom call just about every Wednesday night to share their work. As the host of this event, it's on Tiffany to organize the video call, schedule performers, promote the event and, at times, influence bashful artists to share their hidden talents. In this episode of Rightnowish, Tiffany helps me to tap back into a passion I've had since a kid, writing poetry. And she even convinces me to perform.

Porsche Nicole Kelly is an Oakland based motivational speaker, poet and author of the book, 2 Kinds of Fire. For this week's episode of Rightnowish, I step back and let the wordsmith speak to us as only she can, through her poetic critique of race in society in the form of her poem, "Jokes." The poem grapples with cases of police brutality and white nationalist violence. Do what you need to take care of yourself. You can follow Porsche Nicole Kelly at "thepoetactivist" on Instagram.

2 Kinds of Fire

Over the past nine months, I've had the luxury of getting to know some of the most interesting artists and activists the Bay Area has to offer. As the host of the Rightnowish podcast, it's been my goal to give them a platform, while taking a step back. But this week, given all that has occurred in relation to police brutality and protests, I have something to say. Today's episode of Rightnowish is dedicated to the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and all of those who've lost their lives in the struggle to end police brutality and extra-judicial killings of African American people. I hope this piece creates critical thinking about the numerous ways in which this country shows its lack of value for the lives of African American people.

For the past three months, San Francisco's Jamal Trulove has been working with UCSF’s Science Policy Group in order to get masks, hand sanitizer and information to groups that have been most impacted by COVID-19. You might've heard a little bit about Trulove's story. He's an actor, who played the role of Kofi in the 2019 film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He's a rapper, under the stage name 10MilliMilli, he's dropped a handful of songs, and is working on more. And last year he was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement in a case with the SFPD, after being framed and falsely imprisoned for a 2007 murder; a case that led to him serving over six years behind bars. Since then, he's been vocal about that case and the prison system.

Chris Riggins has performed on stages across the Bay Area and beyond. And as his career was in mid-stride -- COVID-19 hit. Now Riggins is adjusting to a world where comedy performances, like many forms of art, are happening online.

Sumayyah Monét Franklin is a birth rights activist, doula and owner of Sumi’s Touch. She gives advice to potential parents on conception, coaches new parents through postpartum and is with parents during the birthing process-- she's attended over 500 births and counting. As of late, caution around potentially being exposed to COVID-19 has made many people wary about even going to traditional healthcare facilities. Guidelines on how many people can be present for the birthing process have become strict, making more parents hesitant to go to a hospital. This might explain why Sumayyah says she's seeing an uptick in her business-- and she expects that trend to continue.

When Felicia Gangloff-Bailey and Karega Bailey's newborn daughter, Kamaiu, passed last year, the couple says they became "angel parents." It's a term that exemplifies their seemingly ever-present optimism and uplifting approach to dealing with grief. This mindset is something the duo brings to their professional life as well, working as educators and restorative justice practitioners. They're also musicians, making up half of the band, Sol Development, along with Brittany Tanner and Lauren Adams. Recently, the couple has worked to publish a book full of affirmations that can be used as a toolkit, of sorts, to give guidance to other people who are dealing with grief. The book is call Sol Affirmations. This week on Rightnowish, we're discussing the importance of understanding grief and how uplifting words help process the highs and lows that life can throw at you.

Mike Nicholls is the founder of Umber magazine, a publication dedicated to telling the stories of Black and Brown artists from the Bay Area. It's so invested in those narratives, the pages are brown and the ink is black. For the magazine's third issue, which was released last summer, the theme was Sound. Nicholls, who grew up with an intense stutter, says he's always found it easier to express himself through the written word—hence his passion for the visual arts. But he's always been interested in digging into sound, especially as a method for overcoming stuttering.

Oakland MC Passwurdz 510 is a professional battle rapper. That means he gets paid to go on stage and publicly humiliate his opponents. It's an art form that dates back to the early days of Hip Hop and has been depicted in movies like 8 Mile. On top of being a competition of lyrical prowess, these battles provide comedic relief for audiences - and a cathartic release for artists, as well. Passwurdz, aka Pass, is also part of the duo ANML PLNT (along with Jordan Jennings, aka Apes), which released an album earlier this year, called "The Box." Now that people are dealing with the emotions of daily uncertainty, I figured it'd be a good time to get some tips from a professional about how to use battle raps to constructively release some pent up emotions.

Paris Warr's dream job has always been to work in a mortuary. Now she's worried about how Covid-19 will impact her industry.

Radio host DC is working non-stop during shelter-in-place, and he has a pretty good idea of how others in the entertainment industry are dealing with everything that is (and isn't) happening in the Bay Area.

She's been all over the world—but back home in Oakland, Pendarvis Harshaw catches up with the R&B and jazz musician.

Our friends over at the podcast Truth Be Told just dropped their second season and we want to share their recent episode about COVID-19, called 'Rona and Racism: A Survival Guide.

He's a nature-loving animal advocate who documents his journeys on social media. He's Scid "The Snake man" Howard.

Artist Sydney Cain uses art to reveal her connections to ancestors and community that are no longer here... or maybe they are, just in another realm.

Carina Ho, who goes by ONIKHO, is a dancer, musician and choreographer who is paralyzed from the chest down. Here's how she uses her art to tell her story.

The story of Toni Stone, the first black woman to play professional baseball in America.

Yasmin and Daniel are educators, volunteers and entrepreneurs who hold Oakland's well being at the center of everything they do.

When you want to research the history of your house, write a paper about a historical figure or make a movie about Oakland-- you go see Dorothy Lazard.

How do you maintain a healthy relationship in the midst of combating oppression?

After her family was evicted, Danielle Thompson turned to filmmaking to document the changes in Oakland in the hopes that it might someday bring her back home.

Touring with The Jacka gave manager PK a front row seat to seeing how Bay Area culture is loved around the world.

As a former sex worker, Dr. Connie Wun talks about the importance of understanding the difference between sex work and exploitation.

With virtuoso beatboxing and soulful singing, the a capella group uses their vocal gifts to impart an empowering message.

Drew Banga is responsible for some of Kamaiyah and Rexx Life Raj's best-known songs, but his biggest job is fatherhood.

Five young women in Oakland have created a video game about the challenges of being a mother.

Pendarvis Harshaw's 'Rightnowish' kicks off with Oakland muralist and culture keeper Refa One.

Lara Kaur’s Community Portrait Pop-Up in Oakland gives back through free photography.

Brookfield Duece is using his music to make sure the story of his neighborhood is told properly.

Ashara Ekundayo is closing her gallery in Oakland. The next chapter in her creative career will be writing a book that explores how people use art as a first response to combating oppression.

This East Bay poet drops a few words of wisdom on masculinity over a plate of g-fire chicken wings.

'Off The Table' is a bi-weekly performance showcasing the work of students at the Oakland School of The Arts and modeled after the "Tiny Desk" concerts at NPR.

Discarded furniture never really caught my eye—but after talking with Jamie Facciola, I notice it everywhere.

How many sex toys come with personal mantras? At Nenna Joiner's store in downtown Oakland, self-care takes on a whole new meaning.

With 'Roll Out,' the singer pays homage to the Oakland Rollers, a crew that transforms a Lake Merritt cul-de-sac into a rollerskating rink every week.

Oakland native Timothy B. has been putting paint where it ain’t for some time now—and the center of his work is family.

People say the magic of the Bay Area is dimming, that artists are leaving and the unique flavor of the Bay Area is going with it, but the team behind Rightnowish knows that there’s more to that story. To understand it, you gotta keep up with what's going on in the moment, in other words, what's happening right now... ish.