On this final episode of the Rightnowish podcast, we end back where we started, but with some pretty significant updates. In the fall of 2019, renowned visual artist Timothy B. gave us the first full Rightnowish interview for an episode titled, 'From D-Boys to Dope Art.' During that interview Timothy B. was flanked by his mother Dana Bluitt and his father Timothy Bluitt Sr., as he shared with us his perspective on mural making, community building and his work in Oakland. Now, five years after ou...
Jul 18, 2024•22 min
The dense green woods of Sonoma County's Forestville are home to a two-story music studio and residence that runs on solar energy. Known as The NEST, the terracotta colored building is made completely of wood, clay and cob; and it was created for the purpose of serving Native artists. Ras K'dee, a Pomo-African, hip-hop musician who grew up in the area, is the caretaker of the space but he didn't build it alone. He worked with over 350 people from youth groups to his own family and friends. This ...
Jul 11, 2024•20 min
Human memory can be triggered by certain smells, sounds or even a photo. It's funny how the mind works; one small symbol can lead to the rehashing of feelings from years ago. The latest work from artist Marcel Pardo Ariza urges people to take a trip down memory lane by using images of gone but not forgotten bar signs. Pardo Ariza is clear: these bars served more than booze, they were sanctuaries for folks from San Francisco's queer and trans community and they should be celebrated as such. Learn...
Jun 27, 2024•23 min
West Oakland's Loove Moore is a superhero. His special power? His ability to participate. He's a talented musician, dancer, and community documentarian, who interviews people about everything from current events in the Bay Area to how they define love. Plus he can get down behind the camera, producing all of his own stuff. Known for his interview series, The Loove Moore Show and for making songs that sample classic Bay Area tracks, what drives Loove Moore's affinity for culture and dedication to...
Jun 20, 2024•21 min
Tomas Moniz's novel All Friends Are Necessary explores the profound depths of friendship and the unique ways in which love is expressed. The book is chock-full of remedies for grief, sweet moments between friends, observations about Mother Nature and shoutouts to some key Bay Area landmarks and cultural institutions — all of which we discuss on this week's episode of Rightnowish. Tomas Moniz will read and sign copies of his new book at Doña (3770 Piedmont Ave., Oakland) on June 13, 2024 at 6:30 ...
Jun 13, 2024•19 min
Jazz and hip-hop are technically two different genres of music, but for bassist and composer Giulio Xavier Cetto, the connection between the two is indivisible. Both genres seamlessly compliment each other as they show up in the music Cetto listens to as, as well as the music he makes. On this week's Rightnowish, San Francisco's own Cetto discusses the story behind his Instagram handle, his favorite Bay Area music venues, and what it's like to lead Big Trippin, a band that features drummer Thoma...
Jun 06, 2024•22 min
This week we revisit a story that was originally published September 2, 2022 as part of “Permanent Behavior: Getting Tatted in the Bay” , a four-part series, about local tattoo artists. Miguel "Bounce" Perez is a visual artist who owes a lot of his talents to childhood memories with his family. His mother introduced him to sketching, as she'd draw “chola-style” portraits of women with feathered hair and sharp brows. His uncles taught him the art of lettering in "Cali-Chicano" Old English script....
May 30, 2024•21 min
This week on Rightnowish we take a little dive into family history and explore the big concerns of the next generation with published poet, educator and youth advocate, Michelle "Mush" Lee. Lee is the executive director of the well renowned poetry organization, Youth Speaks. The organization boasts a long list of alums who are playwrights and poets, actors and activists. Just two years after its founding in 1996, Youth Speaks launched the annual youth poetry slam, Brave New Voices. This year, th...
May 23, 2024•17 min
We love having conversations about culture, identity and place with local change makers and hometown heroes. If you appreciate the work that we do on Rightnowish, please visit https://donate.kqed.org/podcasts to support us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 13, 2024•4 min
As we celebrate Mother's Day, we're taking some time to honor those who have strained relationships with their mothers, are missing their mothers or grew up without their mothers. We're also thinking about the mothers who are missing their children for one reason or another. More than just thinking about them, we're hearing from them. This week we're passing the mic to our friends over at "Ear Hustle", a podcast from PRX’s Radiotopia. This special episode highlights the stories of elderly mother...
May 09, 2024•26 min
The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-2024 campaign, but at least the music was slappin'. During timeouts, breaks between quarters and sometimes even when the ball was in play, the Chase Center's speakers would vibrate with the sounds of legendary Bay Area hip-hop artists. The person often on the turntables making it happen: DJ D Sharp. He's been the Warriors in-house DJ for a decade, providing the soundtrack for Steph, Klay, Draymond and company during their legendary run of four NBA champ...
May 02, 2024•21 min
nic feliciano (who also goes by Coco Machete) contains multitudes. She's a fashionista who currently resides in Berkeley, but was born in the Philippines and spent her teenage years in Southern California. After moving to the East Bay for school two decades ago, she's grown into a playwright, chef, thespian and — as she says — "a master of fun." feliciano's creations go beyond the stage. She's currently writing a comic book in which she gives a modern spin on the mythological creature from Filip...
Apr 25, 2024•24 min
Adonis is a DJ who is immersed in downtown Oakland's nightlife scene. When they're not on the turntables, Adonis spends significant portions of their summers deep sea commercial fishing in Alaska. Adonis sees it as a way to pay bills, build community, and learn more about their Filipino roots. This week we discuss how it all intertwines-- the search for self, the love of community, the deep sea fishing and the appreciation of the Bay Area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...
Apr 18, 2024•25 min
In her book White Supremacy Is All Around: Notes from a Black Disabled Woman in a White World, Dr. Akilah Cadet brings the reader into her life as a Black woman living with a disability who recognizes that oppressive forces are as constant as her chronic pain. Dr. Cadet talked with the Rightnowish team about racism, ableism and ways one can go about fixing a broken system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 11, 2024•27 min
On this episode of Rightnowish, we’re passing the mic to our friends at Immigrantly podcast. Host Saadia Khan and her guests examine traditional narratives Americans hold about immigrants and people of color. Through the process, they carefully unravel the nuance and depth of the immigrant experience. Immigrantly explores the everyday miraculousness of immigrant life, like love, food, faith, friendship and creativity through first-person accounts. Immigrantly’s guest for this episode is Meklit H...
Apr 04, 2024•45 min
Zoë Boston is a talented artist who takes the highs and lows of life, and creates moving works of art of all sorts. She paints huge, brightly-colored aerosol murals depicting otherworldly beings, with elements of Afrocentrism and scenes inspired by nature. She also does oil-based paintings on canvas, smaller in stature but just as powerful. She's a fashionista, who knows how to put an outfit together-- accessories and all. She's a writer, of both short journal-like essays and profound lyrics for...
Mar 28, 2024•18 min
The Mamas for a Free Palestine collective is made up of mothers across the Bay Area who say they are fed up with business as usual. While they are a relatively new group, these mothers are not new to activism and political organizing. With their children in tow, they are joining with other social justice organizations to demand that elected officials declare a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as end the use of U.S. public funds for Israel's military. Editor’s note: This episode has been edit...
Mar 23, 2024•21 min
Mehndi or henna artist Sabreena Haque talks to KQED's Pendarvis Harshaw about setting intentions when having art added to your body, doing menna, aka henna for men and expanding into tattoos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2024•18 min
This week KQED's Sheree Bishop speaks to Michelle Cruz Gonzales. Michelle spent the late 90s in two iconic all-female punk bands, Spitboy, and Kamala and the Karnivores. In 2016, she released a memoir about her time in Spitboy and being the only woman of color in that band. Now, she teaches English classes with Punk literature at Las Positas College. Michelle talks about feeling seen as a person of color, the importance of supporting artists and musicians, dealing with toxic masculinity, and how...
Mar 07, 2024•24 min
George Crampton Glassanos says he isn't an artist, he's a painter. Despite this assertion, his work is full of eye-catching colors and symbols representative of San Francisco's Mission district culture. It's born out of both a need to serve others, and George's personal urge to create. He's also driven by the need to advocate for the rights of working class people locally and abroad. This all adds to his paintings and drawings, but don't call it artwork. He recently stopped by KQED's headquarter...
Feb 29, 2024•26 min
Last year I drove over 33,000 miles all around Northern California, constantly pursuing a deeper understanding of this region's culture. And then one day, while sitting in traffic, it hit me: you can tell a lot about our culture by simply looking at the freeways. This week, as we celebrate Rightnowish's 200th episode, I give you a glimpse into the things that I think about while I'm bending corners on Northern California's highways and byways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
Feb 22, 2024•15 min
Ira Watkins paints Black history while living it. He's a self-taught visual artist who has been using dazzling colors, expressive images and hidden messages to document Black history for decades. His work has graced the walls of his Bayview neighborhood and has been shown at the Tenderloin Museum. He's also painted a huge mural in his hometown of Waco, Texas, where the city dedicated a day in his honor-- now every January 17 is Ira Watkins Day. This week we talk about Black history with someone ...
Feb 15, 2024•22 min
As a kid in San Francisco, Tommy Guerrero would stand on his skateboard, sliding down the steep hills of San Francisco slalom style. He'd dodge the dangerous objects in traffic and aim for the lips of the driveways he'd pass, going off them in attempts to catch air. This skillset allowed him to win contests, have his own signature board, and turn pro before he could legally buy a beer. Instead, that first check from being signed as a professional skater, was spent on a four track recorder and a ...
Feb 08, 2024•25 min
Qing Qi is an artist, talented MC, and an actress who doesn't mince words. Her lyrics are explicit for a reason. She looks at the atrocities that readily happen in this country and all around the world, from bombings to kidnappings, and then she asks what's wrong with saying a few four letter words or euphemisms for genitalia? Qing Qi also doesn't shy away from the hardships she's navigated while living in the Bay Area. She pours her observations and personal experiences into her lyrics, deliver...
Feb 01, 2024•27 min
Equipto (born Ilyich Sato) is a hip-hop cultural cornerstone and well-known activist who reps San Francisco to the fullest. He's been making music since the 90s, when he came in the game laying down tracks with the underground group, Bored Stiff. Equipto has rocked shows with the late Mac Dre and was good friends with the late Baba Zumbi of Zion-I. Legendary rapper San Quinn even credits Equipto for teaching him how to properly count rap bars. We discuss his various roles of mentor, father, arti...
Jan 25, 2024•22 min
"Been through it all but I feel like it was worth it, not a perfect man but I feel like I am worthy," sings musician Rob Woods in a raspy yet uplifting tone that's reflective of the sentiment in his trademark song, "Worthy." Woods wrote the song in collaboration with Ricky Jassal, who he met while incarcerated in a California state prison. Since his release, Woods has been traveling around this state reminding people that no matter what they've been through, they too are worthy. His work is impo...
Jan 18, 2024•23 min
"Turfin' is a way of life for me," says Telice Summerfield, a dancer who has the ability turn a BART platform into a stage where she can glide, tut, bend and bone break on beat. She exchanges energy with onlookers; they get entertained and she gets empowered. The dance is an art. It's also a political act, as she takes up space at will. Today we discuss how the hyphy movement opened her eyes to the arts as a child, how her experience at UC Berkeley exposed her to inequalities on campus as a youn...
Jan 11, 2024•21 min
From global issues to community conflicts, Boots Riley has had a foot in a number of the major current events of the past year, and he says he's not done yet. So we're kicking off 2024 by talking to someone who has their finger on the pulse of the culture, and a hand in directing the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 04, 2024•25 min
Marisol Medina-Cadena takes a tour of the American Indian Cultural District. It was founded in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood in 2020 to serve as a home base for the Urban Native community. This episode originally aired on July 22, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 30, 2023•28 min
This week on Rightnowish, we talk to librarian Mychal Threets about what it's like to be a social media star and how the public library system is a place for all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 16, 2023•24 min
