Attorney John Thyne jumps into the political debate and discussion in the latest episode of @Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina Thyne is an attorney, residential and commercial real estate broker, and Santa Barbara College of law professor. He's deeply engrained in Santa Barbara politics and is a frequent player on many levels. In this podcast, Thyne talk about his real estate trends, the state of Santa Barbara, including the Pacaso fractional ownership controversy. and the downtown promenade....
Aug 07, 2022•1 hr
Educator Shawn Carey talks with journalist Josh Molina about her jump from the Santa Barbara Unified School District to the Santa Barbara County office of Education. Carey, beloved by her peers and colleagues, left the Santa Barbara Unified School District amid a wave of voluntary departures, 26, as of July 31, in the past year. In this podcast, Carey talks about why she left, her career milestones, her family, the story behind how she came to Santa Barbara, and her new role as director of schoo...
Jul 31, 2022•37 min
Architect Anthony Grumbine believes the State Street promenade needs an interim plan because we're currently allowing a "B-level," or even "C-level," which is below Santa Barbara's standards. "Shouldn't we at least have a basic, good, interim design in the meantime that is actually doable as an interim solution," Grumbine said on the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks. "The reality is that some of those interim solutions are going to be around for 10 years probably. So why the heck are we all...
Jul 27, 2022•59 min
Santa Cruz-born Neil Erickson is everywhere in Santa Barbara. The singer-songwriter regularly plays sets at concert venues all over town, including SOhO, Topa Topa, Sandbar, Foxtail Kitchen, The Blue Owll and James Joyce. He recently opened for American Idol superstar Jackson Gilles at concert at SOhO. In this podcast, Erickson talks about how he decided to focus on his musical dreams after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He was on track to major in journalism at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, but couldn...
Jul 18, 2022•56 min
For every journalist in America, there are six public relations professionals. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Think about that for a second. Why do I bring this up? Well, it’s because fewer journalists means less coverage of the important news. And why does that matter? When we don’t have journalists reporting stories, we have public relations professionals creating “narratives” for the government agencies, corporations and politicians. And why is that bad? When you are gettin...
Jul 16, 2022•14 min
Geordie Armstrong and Josh Molina return with the latest episode in their ongoing series "Let's Talk About . . ." This week the geographer and the journalist, who are also teachers at Santa Barbara City College, talk about our culture's obsession with language and why we care about some words, and not others. The two also talk about the importance of listening and hearing people, and allowing them to feel safe from judgment as they explore words and terms — and their meanings. Armstrong offers a...
Jul 16, 2022•1 hr 33 min
Patricia Stark is on one Santa Barbara's jewels of journalism. For 30 years she served as the faculty advisor for The Channels, Santa Barbara City College's award-winning newspaper. She brought her tough, fiery brand of journalism to multiple generations of students — and became one of the most respected and beloved teachers in the college's history. In this podcast, Stark talks about the importance of student media, explains her teaching method and the ways she learned from her students. Molina...
Jul 07, 2022•1 hr 27 min
Geordie Armstrong and Josh Molina meet again for their ongoing series "Let's Talk About . . . Parenting!" Armstrong parents a 15-year-old and Molina has two kids, 16, and 8. The two talk about parenting, from their own perspectives, and recall their own childhood memories and how that affected their approach. In this special episode, the duo discuss childbirth, relatives, schooling, routines, structure, sleeping, and dealing with the parents of their children's peers. Geordie and Josh also talk ...
Jun 25, 2022•1 hr 40 min
Does Jay Higgins have the answers to Santa Barbara's most pressing housing issues? The longtime planner offers his views on housing, a hotel moratorium, commercial vacancy tax and much more in the latest episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. Higgins has spent nearly eight years on the Santa Barbara Planning Commission, one of the most influential boards in the city. He's a UCSB graduate and has an expert mind when it comes to land use and planning. In this conversation, Higgins says h...
Jun 18, 2022•53 min
Goleta City Councilman James Kyriaco joins Josh Molina to talk about his plans for re-election, and shares his views on housing, childcare, the new District Election boundaries, and his plans for office if re-elected this November. Please take a moment to subscribe to this podcast for more exclusive content. Visit Josh's website, SantaBarbaraTalks.com Josh Molina has been a journalist in Santa Barbara for 20 years. He also covered City Hall for the San Jose Mercury News. In addition to working a...
Jun 12, 2022•26 min
Spencer Brandt is one of Santa Barbara County's rising political stars. He is the president of the Isla Vista Community Services District and the organizing director for the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. Brandt came to UCSB from Visalia -- and never left. He became involved in Isla Vista and wanted to help make the community better. In this podcast, Brandt talks about his activism, and the role that the Community Services District plays in making Isla Vista safer for students and famili...
Jun 12, 2022•56 min
Goleta City Councilman Kyle Richards talks with Josh Molina about everything going on in the city of Goleta, in the 115th episode of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. In recognition of Pride Month, Richards, the only openly gay elected official in Santa Barbara County, opens the interview talking about "Coming Out" in college and how his parents reacted. Richards shares details of how being open about his sexuality affected his decision to run for Goleta City Council. Richards shares why he ...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Melissa Quigley and Kristen Hughes were among the original founders of Techwise SB, a group that seeks to educate elected officials and school administrators about the technology and its affect on children in the early grades. They asked the Santa Barbara Unified School District to remove iPads from K-3 students because the dangers associated with excessive iPad use. Hughes is a pediatrician at the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and said she has seen an increase in childhood obesi...
May 30, 2022•59 min
With a shared passion for 1990s music, Josh Molina and Geordie Armstrong kick off an occasional series of podcasts on their mutual interests. The first episode centers on their appreciation of the music of the great Alanis Morissette. Armstrong talks about taking her daughter to see Alanis at the Hollywood Bowl and describes the demographic makeup of the crowd. The two then explain what Alanis's music meant to them in their formative years and how other stars, including Prince, George Michael, W...
May 28, 2022•1 hr 8 min
In 2007, Dale Francisco stunned political observers when he won election to the Santa Barbara City Council. Francisco didn't win by talking about national issues or appealing to people's fears or sense of morality. The conservative won by focusing on a core issue important among many Santa Barbara residents: traffic calming devices. He spoke out about a flurry of street sweeping signs that the city of Santa Barbara's public works department wanted to install on the upper Eastside. He also pushed...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 2 min
TVSB executive director Erik Davis joins Josh Molina to talk TVSB's programming, guests, politics and future of the station. Davis arrived at TVSB in 2017 and has been instrumental in growing the organization to include a more diverse palette of guests. The station pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic and turned from being just in-studio to a full-service TV studio that shot programming outside and at remote locations. Today, the station supports dozens of nonprofit organizations through its pro...
May 21, 2022•52 min
Marty Blum is one of Santa Barbara's most decorated elected officials. She served as mayor between 2001 and 2009 and two terms as City Council member. She is also a former president of the Santa Barbara Teachers Association. In this podcast, Blum offers her view on the current state of the city, Cathy Murillo's time as mayor, affordable housing and State Street. She also shares her story of recovering from a double mastectomy — and returning to City Hall after just one week. Blum talks about Iya...
May 15, 2022•1 hr
Caroline Harrah launched SB PLAN two years ago to start the conversation about returning students to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. She's still going strong, as a force for change in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Harrah's Facebook group has more than 1,000 members. It's where community members go to discuss issues related to equity, literacy and leadership at the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Harrah's group is one of Santa Barbara's most influential civic and communit...
May 08, 2022•55 min
Gabe Escobedo, the chair of the Santa Barbara's Community Formation Commission and member of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission sits down with Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina to discuss plans for a new civilian police oversight board in Santa Barbara. Escobedo explains how the commission worked for more than a year to create recommendations for the Santa Barbara City Council. Escobedo also talks about his personal story, growing up with an incarcerated father, and how he overcame the odd...
Apr 30, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Santa Barbara City College professor Geordie Armstrong talks about the importance of empowering women in education, in this special edition of Santa Barbara Talks with Josh Molina. Armstrong, a professor of geography, teaches a variety of classes, including Human Geography, World Regional Geography, California Geography, Physical Geography, and Economic Geography. She explains how understanding geography can help shine a light on the complex challenges we face as human beings. Armstrong also div...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 6 min
UCSB economist Peter Rupert breaks down the theory and data behind rent control, the latest housing protection program to hit Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara City Council will vote on the topic on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Rupert says that rent control has never worked successfully in any community in the world. He says economist Milton Friedman and Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal agree that rent control doesn't work. Rupert shares data and studies about the economics behind rent control. A bett...
Apr 16, 2022•49 min
The Santa Barbara City Council will tackled the controversial issue of rent control at its Tuesday, April 19 meeting. Frank Rodriguez, policy advocate for CAUSE, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, explains how Latinos have been driven out of Santa Barbara in record numbers, and how rent control and rent stabilization will help keep Santa Barbara a diverse community. Rodriguez also talks about his experience growing up in Santa Barbara and the story behind his fight for soci...
Apr 16, 2022•40 min
Retired Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa calls for ranked-choice elections in Santa Barbara. Ochoa, one of the activists behind Santa Barbara's move to District Elections, says that the mayor should be someone who is elected with at least 50.1 percent of the vote. Santa Barbara currently has a system where the top vote-getter wins, regardless of vote percentage. Ochoa and others are pushing for a primary in June and then a runoff between the top two in November. Ochoa has al...
Apr 10, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton talks about his amazing career in journalism. Bolton knew when he was in high school that he wanted to be a journalist. At UCSB, he became the editor of the Daily Nexus and then worked at places such as the Santa Maria Times, Santa Barbara News-Press, and eventually as co-owner of Noozhawk. "Most of the people I know who go into this business are good writers, but the best writers anguish over it," Bolton said. "They work really hard with word choices, transi...
Apr 05, 2022•54 min
Conservative John Davies talks Republican candidates in the 2022 Santa Barbara County election in this must-listen podcast. Davies dishes on the Republican and Democratic parties, why politics have become so divisive, and accuses the Democrats of attacking Republican candidates on a personal level. He talks about Barrett Reed's candidacy for Santa Barbara City Council, former mayor Helene Schneider, First District Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams, Assembly candidates Gregg Hart and M...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr
Santa Barbara Unified School District Board Member Wendy Sims-Moten talks with podcast host Josh Molina about racial prejudice, violence and discrimination in Santa Barbara schools. Sims-Moten spoke out strongly at a recent board meeting, calling on District officials do better in addressing problems at schools. Sims-Moten talks about "anti-Blackness," the decision to end implicit bias and cultural proficiency training in schools, and what's ahead for the school district. The conversation comes ...
Mar 21, 2022•1 hr
Peter Lewis plans to build 80 units in downtown Santa Barbara, on the 400 block of State Street, a project that could set the trend for future development projects downtown. Lewis offers his visionary approach to housing, saying that change is inevitable, and that Santa Barbara is experiencing a revolution. Lewis, who also owns the Cost Plus World market on the 600 block of State Street, shares his views on the state of retail, homelessness, the future of the State Street promenade, and Santa Ba...
Mar 13, 2022•54 min
SBT 99: Joyce Dudley Talks Retirement, Sex Trafficking, Criminal Justice Reform, Diversity, Future Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley plans to retire after serving 12 years as the county's top prosecutor. In this pull-no-punches podcast conversation, Dudley explains why she is walking away and what's next for her. Dudley answers some hard-hitting questions about criminal justice reform, reimagining law enforcement, communities of color, and the defunding of police. Dudley then t...
Mar 07, 2022•1 hr
On Feb. 23, 2001, David Attias drove his Saab into a crowd of pedestrians on Sabado Tarde Road in Isla Vista. Josh Molina was a young reporter who got the call from the night editor that there were a major crash in Isla Vista. Molina rushed out to the scene and was later joined by Scott Hadly. The two reporters spent the next day reporting on the crash and trying to piece together the story of how Attias and why Attias used his car as a weapon and killed four people, Nicholas Bourdakis, Chris Di...
Feb 28, 2022•59 min
Santa Barbara City Councilman Mike Jordan shares his views on housing density, State Street and a new mood at City Hall. Jordan, a longtime Santa Barbara City Planning Commissioner, was elected to the City Council in 2019, winning a seat in Santa Barbara's Mesa District. Jordan is blunt, honest and direct in his views on the biggest issues facing Santa Barbara. Jordan is an advocate for affordable housing and working with the state to bring back the redevelopment agency to create a new funding m...
Feb 21, 2022•48 min
