Lisa Morehouse - Podcast Details

Shows

California Foodways Chef Chu's: The family-owned restaurant that grew up with Silicon ValleyFor more than ten years, I’ve been traveling all over California, reporting stories about food and farming from every county. Now, for the 58th and very last story in the series, I went back to where I grew up — Santa Clara County, to a special-occasion restaurant from my childhood: Chef Chu’s.When the restaurant opened in 1970, it was a small family business, and the area around it was a relatively sleepy suburb. Now, it’s a Silicon Valley institution — but they don’t deliver, and there’s no online ordering.

2025-12-2317 min

The California Report Magazine Chef Chu’s, the Family-Owned Chinese Restaurant that Grew Up With Silicon ValleyHave you been to every one of California’s 58 counties? Reporter Lisa Morehouse has. For more than ten years, she’s travelled around the state, profiling people at the heart of food and agriculture for her series California Foodways. On this week’s show, for Lisa’s 58th and final story, she takes us to her home county, Santa Clara, to visit a local Chinese restaurant. Over its 55-year history, Chef Chu’s has witnessed fast-paced change in Silicon Valley, and has been visited by luminaries in entertainment, politics and business. Both the family behind it, and the community it feeds...

2025-12-2030 min

California Foodways Richmond's 'Minister of Food' Serves the Bay Area Southern BBQ, California StyleOn a corner in Richmond, California, there’s a business that has celebrated the city’s Black history and Southern roots for 30 years: CJ's BBQ & Fish. Born and raised in Richmond, with a family that came from Arkansas to work in the shipyards, Charles Evans is at the center of it all.

2025-12-1915 min

Beyond the Resume Beyond the Resume with Sharif Mitchell (The Art of Building a Purpose-Driven Business)👀 YouTube: https://youtu.be/71orqzeqIoo • 👂 Spotify: https://bit.ly/4oUQ62rIn this episode of Beyond the Resume podcast, we chat with Sharif Mitchell, a seasoned real estate entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Northern Liberties. Sharif shares his inspiring journey from being a Morehouse College scholarship recipient to a thriving real estate mogul. He emphasizes the role of mentorship, the importance of risk management, and his mission to create workforce housing and foster community impact. Sharif discusses the power of daily structure, understanding customers, and building a strong network. He also provides valuable advice for aspiring...

2025-10-1331 min

California Foodways Whiskey distillery moves to site of West Coast's first Naval baseCalifornians have made whiskey since the Gold Rush. Craft bourbon has been taking off in the last couple decades -- with as many as 150 distilleries in the state. I stumbled upon a distillery’s new home in the North Bay that’s producing whiskey at a location where people used to make something really different: massive objects that changed the course of world events.

2025-10-1012 min

California Foodways While the Bay Area sleeps, the Oakland Produce Market bustles with lifeWhen most of California is asleep, a few square blocks on the edge of Oakland’s Jack London Square come alive with people, produce and machinery. It’s the Oakland Produce Market, and it’s been supplying grocers and restaurants for more than 100 years, despite fears that it might not survive.

2025-07-1213 min

California Foodways Home on the Grange: In the Anderson Valley, a story of how hippies, old-timers connectedGrange halls have been around for more than 150 years — the Grange began as a fraternal organization for farmers. Even though farming — and Grange membership — are down to a fraction of what they were decades ago, many rural towns still rely on Grange halls as community centers. In the Anderson Valley, many people credit this place for bringing together groups of people that were once really divided.

2025-07-1217 min

California Foodways Market a destination for food, faith, and Ramadan staplesDuring the holy month of Ramadan, while fasting is important, so is food. And during Ramadan, all across the state, markets are central. Not only do they supply the ingredients for the holiday, they also connect people from all ethnicities who follow Islam.One such place is Besan’s International Market in San Bruno, right under the flight path of San Francisco International Airport. It’s essentially three businesses in one: a Halal butcher in the back, a kitchen for take-out and catering and a market that carries Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian goods, from staples to s...

2025-07-1212 min

California Foodways The railroad's surprising impact on food and civil rights in CaliforniaA lot of California kids learn about the transcontinental railroad in 4th grade, about the "Big Four" tycoons, and the mostly Chinese laborers who laid track through the rugged Sierra Nevada. But some of this history can get overlooked, like how the railroad – and its connection to food – shaped much of California’s story.

2024-12-2328 min

California Foodways Eastern Sierra town home to destination restaurantThere's a town in the Owens Valley, in the Eastern Sierra, called Independence. Population: 600. It's home to a destination restaurant, the Still Life Cafe. It's been a local favorite for nearly 30 years, and hikers heading down Mt. Whitney and skiers on their way to Mammoth also tell their friends about the French Bistro and North African dishes they can look forward to.

2024-12-0211 min

Party of My Life Rush Creek Golf Club for End of Life EventsWith 72+% of Minnesotans choosing cremation over burial, many are hosting their funeral receptions or celebrations of life at non-traditional venues. Lisa Albers, Sales Manager for Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, Minnesota, talks about how Rush Creek assists people during this difficult time. This episode was hosted and produced by Anne Morehouse. Original music was created and performed by Caileen Viehweg. For more information, reach Lisa Albers at Rush Creek Golf Club: https://www.rushcreek.com/events/funerals :59 Intro to Lisa Albers and Rush Creek Golf Club

2024-10-2416 min

California Foodways A temple for cheese in the North Bay, inspired by classical musicCheese wasn’t part of Soyoung Scanlan's early life, growing up in South Korea. Now, she's one of California's most celebrated cheese makers. Part of her inspiration? Classical music. Every cheese Soyoung has made for 25 years has a musical name and connection.

2024-09-2412 min

California Foodways Divers keep ag water flowingHundreds of miles from the ocean, divers don wetsuits, helmets, communication lines, and four air supply systems, and submerge into the Sacramento River. They're here to do annual maintenance at an irrigation pump. Picture contractors and construction workers, just under water. Anywhere there are lakes and rivers, anywhere we've manipulated water, like dams and canals, commercial divers work on the infrastructure -- cleaning, maintaining, building, repairing. In this story we meet the team behind Big Valley Divers, and learn how guys who grew up in the Sacramento Valley end up spending their days under water, keeping water flowing into fa...

2024-08-1300 min

Political Breakfast from WABE Voter fatigue ahead of Georgia's primary election, Biden's Morehouse speech, internal divisions at GOP Convention in ColumbusOn this week's Political Breakfast, the team debates why it seems like there hasn't been a lot of fanfare leading up to Tuesday's primary election. Are Georgia voters, especially in metro Atlanta, missing all that's at-stake? Plus, Republican Strategist Brian Robinson and Democratic Strategist Tharon Johnson and host Lisa Rayam assess Biden's Morehouse College commencement speech. Plus, internal divisions and pro-Donald Trump energy persisted at the recent Georgia GOP Convention in Columbus. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp did not attend .. again. The gang also discusses how an activist who helped organize a 'Stop the Steal' rally th...

2024-05-2146 min

On Iowa Podcast Lisa Bluder’s legacy and what to expect from Jan Jensen as head coachThe Gazette's John Steppe and Jeff Linder examine the legacy Lisa Bluder leaves a day after her surprise announcement that she is retiring as Iowa women’s basketball coach. Plus, what Jan Jensen’s promotion to head coach means for the program moving forward.

2024-05-1408 min

California Foodways The rich food traditions at Stockton's Angel Cruz ParkAlong the southern end of Stockton's Angel Cruz Park the air is filled with wafts of smoke, the smell of grilled meats and karaoke tracks booming out of speakers. For more than 30 years, this has been a destination for made-to-order dishes created by local food vendors, many of whom are Hmong and Cambodian immigrants. Locals argue over who has the best beef sticks or papaya salad.

2024-02-0110 min

Snap Judgment Seeking ShizukoA young girl was lost to her family. Torn away from them during their time in the Japanese-American prison camps, she was institutionalized and thought to be gone. But now, somehow she is rumored to be alive. STORIES Seeking Shizuko A young girl was lost to her family. Torn away from them during their time in the Japanese-American prison camps, she was institutionalized and thought to be gone. But now, somehow she is rumored to be alive. A very big thank you to David “Mas” Masumoto for sharing his story. Mas wrot...

2023-11-1650 min

California Foodways The Often-Invisible Work of a Hollywood Food StylistHollywood writers and actors are on strike, asking for transparency, fair pay, and protection from AI. They're not the only ones impacted by labor disputes. In this story, I share the reporting I did before the strikes began, to learn more about the often-invisible work of a Hollywood food stylist.

2023-09-0515 min

On Iowa Podcast Iowa field hockey preview with Lisa CellucciUnsurprisingly, the Iowa field hockey program enters the fall with high expectations again. This year’s Hawkeyes are ranked seventh in the country and will be counting on some talented newcomers to make an immediate impact.Head coach Lisa Cellucci joins The Gazette's John Steppe on the podcast this week to preview the season and discuss her impressions of interim athletics director Beth Goetz.

2023-08-2409 min

California Foodways Farming With Ghosts: Mas Masumoto and an uncovered family secretOn his family’s organic peach, nectarine and grape farm south of Fresno, California, David "Mas" Masumoto points out pruning scars from long-time workers, and walks down rows of trees he planted with his father. He says the labor and lessons of his ancestors are in the soil and the grapevines and orchards, and he’s passing these on to the next generations.Mas is an author, too, who has delved into the stories of his farm and family in more than 10 books. In his latest, Secret Harvests, Mas writes about the shock of a ne...

2023-05-0800 min $KQED\'s The California Report$

KQED's The California Report Oakland Teachers Back On The Picket Line For Second DayHundreds of parents and teachers in Oakland are taking to the picket line on Friday morning for day two of the citywide teachers strike. Reporter: Phoebe Quinton, KQEDDavid “Mas” Masumoto has been growing peaches, nectarines and grapes on his family farm in Del Rey, just south of Fresno, for over 40 years. He thought he knew all about his family history in the area -- the racism, imprisonment during World War II, and eventually buying some land, establishing a home. But Masumoto got a big shock in 2012. Reporter: Lisa Morehouse, The Ca...

2023-05-0511 min

DEEPINSIDE GROOVE JUNKIES is on DEEPINSIDE #11 Special 20 Years of MOREHOUSE RecordsGROOVE JUNKIES is on DEEPINSIDE Guest Mix Special 20 Years of MoreHouse Records 13/03/2023 01 Groove Junkies & Reelsoul feat Tertulien Thomas - Risin' to the top [Groove N' Soul Sunday Service Vox] (MoreHouse Records) 02 Groove Junkies & Scott K. - Can't stop the movement [GJs & Scott K. Main Mix] (MoreHouse Records) 03 Groove Junkies & Reelsoul - Breathe [Richard Earnshaw Dub] (MoreHouse Records) 04 Groove Junkies & Reelsoul feat Nichelle Monroe - Harvest for the world [David Harness For The World Remix] (MoreHouse Records) 05 Groove Junkies feat Solara - Perception [Groove Junkies vs Deep Soul Syndicate Main Mix] (MoreHouse Records) 06 MissFly & Munk Julious - More to life [Deep...

2023-03-241h 00

California Foodways Cafeteria Cook Makes Gourmet Dishes Inspired by Palauan ChildhoodFor California Foodways, I've been traveling the state, interviewing farmers, restaurant owners, people who deliver food to the hungry, make frozen burritos, and grow coffee. But I realized that, even though there are so many cafeterias in our state -- at tech companies and prisons and hospitals -- I'd never reported on one. So in this story, I profile Brennan Temol…a guy who never takes his apron off. He spends all week cooking at the cafeteria, and all weekend cooking with family and friends. And in both kitchens, he draws on his culinary school training, and the flavors of...

2023-01-1711 min

Coaching Healthcare Leaders Providing opportunities for a diverse physician workforce with Dr. Valerie Montgomery RiceI had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice at the NMF 75th Anniversary Gala, where she was the recipient of the NMF National Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award. Listen to how Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, a former recipient of an NMF scholarship as a medical student and now the sixth president of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and the first woman to lead the free-standing medical institution is reimagining healthcare.A renowned infertility specialist and researcher, she most recently served as dean and executive vice president of MSM, where she has served since 2011. Prior to jo...

2022-12-2329 min

On Iowa Podcast Scott Dochterman on what's next for Big Ten scheduling and Iowa's offense | Hawk Off The PressThis week's Hawk Off The Press podcast begins with an Iowa field hockey update with head coach Lisa Cellucci.Then, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic joins The Gazette's John Steppe to discuss Big Ten football scheduling news, what Iowa's future schedules might look like and where the Hawkeyes' offense goes from here.» Sign up for the free Hawk Off The Press newsletter

2022-10-271h 09

California Foodways Hot temperatures, and a hot real estate market, threaten the Ojai Pixie tangerineOjai’s main street is charming, boasting tile roofs and Spanish-revival architecture. On weekends, crowds of the bohemian chic spill out of restaurants, boutiques and art galleries in the picturesque Ventura County town surrounded by orchards. The valley’s climate has been ideal for citrus, but it’s changing—getting windier, drier, and hotter. Some farmers are questioning whether agriculture even has a future in the Ojai Valley.

2022-07-1214 min $KQED\'s The California Report$

KQED's The California Report L-A County Could Reinstate Mask Mandate Due To Increase In COVID Hospital CasesThe number of COVID-19 positive hospital patients continues to climb in L.A. County. So, the county could be headed for another public mask mandate. Reporter Jackie Fortier, KPCCMore than a third of Monkeypox cases are in San Francisco, where vaccine supply isn’t. But, health officials have just received over 2,000 new vaccine doses this week.Reporter Vanessa Rancano, KQEDNew tax breaks from the State could help stabilize California's struggling Cannabis industry. Plenty of people in the industry are still not convinced the shifts...

2022-07-1117 min

The California Report Magazine Ojai’s Famous Pixie Tangerine Struggles; Program Trains Incarcerated Men to Help Fight Fires; Peninsula Boba Shop's Tongan TreatThe Ojai Valley’s climate has been ideal for growing certain tree crops. But climate change is making it windier, drier, and hotter there. As Lisa Morehouse tells us, none of that is good for farming. And neither is Ojai’s rising cost of real estate.And this summer, incarcerated youth will help fight California's wildfires. These young men are hacking containment lines with hand tools. It's part of a program within the juvenile justice system meant to provide job training. But as KQED's health correspondent Lesley McClurg explains, it's been all but impossible to find firefighting jobs once...

2022-07-0930 min

California Foodways How a Hmong Market in Yuba County Became 'Everybody's Store'On the edge of the town of Marysville in Yuba County, there’s market with an inventory that would rival Asian grocery stories in big cities. In the back corner, you’ll find a small, bustling kitchen in the back corner. That’s where I became a fan of the dishes made here, and the woman behind them.

2022-05-0311 min

THE FOUR PART 2: HOW TO DEFEAT AMERICAN FASCISM AND OTHER LESSONS FROM THE MOVEMENTLEAD CO-HOSTS: Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis GUEST: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. The FOUR continue the conversation with Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. Globally revered, Dr. Moss is one of America’s most distinguished leaders in the decades-long struggle for civil and human rights, health care, education and social justice. Join The FOUR for Part 2 of their conversation. Reverend Moss co-pastored with Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and was a board member and regional director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC...

2022-04-1437 min

THE FOUR PART 1: HOW TO DEFEAT AMERICAN FASCISM AND OTHER LESSONS FROM THE MOVEMENTLEAD CO-HOSTS: Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis GUEST: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. Where to begin? Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. is one of America’s most distinguished voices, advocating for the achievement of education, civil and human rights, health care and social justice. His influence is global and revered. The FOUR are honored to invite Dr. Moss into a two part conversation with this influential and very special leader. Reverend Moss co-pastored with Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and was a board member and regi...

2022-04-1344 min

THE FOUR “MAMA RUBY”LEAD HOST: Lisa Sharon Harper GUEST: Ruby Sales “I never will talk about my ancestors as being back in the day as they are part of a continuum.” Few have worked harder to cut and mend the ties between oppressor and oppressed than the one and only Ruby Nell Sales. The FOUR are honored to be joined by this iconic human rights activist, public theologian, and social critic. She offers wisdom beyond words for all of us on the unconquerable strength of the Black spirit through history; the subversiveness of prayer; and the “social and spiritu...

2022-03-031h 01

California Foodways 'We Just Have Faith': Gold Country Jewish Community Strives to Connect Through COVIDIn February 2020, I went to Sonora to join the Mother Lode Jewish Community in their Tu BiShvat celebration, honoring trees and the harvest. Just weeks later, the Covid pandemic would stop in-person gatherings like these, and create tensions so many communities are still navigating. So I returned, to see how the people I met are trying to connect.

2022-02-2213 min

KPBS Midday Edition Sanitation workers agree to new contract with Republic Services, ending strikeTrash collection services resume today, following a month-long strike that saw mountains of trash piling up in Chula Vista and other parts of San Diego. Plus, a new study by Scripps Institution of Oceanography is raising the alarm about water pollution along the border coastal region. Next, why the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and local city councils hold votes on national issues that don’t always have a direct impact on local governance. After, KPBS talks to SDSU lecturer Miro Copic about grocery store shortages and the spike in food prices. Later, the unintended consequences of a state la...

2022-01-1944 min

The California Report Magazine A World of Humor, Queerness, and Tenderness in a Farmworker Camp; This 'Jewish Arbor Day’, COVID Makes Connection Difficult for Gold Country CommunityHost Sasha Khokha talks to author Jaime Cortez about his new book of short stories, “Gordo.” The collection is set in the Central Coast farmworker camps he grew up in near Watsonville and San Juan Bautista. By the time he was 10, Cortez was a veteran of the annual garlic and potato harvests. The book, which he calls “semi-autobiographical,” is a journey of queer self-discovery and complex identities that don’t fit the usual stereotypes of Steinbeck country.Plus, this weekend is the Jewish holiday Tu BiShvat, a time to gather around food, and honor trees and the harvest. In...

2022-01-1530 min

Athlete Mindset AthMindset | Aletha R. Cherry, PhD on Being a Change AgentCreating a platform for people who will be able to speak more. And taking responsibility for the community. That’s a bit of what Dr. Aletha Cherry, PhD is making happen as a change agent.In this AthMindset episode, Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW, CSW, shares space with Aletha R. Cherry, PhD, to discuss anxiety, depression, therapy, coping through sports, Morehouse College, Polo, creating a platform for people to speak more, and being the change agent.As Dr. Aletha Cherry says about herself:My father is pretty wise. He told me once that I co...

2021-12-2852 min

Unpacked Other People's KidsAn Unpacked bonus featuring an announcement about the future of the podcast, and Christopher is at California's Great America with a short story about how the pandemic changed one person's approach to the job they love. - Thanks to California's Great America, Alaina Duffield, KALW, Lisa Morehouse, Abukar Adan, and Josh Taylor. - Follow us on Twitch!

2021-12-0909 min

The California Report Magazine Our Favorite Stories from California FoodwaysWe’re sharing some stories about the unexpected ways food plays a role in our lives, and in the history of California. These are some of our favorite stories from the award-winning series California Foodways, which has aired on The California Report Magazine since 2014. Reporter Lisa Morehouse has been reporting food stories from every one of the state's 58 counties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2021-11-2029 min

California Foodways Sierra CattlewomenThere are plenty of people who -- in order to pursue their passions -- have jobs on the side to support themselves. It’s pretty common to hear about a novelist who does PR, an actor waiting tables. But a rancher? For this story we meet a mother and daughter in Sierra County whose supplemental work has helped keep the family in the beef business.

2021-08-3106 min

California Foodways The Abbey of New Clairvaux: Wine in the WildernessThe soil in Tehama County is unfit, and the temperatures are all wrong, but the monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux are still trying to make wine here. It’s part of their ancestry. Cistercian monks have made wine in Europe since the 12th century. In California, they’re turning to those traditions to try to survive in the 21st. The monks of New Clairvaux have a website, a Facebook page, a PR guy. They host wine release parties. I went up to Tehama County to meet the monks who engage with the outside world all so they can...

2021-08-2407 min

California Foodways Gold Rush Status Meal -- The Hangtown FryIf you want to recreate the Gold Rush experience — without all the terrible conditions — you can pan for gold, even descend into mines. In a few places, you can even eat the most prized meal of the Gold Rush, with a kind of bizarre combination of ingredients. That’s what I went off to El Dorado County in search of the Hangtown Fry.

2021-08-1705 min

California Foodways Legalizing Cannabis Impacts Food and FarmingWhen cannabis was 100% illegal, the price per pound was high. Since 2016, when Californians passed Prop 64 legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the economy in the northern part of the state has been in limbo, impacting far more than the cannabis industry.

2021-08-1008 min

The California Report Magazine California History You Probably Didn't Learn in SchoolThis week, we feature some of our favorite history stories from The California Report Magazine archive. The Forgotten Filipino-Americans Who Led the ’65 Delano Grape StrikeToday, grapes in the grocery store don’t seem that controversial. But in 1965, a historic strike in California’s Central Valley set in motion the most significant campaign in modern labor history: the farmworker movement. While the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez are widely known, the contributions of Filipino workers and labor leader Larry Itliong are often overlooked. But without them the UFW wouldn't exist. Reporter Lisa Morehouse brought us this...

2021-08-0729 min

California Foodways Coffee Farms? In California?The most commonly traded commodity in the world is oil. What comes in second? Coffee! It’s been grown and loved since at least the 13th century in places like Indonesia, Ethiopia and Central and South America. As a serious fungus threatens the crop world-wide, scientists are mapping the coffee genome to learn more about this plant. But what role does our state play in the future of this most beloved and lucrative crop?

2021-08-0307 min

California Foodways Fish Blood in Their Veins -- But Few Salmon in Their River Up in far northern California, where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean, this year’s drought is making a bad situation there even worse. Since early May, baby salmon have been dying from a warm-water disease. A mass death of juveniles, like this, means they won’t make it to the ocean and lay their eggs, and won’t make it back up the Klamath river in a few years. So I’m sharing this story I reported in the summer of 2017, when the number of chinook salmon making their way up the river was the lowest o...

2021-07-2710 min

California Foodways Nuts for Modesto: Baseball, Religion, and a Land-Use FightSo what do baseball, a little-known religious group and a land-use fight have in common? If you’re in Stanislaus County, the answer is: nuts. Almonds are the county’s top crop, bringing in a record-breaking $1.125 billion in gross income in 2013. Walnuts came in third (after the county’s other powerhouse, dairy). Nuts aren’t just an economic driver, though. They’re also key to the story of this region’s past, and future.

2021-07-2008 min

California Foodways Farmers' Secret Allies: BirdsMaybe you’re one of the people who started noticing birds more during the pandemic. A lot of us spent time in our yards, or looking out windows, seeing these creatures in a new way. Even though we’re noticing them more, there are fewer birds now than there were 50 years ago. So when I found out about farmers who are helping birds, and some new research that shows how those birds are helping farmers, I had to learn more.

2021-07-1312 min

The California Report Magazine Latinx Artists Promote Covid Shots, Saying Goodbye to 'Roadrunner', Birds Helping CA FarmsMore than 60 percent of Latinos in some Central Valley counties are still not vaccinated. The numbers are even more dramatic for younger folks, especially teens and those in their 20s -- and for indigenous farmworkers. Now former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, along with famed Ranchera singer Carmencristina Moreno and other musical groups, are trying to get the word out through original songs, radio dramas, and poems in Spanish, English, and Mixteco. Plus, as part of our series remembering Californians who've died from the Coronavirus, we hear from the family of Tony Escobar. Tony, who imm...

2021-07-0329 min

California Foodways An Oasis for Date Palms, Not Their WorkersIt’s said that date palm trees want their feet in water, and their heads in fire. It makes sense, then that more than 90% of the dates harvested in the U.S. grow in California’s Eastern Coachella Valley. Irrigation water’s pumped here from the Colorado River, and summer temperatures can top 120 degrees. I spent some time in the Eastern Coachella Valley recently, and got curious about the history of dates here, and about the palmeros, palm workers, who tend them.

2021-06-1508 min

California Foodways From Mistake to Legendary Dish: Napa's MalfattiTourists to the Napa Valley may visit their favorite exclusive wineries and fine dining restaurants. But locals love a more humble dish called malfatti. It’s a little spinach and cheese dumpling, shaped like a pinky finger and smothered in sauce. The most famous malfatti in the region is found in the back of Val’s Liquor in the city of Napa. The story of how that came to pass involves Napa's deep Italian history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and a fortuitous mistake.

2021-06-0807 min

California Foodways A Sit-Down Dinner for Military FamiliesMembers of the military are often deployed or stationed far away from their extended families. When military families make friends, they often move. Those are facts of life for many military families in many military towns. There’s a place in San Diego, though, where active duty service members, their spouses and kids can always share a meal with their extended military family: the USO Downtown Center.

2021-06-0105 min

California Foodways In Isolated Trinity County, This Man is a Food LifelineTrinity County is one of those places that doesn’t get in the news much, unless it’s for marijuana or wildfires. It’s a beautiful, remote, rural part of northern California. It’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. In this story, I join the county's food bank director on his 10+ hour food delivery to the most isolated -- and hungry -- residents in Trinity.

2021-05-2510 min

California Foodways A Frozen Burrito Legacy in the Central ValleyFor this story, I visited a factory, a kind of factory I'd never seen before. I got suited up in safety gear -- smock, rubber gloves, a hair net -- not to protect me, but to protect the product made here. It's in almost every convenience store, college dorm, school cafeteria, and in thousands of family freezers around the country: the frozen burrito. I went to Dinuba, in the Central Valley, to meet the family behind the biggest business in frozen Mexican food.

2021-05-1809 min

California Foodways Dry Farming During DroughtAre you worried about water cutbacks during this dry year? Try farming…without irrigation, relying only on rainwater. But lots of crops like wheat and grapes are “dry farmed” across the state. There are tomatoes on the Central Coast, squash in Humboldt, and walnuts in San Luis Obispo County, which is where we go for this story about dry farming advocate Jutta Thoerner.

2021-05-1107 min

California Foodways Spreckles: Farmworker Housing and a Changing Company TownIf you’ve read your John Steinbeck and listened to your Merle Haggard, or if you grew up in a farmworker family, you know that farm laborers in California have struggled to find decent housing for decades. Except in a few cases, growers have no legal obligation to house employees, and there’s not a lot of state and federal money earmarked for farmworker housing. In the Salinas Valley — the fifth- least-affordable place to live in the country — there’s just not enough decent housing for all the people needed to pick crops like lettuce and strawberries.

2021-05-0409 min

California Foodways Amigo Bob: Tree HunterWho doesn’t like a treasure hunt? The search for something mysterious and valuable, with just a few clues to guide you…it’s pretty irresistible. For this episode, I take you back a few years to introduce you to a Nevada County man who spent the last years of his life on a hunt for remnants of the Gold Rush…just not the kind you might expect.

2021-04-2707 min

California Foodways Remembering Three California Ag PioneersI've met some amazing people reporting for California Foodways. At the end of 2020, I learned that some of those people passed away. KQED's California Report Magazine invited me to talk with host Sasha Khokha about three food pioneers, and remind us of their legacies.

2021-04-2710 min

Shiny Epi People John Pamplin, PhD on HBCUs and reliving his step team daysJohn Pamplin, PhD, is an epi postdoc at NYU who studies the consequences of structural racism and systemic inequity on mental health and substance use. John earned his bachelor's degree at Morehouse College, one of the a historically Black colleges and universities in the US. John talks about how his experience at Morehouse allowed him to explore his racial identity and experience the type of mentorship he couldn't at a majority white institution. John also tells me how mentors shaped his life, and how he gives back by mentoring. We discuss John's days on his college step team, doing...

2021-04-1030 min

The California Report Magazine 'Kamala is My Fairy Godmother', Bridging a Language Divide, Remembering CA's Food PioneersThe whole world will be watching next week as Kamala Harris is sworn in as our next Vice President. But there’s one person who will be tuning in who says he owes his life to her. Plus, the pandemic has been making things more challenging for schools that serve some of the newest Californians: Guatemalan immigrants who speak a Mayan language called Mam. And reporter Lisa Morehouse joins us to memorialize three Californians who passed away last year, each with a connection to agriculture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2021-01-1630 min

The California Report Magazine Home Baked: How Pot Brownies Brought Some Relief During the AIDS EpidemicWe’re all bracing ourselves for a surge in hospitalizations, for more people lost to COVID-19, for more closures and lockdowns. So we’re reprising one of our documentaries about another time we all faced a public health crisis. A time when the federal government was slow to respond, so the community had to step in to take care of each other. Lisa Morehouse brings us the story of a woman who became an unexpected source of comfort to people suffering from AIDS in the early 1980s. Her baking business, Sticky Fingers Brownies, provided gooey marijuana-filled brownies to people dyin...

2020-12-1232 min

California Foodways Humble Burger Helped Fuel the Building of the Shasta DamAt Damburger in Redding, each burger patty is so thin, it gets crispy on the edges. It's never, ever served with a tomato. The Damburger original’s a signature item the burger joint's been making since the 1930s, when it helped fuel one of the most impactful engineering feats in the state’s history — the Shasta Dam — by nourishing the workers who came to build it.

2020-12-0808 min

California Foodways Season 3 Episode 5: Humble Burger Helped Fuel the Building of the Shasta DamAt Damburger in Redding, each burger patty is so thin, it gets crispy on the edges. It's never, ever served with a tomato. The Damburger original’s a signature item the burger joint's been making since the 1930s, when it helped fuel one of the most impactful engineering feats in the state’s history — the Shasta Dam — by nourishing the workers who came to build it.

2020-12-0808 min

California Foodways Feeding the Trailblazers“Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions, and more!” That’s the actual motto for the California Conservation Corps, the state program that puts young adults to work outdoors. In Marin County, they have the tough job of building and maintaining world-class trails. I spent a rainy night with the "Cs" to learn about the role food plays for a crew of young people burning thousands of calories a day...and why their menu has barely changed since the 30s.

2020-12-0107 min

California Foodways Season 3 Episode 4: Feeding the Trailblazers“Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions, and more!” That’s the actual motto for the California Conservation Corps, the state program that puts young adults to work outdoors. In Marin County, they have the tough job of building and maintaining world-class trails. I spent a rainy night with the "Cs" to learn about the role food plays for a crew of young people burning thousands of calories a day...and why their menu has barely changed since the 30s.

2020-12-0107 min

California Foodways Season 3 Episode 3 Home Baked: One Woman's Subversive Response to the AIDS CrisisThe coronavirus brings back memories of another public health crisis, where the federal government was slow to respond and communities had to take care of each other: the AIDS epidemic. One woman who became an unexpected caregiver is Meridy Volz. Starting in the 1970s, she ran a bakery called Sticky Fingers Brownies. "The business changed," Meridy says. "It went from something fun and lightweight to something that was a lifeline." This is her story, told by her daughter Alia Volz whose memoir, Homebaked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco, came out in April.

2020-11-2428 min

California Foodways One Woman's Subversive Response to the AIDS CrisisThe coronavirus brings back memories of another public health crisis, where the federal government was slow to respond and communities had to take care of each other: the AIDS epidemic. One woman who became an unexpected caregiver is Meridy Volz. Starting in the 1970s, she ran a bakery called Sticky Fingers Brownies. "The business changed," Meridy says. "It went from something fun and lightweight to something that was a lifeline." This is her story, told by her daughter Alia Volz whose memoir, Homebaked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco, came out in April.

2020-11-2428 min

California Foodways After Devastating Fire, Farmers and Ranchers Heal Soil, Community So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 4 million acres in California. That’s more than double the previous record. I thought it might be a good time to hear a story I reported from Calaveras County. In 2015, after it was devastated by the Butte Fire, a group of farmers and ranchers worked to rehabilitate their land... and their community.

2020-11-1007 min

California Foodways Season 3 Episode 2: After Devastating Fire, Farmers and Ranchers Heal Soil, Community So far this year, wildfires have burned more than 4 million acres in California. That’s more than double the previous record. I thought it might be a good time to hear a story I reported from Calaveras County. In 2015, after it was devastated by the Butte Fire, a group of farmers and ranchers worked to rehabilitate their land... and their community.

2020-11-1007 min

California Foodways Sikh Festival Reminder of Century-Old Farming HistoryLast month a parade drew over 80,000 people to the Sacramento Valley. Before any floats passed, people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkled water on the street and swept the concrete, cleansing the route. They were celebrating a holiday of the Sikh faith: the 500-year old religion from India's Punjab region. This gathering in Yuba City is the largest of its kind in the U.S., because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over 100 years. In a normal year, this would be a very busy time in Sutter County. November’s when 80,000 people come to...

2020-11-1006 min

California Foodways Season 3 Episode 1: Sikh Festival Reminder of Century-Old Farming HistoryLast month a parade drew over 80,000 people to the Sacramento Valley. Before any floats passed, people in colorful clothing and turbans sprinkled water on the street and swept the concrete, cleansing the route. They were celebrating a holiday of the Sikh faith: the 500-year old religion from India's Punjab region. This gathering in Yuba City is the largest of its kind in the U.S., because Sikhs have lived in this farming community for over 100 years. In a normal year, this would be a very busy time in Sutter County. November’s when 80,000 people come to...

2020-11-1006 min

THE INTERSECTION BLACK LIVES MATTER meets BLACK ROCK CITYOne of the principles guiding Burning Man is "Radical Inclusion." Basically, all are welcome. But, the temporary city that Burners build in Nevada's Black Rock Desert has never been racially diverse. Just 1% of Black Rock City self-identifies as Black. In this episode of THE INTERSECTION at Burning Man, we explore why there's been a disconnect between racial and radical inclusion, and what some Burners, like Oakland Activist and Artist Favianna Rodriguez, are doing to change that. This episode was edited by Lisa Morehouse. And engineered for your listening pleasure by Gabe Grabin with music from Erik P...

2020-09-0456 min

THE INTERSECTION DESERT meets DEFAULT at Burning ManBurning Man is known for its massive, Instagram-friendly art installations that are a stark contrast to the beige, desert backdrop. There are also many smaller projects, labors of love that can easily get lost. In this installment, THE INTERSECTION discovers one of them. To the naked eye, it looks like an old phone on a dusty table. Curious folks at Burning Man pick up the receiver. What awaits them on the other end is totally unexpected. Thr project is The Phone Experiment™; it's the creation of David Cooper, a coder-slash- comedian who lives in San Francisco. He wa...

2020-02-0524 min

THE INTERSECTION WILL meets WAY at Burning ManBurning Man is guided by the so-called "10 Princples," one of which is radical inclusion. What does that mean for people with disabilities? Especially at an event that spans seven-square miles of cracked desert, and the most common forms of transit are biking and walking. We meet a Burner with limited vision and a camp for people with mobility issues. Donate: paypal.me/THEINTERSECTION // Hear more: www.theintersection.fm // Twitter: @IntersectionFM // Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Lisa Morehouse Engineer: Gabe Grabin Music: Erik Pearson Associ...

2019-12-1119 min

THE INTERSECTION ART meets MOTION at Burning ManWe begin where art meets motion. Burning Man hasn't officially started but there's plenty going on: Camps are being set up, art is being erected and a family of first-time art car makers is hustling to finish up their vehicle. But they can't actually drive it until it's approved by the DMV. As in the Department of Mutant Vehicles. Donate: paypal.me/THEINTERSECTION // Hear more: www.theintersection.fm // Twitter: @IntersectionFM // Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Lisa Morehouse Engineer: Gabe Grabin Music: Erik Pearson Associ...

2019-11-1431 min

THE INTERSECTION PAVEMENT meets PLAYA at Burning ManHost David Boyer has been going to Burning Man since 1996. This time, he's heading back with a mission: to capture the event before it's over or loses all connection to its origins. In this episode, we enter the temporary city and are welcomed by a man in a He-Man™ merkin — the first many of kooks and creatives, activists and artists we'll meet this season. Donate: paypal.me/THEINTERSECTION // Hear more: www.theintersection.fm // Twitter: @IntersectionFM // Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Lisa Morehouse Engineer: Gabe Grabin, Tarek Fouda...

2019-10-3019 min

California Foodways Trans Man Finds -- and Creates -- Refuge in His Family's Small-Town CafeJackson is a Gold Rush-era town with quaint brick buildings on its Main Street, and a reputation as the last of its kind to get rid of brothels and gaming halls. It’s pretty quiet, now, except when you walk into Rosebud's Cafe. It’s a place that shouts its values from its walls: bright green paint, huge family portraits, and tons of posters and flyers announcing programs for the arts, supporting local homeless initiatives and advocating for LGBTQ rights. Rosebud’s has become a refuge for people who don’t always feel accepted, including the family that runs it.

2019-07-3010 min

California Foodways Cherries: AThere’s just something about cherries. They’re small, sweet and crunchy, with an early harvest that tells us summer’s coming. Right now, though, this beloved fruit is a bit of a canary in a coal mine. Since the drought, experts have looked to cherry harvests for warnings about climate change and its impact on future tree crops.

2019-05-1407 min

California Foodways Lynda Trang Dai Goes From Pop Star To Sandwich MavenWhat do Jimmy Buffett, Jay-Z and Kenny Rogers have in common? They’ve all parlayed their fame to sell food, in restaurants and chains. In Orange County, there’s a banh mi sandwich shop run by Lynda Trang Dai, a Vietnamese pop star who’s as comfortable behind the stove as she is behind the microphone.

2019-04-3007 min

California Foodways "Chasing the Burn" For Morel MushroomsThe Valley Fire that hit Lake County in September, 2015 was one of the most destructive in California history. The hills here, once thick with pines and firs, now look like a moonscape with trees. This is just the environment that draws mushroom hunters who ‘chase the burns' in search of the black morel mushrooms that grow in the springtime after a forest fire.

2019-04-1607 min

California Foodways A Tiny, Rural High School Wins Top Culinary PrizeYou might expect the winners of a California high school culinary competition to come from one of the state's restaurant destinations like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Sonoma County. In March of 2017, though, top prize went to tiny Greenville High School in Plumas County.

2019-04-0207 min

California Foodways Eating Chinese Food On The US/Mexico BorderIf you ask people in the city of Mexicali, Mexico about their most notable regional cuisine, they won’t say street tacos or mole, They’ll say Chinese food. Just north of the border in Imperial County, the population’s mostly Latino, but Chinese restaurants are super popular, too. I went to discover the history behind some dishes you won’t find anywhere else.

2019-03-1907 min

California Foodways Nancy's Airport CafeBetween Sacramento and Redding, Highway 5 cuts through the middle of rice country. In the town of Willows, right next to rice fields, there's a one-of-a-kind restaurant that's popular with travelers, farmers, truckers, and pilots: Nancy's Airport Cafe.

2019-03-0504 min

California Foodways Farming Behind Barbed Wire Fences: Japanese Americans Remember WWII IncarcerationOn this Day of Remembrance, here's a story about Japanese Americans in California. Japanese Americans have been particularly vocal in opposition to President Trump proposed Muslim ban and Muslim registry. They have long memories of being incarcerated during World War II in what were called “relocation” or “internment camps” over 75 years ago. For this story, I joined a busload of people traveling to the former Tule Lake Segregation Center, just south of the Oregon border in Modoc County. I learned just how much how agriculture was linked to the incarceration of Japanese Americans.

2019-02-1912 min

California Foodways Beef Is Much More Than What's For DinnerJim and Mary Rickert came together because of cows. They met and fell in love at Cal Poly. Within a decade, they were managing a ranch just below the Oregon border in Siskiyou County. It was a struggle. But their lives -- and the business -- changed when they got a really weird offer, and they said yes.

2019-02-0511 min

California Foodways Invasive 20-lb Rodent Could Wreak Havoc on Ca AgMerced County is California’s sweet potato capital. In this story, co-reporter Angela Johnston and I meet a sweet potato farming family that’s facing a crisis that could wreak havoc on the entire agricultural industry. It weighs 20-pounds, has orange bucked teeth, and can eat a quarter of its body weight a day.

2019-01-2212 min

California Foodways A California Tribe Bets on Olive OilThe Capay Valley is pretty serene, except for the cacophony inside its most lucrative business: the Cache Creek Casino. Up to 2,000 visitors a night swell the valley’s population and traffic, causing tension between local farmers and the tiny tribe that runs it. In this story we ask: do farming and gambling mix?

2018-10-1607 min

Ep.18 - Larry Itliong: The Cesar Chavez before Cesar ChavezAllegra and Mariano discuss the real pioneer of the Farmworkers Grape strike and who brought Cesar Chavez into the limelight, unintentionally. References AsAmNews.com Inside Bay Area: first School in Country to be Named for Filipino American Friday, December 13, 2015 NBCNews.com Eclipsed by Cesar Chavez, Larry Itliong's StoryNow Emerges Emil Guillermo September 8, 2015 NPR: The Salt Grapes of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution Lisa Morehouse September 19, 2015 FilipiKnow.com Larry Itliong: A Forgotten Badass Hero of Filipino Immigrants Glamour.com Geena Rocero Susan Domicus August 14, 2014 L.A.Times Jose Antonio Vargas Michael Schaub December 21, 2017 Youtube Larry Itliong (excerpt from the Pi...

2018-09-0300 min

THE INTERSECTION The Future of GooglevilleWhat will Googleville look like in 2030? And why did it take almost a decade for Mountain View's city council to decide? In the season finale, we explore how a city crafts a plan for the future while dealing with a housing shortage, a transportation crisis—and the demands of one of the powerful companies in the world. Ever wonder how local governments work? Go on, press play. Donate: paypal.me/THEINTERSECTION // Hear more: www.theintersection.fm // Twitter: @IntersectionFM // Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Ben Trefny Engineer...

2018-03-1232 min

THE INTERSECTION Is this Mountain View or Googleville?Google accounts for 1 in 5 jobs and owns more land than anyone else. So, is Mountain View a new version of the old company town? In this episode we talk to locals, experts, journalists and officials about the rise of Google—and what would happen to the town if the company falls. Donate: paypal.me/THEINTERSECTION // Hear more: www.theintersection.fm // Twitter: @IntersectionFM // Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Ben Trefny Engineer: Chris Hoff and David Boyer Music: Erik Pearson Associate Producer: Lucy Kang Associa...

2018-01-0529 min

THE INTERSECTION Homeless in GooglevilleHome, Sweet...RV? More than 100 Mountain View residents are living in their vehicles. Meet three of them, who are parked just steps away from our corner: a Google engineer in a deluxe RV parked on campus, an older Google shuttle driver in a leaky trailer on the street, and a guy living in a van while he's on the outs with his family. Plus, hear how the city of Mountain View is responding. Hear more: www.theintersection.fm Twitter: @IntersectionFM Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Ben Trefny Enginee...

2017-12-1128 min

THE INTERSECTION Don't Call it a Trailer ParkIt's Googleville's only housing. And it's a mobile home park built 50 years ago. Here, Googlers live alongside their blue-collar neighbors, new immigrants and seniors on fixed incomes. But when rent increases and a greedy owner threaten their quirky utopia, the residents of Santiago Villa Mobile Home Park band together and take action. Hear more: www.theintersection.fm Twitter: @intersectionfm Facebook: fb.com/IntersectionFM --- Producer: David Boyer Editor: Ben Trefny Engineer: Chris Hoff and David Boyer Music: Erik Pearson Associate Producer: Lucy Kang Ass...

2017-11-2830 min

THE INTERSECTION Before it was Googlevillea.k.a. The twisted history of this corner. Before it was Silicon Valley, this area was known as the Valley of Heart's Delight. The farms eventually gave way to nondescript office parks. And on this corner, the office park will soon be replaced by Google's answer to Apple's spaceship headquarters. In this episode, you'll hear all about the history of this intersection from the days of the California Gold Rush to the arrival of Google. You'll tour a 150-year-old mansion (Google bike shop now occupies the spot), you'll meet a woman who grew up here in th...

2017-11-2027 min

The California Report Magazine The California Report MagazineVoices from Fire-Ravaged Northern California In Northern California, the week began with a sudden onslaught of flames whipped up by the wind. Multiple wildfires erupted across wine country. Homes, businesses and entire towns have been burned to the ground. Now, even as firefighters continue to work, many residents are returning to see what is left. For Santa Rosa’s KZST Radio Station, the News is Personal Before Sunday night, if you tuned into KZST 100.1FM in Santa Rosa, you’d probably hear a talk show, pop music, or some classic hits. But since fires broke out acro...

2017-10-1431 min

The California Report Magazine The California Report MagazineFor Isolated Trinity County Residents, One Man Is Their Food Lifeline Trinity County is one of those places that doesn’t get in the news too often, unless it’s wildfire season like it is now. It’s a remote, rural part of northern California that can be breathtakingly beautiful. And it’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal will come from. For the series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse brings us this profile of one man who helps feed them. Photographic Portraits Bring You Face to...

2017-09-1631 min

The Kitchen Sisters Present 69 – The Romance and Sex Life of the DateIn 1898, the United States Department of Agriculture created a special department of men, called “Agriculture Explorers,” to travel the globe searching for new food crops to bring back for farmers to grow in the U.S. These men introduced exotic specimens like the mango, the avocado, and the date. In 1900, the USDA sent plant explorer, Walter Swingle, to Algeria to study the date. As Swingle took temperature readings and soil temperature, he realized that the conditions were very much like those in California’s hot, arid Coachella Valley, sometimes referred to as the American Sahara. In order to market this n...

2017-04-2515 min

latinousa Saving Perfectly Good Food From Being Dumped in a LandfillBillions of dollars of produce are imported from Mexico by the US and Canada each year. But many of those fruits and vegetables fail inspection and are rejected for sale. We learn how an Arizona food bank gives them a second life. Lisa Morehouse reports from Nogales, AZ.

2015-04-1006 min

Boomtown What’s Up With S.F.'s Bad Architecture?KQED listener Dave Taylor is not impressed by the new buildings gong up in San Francisco. He asks, "Why are they so ugly?" Reporters: Lisa Morehouse and Casey Miner

2015-02-1104 min

Building Confidence in Young Athletes Helping Sports Kids Find Their PassionUltimate Sports Parent Radio interviews Tim Morehouse, an Olympic fencer who competed in last summer's games. He talks about the importance of helping sports kids find their passion, and how his parents helped shape his career. He gives tips for ensuring parents support kids' interests. Mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn provides commentary.

2010-06-2312 min

Third Coast Audio Library :: All SilvergirlIt's not made of Plexiglass, it's not made of fiberglass, it's not square.Year: 2008Producers:Julie CaineLisa Morehouse

2009-11-2402 min