Episodes

  • Introducing: The Other California

    Introducing: The Other California
    Mar 9 2022
    Listen to the trailer for The Other California.
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    3 mins
  • Episode 1: Ridges

    Episode 1: Ridges
    Mar 18 2022
    In this episode of The Other California, Host Alice Daniel starts out by sharing her own story about what brought her to the San Joaquin Valley, her first impressions, and how reporting on the stories of the people who live in the many small towns in the region allowed her to better see the richness of the place, the real ridges, the diversity, the distinctness of a land that is truly like no other as well as the vital role of the Valley in the state’s history.
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    20 mins
  • Episode 2: Woodlake

    Episode 2: Woodlake
    Mar 25 2022
    The town of Woodlake doesn’t have a stoplight but it does have a 13-acre botanical garden where kids learn about agriculture and earn their community service hours. Locals Manuel and Olga Jimenez created and designed the garden to improve their town and give kids a chance to work in the dirt. This episode also takes listeners to Dora’s restaurant where Mariachi singer and owner Dora Orozco serves Mexican food and entertains guests with her songs. And we delve into why the city embraced cannabis businesses ahead of other towns in the valley. Jennifer Malone explains the work she is doing to keep her Wukchumni language and culture alive.
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    38 mins
  • Episode 3: Chowchilla

    Episode 3: Chowchilla
    Apr 1 2022
    The town of Chowchilla has an annual cattle drive that goes straight through the center of town to mark the beginning of the Chowchilla Western Stampede, an event that includes team roping and barrel racing. This episode explores the history of the stampede and introduces listeners to an 87-year-old rodeo star who has competed in the stampede since the early 1960s. She also tells us about her life as a stunt woman in Hollywood where she doubled for movie stars like Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton. And a horse trainer reflects on his 50-year career.
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    19 mins
  • Episode 4: Chowchilla and Fairmead

    Episode 4: Chowchilla and Fairmead
    Apr 8 2022
    We leave last week’s Western Stampede behind but return to the town of Chowchilla to find out more about its history from its Dust Bowl migrants to present day immigrants, including the only Yemeni-American family living in Chowchilla. We also meet the 84-year-old grandson of one of the town’s earliest white settlers. His grandparents sold 150 horses and left the cold weather of North Dakota to start a dairy farm in Chowchilla. Their 1910 house still stands. Like many towns back then, Chowchilla had racist housing covenants that kept certain groups of people out. But just a couple of miles from town was a place where Black people could actually buy property. At one point, the Black settlement of Fairmead had the largest single dairy in the state. We find out more about Fairmead’s past and what it can teach us today.
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    27 mins
  • Episode 5: Origins

    Episode 5: Origins
    Apr 15 2022
    People come to work in the San Joaquin Valley for many reasons: as refugees, as migrants and as immigrants. And as you’ll see in this episode, they don’t all come to work the land. At the beginning of The Other California podcast, Host Alice Daniel told you about why and how she came to the San Joaquin Valley, specifically Fresno. A lot of listeners related to it and told her their own stories of how they got here. The KVPR news team is emblematic of so many of those histories, plus as you’ll see, they’re great storytellers. So, get comfortable. Sit back, and take a listen. You’ve heard or will hear their reporting on the podcast. Now hear the personal stories of Soreath Hok, Madi Bolanos, Kathleen Schock and Kerry Klein.
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    26 mins
  • Episode 6: Huron

    Episode 6: Huron
    Apr 22 2022
    All mayors of small towns need a day job. In Huron, Mayor Rey León, a community organizer since college, runs a non-profit that focuses on making the lives of farm workers better. This episode features his most recent projects including an innovative ride-sharing program called the Green Raiteros. The nationally recognized program uses electric vehicles and primarily benefits elderly farm workers who need to travel to nearby cities for medical care. And an 85-year-old retired school teacher tells us she’s still trying to get a high school in Huron. Right now, students have to take a bus to Coalinga 20 miles away.
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    29 mins
  • Episode 7: Avenal

    Episode 7: Avenal
    Apr 29 2022
    Kids in small towns don’t always have enough to do after school but a free boxing gym in Avenal is a place of dreams for many youth including two fourth graders who are training hard to win tournaments. In this episode, we meet Jaylene and Jordan, sparring partners whose love for the sport is infectious. A few old timers in Avenal walk us through the town’s history and a young city manager explains why he returned to improve his hometown after attending a prestigious university.
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    22 mins