Breasts and Eggs: On Japanese women living alone

My cat has gone back to the box where her three kittens are asleep, though she pokes her head out to stare at me every once in awhile, to check if I’m ready to give her food. I’m not. She had a full bowl of chicken three hours ago, and I’m trying to give longer gaps between meals so that when I go away for my treatment, she won’t be left hungry.

I’m still reading “Breast and Eggs” by Mieko Kawakami. It’s about a writer—Natsuko—who lives alone in a flat in Tokyo. The summary at the back doesn’t say that. It talks about how she and her sister and her daughter experience life as women in Japan. It’s more than that. She lives in this flat alone and then goes out into the world and meets people and thinks about them. People come and go but her flat remains the same. That’s not true. She has to move out of her old flat and into a new one, but it still feels the same to me. She always takes comfort by pushing her head deep into her beanbag.

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The Lonely Goat Cafe

Episode 2: Why Dian Sousa loves the sea

This time my guest was poet and activist Dian Sousa. We talked about creativity and the necessity of work, her immigrant parents and her love and respect for the sea, as well as our mystical connections to our ancestors. Then, we read some poetry.

The Lonely Goat Cafe

Episode 1: Poetry and the trauma of migration, with MT Vallarta

I recently launched a podcast called “The Lonely Goat Cafe.” It explores the idea of loneliness in the context of migration, and how immigrants use music, art, films, literature and other creative means to move through it. My first guest, poet MT Vallarta, spoke about why they write poetry and the trauma of migration.

Journalism

The impact of budget cuts on the History Center of San Luis Obispo County

For Issues and Ideas, I speak with Thomas Kessler, Executive Director, and Brittany Webb, Collections Manager, of the History Center of San Luis Obispo County, about the impact that recent budget cuts will have on the nonprofit’s operations, and especially the 120,000 artifacts that make up its collection. Listen to the full interview here.

Journalism

Caring for donkeys on the coast

For Issues and Ideas, I speak with Carlen Eckford, founder of the Rancho Burro Donkey Sanctuary and it’s medical director as well as volunteer Barn Manager Nancy DeRuchie about how the nonprofit rehabilitates of donkeys and the misconceptions surrounding the behavior and care of these animals. Listen here.

Journalism

Celebrating bike month with the Cycling Without Age program

May is also National Bike Month, and in recognition of it, I speak with Rick Ellison, Executive Director of Bike SLO County, and Rose Levinson Wurtz, Program Coordinator for Cycling Without Age to find out about the nonprofit’s history, and their latest program that offers free trishaw rides to older adults in San Luis Obispo. Full interview here.

Journalism

A support group for stroke survivors in San Luis Obispo

May is National Stroke Awareness Month. For Issues and Ideas, I speak with Maria Irthum, Neuroscience Coordinator at Adventist Health Central Coast and co-lead at the Hope for Stroke Survivors Group, as well as Dave Serverson, a stroke survivor and member of this support group. Both share their experiences and talk about how the group provide a space not only for support, but resource sharing for stroke survivors. Listen to the full interview here.

Journalism

Unpacking the legal policies driving international student visa revocations in the US

For Issues and Ideas, I talk with Professor Jared Van Ramshorst from Cal Poly’s Department of Political Science about recent student deportations and visa revocations that have impacted international students across the country, including at Cal Poly. Full interview here.

Journalism

Celebrating the history of San Luis Obispo County’s diverse workforce

I speak with Pete Kelley and Roberta Soules about The History Center’s exhibit titled “Working Hands: Ethnic Labor in San Luis Obispo County,” that showcases the county’s diverse workforce and their nature of their work from 1820-1950, including the work undertaken through the Works Progress Administration in the county during the Great Depression. Full interview here.

Journalism

The Indian companies arming Israel’s military companies

The export of around 20 Hermes 900 drones to Israel by Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems was widely reported in February of this year. What has not been reported is that there are numerous other Indian companies, both big and small, that have been manufacturing and supplying aerospace components, electronic parts and explosives to Israel. In doing so, they may be enabling the war and genocide in Gaza.

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(Tag: Rights)