THE ELECTRIC PICNIC with Susan Taylor Mon 8am Wed 3pm, Sat 7pm
CARL HALLBERG
Poet, Essayist, Musician, Puppeteer
Carl Hallberg was born in the watershed of the St Croix River of eastern Minnesota surrounded by lakes, eagles, and redwing blackbirds in the summer. Growing up around catholic workers and organic farmers exposed Carl to practices of mutual aid and reciprocal love for the land that formed the basis of his political and social understandings, which fomented in the 2020 uprising after the murder of George Floyd, and the indigenous led movement to oppose Line 3 of the following year. After graduating high school in 2020, Carl moved to New York City and got a degree in acting from the Juilliard School while also falling in with Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping and the Bread and Puppet Theater. Since graduating in 2024, Carl has toured internationally and nationally with both groups, and premiered a solo show of stories, songs, and puppet shows called A Performed Lecture on Gardening, Neighborliness, and John Brown in April 2025
_______A Statement on Influences and Hopes:
I write songs and make theater, often including original poems and prose. Recently I’ve been making simple, narrative based theater works in the vein of Spalding Grey, with inspiration from the Bread and Puppet Theater and the Rude Mechs of Austin Texas. Across disciplines, I’m inspired by Michael Hurley, gesturing toward decolonial futures, and the why cheap art manifesto by the bread and puppet theater, which says ‘Art has to be cheap and available to everybody because it is the inside of the world. Art is like good bread, art is like green trees, art is like blue sky.’ I’m drawn especially to the work of Michael Hurly, who sings very direct, catchy songs that capture the mystery of ordinary life, and the thrilling beauty of the natural world. By connecting to this beauty we can touch the fierce joy of life that, when united with our friends and neighbors, can beat fascists and topple governments. As the Gesturing Toward Decolonial Futures collective reminds us, there is profound physio-psychological work to be done to hospice the colonial psyche. I aim, through my work, to inspire this fierce joy in the spirit of this greater work, in all of its ordinary daily applications.
I want those who interact with my work to feel their hearts soften and stretch out toward the world, so that they can feel the pain and intensity of the current moment and remain open, connected to their neighbors and to the land around them.
STOP & TALK with Grant Oliphant and co-host Crystal Page Fri 8am, and Wed
Thoughtful conversations and a good way to start the day! STOP & TALK dives deep into the themes of purpose and opportunity, guided by the insights of leaders in the arts and culture, health, philanthropy, finance, and innovation fields. Together, we celebrated local achievements and envisioned what’s possible in San Diego County.
FRIENDLY FIRE with Don Kimball Sat 2-3pm, Wed 7-8pm
A SHOW FOR AND ABOUT VETERANS
USAF Veteran and Whistleblower Reality Winner
This week Don brings you a broadcast from August 2018 featuring a live call-in from USAF veteran and whistleblower Reality Winner. Reality was awaiting transfer from a county jail in Georgia to a federal prison in Texas after
she was sentenced to 63 months for pleading guilty to violating the 1917 Espionage Act. Reality released one classified document to the media which documented Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential campaign. Also featured is Reality’s mom, Billie Winner Davis, USAF veteran and whistleblower Lisa Ling and activist and author Kevin Gosztola.
I am an Indie author and a current resident of San Diego. I was born in one Indian town, raised in two, and moved to eleven more across three continents for work and education. Despite earning an MBA and diving into the world of digital marketing for local companies in California, I found my true passion lay elsewhere—in the boundless realm of literature, science, and astronomy.
After a ten-year exploration of poetry and blogging, In 2015, I started to pen my first book. For eight years, I balanced writing with my studies and professional commitments and finally published my debut novel in 2023– Unearthing Idyll
I have also contributed articles and content to prestigious platforms, including NASA, Fossbytes, and Women’s Web. As of 2023, I also contribute as a writer at Club SciWri, a non-profit science communication venture.
I have also contributed articles and content to prestigious platforms, including NASA, Fossbytes, and Women’s Web. As of 2023, I also contribute as a writer at Club SciWri, a non-profit science communication venture.
Susan and Gregg are in conversation about his historical novel THE DEATH OF US ALL Inspired by the life of Sister Dorothy Stang, research in writing an historical novel, the critical environmental situation in the Amazon and more.
FIRST TIME AUTHOR PENS BOOK ON NUN ASSASSINATED IN THE AMAZON
Sister Dorothy Stang dedicated 40 years of her life striving to save the Amazon rainforest and stop the atrocities inflicted upon Brazil’s indigenous peoples. These efforts ultimately cost Dorothy her life when she was brutally murdered by contract killers at age 73. Already being hailed as a masterwork in storytelling, Gregg Brandalise’s first book – The Death of Us All – follows Sister Dorothy’s narrative from early childhood when she knew her life would be dedicated to the service of God. Embracing her purpose, she spent decades working tirelessly to combat corruption, subjugation, and deforestation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR______
With almost 50 years in the entertainment industry, as a musician and recording artist, Gregg Brandalise has won many awards, including Emmy, Wildscreen Panda Award (Green Oscar), and Telly, for his music compositions, songwriting, and sound design. He has recorded the likes of Louise Hay, Tony Robbins, Matthew McConaughey and many other well-known personalities.
Born and raised in Southern California, Gregg received a BA from San Diego State University majoring in Creative Writing and Music. An Adventure Scientist, Eagle Scout, and environmentalist, he maintains local hiking trails, volunteers for the La Jolla Playhouse Partners, and has provided music programs for the local elementary school.
Gregg currently resides in Poway, CA, where he and his wife, Christie, enjoy the bliss of retirement and being grandparents.
The award-winning burger from Isleta Grill (Photo: by Andi Murphy)–Native America Calling Website
NATIVE AMERICA CALLING M-F 12-1pm
WEDNESDAY NEWS: The Menu: Troubling wild rice trend, heirloom Cherokee apples, and a prize-winning New Mexico burger
An unassuming café on Isleta Pueblo just won one of the most sought-after culinary recognitions in New Mexico. Isleta Grill is this year’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge Champion for their frybread version of a regional delicacy. In northern Wisconsin, this year’s wild rice yields are low. The state Department of Natural Resources blames wind damage and heavy rainfall from a series of strong storms. It’s part of a pattern of diminished wild rice harvests in recent years. Cherokees cross-bred and cultivated apple varieties when they lived in the southeast U.S., but when the federal government forced a majority of Cherokees to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), they left their orchards behind. Now one cultural group is reviving those lost varieties of apples along with the history that goes with it. These are among the topics we’ll hear about on The Menu, a special feature of Native America Calling on Indigenous food sovereignty and stories with Andi Murphy. GUESTS Leticia Romero (Isleta Pueblo), owner of the Isleta Grill Esiban Parent (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe and Purépecha descent), Manoomin Wiidookaage for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission Amber Allen (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), project coordinator at the Noquisi Initiative Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of the Noquisi Initiative
Chris Ernest Nelson is a poet, painter, and historian. He is a graduate of San Diego State University, and taught history and art for 27 years at Mount Miguel High School, in Spring Valley, CA. He has lived in San Diego since 1959, and presently resides in Golden Hill.
Nelson’s original history of the 1939 election contest over food-stamps for the elderly, “The Battle for Ham and Eggs,” appears in the Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1992 and is cited by Professor Kevin Starr in his definitive history of California, The Dream Endures.
Nelson was named Author of the Month, November 2018, by the San Diego Public Library for his book HARVEST the poetry of Chris Ernest Nelson, which is now available in an updated and expanded sixth edition. Nelson reads his poetry regularly at local poetry venues, and you can see all of his work on his blog: chrisernestnelson.wordpress.com – and feel free to friend him on Facebook.
Join KNSJ for A Conversation with Thom Hartmann as he previews themes from his forthcoming book—connecting history, power, media, and the future of American democracy. Thom shares insights, then opens the floor for a community Q&A.
Expect sharp analysis on corporate power, the health of our institutions, the information ecosystem heading into 2026, and what practical civic action looks like right now.
Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host whose shows are available in over a half-billion homes worldwide. He’s the New York Times bestselling, 4-times Project Censored Award-winning author of 24 books in print in 17 languages on five continents. Leonardo DiCaprio was inspired by Thom’s book “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight” to make the movie “The 11th Hour” (in which Thom appears), and the movie “Ice On Fire.”
Talkers Magazine named Thom Hartmann as the 10th most important talk show host in America in 2019 and has been in the top ten for over a decade and is the #1 most important progressive host, in their “Heavy Hundred” ranking.
A new poll reveals that Americans continue to support organized labor at historic levels, even as the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress take a battering ram to union rights and the nation’s working class.
Gallup’s annual survey, released Thursday, shows more than two-thirds of people in the US (68%) approve of labor unions and the economic security and prosperity they provide working families. The popular support matches record-high numbers of recent years after a long decline from the 1960s through the early 2000s.
As Gallup notes:
When Gallup first measured Americans’ ratings of labor unions in 1936, 72% approved. Approval reached the record high, 75%, in 1953 and 1957 and ranged between 63% and 73% from 1958 through 1967. Then, from 1972 through 2016, approval was lower, with few readings over 60%, including the 48% all-time low recorded in 2009. This was the only time approval fell below the majority level. Since 2017, approval has been above 60%, the longest period at this level since the 1960s.
“Working people want unions and the numbers prove it,” said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), in response to the latest polling.
The survey shows sharp partisan divides despite the overall approval of organized labor. While 90% of Democrats surveyed and 69% of independents voiced support, only 41% of Republicans expressed the same level of support for organized workers and their unions. “All party groups show increased support for unions compared with 2016,” said Gallup, “though Republican support has declined since peaking at 56% in 2022. That was the only time Republicans’ approval has risen above 50% in the past 25 years.”
Saunders, like other members of the labor movement, has been a steady voice in rebuking President Donald Trump and his Republican Party as they run roughshod over labor rights and wage a relentless war against the working class by attacking Medicaid, food assistance, public education, better wages, collective bargaining, and workplace safety—all while slashing regulatory safeguards designed to protect America’s working families from industry greed and handing out massive tax breaks for billionaires and corporations.
“Gallup polling once again shows historically strong support, because workers understand that they have the power to win fair pay, safer working conditions, and dignity on the job when they organize a union. Today, that power matters more than ever,” said Saunders. “While billionaires and their yes-men in Congress try to slash wages, gut health care, and silence working people, we are fighting back—organizing, mobilizing, and demanding a voice.”
Despite the support of a large majority of Americans across the political spectrum, union density remains at historic lows, which makes sense given the hostility from both major parties to the needs of the working class and their fealty to represent the interests of big business over those of working families over the last five decades.
In his latest attack on the working class—and just ahead of the Labor Day weekend—Trump on Thursday issued a new executive order expanding his assault on the government agencies where federal employees would lose their collective bargaining rights.
Union members and labor experts immediately called the order unlawful—just like the original March order upon which it was based—and vowed to fight it tooth and nail in court.
“This is how President Trump is commemorating Labor Day: continuing his administration’s all-out attack on workers and unions,” said Liz Schuler, president of the AFL-CIO. “This new executive order once again distorts the law by ripping away the collective bargaining rights of federal workers in an attempt to silence their voices on the job.”
“Issuing these executive orders just days before the holiday that honors everything working people have fought and died for—including our right to come together with our co-workers in a union and bargain for what we deserve—shows us that this administration’s callous disregard for workers’ rights knows no bounds,” added Schuler. “No matter what it throws our way, the labor movement will never stop organizing and fighting for each other—and we’ll see him in court.”
AFSCME’s Saunders, suggested the polling should serve to invigorate the labor movement, even at a time when corporate power’s hold on the levers of power seems near complete.
“We know that working families are the backbone of our economy. But instead of getting the respect they’ve earned, they’re getting squeezed by CEOs and anti-worker politicians who want to hand out tax breaks to the billionaire class at the expense of Medicaid, food assistance, worker protections and our communities,” he said. “It is easy to see why trust in Congress and big corporations is hitting new lows, while support for unions remains strong.”
Saunders added that his union’s 1.4 million members are “proud to stand with every worker who is fighting back to demand dignity, fairness, and a voice on the job. Because when we stand together, we can defend our freedoms from billionaires who want to rob us of them.”
Bemoaning how Republicans have been able to coopt the mantle of being the party of the working class, all while undermining wages, workplace safety, and the right to collectively bargain, Les Leopold, executive director of the Labor Institute, has been among those warning the Democratic Party that it must change direction, or die trying, if it wants to win back the working class.
As he wrote following Trump’s 2024 reelection, “It’s time to end this sad chapter in U.S. history when the Democratic Party leaders refuse to be genuine allies for workers and the Republican Party is rewarded for pretending to be.“
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