Live Saturdays from 9-10 AM
Al Chile is an exciting Spanish language with music the latest news and lots of interviews relevant to everyone.
Sat 1-2pm
Chris covers US foreign policy, economic realities, and civil liberties in American society. Chris interviews writers, intellectuals, and dissidents, many banished from the mainstream. He gives voice to those, from Cornel West and Noam Chomsky to the leaders of groups such as Extinction Rebellion, who are on the front lines of the struggle against militarism, corporate capitalism, white supremacy, the looming ecocide, as well as the battle to wrest back our democracy from the clutches of the ruling global oligarchy.
SPECIAL ONLY ON KNSJ Sun 12/29 10am, New Year’s Day 2pm
LA PASTORELA DE CORAJE
San Diego County’s longest running and most popular holiday theater production.
Lucifer has made a comeback.
Once tossed from Heaven, the Prince of Darkness is planning an ambitious global revenge tour.
The good guys are ready. Armed with courage fueled by hope and love, they are prepared to push back in a big way.
“La Pastorela de Coraje” is a fresh installment of San Diego County’s longest running and most popular holiday theater production. It will air and stream free of charge in December on KNSJ 89.1 FM.
Written by Max Branscomb and Ella Aldridge, “La Pastorela de Coraje” features the best and worst of popular culture and politics from 2024 in a celestial costume party of disguises by devils eager to thwart the first Christmas and angels battling to save the day against the wicked.
Speaking of “Wicked,” Johnny Cash and June Carter battle the Wicked Green Witch, Beetlejuice and Cruella DeVille in a celestial, high stakes version of “American Idol.” The Evil Ones then return as the nasty LA Dodgers to face off against the brown and gold good guys from San Diego. The rollicking comedy also features beautiful bilingual Christmas music.
“La Pastorela de Coraje” is the 34th consecutive production of “La Pastorela.” It was produced by TMM at the Old Globe, San Diego REP and other venues until the 2020 pandemic closed down live theater. It has aired it as a radio show by Teatro Pastorela on KNSJ 89.1 FM since then.
“La Pastorela de los Coraje” is a reminder that even in challenging times people of goodwill can make a difference, said Branscomb.
“Coraje means courage, which the shepherds in the Christmas story had to find,” he said. “They were tired, hungry and cold, but they did not quit. They pushed on through their darkest moments and found success. They were able to make a difference. That’s what everyday heroes must do.”
Branscomb said the musical is a gift to the borderlands community, especially his diverse Southwestern College students who need courage to face looming challenges.
Returning as co-writer is Ella Aldridge, the gifted 16-year-old writer-actor-singer-songwriter who is a junior at the San Diego School of the Creative and Performing Arts. Aldridge was recently honored as one of San Diego County’s 25 Most Remarkable Teens by the Public Defenders Office and by San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas, who declared December 14 “Ella Aldridge Day” for her contributions to the community and K-12 performing artists. Aldridge plays the sassy teenage Archangel Gabriel.
“It is always such a pleasure to work with Ella,” Branscomb said. “She is very creative and brings so many great ideas to ‘la pastorela.’ She is a human chameleon as an actor who can morph into any character. Her Gabriel is so funny and her June Carter is killer! Our cast is so talented and that allows Ella and I to write practically anything because we know our actors can perform it.”
Aldridge said “La Pastorela de Coraje” was fun to create and perform, but its message is what matters.
“The performing arts should inspire people to think about our world and all its living things,” she said. “The arts teach us about others and encourage empathy for people who may be different than us in some ways but are alike us in the most important ways. San Diego County is wonderfully diverse and such an amazing place to live, but that comes with challenges. Our art can help us to learn how to get along with each other and walk together into our futures.”
Lucifer is played by Chantal Branscomb, a 27-year-old UC Irvine Theater Arts graduate. She was a professional child voiceover actor who can do scores of voices. She is the choreographer for the Bonita Vista High School Music Machine and Sound Unlimited show choirs as well as regional dance companies. She first played Lucifer as a sixth grader in a production of “La Pastorela” at Sunnyside Elementary School in Bonita. She is also the lead singer of most of the songs in this year’s show.
David Rivas returns as Vato Satan, the character he honed on stage at the Old Globe and San Diego REP. Rivas is a popular voiceover actor on animated series and video games, including “Star Trek.” He is a busy stage actor as well as host of “Your Spotlight” on KNSJ and a voice talent for the station. Dave makes “La Pastorela” possible with his engineering and editing talents.
Alexis Luna (Michael the Archangel) is an SDSU graduate in Music Studies. He is a sought-after bass who performs with the Coronado Community Church and other choirs. He is the piano accompanist for the BVHS Vocal Music Department and the keytarist for the prog band Appease the Skeleton. Luna also conducts professional and academic choirs.
Gifted 14-year-old Syara Platero is the cast’s other prodigy. She plays Moloch, the mouthy juvenile delinquent devil. A freshman at Bonita Vista High School, Platero is the 2024 Chula Vista Speech Competition champion and a BVHS volleyball player.
Veteran San Diego actor Vanessa Lopez returns as Menga, the grumpy shepherdess who undergoes a spiritual transformation during the journey. Menga represents the fear and doubt we all must overcome to reach our potential.
Branscomb said Teatro Pastorela enjoys its relationship with KNSJ and the support of the San Diego County Community Enhancement Program funding provided by Supervisor Nora Vargas.
“CE funding allows us to create a free-of-charge holiday show that can be enjoyed by working class families and people with mobility challenges,” he said. “Unfortunately, not everyone in our region can afford to attend live theater, so we offer our radio version of ‘la pastorela’ as a holiday gift to our entire community.”
FRIENDLY FIRE, A SHOW FOR AND ABOUT VETERANS WITH HOST DON KIMBALL Saturdays 2-2:30 pm
DON KIMBALL was a non-commissioned officer, stationed on Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire from 1977-1981, at a time when they were frequently using a firefighting foam (AFFF), which we now know to be full of PFAS. Today, Don is the producer and host of “Friendly Fire: A Voice For Veterans” where he frequently tackles thorny issues like chemical exposures and toxic PFAS testing for veterans and more.
A member of the Maine Veterans for Peace, Don views social and environmental justice issues in a global context. Did you know that the number one entity for consuming fossil fuels, thus contributing to global climate change on the planet, is the US Department of Defense?
Election Post-Mortem
Ralph is in conversation with Norman Solomon about election results. They also discuss and what polls show the majority of people are concerned about.
Overnight rain (aka Pending storm)
Pre-Election
Glitter on the patio
silty gold washed from a red tile roof
sticks to terracotta squares
already stained from fallen fig juice.
With stiff black bristles, sweep sweep back forth
to make a small mound, tempting to the dog,
into a dustpan shiny-as a holiday platter.
Disaster averted, two and four feet cheated,
no tell-tale signs on the impulsive purchase of a white area rug,
freshly shampooed.
Glitter shimmer shakes the leaves, coats neon green jade plants,
swims in a bird bath, on the heads of pottery frogs on the short wall.
Nothing changes but the weather, I groan, mouthing an old cliché,
and consider one more:
Older than the hills.
I fell for Be the Change and Si se Puede back then.
It’s the day before the day all votes will be collected,
like hopeful blue glitter, to rain down
while I dream, not hearing the dark rain outside.
–Sue Taylor
Susan Taylor is the host of The Electric Picnic, a show about Poetry, Prose, and Spoken Word heard Mondays 8-9am, Wednesdays 3-4pm and Saturdays 7-8pm
A wife, mother, and six-time grandmother., Susan loves living in a diverse and friendly neighborhood in San Diego, and can be seen walking her dog Duffy to coffee shops and happy hours.. Susan writes poems and short stories, tutors English, and is an avid volunteer with social justice organizations. She is the author of The Electric Picnic: Poetry For Nice People And Good Dogs. Her poems can also be found on haikuuniverse.com, thepoetryhighway.com, and in the San Diego Anthology of Poetry, and Verbatim Bookstore. Susan has also been selected for inclusion in A Year in Ink, Volume 17, 2024.
TALES OF TERROR FROM PROCTOR VALLEY
4-5PM WEDNESDAY AND 7-8PM THURSDAY NIGHT, 10/31 — FOR A HAUNTING GOOD TIME, KNSJ PRESENTS A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL STORYTELLING HOUR with ~~ghostly sightings and bone-chilling sounds~~
WHAT DO YOU THINK? ARE THE STORIES JUST STORIES—-OR—-?
NOT every city is lucky enough to have its own monster; Chula Vista, meanwhile, has the distinct honor of being home to a unique legendary creature: the “Proctor Valley Monster.” The rural wilderness east of town has inspired a broad range of haunting, supernatural legends, told by several generations of Chula Vista residents. This Halloween season, throughout September and October, come and hear various professional storytellers performing these eerie, mysterious tales.
YOU WILL BE MESMERIZED BY STORY TELLERS DAVID J. SCHMIDT AND KIRK FAULKNER.
David J. Schmidt is an author, podcaster, multilingual translator, and homebrewer who splits his time between Mexico City and San Diego, California. Schmidt has published a variety of books, short stories, and articles in both English and Spanish, including Three Nights in the Clown Motel, a book of “non-fiction horror,” as well as the recent collection of local lore, “The Proctor Valley Monster: a Chula Vista Legend.” Schmidt is the co-host of the podcast To Russia with Love. He speaks fifteen languages and has been to 35 countries. He received his B.A. in psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Website: www.DavidJSchmidt.com Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/David-J.-Schmidt/e/B00BXTBY7K Facebook: @HolyGhostStories YouTube: Holy Ghosts Twitter: @SchmidtTales Email: HolyGhostStories@gmail.com
Kirk Faulkner is a stand-up, writer, and kimchi enthusiast currently working on his Masters in Clinical Counseling.
AL CHILE ONLY ON KNSJ. Produced by the Employee Rights Center, AL CHILE is a show with music, news, interviews and topics of common interest including worker’s rights, immigration, housing, health and technology. The host and producer is Ariana Gallegos joined by DJ Peet O Perez. Covering issues important to San Diego, discussions you will not hear on other San Diego stations — AL CHILE, Always Fresh, Always Relevant.
A Navajo baker is adding ingredients from her culture into the breads, cakes and convections into her new Tempe, Arizona restaurant called ReddHouse Pastry.
How much do the proposed USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect what industries want to promote as opposed to what Native Americans consider nutritious? When the new version of the guidelines is released, it has implications for the food that makes its way into school lunches, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and SNAP.
Former President Donald Trump won’t back away from promoting a false rumor about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating cats and dogs. The Haitian residents now fear for their safety and say Trump is dehumanizing them for political gain. The same tactic has been used against Native Americans as well, and food is one means to do it.
GUESTS
Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota), chef and owner of Owamni; co-founder of The Sioux Chef and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems
Carly Griffith Hotvedt (Cherokee), interim executive director of the Indigenous Food & Agriculture Initiative
Angel Lincoln (Navajo), chef and owner
Fridays 8 am
Co-hosted by Grant Oliphant and Crystal Page, Stop & Talk is a show about connection and building a more vibrant region together through creativity, health and community.