Quote: "It's a heated field." —Otto Pippenger About: A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [01:10] “Coulis Coulis” by The Blue Dot Sessions [03:45] On Senator Amy Klobuchar, sporks combs a…

Quote: "I'm a progressive, yeah." —U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi About: A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [01:00] Light reading on Agatha Bacelar [01:05] “Coulis Coulis” by The Blue …

Quote: “Where do you want to start?” —Farhad Azad About: Afghanistan has far too often been referred to as a place where countries go to die, it is a graveyard of empires. This moniker has been cited so many times and for so long that it’s unclear who first said it. Even the Afghan community will recite this pride. But what a title like this fails …

"You've got boys flying kites again..." —George W. Bush About: Oh, the privilege. And what a privilege it is to publish a story about the broader theme of culture and identity, specifically for Afghanistan’s diaspora living in the States, like those on that third-culture-wave, when Afghans from the home country are left dealing with far harsher rea…

This is a prologue to a multi-part series about the Afghan diaspora in America reclaiming their past and trying to grow from the present. It’s a story about culture, identity and authenticity. Show Notes: [00:30] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica [00:55] Hit rewind. (freesound.org / cognitu perceptu) [01:00] “Our Son the Potter” by The Blue Dot Sess…

Quote: "We are all from Allah, and to Allah we return" —Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 156 About: In mere weeks, this country has seen COVID-19-related deaths rise past casualty totals for past wars and surprise attacks, sometimes passing those records daily. It seems like every day is filled with death. But this isn’t the first time humanity has faced a …

Quote: “Nobody wants to destroy the image of San Francisco.” —James Baldwin About: Whereas Part One looks into the origin of San Francisco’s F-word, and Part Two looks at the buildup and fallout of urban renewal in neighborhoods like Bayview-Hunters Point, Part Three looks at a far more sinister force and questions just how liberal and progressive …

Quote: “When I die, I’m dead.” —Eloise Westbrook About: Three horizontal stripes, red, black and green, add color to the streetlights and poles in and around the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco. These Pan-African flags are a relatively new addition to the area. They were painted just about a year ago thanks to an initiative spea…

“The fans just want to know who the fuck the artist is.” —Andre "Herm" Lewis About: For a place that proudly heralds slogans like #BlackLivesMatter, the homes of San Francisco house very few Black people. What’s happened to the African-American community in San Francisco is a much more complex tale than just being pushed out by young and transient …

"They always leave when it gets hot in the cafe." —Man counter-protesting protestors About: Since the turn of the millennium, the percentage of U.S.-based specialty coffee drinking folk, like those who have a cup everyday, has quadrupled. Travel to any major or minor city in the country, and you’ll see an offering of coffees that transcends the uni…

What is this show all about? Learn more at thisissomenoise.com/about.

Quote: “The devil is always in the details, right?” —Mark Baird About: If the State of Jefferson ever formed, it’s unlikely Anthony Bourdain would ever travel there for its pizza or burritos. Mark Baird, the “unofficial” leader of the State of Jefferson movement, likes to think they’d be known for their buffalo burgers. Though, he’ll admit, he’s in…

“Mr. Statham, would you consider giving San Francisco to Hawaii?” —Former Calif. Assemblyman Bill Morrow (Oceanside-R) About: If President Kennedy’s moon-shot set the tone that no challenge was too difficult, Donald Trump’s presidential victory reminds us that anything is possible, even creating a new U.S. state. In Northern California, like the pr…

“Thank you Mr. Machine...or Ms. Machine?” —John Zerzan About: What does one make of our future—like the one 50 years from now? The answer, or rather a possible answer, has a lot to do with choice and technology. Whether we survive or go extinct is, however, another question. Show Notes: [01:20] A link to download the Park Mobile app [01:25] “Inamor…

"I am not the 'Boont' God." —Rod DeWitt About: With wave after wave of socioeconomic changes crashing into the Anderson Valley, a quiet and historically agrarian area, the lifestyle that gave rise to Boontling is quickly fading away. The fate and the future of the kitschy tongue lies solely in how the community comes to terms with market forces, th…

“They’re living too fast.” —Wes ‘Deacon’ Smoot About: It used to be that you could grow apples, herd sheep, or fell timber and make a decent living in the Anderson Valley. But not even the few stop signs in this remote valley could slow down the incoming cash crop of grapes. The area’s long legacy of logging now takes a backseat to its newer reputa…

“And I think it saved the day, because we didn't have any money.” —Captain Rainbow About: No place has tested the currents of change more than the Anderson Valley, a Gaza Strip-sized setting hidden in the hills of Northern California. Home to the language of Boontling, a fast fading past prose of the old frontier, the fate of the area’s kitschy ton…

Quote: “I think intelligence in the universe is very rare.” —Dr. James Rice, NASA, Mars Exploration Rover Geology Team Leader About: 2017, let’s start anew! Let’s just pack up, say our goodbyes and march (drive, fly or sail) to greener pastures. But where to? Canada is cold around this time of year, Europe is in limbo, and everywhere else has spott…

“Any true Americans over here?” -Michael, a man from Boston with a sign About: Amidst all the chaos that has been the 2016 presidential election, there is a special group of Americans fighting against the mainstream current—the Trump minority, like actual minorities voting for Trump. On this episode, we travel the country and talk to some of those …

"And then they came for me." -Sabri Benkahla When it comes to the conversation of Islam in America, it can sometimes feel like having a debate where both parties talk over one another, dive into the shallow end of the topic and leave thinking they’ve proved their points—trophies for all. This self-perpetuating social filter bubble of sorts absolves…

“Brother, you don’t eat pork do you?” -Man with wine About: New York. St. Cloud. Orlando. San Bernardino. Chattanooga. Garland. Boston. Fort Hood. Brussels. Paris. Nice. Kabul. Baghdad. Quetta. Lahore. Istanbul. It’s difficult to remember what life was like before any of these recent attacks, when there was no YouTube or Twitter and when the Twin T…

"You just go again tomorrow." -Stuart Vorpahl Stuart Vorpahl is a lifelong commercial fisherman who took pride in providing the fresh produce of the sea. Stuart liked his job. He liked it so much that when regulation and politics threatened it, he ignored the old sayings and squared up against town hall. On the surface, it might seem as if Stuart w…

"Timeout. If you see a hole, you mend it. You don’t go say I’ll go back and fix it. It don’t work." --Stuart Vorpahl The story of Stuart Vorpahl involves fishing, the Hamptons and the King of England. Amidst a town where Hollywood's A-list comes to summer, how did a commercial fisherman earn the notoriety of first-name recognition amidst locals, to…

"It's just status." -Buddy About: In pockets of America, like those in Oakland and throughout the East Bay of Northern California, the status quo of driving a vehicle is proudly rejected. Take a look at some of the rides out here and you’ll immediately get the sense that a car is more than just a car. Who are these people and what caused them to de…

“Thy will be done. Thy will be done. I don’t know. Please, I don’t know.” -Jessica Ripper Jessica Ripper is a white American with blonde hair, blue eyes and a home in Northern California. Yet, to many in Pakistan, she’s an Islamic-gospel musician who plays the tabla. In the 700-year-old sufi-singing tradition of Qawwali, she’s a female trailblazer …

"“People want to see good overcome evil, even though that’s not always the way it plays out, that’s what they’re coming out to see.” --Shane Hanson Who should you be and what should you do? Escape all the worries of life with a quick trip to Hoodslam, a wrestling outfit based in Oakland, Calif. It’s an adult wrestling show where other people make t…

“It ain’t that I don’t care, it’s that I don’t really care.” -Bishop Glen A. Staples About: We live in a strange time, at least that’s what the story of the praise break reminds us. It’s the tale of an ecstatic dance rooted deep in race, religion and American history. It traveled centuries of oppression and made its way to present times where it’s …

“To really answer the question, what is a question, is a very good question.” -Dr. Zeray Alemseged What we can do? That question confronts, inquires, investigates and challenges. And it, by no means, is simple to define. For this episode of Some Noise, we try and get to the bottom of questions and ask a bunch of different people, from a linguistics…

“I mean I don't see a halo on you, even though I see a couple of horns. See that little angel and that little devil on the side? Yeah. You're you.” -Serafin Jose Saavedra This story, the Story of Me, probably won’t have a proper ending, like the kind that is comforting and reminds you that all is well in the world. It shouldn’t. Because that’s fals…

“That’s just part of your mask—we all have a mask...” -Josh Quittner About: Your work experience ultimately comes down to one thing—how you sell yourself. Which, is a lie (or like a half-truth). Achievements and accomplishments are important, but what about everything else? For part three of this prologue—the Story of Me—I’ve reached out to co-work…

Quote: “I felt like there was a dark piece of you that was under there.” -Rachel Crowe About: For Part II of this four-part podcast prologue, we return to the school years. It’s a life experience most people can relate to—good or bad—in large part because of the amount of time spent. If you’re in your mid-20s and graduated from a four-year college …

About: Who do you think you are? It’s not an easy question to answer. It shouldn’t be. But I’ve tried to get the bottom of it by starting at the top. To introduce this podcast project—Some Noise—the foolish pursuit of life, clarity and context—I’ve decided to report on the story of me. But why? If this is going to be a show about other people, thei…