
Midday Edition uplifts voices in San Diego with fearless conversations about intriguing issues. Host, Jade Hindmon, cuts through the noise with questions that give listeners a deeper understanding of themselves, people and the community they live in. Guests share diverse perspectives from their expertise and lived experience. In a city and world that's rapidly changing, Jade’s interviews inspire, inform and make you think. Midday Edition airs Monday - Thursday 12pm - 1pm and again from 8pm - 9pm. You can also catch the show anytime on all podcast apps.
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The University of San Diego held its 39th Annual Economic Roundtable to take stock of where the national and local economies may be headed in 2023. Next, the U.S. military is struggling to meet recruitment goals. With fewer young people enlisting, now the Navy is allowing older people to join. Then, new research from the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy suggests that salary transparency can lead companies to close their gender wage gaps, but not for the reason you might think. And, while it feels like winter outside, spring training, and the return of Padre baseball, is just a month away. Finally, a young San Diego theater company launches it’s first full season with a play about a campus sexual assault.
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A pair of San Diego-based companies were recently awarded federal grants for their efforts to improve electric vehicle batteries. Next, we talk to LA Times reporter Sammy Roth about Imperial County farmland being used to generate solar power. Then, some of the most popular New Year's resolutions are ones about getting in shape. KPBS Health Reporter Matt Hoffman takes a look at how some are getting it done and talks with fitness instructors about how goals can help people stick to their resolutions. And, the Chula Vista Elementary School District is moving ahead with plans to convert two of its campuses to Community Schools. Next, The California Report Magazine spoke with journalist Sam Anderson about his podcast telling the story of a 2016 murder in Mendocino County. Finally, San Diego writer Marissa Crane talks about their new novel “I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself.”
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The 35th Annual All Peoples Celebration on Monday was centered around Dr. King’s words, “Let’s build bridges, not walls.” We hear from keynote speaker, bestselling author and columnist, Steve Phillips. Then, court transcripts show San Diego County Public Defender Randy Mize admitted under oath last month that he signed off on an investigative report knowing it contained false statements.KPBS Investigative Reporter Amita Sharma joins us to talk about her reporting. And, this Wednesday some San Diegans will put out their shiny new green bins. And for the first time they will include food waste. It’s part of the city's new organics recycling program which began rolling out last week with the delivery of thousands of new kitchen pails and green bins to local residents. Finally, the Museum of Us in Balboa Park is reimagining one of its core exhibits, “Race: Are We So Different.” The goal is to shape the new exhibit through the perspectives of our local communities.
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While the recent rain wreaked havoc across the state, there is one small silver lining - California’s drought conditions are improving (slightly). Then, almost daily, weapons, equipment and other supplies depart the U.S. to support the Ukrainian military and civilian authorities. And finally, in our weekend preview, we have an Edgar Allan Poe musical for kids, a special visual art and classical music collaboration, a blues musical and clothes made out of sauce packets.
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We speak with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria about the commitments he outlined in his 2023 State of The City Address. Then, this year’s flu season has so far been a doozy. By the time November was over, it might have felt like everyone you know had the flu. But is it as bad as we think? And, the Colorado River, a central source of water for much of the Western United States, is drying up. We hear about a new podcast from The Los Angeles Times documenting the history of the river and how so many people have come to rely on it. Then, portions of California are seeing record amounts of rainfall this winter with a lot of that water going straight down storm drains on a path to the Pacific Ocean. But some communities are capturing what they can and storing it in underground aquifers. Finally, the root causes of homelessness are often attributed to drug addiction, mental illness or poverty. But research points to housing affordability as the most significant factor that leads to homelessness.
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After a long series of votes and political wrangling to select the new House Speaker, the new Congress got underway this week. San Diego Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, who represents California’s 51st Congressional district, also became the youngest member in the democratic leadership in this new Republican-led House. Then, Bob McElroy, CEO of the Alpha Project, has worked with homeless residents for more than three decades. Of what he’s seeing as the number of people living unsheltered in downtown San Diego soars he said, “It’s tragic, my first time in 35 years I've been discouraged.” Next, Dr. Eric Topol talks about XBB.1.5, a new COVID variant generating cause for concern across the nation. Then, an update on efforts to bring a four-year university to Chula Vista. Finally, recent improvements in non-alcoholic beer and spirits makes this "Dry January" a little brighter.
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Governor Newsom’s proposed budget plan for 2023 into 2024 includes cuts to programs to close a projected $22.5 billion deficit. Among those cuts are 20,000 new child care slots intended for California’s neediest families. New reporting from The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at how California’s child care subsidies have fallen short, leaving many unable to afford child care at all. Then, the need for housing is impacting small businesses in a once popular hub for dining and entertainment in San Marcos. And, the state is setting aside $100 million to help Native American tribes buy back their ancestral lands. But once a tribe gets their land back, how do they restore and preserve it? Next, the American Academy of Pediatrics is changing its guidelines for how doctors should address obesity among children. They include early and aggressive treatments like surgery. And, sports journalist Jemele Hill is known for telling hard truths. In her memoir, "Uphill," she shares the story of her successes, failures and family. Finally, this year's KPBS One Book, One San Diego selection for teens is "The Magic Fish," a graphic novel by writer and illustrator Trung Le Nguyen. We speak to the author, also known as Trungles, about the novel about a second generation Vietnamese American teenager who uses fairy tales to help his mother learn English.
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Forecasters with the National Weather Service are calling it a “relentless parade of cyclones” as more severe weather threatens Northern and Central California. An atmospheric river with high winds will dump another 1.5 inches of rain over the next two days in San Diego. Then, border officials anticipate that the PedWest pedestrian crossing reopening will help ease congestion at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Business leaders, on the other hand, are hoping the increased foot traffic will provide a much needed boost for local commerce. And, Imperial Beach has long had a reputation as a scruffy beach town. But it's been gentrifying in recent years. Now city officials unveiled a new plan to make it a destination city. Finally, Lee Herrick is California’s first Asian American poet laureate. His work has touched on some of the experiences Californians share, including our diverse culture and food, as well as questions of identity. Herrick shares some poems and his plans to spread his love of poetry across the state.
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San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez is just a few weeks into the job as the county’s top law enforcement leader. She takes over as the department is tasked with bringing change to a jail system with some of the highest numbers of in-custody deaths in the state. Then, for our weekend arts preview, we have a special performance exhibition, shadow puppets, classical music and even some ways to kick start your own creativity in the new year.
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After years of being stuck in bureaucratic limbo, it appears that the old Central Library in Downtown San Diego will begin offering shelter services to the homeless later this month. Then, a volunteer group is providing medical care to unhoused people in Sacramento, where in 2021, almost 200 unsheltered people died. The practice of bringing medicine to the people is taking off around the state. Next, plastic waste is a huge environmental problem for the earth and its oceans. One answer to the problem is being explored in San Diego. Then, while in some ways the world-famous Hollywood-dwelling mountain lion, P-22 was unique, mountain lions aren’t uncommon here and they make their homes closer to humans than you might think. Finally, we talk to Jeff Speck, author of, “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” about efforts to transform America’s cities away from cars, toward a more walkable future.
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Midday Edition Team

Jade Hindmon
Host
Jade Hindmon is the host of KPBS Midday Edition. She connects San Diego through fearless conversations that inform, inspire and make you think. Prior to Midday Edition Jade was a reporter and fill-in anchor in the KPBS newsroom covering everything from politics to policing and the economy. Her award winning work spans network affiliates across the southeast and midwest. As a very proud Rattler, Jade studied broadcast journalism and political science at Florida A&M University. She takes a special interest in topics about democracy, accountability, racial justice, science and wellness.

Brooke Ruth
Senior Producer
Brooke Ruth is the senior producer for KPBS Radio News. She previously served as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and a web producer. Before joining KPBS, Brooke was a web editor for four newspapers and a local television station. She began her career in news at the Imperial Valley Press. She has also been part of the web teams at the Napa Valley Register, North County Times, and U-T San Diego. While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UCLA in psychology, she worked on the student newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

Andrew Bracken
Producer
Andrew Bracken, KPBS Midday Edition and Roundtable producer & host of podcasts "My First Day" & "San Diego Conversations," made "Facing North," a docu-web series on San Diego-Tijuana ties, released on PBS in 2017. He's a San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst fellow & a San Diego Film Award winner. He drums in his spare time.

Ashley Rusch
Producer
Ashley Rusch is a producer for KPBS Midday Edition. Before joining KPBS, she was an associate producer at LAist 89.3, where she worked on AirTalk with Larry Mantle, Weekend Edition and All Things Considered. At UC Santa Barbara, Ashley led KCSB-FM’s news coverage through the COVID-19 pandemic. She was also a news intern at KCBX in San Luis Obispo. Ashley grew up in South Pasadena, California.

Julianna Domingo
Producer
Julianna Domingo is a producer for KPBS Midday Edition. Before joining the station, Julianna worked at CalMatters as a College Journalism Network Fellow where she reported on higher education across the state. She got her start in journalism at The Triton, an independent student newspaper at UC San Diego. Julianna graduated from UC San Diego with a major in political science and a minor in communications.

Brandon Truffa
Media Production Specialist
Prior to joining the KPBS Midday team in 2024, Brandon worked as a board operator and producer with The Mighty 1090 in San Diego, and executive producer and sound editor at FOX Sports Radio in Los Angeles. He's a San Diego native and graduate of San Diego State University. In his spare time he enjoys watching sports, going to comedy shows and hanging out with his cats and dogs.

Ben Redlawsk
Media Production Specialist
Ben Redlawsk is a media production specialist for KPBS radio. He provides technical direction for KPBS “Morning Edition” and assists with “KPBS Midday Edition” and “KPBS Roundtable” through audio editing and recording. He got his start in radio as head audio engineer at KSDT, UC San Diego’s student-run radio station. Ben graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary computing and the arts with an emphasis in music technology.