San Diego is known as America’s Finest, but that distinction isn’t defined by city limits. We are a region of people, art and movements redefining our communities and expressions. The Finest is a podcast that highlights the emerging voices and dynamic forces driving change. Through personal stories and critical perspectives, each episode brings forward the artists, advocates and ideas pushing boundaries in the region's cultural landscape and deepening our understanding of why we are America’s Finest.
The Finest
San Diego is known as America's Finest, but that distinction isn't defined by city limits. We are a region of people, art and movements redefining our communities and expressions. The Finest is a podcast that highlights the emerging voices and dynamic forces driving change. Through personal stories and critical perspectives, each episode brings forward the artists, advocates and ideas pushing boundaries in the region's cultural landscape and deepening our understanding of why we are America's Finest.
The Finest is hosted by Julia Dixon Evans
Episodes
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San Diego band Slacker talks about friendship, growing up and the inspiration behind their surprisingly intimate rock songs. Hear their special performance from KPBS and a post-show interview where they share the stories behind their music and upcoming debut album. -
At just over 25 years old, San Diego's Cameron Mofid became the youngest person to visit every country on Earth. From disguises in Yemen to close calls in Somalia and a last-minute dash into North Korea, his journey redefined adventure and taught him what travel can reveal about humanity. -
The Finest team reflects on our season so far — the episodes that resonated most and what we're still thinking about months later. We also share our favorite things in San Diego right now, from soup dumplings to hidden trails. Plus, we call up one of our first guests to discuss a clip of our interview that went viral. -
Mabel’s Gone Fishing isn’t just a seafood spot in North Park — it’s a scratch kitchen and gathering place that earned a Michelin honor within its first year. Co-owner Chelsea Coleman shares the restaurant’s story, from family roots in baseball to building a dining space that feels distinctly San Diegan. -
In the 1970s and 1980s, KPBS turned fundraising into a weeklong TV event — auctioning items ranging from custom cars to doctor visits, with celebrities on stage and kids running bids. Decades later, those auctions remain central to one family's most powerful memories, and the excitement and community of live bidding is finding new life on today's digital marketplaces. -
Recorded live at the KPBS San Diego Book Festival, this episode features authors Emily Greenberg and Moses Ose Utomi as they discuss how their very different approaches — political satire and West African-inspired fantasy — converge to explore truth, myth and the power of shifting narratives in storytelling. -
Lucky's Breakfast was more than a diner — it was a community. After the passing of beloved owner Lucky Wong, his family and loyal customers-turned-friends reflect on the man whose generosity, humor and daily breakfasts brought North Park together, and whose name now graces the street where generations of San Diegans gathered. -
From Blink-182 to today's rising bands, San Diego's local music scene shows how place and timing can shape an artist's future and forge a lasting connection with fans. With Dan Ozzi, co-author of Mark Hoppus' new memoir, we explore strokes of luck and the beauty of a local live music scene that streaming can't replace. -
Romantasy — the fusion of romance and fantasy — is having a major moment. Boosted by #BookTok and shaped by the influence of fan fiction, the book genre is topping bestseller lists and drawing huge crowds at Comic-Con. But for all its success, it's often a target of ridicule. We look at what people get wrong about the misunderstood genre, and why it's connecting with so many readers right now. -
We're sharing a special episode from our friends at Port of Entry. It's all about Nortec Collective, the Tijuana-based group that fused electronic beats with norteño music to create a bold new border sound. Founders Pepe Mogt and Ramón Amezcua reflect on 25 years of music and legacy. Before the story, we talk with Port of Entry co-host Alan Lilienthal about why this music matters and how it connects to the cultural identity of the region. -
In a corner of San Diego often overlooked, three childhood friends found purpose in graffiti art. What began as a creative path away from gang life eventually drew attention from law enforcement and changed the course of their lives in unexpected ways. -
Told he was wrong about his own history, Kumeyaay educator Ethan Banegas co-wrote a powerful comic book that brings truth, culture and survival into classrooms and pushes back against the silence that has erased Native stories for generations.
Social Spotlight
Watch: Bonus Content & Episodes
Side Notes
Explore news stories that sparked, informed or will shape episodes of The Finest.
What's shaping our storytelling?
The stories on The Finest tap into the pulse of San Diego's cultural scene, but the creativity doesn't stop when the mics turn off. Here's what's inspiring the team right now, from hidden gems to the latest ideas sparking our conversations.
Long runs on San Diego's canyon, mountain and lake trails are my go-to for recharging, finding peace and sorting through things in my head. I’ve also been inhaling audiobooks during commutes, while cooking or on neighborhood runs. My favorites this year are Brigitte Giraud's "Live Fast" and Sequoia Nagamatsu's "How High We Go in the Dark." Not sure I'll ever combine trail running and audiobooks though (a girl's gotta stay alert for mountain lions).
Anthony Wallace
Producer
As a newcomer to San Diego, I’ve spent the year exploring. Some of my favorite finds include the arrabbiatissima pasta at Cesarina, the Welcome Tu Las Californias festival in Tijuana, Tasty Noodle House in Convoy and Black’s Beach near Torrey Pines — for the views, not the optional nudity. Mornings mean Ocean Beach runs, evenings are for PARU’s blue chamomile tea and "The White Lotus."
Chrissy Nguyen
Editor
I’m currently deep into junk journaling: cutting, gluing and layering memories with no pressure to make the pages perfect. While that's my low-stakes creative outlet, my real ongoing epic is eating and drinking my way through every spot in the Convoy District. From hot pot feasts and bowls of noodles to chewy boba and soju adventures, it's all in the name of storytelling and maybe some overindulgent research.
Ben Redlawsk
Engineer
I’ve been chasing San Diego’s best views, from Kwaay Paay Peak in Mission Trails to Kate Sessions Park above PB. Watching the Mission Bay haze while dogs chase gophers under the grass has become one of my favorite pastimes. On colder weekends, I scour Kobey’s Swap Meet and thrift stores in search of well-worn, perfectly oversized grandpa sweaters to add to my growing collection.
The Finest is made possible in part by Prebys Foundation.
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