Meet the Team

Arielle "Kai" Taramasco

Web Producer

Arielle (Kai) Taramasco joins the KPBS newsroom after covering local and international news as a broadcast journalist in San Diego. She began her career interning as a surf photographer with Zak Noyle in her native Hawaii before studying abroad with Semester At Sea. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism from Point Loma Nazarene University. Her work has since been featured in Honolulu Star Advertiser, FreeSurf Magazine and The Buttonwood Tree. She’s also won an award for creative media from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists.

RECENT STORIES ON KPBS

I didn't know I needed the new Billy Joel documentary

Linda Holmes

NPR critic Linda Holmes has been a Billy Joel fan since the '80s. HBO's new two-part documentary still taught her something new about his life — and provided a chance to consider the role of his music in her own.
Health

Scientists are developing artificial blood that could save lives in emergencies

Rob Stein

A research team has successfully tested a blood substitute in animals, and human trials may not be far off. The powdered blood could help medics respond faster in a crisis.
Trump's EPA now says greenhouse gases don't endanger people

Jeff Brady

The Trump administration wants to reverse a 2009 EPA finding that greenhouse gases endanger people. The finding is the basis for much of the United States' climate change regulations.
National

State Dept. cuts China experts as administration says countering Beijing top priority

Tom Bowman

Kat Lonsdorf

The State Department has shuttered the team involved in South China Sea security, getting rid of top experts on the subject at a time when the administration says security in the region is a priority.
Education

What borrowers should know about student loan changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill

Cory Turner

Now that President Trump has signed Republicans' massive overhaul of the federal student loan program, we explain what's set to change.
Health

You can't outrun a bad diet. Food — not lack of exercise — fuels obesity, study finds

Maria Godoy

One explanation for the rise in obesity in industrialized countries is that people burn fewer calories than people in countries where obesity is rare. A major study finds that's not the case.