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
New episode drops Thursday, Feb. 5: The story of Chula Vista's Jessica Sanchez, from "America's Got Talent" and "American Idol" to a music journey of highs, lows and triumph.
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Elizabeth "Ely" Rosales Aguilar, of Raíz Chocolate, runs a small-scale chocolate operation from her San Diego home, crafting rich Mexican chocolate bars and spiced drinking chocolates inspired by centuries-old recipes. California's cottage food laws helped her turn her passion into a thriving business rooted in cultural tradition. -
Risograph printing is having a revival, showing up in zines, art books and DIY print shops around the world. In this episode, we follow that resurgence from underground print scenes in Europe to Burn All Books in San Diego, where a community-run Riso studio has become a place for artists to experiment, collaborate and make work together. -
We're dropping a special episode during our season break with one request: Help shape Season 2 of The Finest by taking our anonymous survey. Plus, KPBS Racial Justice and Social Equity Reporter Katie Hyson, a self-proclaimed The Finest superfan, takes the survey live on the show. -
Books can be life-changing for people who are incarcerated. When Cherish Burtson went to federal prison, books became her source of survival. Her story – and the volunteers fighting censorship to get books past prison walls – reveals how access to reading can mean survival, connection and hope. -
What determines which artists are remembered and which are forgotten? Alice Barnett was one of the nation's most celebrated composers in the early 20th century, yet her name nearly disappeared from history. San Diego musicologist Katina Mitchell uncovers Alice's life and music, while experts trace the unpredictable forces behind fame, memory and legacy. -
A San Diego writer hunts ghosts in Presidio Park, gets her palm read at psychic shops and drives out to the cults that dot San Diego County. This Halloween episode examines why the supernatural still grips so many of us, and what our hunger for "presence" reveals about faith, meaning and the search for truth. -
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.
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.
I recently found some old cyanotypes that my children made when they were small (think outlines of Legos and leaves), and it reminded me of how strange, gorgeous and accessible the medium is (better living through chemistry!). For local artists doing amazing cyanotype work, I particularly love the profound work of local Andrea Chung, as well as Annalise Neil and Oriana Poindexter.
I continue to be inspired by our local wild spaces, and the Big Laguna Trail near Mt. Laguna Meadows is lovely and surprising this time of year.
Lately, I've also been into making shrubs — elixirs made from fruit, vinegar and sugar — well-suited for a nighttime mocktail ritual. A recent fave is a blend of mandarin orange, rosemary and cardamom.
Anthony Wallace
Producer
Food inspires me, and after living in San Diego for a full year, I’ve established my main spots: Muri in North Park for coffee; Sourdough & Moore in OB for bread; Azucar right across the street for pastries; An’s Electric Repair for ice cream (the line is not nearly as bad as An’s Dry Cleaning); Fairplay in North Park for watching games; and Nunus in Hillcrest for late-night food — always the onion rings and patty melt for me.
Julia turned me into a fan of the funky, bright artwork of the late Niki de Saint Phalle — whose sculptures you can see all over town — and I’ve loved exploring Barrio Logan and the work of local artists inside Bread & Salt, especially the Burn All Books newsstand.
On the listening front, inspired by our episode on the increasingly consuming, spontaneity-sucking Spotify algorithm, I’ve been into a colossally large playlist (189+ hours) slowly accumulated by musician Four Tet over a decade and filled with music from nearly every country, era and genre imaginable. In the evenings, I often run along the San Diego River near Robb Field, spotting shiny white gulls and long-necked egrets, while listening to the new season of Heavyweight, now firmly in my top 5 podcasts of all time.
Ben Redlawsk
Engineer
Recently, I've found a lot of inspiration from San Diego musicians at open mics around the city, especially at the Ould Sod in Normal Heights, where there is a concentration of songwriting talent I haven't seen anywhere else in the county. After the show, I find myself enjoying za'atar flatbread and shawarma fries from Sahara Market, just next door.
Also on my list of go-to food spots are the newly opened Pepino in La Jolla for breakfast burritos and bowls, and Tribute Pizza in North Park.
In the colder months, I've been spending a lot of time indoors consuming media; my bookshelves are starting to fill up with dusty sci-fi paperbacks and old art books for collaging, unearthed at used bookstores like The Book Tree and Verbatim Books.
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.
The Finest is made possible in part by Prebys Foundation.
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