KPBS Midday Edition

Public radio fans know a thing or two about language. Especially those who listen to the weekly talk show, "A Way with Words."Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett take calls about slang, dialects and family expressions — celebrating the nuance of words and speech.Now, Barnette is out with a new book about her career, built on a love of linguistics.It's called "Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland."Barnette will be s...

Across cultures, food traditions play a central role in family gatherings.For some Mexican American families, that gathering — along with laughter and love — may include the flavorful beef soup: menudo.For San Diego writer María Dolores Águila, this tradition became the subject of her new children’s book.Today on Midday Edition, a local author joins us to explore her new bilingual picture book, "Menudo Sunday", that celebrates food...

Around 3 in 4 U.S. adults say the future of our nation is a significant source of stress in their lives.

Many are troubled by the onslaught of federal policies tackling immigration and anti-civil rights legislation.

A panel of local therapists join us to discuss how this political moment is affecting their work with clients.

Guests: 

• David Peters, marriage and family therapist with a...

San Diego County jails have long been under scrutiny for alleged civil rights violations.In 2022, the jail system had 19 deaths — a record high for San Diego County jails.A complaint filed that year has since expanded to a class action lawsuit challenging nearly every aspect of jail operations — including medical and mental health practices.We discuss the latest insights into the legal proceedings and what the lawsuit has exposed a...

Immigration detention facilities are a key part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, which pushes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to meet arrest quotas of 3,000 people a day. A new KPBS investigation looks into overcrowding within San Diego County's Otay Mesa Detention Center.Immigration lawyers report that detainees are sleeping on the floor and receiving deferred medical care resulting hospitali...

A new KPBS investigation uncovers problems within San Diego County's animal shelters, leading to a spike in dog euthanasias.

Last fiscal year, the shelters made the decision to euthanize 426 dogs. That meant canines entering the shelter system had a more than 1-in-10 chance of being put down.

On Midday Edition, we sit down with the journalists behind the investigation to unpack the full story.

Guests:

• Scott Rodd, investigative repo...

Each year, celebrities, creators and fans from all across the world converge in San Diego for Comic-Con to celebrate all things related to fandom, pop culture, art, and so much more.Thursday on Midday Edition, we take you live inside the convention center to discuss what makes America's Finest City a special place to host the pop culture juggernaut.Plus, hear from different creators across art, books and film about their personal j...

Comic-Con season is well underway. Two local events are coinciding with the main convention and are spotlighting comics creators and stories underrepresented in the mainstream.

Wednesday on Midday Edition, we hear about the inaugural Indigi-Con, which celebrates and amplifies indigenous stories through art and comics, as well as Afrofuturism Lounge, which connects Black creators across disciplines.

Guests:

• Chag Lowry, exe...

Amid funding cuts for public media, stations all across the country — including KPBS — are bracing for impact of the Trump administration’s rescissions package.

This includes $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — which effectively cuts all federal support for NPR and PBS programs.

Marco Werman, host of Public Radio Exchange’s The World and journalist-in-residence at UC San Diego, discusses the impac...

Basketball and skateboarding are powerful tools for building community across cultures. 

For tribal communities, these sports provide a unique avenue for cultural expression and mentorship. 

Tuesday on Midday Edition, we hear from the author of the new book "Rezballers and Skate Elders: Joyful Futures in Indian Country" about his research into sports culture among tribal communities. We also discuss his work with San Diego ...

What does it mean to honor lineage and connect to ancestral identity, homeland and cultural memory?

Four artists will explore those themes and more at a one-day performance art festival called "The Land We Carry," as part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Emerging Artist Fellowship.

KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans spoke with the curator and two artist fellows about what it means to "carry the land," and how they ...

Congress last week passed a rescission package put forth by the Trump administration to eliminate about $9 billion in previously allocated funds for public media and foreign aid.

That includes $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which essentially cuts all federal support for NPR, PBS, and member stations like KPBS.

KPBS General Manager Deanna Mackey joined Midday Edition to discuss how the funding loss may...

San Diego's Pride Week is well underway. It is an opportunity to celebrate the rich history of the LGBTQ+ community in our border region — a history that is well-documented by the Lambda Archives, a local archive space in University Heights.

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Local historian T.J. Tallie has spent the past year as the Lambda Archives' first ever community historian-in-residence. He wanted to find out: what was ...

From nationwide bans on gender-affirming care for minors to the shutdown of a suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation is increasingly impacting queer and transgender youth.

Wednesday on Midday Edition, we hear about how anti-LGBTQ+ policies are continuing to impact young people and their families in San Diego, including access to health care and mental health services.

Also, for Pride week, o...

Research shows that during the summer, the average student loses between 17% to 34% of what they learned the previous school year.

That trend is even more pronounced for economically disadvantaged students.

On Midday Edition Wednesday, we speak with members of two local literacy programs working to combat summer learning loss and promote a love for reading.

Guests:

• Jose Cruz, CEO, San Diego Council on Literacy
• Dr. Marsha Sp...

Elsa Sevilla wears many different hats — journalist, filmmaker, speaker, business owner. She also hosts the award-winning documentary series, "Historic Places with Elsa Sevilla" that airs on KPBS.

Now she's an author. On Midday Edition Thursday, Sevilla talks about her journey to the spotlight in her new memoir, "Camera Ready: From Hardship to the Spotlight — A Story of Determination and Rise."

Then, theater company Riot Productions ...