Up + Adam with Adam Montiel

Up + Adam with Adam Montiel

Community Content from Concentrate. After more than 20 years in broadcast radio, Adam brings his daily show on demand without the filler of FM radio. Enjoy topical and daily news that also celebrates the culture of arts, wine, music, travel, tourism, and artisanal entrepreneurship. Broadcasting from and celebrating California's Central Coast.

Episodes

January 23, 2026 54 mins

What happens when one of SLO’s most iconic restaurants changes hands quietly, without fanfare, but with deep emotion and mutual respect? On this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with Phil Lang, the founder and original owner of Bon Temps, and George Parsons, the new owner stepping into some very seasoned shoes alongside his wife.

In this candid, heartfelt conversation, Phil opens up about what it really felt like to let go...

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WIN $250 TO YOUR FAVORITE PARTICIPATING RESTAURANT MONTH HERE AND LET THEM KNOW YOU HEARD IT ON UP+ADAM  

Up+Adam is proud to partner with the City of San Luis Obispo for Restaurant Month 2026, highlighting the chefs, storytellers, and flavor-makers who are feeding the Central Coast in more ways than one. Today, we sit down with one of the most passionate, purpose-driven restaurateurs in town: Kiko Pomalaza, owner of Kiko Peruvian R...

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When a local business you love is suddenly in transition, the headlines don’t always tell the whole story. In this episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with Feben Teffera, co-owner of Ebony, the beloved Ethiopian restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo that’s been a cultural and culinary anchor for the community.

With Ebony now looking for a new home, Feben joins the show to talk about what’s really happening behind the scenes. She ope...

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What happens when a 25-year-old journalist says yes to a war zone... before he even knows where it is on the map?

In this gripping episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman, author of Lessons From the Front, a raw, unflinching book that takes us inside the emotional realities of covering war in Ukraine and the Middle East. But this isn’t your typical war reporter memoir. Robert doesn’t p...

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Adam Montiel connects with actor, playwright, and director Ronnie Marmo, the powerhouse behind the critically acclaimed one-man show I’m Not a Comedian... I’m Lenny Bruce. Touring the country and now coming to the Clark Center in Arroyo Grande, the show brings the infamous comic and cultural disruptor Lenny Bruce back to life with sharpness, heart, and unflinching honesty.

Directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna, Ronnie’s perform...

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In a town like San Luis Obispo, where pizza spots are on every block and every menu claims to be the best, one name keeps rising to the top: My Friend Mike’s. In this episode, Adam sits down with owner Mike Radakovich, the low-key craftsman behind one of SLO’s most beloved wood-fired pizza joints. They talk about how My Friend Mike’s got its name, why his menu reads more like a love letter than a checklist, and what it takes to sta...

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What if the biggest threat to your well-being at work isn’t the workload but your boss?

In this episode of Up+Adam, Adam sits down with Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett — an award-winning organizational psychologist, author, and workplace culture expert — for a raw and revealing conversation on how to identify, survive, and escape toxic leadership. Dr. Laura’s latest book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Esca...

On today’s episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with actor and performer Casey Biggs for a conversation that’s equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and filled with stardust. Known for his iconic role as Damar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Casey shares stories from the set, the stage, and his life off the screen. From acting alongside legends to living part-time in Europe with his wife, author and chef Bridget Binns, Casey bring...

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SLO RESTAURANT MONTH IS HERE

If you’ve ever had that smoky crispy melt-in-your-mouth tri-tip from Old San Luis BBQ, you know exactly why Matt Pearce is in a league of his own. On this episode of Up+Adam, Matt joins Adam Montiel to talk about how he traded civil engineering for fire and flavor, building one of the Central Coast’s most beloved barbecue brands from the ground up.

From his catering roots to a growing BBQ empire with thre...

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In this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with Dr. Ian K. Smith, number one New York Times bestselling author, physician, and nationally recognized health expert, to talk about what it really takes to lose the most stubborn weight... and more importantly, what you gain in the process.

Dr. Ian’s new book, The Last 15: Say Goodbye to Those Most Stubborn Pounds, is not just another quick-fix diet. It is a seven-week metabolic ...

Greenland is in the headlines—military talks, rare earth minerals, foreign influence—and on today’s episode of up+adam, we’re going way beyond the headlines.

Adam sits down with award-winning journalist Kenneth R. Rosen, whose new book polar war: submarines, spies, and the struggle for power in a melting arctic is already being called one of the most urgent reads of the year. rosen spent years reporting from the frontlines of the ar...

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On the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, Up+Adam marks the moment with a conversation that burns deep.

Jacob Soboroff is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and a familiar face on MSNBC and NBC News. But when the deadliest wildfire in LA history came for his childhood neighborhood, he didn’t just report the story. He lived it. His new book, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires & America'...

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See all SLO Restaurant Month participants

What do you get when you mix Detroit-style deep dish, a scholar with an Oxford mind, and a passion for community? You get Ben Arona, owner of Benny’s Pizza Social Club in downtown San Luis Obispo. In this episode, Adam sits down with Ben to talk about how Benny’s evolved from a one-man underground kitchen hustle to one of the most beloved pizza joints on the Central Coast.

We dig into the vib...

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On today’s episode of Up+Adam, we sit down with Samantha Payette, the powerhouse Director of Operations for the Blue Mango Restaurant Group, the team behind SLO favorites like Novo, Luna Red, and Robin’s in Cambria. But Sam isn’t just keeping restaurants humming. She’s also helping lead the charge on civic culture and community engagement through her role on the City of San Luis Obispo’s Promotions Coordinating Committee, where she...

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Ready to send 2025 out in style? On this episode of Up+Adam, we’re counting down the most exciting ways to ring in the New Year right here on the Central Coast. From family-friendly fireworks to funk-fueled dance floors and intimate live shows, there’s something for every vibe—and we’ve got the inside scoop.

Adam welcomes Ryan Orr, Entertainment Director for SLO Brew Rock, and Dan Curcio of Moonshiner Collective for a high-energy co...

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Ringing in the New Year does not have to mean staying out late or forgetting the night entirely. In this episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with the creative team behind the Opera SLO New Year’s Eve Super Gala to talk about a different kind of celebration. One rooted in live music, community, and that feeling you only get when a full orchestra hits the room and you realize you are part of something shared.

At the center of i...

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    Today’s Up+Adam is one of the most meaningful episodes we do all year.

    This is Breaking & Entering Christmas.

    Each holiday season, we quietly and anonymously select one local family who has been carrying more than their share, and we show up. Not with pity. With people. With dignity. With a community that decides to say yes.

    This episode centers on the family selected this year, chosen from weeks of heartfelt nominations. The lett...

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    UNCLE BANANA CHILDREN'S BOOK - CHRISTMAS LESSONS - PROCEEDS BENEFITTING BREAKING & ENTERING CHRISTMAS

    Up+Adam’s Breaking & Entering will air tomorrow 12/23!

    In this episode of Up+Adam, we sit down with Pastor Juan and Major Nancy from The Salvation Army San Luis Obispo Corps, a ministry rooted in faith and service dedicated to meeting the needs of individuals and families across the Central Coast through programs like food di...

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    UNCLE BANANA CHILDREN'S BOOK - CHRISTMAS LESSONS - PROCEEDS BENEFITTING BREAKING & ENTERING CHRISTMAS

    In this heart-opening holiday episode of Up+Adam, Adam Montiel sits down with veteran television host and producer Tommy Habeeb, the creator and star of the nationally syndicated series To the Rescue. Airing on over 200 stations across the country, the show follows real-life animal rescues and the incredible people behind them—f...

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    UNCLE BANANA CHILDREN'S BOOK - CHRISTMAS LESSONS - PROCEEDS BENEFITTING BREAKING & ENTERING CHRISTMAS

    Today’s Guest: Hollywood star Hunter Doohan!

    Hunter Doohan is on fire. From his breakout role in Netflix’s Wednesday to haunting performances in Your Honor and Daredevil: Born Again, Hunter is proving he’s not just rising. He’s redefining what it means to show up in this industry with depth, drive, and zero fear of the dark.

    In th...

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