Voices: River City
292 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★★ - 66 ratingsVoices: River City is an independent, socialist news podcast based out of Sacramento, discussing California politics. Local radio listeners can hear us Tuesdays at 5 pm on KUTZ 103.1, with a second airing on Wednesdays at 8 am.
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Episodes
41 - California Lockdown (3.20.2020)
March 20, 2020 16:43 - 1 hour - 105 MBIt's official: Sacramento County (and now all of California) residents have been formally ordered to stay at home and only go out for essential activities in response to public health concerns over COVID-19. The VOICES: crew once again has epidemiologist Flojaune Cofer on to discuss the latest coronavirus updates. But this time we're all practicing social distancing. We recorded this episode from our respective homes using a Zoom meeting! We start off with a discussion on what the mandate...
40 - Dr. Flojaune Cofer on Coronavirus in California (3.13.2020)
March 13, 2020 16:05 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBThe VOICES: crew has a very special guest this week in epidemiologist Dr. Flojaune Cofer. Dr. Flo of Public Health Advocates is here to tell us all about how California and Sacramento ought to respond to the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has now classified as a global pandemic. She schools us on what COVID-19 is, how our various levels of government have responded to the rise of the virus, and how we might want to react to the deluge of news over its spread. The doctor w...
39 - The Sacramento Dee (3.6.2020)
March 06, 2020 17:30 - 1 hour - 79.5 MBWhat a Super Tuesday. First off, a huge thank you to all who showed up to our watch party at Kupros. We had a blast with you all, and even enjoyed some cross-pollination with a bunch of Democratic organizations who were there for the same reason. This week we touch on the presidential race, in which Joe Biden is currently leading Bernie Sanders. We discuss how moderates coalesced just before Super Tuesday, look at Biden's solid performance, and examine what comes next. We then touch on th...
38 - Scott Jones, Post Hog (2.28.2020)
February 28, 2020 17:39 - 1 hour - 78.8 MBFirst things first: a hearty congratulations to Sacramento's Black Lives Matter leadership, who recently won a First Amendment lawsuit against Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones. This week we discuss a new monstrous law passed unanimously by Sacramento City Council which criminalizes homeless folks for living near levees or "critical public infrastructure." Funny how such controversial votes seem to always take place during the few 2 pm council meetings held throughout the year, when mos...
37 - Bloomberg Gets Dommed (2.21.2020)
February 21, 2020 17:20 - 1 hour - 69.4 MBAnd so begins the Nevada caucus, during which Bernie Sanders volunteers from surrounding states flood in for one final push in the Battle Born State. Kempa is spending the better part of the week helping the campaign in Reno and Sparks, but he did sit down with Skyler to talk about the canvassing experience. The Nevada caucus will be all finished by Saturday, but if listeners want to volunteer for Bernie, they can reach out to his Sacramento office on 8345 Folsom Boulevard, Suite 114 (behind...
36 - Sorry, Mom (2.14.2020)
February 15, 2020 02:43 - 58 minutes - 66.5 MBThe election insanity continues this week after a big win for socialist Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire. We discuss the results, including Joe Biden's continued precipitous fall and Senator Amy Klobuchar's surprise third-place finish. Ever the pest, Mayor Pete Buttigieg keeps buzzing around, while an increasingly unsettled DNC establishment looks to a billionaire Manhattan racist as their last resort. Up next in the election is the Nevada caucus, and one of our hosts will be canvass...
35 - Katie Valenzuela on Sacramento (2.8.2020)
February 08, 2020 21:20 - 1 hour - 81.8 MBThis week we have a very special guest in Katie Valenzuela, who is challenging incumbent Steve Hansen for the District 4 seat on Sacramento City Council (NOTE: Interview starts at 28:00). Katie is the recommended vote in Sacramento Sister Circle and Black Women Organized for Political Action's voter guide for the March 3 elections. In BWOPA's research for this election, they found lots of frustration from former supporters of Hansen in the district. Suddenly, what they once saw as an uphill ...
34 - I Got Your Czar Right Here (1.31.2019)
January 31, 2020 15:54 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBIt's the final countdown to the Iowa caucus, and establishment Democrats are terrified of surging socialist Bernie Sanders -- but they're not quite sure how to attack him. The only folks considering how to really go at him are groups like Third Way and the Democratic Majority for Israel super PAC. It's not working terribly well. Joe Biden still has the inside lane on the national level, but Iowa and New Hampshire look good for Bernie. Sanders has also taken the lead in betting markets, for wh...
33 - A Looming Socialist Threat (1.26.2020)
January 26, 2020 18:14 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBWe begin this week’s episode with a glimpse at California mayors making some silly endorsements in the Democratic presidential race. Locally, Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg endorsed Joe Biden. ("I'm sad that I can't support (Michael Bloomberg)," he lamented.) Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti went the same route, while San Francisco’s London Breed put her weight behind Mike “stop-and-frisk” Bloomberg. So did Stockton's Michael Tubbs. What is it with California politicians and centrist cand...
32 - Commiefornia (1.17.2020)
January 17, 2020 10:34 - 1 hour - 70.4 MBWe start this week with a quick recap of the hyped-up tiff between senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the latest Democratic presidential debate. After that, we discuss the concerns of low- and middle-income Californians leaving the state, as described in a recent story in Capital Public Radio. Kempa takes a moment to creatively convey the perspective of the folks mentioned late in the story. We then discuss the fact that Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Los Angeles C...
31 - Master of Crows (1.9.2020)
January 09, 2020 21:25 - 52 minutes - 60.2 MBThe spring election season is here! And that means confusion for many No Party Preference California voters looking to vote in the Democratic presidential primary. Some 75% of the state's NPP voters have expressed their interest in voting in the primary, which the Democrats have left open for people outside the party to participate. Unfortunately, these potential voters need to take a somewhat confusing extra step in order to get a ballot with the Dem candidates on it. Voting experts in the...
30 - Get mad, California (1.3.2020)
January 03, 2020 18:56 - 1 hour - 70.5 MBThis week the Golden State got the New York Times treatment in an article titled, “California is Booming. Why are so many Californians Unhappy?” The VOICES crew had a few reflections on the piece, since we’re no strangers to the have- and have-not dynamic of a state run by coastal oligarchs. We also discuss Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg’s very recent influx of campaign contributions from anti-renters’ rights interests such as the California Real Estate PAC (over $4,000). Interestingly,...
29 - Cop Shoots Dog (12.23.2019)
December 23, 2019 21:34 - 50 minutes - 57.8 MBDid you hear the one about the Sacramento cop who shot a dog at the Midtown Safeway just before Christmas? If not, we’ve got the story for you. We also discuss how the PR arm of the Sacramento Police Department works, how they get caught up in their own lies, and how, often, it doesn’t matter because most news outlets end up running with the police storyline before the truth comes out. We also cover the Supreme Court’s refusal to look at the Boise decision, which effectively bans cities fro...
28 - Christy Smith Hates Renters (12.16.19)
December 17, 2019 01:27 - 53 minutes - 61.4 MBThis week Kempa and Skyler discuss the drama behind the race to replace Democrat Katie Hill’s seat in California’s 25th district of the U.S. House of Representatives. Insider Dem Christy Smith has all the major endorsements -- from Governor Gavin Newsom to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- but she also brings a troubling history of anti-Democratic policy, including her 2019 votes against key renters’ rights legislation and statements against Medicare for All. Unfortunately, Smith’s challenger to...
27 - Red Alert! (An Alert to Reds!) (12.11.2019)
December 11, 2019 18:24 - 17 minutes - 20.4 MBHey, California: it’s time to teach all your No Party Preference friends how to vote in the Democratic primary! In this ~red alert~ episode, we discuss the state’s new process for NPP voters to participate in the Democratic presidential primary next March. Since they make up some 26.7% of all registered voters in the state (there are about 600,000 more of them than Republicans, for context), this voting bloc has a chance to make massive waves in the primary. So give this a listen, get out t...
26 - The K-Hole (12.5.2019)
December 05, 2019 23:27 - 49 minutes - 57.1 MBIn this episode of the VOICES: River City podcast, Skyler and Kempa discuss the end of California Senator Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential run. We also touch on the Sacramento for Real Rent Control coalition’s preparations to take Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Councilmember Steve Hansen and the rest of city council to court for not respecting the will of the constituency and putting the rent control initiative on the 2020 ballot. Since Sacramento Bee opinion editor Gil Duran hinted in an editori...
25 - Mary-oke (11.26.2019)
November 26, 2019 12:50 - 49 minutes - 56.9 MBThe VOICES: crew has a special guest this week in Shannon Stevens from Maryhouse, an emergency daytime drop-in center for women experiencing homelessness at Sacramento Loaves & Fishes. Shannon discusses last week’s sweep against folks living homeless in the North B area of Sacramento. A number of Maryhouse guests lost everything they owned when the Sacramento Police Department and county workers threw their shelters and belongings into a garbage truck last week. We discuss the devastating e...
24 - Bad Faith Darrell (11.20.2019)
November 20, 2019 16:08 - 51 minutes - 59.7 MBVOICES: is back! And this week is a doozy. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is mad. Big mad. So is the opinion editor at the Sacramento Bee, Gil Duran. You might not know it, but these two were colleagues in the state capitol a decade ago, working diligently to wrest low-income housing dollars from the people of California. Gil was press secretary for Governor Jerry Brown. Darrell was Senate Pro Tempore. They put an end to redevelopment housing money. A classic love story. Well, it app...
23 - The Rising Tide of Anti-Homeless Rhetoric (9.30.2019)
September 30, 2019 14:38 - 17 minutes - 17.4 MBIn this relaunch of the storied VOICES: River City podcast, founding editor Dave Kempa discusses the beginning of a new project dedicated to identifying and pushing back against anti-homeless rhetoric and animus in the Sacramento region and beyond. From Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost’s vile op-ed in the Sacramento Bee, to Capitol Park groundskeepers asking for pepper spray to use against folks living homeless, to the son of the head of an LA-region Chamber of Commerce facing charges ...
Voices: River City, Episode 22:
September 20, 2018 14:01 - 12 minutes - 17.4 MBThe podcast continues to grow in new directions, this time bringing another produced episode on beloved local music mainstay NorCal Noisefest, now entering its 22 iteration. Luis Gael Jimenez and Jennah Booth return to make this one happen, with Luis taking over the mic for narration. Enjoy the noise. All music comes from recordings at various NoiseFest events. The intro track is from a live recording of Depressive in 2016. The transition track is from a live recording of Instagon in 2017. T...
Voices: River City, Episode 21: Say Hello
August 22, 2018 12:45 - 33 minutes - 45.6 MBJournalists Jennah Booth and Luis Gael Jimenez set out to talk with folks organizing the occupation outside downtown Sacramento's ICE headquarters in a specially produced segment. Plus, sex educator supreme and incredible human being Kenna Cook returns to teach us how to slide into those DMs without being a jerk about it. As usual, host Anthony Siino just gets in the way. Music provided by the incomparable Sparks Across Darkness, who recently released a new album, Obscura, from which all tun...
Voices: River City, Episode 20: For Us, By Us
August 07, 2018 05:25 - 43 minutes - 60.3 MBThis episode's all about folks taking what they have and providing for their neighbors, making spaces, creating opportunities and fighting to build something together. We start with Rachel Freund and Buddy Hale, co-founders of Musiclandria, talking about how it came to be that they're now three years deep into operating a community music library, providing not only instruments and accessories but also recording devices, access to recording and practice spaces and even workshops on how to sta...
Voices: River City, Episode 19: Of General Interest
July 17, 2018 06:34 - 56 minutes - 77.3 MBThe title's a pun, folks. A pun on the fact that we talk about a lot of things and also on the fact that we're talking to Phillip Kim, who has progressed from the primary to the general election for District 4 of the California State Senate. You may remember that we talked to him a while back about his work in health justice. Now he's running against the Republican incumbent Jim Nielsen, carrying a progressive platform into the center stage. Plus, he performs a few songs for us as part of Re...
Voices: River City, Episode 18: Despair
July 03, 2018 05:27 - 16 minutes - 22.1 MBThis episode's different. Host Anthony got beat down by everything and failed to get any interviews or new music. Instead of the norms, Anthony digs into the nightmare of living in such a deeply unjust country and what it takes to get beyond the darkness that chokes us all. As always, if you see ICE in your neighborhood, call the Sacramento Immigration Coalition's Migra Watch hotline at 916-245-6773.
Voices: River City, Episode 17: Too damn high
June 18, 2018 22:25 - 47 minutes - 65.4 MBWe're back. Don't ask why we were away. Your host, Anthony Siino, awakens from his slumber to share more interviews, this time on the topics of rent control in Sacramento, Sac Pride, the weird things teens are putting in their pee holes and more. Plus, Modern Man shares their debut album. It's bewildering stuff, so, uh, be ready for that. If you're interested in learning more about efforts for rent control in Sacramento, check out www.housing4sacramento.org and www.sacdsa.org. You can also f...
Voices: River City - Return Promo
June 08, 2018 23:03 - 21 seconds - 574 KBResident smart-ass editor/journalist/podcast host Anthony Siino returns TUESDAY, JUNE 19. So mark your calendars.
Voices: River City, Episode 16: No bad women
April 17, 2018 00:37 - 14 minutes - 19.5 MBIn this special extra episode, host Anthony Siino heads to the state Capitol to cover a protest against Senate Bill 1204 and SESTA-FOSTA, two bills that have sex workers making their voices heard. This is being published now, today, Monday, April 16, so that those interested in attending a hearing on SB1204 tomorrow morning, Tuesday, April 17, can be made aware and informed of the stakes at hand. If you're interested in attending the hearing, more information on the 8:30 a.m. meeting can be ...
Voices: River City, Episode 15: Not as serious as it sounds
April 16, 2018 02:38 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MBWorlds collide as host Anthony Siino chats with Johnny Flores, host of Serious Talk. Seriously., (probably) the longest-running Sacramento podcast dedicated to conversations with whomever Johnny wants to talk to. The fact that Johnny had Anthony on the show back in 2015 has absolutely nothing to do with what's going on here. Music this week comes from the amazing Destroy Boys, a band that came up from this city's all-ages scene (protect Cafe Colonial at all costs, by the way) and recently pl...
Voices: River City, Episode 14: Say his name
April 02, 2018 03:27 - 30 minutes - 41.9 MBKris Hooks joins host Anthony Siino to discuss the police killing of Stephon Clark. Kris recently shared some related thoughts with the Sacramento News & Review in a piece headlined "Reporting while black," which can and should be read here:https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/reporting-while-black/content?oid=26051331. If you're interested in joining the protests, stick your head outside and listen for the chants.
Voices: River City, Episode 13: Sacramento City Council Challengers
March 19, 2018 14:50 - 59 minutes - 110 MBThis week on the Voices: River City podcast we sit down with two women running for seats on the Sacramento City Council. Anthony speaks with Blue Lamp owner Gabriell Garcia, who is working to unseat incumbent Angelique Ashby in District 1, and Dave sits down in Oak Park with District 5 candidate Tamika L'Ecluse, who is trying to wrest the seat from Jay Schenirer. Be sure to hang out with the VOICES: crew Wednesday, March 28 at New Helvetia Brewing. We try to have these meet-ups once every m...
Voices: River City, Episode 12: 'We want to make it real black magical'
March 05, 2018 02:23 - 36 minutes - 50 MBThis time around, Kris Hooks takes the wheel to interview local activists Tanya Faison, founder of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, and Mone't Ha-Sidi, founder of Black Arts Matter, to discuss the Anti-SAMMIES protest shows, packing the court for Armani Lee and more. Plus, a small update on ICE in Sacramento. To learn more about the two SAMMIES boycott events, check out these links: https://www.facebook.com/events/384170168722343/ https://www.facebook.com/events/807090209475310/ If you wa...
Voices: River City, Episode 11: Friendship is Magic
February 19, 2018 04:03 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBJournalists and V:RC contributors Kris Hooks and Luis Gael Jimenez join Anthony to talk about American River College's scare over a reported gunman on campus, the rise of Sacramento MMA fighter Josh Emmett and Sacramento State graduate Ryan Coogler's major blockbuster Black Panther. Luis and Kris also spend a significant amount of time trying to dunk on Anthony's Magic: The Gathering habit, but his taste is immaculate, so nothing sticks. Music provided by Little Tents, a great Sacramento ba...
Voices: River City, Episode 10: See Something, Say Something
February 05, 2018 17:44 - 49 minutes - 67.4 MBImmigration discussions only get worse and worse in this country, and as politicians and newspapers debate whether our communities should be ripped apart by byzantine laws and regulations, ICE is raolling into cities across the country executing heinous deportation sweeps. Your host Anthony Siino interviews Rhonda Rios Kravitz and Janeth Rodriguez, of Alianza and the Sacramento Immigration Coalition, to discuss what's currently on the table for immigration rights, what our communities are cu...
Voices: River City - Episode 9 - Photographs and Memories
December 21, 2017 21:49 - 48 minutes - 66.2 MBSarah Marie Hawkins, photographer and driving force behind Faceless No More, comes on to discuss the art project that incorporates anonymous survivor testimony to expose and explore the real and lingering impact of sexual assualt. Plus, Anthony heads out to the final show at Casa de Chaos to capture some of the last live moments at the storied punk house. Also, yes, that episode title is a Jim Croce riff. Anthony is not apologizing, but he does regret it. Music provided live from Killer Cout...
Voices: River City - Episode 8 - Pre-Existing Human Condition
December 08, 2017 19:40 - 37 minutes - 51 MBWe go deep into health care this episode with Phillip Kim, a member of the California Nurses Association and of Democratic Socialists of America, Sacramento Chapter, who's part of local campaigns to get single payer rolling in California. If you've ever thought that getting health care should be as easy as entering a hospital, this is the episode for you. Big thanks to our featured musicians for this episode, Be Brave Bold Robot, a local folky-rocky-rappy-all-sorts-of-stuff band that's been ...
Voices: River City - Episode 7
November 24, 2017 23:55 - 34 minutes - 47.3 MBBlake Gillespie returns to share the findings of his investigation into who gets funding from the city's Creative Economy project and why they get it. Plus, V:RC's resident sex and relationship columnist Kenna Cook returns to teach us about cuffing, butt stuff and more. Music this week provided by (waning), all songs from their latest, Still Hours. Check out the good tunes over here.
Voices: River City - Episode 6
November 08, 2017 03:37 - 56 minutes - 77.6 MBAnthony's got Brett Hart, one of the members of local art space The Red Museum, to talk about how to keep our arts scene living and breathing. Plus, preservationist, historian (and so much more) William Burg joins us to talk about the Central City Specific Plan and how it could shape the grid as we know it. It's one of those conversations where Anthony's very clearly out of his depth. Also, we've got Dave Kempa back to close out his coverage of the trial that sought to bring down the camping...
The VOICES: podcast – episode 5
October 26, 2017 23:12 - 54 minutes - 74.7 MBResidents of Land Park took a heavy-handed response to the presence of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, leading area activist Hannah Williams to stir up quite the social media hubbub to call it out. Williams joins us to chat about her experiences getting written up in The Bee for hassling "bourgeois snitches" and how we can all do a little bit better for our neighbors. We're also joined by Kenna Cook to talk about sexual health and more. Plus: Dave Kempa's been at the scene of what m...
Voices: River City - Episode 4
October 12, 2017 22:55 - 48 minutes - 66 MBThe end of Casa de Chaos and tenants' rights form the core of this week's episode with two in-depth, full-range interviews. Anthony's alone in the deluxe ultra-high-end luxury recording studio after exiling Dave to the Shadow Realm, and he's feeling pretty preachy about everything, so sorry in advance for that. Intro and outro music provided by Chrome Ghost, and transition music provided by .Mu. Information on the Sacramento Tenants Union can be found here. Casa's GoFundMe is here. Chr...
Voices: River City - Episode 3
September 29, 2017 23:14 - 35 minutes - 49.1 MBThis week, Anthony is sick, and Dave is getting over being sick. That's OK, though. Probably. We talk about the city and its slowly improving relationship with artists. We also introduce V:RC's sex and relationships columnist Kenna Cook (of Sex & the River City) to talk about the horrors of the latest STD report from the CDC. Music this week comes courtesy of Sacramento artist Not. Intro is his latest, Permanent Bloom and outro is Small Things Living from his album I'm Happy. Anyway, I'm N...
Voices: River City - Episode 2
September 15, 2017 00:20 - 45 minutes - 62.1 MBThis week, Anthony talks with journalist Blake Gillespie about the Wide Open Walls mural festival and controversy surrounding the near-immediate painting-over of one of the pieces. Also, Sac Snark stops by to talk beer and rich people. Plus, Anthony goes down to On the Y bar to cover the protest concert against the venue's decision to host self-proclaimed 'rape rock' group The Mentors.
Voices: River City - Episode 1
August 31, 2017 13:18 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MBIn this introductory episode to VOICES, the podcast of the Sacramento online news publication Voices: River City, we're introduced to our host, Anthony Siino, and our founder, Dave Kempa. Interviews include Julianna Boggs, Jordan Schauberger and Damien Verrett.