Chynyl, 18, is about to graduate from More than Words, a nonprofit used book business run by youth in the foster care service, court involved, homeless or out of school. She entered the program a year ago, with no high school diploma and months in a juvenile center under her belt. Now she has her GED, is interviewing for hostess jobs and wants to pursue law school. How does More than Words help at-risk youth improve themselves?

At-Risk and Working - The Youth of More Than Words

A board game cafe recently opened in Brookline, Ma. It's mission is to get gamers out of their basements and spending quality time with friends.

Audio Postcard - Board Game Cafe

Headlines 8.26.2012

Geoffrey Burke, member of the Old Hutsmen Association, reflects on the night he was shot at Carter Notch Hut in 1982.

Music from Creative Commons and @earthtones
Photo of 1982 Carter Croo


"A Powerful Spot" - The '82 Shooting at Carter Notch

Over 600 volunteers were on the streets in Santa Barbara County January 28th and 29th to participate in a nationwide count of the homeless. The data collected is shared with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and used to better understand what specific types of assistance are needed in the community. I joined one volunteer group and saw how this survey could help put a name, and a face, to the issue of homelessness.

Photo: Noozhawk


Homeless in Santa Barbara

During his first trip to Santa Barbara, Comedian and writer David Sedaris couldn't stand it.

"The first time I went there I thought, 'No. No, no. No,'" he said. "Everyone looks like Mitt and Ann Romney. After dark, it's like the temperature lowers just so they can wear cashmere. You think, no, this is not for me."

But, Santa Barbara chipped away at Sedaris. That first visit even made its way into some of his writing. 

Sedaris spoke with KCRW's Jonathan Bastian before his show in Santa Barbara this weekend.

One comedian's love/hate relationship with Santa Barbara

Last year's Refugio Oil Spill came at a time when grunion were spawning on the oil-covered sand. Now, scientists are looking at this year's fish to see if there's been any lasting effect

On a recent starry midnight, David Witting, a fish biologist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, was out counting grunion on Santa Barbara's East Beach.

KCRW's Kathryn Barnes reports.

Counting Grunion a year after the spill

Ever since the corroded pipe operated by Plains All-American burst, releasing a river of crude into the ocean at Refugio State Beach, biologists have been out studying the effects on wildlife.

Jenny Marek from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is one of those people. Her office has been working alongside agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and Cal State Parks to create an official report detailing the environmental effects of this spill. It’s called the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, or NRDA.

Who's dealing with the wildlife data?

What has changed in spill response technology in the past decades?
According to Sean Anderson, an environmental researcher at California State University-Channel Islands, not a lot. He's spent years studying oil spills, from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico to here in his backyard.

KCRW spoke with Anderson on the one year anniversary of the Refugio Oil Spill.

One researcher calls our spill response “outdated”

After Portuguese mass at St. Anthony's Church in Allston, Brazilian immigrants fill the church basement for Cafezinho. During this coffee hour, they talk about changes in national immigration as well as state laws. Over half of these Brazilian immigrants are undocumented, some have been arrested for driving without a drivers license, and many have family and friends who were deported back to Brazil. This community time, under God and amidst typical home dishes, helps spread important information about immigration and creates a support system for Brazilians struggling in the United States.

Brazilian Immigration, over Cafezinho

I am a producer at KCRW, a Los Angeles-based public radio station featuring an eclectic mix of independent music, NPR news, talk and arts programming. Most of these tracks are from my college career at Emerson College and reporting for WERS in Boston.

Kathryn Barnes

Popular tracks