Welcome to SoCal Voices Podcast!

Episodes

June 7, 2025

Pitching Unity: Moreno Valley Mayor Ulises Cabrera & the Negro League…

The rich legacy of Negro League Baseball was front and center at Moreno Valley's Woodland Park on May 31 during the Community Softball Game organized by James Harris, founder of the African American History presentation serie...

Listen to the Episode
June 5, 2025

Breaking the stigma of homelessness: Operation Helping Hands SoCal

As a teenager, Kim Valentine found herself without a home. Today, she’s the founder and president of Operation Helping Hands SoCal, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the unhoused rebuild their lives. In this episode of SoCal V...

Listen to the Episode
May 22, 2025

LA Fires Aftermath-Part 2-Ashes to Films

For many Southern Californians, the January wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena are like distant memories, but for those directly impacted, the devastation remains a daily reality. Recovery can be difficult and painfu...

Listen to the Episode
May 8, 2025

Getting Published in SoCal

Southern California is bursting with creative energy — and for many, there’s a book inside just waiting to be written. But getting it published can be a huge challenge. Redlands author Tracy Wise experienced this as she worked to find a publisher for her debut novella, Madame Sorel’s Lodger. In thi…

Listen to the Episode
April 24, 2025

Thinking of Leaving Corporate? This Entrepreneur’s Journey May Inspir…

Have you thought about leaving corporate life to pursue your passion? In this episode of SoCal Voices you’ll meet a woman who experienced a major life-changing moment that led her to pivot from a corporate career to entrepren...

Listen to the Episode
April 10, 2025

Honoring Negro League Baseball: Moreno Valley Community Softball Game

A community softball game commemorating the iconic legacy of Negro League Baseball is happening Saturday, May 31, 1pm - 4pm, at Woodland Park in Moreno Valley. The game is being organized by returning SoCal Voices Podcast gue...

Listen to the Episode
April 3, 2025

Championing Women’s Leadership & STEM in SoCal

As Founder of the California Society of Extraordinary Women , Shirley Coates is the powerhouse behind this Riverside-based nonprofit that’s changing girls’ lives and helping them thrive. Her Ignite Leadership & STEM Academy h...

Listen to the Episode
March 27, 2025

L.A. County Foster Adoption - A Family, Maybe

Foster adoption in Los Angeles County is, in a word, unpredictable. The process goes smoothly for some but for others it can be difficult, presenting political, legal and personal challenges that test patience and resolve. In...

Listen to the Episode
March 13, 2025

LA Fires Aftermath

In January, the Palisades and Eaton fires killed at least 29 people and destroyed or damaged 18,000 structures valued at nearly $300 billion dollars. In the weeks since the fires, people who lost homes have been navigating di...

Listen to the Episode
Feb. 27, 2025

Why You Need An Estate Plan

Okay SoCal Fam. We’re going to estate planning class today. If you have avoided or delayed getting an estate plan, you’re not alone. Most of us don’t like thinking about the end of our lives or what’s going to happen with our...

Listen to the Episode
Feb. 13, 2025

Annie Korzen: Actor, Author & Social Media Sensation

Annie Korzen is an 86-year-old actor and comedian who had a recurring role playing the obnoxious Doris Klompus on the hit TV sitcom Seinfeld. Today, Korzen is a social media sensation, sharing pearls of wisdom with nearly hal...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 30, 2025

Plus Size in SoCal

In her book, Plus Size: A Memoir of Pop Culture, Fatphobia, and Social Change , Los Angeles author and activist Mekdela Ejigu chronicles the body positivity movement through a collection of essays reflecting her journey as a ...

Listen to the Episode
Jan. 16, 2025

The Inland Empire “News Mirage”

Is SoCal’s Inland Empire the land of the local news mirage? While news outlets cover the region, media observers say some elements of the IE’s local news coverage are a mirage, giving residents the illusion of vigorous local ...

Listen to the Episode
Nov. 14, 2024

Feeding the Hungry in Inland SoCal

Southern California’s vibrance and abundance bely the fact that a number of our neighbors don’t have enough food to eat. Led by CEO Carolyn Fajardo, Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino, the region’s largest food bank, ...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 31, 2024

Black Maternal Health in SoCal

Alarming statistics reveal that Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. In this episode of SoCal Voices, Dana Sherrod, co-founder and executive director of...

Listen to the Episode
Oct. 3, 2024

Election 2024: The Young Vote, Part III

Forty-million adults under 30 are eligible to vote in the November election. About eight million of them are first-time voters and they’re registering to vote in record numbers. While many young people between 18 - 30 say the...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 19, 2024

Election 2024: The Young Vote, Part II

People under 30 are registering to vote in record numbers. The uptick is attributed in part to “the switch” when President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nominati...

Listen to the Episode
Sept. 5, 2024

Election 2024: The Young Vote, Part I

The 2024 Presidential Election is underway and since President Joe Biden left the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic party’s nominee, young voters have responded to her candidacy with record b...

Listen to the Episode
Aug. 8, 2024

Community Development in SoCal

Community development is essential to how all the elements of where we live fit together and impact how we experience our communities. Eric Nelson is a 20-year community development expert who has impacted the lives of thousa...

Listen to the Episode
July 25, 2024

Leading Homeboy Industries: A Radical Approach to Business and Life

For more than 30 years, Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles has been helping former prisoners and ex-gang members redirect their lives to become productive, contributing members of the community. A human services agency offerin...

Listen to the Episode
July 11, 2024

Beyond Her Diagnosis: Jennifer Gasner’s Unexpected Life

When she was 17 years old, San Diego author Jennifer Gasner was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia or FA, a rare progressive neuromuscular disease. The impact of FA varies from person to person, but generally causes difficult...

Listen to the Episode
June 27, 2024

Embracing Change: A Conversation on Thriving in SoCal

Born in China and raised in Los Angeles, certified life coach, podcaster, speaker and author Lucy Liu is a self-described ex-overachiever and recovering perfectionist who is thriving in Irvine. On this episode of SoCal Voices...

Listen to the Episode
June 13, 2024

How SoCal’s “The Mighty 690” inspired a novel

Long before podcasting and FM radio, AM radio ruled. And in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the biggest dog on the porch was THE MIGHTY 690. The 50,000-watt station was heard throughout SoCal. And its top-40 format was popula...

Listen to the Episode
May 30, 2024

How the Arts Teach Life Skills: Dancing with Tamaira “Miss Tee” Sandi…

Tamaira “Miss Tee” Sandifer is having a strong impact on young people from SoCal and beyond as she helps youth develop critical life skills through exposure to the arts. She has developed some of Hollywood’s most sought-after...

Listen to the Episode