The Finest

What happens when a TV station pauses its regular programming to auction off everything from kitchen utensils and European vacations to toilet seats and rare art — with guests like Big Bird and Dick …

In this episode, recorded live at the KPBS San Diego Book Festival, authors Emily Greenberg ("Alternative Facts") and Moses Ose Utomi ("Forever Desert" trilogy) delve into storytelling across genres.…

In 1975, Lucky's Breakfast, also known as Lucky's Golden Phenix, opened in North Park with a few U-shaped booths, a short-order griddle and a man named Lucky Wong at the helm. Well into his 80s, Luck…

Blink-182 is the biggest band to ever come out of San Diego. But their path — from the dungeon of the original SOMA to global stardom — was shaped by a lot more than just talent. With music journalis…

Romantasy has become one of the fastest-growing book genres in publishing — a blend of epic love stories and magical stakes that's capturing the imaginations of readers. Once dismissed as unserious o…

Isauro "Junior" Inocencio, Ron Recaido and Romali Licudan grew up as second-generation Filipino Americans in Southeast San Diego during the 1990s. As violence intensified in their community, they fou…

The Kumeyaay have long told stories through rock art, vivid images carved into stone that preserved culture, memory and meaning. Today, that tradition continues in a new comic book created by Kumeyaa…

San Diego is one of the most biodiverse birding regions in North America, with more than 500 recorded species — and its annual Bird Festival draws crowds from around the country. One of its most popu…

What started as a low-key folk set behind a desk in a newsroom has become one of music's most iconic stages. This year, NPR's Tiny Desk Contest drew a record-breaking nearly 7,500 entries. Among them…

Our Lady of Guadalupe is everywhere in art, memory and protest. She's instantly recognizable — hands in prayer, floral dress, starry mantle — but she represents much more than religious devotion. Her…

In this first-ever bonus episode of The Finest, we're flipping things around. Host Julia Dixon Evans sits down with producer Anthony Wallace and editor Chrissy Nguyen in a casual conversation recorde…

For decades, alt-weeklies like the San Diego Reader were a city's rebellious voice, digging into local politics, covering underground arts and publishing stories no one else would. But their survival…

For most of her adult life, artist Mary Jhun has drawn inspiration from a distinct muse: fractured silhouettes of girls, embellished with surreal details. Her paintings have been a way to process tra…

For indie musicians like Julianna Zachariou, Spotify has made music more accessible than ever — but at a cost. With payouts that amount to less than a penny per stream, she's had to turn to crowdfund…

What does it mean to be a "government artist" in San Diego?

Outgoing Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez shares the lessons he's learned from his two-year term, where he brought the city's neighborhoods …

San Diego's music scene is full of talent, but making a living off your art? That's a different story.

Shua, a Southeast San Diego artist with over a million Spotify streams, has lived both extremes: …

What happens when a viral tea brand moves beyond the café model? For Amy Truong and Lani Gobaleza, it meant embracing a deeper purpose — blending sustainability, mindfulness and tradition. PARU Tea h…