KUCI: Get the Funk Out!

2/27/20 - 9:15am pst - Angelou Exeilo joins Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm to talk about her book, Engage, Connect, Protect Empowering Diverse Youth as E...

Engage, Connect, Protect
Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders
by Angelou Ezeilo with Nick Chiles
Angelou Exeilo on Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders. This is an important contribution to the ongoing conversation about our environment, and an inclusive one as well. For everyone looking to really make an impact, be of service, connect and bridge the cultural and generational divide, this is it!
"Ezeilo's book is powerful, personal and practical. Speaking truth to power, she engages our hearts while challenging our comfort zones as it relates to race and the environment.— Carolyn Finney, Ph.D. author, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors
While concern about the state of our land, air, and water continues to grow, there is widespread belief that environmental issues are primarily of interest to wealthy white communities. Engage, Connect, Protect explodes this myth, revealing the deep and abiding interest that African American, Latino, and Native American communities – many of whom live in degraded and polluted parts of the country – have in our collective environment.
Part eye-opening critique of the cultural divide in environmentalism, part biography of a leading social entrepreneur, and part practical toolkit for engaging diverse youth, Engage, Connect, Protect covers:
>Why communities of color are largely unrecognized in the environmental movement
>Bridging the cultural divide and activate a new generation of environmental stewards
>A curriculum for engaging diverse youth and young adults through culturally appropriate methods and activities
A resource guide for connecting mainstream America to organizations working with diverse youth within environmental projects, training, and employment.

2/24/20 @9:00am pst - aspiring artist Sam Sawyer joins Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm

As a teenager in suburban Phoenix, aspiring artist Sam Sawyer couldn’t stop thinking about a story about a monster searching for an identity – an animated series that would feature a non-binary character as a hero.
Fast-forward a few years: now a successful comic artist and visual designer, Sam has launched a Kickstarter campaign for the animated series “SALEM: The Secret Archive of Legends, Entertainments, and Monsters,” featuring the vocal talent of Rob Paulsen (“Animaniacs”), Laura Bailey (“Critical Role” and “Dragon Ball Z”) and Adam McArthur (“Star vs. the Forces of Evil”). It’s the story of a “cryptid” (creature) named Salem, raised by the Boogeyman, who learns that they are adopted. Without a gender and without a core identity, Salem embarks on a journey of discovery among the world of faeries, goblins, and other cryptids.
Rob Paulsen said of Sam “She did what all the folks at Comic Con love about this whole experience. It’s not about anything but utter joy in expressing yourself, being creative and being accepted for who you are. I’m really proud of her.”
But Sawyer isn’t only determined to bring back the edgy animation of her youth; she’s also a veteran comic book artist, a published author, and designer of three Tarot decks. She appears at over 20 Comic Con events per year and was an artistic collaborator on the new Lindsey Stirling music video, “The Upside.”
With her pink and purple “hombre” style haircut and bright personality, the queer-identified Sawyer knew she was an artist from a young age. Despite leaving home early, and even being homeless for a time, her determination and talent allowed her to find a space for her unique artistic vision and gave her the confidence to keep conquering new frontiers.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHerrVAmSkXZKxl9ngePrrw
Kickstarter campaign: www.thesalemseries.com
http://mysincerelysam.com/

2/18/20 - Janice Kaplan explores the powerful forces that have rigged the system—and celebrates the women geniuses past and present who have triumphed...

We tell girls that they can be anything, so why do 90 percent of Americans believe that geniuses are almost always men? When asked to name a genius, people mention Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Steve Jobs. As for great women? In one survey, the only female genius anyone listed was Marie Curie. Journalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Gratitude Diaries, Janice Kaplan explores the powerful forces that have rigged the system—and celebrates the women geniuses past and present who have triumphed anyway—in her fascinating and timely new book, THE GENIUS OF WOMEN: From Overlooked to Changing the World.
We define genius almost exclusively through male achievement. Janice Kaplan set out to determine why the extraordinary work of so many women has been brushed aside. She realizes early on that genius is not just about possessing spectacular talent—it is about having that talent recognized. Blending memoir with one-on-one interviews with neuroscientists, psychologists, and dozens of women geniuses at work in the world today, she highlights how women are fighting to have their genius recognized, nurtured, and celebrated—and how society needs to shift to make that possible.

2/17/20 @9:45am pst - WHEN TIME STOPPED A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains by Ariana Neumann “Profound, gripping, and gut-wrenching…This hea...

Ariana Neumann grew up as the beloved only child in a wealthy Venezuelan household, doted on by her glamorous mother and her father, Hans, a successful industrialist involved in arts, media and education. Hans was meticulous, the type who saved everything, with decades of correspondence filed carefully in his study. But when Ariana went to his home after his death, she found everything cleared away but the contents of one drawer. It contained two things: a file with letters from her and her mother and a grey cardboard box. The box held clues to Hans’s mysterious past – a past he never discussed with her while living. This box seemed to Ariana to be an invitation – or even an exhortation – to investigate what happened to Hans during his years in Europe, before he moved to South America. WHEN TIME STOPPED (Scribner, February 4, 2020) is the incredible and heartbreaking story of what Ariana discovered.
Hans (Handa to his family) was the youngest son of Otto and Ella. He was dreamy, a prankster and a poet. And he was nothing like his serious older brother, Lotar. The family split their time between an apartment in Prague and a beautiful home in the idyllic Bohemian countryside. Otto owned and ran a paint factory in Prague. Ella called her boys her “golden ones.” But clouds were gathering on the horizon. Otto, Ella, Lotar and Hans were Jewish. WHEN TIME STOPPED is the story of how a tragically few, very lucky members of the family survived. And Hans’s story is jaw-dropping. When Hans was about to be deported to a concentration camp, which he knew was a likely death sentence, this dreamy poet instead eluded the authorities and, with fake papers and a borrowed passport, traveled to Berlin, got a job, and once there, showing even more remarkable courage, gathered information for the Allies. Lotar stayed in Prague, and he and his parents, who were sent to camps, were helped by Lotar’s indomitable wife, Zdenka. Zdenka snuck in to Theresienstadt not once but twice, to make sure Otto and Ella had the food and supplies they needed to survive. She kept Lotar safe, too, and helped forge the papers Hans needed to get to Berlin. She is the undeniable heroine of this story, and her bravery and radiance shine through. Otto, never much of an artist, made a copper ring for Zdenka in the camp, as a token if his love for her and the only way he could thank her for all she did for the family. Today, Ariana Neumann wears that ring, made by the grandfather she never knew, on a chain around her neck.
Readers will come to know the remarkable and singular Neumanns in these pages: those who survived and those who did not. WHEN TIME STOPPED is a story of what remains after the horror of war recedes. What remains, says Ariana, is love. Love for the family that she has finally come to understand and for the family she will never know, but that she has rediscovered and brought beautifully to life in these pages.

Monday 2/10/20 at 9:00am pst - Pioneering Artist, BEATIE WOLFE, chats with Janeane Bernstein live on KUCI 88.9fm

"Musical weirdo and visionary" Beatie Wolfe is an artist who has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN Women role model for innovation and held an acclaimed solo exhibition of her ‘world first’ album designs at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Named by WIRED Magazine as one of "22 people changing the world,” singer songwriter and innovator Beatie Wolfe is at the forefront of pioneering new formats for music that bridge the physical and digital, which include: a 3D theatre for the palm of your hand; a wearable record jacket - cut by Bowie/Hendrix’s tailor out of fabric woven with Wolfe’s music - and most recently an ‘anti-stream’ from the quietest room on earth and space beam via the Big Bang horn.
Beatie Wolfe - photo by Ross Harris
Music / Innovations / V&A Exhibition / UN Women / Instagram

Leif Garrett speaks with host Janeane Bernstein about his new memoir, Idol Truth, released on November 5, 2019 via Post Hill Press

ABOUT THE BOOK
Former teen idol Leif Garrett bares his soul for the first time ever, revealing his deepest secrets about the extraordinary highs and devastating lows he has survived over the years.
He was a hardworking child actor in the early 1970s, appearing on dozens of popular films and TV programs. Then he was offered a chance to make a record and “Leif Garrett, teen idol” was born. Millions of teenage girls all over the world covered their walls with his picture. His face adorned hundreds of international magazine covers as he became one of the biggest and most desired heartthrobs in history. There were jet-setting tours, TV specials, and hit records, along with an endless supply of beautiful women, alcohol, and ultimately, the drugs that sent this shooting star into the darkest depths of addiction. Idol Truth is a harrowing survivor’s story as well as a charmed tale filled with compelling pop culture characters—from Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields to John Belushi, Freddie Mercury, and many more. It’s the first time ever that Leif Garrett has come clean about his life, revealing all the details of his spectacular journey.
ABOUT LEIF
Leif Garrett burst onto the scene in 1966 at the early age of five, debuting as an actor in the quintessential period film, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Garrett starred in over sixty hit television shows, such as being the semi-regular on the critically acclaimed hit television shows, The Waltons and Family. But it was his portrayal of a pony express rider in the television special, Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion that garnered Garrett the honor of being inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. From then on he continued to do more TV and film including Walking Tall and the hit television series, Three for the Road. This family drama was Garrett’s launching pad for the recording phenomena that was to occur.
Having achieved tremendous success as an actor, Garrett took on the music industry. He became a multi gold and platinum recording artist and one of the biggest teen idols of all time, gracing magazine covers all over the world. In 1977, Garrett released his self-titled debut album and climbed the music charts with his remakes of “Runaround Sue” (#13) and “Surfin’ USA” (#20). In 1978 he released his sophomore album entitled Feel The Need. The album quickly became a chart-topper with Leif’s biggest hit, “I Was Made For Dancin'."
After releasing three more albums, Garrett decided to turn his attention to acting once again, co-starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s film classic, The Outsiders in 1983. He continued to choose other notable roles in the eighties in movies such as Thunder Alley and Shaker Run. In 1991, Garrett appeared with fellow former teen idol, David Cassidy, in the seventies spoof, Spirit of ’76. Audiences were amazed and impressed with Garrett’s comedic ability and talent.
It was in 1998 when the music arena became reacquainted with Leif Garrett on VH1’s highly acclaimed Behind The Music series. The response from the viewing public was sensational and it has become one of the highest rated episodes of Behind The Music.
Garrett’s well-documented bouts with substance abuse generated headlines in the next two decades.
www.leifgarrett.net

2/3/20 @9:30am pst - LAURA HUANG, Harvard Business School Professor shares how to find our personal “edge” by turning adversity into advantage

In EDGE: Turning Adversity into Advantage, Harvard Business School Professor Laura Huang shares the practical implications of her revolutionary research on advantage and disadvantage, showing us how we can all improve our chances of achieving our dreams. Arguing that personal success depends on more than our ideas and credentials, or even hard work and effort, Huang writes, “To get ahead, you need an edge—and if you don’t have one, you can make one.”
EDGE illuminates how success in all arenas of life—whether it’s landing a job, getting a raise, closing a deal, or acing a presentation—hinges not only on working hard and amplifying our strengths, but on shaping how others see our perceived flaws. Huang begins with the recognition that the world isn’t a level playing field. Some people have inherent advantages; others have to create advantages for themselves. Stereotyping, bias, and superficial perceptions, fairly or not, play a big role in how we’re seen by others and how far we can go, and we all have biases—about race, gender, age, religion, ability, sexual orientation, and more—that work for us or against us. The good news, Huang argues, is that we can turn adversity into advantage by harnessing the very stereotypes and qualities that seem like shortcomings and reframing them as assets that work in our favor. We can each find and create our own unique “edge.”

2/3/20 @9:15am pst - Director Liz Manashil joins host Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm to talk about her film Speed of Life

SPEED OF LIFE
STARRING ANN DOWD & JEFF PERRY
AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL ON JANUARY 10
David Bowie's death rocks the lives of June & Edward. The superstar’s passing rips a literal hole in the universe, sucking Edward in. Fast forward 24 years, an older June is shocked to find her once-beloved shot back out of this inter-dimensional portal, unchanged from his entry in 2016. The ensemble struggles to understand the extreme ch-ch-changes that have befallen them in this dramedy.
SPEED OF LIFE stars Ann Dowd, Ray Santiago, Vella Lovell, Sean Wright, with Allison Tolman and Jeff Perry. The film has a running time of 76 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA. The film was written and directed by Liz Manashil.
Giant Pictures will release SPEED OF LIFE digitally on January 10 (Apple TV, Prime Video, Breaker, Vudu, Google Play, and local Cable, among others).
To view the trailer and for additional materials, go to: https://www.speedoflifefilm.com/

2/3/20 @9:00am pst - NYC writing professor David Puretz, releases his debut novel, The Escapist. He joins Janeane live on KUCI 88.9fm

ABOUT THE BOOK
When escape becomes a first line of defense, is it possible to ever face life's harsh realities? In his debut novel, The Escapist (Global City Press, January 28, 2020), David Puretz details one young man's seemingly never-ending quest for his missing father. Weaving topics like mental health, family conflict and abuse, drug addiction, and sexuality throughout a frame narrative structure, Puretz delves into the internal and external calamities that shape the human life and mind.
The only thing protagonist Billy Chute excels in is escaping. After finding that his father has escaped his own life and disappeared, Billy quits his job and sets out to find him. But what he may really be searching for is a path to free him from his past and give him a purpose and future.
More than a story of self-discovery, The Escapist takes an intimate look into the psyche of an unlikely protagonist. Billy turns to writing as he travels the country, and uses writing, in part, as a way to heal, make sense of things, and forgive. Within the narrative, he explores the adversity of family and self, desperate to create his own identity, but drug addiction and the lasting effects of past abuse take him deeper into an escape than he ever could have imagined.

1/27/20 @9:15am pst - “The Soledad Children” (Arte Público Press, Sept. 30, 2019) by attorneys Marty Glick and Maurice Jourdane, who fought against t...

In the late 1960s, the California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA) filed two class-action lawsuits that advocated for fair education opportunities for Mexican-American children in California. A statewide problem, at least 13,000 farmworker and other second-language students were victims of culturally biased IQ tests and sent to dead-end classes and dubbed “Educable Mentally Retarded” -- in one class, 12 out of 13 students were from farmworker families in the Salinas Valley.
SOLEDAD, California – Ten-year-old Arturo Velázquez was born and raised in a farm labor camp in the small Salinas Valley town of Soledad. He was bright and gregarious, but he was still learning English when he entered third grade in 1968. A psychologist at Soledad Elementary School gave him a culturally biased IQ test in English only and without translation. Based on the results, he was labeled “retarded” and placed in a class for the “Educable Mentally Retarded.” Arturo joined 12 other children, varying in age from 6-13, in that one classroom. All but one were from farmworker families. All were devastated by the stigma and name calling by other children and by their lack of opportunity to learn.
Brand new at the time was the Lyndon Johnson and Sargent Shriver inspired national legal services program and one of its grantees, California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), had evening office hours at the Catholic church in Soledad. In 1969, two Soledad parents had the courage to complain to CRLA staff. The CRLA attorneys knew that the problem was statewide with at least 13,000 farmworker and other second language students sent to dead end classes where they were given coloring books and magazines to cut pictures out of and, if old enough, made to wash school buses. Another generation of over 100,000 was in line to get the same mistreatment. The legal battle to stop the practice and rescue the mostly Mexican-American children ensued. That case was followed closely by a fight to end the use of the same biased IQ tests with African-American students. While African-American and Mexican-American students made up 21.5% of the state population, they were 48% of special education programs.
Written by Marty Glick and Maurice Jourdane, the two attorneys who led the charge “The Soledad Children” (Arte Público Press, Sept. 30, 2019) recounts the history of the advent of rural justice through CRLA and the two class-action suit filed in 1970 and 1972, Diana v. the State Board of Education and Larry P v Riles.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MARTY GLICK is a litigator with the international firm, Arnold & Porter, and is listed in Best Lawyers in America in Intellectual Property and Patent Law. He worked in Mississippi for the Justice Department in the 1960s and for the California Rural Legal Assistance for eight years. He has been CRLA’s outside counsel for four decades and has been lead counsel on countless pro bono cases. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.
MAURICE “MO” JOURDANE is the author of “The Struggle for the Health and Legal Protection of Farm Workers: El Cortito” (Arte Público Press, 2005). His work at California Rural Legal Assistance helped secure farmworkers’ rights during the nation’s civil rights gains of the 1960s and 1970s. He lives and works in San Diego, California.