CultureCast

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What was served at the REAL first Thanksgiving?

Nov 20, 2018

Thanksgiving is a time when we pretty much know what's going to be on the dinner table. It's almost religion that we have turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce. But here's some hard truth: almost NONE of that was on the table at the first thanksgiving in 1621. CultureCast food editor Sasa Woodruff is here to...

How to help migrant children separated from their parents

Sep 24, 2018

A number of organizations are helping migrants at the border, and here are ways for you to donate to help:

The Texas-based Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services — offers free legal help to families.

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights advocates for unaccompanied minors.

The man who predicted digital 'hell'

Sep 24, 2018

Twenty three years ago, John Eger, a presidential advisor to Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, predicted a digital "hell," in which the internet will fuel social divisions and spread misinformation so unchecked that it can threaten our sense of reality.

We talk with Eger about how he could predict our current problems...

The human toll of migrant family separations

Aug 18, 2018

The migrant family separations that were undertaken by the Trump administration, in an effort to discourage immigration through the unequivocal prosecution of migrants and the separation of their children at the US-Mexico border, have taken a profound toll on the children and the adults.

Much of that toll has been...

Nazis and fascism: The sobering rhetoric entering our cultural discourse

Jul 10, 2018

The forced family separations at the US-Mexico border that occurred under a get-tough immigration policy by the Trump administration have opened up the floodgates of comparisons to dark periods of recent human history in the US and elsewhere.

We speak to a London-based human rights expert about whether the comparisons...

Nova Safo

Nova is the host of CultureCast. He has worked on NPR's Arts Desk and public radio's business show Marketplace -- not to mention CNN, Yahoo! News, and, currently, Agence France-Presse. He has covered everything from the economics of emojis to Hollywood awards shows. He is also a trained musician, who spent his childhood practicing while his friends were out riding their bikes.

Loretta Williams

Loretta Williams is CultureCast's book editor. She's won a bunch of awards, including the prestigious duPont-Columbia Silver Baton and a Peabody. Loretta spent years being deluged with books as books editor at NPR, which as a voracious reader, was akin to manna from heaven. She believes fiction can be just as enlightening as news (sometimes more so), and as an independent editor and producer, she still reads voraciously, while occasionally editing novels.

Sasa Woodruff

Sasa (pronounced Sasha) Woodruff is CultureCast's food editor. She is a food correspondent and a producer at LA's prestigious public radio station KCRW. Sasa's six-second Vine films won her Viner of the Year at the Taste Awards. With more than two decades in broadcast news, Sasa has worked for major news outlets including NPR, Public Radio International and American Public Media. She is an avid cook and baker, and when not shooting video or editing audio, you’ll probably find her digging in the garden or figuring out how to make vinegar from scratch.

Kate Concannon

Kate Concannon is CultureCast's music editor, and just like the rest of the crew - she's an overachiever. Kate's won numerous journalism awards including a prestigious Gracie from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television. A 25-year veteran of public radio, she was NPR’s Western Bureau Chief until 2010. Kate also worked as a reporter, producer and researcher with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and as a reporter, show producer and editor with the local public radio station in San Diego KPBS-FM.