At a live taping of KPBS' Sun Drenched Sounds music series, three San Diego artists share music and the stories behind it. Divina talks about building her own sound through live looping and production, and how a song she heard as a child helped shape her artistic path. James Spaite reflects on growing up in the church, wrestling with faith and channeling philosophy and psychology into his songwriting. Shua discusses gospel music, human connection and the dangers of waiting until you're "fixed" before fully participating in life. Recorded at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, the performances and conversations reveal how artists from different musical backgrounds find common ground in questions of identity, belief, responsibility and what it means to keep growing.

Guests:

• Divina
• James Spaite
• Shua

Why is everyone suddenly playing mahjong? From neighborhood meetups to viral social media posts, interest in the game is growing fast. This episode explores mahjong's history, its roots in the Chinese diaspora and the ways families and communities have carried traditions across generations. Through a night of learning Filipino-style mahjong in San Diego, we look at how the game has become a way for people to make friends, connect with culture and spend time together away from their screens.

Guests:

• James Gutierrez, No Ambition Tile Club co-founder
• Nicole Wong, creator and founder of The Mahjong Project, author of "Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora"

Sources:

• History is repeating itself (Nicole Wong, The Mahjong Project, 2026)
• What the Surprising History of Mah-jongg Can Teach Us About America (Cady Lang, TIME, 2021)
• Mahjong, American Modernity, and Cultural Transnationalism (Annelise Marie Heinz, Stanford Digital Repository, 2015)
• Some Gen Z American can't stop 'Chinamaxxing' (Ashish Valentine, NPR, 2026)

Pokémon started as something simple: trading cards on the playground, Game Boys passed around between friends and the dream of catching 'em all. Thirty years later, it's the highest-grossing media franchise in the world — and Pokémon cards have become big business.

In this episode, collectors, card shop owners, Pokémon Go players and lifelong fans reflect on what Pokémon means to them and how the culture around it has changed. From crowded Pokémon Go meetups at parks to local card shops struggling with scalpers and rising prices, this episode looks at how scarcity and speculation transformed Pokémon cards into valuable commodities. Along the way is a bigger question: Can a franchise built on adventure, friendship and connection hold onto those values in a billion-dollar marketplace?

Guests:

• Steven Chung, lifelong Pokémon fan
• Courtney Mifsud Intreglia, writer
• Oliver Soufi, Pokémon Master
• Jake Federicks, manager at Supreme Card Shop
• Jason Huggins, co-owner of  Tito Rick's Garage

Sources:

• LIFE Pokémon: 30 Years (Courtney Mifsud Intreglia, LIFE, 2026)
• How Pokémon Conquered America (Courtney Mifsud Intreglia, TIME, 2024)
• How Pokémon became the biggest media franchise on Earth (Lucy Tobin, The Times, 2026)
• 'Kids can't buy them anywhere': how Pokémon cards became a stock market for millennials (Daniella Lucas, The Guardian, 2025)