Virus spike in wastewater suggest COVID surge coming

Speaker 1: (00:00)

Wastewater tests indicate another COVID wave is breaking

Speaker 2: (00:04)

The university called the amount of virus that they were seeing. Unprecedented

Speaker 1: (00:09)

I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Andrew Bowen. This is K P vs. Midday edition San Diego's climate equity index may be leaving out needy communities.

Speaker 3: (00:29)

When you go on the ground, you know, boots on the ground. In these neighborhoods, you can start to see why this is so difficult to actually have the data reflect. Maybe what's actually happening on the ground in the communities

Speaker 1: (00:39)

Looking for a last minute gift. Local bookstores have suggestions and more darkness in the missile toe. As we continue our exploration of filmed war women. That's ahead on midday edition

Speaker 1: (01:01)

Researchers at see San Diego say that a COVID surge, this winter is not just a possibility it's already here and they're basing their projection on the amount of virus detected in the county's wastewater. Researchers have been monitoring the viral levels in wastewater for months now, and they say the amount detected this weekend is the highest. So since last February preliminary molecular testing indicates the wastewater contains both the Delta and Omicron variants. Joining me is San Diego union Tribune, biotech reporter Jonathan vosen. Jonathan. Welcome. Good to be with you from your report. It sounds like the amount of virus discovered was shocking. The researchers, is that a fair statement?

Speaker 2: (01:45)

It is a fair statement that it might actually be an understatement though, to be honest. So this announcement from UC San Diego came out at around 10:40 AM on a Saturday. Uh, you know, universities usually don't make weekend announcements, but the language in there was pretty clear and pretty concern. The university called the amount of virus that they were seeing unprecedented. It's definitely the highest level they've seen in wastewater since February, possibly since, since further back than that, although it would take some extra analysis for them to be sure of that I've spoke with Dr. Christopher Longhurst who's, UC San Diego health, uh, chief information officer who basically said, you know, we have this major surge coming and to buckle up and be ready for that. Also spoke with Rob Knight. Who's a gut bacteria and microbiome expert at U C S D. And one of the leaders of that wastewater surveillance effort, uh, he had some pretty stark language too. He said, you know, there's gonna be an unprecedented surge in cases it's already in motion, but he felt that there was still an opportunity to keep, uh, what they're seeing in the wastewater and out of the hospitals, if we're able to respond quickly enough and, and, uh, strongly enough, Jonathan,

Speaker 1: (02:58)

Can you remind us why the coronavirus can be

Speaker 2: (03:01)

Detected in wastewater? Well, the short answer is that the virus infects your gut as well. You know, we usually talk about COVID 19 as being a respiratory disease and people having shortness of breath and severe pneumonia in certain cases, but it infects all different types of cells in your body, including the else line you're intestine. So actually diarrhea is one of the symptoms that some people with COVID 19 have. Um, so in other words, if you're infected and you go to the restroom, you know, that virus that's in your gut is gonna be passing through, uh, your stool through your, your ex as well. And so that's what researchers are detecting, uh, in this latest report. Uh,

Speaker 1: (03:39)

And where does UC San Diego, where do they collect these wastewater samples?

Speaker 2: (03:43)

So they get them from the point Loma wastewater treatment plant. That's the facility in the county to process wastewater for about two thirds of San Diegos, essentially. That's what they've been getting their samples from and doing their analysis on since July of 2020.

Speaker 1: (03:58)

How did the research to detect Delta and Omicron variants in the viral load? I mean, doesn't that usually take longer take a week or so,

Speaker 2: (04:07)

Right. So usually you would need genetic sequencing to know what variant you're looking at. And that was one of the issues that U C S D was dealing with late Friday evening because they had seen mean just that overall levels of virus were, you know, shockingly high, but they didn't know if that had to do with Omicron, if it had to do with Delta, if it had to do with both, if there was something else going on there and they didn't wanna wait, you know, a week or two for the sequencing to come through. So instead they relied on a different specific molecular tests that can distinguish one variant from another. So they've used this in the past to distinguish alpha from Delta and are now using it to separate Delta from OCN. So they were able to do some experiments, actually pretty early Saturday morning, you know, folks ran into the lab and were able to run some quick tests to see that it was both Delta variant, which has been circulating for a while and the relatively new OCN variant. So, uh, Dr. Robert Knight actually was talking about this a sort of a two pronged pandemic at this point where you get these two variants that are spreading pretty quickly in our community.

Speaker 1: (05:15)

What's the length of time between detecting virus and wastewater, and perhaps seeing a wave of people actually getting sick. The

Speaker 2: (05:23)

Folks I spoke with at U C S D said, it's typically about a week or two, uh, it can be up to three weeks in advance where you can see that much of a lag between a wastewater peak and virus and actual infections coming through. So that would roughly mean that sometime around early January, the start of the new year, we would expect to see cases go up in a pretty, pretty significant way.

Speaker 1: (05:49)

What are the researchers at U C S D advising San Diegos to do about

Speaker 2: (05:53)

This? You know, they're saying if you're not vaccinated that you absolutely need to be, and we have about 400,000 folks in San Diego who are eligible for a vaccine, but have yet to get one, they're saying that if you are vaccinated, but haven't gotten a booster that you need that too, based on the data that's coming out on Omicron and on the power of boosters in giving you a higher level of protect against that variant. So there probably are many other folks who could get a booster at this point who haven't done that. Uh, and then one of the other things they're saying is that regardless of who you are, uh, think carefully during the holidays about going to big indoor gatherings, where people are unmasked, and then, you know, Chris Longhurst at U C S D uh, added a additional note, which was really to test, test test. So if you are feeling any kind of symptoms, if you're planning on traveling, if you're planning on going to gatherings, if you think that testing might be a good idea, uh, then go ahead and do that because that's gonna allow us to get a better handle on what's going on in the weeks ahead.

Speaker 1: (06:56)

I've been speaking with, with San Diego union Tribune, biotech reporter, Jonathan Rosen, Jonathan,

Speaker 2: (07:02)

Thanks. Anytime

Speaker 4: (07:12)

In 2019 San Diego unveiled its climate equity index, the index essentially re ranks all the city's neighborhoods based on access to opportunity and the risks of being harmed by climate change. It's meant to guide city decision making. So the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis get help first, but the tool is far from perfect as explained in a recent article, by a voice of San Diego environment, reporter McKenzie, Elmer who joins us now McKenzie, welcome to the program. Thanks, Andrea.

Speaker 3: (07:43)

Good to be here.

Speaker 4: (07:44)

Can you start off by reminding us what the San Diego climate equity index is and what purpose does it serve?

Speaker 3: (07:51)

The climate equity index is supposed to help the city identify as you very accurately put it before, uh, communities that are historically disadvantaged and also worse impacted by climate change in the future. And now,

Speaker 4: (08:06)

And how does that apply to actual decision making? So

Speaker 3: (08:10)

Lots of governments, including the state of California have created tools like this to try to help funnel extra money, extra support to those communities, help them mitigate and prepare for those impacts of climate change. We're talking like extreme heat drought, sea level rise is one as well. All those sorts of things that we hear about.

Speaker 4: (08:30)

Tell us about the inputs. What are the variables that this index considers when analyzing any, a given neighborhood?

Speaker 3: (08:36)

So the city of San Diego decided to create their own unique climate equity index. The state has its own, uh, as well. Um, so the city of San Diego actually has 41 different, uh, inputs or indicators that it uses everything from age to income, poverty burden, to different types of pollution, a neighborhood's proximity to something like hazardous waste or a landfill to actual like climate indicators, like extreme heat, urban heat island, tree coverage, and sea level rise as well. And

Speaker 4: (09:11)

In what ways has this tool actually helped communities since it was first introduced? So

Speaker 3: (09:16)

20, 22 will be the first time I believe that we will see the city actually use the climate equity index to funnel money towards a community. So that will be the first time that the index is actually used in that way. And the city recently created a climate equity fund to basically kind of like a savings bank to extra dollars for those types of investments in these communities that need it most. And there's about 5 million in that right now to spend in 2022. And the city's already selected those projects that will move forward.

Speaker 4: (09:46)

Can you give us examples of some projects that that fund would, would put money towards?

Speaker 3: (09:50)

Yeah, so the city has a list of projects like, um, there's some bicycle facilities, bike lane, um, street lights and traffic signals and areas like Linda Vista. Um, there's a, the Cho Creek Oak park trail. Um, there's also part of university avenue would get some money to do a complete street. Um, and there's some money going to different parks around the community, but I haven't yet, uh, specifically mapped all those out to how they layer over the actual climate equity index itself. And that's important because when I talk with the city, I wanted to, I asked specifically, you know, is it only these communities of concern that you identify through your climate equity index that can actually receive this funding? And it's not so cut and dry. The city's operating on this idea that a richer community that maybe isn't as impacted by climate change could, uh, potentially get some climate equity funding to build something like a bike lane that might connect a park in that richer area to a poor area, for instance. So that could be considered a climate equity project as well. Doesn't necessarily only put in these different neighborhoods that are identified by the tool,

Speaker 4: (10:59)

Your story zooms in on the community of nester and how that neighborhood represents some ways in which this climate equity index might actually be falling short. Can you tell us more about that?

Speaker 3: (11:10)

So nester's a community that's just east of Imperial beach. Um, it's a place that if you ask people from nester, they're often frustrated that people in San Diego don't know where nester is, but it's a smaller neighborhood neighborhood. And it roasted my attention because between the city's original climate equity index tool in 2019 and the update that they made and released in 2021, that community actually became ineligible for funding technically under the, the climate equity index, uh, the city identified it as a place of moderate access to opportunities or moderate, you know, community of concern to, um, one that was considered, um, higher access to opportunity. So I was interested in why that changed. And then I compared that to another community nearby, um, just east of nester called ocean view Hills, and it's, um, has a much higher, uh, median income they're much. Um, the, the cost of housing is much higher.

Speaker 3: (12:04)

It's much richer area. There's a lot of new developments over there. And I was curious because that community actually became eligible for funding and under the update. So when you go on the ground, you know, boots on the ground in these neighborhoods, you can start to see why this is so difficult to actually have the data reflect. Maybe what's actually happening on the ground in the communities and whether the tool is accurately identifying ones that are maybe more disadvantaged than others. And so when looking at the community of nester versus ocean view Hills ocean view Hills seem to be located in a census tract, an area that's near pollution, like a landfill, the OTI Mesa landfills nearby. There's a lot of sort of old car, lots, it's near an airport. The Montgomery airport is down there. And so even though that community is the people living there are doing much better or more off the nester, it seems that perhaps those pollution indicators have perhaps incorrectly identified that neighborhood as more in need of extra support from the government versus nester, which is older, generally has a lower income rate and everything kind of the opposite of ocean view Hills in general,

Speaker 4: (13:11)

Mackenzie, as we're looking ahead to trying provide extra help to these communities that are most at risk of climate change, what limitations do you see with using data and numbers, uh, and, and things like this climate equity index in actually trying to guide those decisions? Well, if

Speaker 3: (13:28)

You talk with, uh, anyone in kind of a climate justice or climate equity space, they're often frustrated by, you know, just the use of data to try to spit out the correct answer when it comes to trying to identify where in the city might need most support. It's usually sort of obvious, I would say in, in some regards, like people know the areas of town probably that need more help than others. Um, I talked to another researcher that I quoted in the story from the Luskin center, uh, who a lot of these tools. And he said that most of these tools and most of this data will spit out probably 60% of the right communities that, uh, should be identified and that are facing adverse impacts from climate change more than others, and have, you know, poorer residents who don't have the means to support themselves through those challenges. Um, so at think what it really takes is a lot of, uh, ground truthing, meaning, you know, going on the ground, getting advocates out there and, uh, verifying that these neighborhoods are the ones that indeed deserve, uh, or need this kind of support. So it kind of kind of need data paired with, um, real world reality based, uh, understanding of the actual neighborhood

Speaker 4: (14:34)

Itself. I've been speaking with voice of San Diego environment, reporter McKenzie, Elmer McKenzie. Thanks for joining us. Thank you.

Speaker 4: (14:49)

This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Andrew Bowen with Maureen Kavanaugh. Jade Henman has the day off San Diego could build a new trolley line to the airport in the next decade. That's the conclusion of a new feasibility study released by the metropolitan transit system last week, many newcomers to San Diego. Wonder why the trolley doesn't go to the, the airport already. It comes tantalizingly close. The tracks run just a few hundred feet from the airport's outer boundaries. So what has to happen in order for this project to actually get done? Joining me to discuss is call parent executive director of the nonprofit think tank circulate San Diego, Colin, welcome to the program.

Speaker 5: (15:30)

Hey, thanks, Andrew.

Speaker 4: (15:31)

To me, it seems like connecting the trolley to the airport has been on San Diego's to-do list for a really long time. So what new information is in this feasibility study that we didn't know before?

Speaker 5: (15:43)

Yeah, so I think there's really two things Andrew, for this one is that the feasibility study really fundamentally just shows that there is no tech reason why we can't make this connection with the trolley. So there's no, there's no fatal flaw in the idea, but I think perhaps more importantly, it's not the, the study itself, but the action by the MTS board last week that said not only we are gonna accept this study, but we are actually gonna make it a project in our capital and improvement program and make it a priority for the agency to complete

Speaker 4: (16:16)

MTS already has a bus line that goes to the airport. I've used it myself. Uh, it's not great, but it could be made a lot better if maybe it had its own bus lane and didn't have to mix with the regular traffic, all the cars going to the airport. What is better about an actual rail line to the airport as opposed to a much cheaper option of just improving the bus connection? Yeah, so

Speaker 5: (16:37)

I mean, first of all, the, the bus connection is really great that 9 92, um, and, and MTS and the airport authority actually just started a new bus connection for, um, for commuters coming in from the old town station. So I, I think it's important to understand that, you know, there's prob there really needs to be multiple ways to use transit, to access the airport, uh, trolley. The airport's a great one, but we also should be investing, continuing to invest in those kinds of surface street, uh, improvements. And so, yeah, absolutely there should be some bus only facilities, um, uh, for the airport, um, to make those, those lines, uh, work even better. But I think the, the, the, the other advantages around rail and a rail connection is that even in a best case scenario, a bus does mean that people are gonna have to Lu, um, luggage up some stairs and, and that kind of thing, and a, and a rail connection, uh, is oftentimes easier to do that kind of stuff. And so that's, that's a big, uh, big reason to make that improvement. But then the other thing is that, uh, a rail connection, just, it, it just is more appealing to more people. And there's, I think there's really something valuable in, in designing our transit system that has a real sort of broad appeal. And so we shouldn't shy away for making improvements that that really do excite people.

Speaker 4: (17:52)

Let's talk about the options here. MTS is talking about three of them in this study. One is an elevated track along Laurel street, and two options would go underground. So which one does MTS prefer and why? Yeah, so

Speaker 5: (18:06)

Right now it looks like MTS has a preference to do one of those undergrounding options. One that has a, just a, a single connection from, uh, south of the airport going, uh, under some other tracks and, and on, on toward the airport, a, uh, along Harbor drive. Uh, but you know, there, there is, uh, there's gonna be a lot more, uh, technic goal and engineering work. That's gonna have to go in to, um, to doing a project like this. And so I think it's, it's not, it's not decided exactly the routing or exactly the mechanism. So I think it's still very much on the table, whether or not it's gonna be underground or, or above grade. And, and really, I think right now still a variety of options are on the table. Earlier,

Speaker 4: (18:50)

Studies were examining a rail connection that started not in little Italy, south of the airport, but north of the airport at the Navar facility in the midway district, the Navy of course, is planning on redeveloping that property. Why does that idea of a connection from the north side seem to be falling out of fashion?

Speaker 5: (19:08)

Well, that idea of using the Navar facility as the primary way to connect transit to the airport is actually like a pretty new idea. It's only been on the table for a few years, uh, and it's not a surprise to me at all that that is, uh, you know, fallen out of favor because it really didn't make a lot of sense on its face. Most of the, in the region live, uh, south of the airport, most of the people who work at the airport, uh, live south of the airport, it just didn't make a lot of sense to make transit rider go north of the airport and then to the Navor area. And then double back in order to be able to access the airport. That's something that's circulate San Diego has raised, uh, over the last few years. It made, you know, some substantial criticism of, of that proposal from SANDAG. And now SANDAG seems to have come to its senses and is looking at a route that makes more ordinary sense for most potential

Speaker 4: (20:05)

Writers let's talk numbers. So how much would this new trolley airport connection cost and how could it be financed? Yeah, so

Speaker 5: (20:12)

The agency is, is looking at, um, a couple of different options. And I think in their, in their presentation to the board last week, they were looking at a couple options between 1.5, uh, and 2.5 billion. And, um, so those are, and those are, you know, those are there's about a billion difference, right? And, um, so, you know, really the cost of depends on, on a variety of things in particular, like how much of the project needs to be undergrounded, is it gonna be at grade or above grade? Um, and then of course there's just also some unknowns. Um, and so the, the financing is probably gonna come from a variety of sources. Uh, one key source is that the airport, when they, uh, uh, enhanced their, when they decided to move forward with their terminal, one expansion, they committed, uh, a half billion dollars in, uh, uh, revenues from passenger fees, improve transportation.

Speaker 5: (21:07)

And so some share of that half billion is gonna be available for a transit connection that was a big win for the region. It was something that circulates San Diego advocated for. And so that could, that could take a big chunk out of, um, out of a project like this, but then we can also be looking for, uh, funding from the new federal infrastructure bill. And then finally, there's likely to be, uh, uh, some votes before the voters in the San Diego region to finance transportation improvements, maybe as soon as, uh, this fall and those kinds of local revenues can also be brought, um, to support and to build this, uh, this popular project.

Speaker 4: (21:42)

What has to happen for this idea of bringing the trolley to the airport to move to the next phase? Yeah, so

Speaker 5: (21:49)

A, a couple of things, I mean, first of all, the, the, the board at, uh, MTS made a really important decision last week where they said, listen, we, we like this project. We're gonna put this, add this to our capital improvement, uh, uh, list essentially the, the list of capital projects that they wanna see get built. And so now the, the next step is the agency, uh, half to sort of look for additional grants, additional funding opportunities. Uh, they have to, they probably are looking very keenly on, on whether or not the, uh, voters approve this, uh, transportation ballot measure that, uh, is likely to be before the voters in, um, in the fall. Uh, but then they're also gonna need to get some buy-in from their, uh, their partners at Sandy, the, the other, uh, regional transportation planning agency. But I have some pretty strong confidence that if the, the board of MTS, which has a bunch of elected officials around the region say, yeah, this is what we want. And the polling all shows that the voters are excited about this kinds of project, that the sand ag is gonna do the right thing and incorporate into their plants as well.

Speaker 4: (22:47)

I've been speaking with Colin par executive director of the nonprofit circulate San Diego. He's also a member of the LA Mesa city council. Colin, thanks for joining us. Hey,

Speaker 5: (22:57)

Thanks for having me, Andrew

Speaker 1: (23:05)

Latino, Hispanic, Latinx, Chicano. There's so many different ways to express one's Latina, DOD, race equity reporter. Christina Kim spoke with community members in June about the different ways they identify and how they feel about the term Latinx.

Speaker 6: (23:24)

The way people choose to identify is always changing, especially when it comes to defining Latina death or anyone of Latin American descent here in the United States at KBB. We're now using the term Latin X, which is a non-binary way of saying Latino or Latina in an effort to be as inclusive as possible. But we know it's not definitive and has proved controversial because how we identify and are identified by others can get well personal. That's something you see San Diego professor rith, who teaches about Latina death knows all too well.

Speaker 7: (23:56)

So politics of labeling and with that politics of course, are conversations around race, sexuality, gender, all of those components come into play. So that is something that, again, it's so personal that it is one that is emotive, which is why

Speaker 6: (24:13)

We asked you our listeners to share how you identify and your thoughts on the X in Latin X, we got almost 200 responses and they showed how deeply many of you are thinking about this. He layered issue some like CE who identifies as non-binary embrace the term Latin next years ago, for

Speaker 8: (24:32)

Me, I just don't identify as smaller female. I feel like very gender neutral. And so the whole term Latinx kind of feels like that, but it also feels like it's his own

Speaker 6: (24:42)

Movement. Others like Rigo Tapia of Tula Vista preferred terms like Hispanic or Latino, because they connect him with his roots as a Spanish speaker. He understands the need to be inclusive, but thinks Latinx erases his connection with Spanish, which he grew up speaking.

Speaker 9: (24:57)

It, it lists a little bit of whitewashing in Sofar, as the language is concerned to me, Latino or Latino, or even Latin X means that you're right, identifying with a culture that holds Spanish, you know, in a special place,

Speaker 6: (25:11)

Another Tula Vista, Michael, and ZZA also doesn't use the X. He prefers the term Chicano, a political identity label often associated with Mexican Americans that emerged in the 1960s during the civil rights movement like that. He thinks Latin X is a term imposed by white people.

Speaker 10: (25:28)

I've never heard anyone use it. I've never heard anyone identify with it. And, uh, it's just a term. I don't know if it's gonna stick or not, but it's not from

Speaker 6: (25:37)

Us. And that's a big tension point. Where did Latinx even come from? Professor re says, that's a difficult question.

Speaker 7: (25:45)

So there is no one origin story. Uh, the X is one that is discussed as coming out of indigenous communities throughout Latin America. It's one that we've seen used within Latin American feminist circles as well. When we're talking about Latin X within the us, the X is really functioning there to mess with gender binaries

Speaker 6: (26:07)

Because of the lack of clarity about when people started using Latinx people have their own interpretations and understandings about it. Ale identifies as, Latinx and Chicanx and unlike izus and Tapia, doesn't see Latinx as a colonized label coming from outside the community. She likes using the X because it makes people stop and think of about who has been ignored.

Speaker 11: (26:30)

V X makes me think of the people that are not often included in these conversations. Non-binary people, Afro Latinos, or Afro Chicanos, and people with disabilities

Speaker 6: (26:41)

In the end. There isn't a single definition or understanding of any of these identity labels, but Reid says that's a good

Speaker 7: (26:49)

Thing. And so really we wanna think about it as embracing the tension, really leaning into the messiness. That is a term like Latinx, like Latino, this question of Latina death. It's not one singular thing, but one that is much more multifaceted and has lots of different histories and experiences tied to

Speaker 6: (27:10)

It. KPBS

Speaker 1: (27:12)

News, join us tomorrow for a special rebroadcast of the K PBS community conversation that covers the controversy over the term. Latinx that's tomorrow at noon here on K PBS FM. This is K PBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Andrew Bowen. Jade Heman is on vacation. The holidays are in full swing and Christmas is upon us. And with all the rushing and wrapping going on, it can be hard to get those last few perfect gifts for the people on your list. Luckily, San Diego is home to some great independent bookstores, and we thought we'd check in with a few of them to get their book recommendation for those last minute gifts. First up we hear from Seth Marco co-owner of the book catapult in south park.

Speaker 12: (28:13)

You know, a couple, my favorite books for the year have been, um, Anthony do cloud cuckoo land, which has become a huge bestseller. It's his follow up to his Pulitzer prize winner all the way we cannot see K land has a weird title, but it's, um, , it's just a great story about, you know, it's kind of the preservation of, of story. You know, it's about libraries and their importance in society. He has sort of a, a way of telling a story that connects all these different characters together through over time. I mean, I mean, this one is, you know, some of it is said in the siege of constant de noble in the 14 hundreds, and then there's a contemporary storyline, and then there's another story that's, you know, far in the future. And they all connect together, um, where he kind of shows the, you know, the, the fin threads that connect people.

Speaker 12: (29:04)

But one of my other favorite books this year also of fiction is by Lauren GRA called matrix, which it has not gotten quite the attention that I, I thought it would. I mean, she's pretty well known. She's a, I think a two time national book award finalist now for her last couple books. And this is historical fiction set in the 12th century. And it's about this woman who is Eleanor of Aquita court and is, you know, sort of rejected by the court and sent to live in a Nury in the English countryside where she becomes the ACE of this Nury and, and turns it into this sort of feminist utopia. It's a really, really well told story, just beautiful language, but just such a compelling character really surprised me. It's been one of my favorite favorite books to talk about this year, for sure. That's just a couple that, that I've really liked. There's there's many more

Speaker 1: (29:57)

That was Seth Marco co-owner of the book catapult, which is located at 30 10, B Juniper street in south park. His picks again were cloud C land by Anthony do and the matrix by Lauren gr. Next, we moved to mysterious galaxy where store manager, Kelly Arazi has a few of her picks from the sci-fi fantasy genre.

Speaker 13: (30:22)

So one of my favorite middle grade books to come out this year just was published a couple months ago is the last Queena by Donna Barbara HIRA. It is a beautiful thought provoking science fiction, novel where the main character is one of the lucky few humans who's chosen to embark on humanities last spaceship before the destroys earth. Um, so she and a select few are put into stasis. They're meant to wake up 400 years in the future on route to a brand new planet and carry on the human race. But when the main character wakes up, uh, she is the only one who has memories of earth at all. Uh, and she longs to share and protect the stories of earth. So this it's a great mystery, um, what's happening, and who's really behind all of the missing memories while also a captivating insight to this main character who just wants to share the history of earth through storytelling, it's pulse racing science fiction, but it's also a heart wrenching Testament to the power of storytelling.

Speaker 13: (31:21)

And I just adore this book. The next book that I wanna recommend is under the whispering door by TJ cl. It's one of my favorite books of the year. I love TJ cl. He wrote the house in this re sea last year, and it was my, one of my favorite favorite books. It got me through the pandemic and under the whispering door is about a man who dies and goes to a sort of in between afterlife. It's not heaven. It's not hell. And the person who's waiting for him is sort of a ferryman who guides souls onto the ultimate afterlife. And it's their story of getting to know one another and actually falling in love, which is quite beautiful. And it's a story that makes you think it's a story that makes you laugh and you just can't help, but root for everybody involved. I adore this book. Another book is called legend born by Traci Dion. Uh, it has magic demons and a century's old secret society founded by king Arthur. It has themes of in questions about family and country and Toronto and Judy, and it of course has plenty, these love and plenty of magic. That

Speaker 1: (32:26)

Was Kelly Arazi of mysterious galaxy books located at 35 55 rose Kran street in San Diego. Kelly's picks again were the Lasta by Donna Barbara under the whispering door by TJ CLO and legend born by Traci Dion. I

Speaker 3: (32:47)

Have so many books you're gonna tell me to probably stop

Speaker 1: (32:52)

That's book seller, Maryanne Reinder of Lala books. In point Loma. Here are her picks.

Speaker 3: (32:58)

I have, uh, the sentence by Louis RI and this one is a really great book because it takes place actually in a small indie bookstore in Minneapolis. And the bookstore is hunted by flora. One of its most annoying customers who died and won't leave the store and TKI, the book seller must solve the mystery of this hunting. And the book takes place during the month of November, 2019 and November, 2020. So it's also obviously a really high pressure time in the Minneapolis area. And he must also come to terms with a year of grief and isolation and reckoning in her city. Another one I really loved, and we have also in the store, it's called oh, beautiful by John WUN. It's the story of Eleanor Henson of former. Who's about 40. And she's struggling to reinvent herself as a freelance writer. And that is until she sent for an assignment to the backend region of North Dakota, where the oil boom is drastically changing the landscape and the people who live there and L is sent there for a lot of reasons.

Speaker 3: (34:24)

But also because she grew up in that region as, uh, the child of a, a mixed couple, her father was American and her mother was Korean and the story is bringing her back and she discovers a lot more than the story she has to write for her magazine article. I'm putting it on my list for everyone I know and love last but not least. I have a favorite current picture book for children called dream street. And this is by Trisha M Walker and Akua Holmes. And this is a beautiful story where we're presented with a lot of people who live on that street and there are stories and how they interact with each other and the illustrations are absolutely stunning. I highly encourage everyone to go look for this book because it's one of those books that you wanna keep. The apply

Speaker 1: (35:22)

Books is located at 10 26 rose cran street in point Loma Marion picks again where the sentence by Louise Eich oh, beautiful by young Y and the picture book dream street by Tricia Ellen Walker illustrated by Aqua Holmes. If you missed any of these book picks, you can find them on our website@kpbs.org.

Speaker 4: (35:54)

Cinema junkie continues to are the diverse array of women in film noir with part two of noir Dames podcast, host Beth Amando and guest Nora furore. The nitrate diva go beyond the usual suspects of the fem fatal to discuss the lady sleuth, the redeeming angel and the glamorous victim in this exer from the podcast, they looked to the long suffering wife of film noir.

Speaker 14: (36:25)

Marriage is not always a hallowed institution in film noir. In fact, it's often threatened by infidelity or scorn by people who see little cause to respect society's norms. So we don't often see a married couple at the heart of a noir, but Nora does perceive a category of characters that she calls the long suffering wife, like Colleen gray in nightmare alley.

Speaker 15: (36:49)

I knew it. You knew what you never were on the level you lied to meze was right walking out on me. Huh? Look, stand anytime you wanna go back into show business you

Speaker 16: (37:01)

And all that talk of yours about love. You were gonna be such

Speaker 15: (37:04)

A good wife to me. I've tried to be.

Speaker 17: (37:07)

Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of cases, it, the suffering wife, I see as a character, who's often there with her husband, but, you know, in contrast to the fem fatal, leading a manna stray, oftentimes the suffering wife, it's interesting, cuz I find a, the, um, fatal characters. They're not free agents like the F fatal they're often husbands. They're often these charming spouses who kind of hook some good woman into their life and maybe their, the wife becomes complicit. Maybe the wife is just now trapped in this situation. I mean, I, I guess you, this, this bleeds into some of the other categories we talked about, but you know, one, I think about a lot is the suffer wife is Colleen gray and nightmare alley where, you know, she's suckered into Tyrone power's racket. I mean, who wouldn't be and you know, she's, she goes along with him to a certain point, but she does resist him. She does, you know, kind of try to talk to him and there's like great conversation where she says, you know, you're talking like your God. There's

Speaker 16: (37:57)

Nothing to worry about. There's no to difference between this. And, and mentalism, it's just another angle of show business.

Speaker 15: (38:04)

Wait a minute, Mister, you're not talking to one of your jumps. You're talking to your wife, you're talking to somebody who knows you, red, white, and blue, and you can't fool me anymore. There's only one way I can stop you from doing this thing. And that's to

Speaker 17: (38:18)

Leave you. I think there a relationship is really fascinating where even though she is so clearly the submissive partner in that relationship, you know, she still has the guts to speak up to him and to say something to him. I remember think Colleen gray is just a tremendously underrated actress. She also is wonderful as kind of a redeeming angel character in kiss of death. You know, with, with Victor mature, I, I

Speaker 15: (38:38)

Inquired of the police and I found out that, well, they sent me to a place and I found out they're all right. You saw the kids. Yes. And they're all right. Oh yes, they look

Speaker 17: (38:48)

Swell. So I mean, definitely the wife figure, you know, I, I think a lot of this probably comes out of Gaslight, you know, which was just Ingrid Bergman on her Oscar for it. But you do see that a lot. You see a lot of in, in no, and more adjacent movies and movies, kind of part of the noir movement. You do see a lot of women who are being abused and exploited by their partners, which is partially why I debate this charge against no, that it's misogynistic. Cuz frankly I think no is very sympathetic to the many bad situations that life can pull women to and how hard it is for them to escape those situations once they are in them. Um, you know, uh, I think for every fem toddler there is in war, there is a terrible husband. There are just so many like evil, abusive, manipulative husbands in film war.

Speaker 15: (39:34)

Remember me? I'm guilty, your wife, this vacuum, I'm living in mind giving me a reason. Not at

Speaker 18: (39:46)

All. You've had such a full life up to now. I thought a little peace and quieter. Do your good, give your time to think,

Speaker 15: (39:54)

Think about what

Speaker 18: (39:56)

Would it be too corny to say your sins?

Speaker 15: (39:59)

Yes, it would.

Speaker 18: (40:00)

Well, I said it

Speaker 14: (40:02)

Well when you mentioned this category, which I hadn't thought about. I thought of the film reckless moment, which is not so much the suffering wife as maybe the long suffering mother. And this is where like noir kind of crosses into the women's mellow drama of uh, like Douglas CI. This was max opals. But this sense of, you know, she's so suburban and she's so like she takes, she runs the house. She takes care of the kids. She manages the budget while the husband's away. And you know, in this particular film, she has to deal with blackmail and murder

Speaker 19: (40:37)

B. Where were you? What's the matter? What happened, baby? I down who was it? It was, I were right. I know, I know. I never should. All right. Just try to tell me what happened. I, I right, dear, where is he? Now? You go on upstairs. I'll be up in a minute.

Speaker 14: (41:07)

So it's like, she seems very constrained by these domestic duties. And yet she's thrown into a situation kind of out of her depth, but she still manages, you know, she's like doing her budget to figure out how to pay blackmail. You know, , it's

Speaker 17: (41:22)

Like if I say, and she can't get a loan because it's all in her husband, it's that film is so tense. I mean that scene where she's trying to get a loan and, and just, you can tell it's not gonna work out for her the way all the minutia of her life become this chain that makes it all the more challenging for her to fix this problem. You know, it's kind of the typical issue of just, I gotta get the money. I gotta pay off the blackmailer, which you know, for a man, he could do that in a day. All of these obstacles in her way and, and the way Al's films with all the, the tracking shots and the way she's constantly emotion and bouncing from place to place. The simplest thing becomes this huge, bigger mess for her to clean up because of the prison of her respectability.

Speaker 19: (42:04)

It's going to be hard for me to go to Los Angeles and get the money. I, I promised father and David, the car tomorrow. I wanted, there'll be questions. I've been to Los Angeles once this week. That means more questions. You don't know how, how a family can surround you at times. No, I don't. I have to have time to think. I can't just get the money like, like that.

Speaker 17: (42:27)

She loves her family and the family that she is going through. All this for is such a constraint on her ability need to solve this problem. That that is just a tremendous performance from Joan Bennett. Just a real, I think underrated Warren Dame. I mean, I don't know. It's, it's hard to call Joan Bennett underrated, cuz she does still loom so large. She's so incredible in Scarlet street, but again, another one of these women who can inhabit, you know, multiple kinds of roles within noir, you know, she could be AEM, infantile shed, be the mother. She could be, you know, kind of more were the woman in peril, like in secret beyond the door. Uh, so she's just said she's tremendous in the reckless moment. I mean her, her tension and her frustration and the combination of grace and yet the, the fear you can see under the surface, it grabbed you by the throat.

Speaker 17: (43:10)

It's just astonishing. I feel like that film just is still a little unders seen given how, how phenomenal it is. And you know, the mother is, is I do think maybe a little bit less a part of nor than, than you might expect. Like you said, it's kind of more the realm of Mera, but of course Mildred Pierce mm-hmm I mean, you know, on the absolute borderland of no or Mera, whichever one you wanna call it is that, and you know, Joan Crawford as the classic maternal figure and how dark is that she's not only is voided by her husband. Another one of the bad husband noirs. I can't do it with you.

Speaker 16: (43:38)

I'll do it without you. Oh, so now we're getting down to the point. You're looking for an excuse to heve me out my ear. Is that it? I didn't say that. Well, I'm fed up. Let's see you get along without me for a while. When you want me, you know where to find me, but you go down to that woman's house again and you're never coming back here. I mean that, oh, I go where I want to go then a cupboard

Speaker 17: (43:57)

She's also exploited by her child in this, you know, tremendously insidious way. Well,

Speaker 14: (44:02)

Nora, I wanna thank you so much for, uh, talking about the noir Dame and hopefully opening people's eyes to the wide diversity of women that exist within the film noir

Speaker 17: (44:14)

World. I'm, I'm happy to be able to who have talked about it with you. Thank you so much for having me on

Speaker 4: (44:23)

That was Beth Amando speaking with Nora fur, the nitrate diva about one of the overlooked categories of women in film noir to hear their full discussion, go to kpbs.org/cinema

Speaker 20: (44:36)

Junkie the.