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The Finest

The Finest

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San Diego earns its title as America’s Finest City through the people, art and movements redefining the region’s cultural identity. The Finest is a podcast that highlights the emerging voices and dynamic forces reshaping community and expression. Through personal stories and critical perspectives, each episode brings forward the artists, advocates and ideas driving change and pushing boundaries in the region’s cultural landscape. New episodes premiere Thursdays.KPBS Public Media Arte Ciencia Política Ciencias Sociales Comida y Vino Diseño y Artes Decorativas Entretenimiento y Artes Escénicas Historia y Crítica Literaria Mundial Música Política y Gobierno
Episodios
  • The story of Lucky Wong and his legendary one-man diner in San Diego

    The story of Lucky Wong and his legendary one-man diner in San Diego
    Aug 21 2025
    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, Lucky worked as a one-man show: He took every order from memory, cooked and served every plate and made every customer feel like family."Everybody thought they were special to him," said Ruth Kramer, a longtime patron. "I don't know how he did it, but you knew he cared about you."The no-frills diner outlasted neighborhood changes, the pandemic and even a viral TikTok surge that brought lines down the block. When Lucky closed his doors in 2024 and later passed away, the loss was felt far beyond San Diego. " I felt like a family member had passed and it was sad," said Jerry Rickett of Corbin, Kentucky, who visited every other year.In his honor, the city renamed the block of Grim Avenue where the diner stood "Lucky Lane." Through stories from family, regulars and friends, this episode remembers the man who poured the coffee, cracked the eggs — and the jokes — and quietly built a community, one breakfast at a time.Guests:June WongMatt Lyons, Tribute PizzaBrian Foxworth, Jr., Mom's Chicken and WafflesAugust WangDan AndersonColleen HaynesDouglas SaboeLesley FongGail Higgins, The Girl Can't Help ItAna ChristinaRuth KramerThursday GarreauJerry RickettOmid GolchehrehHannah SweetSources:r/FoodSanDiego/ (Reddit, 2014-present)Lucky's diner viral TikTok video (@domexican1, TikTok, 2022)Lucky's Golden Phenix (Petite Films,YouTube, 2021)Lucky's Breakfast in North Park goes viral (Ciara Encinas, ABC 10 News, 2022)More Closures: Lucky's Breakfast & Wildwood Flour Bakery (Reddit, 2024)Lucky's Breakfast Owner has Passed Away at Age 86 (Reddit, 2024)Lucky's Breakfast Closes Its Doors In San Diego's North Park After Nearly 50 Years In Business (SanDiegoville, 2024)Remembering Lucky's Breakfast Founder Wong "Lucky" Chong: A San Diego Icon (SanDiegoville, 2024)Second Sino-Japanese War (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2025)What happened to San Diego's Chinatown? (Julianna Domingo and Jade Hindmon, KPBS Midday Edition, 2025)San Diego High School History (San Diego Unified)Median Gross Rent for Zip Code 92104 in 2011 (United States Census Bureau)Median Gross Rent for Zip Code 92104 in 2023 (United States Census Bureau)The Real Restaurant Failure Rate Is Lower Than You Think (2025 Data) (Adam Guild, Owner, 2024)34.7 percent of business establishments born in 2013 were still operating in 2023 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024)Gail Higgins: The PKM Interview! - Part 1 (Gillian McCain, Please Kill Me, 2015)50 Top Pizza USA 2024 (Guide to the Best Pizzerias in the world, 2024)Tribute Pizza Pop-Up Finds Permanent Home in North Park (Candice Woo, Eater San Diego, 2015)North Park block to be renamed 'Lucky Lane' after the man who served it for 50 years (Katie Hyson, KPBS, 2025)Make Lucky Lane real & take Lucky's Legacy a step further! (GoFundMe, 2025)Designating the 3800 Block of Grim Avenue From University Avenue to North Park Way in the North Park Community as Lucky Lane (The City of San Diego Official Documents, 2025)North Park's new Lucky Lane named in honor of community restaurant owner (M.G. Perez, NBC San Diego, 2025)
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    34 m
  • Blink-182, lucky breaks and the power of place

    Blink-182, lucky breaks and the power of place
    Aug 7 2025
    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 journalist Dan Ozzi, co-author of bassist Mark Hoppus' new memoir, "Fahrenheit 182," we revisit the band's early years and the lucky breaks that helped launch them, from skate videos to a last-minute drummer switch."There was kind of a Blink-182-shaped hole in pop culture at that time that they just came at the right place, right time and filled," Ozzi said.We also check in with emerging local acts at the North Park Music Fest, where bands like Peach Cooler are building community through live shows. Their stories spark bigger questions about selling out, staying local and what gets lost in an industry driven by algorithms and infinite playlists. In contrast, local music still offers something deeper: a sense of presence, a shared culture and the kind of connection that streaming can't replicate.Guests:Dan Ozzi, music journalist and bestselling authorPeach Cooler, indie pop band from San DiegoMusic heard in this episode:Blink-182 - "Fentoozler" (live at SOMA in San Diego, Oct. 7, 1994)Blink-182 - "Dammit" (live from "The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show" live album, 1999)Blink-182 - "Josie" (1997)Blink-182 - "Carousel" (live from Chicago, 2001)Blink-182 - "Lemmings" (1996 version, which appeared in "Good Times")Taylor Steele's "Good Times" (1996 surf movie that included "Lemmings")The Aquabats - "Super Rad" (1997)Travis Barker - "Violence" drum solo (live from MUSINK Festival in Costa Mesa, 2018)Blink-182 - "I Miss You" (live from Pepsi Smash concert series, 2004)Jawbreaker - "Accident Prone" (1995)Blink-182 - "All the Small Things" (live from Petco Park in San Diego, 2024)Blink-182 - "Feeling This" (2004)Peach Cooler - "Falling Forward" (Live at Capricorn Studios, 2025)Dan Ozzi's writings:"Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir" | A 2025 memoir by Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus, co-written with Dan Ozzi, blending personal stories, band history and reflections on life after cancer"Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore" | A 2021 nonfiction book by Dan Ozzi chronicling the major-label debuts of punk and emo bands between 1994 and 2007"Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout" | Laura Jane Grace's 2016 memoir about gender transition, punk rock life and the rise of her band Against Me!VICE | A media company that began as a punk magazine in the 1990s and expanded into digital journalism, video and documentariesMentioned in this episode:Blink-182 | San Diego pop-punk band made up of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker, whose catchy hooks and irreverent humor made them one of the most famous bands in the world, selling millions of albums and influencing generations of musiciansNorth Park Music Fest | Annual outdoor festival in San Diego's North Park neighborhood featuring local bands, food and craft beerSOMA | San Diego concert venue that has hosted punk, metal and alternative bands since the early 1990sSombrero | Mexican food chain in San Diego County, famously referenced in Blink-182's song "Josie"Enola Gay | U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, marking a turning point in World War II and the beginning of the nuclear ageNOFX | California punk band formed in the 1980s, recognized for fast tempos and political lyricsGreen Day | Grammy-winning punk band from Northern California whose breakthrough album, "Dookie" (1994), brought punk to mainstream audiencesPennywise | Los Angeles punk band known for its energetic live shows and socially conscious lyricsJawbreaker | San Francisco punk and emo band influential in shaping the 1990s underground sceneAgainst Me! | Florida punk band led by Laura Jane Grace, known for its raw sound, political themes and later groundbreaking exploration of gender identity in punk rockRick DeVoe | Longtime manager of Blink-182 and other action sports–associated bands, with deep ties to surf and skate culturePetco Park and the San Diego Padres | The Padres' home stadium, where Blink-182 songs are regularly played during gamesTony Hawk | A professional skateboarder from San Diego County whose career and lifestyle helped define modern skate culture, from competitions and video games to a global brand built around skateboardingSkate and surf brands | Labels like Airwalk, Volcom and Billabong that became staples of 1990s skateboarding and surfing style, often linked with punk rock cultureSources:Blink-182: A Timeline of the Band's History (Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 2023)100 Greatest Drummers of All Time (Christopher R. Weingarten, Jon Dolan, Matt Diehl, Ken Micallef, David Ma, Gareth Dylan Smith, Oliver Wang, Jason Heller, Jordan Runtagh, Hank Shteamer, Steve Smith, Brittany Spanos, Kory Grow, Rob Kemp, Keith Harris, Richard Gehr, Jon Wiederhorn, Maura Johnston, and Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 2016...
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    30 m
  • Romantasy rising: How a dismissed book genre became a publishing powerhouse

    Romantasy rising: How a dismissed book genre became a publishing powerhouse
    Jul 31 2025
    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 or overly indulgent, the genre is now being embraced by a new wave of fans, thanks in part to #BookTok, viral buzz and social commentary that touches on real-world issues through fantastical stories. On this episode of The Finest, we explore romantasy's rise, with roots in fan fiction, online communities and personal storytelling. We talk with San Diego authors, booksellers and fans, and hear from a professor who studies popular romance and romantasy fiction to understand what makes the genre so powerful — and why it's resonating so deeply across the culture. "This idea that romance trivializes is not new," says Netta Baker, an advanced instructor of English at Virginia Tech. "All the way back in the 18th century, Ann Radcliffe novels were thought to stir improper passions in young women."We also take you inside Comic-Con 2025, where romantasy panels drew some of the longest lines of the weekend, and unpack the genre's biggest misconceptions — that it's unserious, overly steamy or somehow not "real" fantasy. What we found instead was a powerful form of storytelling — one that reflects the real world, often giving women power and agency they don't always feel in daily life, and bringing thousands of people back to books.Romantasy might just surprise you.Guests:Netta Baker, Advanced Instructor of English at Virginia TechAdalyn Grace, #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling fantasy author of the "Belladonna" seriesKaylie Smith, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling dark fantasy romance author of the "Wicked Games" seriesComic-Con 2025 attendees we met during romantasy panels and signings, including Autumn Mitchell and JuliaBooks mentioned in this episode:"Flame and Thorns" by Marion Blackwood"A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas"Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer"A Curse Carved in Bone" by Danielle L. Jensen"Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James"Belladonna" by Adalyn Grace"Phantasma" by Kaylie Smith"A Hunger Like No Other" by Kresley Cole"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. MartinMentioned in this episode:Brandon Sanderson | Bestselling fantasy author whose influence helped shift perceptions around genre fictionAnne Radcliffe | 18th century gothic novelist whose work sparked early moral panic about women reading romanceHarlequins | Mass-market paperback romances, known for being inexpensive, widely available and foundational to how romance has been consumed and critiqued Fabio Lanzoni | Male model who became the iconic face of steamy romance covers in the '80s and '90sSources:What Is Romantasy, Anyway? (M. K. Lobb, Writer's Digest, 2024)Print Book Sales Fell 2.6% in 2023 (Jim Milliot, Publishing Weekly, 2024)Print Book Sales Saw a Small Sales Increase in 2024 (Jim Milliot, Publishing Weekly, 2025)These were the bestselling books of 2024. (Emily Temple, Lit Hub, 2025)Romantasy and BookTok driving a huge rise in science fiction and fantasy sales (Ella Creamer, The Guardian, 2025)How Dragons, Magic and Steamy Sex Took Over the Book World (Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Ellen Gamerman and Isabella Simonetti, The Wall Street Journal, 2024)The Power of BookTok: Why TikTok's Book Community Is Driving a New Era In Publishing (TikTok via Forbes, 2025)Erotica and Pornographby: A Clear and Present Difference (Gloria Steinem, Ms. magazine, 1978)Dragons and Sex Are Now a $610 Million Business Sweeping Publishing (Ella Ceron, Bloomberg, 2024)Federal Data on Reading for Pleasure: All Signs Show a Slump (Sunil Iyengar, National Endowment for the Arts, 2024)What Helps Stress, Your Mood and Brain Health? Books (Ari Cofer, Right as Rain by UW Medicine, 2024)Does reading fiction make us better people? (Claudia Hammond, BBC, 2019)
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    36 m
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