I’m not giving KPBS Radio a dime

No way with words

Hold off giving to the incessant fund-raising of KPBS Public Radio 89.5 FM which has been interrupting scheduled programming for the last two weeks in its chronic bid for listener bucks (“Back of KPBS line – A Way With Words, Fresh Air, Lawrence Welk” News Ticker, July 27).

KPBS management, uniquely affiliated with San Diego State University, clandestinely has been cutting high-quality programs while purporting to continue to offer first-rate educational content to its audience. I’m not giving KPBS Radio a dime, and you shouldn’t either — not until they restore two longstanding excellent informative programs, “A Way with Words” and Terry Gross’ “Fresh Air.”

Both shows quietly were cut from the station’s roster last summer, as reported in the Reader. (It is common political practice to hide unflattering deeds from public scrutiny by releasing news during dog days of summer or between Christmas and New Year’s.) I missed Reader reporter Ken Leighton’s July 29 story on this subject and there was not a single comment about it at the time.

Recently, “Giving Tuesday” gave me a reason to Google where these public radio shows had gone. “A Way with Words,” a successful home-grown educational and amusing call-in show about English language usage and expression, was disgracefully relegated from Saturday mid-afternoons to the listener graveyard of 5 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Even worse, highly-respected long-running “Fresh Air,” was axed entirely. The show, produced in Philadelphia, featured moderator Terry Gross interviewing writers, artists, musicians and public figures. Portentously some years ago,“Fresh Air” had been downgraded at KPBS from weekday afternoons to evenings at 8 p.m. Boycott KPBS Public Radio until “Fresh Air” and “A Way with Words” are reinstated. The community deserves it.

monaghan

Animae’s beefy booze

Seriously? Bourbon infused with beef fat? Just from an environmental and cost perspective this is absurd (“A5 old fashioned: Wagyu fat-washed bourbon,” Downtown San Diego, November 15). I commend the idea of using multiple “parts”, but the carbon footprint and expense of importing Wagyu beef really smacks if the face of climate change. And the damage done to the environment by feeding and raising cattle has been documented to be enormous. And the ethical concern of eating animals just makes this drink offensive.

Yes, calling it “beefy” is a put-off. I feel we all need to be a bit more thoughtful and a lot more responsible for our Earth and other living beings. This drink just seems a bit too indulgent for our times. By the way, this is the first letter I have ever written to the Reader! The topic was so offensive, I had to say something.

Stacie Canan

La Jolla