KAZU 90.3 Welcomes SideBar: Optimism in Action Podcast

KAZU 90.3 radio and SideBarMedia are excited to announce that the SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast will join KAZU’s digital programming on “kazu.org”.

MONTEREY, CA, UNITED STATES, October 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- KAZU 90.3 radio and SideBarMedia are excited to announce a new collaboration that will add the SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast to KAZU’s digital programming on the station's website (www.kazu.org/sidebar). KAZU is the NPR affiliate station for Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz. Starting Tuesday, October 21, 2025, the SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast - sponsored by Monterey College of Law, a long-standing nonprofit sponsor of KAZU 90.3 radio - will become the first non-newscast, locally produced podcast featured on the KAZU website and mobile application.

SideBar: Optimism in Action is cohosted by former law deans Mitch Winick and Jackie Gardina, produced by David Eakin, a local theater composer, media consultant, and podcast producer, and promoted by Dena Dowsett, social media specialist. “The podcast features nonprofit leaders, advocates, and community members who represent extraordinary work that is improving the humanitarian, public policy, and charitable needs of our local, national, and global communities,” explained Winick. “Our focus this season is on the amazing individuals who are pursuing positive change during challenging times,” said Gardina.

“The Optimism in Action theme of this podcast is exactly the type of positive messaging that we want to support here at KAZU and that our community, and frankly, our nation, wants to hear more about,” reflected Dan Larkin, the new General Manager of KAZU.

“We also know that expanding our digital programming with unique podcast programs such as SideBar: Optimism in Action broadens the range of current topics we can cover and expands our potential KAZU listener base,” said Larkin. "According to industry statistics, there are currently more than 150 million podcast listeners per month in the US, a growing number representing over 50% of the adult and teen population. The statistics also show that there is a significant crossover between radio listeners and podcast audiences and vice versa," noted Dena Dowsett, SideBar's social media specialist. “This is a clear message that adding high-quality and interesting podcast content to our radio programming is what listeners want,” added Larkin.

In discussing the motivation behind their podcast, Winick and Gardina said, “We believe that during these challenging times for many individuals and communities, SideBar: Optimism in Action highlights the outstanding work being done by individuals and organizations that are stepping up to meet the needs of their neighbors. We also hope that these stories have the potential to inspire our listeners and followers to get involved as donors and volunteers where they see need in their own community.”

SideBar’s first season started in November 2022 on The Legal Talk Network and focused on discussions related to protecting constitutional and individual rights. However, at the start of season three in January 2025, cohosts Winick and Gardina believed that given the broader challenges being faced across so many communities, it was important to redirect the podcast’s narrative and provide a more optimistic program that focuses on the problem-solvers, rather than the problems. "This change from primarily law and policy issues to addressing broader community needs, such as food insecurity, healthcare equity, elder care, youth job training, volunteerism, and private donor community initiatives, inspired a transition from being hosted on The Legal Talk Network to collaborating with KAZU, our local NPR affiliate," said Winick.

“To relocate our podcast's home base and have the opportunity to contribute to our regional NPR affiliate station's digital content is a dream come true,” said Gardina. “At a time when it is becoming more difficult to find trusted information sources, KAZU continues to be where listeners go on a local, as well as national basis, to find the news and stories that they trust. KAZU has provided that resource here in the Monterey Bay region for almost 50 years,” noted SideBar producer/composer and long-time Monterey Bay resident David Eakin. "As a long-time supporter of KAZU and sponsor of SideBar: Optimism in Action, Monterey College of Law is very excited about this new collaboration," added MCL Dean Elizabeth Xyr. "KAZU and our law school share a long-standing reputation of being trusted and respected by our local communities. This is a great fit." MCL is a nonprofit, opportunity law school with campus locations in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Santa Rosa, and a hybrid online program serving Northern California.

As a community radio station operated by the University Corporation of California State University Monterey Bay, KAZU programming includes twenty-four-hour “over-the-air” broadcasts and digital platforms that provide a vital service to the listening community. The station’s programming includes its website, “kazu.org”, as well as its mobile application and NPR's mobile application. For national and international news, KAZU incorporates programming from NPR, BBC World News, PRI (Public Radio International), and APM (American Public Media). KAZU also has long-standing collaborations with NPR and other NPR member stations, including KQED in San Francisco, KXJZ in Sacramento, and KCBX in San Luis Obispo. As a result of these collaborative relationships, KAZU successfully provides its listeners with relevant news and feature stories from the Central Coast, the State’s Capitol in Sacramento, and other key locations throughout California. KAZU programming includes many of the award-winning and popular NPR programs, such as BBC World Service, Morning Edition, 1A, Here and Now, On Point, Fresh Air, Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me, TED Radio Hour, This American Life, All Things Considered, and Marketplace. Many of these programs are available through radio, mobile applications, and podcasts.

New episodes of SideBar: Optimism in Action are published on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Starting October 21, 2025, new episodes will be available at www.kazu.org/sidebar. To learn more about law dean cohosts Jackie Gardina and Mitch Winick, read our blog, and to preview and listen to more than 70 previous episodes, go to SideBarMedia at www.sidebarmedia.org.

Mitchel Winick
SideBarMedia LLC
+1 831-241-8999
mlwinick@gmail.com

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