Unpacked In Santa Cruz

Mike Howard
  • 4.8 (10)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

"Unpacked in Santa Cruz" is a homegrown podcast hosted by Michael Howard that dives into the lives, stories, and salty moments of people who call this coastal community home—or have been shaped by it in some way. Whether it's a deep conversation with local surfers opening up about mental health, or a peek behind the curtain of someone who started a one-of-a-kind food spot right here in town, every episode brings something real. You’ll hear from folks who found healing behind the lens, built businesses from scratch, or chased massive waves thanks to a lifetime spent around our local waters. These aren’t just interviews—they’re conversations that reflect the heart and soul of Santa Cruz. Raw, reflective, and rooted in community, Unpacked in Santa Cruz brings local voices to the surface.

  1. Sep 24

    Episode 96: Bobby Ladesma: What Do We Owe The Places That Made Us And How Do We Interpret What’s Next?

    Santa Cruz can feel like paradise and pressure at the same time. I’m sitting down with Bob Ledesma, a longtime Santa Cruz surfboard shaper who has watched the town transform from a place where surfers were outsiders to a place everyone wants to claim. We talk honestly about that weird mix of love and concern: the world-class coastline, the daily ritual of checking the ocean, and the reality that it is getting harder and harder to survive here, let alone own a piece of it. Bob takes us into the shaping bay and into the apprenticeship culture that built Santa Cruz surfboards. We dig into mentors, process, and why hand-shaped boards still matter even in the CNC era. We also get real about money: why even elite-level craftsmanship often cannot pay the bills, how painting work supports the art, and what it costs to help young surfers with boards, blanks, and time. If you care about surfboard design, the surfer-shaper relationship, and the hunt for a true “magic board,” there’s a lot here for you. From there, the conversation opens up into surf culture, gentrification, and the modern lineup. We wrestle with localism, entitlement, and what respect used to look like in the water without romanticizing the violence that came with it. We close on something deeper than surfing: aging parents, the questions we wait too long to ask, nostalgia for uncrowded sessions, and Bob’s core value of kindness even when it would be easier to harden up. If this resonates, subscribe to Unpacked And Santa Cruz, share it with a friend who loves Santa Cruz surfing, and leave a review with your take on what respect and community should look like now.

  2. Sep 10

    Episode 95: Joe Schirmer: Where Politics Meets Policy Around The Dinner Table, And How A “Pulling Up Your Bootstraps” Mentality Says Nothing To Our Realities Around The Food We Eat

    Dead seals on the beach. Algae blooms in the bay. Nitrates in wells. A heat wave that can ruin a tomato crop before you even see the damage. We record a raw, grounded conversation with Santa Cruz farmer Joe Schirmer about the real cost of feeding people, and why so many farmers are carrying a level of stress that the rest of us rarely see. We start with the mental health crisis in agriculture, including farmer suicide, anxiety, and the identity trap that comes with generational work and “man up” expectations. From there we dig into the economics of farming: scaling pressure, thin margins, unpredictable yields, and the way consolidation rewards large agribusiness while smaller operations absorb more risk. We also talk politics without the usual shouting, including how misleading labels and misinformation keep people distracted from the practical levers that matter: regulation, incentives, and smarter policy. A huge part of the episode is the Farm Bill and SNAP. When SNAP benefits get cut, it is not an abstract budget line. It is fewer groceries for families, less fresh food at farmers markets, and real revenue lost for local farms. Joe breaks down how EBT works at markets, why Market Match programs matter, and how food assistance dollars circulate right back into the community. We also tackle fertilizer, petrochemical dependence, and the difference between organic farming and regenerative agriculture, including why standards matter if we want cleaner water and healthier soil. If you care about food security, organic produce, sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and making sense of what your grocery dollars actually do, this one is for you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who buys the food in your house, and leave a review with your take: what is one policy or one buying habit you would change first?

  3. Sep 1

    Episode 94: Chapter XVII: Our Tower of Babel: Politics, AI, Algorithms, and The Separation That Only Common Language Can Bring

    We have a shared language, so why does it feel like we cannot talk anymore? I step into a solo, personal soliloquy about the post-COVID shift I see everywhere: families avoiding hard topics, friends splitting into factions, and everyday conversations turning into coded arguments about money and politics. I use the Tower of Babel as a modern metaphor not to preach, but to name the feeling that we built something too big to understand, and now we live inside the confusion.  From there, I trace a straight line through American capitalism and the rise of capital markets: the shift from making things to money making money, and how that quietly shapes stress, status, and what we think “doing well” even means. I also talk about how media incentives and political polarization keep us focused on noise while the most significant conversation, how the economic system actually gets repaired, rarely happens in public. A small but telling example shows up in a lifeguard rescue that should have united us, yet gets turned into another loyalty test online.  Then we get into AI, and I say the quiet part out loud: I do not think AI is the problem. The incentives and the people steering it might be. Social media algorithms are the first wave of AI most of us experienced, and when you combine echo chambers with COVID-era depression and isolation, it becomes harder to think clearly and easier to mirror whatever is pushed at us. My takeaway is practical and human: find better mirrors in real conversations, stay curious, and keep one more seat at the table.  If this connects with you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who misses real dialogue, and leave a review so more people can find it. What is one conversation you want to have better this week?

  4. Aug 21

    Episode 93: Shari: Santa Cruz Feels Like Home When The World Feels Loud; Math, Microchips, and What If The Antidote To Fear of AI Is Being Human

    Santa Cruz has a way of changing your breathing. When Shari talks about coming home and catching the first smell of the ocean, you can hear what she means: peace isn’t a concept, it’s a physical shift. From there we go deep fast. Shari is a math PhD who’s taught everywhere from middle school classrooms to NYU, and she makes a case that math is an art form, a pattern language you can spot in waves, leaves, and the messy order of real life.  Then we step into the world powering all of our screens: the semiconductor industry. Shari leads workforce development work across the US, Europe, and Asia, and the scale is wild. We talk about what a semiconductor is, why the CHIPS and Science Act is reshaping American manufacturing, and why the biggest challenge isn’t just facilities or funding, it’s talent. She breaks down what actually helps people enter these careers: earn and learn programs, apprenticeships, and wraparound services that make training possible for people who’ve been shut out of opportunity.  AI disruption sits in the background of everything, and we don’t treat it like a buzzword. We talk fear, uncertainty, and what happens when efficiency becomes the only goal. The thread we keep returning to is simple: if the world is going to get more digital, we have to get more human. We end on what creates hope right now: kids finding their way, gratitude for small goodness, time in the ocean, and the daily discipline of movement as a mental health lifeline. If you get something from this conversation, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.

  5. Jul 31

    Episode 92: Benjamin Pink: Water, Home, And The Future Of Santa Cruz-What Happens When There's No More Fat On The Bone

    Water debates get loud fast, but the real story is quieter and more practical: who plans the supply, who forecasts demand, and what a community does when the next drought hits. We’re back in Santa Cruz talking with Ben Pink, a longtime water resources planner who’s worked across public utilities, private utilities, and regional agencies. He walks us through the day-to-day reality of water conservation programs, long-range water supply planning, and why the numbers matter more than the headlines. We dig into California water management from multiple angles: the old Northern vs Southern California tensions, the way growth and housing get blamed on water even when high-density development can reduce per-capita use, and the policy shifts that are changing what we see in our neighborhoods, like AB 1572 and the phase-out of watering non-functional turf with potable water. Ben also explains “demand hardening” the uncomfortable idea that if a place like Santa Cruz already conserves aggressively, the next drought can be even harder because there’s no slack left. Then we go deep on modern solutions that are already here: groundwater recharge, aquifer storage, and advanced purified recycled water, including projects like Pure Water Soquel that help fight seawater intrusion while building drought resilience. We even widen the lens to the water footprint of data centers and semiconductor expansion in arid regions tied to the Colorado River. If you care about drought planning, water conservation, recycled water, and the future of sustainable cities, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who always argues about water, and leave a review with your biggest question about where your water should come from next.

  6. Jul 16

    Episode 91: Coaches Corner With Coach Stephan: A Conversation About Learning to Adapt to New Dynamics and Demands For Coaching Resilience in Our Young Men

    Your team is down a few runs and you can feel the dugout quitting, not loudly, but quietly. That moment is where youth baseball stops being a game and starts being a mirror, and it’s where Stephan and I spend most of our time in this conversation. We talk about what it’s like coaching in Santa Cruz, how Stephan's love of baseball started as a kid watching the Yankees with his dad, and how a sport built on failure can create real resilience. We also unpack why Stephan coaches now: the kids who walk in with low confidence and leave with a new posture, a new calm, and proof that hard work changes them. Along the way, we get into the gritty realities of youth sports culture, from parent dynamics to players who don’t actually want to be coached. Then we go deeper on the stuff coaches wrestle with every week: how “gentle parenting” can drift into coaching, why tough coaching is not the same as being mean, and why accountability is a form of care. We debate the difference between sore, hurt, and injured, and how “something hurts” can become an exit ramp when pressure hits. We also take on travel ball, bad reps, and why “more training” can backfire if the coaching quality and the development plan are not there. If you care about youth baseball coaching, player development, mental toughness, and raising confident kids, you’ll get a lot out of this one. Subscribe, share it with a coach or parent who needs it, and leave a review with your take: what should coaches expect from kids, and what do kids deserve from coaches?

  7. Jul 15

    Episode 90: “Coaches Corner" With Todd Kent: Above the Line-Below the Line But Make No Mistake. The Line is Expectations: Ted Lasso Energy With Real World Consequences

    Pressure has a way of telling the truth, and not just in sports. I sit down with veteran coach Todd Kent to talk about what pressure reveals on the jiu jitsu mats, in a locker room, and at home when life is heavy. We start with Santa Cruz as a place, the sunsets, the beach-as-backyard years, and the strange beauty of finding community through a handful of circles that don’t always overlap.  Then we go deeper into mindset and leadership. Todd breaks down how Brazilian jiu jitsu becomes a real-time lab for failure, fatigue, and decision-making, and why that “controlled discomfort” can change how you show up in marriage, parenting, and your own mental health. We also unpack the coaching work that isn’t visible on a scoreboard: building trust with athletes, staying consistent, creating an environment where people can fail safely, and still demanding growth.  The heart of this conversation is grief and authenticity. Todd shares what it was like coaching a historically successful UC Santa Cruz season while his father was dying, and how grief reshaped his view of judgment, legacy, and what success even means. We connect that to Ted Lasso culture, the difference between being nice and being kind, and why humility matters as much as technical knowledge.  If you care about Santa Cruz community, youth sports coaching, women’s basketball, leadership under pressure, or navigating grief without losing yourself, this one will stay with you. Subscribe, share this with a coach or parent who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

  8. Jul 9

    Episode 89: Bonnie Carver: The “Shadow Type A” Culture We Live In and The Art of Choosing People in Your Now

    A relaxed coastal town can still be filled with competition, loneliness, and people craving connection, and that tension runs through our talk with Bonnie Carver. Bonnie is 81, a longtime teacher and watercolor artist, and someone I’ve watched choose presence for decades. We start with what Santa Cruz means as you age, how Watsonville feels different, and why “home” is sometimes less about the address and more about what you decide to carry inside yourself. Bonnie shares her path from Buffalo, New York to California, her early experiments with the hippie back-to-the-land dream, and the unexpected pivot into education. We get specific about adult education, teaching ESL in a farm community, and what it’s like to sit with students who work punishing hours, risked everything to get here, and still show up grateful to learn. Those stories put real faces on immigration, labor, and the quiet resilience that keeps families moving forward. We also dig into creativity without the fantasy. Bonnie breaks down the unglamorous truth of watercolor: mechanics matter, discipline matters, and most attempts won’t “work” the way you hoped. That’s not failure; it’s the process. From there we land on something bigger: listening as a practice, the courage to be known, and the small daily choices that protect us from the kind of isolation technology can’t fix. If you care about community, Santa Cruz and Watsonville culture, adult education, ESL, creativity, aging with purpose, or building real friendships, this one will stick with you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find the show.

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

"Unpacked in Santa Cruz" is a homegrown podcast hosted by Michael Howard that dives into the lives, stories, and salty moments of people who call this coastal community home—or have been shaped by it in some way. Whether it's a deep conversation with local surfers opening up about mental health, or a peek behind the curtain of someone who started a one-of-a-kind food spot right here in town, every episode brings something real. You’ll hear from folks who found healing behind the lens, built businesses from scratch, or chased massive waves thanks to a lifetime spent around our local waters. These aren’t just interviews—they’re conversations that reflect the heart and soul of Santa Cruz. Raw, reflective, and rooted in community, Unpacked in Santa Cruz brings local voices to the surface.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Howard
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    92
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Unpacked In Santa Cruz
  • Show Website
    Unpacked In Santa Cruz

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