Fresno's Best

Jordan Mattox
  • 4.7 (32)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

An interview podcast highlighting interesting people doing important work in Fresno. https://linktr.ee/fresnosbest

  1. 1d ago

    Elizabeth Camarena and Linda Renland, People on the Move Film Series

    How do you change the way a community talks about immigration? Elizabeth Camarena and Linda Renland think one answer is a great documentary with a side of pupusas. In this episode of Fresno’s Best, Jordan talks with two founders of the People On The Move Film Series. It’s a volunteer-run series that screens films about migration in Fresno and pairs each one with a panel and food. Elizabeth is a longtime immigration attorney who represented asylum seekers. Linda is a Norwegian-born migrant who has worked with refugees and immigrants across the Central Valley. They share: How the series started after a Maria Hinojosa talk at the Tower Theatre, just before the 2024 election, and grew into a first screening of All We Carry in January 2025 that drew more than 200 people Why they choose films that move past the simple “trauma to rescue” storyline, from the Afghan-refugee comedy Fremont to documentaries where the subjects help tell their own stories What film offers that books don’t: hearing people’s own voices, sharing the experience with a room full of neighbors, and having something in common to talk about afterward Their favorite places to eat in Fresno Next screening: Mujer Mariposa, a documentary about three daughters of refugees and immigrants caught between cultures, languages, and generations. It’s on Wednesday, October 22, at Fresno City College. Doors open at 5:30 PM with food (pupusas, lumpia, and samosas), and the film starts at 6:00 PM. Afterward there’s a panel with the director, the cinematographer, and one of the women in the film, moderated by Dr. Kat Fortier of Fresno State. The event is free, with free parking, and all ages are welcome. Reserve tickets on Eventbrite and follow @peopleonthemovefilmseries on Instagram.

  2. 5d ago

    Alexa Teal Green, Director of Engagement and Events at KVPR

    Alexa Teal Green grew up in Fresno, left for UC Irvine, and spent nearly a decade in Los Angeles and the Bay Area working in comedy, tech marketing, and corporate events before COVID brought her home. Now she leads events and engagement at KVPR. She and Jordan talk about: coming back to Fresno and bringing corporate skills to smaller organizations what engagement really means how to measure success beyond clicks and RSVPs why "copy and paste" events from bigger markets fall flat here free versus paid events, with lessons from booking bands at Goldstein's Porchfest's risks, boundaries, and future KVPR is holding an open house on Tuesday, October 6, from 5 to 7 PM at its Clovis broadcast center, celebrating 10 years in a building funded entirely by supporter donations. Admission is free, and there will be food trucks, studio tours, and the chance to meet the on-air voices.

  3. Sep 28

    Vince Mancini, The Future of Fresno's Food Journalism

    Vince Mancini is back on Fresno's Best to talk about food.  Vince has been covering food for Fresnoland, and his reporting on Bulle, the city's buzzy new fine-dining spot, set off one of the more heated local food fights in recent memory. He went in to write a review, liked the food, and then started hearing from employees about bounced paychecks and unpaid vendors. The pushback that followed raises the question at the center of this episode: does "backing Fresno" mean staying quiet when a local business goes wrong? We dig into a widely shared post arguing that critics should give struggling businesses room to make things right, and ask who's left out of that argument, starting with the workers. We also get into: Whether food influencers are really just unlabeled ad agencies, and why they all have to chew directly at the camera Why chasing "the best" is ruining restaurants, and the case that a great burger stops being a burger The gutting The Fresno Bee and what's left of local reporting The different economies in the comment secitons Rotten Tomatoes, review slop, and why reviews need real voices again

  4. Sep 21

    Jeff Hammerschmidt, Criminal Defense Attorney and Candidate for Fresno County Superior Court Judge

    Judicial elections are some of the hardest races to vote in — nonpartisan, low-information, and easy to skip. In this episode, Jordan Mattox sits down with Jeff Hammerschmidt, a candidate for Fresno County Superior Court judge, to cut through that and get at how he actually thinks. A former Fresno DA prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney, Jeff brings experience from nearly every seat in the courtroom. Jordan and Jeff dig into what really separates a superior court judge from the law-making justices we see on TV, why a consistent temperament matters more than any single courtroom style, and what "following the law" means in the fact-specific, human moments where a judge still has real discretion. Along the way: judicial and mental health diversion, juvenile justice and Prop 57, court backlogs and respecting people's time, the judges who shaped his sense of the craft, and a few stories from the DA's office that reveal how he weighs a close call. Plus the usual — his favorite Fresno spots and a couple of book recommendations to send you off. This is also a companion to our conversation with Jeff's opponent, Jose Salazar — listen to both to hear how the two candidates approach the same questions and decide for yourself which one fits the bench you want. To learn more about the candidate, search "Jeff Hammerschmidt for Judge."

  5. Sep 14

    Wayne Stonecipher, Founder of Central California Tiki

    There's no tiki bar in Fresno — yet — but there's a thriving tiki community, and Wayne Stonecipher was instrumental in building it. Wayne is the founder of Central California Tiki, the group he started around 2018 that has grown from four friends making drinks out of the Smuggler's Cove book into a community of well over a thousand members celebrating "tiki escapism" across Central California, from the Grapevine to the Delta. The group hosts meetups throughout the valley and puts on the Central California Tiki Marketplace beside Bakersfield's Tiki-Ko and The Sinking Ship, drawing dozens of carvers, artists, and vendors from all over California. In this episode, host and Wayne cover the origins of tiki culture (Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic, and the secret numbered rum recipes), the difference between celebration and appropriation, what actually defines a tiki cocktail, the great Mai Tai and Painkiller debates, how to design a transporting home bar, and a fast round of tiki "overrated vs. underrated." They also dig into what a distinctly Central Valley tiki scene could look like — think "tree to glass" cocktails built on the region's incredible citrus and agriculture — plus Wayne's essential book recommendations and a tease about the tiki bar finally coming to Fresno. Find Central California Tiki at centralcaliforniatiki.com and on Instagram and Facebook @centralcaliforniatiki.

  6. Sep 7

    Jose Salazar, Candidate for Fresno County Superior Court Judge and Senior Defense Attorney

    Jordan Mattox sits down with Jose Salazar, a senior defense attorney on the major crimes team at the Fresno County Public Defender's Office and a candidate for Fresno County Superior Court judge. Born and raised in Sanger in a family of immigrants, Jose traces his path from Central Valley high school football and debate to Berkeley, UC Hastings law school, and over a decade defending some of the most serious cases in Fresno Superior Court. The conversation ranges widely: why people are drawn to public defense, what voters should actually look for in a judicial candidate, and how a trial judge balances applying the law, exercising discretion, and managing a courtroom. Jordan and Jose dig into the mechanics of California's elected judiciary, court backlogs and the resources problem behind them, continuances and plea deals, juvenile justice and adolescent brain development, homelessness, and judicial temperament. Jose also lays out the one issue he says sets him apart — his public-policy stance on ICE agents in the courthouse — framing it as a matter of public safety, court access, and fairness for the underserved communities that built the Central Valley. The episode closes with Jose's case for why he's the right candidate, a nod to fatherhood and family (including the story behind his youngest son's middle name), and his book recommendations: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Jose's campaign fundraiser is Wednesday, September 9th, from 5:30 to 7:30 at Sumner Fox Brewery in the Tower District — all ages welcome. You can find him on Instagram and Facebook at JoseSalazarForJudge, or at joseSalazarForJudge.com. Election Day is November 3rd.

  7. Aug 21

    Meahgan McCready, Aerial Performer and Instructor and Adjunct Psychology Professor

    Meaghan McCready spends half her life suspended in the air and the other half at the front of a psychology classroom — and on this episode she makes the case that the two aren't as far apart as they seem. Host Jordan Mattox talks with Meaghan about her path into aerial arts, from a spur-of-the-moment sign-up at Fulton 55 to a decade of teaching silks, sling, and lyra at her downtown studio. They dig into the mechanics and myths of the "art sport": just how much you can trust a strip of nylon, why the muscles that matter most aren't the ones you'd guess, the burns and bruises that come with the territory, and how social media and body-type expectations have reshaped the craft. Meaghan also opens up about how aerial — and the trust it demands — helped carry her through her own struggles with depression. On the psychology side, they get into the messy state of the field today: wellness influencers, self-diagnosis, ChatGPT as a stand-in therapist, and the grind of adjunct life across three Valley colleges. Plus a round of Overrated or Underrated, a detour through downtown Fresno and the Tower District, and a couple of closing book recommendations. Curious about trying aerial yourself? Meaghan teaches at the Sun Stereo Warehouse in downtown Fresno and performs with Central Valley Cirque. Books mentioned: The Science of Revenge by James Kimmel Jr. The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why by Amanda Ripley

  8. Aug 10

    Cactus Harris, Organist, Keyboardist, Educator, and Dean of San Joaquin Valley chapter of the American Guild of Organists

    Organist, conductor, and educator Cactus Harris joins Jordan to make the case that the pipe organ is anything but boring. From teaching himself accordion out of his mother's closet to commanding the 1928 Robert Morton theater organ at Warnors, Cactus traces a winding path through saxophone, keyboards, and a master's in conducting. He and Jordan dig into the instrument's unexpected origins, the misconceptions that keep people away, and why he believes there's a far bigger audience for the organ in Fresno than most people assume. In this episode Cactus and Jordan open with the best hole-in-the-wall food out by Fresno State before getting into the accordion's underrated versatility, the surprisingly rowdy battlefield origins of the pipe organ, and how it migrated into churches and later silent-film theaters. They cover organ technique and the notorious "octopus" coordination it demands, the terraced versus swell dynamics of different instruments, and a spirited round of overrated versus underrated (harpsichord, Wayne Newton, Me-n-Ed's crust, and more). From there the conversation turns to the Robert Morton organ at Warnors — what makes it special, what a museum-quality restoration would cost, and Cactus's vision for bringing new audiences in — before closing on arts funding, Measure P, and the challenge of defining what art is worth funding in Fresno. Book recommendations Liza with a Z / Liza Minnelli's recent memoir (co-created with Michael Feinstein) — a fun read for anyone into Broadway and show-biz history The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis — a summer re-read Cactus is working through with his kids

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4.7
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

An interview podcast highlighting interesting people doing important work in Fresno. https://linktr.ee/fresnosbest

Information

  • Creator
    Jordan Mattox
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    182
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2021
  • Show Website
    Fresno's Best

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