Big Blend Radio

It's October in California's Sequoia Country, and there's a lot going on. On this month's "California Sequoia Country" episode with the Sequoia Tourism Council, Big Blend Radio host Lisa D. Smith is joined by Holly Streit of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Suzanne Bianco of Visit Visalia to kick off fall.
The episode starts with an anniversary: on October 1st, 1890, General Grant National Park was established to protect the General Grant Tree, the second largest tree in the world and the nation's only dedicated living shrine to service members. Holly explains how that four-acre park became part of Kings Canyon, what's closing for the season at Cedar Grove and Mineral King, and how the park's December wreath ceremony at the nation's Christmas tree works. It's also bear season, so Holly shares what to do if you see one, including keeping 50 yards back and storing food and scented items properly, and why fallen sequoias and dead trees matter to the forest. Plus, October 27th is a fee-free day for Teddy Roosevelt's birthday.
Then Suzanne walks through October in Visalia and Tulare County: the Tulare Crush Party on October 9th, the Exeter Fall Festival on October 10th and the downtown Scarecrow Contest, Visalia Pride, Books & Brews and the Taste The Arts street festival on the weekend of October 17th, and the Sequoia Symphony playing Pirates of the Caribbean at the Fox Theater. You'll also hear about Cosmic Creeps at the Planetarium on October 23rd, the city's Halloween house map, mini pumpkindishes at the Vintage Press, a few ghost stories, and a visit to the Tulare County Museum for Global Diversity Awareness Month.
Plan your visit and get more information:- Discover the Sequoias: https://www.discoverthesequoias.com - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/seki - Visit Visalia: https://www.visitvisalia.com - New Sequoia Tourism Council episodes air every first Thursday: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/california-s-sequoia-country-podcast 

Mexican-American author Leslie Adame joins Big Blend Radio for Global Diversity Awareness Month to talk about her middle-grade fantasy series following Chloe Vega, a twelve-year-old from East LA whose biggest fear is that her undocumented parents will be taken away — until she discovers her family belongs to a secret magical society, and that she has powers of her own.
The first book, "Chloe Vega and the Agents of Magic," is out now. The second, "Chloe Vega and the Missing Unseen," arrives October 6, 2026 from HarperCollins Children's.
In this conversation, Leslie talks about building a magic academy that blends cultures from across the Americas, the family moment of holding her first physical book, a reader story about a niece whose father is in detainment, the boundaries of writing about real immigration issues for kids, and her upcoming book tour.
Leslie's website: https://leslieadame.com Instagram & Substack: @leslieadameTikTok: @lesliepadame 

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Nature Connection" Podcast, host/producer Lisa D. Smith talks with clean energy executive Jared Schoch, founder and chairman of TurningPoint Energy and author of "Solar Coaster: The Untold Story of the Solar Industry, One Man's Journey Leading with Soul" (Regalo Press, November 10, 2026). 
Jared has spent more than two decades in the industry and has managed more than 3 gigawatts of projects representing over $5 billion in solar and energy efficiency investments.
The conversation starts with what a gigawatt means in terms of homes, then looks at why solar took so long to take hold in the U.S. From there it moves to how AI data centers are straining the grid, why Jared says solar and wind can be built faster than gas or nuclear, and how battery storage is changing what solar can do. They also cover small solar plants near cities, agrivoltaics, what happens to old batteries, why crypto and data center companies are asking for solar, and what the dot-com crash can teach us about a possible AI bubble.
Along the way, Jared explains why he says the industry has to adapt to survive and why it takes purpose as well as profit. He also shares that he isn't making money from the book. He says every dollar he earns earn goes to charity, supporting environmental causes, poverty relief, education, and spiritual growth. Jared will be back on Big Blend Radio in November to go deeper on the book.
Visit & Pre-order: https://SolarCoasterProject.com 

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "Before They Vanish" Podcast, explorer and author James Michael Dorsey returns to talk about the gray whales he has spent decades getting to know in Baja's San Ignacio Lagoon, and about his book, "The Lagoon: Encounters with the Whales of San Ignacio." Once hunted to the edge of extinction, these forty-ton animals now swim right up to the boats to be petted, and James explains why he calls the lagoon the only place on earth where wild animals in their natural habitat routinely seek out human contact.
James traces his love of whales to a sea kayaking trip in British Columbia in 1996, when a pod of three orcas swam close enough to touch, and to his first trip to Baja in 1998. He describes hearing whales through the hull of a kayak, how gray whales navigate the coast without echolocation, and how the lagoon works as a nursery where mothers train their calves and then bring them to the boats to play.
The conversation also covers the challenges the whales face, including warming waters, starvation, ship strikes, and the need for stronger protections. It also covers Mexico's protection of the lagoon, the difference between whales and dolphins, whether a whale could really swallow a person, why whales don't belong in captivity, and a whale-human connection that reaches back at least ten thousand years.RESOURCE LINKS: - Get the book: https://JamesMichaelDorseyAuthor.com/books/the-lagoon-encounters-with-the-whales-of-san-ignacio-james-michael-dorsey/9781635768428- Travel with James: https://www.BajaEcoTours.com/- Enjoy more episodes of Before They Vanish: https://www.BigBlendMediaHouse.com/p/before-they-vanish-podcast- Learn more about James: https://JamesMichaelDorseyAuthor.com/

September is National Preparedness Month, and getting your paperwork in order is part of being ready. Estate planning attorney Lauren Corman joins Lisa D. Smith on Big Blend Radio to break down wills vs. trusts, how to avoid probate, powers of attorney and health care directives, protecting a business, and the everyday details families overlook, like titling assets and storing passwords.
In this conversation:- Wills vs. trusts, and why California probate is costly and slow- Protecting founders, startups, and business owners- Naming successor trustees and backups- Why a trust only works if your assets are titled in it- Guardians for your kids, handwritten wills, and the no-contest clause- Originals, safe deposit boxes, and documenting your belongings- Health care directives, passwords, and digital accounts
About Lauren T. Corman: Lauren is the Managing Attorney at the Corman Law Offices, a boutique estate planning firm serving individuals, families, and business owners in Santa Cruz, San Jose, and the greater Bay Area. She is a California Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. 
📥 FREE ESTATE PLANNING CHECKLIST: Download it at https://www.cormanlaw.net. It appears in a popup on the home page, and no email is required.

In honor of World Tourism Day, we're at Tiffany's Bed & Breakfast in Bismarck, Arkansas with innkeeper Tiffany Bertram for this Big Blend Radio Success Insider — a stop we make every year, and one that happens to sit right on the historic Jefferson Highway.
Tiffany takes us through her whole path into hospitality: a hotel management degree from UNLV, working her way up from housekeeping to general manager, and a career that carried her through six cities and multiple hotel brands before she and her husband Bob bought a Hot Springs-area bed and breakfast twenty-some years ago — a purchase she almost talked herself out of ("No one would go there").
We get into what actually separates a bed and breakfast from an Airbnb, the daily headaches of online travel agencies, and how AI is already reshaping the back end of small hospitality businesses. Tiffany also shares one of her favorite guest story (the couple with no TV in their room), and her hospitality-adjacent dream job. Plus: the history behind Hot Springs' bathhouses, gangsters, and 4,000-year-old spring water.
Tiffany answers our 10-question Success Insider Q&A too — check it out here:  https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/getting-to-know-innkeeper-tiffany-bertram 
Learn more about Tiffany's B&B: https://www.tiffanysbedandbreakfast.com/ 

Every fourth Sunday, Big Blend Radio's "Music Talks" series brings together host/producer Lisa D. Smith and co-host Joey Stuckey — the award-winning musician, producer, and Macon's own "Music Ambassador." This time, the mic turns toward Joey's own milestone year.
Joey opens up about "Alive Day" — the anniversary of surviving a childhood brain tumor doctors once called inoperable — and the moment his parents reframed it forever: "September 29th is not the day you almost died. It is the day you lived." What began as a quiet family tradition has grown into a free, all-ages concert in downtown Macon, now in its ninth year.
This year's celebration doubles as the grand reopening of Joey's Shadow Sound Studio, newly outfitted with an SSL Origin Evo console, with longtime friend and Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall joining him for a day of recording, a special in-studio taping of Joey's own podcast Stuck on Sound, and a free hour-long concert. It's all part of marking 30 years in the music business — and Joey's got a new record taking shape too, tracked in part at the historic Les Paul Recording Studio in Hollywood. We'll dig into the album itself next month.
Learn more at: https://joeystuckey.com
Listen to more episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/joey-stuckey
Photos courtest of Maryann Bates and Matthew Odom.

On this episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, Glynn Burrows takes us for a wander through England's forests — ancient and modern, native and man-made — and what a single tree can teach us about history, health, and home.From Sherwood's legendary (and ailing) Major Oak to Thetford's man-made pine forest, from tree-ring dendrochronology to the real origin of the word "underdog," this one covers a lot of ground. Along the way: tree equity and environmental justice in American cities, why a felled tree feels like a genuine loss, cemetery bird-watching, England's Heritage Open Days, and a closing reading of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees." Read the companion article, "England's Ancient Trees: A Personal Tour of Britain's Forests," and check out Glynn's Digital Magazine at the links below. And what a great episode with today (Sept. 26) being National Public Lands Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, and Lumberjack Day! Resource Links: - Article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/englands-ancient-trees - Check out Glynn's "English Connection" Podcast & Magazine on his website https://www.englishconnection.uk/- Glynn's new English Connection Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594366433338