Bonus: Soup dumplings, hidden trails, enemies-to-lovers and a viral clip — reflections from The Finest

For our 20th episode, The Finest team reflects on our season so far — the episodes that made the biggest impact, what still lingers with us months later and a taste of the gems left on the cutting-room floor. From Our Lady of Guadalupe to birding and romantasy books, we revisit comments from fans (and critics) and how these stories continue to resonate. Julia and Anthony also share a quick list of our favorite things in San Diego right now, from soup dumplings to hidden trails. Plus, we call up one of our first guests, indie musician Julianna Zachariou, to reflect on her experience over the past six months after a clip of our interview went viral on social media. What does it mean when a million people hear a piece of your story?" I had never had anything with that much reach. It felt necessary and helpful, and a lot of people found it to be helpful," Julianna said. "I also wish that the thing that had taken off was something I had made and not how much I had made off of a thing that I had made." In this episode, we dig deeper into some of the stories we've shared recently, explore how listeners have reacted and take a behind-the-scenes look with The Finest crew. Guests:Julianna Zachariou, indie musicianOur current favorite San Diego things:Best Bud Floral Home Ec Bud Kearns Memorial PoolAn's Electronics RepairTasty Noodle HouseLos Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve Yipao Coffee RoastersThe Finest episodes discussed:Spotify is changing, so one indie artist is advocating for fairness in a stream-heavy world — Episode featuring Julianna Zachariou, journalist Liz Pelly and a deep dive into the economics of streamingMaking it in music: How do you create a local music scene in a 'superstar economy'? — Episode featuring musician Shua and a look at building a local music scene in a superstar economyRomantasy rising: How a dismissed book genre became a publishing powerhouse — Episode exploring the incredible growth of the romantasy genreWorn, painted, reimagined: The power and complexity of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Episode about the Virgin of Guadalupe in textile art and cultureChasing 100 birds in 1 day in America's Birdiest County: Inside the birding boom — Episode exploring San Diego's rich birding culture and the fascinating world of competitive birdingMentioned in this episode:KPBS reel | For indie musicians like Julianna Zachariou, Spotify has made music more accessible than ever — but at a costSpotify's Terms of Use | Recently updated artist agreement terms outlining how music on the platform can be used to train AI models"Dreamer, Dreamer" | New single by Julianna Zachariou, first debuted on an episode of The FinestDramione | A Harry Potter sub-fandom imagining an "enemies-to-lovers" relationship between Draco Malfoy and Hermione GrangerJeanette Rodriguez, PhD, Professor of Theology at Seattle University"The Backyard Bird Chronicles" | Memoir by Amy Tan exploring her obsession with birding and sketchingeBird | Popular birding app for logging sightings, finding locations and tracking regional trendsMerlin Bird ID | Go-to app for birders to identify species by photo or sound, powered by Cornell Lab expertsSources:Big Deal: Legendary Pays 7 Figures for 'Alchemised,' Book That Began Life as 'Harry Potter' Fan Fiction (Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 2025)AI Implications of Spotify's Updated Terms of Use: Your Data is Their New Oil (Chris Castle, Music Technology Policy Blog, 2025)Amy Tan finds obsession, connection and endless curiosity in birding (Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS, 2025)The Shock of a Patron Saint Impugned (John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post, 1996)