Pat's Peeps Podcast

We’re celebrating National Radio Day by playing the clips that made us fall in love with the medium and the personalities who could paint an entire world with nothing but sound. From Sacramento airchecks to larger-than-life legends, we chase the feeling of radio at its best and talk about why it still hits so hard. • hitting Episode 499 and treating the podcast like a diary • choosing the fun side of radio after the on-air meltdowns • hearing Tony Cox on a 1976 KROY aircheck and why AM radio felt unpredictable • remembering KFRC legends and what great morning radio is really for • playing Wolfman Jack and breaking down the performance style • revisiting WLS with Larry Lujak and the “Drooling Horse” bit • listening to Paul Harvey’s “The Rest Of The Story” and the Garfield origin • reflecting on Rush Limbaugh’s connection to KFBK and how radio careers launch • closing on WKRP in Cincinnati and what it means to keep doing local talk 

A song can feel like a portal, then you flip the record and wonder what happened. That’s where we go today, starting with the strange, unforgettable pull of Zager and Evans’ “In the Year 2525” and the question every music fan eventually asks: if the hit is that good, why don’t we know anything else they made?We also keep it grounded in real radio life. The station is finally getting “remodeled,” there’s talk of hard hats in the studio, and I’m watching the world outside the window, including the biggest dog I may have ever seen. Then we hit a truly ridiculous audio moment: Lawrence O’Donnell losing his mind over construction noise and shouting “Stop the hammering,” which turns into a little parody track and a bigger thought about ego, performance, and what we tolerate when we’re on the air.From there, we drop the needle on the deep cuts. We sample tracks most people have never heard from artists tied to massive singles, including King Harvest after “Dancing in the Moonlight,” Gary Numan beyond “Cars,” David Essex past “Rock On,” and Stealers Wheel beyond “Stuck in the Middle with You.” Along the way we talk vinyl, B-sides, album sequencing, and why some songs feel built for radio while others feel like they were never meant to leave the room.If you love classic hits, one-hit wonders, music history, and the messy fun of actually listening instead of guessing, queue this up and come argue with us. Subscribe, share the episode with a fellow music nerd, and leave a review with your favorite one-hit wonder and the best hidden track you’ve ever found.

Illegal fireworks don’t just “make noise” they can burn down a home, wreck sleep across a neighborhood, and leave pets terrified with no clue what’s happening. Walking the foothills of Northern California, I unpack what I saw and heard over the Fourth of July weekend, including a video out of Rio Linda that’s a brutal reminder of why fireworks safety and basic courtesy still matter when celebrations stretch past midnight. From there, the mood shifts into the best part of doing radio and podcasting: running into listeners in real life. I share highlights from Darlene’s party, the conversations, the karaoke, and the surprise theme I kept hearing all night: people think my memory is almost unfair, especially when it comes to music history and Sacramento details. That sends me back into my own “origin story” moments, like staring at album covers as a kid and deciding I needed to learn full records, not just whatever was on Top 40. If you love classic rock, vinyl records, and the way one song can pin a whole year to your brain, you’ll feel right at home. I revisit the early days of Creedence Clearwater Revival, the albums my mom bought, and why those records still sit so clearly in my head. I also fix a miss on our greatest American artists list for America’s 250th anniversary by adding Johnny Cash where he belongs, shout out Colfax, California for a fireworks show done right, and close with a rare record pick that fits the moment: Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom,” written to honor Billie Jean King and her team. Subscribe, share this with a fellow music nerd, and leave a review if the show’s part of your routine. What song instantly transports you back to one exact place and time?

A bonsai can be four feet tall and still feel like a whole wilderness. We visit Lotus Bonsai Nursery and Gardens in Lotus, California, and talk with owner Scott Chan about what bonsai really is: living art built with patience, sharp tools, and a designer’s eye for illusion. Scott walks us through the two big paths bonsai artists take, growing trees up from seed and growing them down from massive collected material, and he shows how bold cuts and visible scars become part of the finished beauty rather than something to hide.We get into forest plantings that look like miniature hikes, the way moss and moisture naturally create “ground cover,” and even how two trunks can gradually fuse when you plant one-sided trees together. Scott also explains wiring and branch movement, why old trees pull downward, and how a well-trained bonsai convinces your brain it is seeing a giant tree in a vast space. If you’ve ever searched for bonsai care tips, bonsai classes, or a California bonsai nursery worth visiting, this conversation is packed with practical insight and a ton of lived experience.Then the stories turn fun and unexpected: a celebrity stop at a bonsai show, why certain trees command five-figure prices, and what it looks like when collectors pay for ongoing maintenance so a tree stays show-ready on a deck with a view. We even detour into plant science with a simple explanation of chlorophyll, hemoglobin, and metabolism that makes tree survival feel a lot more relatable. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves plants, and leave a review if you want more field conversations like this. What kind of bonsai would you want on your porch?

I had a whole serious segment ready to go, the kind of thing that gets your blood pressure up and drags you right into the day’s outrage. Then I stopped and asked a simple question: do I really want to do that to my mood on a Wednesday? Nope. So this turns into a deliberate reset, recorded from the foothills of Northern California with the windows open and the goal set to “forget about the nonsense” for a bit. What follows is a comedy podcast sampler that feels like flipping through oddball talk radio at midnight: a fake “Indianapolis Academy of the French Accent” ad with ridiculous promises, the Mr. Natural song that confesses a secret junk-food life, and a run at old celebrity impressions that’s messy in the fun way. We also dip into a nail salon story where friendly service becomes a never-ending upsell, then bounce through surreal audio scenes like Lost Glider style radio drama, pizza-craving jingles, and the truly unhinged “barbecue and foot massage” pitch. If you’re tired of the algorithm trying to put you in a box, this is your permission slip to be “all over the map” too. Listen for the bit that makes you laugh first, then share the episode with a friend who needs a mental break, and please subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the show.