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All Episodes

The Finest — 41 episodes

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Title
1

Rugs, rituals and resilience: How artists are expanding the story of Iran beyond conflict

2

How streaming changed what we hear — and what musicians earn (May 2025)

3

Every object tells a story: The unseen craft of theatrical props

4

Dance or die — and the fight to be more than a headline

5

Scientists are still mapping plants. How the public is helping — with an app

6

The matcha boom: How a centuries-old tradition became a global craze

7

Unboxing hidden music history: Lou Curtiss' Whimsical Collection and vinyl's survival

8

Bonus: One of Their Own, a San Diego officer's death and the questions left behind

9

Topeka Clementine performs live at KPBS and talks cooking, art, viral moments and music as action

10

The art, the joy, the keeper: The hidden work behind Niki de Saint Phalle's beloved mosaic sculptures

11

From Seafood City to stardom: How Jessica Sanchez returned to 'America's Got Talent' 20 years later

12

'Made in a Home Kitchen': Raíz Chocolate turns Mexican tradition into a microenterprise

13

Risograph revival: How a forgotten printer built a global DIY art movement

14

The Finest: New season, new stories

15

A special episode where a superfan takes our survey — plus your chance to win a Finest T-shirt

16

The nation's largest book ban: Inside the fight to read in America's prisons

17

The lost composer: Alice Barnett and the paradox of fame and memory

18

The science of the supernatural: Psychics, cults and why we believe

19

Big guitars, bigger feelings: Slacker's San Diego story of growing pains and friendship

20

By 25, one San Diegan visited every country on Earth — here's what he found

21

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

22

More than a menu: How Mabel's Gone Fishing became a San Diego gathering place

23

From TV auctions to social media bidding: How the live shopping thrill lives on

24

Myth, post-truth and empathetic villains – from an ancient fantasy world to Kellyanne Conway: Live at the San Diego Book Festival

25

The story of Lucky Wong and his legendary one-man diner in San Diego

26

Blink-182, lucky breaks and the power of place

27

Romantasy rising: How a dismissed book genre became a publishing powerhouse

28

Bonus: Nortec Collective at 25 — a Port of Entry story

29

3 friends return to graffiti decades after a police sting shattered their world

30

A Kumeyaay comic book rewrites California's history and inspires a hopeful future

31

Chasing 100 birds in 1 day in America's Birdiest County: Inside the birding boom

32

Tiny Desk local listening party: The Neighborhood Kids and Aleah Discavage

33

Worn, painted, reimagined: The power and complexity of Our Lady of Guadalupe

34

Bonus: The team behind The Finest talks arts and culture

35

San Diego's last alt-weekly stops the presses, but it's not giving up yet

36

When better sleep silences a painter's muse — now what?

37

Spotify is changing, so one indie artist is advocating for fairness in a stream-heavy world

38

San Diego's poets laureate on being a 'government artist' and knocking poetry off its pedestal

39

Making it in music: How do you create a local music scene in a 'superstar economy'?

40

PARU Tea: How the viral matcha spot is transforming tea culture with love and purpose

41

The Finest - Trailer