Elizabeth Arakelian
Director of RadioA Valley native, Elizabeth earned her bachelor's degree in English Language Literatures from the University of California, Santa Cruz and her master's degree in journalism from New York University. She has covered a range of beats. Her agriculture reporting for the Turlock Journal earned her a first place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
While in graduate school she covered the New Hampshire Primary for NBC Owned Television Stations and subsequently worked as a television ratings analyst for the company's business news network, CNBC. Upon returning to California, her role as a higher education public relations professional reconnected her to the Valley's media scene. She is happy to be back to her journalism roots at KVPR.
Elizabeth has hosted KVPR's local broadcasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She is currently KVPR's Director of Radio, and the host of KVPR's Central Valley Daily podcast.
-
Glaciers in the Sierra Nevada have existed for thousands of years. However, recent research published in the journal "Science Advances" projects that they will disappear by the end of the century. Today, we revisit our conversation with Andy Jones, who explains the findings of the study. Jones is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the research. -
In celebration of their 25th anniversary, Mariachi Mestizo has released a new album in 2025. The group based in Delano is composed mostly of students, though you can’t tell by listening. Today, we celebrate homegrown mariachi and revisit our conversation with band members Juan Morales and Joelynn Valencia, along with clips of their music.
-
In April, Senator Bernie Sanders stopped in Bakersfield for his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, along with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But not all of the thousands who showed up were“feeling the Bern.” Today, we revisit our conversation with the senator and hear why he stopped in the historically conservative town.
-
Today, we revisit our conversation with Fresno native Jeff Atamajian. He's a film music composer, arranger, and orchestrator. Atmajian most recently helped orchestrate the music for the hit blockbuster movies "Wicked" and Wicked: For Good."
-
The Central California Women's Facility is one of the largest prisons housing only women. On today's episode, we revisit our tour of the facility and hear about a unique program: incarcerated people at the prison are running their own newspaper. Two members of the newspaper's team — Amber Bray and Kanoa Harris-Pendang — tell us about how the idea for the newspaper came to be, and how it inspires those who take part in it.
-
The California High Speed Rail is a controversial project, and the federal government has slashed funding due to its lack of progress. But the CEO of the California High Speed Rail Authority, Ian Choudri, says the rail can be a point of national pride if it's given the chance to get done. Today, we revisit an August 2024 conversation that we had with Choudri about the project.
-
Japanese-American author Mas Masumoto has written over a dozen books. His latest takes on a different angle – and sound. In this encore episode, we revisit a conversation with Mas about the idea behind “Shadow Music” and other work it inspired.
-
2025 brought us so much news. In this end-of-year episode of Central Valley Daily, the news team looks back at the news that shaped the year and what to expect for the new year. Plus, the latest news headlines: What some new laws will bring in the new year, and new data shows how immigration has changed in California.
-
For the past year, 300 families were given $500 a month as part of a guaranteed income program in Fresno – the first in the city’s history. On today’s episode, Fresno State Professor Amber Crowell breaks down how families spent the money and what it shows about the feasibility of such programs to combat rampant poverty.Plus, the latest news headlines: A Madera casino’s future is in question; and health concerns arise in Kern County ICE facilities.
-
NBC’s popular singing competition show “The Voice” spotlights talented singers from across the nation. And this season, the runner-up is from Fresno. On today’s episode, Ralph Edwards recounts his experience singing on national television and working with Snoop Dogg, and he tells us what’s next for his singing career. Plus, he sings a few bars of a popular Christmas song.
