Central Valley Daily

Apr. 11: Inside A Secret, No-Phones-Allowed Comedy Show In Merced

By Elizabeth Arakelian,

Published April 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDT

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Have you ever been to a stand-up comedy show? How about one that’s at an unexpected place - like a laundromat or hair salon - and you only find out the address a few hours ahead of time? On today’s show, we’ll hear from KVPR reporter Rachel Livinal, who checked out a secret show in Merced.

Plus, the latest news headlines: a Kern County fugitive is linked to the death of a Mexican police officer in Tijuana, and the city of Arvin plans for a special city council election.

Central Valley Daily

Elizabeth Arakelian

A 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.

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Rachel Livinal

Rachel Livinal reports on higher education for KVPR through a partnership with the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.

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Jonathan Linden

Jonathan Linden is a podcast producer at KVPR. Born and raised in Riverside, he's a Southern California native. Jonathan's passion for public radio began at a young age when his brother would play NPR while driving him home from middle school. He earned his B.A. in journalism from Biola University in 2019.

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