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Every year, NPR collaborates with its team and puts together ‘Books We Love.’ It’s a curated list of hundreds of books that staff members and trusted critics say are worth a read. NPR’s Andrew Limbong joins us to discuss the thorough list and some of his favorite books from this year.

The Tulare County town of Goshen played an important part in California railroad history.

The Central Pacific and Southern Pacific connected the San Joaquin Valley with the world in the 1870s, founding many local cities and bypassing others.

Thousands of children work in California’s agricultural fields – and while child labor is legal in the ag industry, lax enforcement means kids are suffering. On today’s episode, journalist Robert J. Lopez tells the stories of dozens of child laborers whom he spoke with for his report for Capital and Main entitled “California’s Child Farmworkers: Exhausted, Underpaid and Toiling in Toxic Fields.” Plus, the latest news headlines: A federal funding fight might be back on for Fresno; and Valley food pantries are struggling to meet the need.

Small farm towns that typically balloon in size during peak harvest seasons in the San Joaquin Valley are seeing less activity as the Trump Administration cracks down on immigration. CalMatters reporter Nigel Duara set out to examine what these impacts look like, even as enforcement has largely been confined to major cities for now. Plus, the latest news headlines: Thousands of trucking schools at risk of closing; and how the Asian American Pacific Islander community views the state’s direction.

Photographer Sam Vestal's photo of President John F. Kennedy in Los Banos in 1962 is a powerful image, and has been featured in the Smithsonian.

The AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s brought tragedy for more than 100,000 Americans. Four decades later, Kern County is honoring victims through art. On today’s episode, Audrey Chavez with the Bakersfield AIDS Project discusses the community’s display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Plus, the latest news headlines: our neighbors in Stockton reel after a deadly mass shooting this past weekend; judges dismiss a lawsuit filed by a local agribusiness; and a Christmas heist in the Kern County foothills gets a fairy tale ending.

A number of nursing homes in California are facing lawsuits for purported negligence and abuse. Some have already had to pay millions to residents or family members. On today’s episode, Jocelyn Wiener with our news partner CalMatters introduces us to one owner at the center of CalMatters reporting.

M. Theo Kearney died a bachelor with no heirs, and left his estate to the University of California.

The Kern County Board of Education is proposing to display the Ten Commandments in its school lobbies. But the proposal has been met with protest from those who want to keep separation of church and state. In this episode, we speak with attorney Chris Line. He's with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, one of the civil rights groups opposing the proposal. Plus, the latest news headlines: The federal DOJ joins a lawsuit challenging California's new voter maps, and the chancellor of the California State Center Community College District announces her retirement.