Besides insiders, no one knows more about the sudden vote to shut down the San Diego Opera than Don Bauder. Mr. Bauder is a columnist for the San Diego Reader, and he has written seven articles on the shocking vote to shut the San Diego Opera at a lightly attended board meeting on March 19th. The opera is not bankrupt, and it has no debt. The closure was blamed on a lack of revenue by Ian Campbell, the company’s general director. San Diego Opera fans have reacted strongly, and the closure has been postponed pending a final effort to raise $10 million in donations by April 29th.

Mr. Bauder has a long history of getting to the bottom of a good story. He earned a Masters in Journalism in 1961 from the University of Wisconsin and later wrote for Business Week. He served as the financial editor at the San Diego Union (and later the U-T) for 20 years before “retiring” to write a weekly column at the San Diego Reader beginning in 2003. Mr. Bauder’s “weekly” column is hardly part-time work, as most days he pens more than one article.

In 1986, Mr Bauder published, Captain Money and the Golden Girl, which was on the L.A. Times best seller list for more than 2 months.

Stream commercial-free Don Bauder Interview

John Rippo, editor and publisher of The ESPRESSO, San Diego’s Coffeehouse Newspaper will be returning to the show. This newspaper has published San Diego society news, views, commentary, art, food, and culture news for thirty years, along with the occasional story about coffee. Started by Mr. Rippo after having an dynamic conversation with friends over a cup of coffee about the media’s biased reporting on world events, The ESPRESSO continues to pride itself on being a forerunner of breaking news stories.

While maintaining political, along with other biases to a minimum, the news found in the publication’s pages are have often been overlooked by the mainstream media. ESPRESSO is a smart read for a smart crowd and is found monthly in over 420 local coffeehouses throughout the county. Support your local independent coffeehouse, and read The ESPRESSO wherever you drink espresso.

Listen to a commercial-free podcast of Don Bauder and John Rippo. (complete show)

Stream commercial-free John Rippo Interview