San Diego civic work, in plain conversation.
Spotlight on the Community spotlights San Diego organizations working on civic and social needs. Its conversations move quickly from mission statements to real-world services, from volunteer awards and cross-border travel guidance to digital access, foster youth support, and young entrepreneurship.
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Spotlight on the Community is a San Diego community show with a simple editorial engine: bring in the people doing local service work and ask them what they are building. The format is straightforward. A guest or small panel is introduced, the organization’s mission is laid out, and the conversation moves toward services, partnerships, needs, and ways the community can participate. The pace is brisk and familiar, with quick handoffs, short affirmations, and sponsor breaks that feel like part of the radio rhythm. It is not a heavily produced narrative show. Its value comes from access. Recent episodes place listeners inside the North County Philanthropy Council’s Volunteer Awards Celebration, where volunteers, funders, nonprofits, and civic offices are treated as parts of the same local engine. Other conversations spend time with the Burnham Center for Community Advancement and its OneSD initiative, framing regional challenges as problems that require collaboration across sectors. The Smart Border Coalition episode turns cross-border mobility into a practical civic issue, covering wait times, documents, lanes, and the everyday confusion people face when traveling between San Diego and Tijuana. A San Diego Futures Foundation conversation makes the digital divide concrete, focusing on devices, basic computer help, repair, and staff support for people who need technology to work in daily life. Promises to Kids brings a more personal register, with discussion of Foster Futures, Guardian Scholars, workshops, housing stability, food security, and professional development. Voices of Impact adds a youth entrepreneurship angle. Across these episodes, the show keeps returning to one question: how does local work become useful to real people? It is warm rather than glossy. It can be sponsor-heavy, and the repetition is part of the texture. But for listeners interested in San Diego nonprofits, philanthropy, volunteerism, civic mobility, youth opportunity, and practical social impact, the show offers a steady directory of people and organizations shaping the region.
Made for: For listeners who follow San Diego nonprofits, philanthropy, civic services, volunteerism, and practical community problem-solving. It also suits people who want local context without a dense policy format.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by treating community organizations as working systems, not abstract causes. Its interviews keep returning to services, partnerships, volunteer energy, and concrete next steps.
Cloudcast Media, the national leader in local podcasting, proudly presents its flagship show, Drew Schlosberg’s Spotlight on the Community, now in its 20th season. For 20 years, we have been amplifying the voices of social impact organizations, social entrepreneurs, local non-profits, and other community champions who help shape the culture, creativity, and connectivity that drive the San Diego community to ever higher levels. These curated community conversations are brought to you by Mission Fed Credit Union, bringing good things to San Diego for over 60 years. LISTEN WHERE YOU LIVE™ "Spotlight On The Community" is one of 80+ shows from Cloudcast Media, the national leader in local podcast…
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Drew Schlossberg brings the people and practical decisions behind San Diego's community film culture to the microphone.
Spotlight on the Community puts Drew Schlossberg across the table from people responsible for making local programs work. His questions move quickly from introductions to practical detail: affordable computer support, foster-youth housing, workforce changes under AI, and the…
A passport question and a $25 computer repair can both become your San Diego civic briefing.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded civic interview connecting BCCA's OneSD initiative to the work of showing up for San Diego.
Spotlight on the Community frames BCCA's OneSD initiative as a practical way into San Diego's broader civic work: how public problems get carried across sectors, institutions, and everyday participation.
A grounded look at passports, wait times, lane choices, and the everyday mechanics of crossing the border.
Cross-border mobility is framed here as everyday logistics: cargo, cars, pedestrians, and the documents that decide whether a trip moves smoothly.
A clear look at how housing help, mentoring, and job prep can widen a foster youth's options.
Promises to Kids reads as a practical portrait of support built around foster children trying to keep housing and work on steadier footing. Stephanie Ortega states the mission plainly, and Ayano gives it shape through Foster Futures workshops on resume building, financial…
A practical look at San Diego Futures Foundation's hands-on tech support and revised mission.
This episode highlights San Diego Futures Foundation's practical approach to access. Brandon Harrison explains how the organization has revised its mission, vision, and values after a five-year strategic plan during a leadership change, and the conversation stays grounded in…
A grounded conversation about military storytelling, veteran-made film, and the community behind the GI Film Festival San Diego.
The GI Film Festival San Diego lands as a community gathering, not just a lineup of screenings. Nico Marcolongo frames its mission around films by, for, and about the military, while Jeannie Scott brings in the producer's view through The Craftsman.
A practical look at AI, changing jobs, and the training San Diego workers may need next.
AI disruption is framed here less as a tech story than as a workforce one, with UCSD's Division of Extended Studies tying changing jobs to training, upskilling, and San Diego's economic future.
Multi-part dramatized retellings of scandals like OceanGate's Titan and the Lehman Brothers collapse.
Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas argue their way through terrible movies.
Drew Schlossberg interviews Hugo Villar and Josh Shapiro from UCSD's Division of Extended Studies about their annual Top Jobs Report for San Diego.
This episode features an interview with the director and an actor from Scripps Ranch Theatre's play 'Donna Orbits the Moon', discussing the production and its impact on the local San Diego theater community.
This episode features an interview with Shane Stamler Adamson, founder of Voices of Impact, and his colleague Jim Yang, discussing their social impact work and community initiatives in San Diego.
This episode features an interview with Michael McHale, President and CEO of St.
Drew Schlossberg interviews Nico Marcolongo and Jeannie Scott about the GI Film Festival San Diego, running May 6-8 at the Museum of Photographic Arts.
This episode features a conversation with finance expert Richard Tassiello about retirement strategies, focusing on paying yourself first and designing lifestyle security.
This episode explores the Sister Cities Project's mission to bridge affluent and underserved communities through workforce development, business growth, and education to build understanding and generational wealth.
On Spotlight on the Community, Paul Downing says San Diego County could have nearly one million seniors by 2030 as senior-center attendance declines.
Agnes Barillet, founder and executive director of Alpine Acres Sanctuary Farm, describes caring for 193 animals on 20 acres with a team of 13 people and volunteers.
Drew Schlossberg opens by welcoming Stephanie Ortega of Promises to Kids.
Drew Schlossberg opens with Brandon Harrison of San Diego Futures Foundation and a co-host question about the organization's mission.
This episode features interviews with Jim Callahan of TURN Behavioral Health Services and Alex Goodman from a Supervisor's office, discussing their work and community involvement at the NCPC's 39th Annual Volunteer Awards Celebration.
This episode features a discussion with leaders from the North County Philanthropy Council about their 39th annual volunteer awards celebration and the importance of volunteerism as a key form of philanthropy.
This episode highlights the 39th Annual Volunteer Awards Celebration by NCPC, emphasizing volunteers as the "heartbeat of a community" and featuring insights from community leaders.
Joaquin Lucan says almost 80% of the 150,000 daily San Ysidro-Tijuana crossers are U.S.
Andrew Blum says BCCA finds impact where “more collaboration” and “more alignment” create “more impact.”