John Werner holds a handful of soil for a portrait in his soon-to-be pistachio grove near Visalia on June 10, 2021. He works as an educator to supplement his income from farming and is planning on planting pistachio trees soon. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters
John Werner will be planting a pistachio grove on his land near Visalia after he lost his hay crop due to lack of rain. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

Communities across California are suffering from extreme drought conditions. CalMatters environmental reporter Rachel Becker joins the podcast to share her reporting on the drought’s varying impact across the state and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent ask for Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15%.

“It’s a patchwork of experiences, and it’s a patchwork of pain from the drought,” Becker said.

Becker also discusses what steps the state can take to prevent drought conditions and water availability from getting worse. Listen to the “California State of Mind” episode, co-hosted by Nigel Duara and Nicole Nixon, on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow @yourgoldenstate, @CalMatters and @CapRadioNews on Twitter to engage with our show every week and see the top California news of the day.

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Courtney is the marketing coordinator at CalMatters, where she focuses on developing audience relationships. She was an Editor-in-Chief at Cosumnes River College’s student newspaper before transferring...