The Conversation: Tracking Tropical Storm Lala; Trask family responds to possible deepfake ad

Aloha, this is Catherine Cruz. Mahalo for joining us here. Hawaii Talks on the conversation on this Aloha Friday, August 14th. We are tracking the latest weather disturbance in our neck of the woods. Alala has formed off the island expecting to bring strong winds and rain this weekend. We pause to think about the use of AI in this political season. A family pushes back on what they see as a deep fake. A new flight service is commencing operations on the friendly aisle. It's the first time the island has had multiple providers in half a decade. And the Duke Kahna Moko Festival is set to kick off today, but concern with the surf is postponing some events. One event that will go on is a one-man show about the Duke. This is The Conversation on Hawaii Public Radio. I'm Catherine Cruz. Honolulu Mayor Rick Mangiarity is to hold a news conference at noon today with the latest on the preparations for the threat of a hurricane forming southeast of the islands. A hurricane warning has been issued for the island of Hawaii as well as a tropical storm warning for Maui County and a tropical storm watch for Oahu and Kaua County. On Oahu, city and state crews have been working on and off to clear the Manoa stream as the area flooded earlier this spring.

And HPR's news director, Bill Dorman, has been tracking the latest with the storm and joins us live. Good morning. Good morning. Aloha, Catherine. You know, the National Hurricane Center just out with some updated information now, seeing damaging hurricane force winds expected on the Big Island of Hawaii tomorrow. Strongest wind gusts expected in areas of higher terrain. Also, heavy rainfall reaching the big island later today, spreading westward across the remainder of the island chain this weekend, may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain and large and dangerous waves. especially on the Big Island expected this weekend. So, again, the substance remains the same. The language is a little sharper, though, than the last updates, just in terms of those potential threats. Again, looking tomorrow, Hawaii Island does, the focus of this National Hurricane Center, it's still looking for the core of Lala very near or over the Big Island on Saturday. Again, as you know, these storm tracks are estimates. They're predictions. They're not lockstep, you know, absolute certainties. So that is something to watch and continue to keep an eye on. Yes. And, you know, because we have an El Nino year, right? And the forecast is for above average storms. Yeah. No, it's true. And also, one of the things about El Nino is it warms the water around the coast. And usually what is sort of a natural defense for the island chain is as storms approach, particularly the windward side of Hawaii Island, they will get into colder water, also wind shear. The wind shear is still there. The water temperatures, a little uncertain in terms of what that may be a complicating factor or not. Again, latest guidance has it strengthening to a hurricane. hurricane that wind shear increase as the storm moves south also national weather service and hurricane center as well saying it's likely to weaken back down to a tropical storm at that point which still means wind speeds of 39 to 73 miles an hour yeah so as far as then you know the the wind what about the rain Yeah, again, heavy rain expected later today on Hawaii Island. Flood Watch, as Mike mentioned in the news, in effect for all islands. Overall forecast 8 to 12 inches on Big Island in Maui, 2 to 4, Wahong Kauai possibility of up to 20 inches and parts of the windward side of the Big Island. That's crazy. It is. And again, it's one of these things that you never know. This is enough of a warning. Warning is such a good word with this. In specifics, we'll see how this plays out. Governor Green, by the way, just said that he's going to be having a news conference along with Mayor Alamead of Hawaii County this afternoon, 515. So we'll get latest updates going in of the weekend in terms of how that's looking. Yeah, well, what should people be doing now? Good question.

We have a set of suggestions from Dennis Wong. He's with the UHC Grant College, a coastal hazard mitigation specialist. You've spoken with him in past storms. Here's his advice. Be prepared, but be proactive. Four different things. I'm going to cover very quickly. One, everyone should have emergency notification register for their emergency notification systems for each county. So Oahu, it's H&L. alert. For Maui, it's Mima Alerts. For Kauai, it's the Wends system. And for Hawaii County, it's the Everbridge System. So they should register to get emergency alerts. The second thing is to make sure they have an emergency plan. What I mean a plan, they should know where they're going to go for a hurricane, considering the triple threat, coastal storm surge, inland flooding, and high wind. Three, maintain, do simple maintenance on your house. You can address a lot of risk. And four, do consider insurance because we do recommend everyone have hurricane insurance and if you're in a risk of flooding, you should have flood insurance. Dennis Wong, the UHC Grant College Coastal Mitigation Specialist, he was on a call-in program June 1st. That's where those comments were from. And also say just awareness is such a key word again. And as he points out, be aware of coastal storm surge. areas if you're looking to move elsewhere. Just keep your eyes out. And again, hawaiipublicradio.org, we have a list of shelters that are going to be opening in specific locations on Hawaii Island. And we're updating that homepage with the latest information as the day goes on. Okay. So people should just be alert no matter what island you live on. Exactly. Okay. All right. Thanks so much, Bill. Thanks. We've been hearing from H.P.P.R.'s news director, Bill Dorman. Stay up to date on the latest with Tropism. Storm Leila, head to our website, hawaiapublicradio.org.

Support for HPR comes from the Scheidler College of Business at U.H. Manoa with an executive education virtual coffee hour September 10th. Registration at Scheidler.hawaii.edu slash executive. On the next radio lab, two mysteries. One in the water? It's like a Tom Clancy, international, underwater spy thriller. And the other of the water. In the blink of an eye. The lake. snaps them shut. It just freezes. Suddenly turns to ice. That's on the next radio lab. Oh, scary. Beginning Saturday morning at 11. Support for HPR comes from Aloha Air Cargo connecting Hawaii by providing inter-island shipping with services including Aloha Next Flight Out, Aloha Standard Overnight, and Aloha Economy. Alohaaircargo.com. I'm going to be.

The State Office of Elections is expected to certify the results of the primary later today. One independent candidate that looks poised to make it on the general election ballot is Nathan Burning. He got a little more than 800 votes in the primary. The Office of Election says that Burning lists a Florida address as his residence. Burning is an anti-abortion candidate, and his campaign ran an ad on KITV during the week before the primary. It features images of aborted babies and an image appearing to be the late How Nani K. Trask speaking on the ad Trask died in 2021. And when I talked to Burning about the reaction from her family, about the use of her image in this way, he told me he didn't know who she was. He said the woman in the ad is an actress and didn't know anything about it. whether the ad was AI generated. He said he would relay my questions to his campaign manager who lived in Tennessee. When the ad started running, Mililani Tras said she began getting calls from people who were troubled by the use of her sister's image in this way. We talked to Mililani Tras this morning. She has been busy preparing for the impact of the impending storm, but felt important to let people know about the ad. Not only was I getting phone calls, but I got messages, texts. I got some people extremely angry about it and upset. I did what I could do. I did call the office of the candidate. Pretty much I was told that it was not their concern. I was shocked when I saw the misuse of my sister's image and the blatant misrepresentation by a candidate who not only appears on the ballot, but it's not even a resident. of our state. I called the Office of Election, pointed out what I thought the problem was, but the use of my sister's image and voiceover was very evident. And the Office of Elections told me that there was nothing that they could do. You know, when I look at how this will and may impact and continue to impact our electoral process, I'm stunned by it. I'm stunned by it. And when I talked and our family met, you know, one of my nephews said, you know, if it was someone else's face, they were misusing. They would have taken it off immediately. But I don't know. What we can do about this outrage, and there doesn't seem to be any concern about it, either from the candidate's office. I never really did speak with a candidate. I never got a call back. Well, I did talk to him directly and asked him about the ad. He told me that the image of the woman that was used was an actress. He didn't know who your sister was. And because I asked him directly, I said, well, was this generated by artificial intelligence? And he told me at that point then that my concerns would be sent to his campaign manager, but that he lived in Tennessee and probably wouldn't get back to me right away. And I have not heard back since. Right. And the candidate is the resident of Florida.

Yes, and so, you know, I'm told by the Office of Elections that he did garner enough signatures and, you know, may advance to the general. Yes, yes, he will be on the ballot in the general. So the false perpetration continues through the state of Hawaii's election process and system. It's considered to be legitimate. Well, I understand that the laws don't require that you live in the district that you are running in. No, but at least the state. You know, we're talking about a congressional seat. We're talking about a congressional seat. That there's no requirement that you even live in the state when you run for Congress is kind of an outrage. You know? But the truth is that I, where I am, the position we're in and all of us who knew how many K and who knew her real voice. There's many, many tapes of her. We all know what the truth is, both for the real candidate who's running for Congress and also his staff, but this perpetrator. And it's something that really I think should be corrected in the legislature. I think there's some concern that this ad will be run again and people may not understand. I can't stop it. I don't know how. And also, at 75, I am not who I used to be between you and me. You know, you have always been someone who has stood up for your convictions. Yeah. And you know, this is really wrong. It's showing us a huge flaw. in our own electoral system, that it can be supported by the images of people who are true hearts, true Hawaiians, misuse and abuse of the electoral system itself, and everybody, including the congressional candidate itself. What do you want voters to know as we navigate over the next couple of months before they go to the ballot box? I think the voters always go with the truth. Who is this guy? Does he live here? Has he ever lived here? Answer, no. He's running on this ballot. And who is the candidate? You know? But how is it that our electoral system allows it? And how does it subvert what we're trying to do? It's the perpetrator or something like this. It came from New York. Came from Chicago. and could roll just impacting one or two U.S. cities, they'd outflow every single time vote around the big island. We don't have enough numbers. We have a huge island, but very small population. So places like Oahu always cast more votes in national elections than who we have on Nihihal and the big island. We cannot compare with it. I'm not really sure what to do. I have been reaching out. My family's really upset about it. I'm just trying to fan the cold and think about some response, but I didn't get anything. I'll text you the name of Case's staffer, but I never had a chance to talk with Case, Michelle. He's trying to sidestep. Well, what can you tell us about how Nani's position?

on this issue of abortion rights or reproduction rights. Hanani K felt that it was a choice that a woman made for herself. And she did not support in any way laws that tried to regulate that. She felt that women had a right to control their own bodies. She supported abortion. She did not oppose religious commitment that. oppose that belief, but she sure the hell did oppose organized religion, opposition. Do you understand what I'm saying? She felt that a woman had a right to say if she wanted to abort a child or not. Some women were raped, you know? Some women wanted to have the child regardless of what, but how many case position was that it was up to a mother, period. And she felt that way, even if they were married. Yeah, and so you feel then the use of her talking and mounting the words in that ad are wrong. It's a false presentation. When women marched for the right to have abortion, Hananiki marched with them. So what would you like to say to lawmakers then as you... I think the thing to say to lawmakers is that the record is clear on Hananike's position. She felt that women had a right to control their bodies, that in some instances women wanted the children they were impregnated with. And in others, they did not or could not. It was not just the woman's right to choose, did she want a child or not. But at the time, science was telling women, science was telling women because of your use of drugs. or because of what you were exposed to in Vietnam, radiation, we can see in their womb that this child will not be born whole. And women were choosing. I think that Hanani K's position was real clear. Women have a right to say and have the final right and only right to say what happens with their bodies, and that includes the embryos that they're carrying. You know, but it was the mother's choice, and there were mothers that were just aborting babies. On the issue of AI-generated images and deep fakes, is there anything else you want to say to lawmakers about this? Yeah, I think it's dangerous. I think it is a violation of people's right, not only to privacy, but the things that are sacred, like the images and the voices of our loved ones. But when it is used to manipulate an impact the voting process, it becomes something that everyone should be concerned about and what we're seeing revealed here is nothing more than sidestep and racism. Racism. The misuse of my sister's life, her publications, her teaching. The lady that made the Center for Hawaiian Studies, you know, are we just to call them out, you know, and you know what? Because you and I are talking in a different way. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It's different when we talk. But I don't have any kind of zero worry in speaking with you. And I've had, let me tell you, dozens of calls. But I'm really calling you back because I think the thing is, is that...

I appreciate the opportunity, and at least I know that you're somebody who gets it right. You know what I'm saying? I mean, you're somebody who knew my sister. So many people are so upset. That was Millilani Trask, sister of the late Honaniki Trask. She spoke to us about what her family sees as a deceptive, deep fake AI campaign ad that use the likeness of her sister. Support for HPR comes from HMSA for nearly 90 years committed to working together with employers, partners, and health care providers to support the health and well-being of the community. Learn more at HMSA.com. This week in this American life, Janet McNamara is a stand-up comedian. And this weird thing kept happening to her where people with autism would come up to her after her shows and say, just to let you know, you're autistic also. So she got tested. And the guy just looked up from his notebook and he goes, people with Asperger's generally have above average IQs sell. That's his week. Beginning Saturday at noon. Support for HPR comes from Big Island Coffee Roasters Cafe Anniversary, August 21st to 23rd in their Hilo Cafe, featuring new seasonal drinks, branded merchandise, and a roast and cup-along event.

This is the conversation on statewide member-supported Hawaii Public Radio. Coming up, your backyard quiz. Oh, Hawaii. As tropical storm, Lala is expected to strengthen into a hurricane this weekend. We have safety and preparedness on the mind. We thought we test your knowledge about a hurricane that caused significant damage when it approached the islands almost seven decades ago. This storm was the final one of the 1957 Pacific hurricane season in form near Palmyra Island at the end of November. Despite this hurricane never making landfall, more than a thousand people on Kaua'i and hundreds of military personnel on Oahu were evacuated to higher ground. This hurricane down power lines and caused record wind gusts of 82 miles an hour at the Honolulu Airport. report. The storm ultimately caused $100,000 in damages, mainly due to heavy surf. For today's quiz, can you tell us the name of this 1957 hurricane? Call 808-941-3689 or toll-free 877-941-3689 if you know the answer. The first one to get it right gets an HPR reusable tote bag.

Support for the Backyard Quiz comes from Nehreed Hawaii, which supports nonprofits, providing affordable housing for families of agricultural workers and retirees, such as the Kunia Village Development Corporation, nairitehawaii.com. Molokai residents are getting relief in the way of a second airline providing service to Honolulu. It's a welcome edition, particularly for those who are coming to Oahu for medical reasons. Each fair as Catherine Cluette Pactel joins us this morning. Hi, Catherine. Good morning. Yes, and you've been reporting on this, just some heartbreaking stories of missed appointments and just the added stress of not being able to get where people need to go. Yes. So for the last five years, Mokolala Airlines has been the only commercial air carrier that Molokai residents have had. And, you know, just... That's brought a number of challenges. You know, sometimes it's just all booked up and folks can't get where they need to go. It's also brought some reliability concerns, you know, missed late flights. A lot of delays have caused, you know, Ms. Doctor's appointments. They have, you know, had some improvement in the past year or so. But, you know, even just accessibility, it's a small plane and wheelchair access has been a challenge. And so, Lanai Air just started flying. scheduled service to Molokai this week. They are offering two round trips in the morning and two round trips in the evening just between Molokai and Honolulu. So they are single route at this point. But as you said, it's a really welcome option for people. So they are flying 19-seat Cessna Sky Courier aircraft. They are twin engine, which is you know, a safety relief for some people who were worried about that single engine. They fly with two pilots, and they have much more, you know, just based on the size of the aircraft, much more wheelchair accessibility. So they have ramps that... You can actually roll the wheelchair right up to the seat, and you don't have to duck to get on the airplane the way you do with the smaller planes. You know, many Molokai passengers are used to having to kind of crouch down to board the plane. These you are able to stand up. They're much more spacious. So Lanai Air's parent company is Pulama Lanai, which is owned by Larry Ellison, of course, as is much of the island. Flates are actually operated by Western aircraft, which technically holds the carrier certificates, provides the pilots, the maintenance crews, but they work together really seamlessly. So Lanai Air Director, Jolette Silva, says, you know, you won't notice that it's two different companies.

Here, Silva talks about the airline's background and how they came to start service to Molokai. We started back in 2017, and our main goal was to provide seamless travel experience for our Four Seasons guests that are staying on Lanai. And so we did that for a few years. In 2024, we were asked to provide service for the general public there on Lena'i. So we switched over from that more of a private charter service to both private charter and scheduled service for the community there in the Nain. We were asked to consider Molokai by Senator Dekoit. At the time, we didn't have the fleet capacity. There was things that we needed to think about and do before we could commit. to provide the service so that we could do it responsibly, right? So once we had the aircraft fleet, the right amount, once we could make sure we had all the ground equipment needed, the employees to support the operation and the training, that's where we decided to make the commitment and the announcement this year of supporting Molokai. As we were looking at providing the service to Molokai, we started to hear about the needs from the community, especially for, you know, doctor's appointments or even the ability to bring people to work, whether it's into Molokai or out of Molokai. So what we did was look at the schedule, how to support it from, you know, a sunrise, sunset type of time frame. And talk about the prices, ticket prices. How much are folks being asked to pay? Yeah, so it is a little bit more expensive than Mokulele. One-way ticket on Lanai Air is $169. That comes to be just under $3.40 for a round trip. But there are a lot of benefits to come with that. So there are two free checked bags, which is a big thing from a look at your residents, you know, on off-island travel bringing supplies back home. You know, customer service is a really big thing for them. You know, the customer experience in making sure it's all seamless and smooth. Their call center is located in Honolulu, so when you call for reservations, you know, you're talking to somebody here. And... You know, just little things. They have umbrellas by the door in case it's raining when you're walking out to the airplane, you know, little things like that. They also have no passenger weight restriction. So that was one challenge. Formal look at you in the past, I believe there was a 350 pound passenger weight limit, which, you know, is concerning. There is a security screening process. It's not done by TSA. It's done by when they are employees, but that, you know, maybe a little bit different too than Molokai residents are used to with no screening process on Mokulele.

The Honolulu terminal is located off Lagoon Drive. It's actually the old Makani Kai terminal for folks who may be familiar with that airline that closed back in 2020, I believe. They offer free drinks and snacks there at the terminal. Also free parking. Yes, convenient. A lot of little perks. The Molokai operation has 17 local employees. Janessa Kuntua is the Molokai Station manager. She talks about that here. We want it to seem like their VIP all day, every day, most definitely. You know, we want them to be treated with respect. And to have a seamless travel is what we aim for. I'm excited for our community to be able to have multiple options now. I'm excited that I'm here that, you know, we get to give back to our community. And all of our workers, I have, we have 17 employees, including myself, in that number. And to have all of our workers from Molokai, it kind of gives it that special touch that you need because we can communicate. and have that special feeling with all of our customers because we know them on a personal level. So that's what I'm excited for it. Yeah, and you were able to talk to some passengers. I was. So I actually traveled on one of the first trips just to get the experience in order to be able to write about it. And one of the passengers on that flight... Yeah, you know, he was talking about being excited about the two free bags and just being a little bit more spacious. You know, he talked about his in-laws, you know, traveling to visit and not having to, you know, duck to get on that smaller plane. And again, just having the option, I think, is really important. Some residents have concern, expressed concern, that these larger planes, you know, especially might be bringing, you know, more unwanted tourism to Molokai, for example. But state representative Linda Coyt did catch the first flight to Molokai, and I talked to her when she got off the plane. That's one of the things I asked her. Here's what she said. So my thoughts for this is like, you know, this is why I, you know, gravitated to this plane. It's a 19-seater. There's two morning flights to afternoon flights. We've had many of our kupuna that have passed. The struggle was trying to get them here on time. Throughout the year, I've actually sat on Oahu for a whole weekend. where I had several family members that came in from the East Coast to try and get back for the funerals, missed all those flights. You know, so I believe we have a much more reliable airline here. You're committed.

And like I said, committed to add on. If we need extra added flights, they're willing to bring those extra added flights. As you know, my challenge has always been moving our sports teams as well. I think this would help a lot where we can move the families as well as gear with those teams. So there's a lot to look forward to. So I'm super happy. So I'm not afraid of that. I think it was welcomed by many, many that have had their challenges and then the crossover from here to International Terminal. It's just, you know, amazing what they've done. This runway cannot take a bigger plane than this 19-seater, which is good, you know, kind of just what the committee wanted. We don't want anything bigger. We don't want to expand. We want to retain what this island looks like. So, you know, I just cannot say enough about my gratitude. They really worked. hard to make sure that we would have this opportunity. Yeah, I think so many people are just grateful. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much, Catherine. Thank you. We've been talking to HPR's Catherine Klua Pactel about the new service from Moloka-Ida-Holulu. You can find the story online at hawaiipublicradio.org.

Support for HPR comes from the Honolulu Museum of Arts, Doris Duke Theatre, presenting the film series Ingmar Bergman Essentials through August. Schedule and tickets at Honolulu Museum.org. We all know them. People who are really good at setting others at ease. What's their secret? They listen well, they empathize, they reflect feelings, they seem to be able to pick up on something about you. that many others don't. How to cultivate the superpower of emotional intelligence this week on Hidden Brain from NPR. Beginning Sunday morning at 11. Support for HPR comes from St. Andrews Schools honoring Queen Emma's Legacy, now fully co-ed from preschool to grade 12. Applications for the 2728 school year at St. Andrews Schools.org. We are heading out to the sea for this week's Volcano Minute. We learn how researchers are using ocean noise to monitor the ongoing eruption of Kilauea. Here's Katie Malkin from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Aloha, it's your weekly volcano minute brought to you by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Out in the open ocean, waves are constantly rolling and crashing. That motion creates a steady rhythmic beating on the seafloor. Those vibrations travel through the earth and are picked up by seismometers around the world, including here in Hawaii. Most days, scientists at the Hawaiian volcano observatory ignore this ocean noise and focus on the signals coming from inside our volcanoes. But recently, that constant ocean hum has been used as a new volcano monitoring tool. Using a technique called ambient noise interferometry, scientists measure how fast those ocean-generated signals pass through the ground. When the speed changes, either slowing down or speeding up, it can tell us something about what's happening beneath a volcano's surface. Two months before Kilois' 2020 summit eruption, ocean noise signals began slowing down between stations on opposite sides of the summit caldera. As magma rose toward the surface, it cracked the surrounding rock. Those cracks made the ocean-driven vibrations travel more slowly. During the ongoing episodic eruption at the summit of Kilauea, scientists see the opposite effect along the caldera rim. As magma accumulates in shallow storage zones, it pushes outwards, closing existing cracks. With fewer cracks for vibrations to navigate, the signal speed up. giving us an early clue that a fountaining episode might be on the way. This technique is still evolving, but the results are promising. The next time you hear the ocean's steady thrumming, know that it's giving scientists another window into the hidden movements of magma, helping to forecast when the next fountaining episode or other eruptive activity at Kilauea might begin. Mahalo for listening. I'm Katie Mulliken, and this was your weekly volcano minute brought to you by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Now it's time to reveal the answer to today's backyard quiz. Earlier, we tested your memory of hurricanes to hit Hawaii in the last seven decades. Since 1950, five hurricanes have caused serious damage. Most recently, Hurricane Iniki struck the island of Kaua'i in 1992. It caused more than $2 billion in property damage. And you may also recall Hurricane Eva in 1982. Hurricane Estelle in 1986 and Hurricane Dot. in 1959. We asked for the name of the 1957 hurricane that produced record wins in Honolulu and led to more than a thousand evacuations. We were looking for Hurricane Nina. That was the first and last time a storm in the Central Pacific was given this name. And nearly 30 years later, Hurricane Eva took a similar track to Nina. And congrats to Roy Yamakawa, who was an artist from Kauai. our winner today. But that's our quiz. If you have an idea for one, please send it to talk back at hawaiupublicradio.org.

The stormy conditions due to Lala are forcing the rescheduling of many events because of the concern about public safety. The Duke Ocean Fest, which is a 10-day annual event of competitive surfing, swimming and paddling events, is postponing some races. It was to kick off today. And one event that is a go is a first, a dramatic one-man show about Duke's life. It's scheduled for August 20th next Thursday, and that show will go on at the Blue Note. We talked to actor Moses Goods, who wrote the play more than a decade ago. stopped by our studio yesterday afternoon. So this performance of Duke at Blue Note next week. We'll kick off the tour of my one-man show Duke that's going to be touring to four different islands, starting on the 20th at Blue Note. And there's two shows that night. Yes. And so why the Blue Note? How did that all come together? So I haven't done this show. I haven't performed it in about six or seven years. You know, I wrote it about 11 years ago. And it was sort of halted by the pandemic. And ever since then, I never thought that I would go back to it because it just wasn't on my mind to perform it. You know, Duke is always on my mind, but the performing. the show had never been on my mind. And then someone approached me, and they asked me if I do it. I'm like, oh, I don't really do that show anymore. And then a couple months later, they approached me again. And I'm like, oh, why don't I do that show anymore? There's no reason why I shouldn't. And in fact, right now is a good time to bring this story back. So that's kind of how that happened, then bringing me in that blue note. And I love that it's in Waikiki. That's where Duke is from. That's where he was born and raised. And I know that as you were crafting the story, I understand that you were looking at Duke as the whole person. There are just different aspects of his life. You know, we know the swimmer, the ambassador of Aloha. But yeah, tell our listeners, yeah, what it is that I guess you were trying to do when you wrote this. I was trying to put a story out there where you see Duke not as an icon, not as a symbol, not as even a representation of Hawaii, but a true human being in, you know, and being able to put your, put yourself in. his world, right? He was a Hawaiian. He spoke Hawaiian. That was his first language that he spoke growing up. He lived through the time of Hawaii being a kingdom, then onto a territory, then onto a state. So when you think about those things, it really starts to shape who he was, you know, why he was the way he was, you know, just based on the time that he lived and what he went through. Yeah. I think of Duke when I go to swim by the natatorium because... He swam there, right? And then just the whole competition and what was going on at the time when he was competing and how he was treated when he would compete it, you know, in other places. What struck you when you were doing your research? Oh, geez, where do I start? Okay, let's go with what you just said, how he, how he navigated things, how he existed in certain spaces. You know, he grew up, he was, he was four years old when the kingdom fell, right? It was a tumultuous time for Hawaii, but also he traveled to different places in a time when racism was still very, very real, right? And he faced that where he went. Now, what was interesting was that somehow, I'm not going to say he was able to overcome these things, but he navigated these situations in a way that was just...

almost like I can't even fathom how he was able to be who he was and carry the aloha that he was in these spaces where he had where he faced racism. For example, he was good friends with Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe was named the greatest athlete in the world. He won the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics and he was a Native American. He was a Sack and Fox Indian. His life was just riddled with just hardships based on a lot of that racism that he went through. In fact, he died having his medals stripped from him, only to be given back posthumously later on. But he lived the life that was very difficult. And he was good friends with Duke. And you look at the two. You look at his path, his journey, and Duke's. And Duke again. not saying that he didn't face the racism, but he was able to navigate it in a way that was different than a lot of other people. And that just made me ponder. Why was that? Why was he able to not face the same things that other people did? There's a lot of reasons for that. One is because people have his thought about what Hawaii is and they they romanticize it. And so if you're from Hawaii, you know, you're treated a little different. So I have to say that. But also a huge part of it was that he truly carried Aloha in his is na'au wherever he went. So even though he faced those situations, he was able to navigate it with this powerful thing that he was given since he was born, which is Aloha. I know that he was also featured on that national show. This is your life? This is your life. And I know that you had shared a story about someone who saw a Native Hawaiian on stage, on a national stage, and the impact that had. Yeah, it was my mother. I remember my mother telling me about seeing him on national television and seeing a Hawaiian celebrated all across the world. I truly think that did something to my mother. My mother carried herself in a certain way. She had, you know, she was full-blooded Hawaiian from Hamua on Maui, but she would enter a room with presents. knowing that she had the right to be in that room. Now, that came from, I'm sure, a lot of different places, but I guarantee that things like that, seeing someone like her on that world stage, on that world platform, did something to my mother. And so that's one thing that actually... made its way into the telling of the story. I don't, there's this one character, I won't give it away. It's based on that story that my mom told me. The character isn't necessarily my mom, but it's certainly based on that story and how he gave just a sense of pride to the average person living in Hawaii. He allowed us to dream. Well, I, you know, just think of Duke just as a consummate. Waterman, right, and his skills. And he saved lives out there. You know, I know we've done stories about that aspect of his life where he rescued people. Yeah. So that rescue, if I could talk about that for just a little bit, he rescued several people. And there were a few that didn't make it.

But he went out and got them as well. And that's, I cover this in the play as well in an artful way. But even that reality of him going back to retrieve these bodies of these men so that their families could have closure, that adds to the story of who Duke is, right? That memory that he carried for the rest of his life shaped who he was. And in fact, going back to the show, this is your life. I mentioned that. When he's on that show, The one time when he lights up the most was when one of the survivors reconnects with him then. And he just, you know, because it's no longer about him, right? He checks in with this person and says, I've been thinking about you. This is decades, you know, since the incident. And he says, I've been thinking about you. And he lit up in a way that was different than the entire, the rest of the show. It's because he's that kind of person, right? He was selfless, always thinking about the next person, completely and truly humble. And the one moment in that show where he lights up. is someone that he, you know, whose life he helped save just to check in to see how he's doing. An amazing human being. Yes, and, you know, I just think of the Kahunuoka Foundation and all that it does, you know, when it brings people down there for those events for the competition and just the legacy that he leaves, but the life that he lived in Waikiki. And that's why I just, I'm so tickled that you're going to be doing this, you know, at the blue note. Yeah, there's something about. just knowing that you can contribute to the legacy that he started, that just humbles you. It just makes you feel like you should be doing the right thing and you make it not about yourself. An interesting thing just to share, you know, that perspective about not being about oneself. Duke's humility was beyond anyone's, right? And that actually helped to shape how I told his story. So in the show, I actually played, I lost count. 10 to 12 different characters, right? And there's a reason for that. If I were to be on that stage for an hour portraying only Duke talking about himself, it wouldn't have felt right. So this way I get to tell the story from other people's perspective so that they can talk about him. And that, to me, felt like the right way to do it. And then why do you think it's important to retell the story again? Like you said, you hadn't done it for many years. Okay. So when I first wrote this, the show, well, I was trying to write it 11 years ago. I had, you know, gathered all the research and everything. And I had it, you know, I had it there. And I just didn't know how to start. I didn't know what the show needed to be about. And I had, you know, put all the research on my bed and then just like, oh, I don't know what to do. So I took a break and I went to watch TV only to have on television. It was the news. And it was about at that particular time, there was, um, a church burning, which has filled me with so much heaviness and so much sadness and anger. I'm like, ugh. So I turned the TV off. I went to my room where all of the, my research was all over the bed, and I looked at it. I'm like, oh. That's what this show needs to be. Aloha. At that time, I felt the world just did not lean into the Aloha that's there. And Duke's message was Aloha. So that shaped the show and how it was created. Today, same thing. I feel there is, there's a need for Aloha. We're at a time where things are just like,

a little unsure, right? Good or bad, we're just like, we're a little nervous about how things might move forward, whether that's politically or AI or whatever it is, you know, it's just, we're just unsure. The one thing that can ground us is the message that Duke put out there, which is aloha. Okay. So it's a little bit of... Escapism, maybe from the headlines, but just to remember. I think it's more than escapism. I think it's just really connecting with your humanity. So I think that's what Aloha is. It's not just love, love, love. Aloha is a commitment to humanity. Yeah, it's the authenticity. Yeah. The mana, the feeling that you have. But yeah, we may need it now more than ever. Yeah, I think so. I think so. All right. Okay. So folks need to know. Next week, Blue Note. And then it's on to Kaua, Big Island and Maui. Yep, Kaua, the next day. So we're moving, moving. We have Kauai. So we have... four shows next week, two on Maui, then two on Kaua'i, and then we go to the other islands the following weeks. Okay. All right, you can be a busy man. Busy, busy. All right. Well, thank you so much for stopping by here. Thanks for having me. Aloha. We've been hearing from actor Moses Goods. He begins a tour of a one-man play about Duke Ahanamoku next week Thursday at the Blue Note in a nod to the Duke Hanamoku Festival that was to kick off today. But because of the impending storm, some events have been postponed. Check our website for links to the latest info. We should mention that Blue Note is an HPR underwriter.

That's a wrap for this Aloha Friday. Coming up next week, well, we'll see what impact the storm has had across the state. Stay safe. Stay safe. Stay dry. And listen back to our shows on the conversation page of our website. You can find the conversation as a podcast on Spotify or Apple. Our program is produced by Maddie Bender, Lillian Song, and Kevin Allen. Our intern is Addis Bala. Additional support from the HPR Digital Team and our backyard quiz theme written for us by John Demello, theme music courtesy of Gypsy 808. I'm Catherine Cruz. Join us on Monday. Pick up the conversation.