The Soap Box is a weekly commentary on current affairs of the people. Host, Kiva Hewett, is a student at Cal State Long Beach. She studies journalism and seeks to fuse it with anthropology and political science. Her show attempts to break

down surface politics and policy into how it really affects the people.

Kiva fell in love with radio broadcast during a tragedy. When Hurricane Katrina hit her favorite city, her ears perked up while listening to National Public Radio.

“I had just moved and didn’t have a T.V. but I was spending a lot of time in my car. I was spared the gruesome pictures and much of the political side I didn’t get till much later. Those NPR reporters, though, did such a beautiful job of painting a picture, and covered so much more than just the wreckage. For months during the clean up efforts they covered the culture of that city and as I was listening it hit me… I want to tell stories and use my voice to get people to pay attention.”

She believes in good journalism; getting to the bottom of things and making sense of them. This is something she believes is missing in a society she describes as self-absorbed and slightly bi-polar.

Kiva is the daughter of R&B singer Howard Hewett, but ended up taking after her mother’s side with dance and books. An odd combination, yes, but it transformed over the years as a sort of spiritual and cultural curiosity. Her love for culture and interest in social policy now comes out when she addresses current events and “the way things ought to be.”

Outside of school she is a mother, dancer and a bit of an adventurer. She teaches at a local dance studio and performs whenever she gets the chance. Though she is a single mother, she is well traveled and exposes her 10-year-old daughter to as much of the world as she can.

“I want her to grow up and be a well-rounded, fair-minded human being. I believe that only happens when you are forced outside of your element.”

The Soap box airs Fridays at 1 p.m. on kBeach.org.