It’s easy to think that California’s eviction moratorium means people can expect to remain in their homes during the economic crisis and global pandemic. But a KQED investigation found that hundreds of evictions are still taking place across the Bay Area, to mostly Black and brown renters. So why hasn’t the state’s eviction moratorium stopped evictions from happening? And why is it worse in some counties than others? What your local governments are doing is a large part of the answer. Guest: Mol...
Feb 01, 2021•23 min
It takes a lot of hard work to curb gun violence at the community level. For the past few years, those efforts in Richmond and Oakland were paying off. But then the pandemic happened, and a lot of in-person community building became unsafe, and advocates fear years of hard work has been lost to the pandemic. Guest: Abené Clayton, reporter for The Guardian’s Guns and Lies in America project. You can read Abené's story here. Episode transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
Jan 29, 2021•17 min
In our first virtual live event of 2021, we invited KQED reporters to share what stories they’ll be looking out for this year. We want to share this conversation and ask what matters to you as the Bay Area adjusts to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We also took your questions. From wildfire prevention to free public transit, virtual learning to the changing arts scene, here’s what we might see in 2021 and what we can do about it. This conversation is split into two halves: the first is called "W...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr
KQED wasn't alone in struggling to cover former President Trump. These last four years changed how many journalists think about their responsibilities to the public. It's also forced more members of the news media to reckon with their own role in perpetuating long-existing, systemic problems. So we wanted to chat with KQED’s newsroom leaders about how they've changed over the past four years, and the role local news plays in a frail democracy. Guests: Vinnee Tong, KQED’s Director of News and Eth...
Jan 25, 2021•20 min
It’s been a week. So now, music. We’re bringing you the first episode of a new series from our friends at Rightnowish that shines a light on all sorts of creators this year. In this episode, Pendarvis Harshaw introduces us to Brooklyn based and Oakland-raised artist Nappy Nina. Just don’t call her a femcee. Sign up for our free live (virtual) event on Monday, Jan. 25 here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 22, 2021•19 min
It's Inauguration Day in the U.S. The end of the Trump administration, and the beginning of the Biden administration is a monumental moment for the country –and for the rest of the world. Today, we hear from members of the Iranian diaspora here in the Bay Area about what this change in power means for them, their loved ones in Iran, and for the future hopes of the relationship between their two home countries. Guest: Kyana Moghadam, KQED podcast producer Read the transcript here. Find all of our...
Jan 20, 2021•22 min
Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google have long struggled to deal with violent language and misinformation on their platforms. But after the attack on the U.S. Capitol last week, a line was crossed — and these companies banned or restricted President Trump, along with some of his supporters who have incited violence. So what took these companies so long to take action? And how should we feel about their continued role in how we communicate? Guest: Rachael Myrow, KQED Silicon Va...
Jan 15, 2021•16 min
On Monday, California’s COVID-19 death toll reached 30,000. Gov. Gavin Newsom and health officials are relying on mass vaccinations to slow the spread, but there’s a lot of reason to believe accomplishing that will be hard. A majority of California is under stay at home orders until things get better, but the first phase of the rollout has already been slower than some hoped. Guest: Barbara Feder Ostrov, Contributing Writer for CalMatters Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choice...
Jan 13, 2021•17 min
It takes a lot of work to undo white supremacy. For many who have been committed to this work, it’s a lifetime of protests, campaigning, donating, and showing up. And sometimes, it can feel like an impossible task. Following the attack by the pro-Trump extremists at the U.S. Capitol last week, we invited longtime Bay Area activist Cat Brooks to talk with us about how she’s been processing everything, and how to make your activism sustainable. Guest: Cat Brooks, executive director of the Justice ...
Jan 11, 2021•19 min
California is a state run by Democrats. But we have elected officials who have either ignored or enabled President Trump through the years — including on Wednesday, when a pro-Trump mob violently took over the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden. Even after the process resumed, 7 out of 10 House Republicans from California voted to overturn electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Today, we'll talk about why this matters to Californians, even after Trump le...
Jan 08, 2021•16 min
This week, 200+ employees at Google announced that they've formed a union. The Alphabet Workers Union, which is supported by Communications Workers of America (CWA), is the first of its kind at Google, and will include dues-paying members, an elected board of directors, and paid organizing staff. For now, it still represents a small fraction of the roughly 260,000 workers at Alphabet. But it's still a big deal — especially in Silicon Valley, where it's so hard to organize at all. Guest: Sam Harn...
Jan 06, 2021•18 min
If you want to get involved in local politics, your city council meeting can be a good place to start. But it can also be a lot. It's where your elected representatives make decisions that directly affect your life. And it's where anybody can tell their local leaders what they really think about those decisions. LaTonda Simmons knows all about this. Today, she looks back on 16 years running Oakland City Council meetings, and offers some advice for people hoping to participate for the first time....
Jan 04, 2021•22 min
This year in news has changed us all in so many ways. And as we wrap up 2020 with our final episode of the year, we thought we'd take some time to reflect on the stories that have stuck with us the most. Remembering San Francisco Lesbian Rights Activist Phyllis Lyon — Ericka Cruz Guevarra 'These Kids are Fearless': Vallejo Families Seeking Justice for Police Killings Reflect on Protests — Devin Katayama Meet the Poll Workers Who Made Election Day in the Bay Area Possible — Alan Montecillo Guests...
Dec 18, 2020•31 min
In August, a Foster Farms poultry processing plant in Livingston was temporarily shut down because of a a COVID-19 outbreak where at least 392 workers tested positive and 9 workers died. Now, Foster Farms is facing outbreaks at three of the company’s plants in the Central Valley. But it’s been really hard to get basic information about what’s going on about things like worker safety and who makes the final decisions. Today, we talk about what we do and don’t know about these outbreaks, and what ...
Dec 16, 2020•21 min
This is the fourth episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. It's been called one of the biggest protests the world has ever seen. Farmers in India have been protesting for months over new agriculture laws passed by the Indian Parliament in September, which farmers feel would destroy their livelihoods. People around the world are showing solidarity with them, including here in the Bay Area. ...
Dec 14, 2020•17 min
The Bay Area has a long history of providing refuge to migrants seeking asylum. And for some, like Luna Guzmán, a transgender woman who left Guatemala at 22, places like San Francisco are one of the few places where they feel safe. But the journey to seek asylum can be dangerous, especially when U.S. immigration policy fails to protect people who live outside the gender binary. Now, the Trump Administration plans to issue new rules for asylum that would restrict access to the U.S. even more. Tod...
Dec 11, 2020•46 min
Over the weekend, another surge in COVID-19 cases once again led to playgrounds being closed in many communities across California and in five Bay Area counties. But some parents felt like this part of the new stay-at-home order goes too far — especially because some indoor shopping stayed open. Many also worried that losing access to a safe and free outdoor space could harm both kids and families. Guest: Matthias Gafni, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle UPDATE: On Wednesday morning, the ...
Dec 09, 2020•17 min
This is the third episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. A vote in Oakland today goes farther than it did prior to 1980. That’s when voters passed Measure H, which moved the city from at-large to district-based elections . The change was huge for Black and brown voters, who now had the opportunity to elect candidates from their neighborhoods instead of being represented by white men backe...
Dec 07, 2020•22 min
California is planning its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare workers have already been prioritized, but figuring out who comes next and how that decision will be made is now in the hands of an advisory committee made up of health and community leaders. One factor they’ll use to decide who gets the vaccine next? A look at the nation’s history of social injustice, and which groups have been overlooked, and wronged, in the past. Guest: April Dembosky, Health Correspondent for KQED Read t...
Dec 04, 2020•22 min
It's always been difficult to charge a police officer after they've killed someone while on the job. But in the Bay, it's happened a few times within the last three months. For example, in September, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley charged San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher for killing Steven Taylor in April 2020, and last week San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa for shooting and killing Keita O'Neil in 2017. So what led these two Bay Area DAs to file...
Dec 02, 2020•21 min
This is the second episode of By The People, The Bay podcast's new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. Many activists work their whole lives from outside the systems they want changed. That’s what Shakira Simley did, until recently. Simley is now Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity and says she brought a lot of the lessons she learned as an activist with her into City Hall. Simley talks with us about why it’s importa...
Nov 30, 2020•20 min
When Evelyn Legarte migrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1980, she was part of a growing number of Filipinos that now make up about 20% of nurses in California. As the holidays approach, we want to acknowledge the many Filipino nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic who are caring for people like they’ve done in past public health crises. This episode originally ran on May 22, 2020. Guest: Evelyn Legarte, retired Bay Area nurse Subscribe to our newsletter here! Read th...
Nov 25, 2020•19 min
One way to change your hometown? Run for office. That’s what Alex Lee, James Coleman, and Lucy Shen decided to do in the 2020 elections. All three are among a number of young, queer candidates of color who ran in local races this year. They’re from different parts of the Bay Area – with unique relationships to their hometowns – but they all found themselves looking for change and diving into politics. This is the first episode of By The People, The Bay’s new series highlighting the way democracy...
Nov 23, 2020•22 min
When the pandemic hit, thousands of unsheltered people were moved into hotels under a plan known as Project Roomkey. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the goal was to eventually move people into permanent housing. But early data from eight Bay Area counties analyzed by KQED shows that most people discharged from hotels have not found a more secure home. Now, some of those hotels are closing, and as coronavirus cases surge again the question still remains: where will the unhoused go? Guest: Erin Baldassari,...
Nov 20, 2020•18 min
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California has seen the fastest two-week increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. Now, most counties, including six in the Bay Area, are under the state’s most restrictive pandemic mandates. Guest: Katie Orr, KQED politics and government reporter Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/2UzUKpp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 18, 2020•20 min
We've heard a lot about how older people are vulnerable during this pandemic. And it's true that they're more vulnerable to the virus and that loneliness and depression among seniors has been rising. But there's another part of the story we don't hear much about: how and why some seniors are finding ways to be more resilient right now. Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED Science Reporter Read the transcript here: https://bit.ly/32IXaXt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 16, 2020•23 min
California Proposition 22 was a big win for tech companies. Its passage allows a handful of corporations — like Uber and Lyft — to create a new "gig" contractor category for their workers that doesn’t have to include employee protections and benefits, like unemployment insurance and workers compensation. Now, those same companies that won in California want to expand beyond the state. Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3eSSCCw Guest: Sam Harnett, Silicon Valley reporter for KQED Listen to our s...
Nov 13, 2020•19 min
The Bay Area passed a number of local measures related to civilian oversight of police this election. This means an increase in access for what citizens get to know, and get to do, about issues within their local police departments – including policy changes and police misconduct. We look at the recently passed Measure P, out of Sonoma County, which increases the powers of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO). And the public outcry for police accountability, dat...
Nov 11, 2020•17 min
Things are still really stressful right now. But comedian Luna Malbroux navigates that stress but choosing laughter and joy in a time of extreme anxiety.Today, we're sharing an interview with Luna on an episode of Rightnowish, hosted by KQED columnist and host Pendarvis Harshaw. Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3kb2Qze Sign up for The Bay's newsletter: https://bit.ly/2Ij412e Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 09, 2020•20 min
Voting in the Bay Area seemed to go smoothly on Tuesday, thanks in part to California's efforts to get people to vote early and by mail. That says a lot, in an election where there's been so much misinformation about the process, and where a pandemic threatened the health and safety of people voting in person. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED Politics and Government reporter Guy is following up with Bay Area counties to see what more we can learn about voting this election. If you experienced problems...
Nov 06, 2020•18 min
