New year, new laws. 900 new pieces of legislation are rolling out in California for 2026. In this episode, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Sophia Bollag brings us a rundown of a handful of laws related to artificial intelligence, drug costs, and sexual assault lawsuits – as well as a reboot of the plastic bag ban. Plus, the latest news headlines: Valley health officials stick to previous childhood vaccine rules amid federal changes, and Fresno homicide rate drops to a historic low.

This week, Governor Gavin Newsom will deliver his State of the State address, as well as his proposed budget. In the face of a continued multi-billion-dollar state deficit, CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yue explains how the state budget could impact Californians. Plus, the latest news headlines: Federal regulators issue fines after a deadly 2024 farmworker crash; and Fresno Unified retirees face insurance disruptions.

As homeowners continue to pick up the pieces from the Southern California fires that started a year ago, a new investigation shows insurance companies could be undercutting claims. Susie Nielson with the San Francisco Chronicle explains how some hidden rules are designed to benefit insurers at homeowners’ expense. Plus, the latest news headlines: Thousands of California residents need to update their REAL IDs; and Congress marks five years since the Jan. 6th attacks.

In 2005, a national report revealed that Fresno contained some of the highest rates of concentrated poverty in the country. Now, 20 years later, we wondered: have those economic conditions changed? In today’s episode, we speak with KVPR reporter Israel Cardona Hernandez about how Fresno’s economy has evolved in the last 20 years, how the situation feels for Fresno residents, and how local organizations are trying to turn the tide.

Glaciers in the Sierra Nevada have existed for thousands of years. However, recent research published in the journal "Science Advances" projects that they will disappear by the end of the century. Today, we revisit our conversation with Andy Jones, who explains the findings of the study. Jones is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the research.

In celebration of their 25th anniversary, Mariachi Mestizo has released a new album in 2025. The group based in Delano is composed mostly of students, though you can’t tell by listening. Today, we celebrate homegrown mariachi and revisit our conversation with band members Juan Morales and Joelynn Valencia, along with clips of their music.

In April, Senator Bernie Sanders stopped in Bakersfield for his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, along with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But not all of the thousands who showed up were“feeling the Bern.” Today, we revisit our conversation with the senator and hear why he stopped in the historically conservative town.

Today, we revisit our conversation with Fresno native Jeff Atamajian. He's a film music composer, arranger, and orchestrator. Atmajian most recently helped orchestrate the music for the hit blockbuster movies "Wicked" and Wicked: For Good."

The Central California Women's Facility is one of the largest prisons housing only women. On today's episode, we revisit our tour of the facility and hear about a unique program: incarcerated people at the prison are running their own newspaper. Two members of the newspaper's team — Amber Bray and Kanoa Harris-Pendang — tell us about how the idea for the newspaper came to be, and how it inspires those who take part in it.

The California High Speed Rail is a controversial project, and the federal government has slashed funding due to its lack of progress. But the CEO of the California High Speed Rail Authority, Ian Choudri, says the rail can be a point of national pride if it's given the chance to get done. Today, we revisit an August 2024 conversation that we had with Choudri about the project.