Crosscurrents

Late on a summer night in 1966, a cop put his hands on a customer at a popular gathering space for trans women and drag queens. Coffee was thrown in his face, and a riot erupted right there at Compton's Cafeteria in the Tenderloin. This moment was one of the first documented acts of LGBTQ+ resistance in the country. 

For the past year, an immersive play called The Compton's Cafeteria Riot has been bringing audiences into the historic event as diners inside the cafeteria. The play is produced by the Tenderloin Museum. One of its co-writers, Donna Persona, is a trans rights activist, and Mary Vice is an actor turned drag queen in the play. They spoke to KALW's Jeneé Darden, host of the Sights and Sounds show. Here's an excerpt from their conversation. 

San Francisco laid many of the bricks that built the road to LGBTQ+ liberation, equality, and Pride. One of them takes the shape of a piece of fabric, that’s also a piece of living history. 

In this story from 2023, by reporters Sandra Halladey and Alastair Boone, we hear about how the first Pride Flag came to be. And how the bit of cloth, the iconic rainbow, and the pride movement, live on. 

On the corner of 18th and Castro Street, images of the rainbow flag are ubiquitous. They’re hanging in store windows, they stud the escalators in Harvey Milk plaza, and even make up the stripes in the crosswalk. But as we’ll learn, the rainbow flag has only been a symbol for the Queer community for less than 50 years. 

Today, we’ll hear how Bay Area listening bars have their roots in World War II Japanese culture. Finding a space just for music. Then, we’ll unpack the throughline that connects the different Chinatowns around the world. Plus, a poetic ode to the Mission.

A different kind of bar scene has grown across the Bay Area since the pandemic: listening bars. Derived from a tradition that took off in 1930s Tokyo, they're businesses that play high-fidelity music from vintage speakers. Reporter Nava Rawls went to find out if these special places made for listening are one-hit wonders… or here to stay.  

This is our last episode airing during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so today we bring you a conversation from our friends at the podcast “Worst Quality Crab.” 

Their show is a conversational version of an Asian American cookbook. It’s hosted by Freesia and Samson Lee, and they talk to guests about food that is meaningful to them, family history, and the people that make their shared meals so memorable. 

Last week, they hosted a live taping of their podcast at KALW’s event space in downtown San Francisco. And they invited Bonnie Tsui, the bestselling author of “American Chinatown,” which won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. 

Bonnie had a lot to say about growing up with fortune cookies, but we want to start this excerpt from their conversation with her childhood memories of the different Chinatowns that became the inspiration for her book.

San Francisco’s first Latino poet laureate, Alejandro Murguia published his poem ‘Mission Vision,’ in 2013. Here is Bay Poets host Josiah Luis Alderete reciting it.

Today, we hear advocates defend their cases for San Francisco’s competing tax propositions. We’re getting into San Francisco props C and D. Then, we hear from a young South Bay organizer on how youth are feeling about voting this year. Then, how James Baldwin inspired this year’s theme for the Bay Area Book Festival.

Next Tuesday, June 2nd, is California’s 2026 primary election. And there’s a lot for voters to decide on. In San Francisco, two competing propositions have become a high-stakes referendum on how the city taxes its largest employers: Prop C and Prop D.

KALW recently hosted a live conversation between proponents of both Props C and D. It was co-presented with the San Francisco Public Press, and moderated by their Executive Director, Lila LaHood. The YES on C side was represented by David Harrison, director of policy at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. And on the YES on D side was represented by Kim Tabelloni, executive director at the San Francisco Labor Council.

In this excerpt we’ll hear them explain what they think big business owes to San Francisco, and the people who live here. We start by hearing Kim Tabelloni. 

As we wrap up Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, many in the diaspora will also be getting ready to vote, some for the first time. Next we’ll hear from the younger generation. Ralph Leaño Atanacio works with AAPI Youth. They are a queer Filipinx immigrant, and the Co-Director of the South Bay Youth Changemakers. It’s an organization that builds up Asian American youth voices by fostering leadership and increasing their civic participation.

With so much happening in the Bay Area and the world, we wanted to know: what do the younger generations from this diaspora care about? And do they still see elections as the only medium for change? Crosscurrents host Hana Baba spoke with Atanacio and they begin by describing the issues that have become central to their conversations about the future.

The Bay Area Book Festival returns to Downtown Berkeley this weekend. There will be many things to learn and experience for book literature lovers of all ages. J.K. Fowler is the executive director of the Festival. He sat down with KALW’s Jenee Darden for “The Sights + Sounds Show.” They spoke about why Fowler sees this year’s theme of “Writing the Future” to be important for these times.