Crosscurrents

Uncuffed Solano producer Saladin Rushdan loved his first car, a Mercury. But after he was sent to fight in the Vietnam War, he came back a changed man, with different feelings about the car of his youth.

Uncuffed producer Daniel Cowie struggled to find the courage to reach out to his father. But a conversation at Solano State Prison changed everything — and led to him finding his sister.

Last year, KALW’s Jenee Darden launched a new show all about arts and culture around the Bay. Now, the Sights and Sounds Show is celebrating its first anniversary! I sat down with Jenee, to hear some highlights from their first year… and a look at what’s to come.

Today, Author Meena Harris talks about her new children’s book where a little girl asks "Where are all the statues of women?" Then, we explore the science fiction that’s helped imagine our current reality. And, the art at a Bolinas exhibit offers many different views of our future.

Where are the women? That’s a question a little girl named Maya had. She is the main character in the book "Maya’s Big Question." In the story, Maya goes on a field trip to Washington, D.C. and notices that just about all of the monuments and statues pay tribute to men. 

“Maya’s Big Question,” is the fifth book by New York Times bestselling Bay Area author Meena Harris.The main character is named after her mother and policy advocate Maya Harris. Meena’s aunt is former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.  KALW’s Jenee Darden spoke with Meena Harris on “The Sights + Show.” Here’s an excerpt from that conversation. 

Some works of fiction seem to have predetermined where we are now as a society... And where we might be headed. To dive into these questions, KALW recently hosted a live taping of the “Ways of Knowing” podcast. Panelists included two assistant professors from the University of Washington: Anna Price, from the English department and Golden m Owens, from the cinema and media studies department. 

In this excerpt from that event, KALW’s Executive Producer Ben Trefney, who moderated the panel, asked Price and Owens to share a few of the stories that seemed to see into our present. First, Anna Price. 

The Common Wheel Gallery in Bolinas is asking big questions. About how communities around the world respond to a time of global uncertainty. The exhibit is called “Remembering Our Future,” and it brings together art, storytelling, and the work of fellows from the Omega Resilience Awards hosted by the longtime West Marin nonprofit Common Wheel. Mark Valentine is their chief Strategy Officer of the Omega Resilience Awards. He spoke to KALW’s Ethan Elkind on a recent episode of State of the Bay.

You may have heard the phrase save the bees. Well turns out, maybe not ALL bees should be saved. Today, how we can help save California’s native bees. Then, a woman who handles high-stakes situations with grace and a level head. We spend an afternoon with Reverend Annanda Barclay, a Stanford Chaplain Fellow… and bee keeper.

Muslim American women have to face Islamophobia, but when you’re also Black - it’s even more complicated. Today, we meet women navigating the intersection of Blackness and being Muslim. Plus, a rapper from Oakland faces the haters head-on.

A program at San Francisco Airport is helping fearful flyers get into the sky… Today, we visit SFO’s Fear of Flying Clinic. Then, we talk to the clinic’s chairwoman who says, it’s not an easy fear to let go of. And she knows this personally.