Crosscurrents

A play that uses comedy and compassion to address alcoholism is coming to the Marin Theater.

The Federal Government is now forcing universities to limit the rights of their international students. Today, we hear a conversation about how this affects UC Berkeley. Then, love is in the air at the A.C.T. Strand Theater in San Francisco. Plus we hear the latest from the world of women’s professional sports with BOUNCE!

Bay Area college students have been back in school for less than a month now. At UC Berkeley, immigration is coming up as part of the back to school experience for many.

Last month Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent a memo to the university that impacted thousands of their students here on visas. ICE sent a warning to the school letting it know that it risked losing government approval to take foreign students, if it did not close a temporary work authorization program called Course Credit Curricular Practical Training, or CPT.

This program allowed foreign students to gain experience working for hi-tech businesses related to their field of study. Now UC Berkeley has indefinitely paused applications for the CPT work permit. Ayah Alshiekhah is news editor for The Daily Californian. She helped break the story, and spoke to KALW's news editor Sunni Khalid to explain how this is impacting students. 

The stage show “Crushing” is all about love- and it’s returning to San Francisco at the A.C.T. Strand Theater. In the show, 10 artists step up to the mic and share their stories of love- not just the beautiful, but also the complicated, and sometimes messy experiences. Its executive producer is Rosario Dawson. 

KALW’s Jenee Darden spoke to the creatives behind “Crushing”- Carly Steyer is the writer and director, and Megan Calfas is the playwright. Here’s an excerpt from their conversation.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been bringing you episodes of BOUNCE, KALW’s sports podcast that’s following the rise of women’s professional sports in the Bay. The Golden State Valkyries are on their way to the WNBA playoffs, but right now, some of them are in Berlin. Taking part in the FIBA World Cup - the international women's Basketball tournament. So today, we thought to go worldwide, with a global women’s sports update from the host of Bounce, Erin Lim. 

Humans have an innate attraction to water... But why? Today, we hear from Bay Area author, Bonnie Tsui, about 'Why We Swim.' Then, how free swim lessons are connecting kids with water. It's a special episode, hosted by KALW's water-loving Molly Blair Salyer, all about water and what draws us to it.

tbh is KALW’s podcast that’s made by, for, and about teenagers and it’s back! In the first episode of the newest season we’re going underground to meet the people pushing a new counterculture through rap music.

The WNBA has a reputation for embracing LGBTQ+ players and fans… but that wasn’t always the case. Today, the history behind the WNBA’s “glass closet era.” But first, we hear a theory on why the Golden State Valkyries have had such a successful second season.

Companies are using your browsing history, and other information about you, to customize the prices you see online. Today, how companies use your data to decide what you pay… and what can be done about it. Then, we go inside the oldest suicide prevention hotline in the country. 

If you've ever wondered why the same flight, hotel room, or grocery item seems to cost a different amount depending on who's buying it, you’re not imagining things. Companies are using the data we expose online, including our location, our browsing habits, even assumptions about our income, to decide what prices to charge us. It's called surveillance pricing, and it's becoming more common across the retail world – from airlines to grocery chains right here in the Bay Area.

KALW’s personal finance reporter Francesca Fenzi found out just how personal, and hard to escape, this practice really is.