In April 2023, tech executive Bob Lee was found near San Francisco’s Embarcadero with severe stab wounds. He later died from these injuries. Shortly after his death, some of the loudest voices in tech rushed to blame a chaotic, violent City. 

Out of twelve murders that took place in the city that year, it was the only one to garner international attention, fueling a narrative that Lee was killed because of a general lack of safety/ in a city that had failed to keep law and order. But, it was eventually determined that his killing stemmed from a personal connection. 

So what really happened? What does Lee’s death really signify?

That’s what Shawn Wen sought to find out. She’s the creator and producer of the podcast Foundering. Shawn spoke with Mission Local’s Joe Eskenazi at KALW’s live event space in downtown San Francisco. In this excerpt from their conversation, Shawn and Joe consider what this case meant to a fractured city.