On today’s episode, we explore George McCalman’s book The Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen. McCalman is an artist and creative director based in San Francisco. Our conversation revolves around the process he went through to narrow his list of historical figures from 500 to 145, his artistic process, and what it meant for him to orient himself around Black history in the US as a young Grenadian immigrant.

Among the figures featured in the book are James Baldwin, Madeline Anderson, Colin Kaepernick, and the first Black person to travel into space, Guion S. Bluford.

Follow George McCalman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mccalmanco

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Civil rights leader and political candidate Reverend Jesse Jackson died this week at the age of 84.  We speak with Walter Riley, a civil rights lawyer and an activist who has spent decades in Oakland defending protesters and challenging police misconduct. His political organizing work dates back to the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow south.

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The post Remembering the Legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson w/ Walter Riley appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we discuss the SAVE America Act, which was recently passed by a narrow vote in the House of Representatives. We speak to Portia Allen-Kyle, a civil rights attorney, public policy expert, and racial justice advocate, with experience in voting rights, civic participation, and equity-focused policy work.

Next, we go to Los Angeles, where LA city council member Nithya Raman has announced her mayoral candidacy against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. We speak to Jill Cowan, LA-based reporter for The New York Times and writer of the publication’s “California Today” newsletter.

Finally, we turn our attention back home in the Bay Area. We’ll speak with Jennifer Friedenbach, a housing and homelessness advocate and the Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco, to discuss the Bay Area homeless sweeps in preparation for the 2026 Super Bowl.

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The post Voting Rights, LA’s Mayoral Shake-Up, and Bay Area Super Bowl Sweeps appeared first on KPFA.

On today’s show, we discuss the We Can’t Wait campaign for educators.  We speak with Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, an Oakland educator, racial justice advocate, and President of the Oakland Education Association (OEA). She teaches at Oakland Unified School District and is a leading voice for educational equity, including helping advance Oakland’s Reparations for Black Students policy. Learn more about the campaign https://wecantwait.info/

Next, we go to San Francisco, where teachers are striking for improved working conditions. We speak with Ryan Alias, a San Francisco public school English teacher at Balboa High School and a member of the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) bargaining committee, where he has been an active voice in the union’s 2026 contract negotiations and strike actions for fair contracts and better conditions for both educators and students.

Finally, we turn our attention to the Kaiser Nurses’ strike.  We’ll speak with Iris Henderson, a Registered Nurse and lactation specialist at the Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center. She is a member of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP). She has been on the front lines of recent strike actions, advocating for safer staffing and stronger protections for patients and healthcare workers.

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The post Strike Update! SFUSD Teachers and Kaiser Nurses Make Demands appeared first on KPFA.

On this episode, we speak with Phyllis Bennis, co-director the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), her work focuses on the Middle East, U.S. militarism, and the US-United Nations relations.  She is the author of several books including her latest, Understanding Palestine & Israel.

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On this show, we speak with Capital B reporter Adam Mahoney on this year’s winter storms in the Southeast and their impacts on vulnerable communities.

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The post Capital B’s Adam Mahoney on Winter Storm Impacts on Vulnerable Communities appeared first on KPFA.

On this show, we speak with LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano on Los Angeles’ fight back against ICE.

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This week’s Resistance in Residence feature is Oakland-based singer/songwriter Cadence Myles.  Check out Cadence’s stuff here https://www.instagram.com/cadencemylesmusic/?hl=en.

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The Alameda county Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new rules Tuesday banning immigration agents from using county-owned property, including parking lots, garages, and nonpublic building areas, for operations, detainee processing, or surveillance. County officials said the policy will be enforced through civil measures such as cease-and-desist orders. we go to Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas on the plan to establish ICE-free zones in the county.

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On this episode, we explore the controversies at the Oakland Police Commission. Commissioner Omar Farmer’s time on the Oakland Police Commission ended because the Oakland City Council rejected his reappointment along with fellow commissioner Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, voting against confirming their positions on the civilian police oversight board after their terms expired. We speak with Omar along with Millie Cleveland who is on the steering committee for the Coalition of Police Accountability. 

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The post City of Oakland Moves to Remove Omar Farmer and Ricardo Garcia Acosta from Police Commission w/ Omar Farmer and Millie Cleveland appeared first on KPFA.