The WNBA's hottest team - the Golden State Valkyries - is on the cusp of a brand new season. After a blockbuster debut last year that saw sold-out crowds of 18,000 fans, the Valks are sure to bring the heat both on and off the court again this summer - and with that, new supporters, like our very own Emily Dreyfuss! To get us up to speed with this Bay Area franchise, we chat with the Standard's sports editor Kerry Crowley. We then meet Danielle Thoe, owner of SF's only women's sports bar. And we end with a game hosted by the Standard's comedy correspondent Sophia Garrow to test our newfound sports fandom.

For more information and episode transcripts, visit ⁠sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time⁠/. Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a subscriber: www.sfstandard.com/subscriber

Ronan Farrow spent 18 months investigating Sam Altman for The New Yorker. This week, he joined us to talk about what he found.

Farrow and co-author Andrew Marantz spoke to over 100 people in Altman's orbit for their 16,000-word piece, "Sam Altman May Control Our Future — Can He Be Trusted?" The story landed just days before a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Altman's San Francisco home, amid a national wave of anxiety about AI and the people building it.

In this conversation, Farrow talks about the pattern of deception described by Altman's own colleagues and investors, OpenAI's transformation from a safety-first nonprofit into a company racing for profit, and why he sees Altman's story as a window into a much bigger crisis: an industry without guardrails shaping all of our futures.

We also get into what it's like to actually sit across from Altman in an interview, how Farrow's #MeToo reporting informs his approach to power, and the uncomfortable parallels between ChatGPT's tendency to hallucinate and people-please — and the personality traits sources attribute to the man who built it.

Read the full New Yorker piece: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted

Pacific Standard Time is a production of the San Francisco Standard. Produced by Eddie Sun and Tessa Kramer. Edited by Sophie Bearman. Mixing by Michelle Lanz. Video by Morgan Ellis. Art by Jess Hutchinson. Music by Carly Bond and Bear Attack. Hosted by Emily Dreyfuss.

Subscribe to The Standard: sfstandard.com/subscriber

Freelance journalist Jasmine Sun calls the SF-DC-AI axis "the most important story in the world" — so we brought her to Manny's in the Mission to break it down live. We get into the AI partisan divide, how Washington is thinking about jobs, and then spend 20 hilarious minutes grilling her on her 2026 cultural predictions. Spoiler: Graza olive oil is still out; cultured butter is in.

For more information and episode transcripts, visit ⁠sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time⁠. Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a subscriber: www.sfstandard.com/subscriber

BART is considering cutting 70% of its service. Muni could eliminate 20 lines. Stations might close permanently. And after 9 p.m.? You're on your own.

San Francisco's public transit system is facing the worst financial crisis in its history — a slow-motion collapse years in the making, accelerated by the pandemic and the rise of remote work. This week, we explain how we got here, what's on the ballot this November to address it, and what Bay Area transportation may look like if voters don't show up.

Guests: Garrett Leahy, SF Standard transportation reporter; Laura Tolkoff, transportation policy director at SPUR

San Francisco's crime rate is lower than it's been in decades, and politicians are lining up to take credit. We break down what's really happening. Plus: we consider whether putting your dog’s stinky poop bag in someone else's trash can is a crime — or, if not a crime, a moral failure.

More reading:

For more information and episode transcripts, visit ⁠⁠sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time⁠⁠. Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a member: ⁠www.sfstandard.com/member⁠.

San Francisco has the lowest rate of children per capita of any U.S. city — and if you've ever tried to afford childcare here, you know why.

This week, host Emily Dreyfuss is joined by SF Standard head of audio Sophie Bearman, who reported on the real cost of raising kids in the city, to talk about why even families earning $400,000 a year feel squeezed.

They also make the case for why, despite it all, SF is a pretty magical place to raise a family — plus the debut of a new segment, "Psst," where they share a hidden gem about the city you won't want to miss.

This week on the show, hosts Jesse Alejandro Cottrell and Emily Dreyfuss take a look at where the San Francisco housing market stands in 2026 — and who it's actually working for — with SF Standard real estate reporter Emily Landes. Landes explains what's driving SF's latest housing surge: AI workers cashing out before their companies even IPO, rock-bottom inventory, and a median home price that just crossed $2 million. Plus, we explain the "Dirt Alley" saga, and play a quiz game called "What Did It Sell For?!"

More reading:

⁠The Wishlist: Buying a home on an educator’s salary required an act of God⁠

⁠They thought they bought a home. They ended up with ‘Dirt Alley’⁠

Army veteran and San Francisco nightlife fixture Michael “Mickey” Gerold led a seemingly charmed life of private clubs and powerful friends. But his ex-girlfriend Emilia London claims that behind closed doors, he arranged for her to have sex with men for money. The earnings, totaling more than $100,000, went completely to fund Gerold’s lifestyle, London said.

On this week’s episode of “Pacific Standard Time,” SF Standard reporter Anya Schultz discusses her blockbuster investigation into alleged sex crimes, explains what motivated London to share her allegations publicly, and details how she stumbled across the story at San Francisco Family Court.

More reading:

This week on “Pacific Standard Time,” Replit CEO Amjad Masad tells us about the intense backlash he has faced for being outspokenly pro-Palestine — and Silicon Valley’s “only contrarian.” And Casey Newton of Platformer and the “Hard Fork” podcast drops by to gab about getting engaged and his reaction to Wired’s “gay tech mafia” story.

More reading:

For more information and episode transcripts, visit ⁠⁠sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time⁠⁠. Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a member: ⁠www.sfstandard.com/member⁠.

This week on “Pacific Standard Time," reporter Rya Jetha explains why the tech world is in a frenzy over AI’s capabilities — and why many rank-and-file engineers are facing an unsettling existential crisis. Plus, reporter Astrid Kane takes us inside the Castro Theatre’s high-stakes makeover. Was the controversy worth the result? (Spoiler: It’s glorious.)

More reading:

AI writes the code now. What’s left for software engineers?

The Castro Theatre is officially back: Here’s who graced the grand reopening

For more information and episode transcripts, visit ⁠⁠sfstandard.com/pacific-standard-time⁠⁠. Support this podcast from The San Francisco Standard by becoming a member: ⁠www.sfstandard.com/member⁠.