Political Breakdown

Why are voters of color shifting toward Republicans, including Donald Trump? Black, Latino and Asian American voters have long been solid Democratic Party voters, but polls and voting trends show that is changing. Scott talks about why and how the trend might affect the 2024 elections with Brakkton Booker, a national political correspondent for POLITICO where he covers the intersection of race, politics, culture and power.

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Sneha Revanur is quickly establishing herself as the leading Gen Z voice on generative AI. In 2020, at the age of 15, the San José native founded Encode Justice, a youth-led group pushing policymakers and AI companies to put people at the center of the AI revolution.

Plus, a package of bills introduced Tuesday in Sacramento aims to target large scale retail theft operations. KQED's Guy Marzorati joins to explain the bills, how they would change theft prosecutions and how they fit within the context of California's Proposition 47.

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San Francisco has long been a beacon for liberal politics and social causes. But lately a steady diet of viral videos of car break-ins and smash-and-grabs have put the city on something of a mid-course correction.

Plus, the recalls of progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three members of the San Francisco school board, and the recent passage of measures bolstering police powers and requiring drug screenings, have added to the sense that something is shifting in San Francisco.

Scott is joined by New York Times San Francisco Bureau Chief Heather Knight, who recently penned a profile of Garry Tan, the controversial leader of a well-known venture capital firm in the Bay Area, and Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle, who’s been reporting on an attempt to move the Republican Party in San Francisco toward more moderate positions.

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The race for mayor of San Francisco gets a new heavyweight contender as Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin throws his hat into the ring. Peskin is the most prominent progressive challenging incumbent Mayor London Breed. Scott and Marisa are joined by KQED politics reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez to talk about the San Francisco mayor's race. 

Plus, in the race to replace retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in Silicon Valley, Assemblyman Evan Low and County Supervisor Joe Simitian tied for second place, deadlocking at 30,249 votes each in the March primary. That means three Democrats will compete in a general election for Congress, in what's believed to be a first in California history. Guy Marzorati joins Scott and Marisa to talk about the unpredictable path to November. 

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Summer travel season is approaching, but after months of headlines about safety issues on airplanes, some travelers may be questioning whether air travel is the best bet. Marisa and Scott are joined by East Bay Congressman Mark DeSaulnier who has some thoughts on the matter after years of digging into aviation safety.

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Yesterday, Gov. Gavin Newsom surveyed the Sierra snowpack and outlined a new state water plan focused on climate change. Scott and KQED climate reporter Ezra David Romero are joined by California's former top water regulator Felicia Marcus. As the state’s top water czar, she navigated severe droughts, balancing demands for scare water by cities, farms, businesses and homeowners. 

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After two years of work examining the legacy of slavery and racism, the California Legislative Black Caucus is prioritizing 14 bills aimed at addressing past wrongs.

The bills range from ending involuntary servitude in prison to banning discrimination based on hair styles and a formal apology for the damage done by California’s role in supporting slavery before the Civil War. But one thing that's not on the agenda is cash payments for California residents who are descendants of slaves. 

Scott is joined by KQED's Guy Marzorati and Annelise Finney to talk about the importance of these bills as hearings get underway. 

Check out KQED's bill tracker following the progress of those 14 reparations bills. 

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Fewer people are being held in county jails across California than a decade ago, and yet record numbers of incarcerated people are dying while in custody. Among the leading causes of death are drug overdoses and suicide. Scott talks with CalMatters reporter Nigel Duara, who spent the last nine months looking at the roots of these increased deaths in county jails and what's being done to address it. 

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As California grapples with how to reduce homelessness, Marisa and Guy sit down with Governor Gavin Newsom’s top housing official. Tomiquia Moss spent her career trying to chip away at the state's homelessness crisis, starting as a social worker in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood to now, as the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. 

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The Supreme Court took up abortion access this week for the first time since overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago. This time, they're considering whether to restrict access to abortion pill mifepristone. Marisa talks with POLITICO health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein about what the conservative-led court might do.  

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