The standoff between Public Works and the group from Union Point Park ends with a handshake -- a deal to build a new kind of housing community funded by the city where homeless residents make their own rules. But right away, the civility of this agreement seems to break down. 

And after months of waiting, the group from Union Point Park finally gets a plot of land on E12th street for their radical experiment. But there’s a big problem with the land. It's something that leaves the future of this experiment in limbo.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

A Tiny Plot is a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Host and Reporter Shaina Shealy takes listeners inside an encampment in Oakland for an against-all-odds story about scarcity, community, and the complexity of building something new from the margins of a broken system. What happens when people who’ve been shut out of a system that has failed them decide to take the lead? Disaster, and unexpected beauty. 

Big thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Specials thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 2 of 5. Episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listen on any podcast platform, right here on Snap Judgment! 

Using broken refrigerators, mattresses and dishwashers, residents of Union Point Park barricade their tent-city. And they fight for an extraordinary idea: their own plot of land from the city, where they could live in community and set their own rules, on their own terms.

A Tiny Plot is a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Host and Reporter Shaina Shealy takes listeners inside an encampment in Oakland for an against-all-odds story about scarcity, community, and the complexity of building something new from the margins of a broken system. What happens when people who’ve been shut out of a system that has failed them decide to take the lead? Disaster, and unexpected beauty. 

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening. 

Huge love & thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy. Edited by Anna Sussman, original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge. Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich. Artwork: Teo Ducot.

Specials thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 1 of 5. Episodes drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listen on any podcast platform, right here on Snap Judgment! 

It's barricades vs. bobcats, tents vs. tiny homes and a team of people fighting to stay together. Listen to a radical experiment in freedom that puts an entire city under the microscope…

"A Tiny Plot” is a new series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Producer Shaina Shealy embedded with a group of people in an encampment in Oakland at a park called Union Point. They were ordered to disperse, running out of time, but they were bound together by an extraordinary new idea: their own living space where they can set their own rules. Over five episodes, we learn the story of Mama D, Papa Eddie, President Matt and more. They invite listeners in to witness high-stakes decisions, devastating failures and wild successes.

Episode 1 drops August 21, 2025. Episodes will drop on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Listen right here on Snap Judgment.

300 people spend a week on a plane with Rihanna to attend seven concerts, in seven countries, over seven days. And when morale is low among a group of paratroopers, their Sergeant takes them on an unexpected trip. 

STORIES

Diamonds in the Sky

Fans and journalists embark on a seven-show tour with Rihanna… in seven countries, over seven days, on a Boeing 777, to celebrate her seventh album in seven years. Did we mention this happened seven years ago?

This story contains explicit language. Sensitive listeners please be advised. 

Special thanks to Kristen Gwynne, Lawrence Bull, and Elizabeth Nakano.

Produced by John Fecile, original score by Renzo Gorrio.

Acid Jump

When morale is low among a group of paratroopers, their Sergeant takes them on an unexpected trip. 

Check out Ray’s podcast, “What’s Ray Saying?” and follow him on Twitter @WhatsRaySaying!

Produced by Adizah Eghan, original score by Leon Morimoto.

Season 16 - Episode 35

The hallowed halls of an Airbnb house a spirit that can only be seen through sprinkles, spritzes, and sparkles… of air freshener. Snap’s Queen of Comedy, Jen Kober, returns with a story only she could tell. Plus, Glynn shares a story about a close personal witch.

The episode contains strong language, sensitive listeners please be advised. 

These stories were told at Spooked LIVE! We have a West Coast tour this year in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Seattle! Join us in September and October! Cross over. Get your tix + listen to Spooked on any podcast platform.

Thanks, Jen, for sharing your story with us! For all things Jen -- and to see her live on tour -- check out her website.

Original music performed live by Doug Stuart and Brijean Murphy. Mixed by Miles Lassi. Artwork by Teo Ducot. Special thanks to Ryan Davis, Sarah Rose Leonard, Jon Cohn, Rebecca Stumme, Kristen Payne, and the LA Orpheum Team.

Season 16 - Episode 34 

Eleven attractive, young people set sail across the Atlantic in a raft as part of a radical group experiment. And a boy falls in love with a girl… and her fungus.

STORIES 

Vintage Spirit

Did you ever think that you missed a moment of history?  A moment you were made for? Glynn explores an era that had a spark.

Produced by Pat Mesiti-Miller.

Raft of Passion

Mary needed to get away from her husband. A handsome stranger offered her a way out. All she had to do was participate in the strangest group experiment of all time.

Thank you, Mary Gidley, for sharing your story with Snap. Mary just released a memoir titled Point to Point. 

You can learn more about the Acali experiment in the incredible documentary The Raft. Hear from Mary and other participants as they relive the experiment on a life-size recreation of the raft. The Raft opened in theaters in the U.S. in 2019 and begins streaming on digital platforms in the U.S. on May 19, 2020.

Special thanks to director Marcus Lindeen.

Produced by John Fecile, original score by Leon Morimoto, artwork by: Sanaa Khan.

Linda, Loretta, and Me

What happens when boy meets girl and fungus? This is a story about love and spores, from one of our favorite podcasts, Love Me. Be sure to check out producer Jonathan Zenti’s podcast, Meat.

Produced by Mira Burt-Wintonick, Cristal Duhaime, and Jonathan Zenti.

Snap Classic - Season 16 - Episode 33

She’s stunning grey, sleek as a race car, and stronger than all the boys. Her name is Winning Colors and for Dino and Miami she’s the long shot of a lifetime.

This story contains strong language and includes descriptions of gambling, sensitive listeners please be advised.

If gambling has become a problem for you or for someone you know, you can call 1-800-GAMBLER (426-2537) to seek free, confidential, 24/7 problem gambling assistance.

A huge thank you to Mark “Miami” Paul for sharing his story with Snap!

Wondering what happened to Winning Colors? After her 1988 Kentucky Derby crown the big grey filly retired the following year with eight career wins. In 2000, she was inducted into the U.S. National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 2008, at the age of 23 Winning Colors was laid to rest in Lexington, Kentucky.

To find out more about Miami and Winning Colors’ story – check out Miami’s book, “The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told” 

Produced by Bo Walsh, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Snap Classic – Season 16– Episode 32

Here’s a preview from a new podcast, Charlie’s Place. How did a Black man in the 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together? Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. Host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in Myrtle Beach. 

Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more. But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. 

Listen to Charlie’s Place wherever you get your podcasts. Binge the entire season early and ad-free by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Charlie's Place show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

World class runner Shelby Houlihan goes on trial and a bad burrito is her smoking gun. Plus, what do you do when you look just like figure skating’s supervillain? 

STORIES

The Burrito Theory 

World class runner Shelby Houlihan goes on trial and a bad burrito is her smoking gun.

Thank you Shelby, for sharing your story with us!

Produced by John Fecile, original score by Clay Xavier.

Tonya for Hire

What if one day you found out you look like one of the most famous people in the country — who everybody hates?

Lynn Harris is an author, commentator, award-winning journalist and mostly-retired comedian. She has a business, Gold Comedy, that teaches comedy to teenage girls. You can find her performing on stage as Tonya Harding here.

Produced by Liz Mak, original score by Leon Morimoto.

Season 16 - Episode 30

A young girl’s fantastic dream to be a doctor sends her into the middle of political realities of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Plus – the story of the first dog to travel around the world and the hottest alien takeover of all time.

Round Trip

A young girl’s fantastic dream to be a doctor sends her into the middle of political realities of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

This story contains scenes of domestic abuse and gun violence, please take care while listening.

Thank you, MJ Fièvre, for sharing your story with us! You can read more about MJ’s childhood in Haiti in her memoir: “A Sky the Color of Chaos” And she’s working on a book series that uplifts Black women and girls – check out all that and more at badassblackgirl.com

Produced by David Exumé, original story score by Lalin St. Juste. Music and sound design for opening story by Druuvy.

The Dog that Went Around the World 

The story of the first dog to travel around the world (and refuse a free steak).

Produced by Joe Rosenberg, original score & sound design by Leon Morimoto.

Bionic Blondes

The hottest alien takeover of all time. 

This story was originally written by Kelly Link, and comes from her collection, Stranger Things Happen. It was adapted, directed, and produced by Mark Ristich and Eliza Smith. Voice ActorsL Glynn Washington and Joyce Lee.

Season 16 - Episode 29