The Bay

Major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – are taking effect as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last year, with an estimated 650,000 Californians are at risk of losing food assistance benefits. Food banks in the Bay Area, which have been serving people at historic rates since the pandemic, are now bracing for impact.

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flock Safety—and the company’s automated license plate readers—have been in the news a lot lately. And just last week, Bay Area activists led a series of protests against the company and what they see as a growing surveillance state.

Today, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Close All Tabs about the fight over Flock, and what we know about how its data is used. Plus, creative ways some residents are fighting back.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode discusses suicide. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

This month, a federal trial against the world’s biggest social media kicked off in Oakland. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are leading a lawsuit that accuses Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of knowingly creating products that put children and teenagers at risk. And as KQED’s Rachael Myrow explains, the outcome of this trial could force Meta to pay up and make big changes to its platforms.

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Sur’s residents are used to natural disasters. This time, Highway 1 is closed again thanks to the Timber Fire that started on Aug. 8, which has burned more than 5,000 acres. Parts of Big Sur are also under mandatory evacuation orders.

As the SF Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau reports, it’s the latest chapter in a “boom and bust” cycle that Big Sur’s small businesses know all too well.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Piedmont in the East Bay is a bit of an oddity: a city less than 2 square miles large in the middle of Oakland — but not part of it. It’s now one of the wealthiest cities in the Bay Area, and some Oakland residents want to ‘Cancel Piedmont’ in order to confront the region’s inequality.

Today, we’re sharing a 2019 episode from our friends at Bay Curious about the city’s history. It’s a story about Piedmont, but it’s really a story that starts in Oakland.

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s full of subcultures and meetups for just about everyone. So as part of a new series from KQED Arts & Culture called “Finding Your People,” Arts and Culture Editor Nastia Voynovskaya takes us inside a craft night in Alameda that’s quickly become one of the hottest events in town.

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Class is back in session at Oakland Unified School District schools this week, with one notable change: A strict phone-free policy. 

KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti explains how a statewide mandate has pushed districts across the Bay to pass their own policies banning or restricting phones, and how it's playing out in Oakland. 

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State and local leaders are suing the federal government after alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly broke ground on a proposal to build an ICE facility in Gilroy. Santa Clara County leaders and a number of other Bay Area cities, counties and community groups, have banded together to put a stop to the plan. At a recent press conference, members of San Jose’s Japanese American community also spoke out, drawing parallels to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Outside Lands is upon us, and 75,000 people are expected to descend on Golden Gate Park each of the festival’s three days. That also means lots of trash. In this episode, SF Gate’s Melissa Cho walks us through how the festival is able to divert the majority of its waste from landfills.

This episode first aired on Aug. 15, 2025

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.

Starting August 14, San Francisco will remove peer specialists from its 911 response. These peer specialists, equipped with both training and personal experience with issues like homelessness and addiction, say the decision is a regressive step in the city’s approach to mental and behavioral health emergencies.

Links:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices