Federal health officials are expanding the search for the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 in the U.S, including at San Francisco International Airport, where there’s increased testing for some international travelers.

There’s still a lot we don’t know — Omicron could be a big deal, or it could change very little about the pandemic. Medical experts are currently trying to figure out whether this variant is more contagious, whether it's more deadly, and how the vaccines hold up against it.

Guest: Dr. Chaz Langelier, assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at UCSF

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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Artists in Afghanistan are in trouble now that the Taliban are back in charge. Visual artists and performers are fleeing the country for fear of being harassed, persecuted, and even killed.

This has ripple effects here in the Bay Area, which is home to a well-networked Afghan community and many Afghan American artists. They fear that creativity and freedom of expression are under attack once again. And they’re responding in different ways — through raising money, through changing their artistic practices, and through using art to help newly arrived refugees. 

Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter

This episode was produced by Raquel Maria Dillon and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and hosted by Alan Montecillo.

Links:

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Meeting new people as an adult is hard enough, whether it’s dating or meeting new friends. Then the pandemic happened, and it got even more difficult.

But there are success stories out there. KQED Silicon Valley reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi did start dating someone during the pandemic. And in a recent episode of The California Report Magazine, she spoke with host Sasha Khokha about what that was like — and how it led to a connection she wasn’t expecting.

We're hiring a producer! Please apply by Dec. 1.

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A movement to support Indian farmers scored a win this past week. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, announced plans to roll back three controversial laws that had sparked protests for more than a year.

The Sikh community in California had rallied behind this movement and staged several marches here in the Bay Area, including one that stopped traffic on the Bay Bridge. Many said they wanted to take a stand against privatization. Some wanted to stand in solidarity with relatives back home. And now, it seems that these continued demonstrations have paid off.

Guest: Lakshmi Sarah, KQED reporter

This episode originally aired on December 14, 2020. It was originally produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, and Kyana Moghadam, and hosted by Devin Katayama.

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This month, Walgreens closed 5 stores in 5 different San Francisco neighborhoods. The company claims it was because of “organized, rampant retail theft,” although available information doesn't quite back that up.

These Walgreens locations also got national attention, and became part of heated local debates about policing and a fear of increased crime. And all the while, many San Francisco residents — especially older people and lower-income families — have lost an essential resource in their neighborhoods.

Guest: Abené Clayton, lead reporter of The Guardian’s Guns and Lies in America series

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Raquel Maria Dillon, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

More Reading:

• 'Walgreens fed my family': inside the San Francisco stores closing over 'retail theft'

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The United Nations COP26 climate summit was billed by conference organizers as the “last, best hope” to save our warming planet. In the end, countries left with an agreement that makes some progress, but ultimately doesn’t go far enough. And if you’re worried about climate change, it probably didn’t do much to ease your anxiety.

But we don’t have to rely on world leaders alone. Today, we discuss how to take feelings of climate anxiety and turn them into meaningful action. 

Guest: Laura Klivans, KQED climate reporter

More Resources:

This episode was produced by Raquel Maria Dillon and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

We're hiring a producer! Please apply by Dec. 1.

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52 years ago this month, a group of Native Americans began to occupy Alcatraz to assert their right to self-determination. The 19-month occupation is still known as one of the most important actions in contemporary Native American history and in the fight for American Indian civil rights.

On Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2019, Native people from across the West Coast gathered in San Francisco for a ceremonial canoe journey to Alcatraz Island.

This episode originally aired on Oct. 16, 2019.

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California sent many representatives to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland — including many Latinos, who are California's largest ethnic group and are also more likely to say that climate change affects their local community.

They include some of the state's most powerful people, academics, leaders of non-profits, and activists. They also include protesters who are skeptical that this summit will lead to meaningful climate action.

Guest: Raquel Maria Dillon, KQED reporter

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Mary Franklin Harvin, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

KQED is hiring a producer for The Bay. This is a full-time job with benefits, based in the Bay Area. Please apply by Dec. 1.

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After a review process from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pediatric COVID-19 shots are now available for kids ages 5-11.

It's a long time coming for many kids and families who have been waiting for nearly a year. Today, we talk about what this means and answer some listeners' big questions about the rollout.

Guest: Carly Severn, KQED Senior Engagement Editor

More information about where to get a Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for kids.

This episode was produced by Mary Franklin Harvin and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Audio was collected by Sara Hossaini and Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman.

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What if parts of the Bay and parts of the Central Valley were represented by the same person in the U.S. House of Representatives? What about Filipino voters in Daly City and Chinese voters in the western part San Francisco? Or South Asians living in Santa Clara County?

These are just a few of the thorny questions being debated right now during California’s redistricting process. Soon, California will have a new political map that will decide how we’re all represented — in the state legislature and in the U.S. House — for the next decade. And unlike most states where politicians are in charge of redistricting, California has a public process where residents can make their voices heard.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED politics and government reporter and producer of the Political Breakdown podcast

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Mary Franklin Harvin, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

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