The Bay

Before the pandemic, there were a few ways to endure the traffic into downtown San Francisco. One very Bay Area method was the casual carpool, a completely organic system of riding with strangers to get across the bridge faster and for cheap. But after March 2020, those long lines at casual carpool stops vanished — and they haven’t come back. 

Guest: Nico Savidge, senior City Hall reporter for Berkeleyside

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

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Silicon Valley companies rely on thousands of H-1B visa holders who have come to the Bay Area from all over the world. H-1B visas grant temporary status to work and live in the U.S. But in the wake of mass layoffs in the tech industry, visa holders have 60 days to find a new job or face the threat of deportation.

Guest: Rachael Myrow, KQED Silicon Valley senior editor

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Even in the Bay Area, it’s a big risk for Chinese residents to protest against the Chinese Communist Party. Many fear retaliation against themselves and their loved ones in China. 

But over the past week, hundreds of people have attended candlelight vigils in multiple cities, including San Jose and San Francisco. These protests have been held to support people in China and to remember the 10 people who died in an apartment fire in China’s Xinjiang province. The public outrage from these deaths — which many believe were caused by China’s strict COVID lockdowns — sparked protests across the nation.

Today, we hear from a Chinese university student in the Bay Area who attended a vigil in San Jose.

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

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

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Leaders from nearly 200 countries recently met during COP27, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. While some gains were made, like the creation of a “loss and damage” fund to help vulnerable countries, negotiations were stalled by oil-producing nations. The overwhelming scope of Climate Change and the inevitable losses on the planet can lead to feelings of paralysis, discouragement, sadness and stress. In this episode from November of last year, KQED climate reporter Laura Kilvans, urges listeners to sit with their feelings, and offers the possibility of turning to a place of hope.

Guest: Laura Klivans, KQED climate reporter

Episode Transcript

This episode originally aired on Nov. 17, 2021.

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Oakland is on the verge of returning 5 acres of Joaquin Miller Park to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan. This would be the first time a California city has returned land to Native American tribes.

Despite no significant opposition to this plan, this process has taken more than 5 years. So what does it actually take to return land back to tribes?

Guest: Annelise Finney, KQED reporter

Episode Transcript

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Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, with support from Maria Esquinca. Ericka Cruz Guevarra is the host. 

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Universities across the country rely on students and academic workers to grade papers, run classes, conduct research, and provide student support. It’s demanding work, often for little pay. 

But now, the unions representing 48,000 University of California students and academic workers say they’ve had enough, and on Monday thousands of people across the system's 10 campuses went on strike. 

Guest: Bria Suggs, journalist and graduate student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism

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Episode Transcript

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

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

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

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has led to complete chaos: layoffs, advertiser panic, and concerns all around the world about what this means for speech on the internet.

But here in the Bay, what happens at Twitter has ripple effects too. Not only has the company laid off thousands of employees and contractors, but the company’s donations and charitable programs are in disarray, leaving dozens of Bay Area nonprofits stunned, confused and angry.

Guest: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, KQED politics reporter

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This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Ericka Cruz Guevarra, edited by Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

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

The city of Vallejo is notorious for being forced to pay out millions in legal settlements to victims of police violence. In the latest example, The Vallejo Sun reports that the city reached a $2.8 million dollar settlement with the family of Angel Ramos, the 21-year-old shot and killed by Vallejo Police during a family gathering in January 2017.

It’s the latest update in the long, grueling process for families left with the aftermath of a police killing. Today, we’re re-running an episode from our series on Vallejo Police, which first published in August of 2019, detailing how Ramos’ family challenged the police’s narrative of what happened the night Angel was killed.

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Votes are still being counted, but the races for all 7 statewide propositions have been called. Californians approved Prop. 1 (abortion rights), Prop. 28 (arts education funding), and Prop. 31 (ban flavored tobacco), and shot down Props. 26 and 27 (sports betting), Prop. 29 (dialysis regulations), and Prop. 30 (green infrastructure). Today, we’ll break down these results.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED politics and government reporter/producer

Links:

• KQED Election Results page

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

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts.

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The last day to vote in the 2022 election has come and gone. Californians overwhelmingly approved an amendment to enshrine reproductive rights in the state constitution, and both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Alex Padilla have been reelected. But it’ll be a minute before we know the full results.

Today, we hear from voters, and then take you inside the KQED newsroom on Tuesday night.

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Links:

• KQED Election Results page

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