The Bay

A state of emergency over monkeypox has been declared in San Francisco and in the state of California. More than 5,800 cases have been confirmed nationwide so far.

Getting this virus can be a very painful experience. So far, a majority of confirmed cases are among queer men. And here in the Bay, people trying to keep each other safe while also pushing back on stigma.

Guest: Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli, KQED community engagement reporter

A transcript of this episode is available.

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If you talk to longtime residents of San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, you'll hear lots of stories about people getting sick from cancer or respiratory illnesses.

Many people believe that the polluted areas in the neighborhood, like the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, are a big reason why. For decades, people in the Bayview have been surrounded by toxic chemicals coming from this Superfund site.

Now, the community is facing a combination of this historic pollution and the future threat of sea level rise. And advocates say that the best way forward — to repair the harm that's been done and to help them adapt to climate change — is reparations.

Guest: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter for KQED

Episode transcript

Ezra's digital piece: For These Black Bayview-Hunters Point Residents, Reparations Include Safeguarding Against Rising, Toxic Contamination

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

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We work really hard to bring you three episodes a week. But we’ll admit: Sometimes, it's good to take a break from the news. The Bay is taking a break from making new episodes for the month of July. We’re using this time to reset, rest, do some team-bonding, and brainstorm what we want to make for you in the coming year.

We will resume our regular schedule on August 2. 

You can still reach us on Twitter @TheBayKQED or via e-mail [email protected]. We always love hearing from you.

Thank you for listening and enjoying the show. 

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We've known for a minute that, if Roe v. Wade was overturned, California would play a big role in helping Americans access abortion services.

Now, it's no longer hypothetical: the Supreme Court ended federal abortion rights on Friday, and reproductive justice groups like California-based ACCESS have gotten tons of calls from people both inside and outside the state.

Guest: Sasha, healthline coordinator for ACCESS Reproductive Justice

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Here in California, abortion is still legal. And an overwhelming majority of Bay Area residents support the right to have one.

Which is why, over the weekend, many people marched in protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to end federal abortion rights. In today’s episode, KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi takes us to one protest in San Francisco.

Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED reporter

This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, who also edited.

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Before moving to the Bay Area from Jacksonville, Florida, friends told KQED Rightnowish production intern Corey Antonio Rose he was heading to ‘gay mecca.’ 

As the months went by, Corey Antonio said, as a Black queer man, he felt invisible in the Bay's queer spaces. 

That experience kicked off a 3-part series called ‘Searching for a Kiki,’ in which he sets out to understand whether the Bay Area actually is a safe place for Black queer people, and finds people who have created those spaces themselves.

Guest: Corey Antonio Rose, production intern for KQED's Rightnowish podcast

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

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The National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is the nation’s first and only federally designated memorial of those who have died of AIDS (though ironically, it doesn’t receive federal funding.) The folks behind it say its existence is not just about remembering those who’ve died, but also the activism of the queer community who stepped up when the government wouldn’t. 

This story is part of the Bay Curious series "A Very Curious Walking Tour of Golden Gate Park." It originally aired on June 3, 2022.

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In California, the death penalty is in limbo. On the one hand, the state hasn’t executed anyone since 2006. On the other, the death penalty in still legal. In practice, this means that hundreds of incarcerated people have been languishing on death for row years, even decades.

Timothy James Young, who’s on death row at San Quentin State Prison, believes he was wrongfully convicted of murder and still hopes that someday he will be freed. And he has reason to hope: over the last few years, a garden project with UC Santa Cruz has snowballed into a full-blown campaign by students and faculty to exonerate him.

Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter

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

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The Golden State Warriors are one win away from another NBA championship, which would be their fourth since 2015. But as OG fans know, they haven’t always been this good.

Writer and Bay Area native Alan Chazaro remembers those days, when tickets at Oracle Arena in East Oakland were affordable, attracting working class folks from across the Bay Area and street vendors selling hotdogs outside the stadium. Still, the Warriors have represented a kind of underdog mentality that the Bay Area has always identified with, even after their 2019 move to San Francisco and the new Chase Center. And for Alan, this championship just might be the most satisfying of them all.

Guest: Alan Chazaro, adjunct professor for creative writing at the University of San Francisco and food writer for KQED.

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This episode contains mentions of suicide.

On a weekend in early June, hundreds of San Mateo County residents drove to a courthouse parking lot in South San Francisco to voluntarily give up their guns. 

The buyback was conducted by the county sheriff’s office and organized by Citizens for San Mateo Gun Buyback. The group formed in 2018 after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and then raised money from local city governments to pay for the program. There are other events like this happening in the Bay Area, too.

It won’t solve our gun violence problem overnight. But it’s one example of communities moving the needle without waiting for the U.S. Senate to act.

Guest: Annelise Finney, KQED reporter/producer

A transcript of this episode is available.

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

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