California Proposition 22 was a big win for tech companies. Its passage allows a handful of corporations — like Uber and Lyft — to create a new "gig" contractor category for their workers that doesn’t have to include employee protections and benefits, like unemployment insurance and workers compensation. Now, those same companies that won in California want to expand beyond the state.

Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3eSSCCw

Guest: Sam Harnett, Silicon Valley reporter for KQED

Listen to our special series 'How We Got Here' with Sam here.

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The Bay Area passed a number of local measures related to civilian oversight of police this election. This means an increase in access for what citizens get to know, and get to do, about issues within their local police departments – including policy changes and police misconduct. 

We look at the recently passed Measure P, out of Sonoma County, which increases the powers of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO). And the public outcry for police accountability, dating back to the 2013 fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez. 

Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED Criminal Justice Editor

Read the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3pd5tEF

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Things are still really stressful right now. But comedian Luna Malbroux navigates that stress but choosing laughter and joy in a time of extreme anxiety.Today, we're sharing an interview with Luna on an episode of Rightnowish, hosted by KQED columnist and host Pendarvis Harshaw.

Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3kb2Qze

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Voting in the Bay Area seemed to go smoothly on Tuesday, thanks in part to California's efforts to get people to vote early and by mail. That says a lot, in an election where there's been so much misinformation about the process, and where a pandemic threatened the health and safety of people voting in person.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED Politics and Government reporter

Guy is following up with Bay Area counties to see what more we can learn about voting this election. If you experienced problems either voting by mail or at the polls let Guy know by tweeting him @GuyMarzorati or email him at [email protected].

Read the episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3p17qns

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California may have mailed all voters a ballot, but a lot of people still chose to cast their ballots in person. And thousands of people worked long hours to make sure voters could do just that.

Today, we're bringing you the stories of three poll volunteers from different corners of the Bay Area.

Guests: Amy Mar, Thuc Nguyen, and Ronak Chakraborty, poll volunteers in Hayward, San Jose, and San Ramon

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The killing of George Floyd led to protests in South San Francisco, and the creation of a youth-led activist group called Change SSF.

These last few months have also exposed a generational divide about how quickly the city should make changes — and how sweeping they should be. And that divide is also showing itself in South San Francisco's race for city council, where a 22-year-old political newcomer is running against the city's longtime mayor.

Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, Silicon Valley reporter for KQED News

This episode is part of our series on how protests on policing and racial justice are showing up on Bay Area ballots and beyond. Click here to listen to the story of the local police shooting at the center of this year's city council race in Walnut Creek. And click here to listen to how Martinez residents are growing an infrastructure for activism in their community.

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Martinez isn't known for its activism. But after George Floyd was killed, and after a white couple defaced a Black Lives Matter mural in Martinez, many residents decided it was time for that to change.

Now, they've started a conversation about race in Martinez that hasn't really happened in public before. That conversation has been difficult, especially with local leaders — but activists say this is just the beginning of a long struggle to build the Martinez they want.

Guest: Devin Katayama, The Bay host and reporter

This episode is part of how protests on policing and racial justice are showing up on Bay Area ballots and beyond. Tap here to listen to the story of the local police shooting at the center of this year's city council race in Walnut Creek.

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Miles Hall was shot and killed by Walnut Creek police a year before many residents joined national protests supporting Black lives this past summer. The Hall family and friends have been showing up at City Council meetings demanding justice for a year, but it wasn't until George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police that more people began pressuring local politicians.

Now half of the eight City Council candidates in Walnut Creek are running because of what happened to Hall, and some activists see this election as a referendum for how much this wealthy, mostly white Bay Area suburb supports Black lives.

Guest: Ericka Cruz Guevarra, producer and reporter for The Bay

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Bela Gonzalez and Louie Licea are 15. Both of their parents are essential workers and need to leave the house every day.

It's all pretty stressful. And it's also brought more responsibility: while their parents are gone, Bela and Louie take care of their little sister, Mia.

Guests: Sasha Khokha, host of The California Report Magazine, Bela Gonzales and Louie Licea

This episode originally ran in April 2020.

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On Tuesday, a California court ruled that officials at San Quentin State Prison have to either transfer or release half of the facility's population. That's because the outbreak at San Quentin got so bad that roughly 2,200 people got sick with COVID-19. 28 people have died.

Today, we're revisiting how the outbreak first started at the beginning of the summer — and what incarcerated people and their loved ones were warning and worrying about at the time.

Guest: Kate Wolffe, KQED reporter

This episode originally aired on June 26, 2020.

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