The Bay

In our first virtual live event of 2021, we invited KQED reporters to share what stories they’ll be looking out for this year. We want to share this conversation and ask what matters to you as the Bay Area adjusts to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We also took your questions.

From wildfire prevention to free public transit, virtual learning to the changing arts scene, here’s what we might see in 2021 and what we can do about it.

This conversation is split into two halves: the first is called "Where We Live" (00:54), and the second is called "What We Do" (28:04).

Read the transcript here.

Guests: Danielle Venton, science reporter; Molly Solomon, housing reporter and co-host of the podcast Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America; Dan Brekke, transportation editor; Vanessa Rancano, education reporter; Nastia Voynovskaya, arts associate editor; Sam Harnett, Silicon Valley reporter

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KQED wasn't alone in struggling to cover former President Trump. These last four years changed how many journalists think about their responsibilities to the public. It's also forced more members of the news media to reckon with their own role in perpetuating long-existing, systemic problems.

So we wanted to chat with KQED’s newsroom leaders about how they've changed over the past four years, and the role local news plays in a frail democracy.

Guests: Vinnee Tong, KQED’s Director of News and Ethan Toven-Lindsey, KQED’s Executive Editor

Read the transcript here.

Sign up for our free live event on Monday Jan. 25 at 6pm. We’ll be talking to KQED reporters about the Bay Area stories to watch for in 2021.

Find all of our "By the People" episodes here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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It’s been a week. So now, music.

We’re bringing you the first episode of a new series from our friends at Rightnowish that shines a light on all sorts of creators this year. In this episode, Pendarvis Harshaw introduces us to Brooklyn based and Oakland-raised artist Nappy Nina. Just don’t call her a femcee.

Sign up for our free live (virtual) event on Monday, Jan. 25 here.

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It's Inauguration Day in the U.S. The end of the Trump administration, and the beginning of the Biden administration is a monumental moment for the country –and for the rest of the world. Today, we hear from members of the Iranian diaspora here in the Bay Area about what this change in power means for them, their loved ones in Iran, and for the future hopes of the relationship between their two home countries.

Guest: Kyana Moghadam, KQED podcast producer

Read the transcript here.

Find all of our "By the People" episodes here. Subscribe to our newsletter here.

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Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google have long struggled to deal with violent language and misinformation on their platforms.

But after the attack on the U.S. Capitol last week, a line was crossed — and these companies banned or restricted President Trump, along with some of his supporters who have incited violence.

So what took these companies so long to take action? And how should we feel about their continued role in how we communicate?

Guest: Rachael Myrow, KQED Silicon Valley senior editor

Read the transcript here. 

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On Monday, California’s COVID-19 death toll reached 30,000. Gov. Gavin Newsom and health officials are relying on mass vaccinations to slow the spread, but there’s a lot of reason to believe accomplishing that will be hard. A majority of California is under stay at home orders until things get better, but the first phase of the rollout has already been slower than some hoped.

Guest: Barbara Feder Ostrov, Contributing Writer for CalMatters

Read the transcript here.

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It takes a lot of work to undo white supremacy. For many who have been committed to this work, it’s a lifetime of protests, campaigning, donating, and showing up. And sometimes, it can feel like an impossible task.

Following the attack by the pro-Trump extremists at the U.S. Capitol last week, we invited longtime Bay Area activist Cat Brooks to talk with us about how she’s been processing everything, and how to make your activism sustainable.

Guest: Cat Brooks, executive director of the Justice Teams Network and co-founder of the Anti Police Terror Project

Read the transcript here. 

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California is a state run by Democrats. But we have elected officials who have either ignored or enabled President Trump through the years — including on Wednesday, when a pro-Trump mob violently took over the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden.

Even after the process resumed, 7 out of 10 House Republicans from California voted to overturn electoral votes in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Today, we'll talk about why this matters to Californians, even after Trump leaves office.

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast

Read the transcript here.

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This week, 200+ employees at Google announced that they've formed a union. The Alphabet Workers Union, which is supported by Communications Workers of America (CWA), is the first of its kind at Google, and will include dues-paying members, an elected board of directors, and paid organizing staff. For now, it still represents a small fraction of the roughly 260,000 workers at Alphabet. But it's still a big deal — especially in Silicon Valley, where it's so hard to organize at all.

Guest: Sam Harnett, Silicon Valley Reporter for KQED

Read the transcript here.

Listen to our How We Got Here series here. 

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If you want to get involved in local politics, your city council meeting can be a good place to start.

But it can also be a lot. It's where your elected representatives make decisions that directly affect your life. And it's where anybody can tell their local leaders what they really think about those decisions.

LaTonda Simmons knows all about this. Today, she looks back on 16 years running Oakland City Council meetings, and offers some advice for people hoping to participate for the first time.

Guest: LaTonda Simmons, Oakland City Clerk from 2004 to 2020

Read the transcript here. 

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