The Bay

Many Latinx writers, including here in the Bay Area, have expressed frustration with American Dirt, a new book by Jeanine Cummins that has been called the next great American novel. Oprah even selected it for her book club.

But it's also been criticized for an inaccurate, stereotypical depiction of migrants who are trying to cross the US-Mexico border.

"If it had been published and kind of billed as, 'This is our romanticized view of the border and its just for entertainment,' there's room for that on the shelves for whoever wants to read that story," said Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Fruit of the Drunken Tree.

"To call it the novel of Las Americas and to put this much attention on a book that is actually erasing the politics at the border, I think, does more harm than good," she said.

And all the hype surrounding the novel's release - including a seven-figure advance for Cummins - has raised questions about which stories about migrants get attention, and which ones don't.

"Look where we're at," said Oscar Villalon, managing editor of the journal Zyzzyva. "If it hasn't been driven into your skull by now, clearly, not all Americans are valued the same."

Guests: Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Fruit of the Drunken Tree, and Oscar Villalon, managing editor of the journal Zyzzyva

Oscar Villalon's Recommendations:

"The Devil's Highway: A True Story" by Luis Alberto Urrea

"The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail" by Oscar Martinez

"The Distance Between Us: A Memoir" by Reyna Grande

"The Faraway Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life" by Lauren Markham's

"By the Lake of Sleeping Children: The Secret Life of the Mexican Border" by Luis Alberto Urrea

"The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story" by Aaron Bobrow-Strain

Ingrid Rojas Contreras' Recommendations:

"Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions" by Valeria Luiselli

"Retablos" by Octavio Solis

"Unaccompanied" by Javier Zamora

"Tears of the Trufflepig" by Francisco Flores

"Signs Preceding the End of the World" by Yuri Herrera

"Lost Children Archive" by Valeria Luiselli

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Eddie Thomas lost his housing when he was 55 years old after working at Intel for five years. He's part of a growing trend of people becoming homeless later on in life.

Eddie was lucky enough to have help with finding work and housing. But even still, it took six years — and being homeless as you get older has its own share of unique challenges.

Guest: Sara Hossaini, KQED reporter

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Many local leaders in the Bay Area have made it a point to say that their communities are welcoming places for new immigrants, including those who are undocumented, are seeking asylum or are refugees.

Oakland Unified School District prides itself on helping "newcomer" students. And this year, they could see an unprecedented number of new arrivals. But the district can't always get new students enrolled in class, let alone provide all the help that families and kids need.

Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporter

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You can find Frida Kahlo's image all over the Bay Area. The Mexican painter lived in San Francisco for a little bit in the '30s and '40s with her husband, Diego Rivera.

She became even more famous in the years after she died, and now you can find her name and likeness on everything from shoes, to tequila, to even Barbie dolls.

The Frida Kahlo Corporation, which is behind many of these products, wants to monopolize the use of her name — and it's been going after indie artists who make and sell Frida Kahlo-inspired art. Now, one California artist is taking company to court in San Francisco later this month.

Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter

We're off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But you should check out the latest column from KQED's Pendarvis Harshaw, where he connects King's moral arguments with what's happening in the Bay Area today.

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You can find Frida Kahlo's image all over the Bay Area. The Mexican painter lived in San Francisco for a little bit in the '30s and '40s with her husband, Diego Rivera.

She became even more famous in the years after she died, and now you can find her name and likeness on everything from shoes, to tequila, to even Barbie dolls.

The Frida Kahlo Corporation, which is behind many of these products, wants to monopolize the use of her name — and it's been going after indie artists who make and sell Frida Kahlo-inspired art. Now, one California artist is taking company to court in San Francisco later this month.

Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter

We're off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But you should check out the latest column from KQED's Pendarvis Harshaw, where he connects King's moral arguments with what's happening in the Bay Area today.

Even if you can afford to buy a home in the Bay Area, you might get outbid by an anonymous shell company paying cash.

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Even if you can afford to buy a home in the Bay Area, you might get outbid by an anonymous shell company paying cash.

Oakland feels a lot different today than it did when Jerry Brown was elected mayor in 1998. That’s because he had a lot to do with how the city changed.

The unapologetic and sometimes controversial Brown is featured in KQED's newest podcast, The Political Mind of Jerry Brown. Today, we're zeroing in on his time as mayor of Oakland, which set the stage for what we're seeing today.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED politics reporter

Subscribe to KQED’s new podcast The Political Mind of Jerry Brown here.

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Oakland feels a lot different today than it did when Jerry Brown was elected mayor in 1998. That’s because he had a lot to do with how the city changed.

The unapologetic and sometimes controversial Brown is featured in KQED's newest podcast, The Political Mind of Jerry Brown. Today, we're zeroing in on his time as mayor of Oakland, which set the stage for what we're seeing today.

Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED politics reporter

Subscribe to KQED’s new podcast The Political Mind of Jerry Brown here.

Prison can be a brutal place for anyone. But for trans people who are incarcerated, it's even more dangerous.

A new bill in California's state legislature is aimed at making conditions safer. If passed, it would allow transgender inmates to choose whether to be incarcerated in men's or women's facilities.

KQED reporters visited the California Medical Facility, a men’s prison in Vacaville, to hear why some transgender inmates see this bill as a life saving measure, while others say more needs to be done to protect them.

Guest: Miranda Leitsinger, KQED reporter

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