The Bay

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

When Dr. Wilmer Garcia Ricardo came to the U.S. from Cuba he couldn't find work as a physician, and he had to figure out the licensing process almost entirely on his own.

He's not the only one. An estimated 450,000 immigrants living in California have a degree but are underemployed. Many have to take on low-wage jobs. So why is it so hard to prevent ‘brain waste’ of highly skilled immigrants, especially in fields where so much help is needed?

Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED immigration reporter

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When Dr. Wilmer Garcia Ricardo came to the U.S. from Cuba he couldn't find work as a physician, and he had to figure out the licensing process almost entirely on his own.

He's not the only one. An estimated 450,000 immigrants living in California have a degree but are underemployed.  Many have to take on low-wage jobs. So why is it so hard to prevent ‘brain waste’ of highly skilled immigrants, especially in fields where so much help is needed?

Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED immigration reporter

There are 180,000 people who claim Iranian ancestry living across California, according to the most recent census data. Many left Iran around the time of the revolution in 1979. SF Weekly's Ida Mojadad's parents came to the U.S. around this time as students.

The U.S. and Iranian governments have remained adversaries since the revolution. This political relationship has shaped the way Mojadad thinks about her Iranian-American identity. And after the U.S. killed Iran's top general, she's once again thinking through some difficult questions.

Interview Highlights

You were with your mom at the time. What was her reaction?

She didn't really seem to think it was something larger. She just said "I don't really care if it's some commander; I just care if something happens to any people." Later, when we were talking with my dad, we realized it was something bigger.

There was obviously a lot of reaction to this on social media. I think "World War III" was actually trending. You tweeted out this tweet (warning: contains strong language). What was going through your head when you wrote that tweet?

As long as I've known Iran, all the news that comes out around it — it's just the country, the government — and no one thinks about the people inside of it. And that rings true for other conflicts that we're in.

Regular, everyday people. Maybe they own businesses, maybe they want to do more science breakthroughs... it's a highly educated country with a lot of middle-class folks, and they just want the regular things that everyday people want all around the world, and they just get so lost in these news bursts.

I want to talk about the last few years. You told us before we started recording that the Trump presidency felt like this turning point for you. How has it felt like a turning point?

Before Trump became president, we had President Obama and it felt like the two [countries] could come together because of this nuclear deal, this landmark nuclear deal. This was really the first case of real diplomacy since the hostage crisis [1979-1981].

There's no embassy in Iran. So that level of communication is not there, and it came together under Obama. And it felt like, finally, the two could be... well, not friends — that would take a while — but that the two could have a relationship again, that there could be this free-flowing of family visits, and I could finally visit and see my parents' hometown again.

There was this kind of hopeful moment that there would be more of an exchange, and that the two parts of my family could exchange fluidly. And then after Trump, it became obvious that with the travel ban, and with him ripping up the nuclear deal, that it would be a very long time before that could happen again.

I'm curious if there's any part of you that wishes you were in Iran with family that you have there.

Yeah, I do, actually. One of the biggest things I want for myself is to be able to go over there and bask in this place that shaped me, and be with family that I don't even know. There are so many family members, and I've met them before but it was so long ago.

Sometimes, when my family talks about them, I don't even know who they're talking about. And I want to at least on base level know who they're talking about, because I don't even know them anymore.

You can kind of not think about it most of the time, but when the reminder comes, like my aunt being able to visit, it really shows you what you're missing out on the rest of the time.

When I hear you talk about the struggle that you have living here, and these two identities that you hold, it seems like what's happening, politically, between the U.S. and Iran, is symbolic to you. Symbolic of the tension between the two identities that you hold.

Oh,

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There are 180,000 people who claim Iranian ancestry living across California, according to the most recent census data. Many left Iran around the time of the revolution in 1979. SF Weekly's Ida Mojadad's parents came to the U.S. around this time as students.

The U.S. and Iranian governments have remained adversaries since the revolution. This political relationship has shaped the way Mojadad thinks about her Iranian-American identity. And after the U.S. killed Iran's top general, she's once again thinking through some difficult questions.

Interview Highlights

You were with your mom at the time. What was her reaction?

She didn't really seem to think it was something larger. She just said "I don't really care if it's some commander; I just care if something happens to any people." Later, when we were talking with my dad, we realized it was something bigger.

There was obviously a lot of reaction to this on social media. I think "World War III" was actually trending. You tweeted out this tweet (warning: contains strong language). What was going through your head when you wrote that tweet?

As long as I've known Iran, all the news that comes out around it — it's just the country, the government — and no one thinks about the people inside of it. And that rings true for other conflicts that we're in.

Regular, everyday people. Maybe they own businesses, maybe they want to do more science breakthroughs... it's a highly educated country with a lot of middle-class folks, and they just want the regular things that everyday people want all around the world, and they just get so lost in these news bursts.

I want to talk about the last few years. You told us before we started recording that the Trump presidency felt like this turning point for you. How has it felt like a turning point?

Before Trump became president, we had President Obama and it felt like the two [countries] could come together because of this nuclear deal, this landmark nuclear deal. This was really the first case of real diplomacy since the hostage crisis [1979-1981].

There's no embassy in Iran. So that level of communication is not there, and it came together under Obama. And it felt like, finally, the two could be... well, not friends — that would take a while — but that the two could have a relationship again, that there could be this free-flowing of family visits, and I could finally visit and see my parents' hometown again.

There was this kind of hopeful moment that there would be more of an exchange, and that the two parts of my family could exchange fluidly. And then after Trump, it became obvious that with the travel ban, and with him ripping up the nuclear deal, that it would be a very long time before that could happen again.

I'm curious if there's any part of you that wishes you were in Iran with  family that you have there.

Yeah, I do, actually. One of the biggest things I want for myself is to be able to go over there and bask in this place that shaped me, and be with family that I don't even know. There are so many family members, and I've met them before but it was so long ago.

Sometimes, when my family talks about them, I don't even know who they're talking about. And I want to at least on base level know who they're talking about, because I don't even know them anymore.

You can kind of not think about it most of the time, but when the reminder comes, like my aunt being able to visit, it really shows you what you're missing out on the rest of the time.

When I hear you talk about the struggle that you have living here, and these two identities that you hold, it seems like what's happening, politically, between the U.S. and Iran, is symbolic to you. Symbolic of the tension between the two identities that you hold.

Oh,

On Monday, two black mothers who occupied a vacant West Oakland property had their day in court. Southern California-based Wedgewood Properties, which owns the home, argued this is a clear case of theft. But the moms are making another, more philosophical argument: that housing is a human right. But what does that mean, and will it help them stay in the house?

Guest: Molly Solomon, KQED's housing and affordability reporter

Here's an episode we did on the concept of housing as health care.

Subscribe to The Bay on any of your favorite podcast apps to hear more local, Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One, or via Alexa.

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

On Monday, two black mothers who occupied a vacant West Oakland property had their day in court. Southern California-based Wedgewood Properties, which owns the home, argued this is a clear case of theft. But the moms are making another, more philosophical argument: that housing is a human right. But what does that mean, and will it help them stay in the house?

Guest: Molly Solomon, KQED's housing and affordability reporter

Here's an episode we did on the concept of housing as health care.

Subscribe to The Bay on any of your favorite podcast apps to hear more local, Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m.  Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One, or via Alexa.

When our new editor Alan Montecillo moved to the Bay Area earlier this month he noticed that people loved talking about BART. It's one of the few spaces where people from all over the Bay Area are forced to be around each other. (If fact, we did a whole episode on why BART has been the epicenter of so many contentious political and social conversations in the Bay). BART riders have developed their own culture and etiquette around riding the train. So to catch Alan up to speed, we got some help from BART riders on their morning commute.

Guest: Alan Montecillo, editor of The Bay

Subscribe to The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa.

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

When our new editor Alan Montecillo moved to the Bay Area earlier this month he noticed that people loved talking about BART. It's one of the few spaces where people from all over the Bay Area are forced to be around each other. (If fact, we did a whole episode on why BART has been the epicenter of so many contentious political and social conversations in the Bay). BART riders have developed their own culture and etiquette around riding the train. So to catch Alan up to speed, we got some help from BART riders on their morning commute.

Guest: Alan Montecillo, editor of The Bay

Subscribe to The Bay to hear more local Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One or via Alexa.

This week, PG&E took a big step towards emerging from bankruptcy after a judge approved billions of dollars in settlements with fire survivors and insurers. But the company also has to convince the state that it has a good plan to prevent more wildfires and provide safe, reliable power going forward.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says he isn’t convinced, and PG&E needs his approval to get access to a wildfire relief fund. So is there finally enough leverage to get the investor-owned company to change?

Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent. You can also check out more of her reporting on who's getting rich off of PG&E's bankruptcy here.

We're off until Monday, Dec. 30. But you can always reach us on Twitter @TheBayKQED.

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