Crosscurrents

Kevin Fagan, is an award-winning journalist , with over 40 years covering homelessness and poverty. Kevin is recently retired from the San Francisco Chronicle, and has tapped into his reporting experience to write a novel called “The Lost and the Found.”

Today, we hear about Oakland’s new electric school buses and how the Trump policies have affected clean transit. Plus, celebrating the diverse populations of the Bay Area.

School buses pollute the air and can make students feel dysregulated. Switching to electric can help, but it’s a test of political will.

Since the Trump administration put a hold on funding for climate programs back in January, federal support for a wide range of climate related projects has been thrown into question. 

For Nanki Kaur watching basketball has always been a family ritual, and she’s also always been curious to learn about the different cultural communities in the Bay Area. Earlier in the season, she went to Heritage Nights at Warriors’ games and discovered the perfect combination of her two passions.

Today, we hear from Uncuffed producer Anthony Ivy. He started working with Uncuffed inside Solano State Prison. Now he has a job on the outside with "The Uncuffed Playlist." Check out more Uncuffed episodes here !

Today, we revisit a story about SCRAP, and how they help teachers keep their classrooms well stocked. Then, one woman’s painful but determined recovery.

SCRAP is a beloved San Francisco non-profit. It's a creative reuse and recycling center that collects and re-distributes tons of stuff. But now they will need to find a new home.  While SCRAP looks for its next home and reliable funding to pay for it, we’re bringing you a story from 2016 to demonstrate the ways it serves teachers -- and why teachers need the help.

Samina Ali suffered a disastrous pregnancy, a lengthy coma, and a long, frustrating road to her life’s new normal. Her deeply personal memoir is "Pieces You'll Never Get Back."

Today, comedians who use humor as a form of political resistance. Then, will the A’s ever find a permanent home to play ball? And, we hear about San Francisco’s Poet Laureate.

Today, we hear from a couple of comedians who share how they use humor as both a source of laughter and a form of political resistance

The team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics is playing their "home" games this season in a minor league park in Sacramento. The franchise still intends to move to Las Vegas in three years, but that move appears shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty. 

April is National Poetry Month and to celebrate in proper style Bay Poets has been exploring the Poetry Center at SF State’s amazing archives. Today we wrap up the series and poetry month by talking about San Francisco’s current Poet Laureate, Genny Lim.

Today, the thousand mile journey one musician took to help butterflies migrate. Then, we hear about "Frankenstein" told through ballet. And, KALW’s own open mic night!

Climate change and industrial agriculture have decimated the western monarch butterfly’s crucial food source, threatening the species. One Santa Cruz musician decided to take a thousand-mile journey to help the monarchs along their migration by planting milkweed. 

The San Francisco Ballet’s production of “Frankenstein” opens again on Saturday. Tamara Rojo is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet, and the first woman to lead the company. KALW’s Jenee Dardin spoke with Tamara about how dance offers a physicality to ’The Creature’s’ emotional struggle.

On the final Friday of every month, KALW hands the mic over to you, our listeners, for an open mic night at our live event space in Downtown San Francisco. The evening is for local poets, musicians, storytellers, and really anybody with something to say. Today, we bring you an original song from Yolanda Cazessus. Yolanda was the winner of November’s Open Mic! Here she is singing her song, “Gone.”

Barbara Lee is Oakland’s new mayor. Today, a conversation about the race and the immediate needs facing her office. Then, a reading from New Arrivals, our pocket-sized book tour. Plus, two famous falcons at Cal Berkeley have not been seen in months. And, how one poet from the east coast became part of San Francisco’s literary history. 

Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee was declared the winner in last week's special election for Oakland’s next mayor. She defeated the strongest of her nine rivals, former City Councilman Loren Taylor, by a close, but comfortable margin.

It’s Climate Week in San Francisco, so next up we’re bring you a reading from New Arrivals, our pocket sized book tour. Poet Luiza Flynn-Goodlett lives in Richmond. Her recent collection of poetry is “ Mud in Our Mouths .” In this reading she highlights the connections between people, planet, and our shared fate.

Peregrine falcons nesting on top of the Campanile at UC Berkeley have become local celebrities. Now, for the first time since their arrival, the birds have not been seen. 

April is National Poetry Month, so here’s some more poetry! To celebrate in proper style Bay Poets has been exploring the Poetry Center at San Francisco State’s archives. Today’s poet was from the East Coast, and also helped shape San Francisco’s literary scene.

Today, we hear about San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s first 100 Days in office from local reporters. Then, we’ll visit a research and design firm that’s spawned over a dozen start-ups for green tech. And, a poem about the entanglements of nature, and humanity.

San Francisco's Mission district is home to Otherlab. Engineers there are working on projects from floating wind turbines to solar powered scooters. And one of it’s biggest focuses is new start ups. You can find Otherlab spin offs around the Bay Area, manufacturing products to fight climate change.

Angel Island provides a compelling setting for a modern Ballet. Then, we discover a museum without walls. And, an East Palo Alto poet on her Louisiana Creole roots.