Crosscurrents

When you walk around San Francisco, you’re bound to notice the architecture, murals, and even graffiti… But some of the art surrounding you is not as obvious. Like a sign hanging above a neighborhood restaurant that transports you back in time. While it’s an art form that’s largely been sidelined for decades, today hand-painted signage is having a moment here in the Bay Area. In this story we hear...

One new exhibit wants to celebrate the history of power in San Francisco's LGBT+ communities. It’s called “Conjuring Power: Roots and Futures of Queer and Trans Movements. A multimedia art exhibition currently running at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in the City. It features paintings, murals, and oral history recordings from queer elders. It’s curated by Tina Valentin Aguirre, the director...

One Christian rapper says music helped her survive addiction, abuse, and homelessness. Today, how music and faith became her path to recovery. Then, one musician shares how her ancestor’s labor speaks through her songs. And, one South Bay couple has turned rare-record collecting into an art form.

Music was always part of Natia Woodfork's life. Growing up in San Jose, music became the language her family spoke. She started writing poetry as a kid and eventually pursued rap. But addiction and abusive relationships nearly took music away from her. Today, she performs as LT Finesse, creating Christian rap she calls ‘Kingdom music.’ In this edition of Bay Area Beats, produced by KALW's Anthony...

Music… it’s part of our celebrations, our devotions… our joy, and our hard times. Musician Valerie June knows all about that. She wrote the anthem “Working Woman Blues.”  We meet her in this next story from our friends at KALW’s Notes from the Edge, with Jeff Chang. Their new episode considers how the demands of the new economy are impacting our ability to care for our loved ones – and ourselves. ...

We are halfway through August and that means San Jose is entering Low Rider season. From influential publications, and generational car clubs, the city is one of the historical epicenters of lowrider culture. And a big part of that scene centers around the music booming from the tricked out cars.  Up next, we explore what it takes to preserve this culture’s musical legacy. In this story from 2025,...

The Bay Area is full of fans of women’s professional sports, and they have a lot of questions. Today, KALW’s sports podcast, BOUNCE, is here to answer them.

A new sound exhibit at Grace Cathedral lets visitors experience what the bells hear. Today, the Cathedral’s artist in residence talks about the fifty years he's spent creating sound sculptures around the world. Then, the Bay Area is home to a tradition of improvised group singing. Plus, the bell ringers of San Francisco's Holy Trinity Church.

When Bill Fontana sees a still object, he doesn’t just notice what it looks like, he wonders what it sounds like. He asks himself, “what does it hear?” Bill is a sound sculptor. He places microphones and vibration sensors on objects, then speakers project sounds from the objects - sounds that can’t really be heard with the human ear alone. The results are beautiful, other worldly, meditative sound...

Grace Cathedral is a place where people gather around sound. They host organ recitals, sound baths and of course choirs. And it's where Bay Area singer and songwriter Bobby McFerrin first led a group in the practice of circle singing. It’s a form of group vocal improvisation that helps people connect by creating music in community. Reporter Sheryl Kaskowitz brings us this story from 2024.  

Most days, the corner of Green Street and Van Ness Avenue, in San Francisco.. sounds like any other place in the city — Cars, joggers, the occasional barking dog. But if you’re there on Sunday mornings, you’ll hear something magical. In this story from 2023, reporter Quinn Nelson introduces us to the bell ringers of Holy Trinity Church. 

Today, we go behind the scenes of the local comedy scene. Then, an improv theater celebrates 40 years of encouraging actors to do what comes naturally to them. And, we hear from comedians contending with social change in their own way.

The Bay Area comedy scene has given us many gifts: A robust improv ecosystem fostered sketch comedy for a national stage, and nurtured stand up comedians for generations, from Robin Williams to Ali Wong. Our area is blessed with a rich and diverse comedy scene, and it can be a lot to keep track of. To help folks get a feel for that scene, KALW recently hosted a group of local comedians at our Live...

Brian Lohmann, co-founded Bay Area Theater Sports or BATS. It’s the largest and longest-running improvised theater company in Northern California. And this year, they’re celebrating their 40th anniversary.  To talk about this milestone and their plans for the future, we hear from his fellow co-founder William Hall who is an improv teacher and performer. William recently spoke to KALW’s Jeneé Darde...

Humor can be a source of laughter and - a form of political resistance. It’s a scary time for many immigrants in this country right now and it may feel weird to be turning to humor, but for some comedians, it’s actually the perfect time to do just that. Immigration reporter Wendy Reyes brings us this story from 2025, about using comedy to empower and unite people in this moment. 

Today, we’re gonna go back 30 years to a moment when major artists came together for nonviolence, freedom, and Tibet: The Tibetan Freedom Concerts.  In the Summer of 1996, the very first show happened right here in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.  Now, KALW is partnering with Rangzen and Adonde Media to bring you a six-part audio documentary about what it took to put together one of the largest...

Girls flag football is growing, and opening doors for players that didn’t exist just a few years ago. Today, we explore why coaches, athletes, and major brands believe girls flag football is just getting started.

Today, a new episode of Uncuffed that’s all sports, play, and the pleasure of competition. We’ve got stories from the track and the chess board. Plus, life lessons from a boxing ring.

Today, we meet the people who fix broken but beloved belongings. And, we get an update on the federal corruption trial of recalled former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. Plus, we hear why talking about organ donation in Black communities is complicated. 

This October, the trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her boyfriend, Andre Jones, and prominent local businessmen David and Andy Duong is set to begin. Last week, the federal prosecutors filed a trove of documents alleging Thao and others made bribes for political gain. And the FBI announced that they have identified a key informant- Fruitvale entrepreneur Mario Juarez, who has already given...

August is National Minority Donor Awareness month. It's a month for raising awareness of organ donation and transplantation in communities of color.  Studies show there aren’t enough Black donors to fill the need for Black folks who need transplants. Why? We explore this question through the story of Arlinda Timmons-Love, a Richmond woman who lost her son Maurice in 1983 to gun violence, when he w...

Here’s a question for you- if you have something around your house that needs fixing- an appliance, a device… What do you do? Fix it or ditch it? If you do want to get something fixed, but you're not a do-it-yourselfer or you're just too intimidated to try fixing things yourself – then what? Well, reporter Mary Catherine O'Connor looked for answers - at a Fixit Clinic at a library in San Mateo.  A...

New Arrivals is KALW's pocket sized book tour of Bay Area Authors. Mike Huguenor lives in San Jose. His book, " Elvis is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of Asian Man Records ," came out on May 19th, 2026. It’s about the first 30 years of one of the most important record labels to come out of the south Bay.

The closure of San Francisco’s immigration courts has had big ramifications. Today, we get an update on how immigrants are navigating an increasingly difficult system. Then, we roll out the royal carpet for the first king of BART prom. The prom held under the Rockridge tracks.

On May first, the Trump administration closed its main immigration court in San Francisco's Financial District. That follows months of clashes outside the building between ICE and local activists opposing the crackdown on immigrants. Those cases have now been moved to another Bay Area court in Concord.  The move has resulted in "mega" immigration dockets, with dozens — and sometimes more than a hu...