The Bay

If you want solar power in your home, you usually need to be a homeowner with a good roof and a decent amount of cash to pay up front. But some Bay Area residents are trying out plug-in solar, which can hang from an apartment balcony, out a window, or be tented in the backyard. This episode originally aired on August 13, 2025. Links: Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the...

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, often in the news for headlines associated with crime, homelessness and drug use, has the highest concentration of kids in all of San Francisco. So a reporter decided to give Tenderloin kids disposable cameras to see the neighborhood from their perspective.  This episode first aired on Sept. 24, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

In 1969, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and his first wife Joyce built Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa. Since then, generations of locals — including KQED’s Gabe Meline — have made it a tradition to visit the skating rink, especially during the holidays. This episode first aired on Dec. 18, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Bay’s final news roundup of 2025, Ericka, Alan and Jessica discuss the recent series of small earthquakes in San Ramon and Sonoma County, Oakland’s decision to expand its network of license plate reader cameras, and new upgrades to the Clipper card system. Links: Scientists Say San Ramon’s Latest Earthquake Swarm Is Normal, but Residents Are on Edge | KQED Oakland Council Expands Flock Lice...

You’re not imagining it — your Pacific Gas & Electric bill really is going up. In fact, according to a KQED analysis, the average PG&E utility bill went up nearly 70% between 2020 and March 2025. But it’s not just the cost: understanding what’s actually in your bill can be confusing. Today, KQED climate reporter Laura Klivans helps Ericka decode her PG&E bill. Links: The Average PG&E Utility Bill...

Engineered stone is a man-made material made with high concentrations of silica that is commonly used to make kitchen countertops in the U.S.  But doctors are seeing more and more workers in the countertop industry developing silicosis, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut. Even though California has safety rules in place to reduce the risk...

The Ukraine-Russia war has been called the most technologically advanced war in history. In an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, Bay Area journalist Erica Hellerstein visits Ukraine to learn about how the nation’s culture of tech innovation — and its surprising ties to Silicon Valley — are fueling the country’s resistance through an army of engineers, coders, hackers, and tinkerers. Lear...

San Francisco could see taller and more dense buildings in the city’s north and west side after the Board of Supervisors approved Mayor Daniel Lurie’s ‘Family Zoning’ plan last week.  Some believe it will lead to more housing and lower rents, while others worry that new construction will change their neighborhoods and lead to displacement. But how soon — and how much — could it really change the c...

Inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish — home to historic farmworker organizing in East San Jose — we sit down with Father Jon Pedigo, a Catholic priest in the South Bay, to talk about the role of faith and houses of worship under the Trump Administration, what he’s seen in his primarily Spanish-speaking communities, and why he's leaving the pulpit to become a full-time organizer.  Learn more about y...

Nearly 3,000 teachers and staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School district went on strike Thursday morning after negotiations with the district broke down. It’s the latest in a series of labor disputes between educators and districts across California. Today, Jana Kadah, education reporter with Richmondside, talks to us from the field about why West Contra Costa educators walked off the jo...

UC Berkeley student and animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg will be sentenced today after facing a felony conviction for taking four chickens from a Sonoma County poultry facility 2 years ago. The case, which has garnered international attention, comes after years of tension in Sonoma County over animal rights.  Links: Berkeley Animal Rights Activist Found Guilty in Sonoma Chicken Theft Case Lear...

In a new series called ‘Love You for You,’ KQED’s The California Report Magazine host Sasha Khokha sat in on conversations between trans and nonbinary kids and the people who love them. Today, we talk with Sasha about the series. Links: Check out the entire ‘Love You For You’ series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1900s, the city of San Francisco eradicated native coyotes. But in more recent decades, they returned and are now a part of daily life. Scientists point out that coyotes are essential to the local ecosystem. For some residents, they’re a source of wonder, while others view them as a nuisance and a danger to pets and children.  Links: The Coyotes of San Francisco How We Photographed Coyotes...

Many Bay Area families swear by local Dungeness crab at the holiday dinner table. But for the seventh straight year, commercial crabbing season has been delayed — this time until January. So if you really want local crab for the holidays, you’ll need to either pay for a chartered boat or catch one yourself. This episode originally aired on Nov. 25, 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

An estimated 6.3 million travelers are expected to pass through San Francisco International Airport between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. If you’re one of them, you can spend some time visiting the SFO Museum, the only airport museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Today, we take you on a tour of some of the exhibits and meet the curators behind them.  Links: If you’re interested in...

Alice Wong, a disability rights activist, writer, and MacArthur Genius award winner based in San Francisco, died last Friday at UCSF at the age of 51. Wong was best known as the founder of the Disability Visibility Project (DVP), a group that highlights disabled people and disability culture through storytelling projects, social media and other channels. Alice’s friend and fellow activist, Sandy H...

President Donald Trump promised to curb inflation and uplift American businesses and the economy when he announced tariffs on hundreds of goods and products earlier this year. Today we talk with The San Francisco Standard’s Jillian D’Onfro, about whether Bay Area businesses say the tariffs have lived up to their promise.  Links: SF Standard: ‘Devastating’: What 7 months of tariffs have done to one...

The latest Bay Area recall election took place in the Marin County town of Fairfax this November, where some residents hoped to oust the mayor and vice mayor for voting to rezone land for a six-story apartment building. This time, the recall failed, with roughly 56% of voters opting to keep Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman. KQED’s Izzy Bloom breaks down this story and explains wh...

AI-generated music and artists are now getting record deals and top spots on Billboard charts, with big implications for labor in the music industry. So how are human artists adapting to this rapidly changing landscape? Links: AI Is Coming for the Music Industry. How Will Artists Adapt? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we bring you an episode from our friends at Bay Curious about a secret biological weapons test — in San Francisco. 75 years ago, the U.S. military sprayed bacteria over the city. The test team thought it was harmless, but several people got sick and one person died. KQED’s Katherine Monahan reports on the history and impacts of this operation on one man's family.  Links: The True Story of t...

On Wednesday, executives from a group called the Esmeralda Land Company will present their plans to officials in Cloverdale, a small city of roughly 9,000 residents in northern Sonoma County. The project, titled Esmeralda, is led by Devon Zuegel, a tech worker who hopes to build a hotel, new housing, and a park on a 266-acre piece of land in the southern end of the city. She describes the planned...

California voters overwhelmingly approved Prop. 50, which will redraw our Congressional maps in an effort to push back against President Donald Trump. In Santa Clara County, voters also passed a sales tax measure to partially make up for federal funding cuts. Today, we break down how Prop. 50 will change U.S. House districts in the Bay, Santa Clara County’s Measure A, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s retir...

The ongoing federal government shutdown has reduced and delayed SNAP benefits this month. As a result, food banks in the Bay Area are bracing for an even greater surge in demand. We join Heather Pierini, the executive director of ⁠Food Is Free Bay Area⁠, on a donation day at the Solano County Fairgrounds.   Links: The Bay Area restaurants offering free meals to families using CalFresh Learn more a...

On Oct. 14, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors removed first-term Sheriff Christina Corpus. For more than a year, her office was mired in allegations of retaliation, misconduct, and abuse of power, largely stemming from an alleged relationship with her former chief of staff, Victor Aenlle. KQED reporter Brian Krans joins us to break down this long and bitter chapter in San Mateo county poli...

In this October edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, we discuss the impact of the federal government shutdown on hunger in the Bay Area, and how local governments are responding. We also discuss Uber’s plans to enter the driverless vehicle market, and how the California condor is making a comeback after near-extinction. Plus, we pay tribute to KQED transportation editor Dan Brekke, who is re...