Crosscurrents

We dig into the California’s Insurance Commissioner's race, and why you should pay attention to it. Then, we visit a vibrant statue in Oakland that honors the Day of the Dead, and we end with a poem. 

California's insurance commissioner regulates the largest property insurance market in the country. This year, the vote for who fills that job could have a huge impact on your bills.

We visit a vibrant statue in Oakland that honors the Day of the Dead.

Jenny Qi is a Chinese-American poet living in San Francisco. She reads from her poem 'Postcards from the Living.'

Today, we hear about one of the few places where you can spend time with your loved ones in prison.

We hear how a skateboarding collective is fighting to save their home. Then, we meet the folks encouraging people to use skateboards as transportation, and a Bay Area skating legend. 

Just two years after the Sunset Dunes park was established, it’s at risk of closure again.

We meet the folks encouraging people to use skateboards as transportation.

Skating legend Tommy Guerrero on the rhythm of the board and the bass

Raj Krishna and Jason Sharma founded Masala Mahal, one of the only Desi drag collectives in the country. KALW’s Srishti Prabha follows them from rehearsal to the stage at a South Asian Pride party in San Francisco, as they reclaim Bollywood and their cultural roots in a space where neither South Asian nor mainstream drag culture fully embraces them. 

In Sausalito there’s a ballot measure that has everyone there talking. Then, a Bay Area drag duo is rewriting the ending to one of Bollywood's most iconic love triangles.

A ballot measure in Sausalito would change zoning rules, with the biggest impact to the Marinship, the town’s historic WWII shipyard.

We take a closer look at a November ballot measure making headlines. Then, a new book aims to help Black communities navigate psychiatric care.

Prop 40 is asking voters to approve a first-of-its-kind wealth tax on billionaires. Most of that money would go to healthcare, but could this measure also help California’s schools? 

A new book aims to help Black families as they navigate psychiatric care.

Today we hear all about beauty in prison. How women on the inside make do with Lipstick, mascara, and redefine what beauty means to them. 

We breakdown a statewide proposition that takes up 17 pages of your voter guide. Then, the federal corruption trial involving former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, and we finish with a poem!

An update from The Oaklanside's City Hall reporter Eli Wolfe, regarding the corruption trail of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and other defendants. 

A ballot measure seeks to speed up projects like housing and energy infrastructure. Opponents say it puts business interests ahead of environmental and civic protections.

In this poem Maria Guerrero uses Chile de Árbol as her muse to describe how its evolution and spiciness mimics much deeper emotions.

We hear from folks who proudly celebrate their love for Bay Area public transit, and we dive into the complicated history of BART.

BART’s facing cuts to its services. Voters put a measure on the ballot to fund it. But when two BART stations were built in the Mission in the 1970s, many locals fought against them.

We hear from folks who proudly celebrate their love for Bay Area public transit.

Today, a conversation about why it’s so hard to count how many people experience homelessness in our communities. Then, what it was like at the WNBA semifinals in Las Vegas.

As Bay Area cities start to release the full results of their 2026 Point-in-Time homeless counts, we dig into why it’s so hard to count how many people experience homelessness in our communities.