Crosscurrents

Bomba is more than just music. Today, we’ll hear how one of Puerto Rico’s oldest musical traditions lives on in the Bay. Then, we hear a very scary Sudanese folk tale.

Bomba. It's a word you feel: percussive, rhythmic, pulsating. The art form grew out of the Afro Indigenous cultures of Puerto Rico. But it’s much more than dance music. Bomba echoes and resonates with the violent history of slavery and resistance in Puerto Rico.

Day of the dead is coming up this weekend and it is a time when many people are thinking about dearly departed loved ones. Next we’ll get a message from the ancestors… through a poem. Here’s poet Nia Pearl with ’Bones talk out of the side of their neck.’

Hana Baba recently took part in telling a scary story from her Sudanese culture as part of an evening of “Creepy Tales” from KALW’s Sights and Sounds show.

Gender affirming care is becoming less accessible for trans youth in the Bay. Today, we’ll hear from families facing tough decisions. Then, the story of a woman in prison who was gifted a book that changed her. And, a collection of readings from Bay Area authors.

This summer, both Stanford Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente paused gender affirming surgeries for youth under 19 years old. Ever since, the families of transgender kids in the Bay have been facing some hard choices.

How a book given to an Uncuffed producer surprised her.

Now we’ll hear some readings from our series New Arrivals, a pocket-sized book tour with Bay Area authors. Today, Oakland authors Emile DeWeaver and Beverly Burch, as well as San Francisco writer Alvin Lu.

Today, a UC Berkeley historian explores 80 years of US policy in the Middle East. Then, a story on how intense loyalty destroyed a close relationship. And, one beloved music venue in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood has a morbid history... we meet the ghosts that haunt The Chapel.

KALW news editor Sunni Khalid recently hosted a conversation with author Daniel Zoughbie- UC Berkeley historian and professor of complex systems science as part of the 2025 Litquake literary festival.

When she was young, Uncuffed producer Keyna Osorio loved her cousins Bud and Rock. But then, when she was told that Rock’s brother snitched on her brother, her idea of loyalty cost her two very meaningful relationships — relationships she could never get back again.

Today, the Chapel is a lively music venue. But many people who work there say its history as a mortuary lingers. 

This is Chicana poet Elizabeth Jiminez Montelongo, reading her poem “It is I, the immigrant.”

Today, we meet a florist who grows the marigolds used for "Dia de Los Muertos” And, an update on Bay Area roadways and Freeways. Plus, some poetry to help us through these tricky times. 

A look at what’s happening in transportation news around the Bay Area, where this week we'll talking about driving, commuting, and parking.

Florist Mauricio Vivas grows marigolds for these reverent altars, and sells them at his store “Tony Rossi & Sons Florist” in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood. KALW’s Jenee Darden recently spoke to Mauricio in 2024 about the significance of marigolds for Dia de los Muertos traditions.

Here's Chicanx poet Lourdes Figueroa reading an excerpt from their untitled poem.

To understand what an escalation of federal agents means for San Francisco, and especially Latine immigrants in the Bay Area, we spoke with El Tecolote Investigative Reporter Yesica Prado.

A local reporter talks about how Latine immigrant communities are preparing for an influx of Federal agents. Then, we go to a show that’s all about celebrating the City by the Bay. And, an Oakland novelist confronts everyday issues through horror.

Jose Luis Lopez was a construction worker in Richmond who had an encounter with the police in 2020. Today we hear an investigation into his story and other police involved deaths in Contra Costa County. Then, how a difficult moment helped lead a young girl to become herself. And, we’ll board an aircraft carrier in Alameda that many people say…is haunted.

Joel Umanzor is a reporter for Richmondside. His five part series, “ Restrained and Sedated ,” investigates the deaths of two men who died after encounters with Richmond police officers.

A woman who is now incarcerated recalls how she rebelled against the men in her life, but that landed her in the streets.

A visit to the USS Hornet in Alameda is like taking a trip back in time. The ship served in both World War II and Vietnam, and it famously recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts from the Pacific after the 1969 moon landing. Today, the Hornet’s a museum. Its docents are veterans who served on the ship, or other aircraft carriers like it. And according to them, that it’s not just old artifacts and displ...

Today, we’ll hear how endangered butterflies saved San Bruno Mountain from development. Then, we’ll visit a place that collects creepy crawlies and puts them on display. 

Just over fifty years ago, developers hoped to build on San Bruno Mountain until a movement was launched to protect the land and its endangered butterflies.