Crosscurrents

Role playing can help prepare bystanders who witness hate crimes. Today, we’re sitting in on intervention training session. Then, we head to Oakland to meet Tilden naturalist Trent Pearce for a walk around Jewel Lake. And, Oakland actor Don Reed talks about his new show and how he wants it to inspire people while making them laugh.

When you hear about prison and criminal justice reform in California these days, you’ll hear about things like reducing overcrowding, dismantling the death penalty, changing the Three Strikes sentencing law. And you’ll also hear about Norway. Norwegian prisons are unique –– everything from their design and architecture to the length of sentences, to how guards are trained to treat incarcerated peo...

In today's episode, we hear how increased homicide rates in Oakland has changed the way death care workers handle funerals. We meet a pastor and a funeral assistant. Then, a local entrepreneur has been tracking the layoffs across the tech industry for three years. Plus readings from Bay Area authors.

Today, we hear how work for abortion doulas has increased and intensified. Navigating the political landscape of a post Roe v Wade world. Then, we learn why self-love is important. However, getting there can be hard if you grew up feeling like you were nobody’s child. And, a reading from Oakland author Edward Gunawan.

Today, we’ll meet an environmental safety consultant who years ago walked away from a job with a legendary Motown trio. We hear how he stepped off the stage and into toxic waste management. Then, we learn about the intense pressure to excel at elite Silicon Valley high schools. And, we listen to a reading from a book co-written by Lawrence Downs and singer Linda Ronstadt.

Today we're re-airing an episode from the podcast Uncuffed and their team at Solano State prison. We are going to hear about the joys and challenges of going back into the free world.

A 2022 California law is trying to to fight climate change by reduce food waste. Today, we meet the people working to turn our trash into a solution. Then, we’ll hear how San Francisco is planning to capture and divert rainwater. And, a reading from Mill Valley author Paola Gianturco.

Today, we travel outside the Bay to meet an 87-year-old rodeo star. It’s another story from the series “The Other California.” Then, San Francisco author Gus D’Angelo reads from his new children’s book on National Parks. Plus we have local music from the Oakland Samba Revue.

San Joaquin Valley’s town of Woodlake doesn’t have a stoplight, but it does have a 13-acre botanical garden. We learn how that garden grows food and community. Then, we delve into why the city embraced cannabis businesses ahead of other towns in the valley. It’s another look into the lesser known side of our state, an episode from "The Other California."

When producer Alice Daniels moved to the San Joaquin Valley she wasn’t happy about it, but she found there was more to it than she thought. We go along with her as she explores the San Joaquin Valley in the series, "The Other California." Plus, we’ll hear from San Francisco artist George McCalman. He’ll read from his new book of illustrations.

Today, a conversation about the life of Martin Luther King Jr with the one man chosen to publish his papers. Professor Dr. Clayborn Carson takes us beyond the famous speeches to understand the man behind the civil rights movement, and his real dream that America has yet to fulfill.

In this episode we’ll hear about Foster City’s plans for its fast growing local goose population. Then, what we know about another bird that lives in the Bay and eats our trash. And, local author Sandy Miranda reads from her book about her life in radio.

The Vox Daily news podcast, Today, Explained is airing on KALW. We have a conversation with the hosts. Then, we hear how the practice of bringing medicine to unhoused people is taking off around the state. Followed by a reading from San Francisco author Tania Romanov. Plus, we look into San Francisco's missing "O" street.

What do prisons in the UK, Colorado, Australia and India have in common? Like San Quentin and Solano State prisons where we make Uncuffed - they all have radio programs. Workshops, and podcasts and radio shows where incarcerated producers tell stories in their own language. Last year some of the team at Uncuffed traveled to Norway for the first annual prison radio conference. And in this special e...

What if your doctor prescribed you a walk in the park instead of a pill? In this episode we learn abou a program that gets patients back to health, by getting them back to nature. Then, we hear from the host of the San Francisco Chronicle flagship news podcast, Fifth and Mission. And, a reading from local poet Jose Antonio Villaran. Plus, local music from Oakland's Consolidated Electric.

Today, we go to a church where another Christmas is still to come and they give Hana a lesson in an ancient language. We learn about ancient Coptic heritage in the East Bay. Then, we talk to someone who has been bringing science to radio audiences for decades- exploring the big questions, and the not so big. Plus, a reading from local author Tobey Brookes.

Oakland made history by returning land to an indigenous group with no federal recognition. In this episode, we'll learn about the ways some East Bay institutions are trying to repair the harm done to local indigenous communities.

Today, we are looking at how much strain has been put on our local food systems. We learn about the debate over the future of food equity with stories from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

Today, we’re going to hear an episode from The Stoop, a podcast hosted by Hana Baba and Leila Day. It recently won an award for podcasting by the National Association of Black Journalists. And this episode is about something many of us grew up with in our homes. When you get in trouble, and you get a whooping. Sometimes it’s with a belt, sometimes a switch from a tree, or a slipper spank on your b...

Today, we’ll take a trip back to 1994 at Stanford Stadium to listen to World Cup history being made. We hear how the first time the US hosted the World Cup changed our relationship to soccer forever. Then, we learn how a dancer finds freedom on a pole.

A historically Black sorority turned 100 years old this year. We'll hear about the history of one sorority that was left with no other choice but to persevere. Then, we learn about a Marin County artist who weaves poetry into his woodcut prints.

Today, we hear how nearly three years of pandemic-dating has changed the priorities of some Bay Area singles. We learn about the new dating standards. Then, a beloved San Francisco magazine makes a comeback And, a reading from an Oakland chef’s new cookbook.

From electing San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to Oakland’s Pamela Price, Bay Area voters have spoken, but what’s the message? Today, we hear how Bay Area residents voted on public safety. Then, we learn how Oakland filmmaker Josh Healey’s web series looks at how the Covid-19 pandemic shed light on inequalities affecting working class people. And, Bay Area author Lizette Wanzer reads...

Last week, KALW took home 5 awards from the Northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. This week, we've been re-airing some of those award-winning stories. Today, the winner for best coverage of Arts and Culture in audio: Sights and Sound Magazine.

In this episode we hear how a garden project is bringing nourishment to a community that lives in a food desert. Then from food to transportation - we’ll hear about a program that helps kids get wheels. We’re heading to Richmond in our award winning series What Works: Grassroots Solutions around the Bay Area. And, a reading from Oakland author Leslie Absher.