Fifth & Mission

Mayor London Breed has tapped Matt Dorsey to represent District Six. He was sworn in Monday. Chronicle reporter Rachel Swan tells host Dominic Fracassa that the appointment signals the mayor doubling down on her new tough-on-crime image. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As coronavirus cases tick up in the Bay Area, most illnesses will be mild. But Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov has the story of the region's many long COVID patients, who've struggled with pain, fatigue and other symptoms of a disease that remains mysterious. What are doctors doing to treat people, and why isn't the government doing more to help? Later in the show, host Demian Bulwa speaks with...

The neighborhood at the center of San Francisco's thorniest debates has a new city supervisor. It's Dean Preston, the staunch progressive, who takes over after a divisive redistricting process and in the wake of Mayor London Breed's declaration of an emergency over the deadly drug trade in the neighborhood. Chronicle reporter J.D. Morris spent time with Preston and joins host Demian Bulwa to talk...

Retired preschool teacher Bobbi Loeb decided to sell her Point Reyes home to a land trust for $550,000 — only about half its $1M value. Chronicle reporter Lauren Hepler joins host Cecilia Lei to explain why the arrangement is a solution for affordable housing, and the benefits it provides to homeowners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

News that the Supreme Court is set to overturn the nearly 50-year old Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights has sent shockwaves across the country. Chronicle reporters Rachel Swan and Sophia Bollag join senior political writer Joe Garofoli to talk about what the future of abortion services could look like in California and whether a public health crisis is looming. If you’d like to share your th...

The state was the first to pass a law criminalizing so-called revenge porn in 2013, but prosecuting perpetrators of the crime has been uneven, including in the Bay Area. Chronicle reporter Tal Kopan joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what was revealed during a Chronicle review of the state law, and how an effort to make revenge porn a federal crime could strengthen it. | Unlimited Chronicle acce...

New York was the first city in the country to open supervised consumption sites for people using drugs. Chronicle columnist Heather Knight and photographer Gabrielle Lurie traveled there to see how the facilities operate. They join host Cecilia Lei to offer what they think San Francisco can learn from what they observed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That's the question Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislators have to answer after Senate Democrats announced their estimate that the state’s budget surplus has more than doubled to that amount. Reporters Sophia Bollag and Dustin Gardiner join host Cecilia Lei to talk about the unusual problem of the state having more money than it knows what to do with. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicl...

People all over the Bay Area are getting COVID again at increasing rates — but this time it's different. As Dr. Anthony Fauci says that America is "out of the pandemic phase," far fewer people are getting seriously ill or dying. Restrictions like mask mandates may be a thing of the past, and everybody has to make their own choices about safety. Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday tells host Demi...

Stanford ICU nurse Brittaney West joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about why nurses throughout the Bay Area are staging job actions and preparing to strike if they don't get what they say they need from the hospitals they work for. "And it doesn't just come down to wages," she says, but also involves adequate staffing, mental health care and other forms of support befitting the "heroes" they're ofte...

San Francisco has long depended on single room occupancy units, or SROs, to house its most vulnerable populations. A year-long investigation by Chronicle reporters Joaquin Palomino and Trisha Thadani reveals that many of these buildings are unsanitary and unsafe. They discuss their findings with host Cecilia Lei and share what tenants say life is like for them inside SRO hotels. | Unlimited Chroni...

When a San Francisco teacher recently handed students cotton plants in a lesson about the hardship of slavery, it ignited immediate controversy at the school. There was an investigation, a debate among parents and an apology. Host Demian Bulwa hears from Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker and Ohio State University professor Hasan Jeffries about why incidents like this are so complicated — and importan...

Yema Khalif and Hawi Awash are the only Black retail owners in the wealthy town of Tiburon. During the summer of 2020, police asked the couple to prove that they owned the store, and the body cam footage of the incident went viral. Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how the couple leveraged that incident to implement police reform in the coastal city nearly two year...

The San Francisco supervisor defeated David Campos by positioning himself as the pro-housing candidate for the state Assembly seat. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why Haney's win is a coup for YIMBYs. But political victories won't be enough. A new bill in the Assembly aims to make development easier, even in difficult cities like San Francisco. | Unlimited Chr...

Now that a federal judge has tossed out the mask requirement on airplanes and public transit, Bay Area transit agencies are scrambling to figure out their mask requirements, creating a patchwork of conflicting policies for travelers. UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter joins host Cecilia Lei to share his thoughts on the latest federal mask update and why he still recommends keeping masks on in certain public s...

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin's Innocence Commission has exonerated its first person — and the case is extraordinary. The defendant, Joaquin Ciria, has been behind bars for more than 30 years, accused of killing a friend in a gun attack in SoMa. Now, there's a new witness — and fresh questions about what went wrong. Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the case an...

After Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin and pledged to bring in more police, critics feared she was criminalizing drug users. Months later, Breed maintains her position. Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to share what she learned from her conversation with Breed, and what changes have actually been made in the Tenderloin. Learn more about you...

The task force tasked with drawing the city's new supervisor districts has missed its deadline, and it's not clear how the process — marked by protests and outbursts at public meetings — will play out. Reporter J.D. Morris joins host Cecilia Lei to sort out the complex and controversial story of drawing a new map. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices....

At age 88, the giant of California politics is the oldest sitting U.S. senator. Five members of Congress — including four Democrats — have told The Chronicle that they're concerned that her memory is rapidly deteriorating, and that it appears she can no longer represent the state without her staff doing much of the work. Reporters Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli join host Demian Bulwa to discuss these...

Republicans across the country are moving to restrict abortions in their states, including in Oklahoma where a near-total ban on abortion was signed on Tuesday. Senior political writer and host of "It's All Political on Fifth and Mission" Joe Garofoli chats with Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. They discuss what anti-abortion laws mean for California and what the future l...

The California Department of Education released data on Monday that revealed public school enrollment fell below 6 million for the first time in more than a decade. That means school districts are facing more budget cuts and long-term financial instability. Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker joins host Cecilia Lei to explain what's causing the declines and how the state might help. | Unlimited Chronic...

Covid-19 vaccines and boosters have allowed many people to return to their pre-pandemic activities, but they still don't appear to provide long-lasting protection against Covid infections. Chronicle health reporter Catherine Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what the future of Covid immunizations could look like, how scientists are looking for a 'pan-coronavirus vaccine' and why that is crit...

Bay Area residents are being confronted by fentanyl in places you might not expect. A local organization is making fentanyl test kits available in bar bathrooms, just one element of a larger harm reduction strategy that's necessary to fight the Bay Area's growing fentanyl crisis. Reporter Caron Creighton delves into the differing harm reduction strategies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

In 2012, John Muir Health formed a multimillion dollar partnership with Stanford to boost its pediatric program and operations. The deaths of the hospital's pediatric patients, including 2-year-old Ailee Jong, bring into question John Muir's ability to perform complex procedures. Chronicle reporters Matthias Gafni and Cynthia Dizikes join host Cecilia Lei to discuss their investigation, which reve...

After an exchange of gunfire on a crowded Sacramento street killed six people and wounded 12 more, Democratic politicians and others are again calling for gun control. So will there be meaningful change? Chronicle senior political writer Joe Garofoli lays out the obstacles, including opposition from Republicans in Congress who fear alienating their voters and California’s inability to keep guns fr...