Fifth & Mission

You've heard of Oakland's Wood Street, but have you heard of Marin County's Binford Road? The 2-mile-long vehicle encampment is forcing the affluent county to consider how best to spend its homeless funding. Chronicle reporter Annie Vainshtein joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what she learned from her recent reporting trip to the site. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a ti...

The forming of a new club on San Francisco's west side has sparked a clash within the city's Democratic Party. As tensions grow, can progressives and moderates get along? And what is lost when they don't? Chronicle columnist and Total SF co-host Heather Knight joins host Demian Bulwa to discuss what one progressive calls "You can't sit at my lunch table type politics." | Unlimited Chronicle access...

A successful entertainment lawyer but at heart “just a guy from L.A.,” Doug Emhoff had to learn how to be a national figure when his wife, Kamala Harris, ascended to the vice presidency. With Harris and President Joe Biden launching a run for reelection, Emhoff joins It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli to talk about dealing with political attacks, speaking out against anti-Semi...

After over 30 years in San Francisco's Westfield Mall, Nordstrom has announced that it's leaving the city, and that it will also close Nordstrom Rack. Chronicle reporters Chase DiFeliciantonio and J.D. Morris join host Cecilia Lei to discuss what may fill the massive gap the retail giant leaves behind, and how San Francisco is planning to increase foot traffic in its emptying downtown. | Unlimited...

After nearly two years of contentious meetings, California’s task force on reparations has released a rough estimate of damages caused by the state’s history of slavery and white supremacy: Up to $1.2 million per Black resident. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how those calculations were made, and what it would take to get reparations approved by the Legislatur...

Facing a historic deficit, Thao released her draft two-year budget Monday, a roadmap of how she plans to manage critical issues like public safety and homelessness while leading the city out of its fiscal crisis. Chronicle reporter Sarah Ravani joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss what Thao's cutting and investing in, and how it measures against the promises she made on the campaign trail. | Unlimite...

The viral artificial intelligence tool has surprised millions of users with its capabilities, but it's also raised concerns about how it might be used. Hearst Newspapers director of newsroom engineering Evan Wagstaff joins host Cecilia Lei to explain how ChatGPT works, and reporter Jill Tucker shares why some educators are embracing the technology in the classroom. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sf...

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are turning to law-enforcement strategies to address the fentanyl crisis on the streets of San Francisco. Capitol reporter Sophia Bollag joins host Dominic Fracassa to discuss how the California Highway Patrol and National Guard will be deployed to battle open use and trafficking in the city. Plus, why legislators are holding up some bills that would crack dow...

In the latest update of The Chronicle’s investigation of San Francisco’s supportive housing program, reporters Joaquin Palomino and Trisha Thadani examine why vacancies in single-room occupancy buildings persist despite the city’s dire homelessness crisis. Palomino joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why some unhoused residents consider it a rational choice to refuse placement in the city’s expensiv...

The president has announced his candidacy for re-election. While expected, that has big implications for three powerful Californians: Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom — who might have presidential runs in their future — and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Elaine Kamarck, author of "Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential...

The state will experience the season's first major heat wave this week and that has weather and climate experts concerned about the historic heaps of snow that are beginning to melt. Meteorologist Gerry Diaz joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the regions that are at highest flood risk, and Chronicle lifestyle and outdoors editor Gregory Thomas shares why recreational activities in rivers are more d...

A resurfaced clip of graffiti artist and actor David Choe describing sexual assault has stewed the Netflix series "Beef" in controversy. Chronicle columnist Soleil Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about why Asian Americans can afford to protest the series and not feel obligated to support it for the sake of representation. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, ques...

The Athletics were negotiating with Oakland to build a new home at Howard Terminal. Then they blindsided the city — and fans — by entering into a deal to buy land near the Las Vegas Strip. Tim Kawakami of the Athletic joins host Demian Bulwa to sort out what happened, what's next, and whether the A’s leaving would be a bad thing for Oakland. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a...

The Bay Area hospital system John Muir Health was certified by the state to treat the most medically fragile children, despite not having the required number of patient admissions. Investigative reporter Cynthia Dizikes joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the latest chapter of the Chronicle’s investigation into the deaths of four children at John Muir's Walnut Creek hospital. | Unlimited Chronicle a...

Teachers want a 23% raise, which many parents support. But in an unusual move, many district parents are urging the union not to walk out, saying children can’t handle more disruptions. Reporter Jill Tucker joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the negotiations and the likelihood of a job action this year. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fi...

California’s senior senator has been absent from the Capitol for two months with a painful case of shingles. Doctors say it can take up to three months to recover from serious cases, but Feinstein has been missing key Judiciary Committee votes on President Biden’s nominees to the federal bench, leaving them deadlocked. The 89-year-old Feinstein has also been accused by some colleagues of no longer...

Oakland children's author Maggie Tokuda-Hall refused an offer from Scholastic to license her book "Love in the Library" when the publishing giant asked her to remove the word "racism" and historical context about incarceration camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. She tells host Cecilia Lei that efforts to whitewash history violate adults' "moral obligation" to tell kids the truth. | U...

The arrest of an associate in the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee has upended the narrative that had been playing out among Lee's fellow tech executives and the right-wing media, that out-of-control street crime in San Francisco had claimed Lee as a victim. Chronicle reporter Rachel Swan and Mission Local Managing Editor Joe Eskenazi join host Demian Bulwa to talk about the arrest of Nima Momeni...

San Francisco is set to receive more than $130 million from opioid litigation. Supervised consumption sites have been shown to save lives. Why won’t the city use the funds to finally open one? Chronicle columnist Nuala Bishari joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the debate the city finds itself in, even as it continues to face a deadly drug overdose crisis. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle....

Pamela Price handily won election as Alameda County district attorney after campaigning on the promise of overhauling the criminal justice system. In her first few months of attempting those reforms, Price, the county's first-ever Black D.A., is already facing harsh criticism. Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins It's All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli to discuss the high profile...

Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's ruling last week that the FDA had improperly approved the drug mifepristone has not taken effect. Court battles await, but as San Francisco OB/GYN Dr. Josie Urbina and NARAL Pro-Choice America president Mini Timmaraju tell It's All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli, the ruling is part of an assault on abortion rights, and activists have to work to get...

After a years-long battle, the last residents of the unhoused community under the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland are being removed by the city. Reporter Sarah Ravani and documentary filmmaker Caron Creighton join host Cecilia Lei to talk about the community the encampment has been, and what happens next for its residents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? E...

“What These Walls Won’t Hold,” a documentary premiering at the 66th SFFilm Festival, documents the COVID outbreak at San Quentin State Prison during the early pandemic and community organizing efforts to keep prisoners safe. Director Adamu Chan shares his own incarceration experience with host Cecilia Lei, as well as his thoughts on Gov. Newsom’s effort to remodel San Quentin into a rehabilitation...

The slaying of Cash App creator Bob Lee has stunned the tech industry, causing many, including Elon Musk, to comment on how violent San Francisco is. Reporter Jill Tucker joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about who Lee was and the reaction to his killing, and data reporter Susie Neilson talks about the city's crime rate. While any violent crime is indeed "horrific," San Francisco's violent crime rat...

Without a federal ban on assault weapons, gun control is in the hands of deeply divided state legislatures across the country. Three Democratic state lawmakers in Tennessee face expulsion after protesting for gun control measures. In this episode first published on June 6, 2022, in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Stanford law professor and gun law expert John Donohue discusses th...