The Bay

Since sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez came to light last spring, city leaders quickly decided to rename parks and take down statues of the labor leader. Conversations in the classroom are also changing. Today on The Bay, we’re re-airing this conversation from last April about how one East San José teacher is recasting Cesar Chavez’s legacy in the classroom. This episode first ai...

In 2020, San Franciscans began reckoning with the city’s monuments—many of which honored violent figures and fraught histories. In the years since, the San Francisco Arts Commission has been reimagining what public memory could look like. Now, temporary monuments celebrating everyday people are popping up all around us. Links: In San Francisco, a Reckoning With Toppled Statues Gives Rise to New Mo...

Living in the Bay Area is expensive, and raising kids here can be especially tough. So how do people do it? KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi talks with three families about what they’re doing to get by. From cramming a family of four into one studio apartment to giving up on the dream of home ownership, compromise is always part of the equation. This episode first aired on May 4, 2026. Links: How W...

The Bay Area is getting ready for a ‘Super El Niño’ this winter. This natural weather pattern, — made worse by human-caused climate change — could bring flooding, mudslides, power outages and road closures. KQED Climate reporter Ezra David Romero explains how we might feel the impact of El Niño in our day to day lives.  Links: Guide: El Niño Could Bring a Wet, Wild Winter. How Can You — and Y...

In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, The Bay’s new producer Gabriela Glueck, and Carly Severn, KQED’s senior editor of audience news discuss workplace safety fines against the Tahoe guiding company implicated in last year’s avalanche deaths. Also, we discuss a growing movement of Silicon Valley parents against tech in classrooms, and a controversial swan hunt that appears to...

Last December, Bay Area transit officials launched Clipper 2.0 – a revamp of the payment system used across the region’s 22 public transportation systems. But the rollout has been a disaster, with customers reporting glitches like payments not being credited and frequent account lockouts. Now, a KQED investigation has found that officials had been ringing alarm bells about Clipper 2.0 long before...

San Francisco rents are rising fast: According to Zumper, an apartment listing website, the median rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in the city has surpassed $4,000 a month. If you've hunted for an apartment in SF recently, we'd love to hear your story. Just tap this link and follow the instructions to leave us a voice note. You can also call at (415) 710-9223. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

Major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – or SNAP – are taking effect as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed into law last year, with an estimated 650,000 Californians are at risk of losing food assistance benefits. Food banks in the Bay Area, which have been serving people at historic rates since the pandemic, are now bracing for impac...

Flock Safety—and the company’s automated license plate readers—have been in the news a lot lately. And just last week, Bay Area activists led a series of protests against the company and what they see as a growing surveillance state. Today, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Close All Tabs about the fight over Flock, and what we know about how its data is used. Plus, creative ways some r...

This episode discusses suicide. If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This month, a federal trial against the world’s biggest social media kicked off in Oakland. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are leading a lawsuit that accuses Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, of knowingly creating product...

Big Sur’s residents are used to natural disasters. This time, Highway 1 is closed again thanks to the Timber Fire that started on Aug. 8, which has burned more than 5,000 acres. Parts of Big Sur are also under mandatory evacuation orders. As the SF Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau reports, it’s the latest chapter in a “boom and bust” cycle that Big Sur’s small businesses know all too well. Learn...

Piedmont in the East Bay is a bit of an oddity: a city less than 2 square miles large in the middle of Oakland — but not part of it. It’s now one of the wealthiest cities in the Bay Area, and some Oakland residents want to ‘Cancel Piedmont’ in order to confront the region’s inequality. Today, we’re sharing a 2019 episode from our friends at Bay Curious about the city’s history. It’s a story about...

The Bay Area’s full of subcultures and meetups for just about everyone. So as part of a new series from KQED Arts & Culture called “Finding Your People,” Arts and Culture Editor Nastia Voynovskaya takes us inside a craft night in Alameda that’s quickly become one of the hottest events in town. Links: This Craft Night Might Be the Hottest Party in Alameda KQED Arts’ ‘Finding Your People’ Series Lea...

Class is back in session at Oakland Unified School District schools this week, with one notable change: A strict phone-free policy.  KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti explains how a statewide mandate has pushed districts across the Bay to pass their own policies banning or restricting phones, and how it's playing out in Oakland.  Links: OUSD Cellphone Ban for Students Takes Effect on the First Da...

State and local leaders are suing the federal government after alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly broke ground on a proposal to build an ICE facility in Gilroy. Santa Clara County leaders and a number of other Bay Area cities, counties and community groups, have banded together to put a stop to the plan. At a recent press conference, members of San Jose’s Japanese American c...

Outside Lands is upon us, and 75,000 people are expected to descend on Golden Gate Park each of the festival’s three days. That also means lots of trash. In this episode, SF Gate’s Melissa Cho walks us through how the festival is able to divert the majority of its waste from landfills. This episode first aired on Aug. 15, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988. Starting August 14, San Francisco will remove peer specialists from its 911 response. These peer specialists, equipped with both training and personal experience with issues like homelessness and addiction, say the decision is a regressive step in the city’s approach to mental and behavioral healt...

Headed to the beach? Keep a watchful eye on the ocean for sneaker waves. They’re sudden, far-reaching waves that are notorious for catching beachgoers off-guard. Videos of Californians being swept away have gone viral, including a recent incident in Santa Cruz where a lifeguard saved a 10-year old from drowning. KQED’s Sarah Wright explains what sneaker waves are, why they’re dangerous, and how to...

What does it mean to live, work, and make decisions in a rapidly automated world? Life, Automated, a new podcast distributed by KQED and made by our partners at the Ryan Institute for Complexity at Northwestern University, explores this urgent question. Listen every other Wednesday wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we ramp up production for August, we’ve been thinking about you – our listeners – a lot.  And we’d love to chat. About what you like hearing, what you want to hear more of, and some ideas we have. If you’re up for that, leave us a voicemail at 415-710-9223. Please leave us your name and a good number to call. Talk soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m sure you’ll agree with us: Sometimes, it's good to take a break from the news. Every July, The Bay takes a break from making new episodes. We use this time to reset, rest, and brainstorm what we want to make for you. We will resume our regular schedule on Monday Aug. 3. Say hello anytime thebay@kqed.org. We always love hearing from you. Thank you for listening and enjoying the show! Learn more...

In this June 2026 edition of the monthly news roundup, we discuss the Giants’ pride month controversy, the debate over a new data center coming to Pittsburg, and how high school students pushed for improvements to their local bus line in San Francisco. Links: Pittsburg controversy over data center on old Delta View Golf Course This Bay Area suburb lost its main industry. Can it rebuild? In San Fra...

In today’s episode, we bid farewell to The Bay’s producer, Jessica Kariisa, and discuss her deep love for San Jose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the streaming platform Spotify added a new feature that allows users to generate their own AI remixes. With no signs of AI slowing down in the music industry, we’re revisiting this episode about the labor implications, and how human artists are adapting. This episode first aired Nov. 14, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) was one of the first gay-positive Christian churches. During the height of the AIDS crisis, it was a place where hundreds of LGBTQ Christians found community, sustenance, and healing as they grappled with the illness and death of the epidemic. When We All Get to Heaven, a 10-episode audio documentary series produced by Eureka Street Produ...