The Bay

Working without a boss has its perks. But many gig workers, like those who drive for Uber and Lyft, say they're treated more like employees than contract workers. The California supreme court ruled this week that misclassifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees is a "very serious problem." And the ruling could have big implications for the Bay Area where many gig workers liv...

There are license plate readers all over the Bay Area that law enforcement can use to track vehicles coming in and out of a particular area. Many of these devices have hung above street lights for a few years, but now some East Bay cities are beginning to limit what surveillance data is being collected from them and regulate how that data can be used. Guest: Cyrus Farivar: Ars Technica, senior tec...

The debate over rent control is at a new crossroads. Tenant advocates say they've collected enough signatures to ask voters in November to repeal Costa Hawkins, a state law that curbs rent control polices in some cities. We ask ... what exactly is Costa Hawkins, again? Guest: Jessica Placzek, reporter for Bay Curious at KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The so-called Golden State Killer raped more than 50 women and murdered a dozen people. Law enforcement officials said Wednesday that they'd arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, the man suspected of terrorizing parts of the Bay Area, Southern California and Sacramento for more than a decade. Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED criminal justice reporte Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's it like to be a teenager living through the Bay Area's affordability crisis? Today, as part of KQED's Youth Takeover week -- when we hand the mic to the generation that will save us all -- the team asks San Francisco high schoolers about going out with friends when a cup of coffee costs $6. Guests: Elke Janssen and Gabriel Alves de Lima Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Some Bay Area cities want plastic straws out. Oakland and Berkeley are both considering ordinances on Tuesday that would force people to request plastic straws at restaurants. How Bay Area is that? Guest: Jeremy Siegel, KQED reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We published an episode on Friday featuring comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell who told us about a racist incident he suffered in 2015 when he was told to leave a Berkeley cafe for being black. Early on Friday morning that restaurant -- Elmwood Cafe -- unexpectedly closed its doors. Here's an update. Guest: Caroline Champlin, reporter for KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...

Comedian W. Kamau Bell knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of some racism. His experience at Berkeley's Elmwood Cafe in 2015 is a prelude to what we saw last week, with the arrest of two black men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia. The coffee company will close all U.S. stores next month for a one day training. We ask Kamau: Can you solve racism in one day? Learn more about your ad ch...

The Hayward Fault -- geologists warn this Bay Area fault line that runs through several East Bay cities could unbuckle an earthquake more dangerous, more destructive than the widely-feared San Andreas Fault. The U.S. Geological Survey released a report this week that estimates the damage a 7.0 magnitude earthquake could do along the Hayward Fault. Guest: Danielle Venton, Science Editor for KQED Le...

Some parents in Fremont don't want comprehensive sex ed to be taught to their fourth and fifth graders in schools. They've flooded school board meetings to say the curriculum does not respect their parental and cultural choices around sex. Guest: Sandhya Dirks, KQED race and equity reporter Subscribe to The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long hours, lots of injuries: That's the story some Tesla workers tell about a factory in Fremont. Elon Musk's electric car company says it's fixed its problem and improved worker safety. But a new story by Reveal from The Center For Investigative Reporting questions the accuracy of Tesla's latest injury numbers. What happens when new tech intersects with old manufacturing? Guest: Alyssa Jeong Per...

Buying a house while black or brown is tough, especially in Vallejo. Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting found that white people are more likely than black people to be approved for a conventional home loan when all else is equal -- 50 years after the Fair Housing Act was passed. Guest: Emmanuel Martinez, data reporter at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting Learn more...

A San Francisco doctor grabbed headlines right after the YouTube shooting last week. Trauma surgeon Andre Campbell took the press to task for showing up that day but not for other shootings in the community. Guest: Laura Klivans, KQED heath reporter Subscribe to The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First came dockless bikes. Now -- scooters. These zippy, motorized, human transporters have descended upon San Francisco sidewalks. Local politicians (and some residents) seem annoyed enough to want to regulate them. Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED transportation editor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know your name. Your face. The way you walk. And what you like. But should I? While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies in Washington D.C. this week, we turn to some Stanford professors and students who are creating an ethics course for computer science. Guest: Vanessa Rancano, KQED education reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How has the Bay Area shaped and defined hip hop? A new exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California looks at the legacy of the music and culture. We take a field trip to the museum, then cross the Bay Bridge to meet an emerging rapper from Bayview-Hunters Point. Guest: Pendarvis Harshaw, KQED columnist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland has banned coal from being shipped through its East Bay port. But well-known (and well-connected) developer Phil Tagami says he has the right to export what he wants. A federal judge could decide who wins soon. Guest: Darwin BondGraham, staff writer, East Bay Express Subscribe to The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday afternoon there were reports of an active shooter on the campus of YouTube in San Bruno. In the moments after a potential mass shooting it can be hard to know what has happened, even as first responders, witnesses, and journalists scramble to piece together the truth. Today, we follow KQED reporters in the hours following the gunfire. Guests: KQED Silicon Valley Editor Tonya Mosley and...

It's now easier for ICE to arrest immigrants in Contra Costa County. The sheriff's office is making public the names and release dates of inmates inside their jails. Some suspect this new policy has to do with the 27 women who've claimed abuses in the ICE detention center that is also run by the county. Guest: Aaron Davis, Contra Costa County reporter for the East Bay Times. Subscribe to The Bay L...

Stephon Clark. Family, friends and the Sacramento community buried the 22 year-old who was shot at at least 20 times by police. We talk to one Bay Area activist before she headed to Sacramento on the day of his funeral. Guest: Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti-Police Terror Project and executive director of the Justice Teams Network Subscribe to The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

The Raiders and Warriors are leaving Oakland. But the A’s say they’re committed to staying. The team is choosing between two locations for a new stadium. We talk to a reporter who happens to be a superfan. Guest: Nina Thorsen, KQED producer Subscribe to The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buying a home in the Bay sucks. That's why Sally Kuchar is tweeting about it. And her message has gone viral. Here's her story. Guest: Sally Kuchar, editor for Curbed, @sallykuchar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year ago today, a West Oakland fire killed four people, displaced dozens and destroyed a halfway house that was the very last housing option for people living there. We follow one man’s story who went from tenant to tent. Guest: Matthias Gafni, investigative reporter with the Bay Area News Group Link to the stories: https://bayareane.ws/2Gdke3m https://bayareane.ws/2GezLjm Learn more about your...

A San Francisco judge wearing a space tie (yes, outer space) is setting the tone for future climate change court battles. But who is he? We learn about Judge William Alsup. Guests: Sarah Jeong, senior writer for The Verge and Molly Peterson, KQED science reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cars without humans are coming. On April 2, California will allow tech companies to test driverless cars that don't have people behind the steering wheel. Should the Bay Area be concerned? Guest: Aarian Marshall, Wired transportation staff writer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices