The Podlight

San Jose just released a housing plan that would require building tens of thousands of new homes in the next eight years. Mathew Reed of Silicon Valley at Home and Sandy Perry of the Affordable Housing Network of Silicon Valley join host Nick Preciado to discuss how the city might change its housing approach.

For decades, advocates have fought to close Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose while aviation experts argue it serves a critical purpose. Hear from both sides of the debate: Walt Gyger of the Community and Airport Partnership for Safe Operation, and Huascar Castro from Working Partnerships USA join host Nick Preciado to break it down.

Downtown San Jose faces a host of challenges, from homelessness to vacant storefronts and shuttered businesses. Will it ever bounce back? Two experts -- Councilmember Raul Peralez and San Jose Downtown Association CEO Scott Knies -- weigh in on the state of downtown.

Host Nick Preciado welcomes Will Chea, a longtime Silicon Valley realtor and president-elect of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, to dig into the region's housing market. Is this the right time to buy? What is driving $9,000 monthly mortgages? And is the market cooling off amid forecasts of a recession?

Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg joins host Nick Preciado to dig into the county's mental health crisis, how leaders are looking for solutions and new efforts to balance the need for a new jail with mental health facilities.

Host Nick Preciado chats with Michael Borja, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, to answer common questions about voting processes and election security ahead of Tuesday's primary election.

With Election Day less than three weeks away, host Nick Preciado sits down with two of Silicon Valley's most prominent political experts -- Terry Christensen and Garrick Percival -- to get their predictions and analysis on key races and measures.

Host Nick Preciado is joined by San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra and transit leader Rod Diridon, Sr. to reflect on the legacy of the iconic Norm Mineta -- a trailblazing San Jose mayor, hometown hero and national leader.

Host Nick Preciado sits down with San Jose's Economic Development Director Nanci Klein to dig into the biggest land deal in San Jose's history -- the massive Google campus in downtown. Klein dishes on what's next, plans to prevent displacement and how the city is mitigating traffic and parking concerns.

On this episode of The Podlight, host Nick Preciado chats with three members of San Jose's Charter Review Commission about a series of recommendations that could change city policies -- including a plan to switch to ranked choice voting and expand council districts.

This week, host Nick Preciado chats with reporter Tran Nguyen about a new plan to combat rising traffic deaths in San Jose. Then Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe hops on to talk about how the city hopes to reduce theft of catalytic converters.

This week, host Nick Preciado chats with reporter Tran Nguyen about COVID-19 entering the endemic phase in Santa Clara County and San Jose City Hall reporter Jana Kadah explains the barriers to affordable housing in San Jose.

This week, host Nick Preciado chats with Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe about Santa Clara County lifting its indoor mask mandate. Then San Jose City Hall reporter Jana Kadah explains how the city will spend millions of dollars from Google in connection to its downtown project.

Host Nick Preciado and reporter Tran Nguyen dive into the county's biennial homeless count this week, including Ngyuen's experience shadowing volunteers as they scoured under bridges, along creeks and outside businesses before dawn to count homeless people living in San Jose.

This week, host Nick Preciado welcomes two guests to dive into San Jose's new gun policies, which include requiring firearm owners to buy liability insurance and pay an annual fee to help reduce gun harm. San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones explains how the policy might save lives, while activist Kirk Vartan says it's a half-baked plan with no teeth.

This week, host Nick Preciado chats with Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe about an ongoing legal battle between Valley Water and victims of a disastrous 2017 flood. Then reporter Jana Kadah explains how San Jose is clearing a massive homeless camp under the airport's flight path.

This week, editor Nick Preciado chats with San José Spotlight co-founder and CEO Ramona Giwargis about the organization's joint lawsuit against San Jose and Mayor Sam Liccardo for skirting public transparency laws. Then reporter Tran Nguyen explains how newly-released emails show Liccardo's friend, Carl Guardino, helped craft an exemption to the city's natural gas ban that his company -- Bloom Ene...

This week, host Nick Preciado and reporter Tran Nguyen discuss why emergency workers at Valley Medical Center walked off the job amid the biggest spike in COVID-19 cases. Later, Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe dives into the county's decision to approve a new jail -- despite strong opposition from the community.

This week, host Nick Preciado chats with Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe about a new plan to transform the county fairgrounds into a cricket stadium despite calls to use the site for homeless or affordable housing. Then freelance reporter Lorraine Gabbert recaps a fight to save a food pantry from closure because of a pricey city permit.

This week host Nick Preciado dug into a new proposal in San Jose to allow people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in local elections with reporter Tran Nguyen. Later, Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe explains a move by county lawmakers to declare a public mental health crisis.

This week, host Nick Preciado talks to San Jose City Hall reporter Jana Kadah about the mayor's proposal to require city employees to get a COVID-19 booster shot. Then reporter Tran Nguyen explains why homeless deaths in Santa Clara County have soared in recent years -- and how activists are honoring the lives lost.

This week, host Nick Preciado dives into new corruption accusations against Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith from the Civil Grand Jury with Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe. Then, reporter Tran Nguyen hops on to discuss the $1.6 million sale of the historic Burbank Theater.

This week host Nick Preciado speaks with reporter Tran Nguyen about her new data reporting revealing how many homeless encampments San Jose has cleared since January. Then, reporters Lloyd Alaban and Lorraine Gabbert discuss San José Spotlight's new documentary series highlighting the plight of essential workers during the pandemic, Backbone of Silicon Valley.

On this episode of The Podlight, host Nick Preciado talks to reporter Tran Nguyen about her exclusive reporting on San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo's new PAC and its $400,000 fundraising haul. Later, Senior Reporter Eli Wolfe breaks down a controversial San Jose proposal to use license plate readers to deter crime.

On this episode of The Podlight, host Nick Preciado speaks to environmentalists pushing to preserve Coyote Valley and those who say private landowners have a right to develop it. The discussion, which features Green Foothills Executive Director Megan Fluke and attorney and ex-San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, follows a historic City Council decision this week to preserve the open space.