The Bay

On April 15, 2024, dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the Golden Gate Bridge, in an attempt to pressure the U.S. government into ending military aid for Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. Now, seven of those protesters are on trial facing felony charges in San Francisco. If convicted, they could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wetsuit changed surfing forever, making it possible for surfers to wade in the frigid waters of the Bay and allow the scene to thrive. In this episode of Bay Curious, we learn about the Ocean Beach surfers and the UC Berkeley physicist who had a part to play in the wetsuit’s invention. Links: The Wetsuit Changed Surfing — We’ve Got a Berkeley Physicist to Thank for It Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend, SF Carnaval is expected to draw an estimated 500,000 people to San Francisco's Mission District. The celebration, which takes place May 23-24, celebrates the music, dance, and culture of the Latin American diaspora. Links: Carnaval San Francisco 2026: From Parade Route to Parking, What to Know This Weekend Carnaval San Francisco Turns Music, Memory and Resistance Into Celebration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Valero’s Benicia refinery employed hundreds of people and contributed millions in taxes to the local government for decades. Now, with the refinery on its way out, local leaders hope Benicia can be a leading example for how cities transition away from the fossil fuel industry. But with tight city budgets and a global fuel crisis looming, that’s much easier said than done. Links: California’s Fuel Fears Threaten Benicia’s ‘Just Transition’ to Green Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has seen a 22% decrease in people sleeping on the streets, according to preliminary data from this year’s Point In Time count. But the number of families experiencing homelessness has gone up 15%. Recent changes have allowed families to stay longer in shelters, but securing affordable housing remains a challenge. In this episode, we meet one family caught up in the city’s shelter system as they wait for more permanent housing. This episode originally aired Aug 4, 2025 Links: Fewer People Are Sleeping on San Francisco Streets. But Family Homelessness Is Up SF Families Win Shelter Extension Rights, Still Face Long Waits for Housing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Community-based preschools across the state have struggled to compete with California’s free, universal transitional-kindergarten program, where enrollment grew to 213,000 students this year. Now, hundreds of preschools have shuttered — worsening the shortage of licensed child care spaces for children younger than 4 years old. Links: As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Workers at San Francisco International Airport who clean planes, handle baggage, and push wheelchairs told city supervisors at a recent hearing that they’re sleeping in their cars and surviving on rice and oatmeal. Now city supervisors say their labor fight for higher wages is on notice. Links: San Francisco Airport Labor Fight Hits City Hall This Week Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to a KQED analysis, the average Pacific Gas & Electric utility bill went up nearly 70% between 2020 and March 2025. But understanding what you’re actually paying for can be confusing. In this episode, KQED’s climate reporter Laura Klivans helps Ericka decode her PG&E bill. This episode originally aired Dec 17, 2025 Links: The Average PG&E Utility Bill Has Gone Up Nearly 70% Since 2020 | KQED Bay Area Electricity Bills Are Some of the Highest. Where Does Your Money Go? | KQED PG&E Bills Keep Rising. What Can You Do to (Potentially) Lower Your Bills? | KQED Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Golden State Valkyries’ first season was a huge success. The team sold out every home game and became the first WNBA team ever to make the playoffs in their expansion season. This year, expectations are high. Marisa Ingemi of Valkyries Beat joins us to preview the Valkyries’ second season season, and provide some helpful tips for new fans. Links: 2026 WNBA Season Preview from a Valkyries perspective (Valkyries Beat) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jurors and journalists are getting a peak behind the world of OpenAI and its founding as two of the richest, most powerful men in tech duke it out in an Oakland federal courthouse. At issue is whether Sam Altman and other co-founders of OpenAI abandoned their founding promise to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. But does anyone here really have our best interests at heart? KQED’s Rachael Myrow takes us inside. Links: How to Unscramble an Omelet in Silicon Valley: The Musk v. Altman Trial That Will Try Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Raising kids is expensive, and doing so in the Bay comes with compromises. Whether it’s with space, commutes, or affordability, having a kid here means something’s gotta give. KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi introduces us to three different families and tells us what they’re doing to get by. Links: How We Get By | KQED In the Bay Area, Raising Kids Comes With Compromise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 2023, a private initiative called the Civic Joy Fund has financially supported hundreds of arts and culture events in San Francisco. But a growing group of artists are calling for a boycott of events affiliated with the Civic Joy Fund, citing its connections to the Bay Area’s ultra-wealthy who already play an outsized role in local and state politics. Emma Silvers, journalist and co-owner of COYOTE Media Collective, explains why Bay Area artists are talking about the Civic Joy Fund right now. Links: Bay Area Artists Are Turning on the Civic Joy Fund (Coyote Media) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Alan, and KQED outdoors reporter Sarah Wright discuss Oakland’s new policy that will make it easier to sweep homeless encampments and RVs. Plus, a measure to tax the wealth of California’s billionaires seems headed for the November ballot, and a small group of lucky booklovers gets married at the San Francisco Public Library. Links: Oakland Passes Controversial Policy Easing Restrictions on Encampment Sweeps | KQED California Billionaire Tax Nears the November Ballot | KQED Bay Area Book Lovers: We Have Highly Literary Date (or Friend Hang) Ideas for Your Weekend | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nuclear power has always been hotly debated. 9% of California’s power comes from the last operating nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, in San Luis Obispo. But after plans to close it, lawmakers are now debating whether to keep it open for much longer in order to bolster California's ability to provide power in the face of climate change. Links: The Debate for Keeping Diablo Canyon Open Past 2030 Is On. What Could It Mean for Your Bills? Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump last year, will cut an estimated $900 billion to $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade. Between funding cuts and big changes to enrollment and eligibility requirements, residents who rely on Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, are bracing for impact. Doctor and journalist Sejal Parekh explores how this is playing out in Contra Costa County. Links: Up to 93K Contra Costa County residents could lose health insurance under Trump cuts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been one week since Rep. Eric Swalwell ended his run for governor after ⁠multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct⁠. Before that, he was starting to consolidate support from voters in the progressive, vote-rich Bay Area. Now that he’s out of the race, the remaining candidates – especially the leading Democrats – are trying to win over his supporters before the June 2 primary. Links: ⁠How to watch the California governor’s debate on KRON4 and KRON4+⁠ ⁠The Rise and Fall of Eric Swallwell⁠ (The Bay) ⁠Betty Yee Becomes Latest Democrat to Exit California Governor’s Race⁠ ⁠With Swalwell Out, Who Will Bay Area Voters Support for California Governor?⁠ ⁠California Governor Candidates Compete for Swalwell's Endorsements, Donors and Voters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some school districts are now providing workforce housing, as they find themselves with vacant properties and employees who say they can’t afford to stay in the Bay Area. Today, we meet one teacher in San Francisco who was planning to leave – until she got an apartment in a teacher housing complex. Links: When Teachers Can’t Afford to Live in the Bay Area, Districts Get Into the Housing Game Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know the sound: a robotic, ancient-sounding voice as you wait for BART: 6-car Blue line train for OAK Airport in 15 minutes. In America's tech capital, why do BART announcements sound so old? In this episode from our friends at Bay Curious, reporter Ana De Almeida Amaral sets out to find the answer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. Until last week, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, was a leading candidate for governor. But on Friday, a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexual assault. In interviews with the San Francisco Chronicle, former staff member said Swalwell sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent in both 2019 and 2024, after multiple inappropriate advances both on Snapchat and in person. Since then, at least four more women have come forward, including one who alleges she was violently raped by Swalwell in 2018. Swalwell denies these allegations. But within days, after supporters fled his campaign and called for him to step down, he ended his run for governor and resigned his Congressional seat. Links: SF Chronicle: Ex-staffer says Eric Swalwell, candidate for California governor, sexually assaulted her KQED: Eric Swalwell Is Out of the Governor’s Race and Resigning From Congress. What Happens Now? CalMatters: Woman alleges violent sexual assault by Eric Swalwell: 'He raped me' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, or even quit. As part of KQED’s new series on affordability, early childhood education reporter Daisy Nguyen introduces us to one mother who left her job as a teacher after the birth of her third child. Links: When Child Care Costs Half a Paycheck, Bay Area Parents Must Choose: Kids or Career | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices