The Bay

For several weeks, a red pay phone sat outside a tattoo parlor in San Francisco’s Mission District — with a sign reading ‘Call a Republican.’ If you picked it up, a blue pay phone with the sign ‘Call a Democrat’ in the conservative city of Abilene, Texas would ring. This project, created by a company called Matter Neuroscience, aimed to connect Americans from vastly different backgrounds via the old-fashioned phone. Links: What Happens When Democrats in San Francisco Call Up Republicans in Texas? It’s Pretty Cordial | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve noticed more crows in the night sky this winter, you’re not imagining it. The Bay Area crow population has been on a steady rise since about 1975 — and after 2000 or so, the population exploded. So what’s behind the boom? This episode of Bay Curious first aired on June 6, 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly 31,000 health care workers with the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals have been on strike for the last four weeks. Nurses, physicians assistants, pharmacists and other workers at Kaiser Permanente say that their wages have not kept up with inflation and that their workloads have negatively impacted patient care. As the strike drags on and negotiations continue to stall, more patients face canceled surgeries and appointments without an end in sight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Silicon Valley once resisted cooperating with the U.S. military. Google, Meta and OpenAI even had policies banning the use of AI in weapons. Those days now feel like a bygone era, as Big Tech has now embraced working closely with the federal government during President Donald Trump's second term, in large part due to lucrative contracts for military and surveillance technology. This episode first aired on Sept. 3, 2025. Links: The Militarization of Silicon Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're working on an episode about making friends in the Bay Area. And we want your help. What's it been like for you to make friends here? How'd you do it? Is there anything about life in the Bay that makes it easier or harder to meet people? Let us know your thoughts. You can do that in one of two ways: Leave us a voicemail at 415-710-9223 Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to thebay@kqed.org We might just reach back out for an upcoming episode. We can't wait to hear from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Venezuelan diaspora in the Bay Area is relatively small. Of the estimated 770,000 Venezuelan natives living in the United States in 2024, only about 23,000 — or 3% — are in California, according to the Migration Policy Institute. But as the country’s political turmoil continues to make headlines, a nonprofit called Dulce Tricolor Venezolano is committed to keeping their culture alive and building community through teaching traditional dance. Links: Venezuelan Dance Group in the Bay Area Keeps Culture Alive for a New Generation Subscribe to KQED’s K Onda newsletter Dulce Tricolor Venezolano Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, teachers at San Francisco Unified School District went on strike for the first time since 1979. The district and the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) remain apart on issues like wage increases and family health care. We talk with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jill Tucker about the impact on families, and why teacher strikes seem to be spreading across California. Links: San Francisco Teachers Strike: What Should Families Know? | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since San José Mayor Matt Mahan took office in 2023, the city has dramatically shifted the city’s approach to homelessness from building permanent affordable housing to building more temporary shelters, with the goal of getting people off the street faster. Now, as he eyes the governor's office, we look into how his signature homelessness program is going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area is gearing up for ‘Benito Bowl,’ AKA Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show performance, with watch parties planned across the Bay. But his performance comes at a time when fans in immigrant communities are worried about immigration enforcement actions around the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, despite reassurances from the NFL and local police. Links: ICE at the Super Bowl: What We Know Right Now How’s Bad Bunny Left His Mark on the Bay Area? Let Us Count the Ways As Bay Area Gears Up to Host Super Bowl LX and Bad Bunny Halftime Show, Fears of ICE Loom | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Sunday, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will play in the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Super Bowl LX is projected to draw 90,000 visitors to the Bay Area, and up to $630 million in economic benefits for the entire region. But it's the South Bay that will feel the most disruptions to daily life. Links: The Super Bowl Party Is Here. Fans Are Excited, Even if It’s Seahawks vs Patriots Super Bowl LX Tickets: Don’t Fall for an (Expensive) Scam ICE at the Super Bowl: What We Know Right Now 7 Things to Know About the Complicated Relationship Between Santa Clara and the 49ers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clipper 2.0, or Next Generation Clipper, has been a long-awaited update for public transit riders. But the rollout has been plagued with glitches, and transit officials and riders are furious with Cubic Transportation Systems, the company contracted to operate the system. Links: ‘A Hot Mess’: Transit Riders, Officials Skewer Contractor Over Flawed Clipper 2.0 Rollout | KQED Clipper 2.0 Leaves AC Transit Cash Riders Behind | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our first news roundup of 2026, we discuss California reactions to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the latest drama in the long-running efforts by California Forever to build a new city, and a nostalgic goodbye to the Westfield Mall in downtown San Francisco. Links: Growing Wave of Silicon Valley Workers Condemns ICE as C-Suites Split Over Fear of Trump | KQED ‘This mall was the shit’: Former teenagers throw final rager to honor SF Centre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Violent crime is down in Oakland, along with most major U.S. cities. In 2025, Oakland’s homicide rate dropped 22% compared with the previous year. But Oakland city leaders are also aware that there’s a lot of work left to do — including helping people feel safe even as the statistics are showing improvements. Roselyn Romero with the Oaklandside joins us to break down why violent crime is down for the second straight year. Links: Violent crime in Oakland is way down for the second year in a row Oakland saw a historic drop in homicides in 2025. City leaders aren’t declaring victory yet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is enjoying high approval ratings and declining crime rates as he marks his first full year in office. In this live, on-stage interview with the Political Breakdown podcast, Lurie reflects on his first year, what he’s learned, and how he plans to take on the challenges ahead. Links: YouTube: Watch San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie with Political Breakdown Listen: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie Read: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on the Highs and Lows of His First Government Job Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The health care industry has often been slow to adopt new technology — but not when it comes to AI. And as Kaiser Permanente’s mental health clinicians in Northern California negotiate their latest contract with the company, they’re looking for reassurance that AI isn’t coming for their jobs. Links: Will AI Replace Your Therapist? Kaiser Won't Say No Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, students, faculty, staff and alumni at the California College of the Arts learned that their school will be closing after the 2026-27 school year. Replacing it will be a new campus, run by Vanderbilt University. The arts community is now mourning the loss of Northern California's last nonprofit art school, which has served the region for 119 years. Links: What We Will Lose When California College of the Arts Closes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set off a wave of protests across the country. It’s also brought attention to the federal government’s efforts to stop people from recording federal agents in public. Today, we’re sharing an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, where host Morgan Sung sits down with criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella to find out whether or not you have the right to record ICE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area police departments say automated license plate readers contracted by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety have been a powerful tool for solving crime. But Bay Area residents and privacy advocates are increasingly concerned about the impacts on our privacy, as the Trump administration continues its federal immigration crackdown. In Santa Cruz, the city council voted 6-1 to end its contract with Flock, citing reports that the city’s data was accessed by out-of-state agencies. Links: Santa Cruz the First in California to Terminate Its Contract With Flock Safety San Jose latest city to face questions whether federal authorities are accessing police license plate camera data Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five current and former students at Stanford are on trial for barricading themselves inside the university president’s office on June 5, 2024. The protesters, who face counts of felony conspiracy and felony vandalism, say their actions were aimed at pressuring Stanford to divest from companies that support Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. Prosecutors say that protesters committed a crime by breaking into a building and causing damage to university property. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco residents are furious with Pacific Gas & Electric after nearly one third of the city was hit by a series of power outages over the holiday season. This public outrage has also revived calls for the city — or even the state — to take over the investor-owned utility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices