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The flagship news podcast of the San Francisco Chronicle. Producer/host Cecilia Lei and co-host Laura Wenus discuss the biggest stories of the day with Chronicle journalists and newsmakers from around the Bay Area. | Get full digital access to the Chronicle: sfchronicle.com/pod
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The S.F. Doctor Who Became an Arab LGBTQ Icon from 2023-06-23T08:00
Dr. Nasser Mohamed became the first Qatari to come out as gay during an interview with BBC World last year ahead of the World Cup. Since then, the S.F. primary care physician has connected with hun...
ListenWhat's At Stake For Mayor Breed This November? from 2022-09-29T08:00
Though her name doesn't appear on the ballot, the upcoming November election may be consequential for Mayor London Breed's political future. Voters will weigh in on local measures and the fate of f...
ListenS.F. Schools Sued In Sex Abuse Case from 2022-09-19T08:00
A lawsuit on behalf of a pair of former San Francisco students is raising questions about the public district's response to sexual abuse claims. Both women say they were sexually abused by the same...
ListenIs More Black Political Representation Leading to Change in San Francisco? from 2022-07-28T08:00
San Francisco, which has seen a decades-long exodus of Black residents, now has a Black mayor, police chief, district attorney and president of the Board of Supervisors. Yet Chronicle columnist Jus...
ListenIf Roe vs. Wade is Overturned, Is California Ready? from 2022-05-04T08:00
News that the Supreme Court is set to overturn the nearly 50-year old Roe v. Wade decision on abortion rights has sent shockwaves across the country. Chronicle reporters Rachel Swan and Sophia Boll...
ListenWhat an Oklahoma Abortion Ban Means for California from 2022-04-13T08:00
Republicans across the country are moving to restrict abortions in their states, including in Oklahoma where a near-total ban on abortion was signed on Tuesday. Senior political writer and host of ...
ListenWhat Went Wrong at John Muir Health? from 2022-04-07T08:45
In 2012, John Muir Health formed a multimillion dollar partnership with Stanford to boost its pediatric program and operations. The deaths of the hospital's pediatric patients, including 2-year-old...
ListenHow Will We Respond to Another Mass Shooting? from 2022-04-06T08:00
After an exchange of gunfire on a crowded Sacramento street killed six people and wounded 12 more, Democratic politicians and others are again calling for gun control. So will there be meaningful c...
ListenBay Area Suburbs: The New Eviction Battleground for Tenants from 2022-02-10T09:00
COVID eviction battles are moving to Bay Area suburbs, which don't have the same tenant protections as urban centers like San Francisco and Oakland. Chronicle reporter Lauren Hepler joins host Ceci...
ListenWhat Big Sur's Winter Wildfire Means For Fire Season from 2022-01-26T09:00
The Colorado Fire, which is burning through parts of Big Sur this week, is a rare winter coastal fire. As the state enters its third year of a historic drought, scientists warn that the window for ...
ListenCan the Magic of the Castro Theatre Survive? from 2022-01-21T09:00
The Castro Theatre, San Francisco’s beloved movie palace and an internationally known symbol of the Bay Area LGBTQ community, is getting a major makeover. Will renovations and an expanded slate of ...
ListenWhat Will Happen To Oakland's Unvaccinated Students? from 2022-01-14T09:00
Last October, the Oakland Unified School District became one of the first in the state to require students ages 12 and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Chronicle education reporter Jill Tucker jo...
ListenIs a Drought Recovery Near? from 2022-01-03T09:00
Rain and snow storms helped usher in a new year in California, but are they drought busters? Chronicle reporter Kurtis Alexander joins host Cecilia Lei to give updates on the Sierra snowpack, water...
ListenImmunocompromised: What It’s Like to Be the Pandemic’s Most Vulnerable from 2021-12-17T09:00
"Immunocompromised" and "immunosuppressed" are familiar terms now, but they are also umbrellas for many different health situations. The CDC estimates that 7 million U.S. adults are moderately to s...
ListenSupply Chain Woes: Consumers Be Aware from 2021-12-03T09:00
The Covid-19 pandemic, worker shortages and even global warming are all factors that have contributed to what is known as 'the supply chain crisis'. Chronicle food reporter Janelle Bitker joins hos...
ListenBay Area Retail Theft: Oakland Cannabis Merchants Weigh In from 2021-12-01T09:00
Cities across the Bay Area have been jolted by a spree of retail thefts. On Monday, struggling Oakland cannabis merchants made a plea to city and state leaders for more protection — and a tax break...
ListenYour Bay Area Transportation Questions Answered from 2021-11-29T09:00
Transportation reporter Ricardo Cano joins guest host Heather Knight to answer questions from listeners and readers submitted via the Bay Area Transportation Project Roadmap. As the San Francisco M...
ListenCivics, Charity and Sexual Violence from 2021-11-18T09:00
Chronicle investigative reporters Alexandria Bordas and Cynthia Dizikes lay out their new investigation finding years of problems in a civic and charitable organization that helped launch the caree...
ListenCOVID Case Spikes and Mental Health Eligibility for Boosters from 2021-11-10T09:00
Chronicle staff writer Aidin Vaziri joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why the Bay Area is seeing a jump in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and engagement reporter Gwendolyn Wu explains why peo...
ListenCan Dave Chappelle Redeem Himself? from 2021-11-04T08:00
Comedian Dave Chapelle is opening his latest tour at San Francisco’s Chase Center, despite receiving fierce criticism for his recent comments about the transgender community. Many say his views are...
ListenGov. Newsom Gets a Booster — Should You? from 2021-10-28T08:00
One year after the Bay Area headed into a terrible holiday surge, we're in much better shape. But huge pandemic questions still loom, including: Should you get a booster shot? Can you do holiday ga...
ListenHow 9/11 Launched a Muslim Civil Rights Movement from 2021-09-09T11:00
Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changing the world forever. In the wake of the tragedy, wars raged, national security efforts increased and Muslims in t...
ListenTexas Abortion Ban: What’s at Stake for California? from 2021-09-03T08:00
Are abortion rights in California at risk as Gov. Newsom faces a recall? Texas just outlawed abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and the Supreme Court formally rejected requests by abortion prov...
ListenIt’s All Political: Good News for Gavin Newsom? from 2021-09-02T08:00
As voters are deciding whether to keep or dump Gov. Newsom, a new poll makes the recall look like a longshot. Today’s Fifth&Mission episode features a portion of the Chronicle’s It’s All Political ...
ListenThe COVID Crisis in Rural Hospitals from 2021-08-26T08:00
A year and a half into the pandemic, hospitals in Northern California's rural counties are running out of room, stricken with a contagious delta variant and communities with low vaccination rates. ...
Listen"The Bleakest Moment:" Local Afghans Share Their Devastation from 2021-08-19T09:00
As the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan continues to develop, for some California residents the latest news is more than a headline. Host Cecilia Lei talks to local Afghans and Afghan Americans abou...
ListenThe Newsom Recall: What to Expect and How to Vote from 2021-08-18T11:00
California’s recall election may have begun as a right wing endeavor, but it is now a legitimate threat for Gov. Newsom. Will Democrats be able to mobilize enough of the state’s voter base to count...
ListenHow Should We Cope With the Pandemic Now? from 2021-08-06T08:00
The Delta variant has been a tough reality check, so Chronicle reporters went out into the field to ask Bay Area residents about how they're feeling at this stage of the pandemic. Internationally k...
ListenBehind the Delays in Bay Area Rent Relief from 2021-08-05T11:00
All over the Bay Area, the pandemic left hundreds of thousands of people and families unable to afford their rent. But as Chronicle reporter Lauren Helper reports, government programs designed to p...
ListenBreakthrough COVID: The Virus Isn't Done With Us from 2021-08-04T08:00
Indoor mask mandates are back in seven Bay Area counties because of the highly transmissible delta variant, and the risk isn't just for unvaccinated people: post-vaccination cases are also on the r...
ListenWelcome to the Yellow Tier from 2021-05-05T08:00
It became official Tuesday: San Francisco is advancing to the yellow tier of coronavirus restrictions. On Thursday the city will start easing the rules on large gatherings and indoor bars, among ot...
ListenChronicled: A Message from Tal and Joe from 2021-05-05T01:08
SF Chronicle podcast Chronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? was nominated for a Webby award for best documentary podcast. And we need your help: Vote for our project before May 6 here: bit.ly/joevote.
Are STDs Really Down in the Pandemic? from 2021-05-04T08:00
Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday discusses her look at reports of sexually transmitted diseases in the past year. Turns out, STDs including HIV were way down — but that may not be a result of ...
ListenMisery in India from 2021-04-30T08:00
As life in the United States is beginning to return to normal, India has been crushed by a deadly surge of the coronavirus. Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday discusses why that country is getti...
ListenRacism in the Bay Area Food Industry from 2021-04-16T09:00
Anti-Asian attacks and rhetoric are rising, and they're impacting Asian food workers who have to interact with the public in a big way. Chronicle food reporter Janelle Bitker explains how Asian res...
ListenWine Country Mayor Faces Criminal Investigation from 2021-04-09T09:00
Hours after The Chronicle published an investigation into Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office opened a criminal probe. It was a response to the accounts of four women ...
ListenIt's All Political: California Dreaming: Gavin Newsom’s Overly Sunny State of the State Speech from 2021-03-10T09:00
For coverage of Gov. Gavin Newsom's State of the State speech Tuesday night, Fifth&Mission presents The Chronicle's It's All Political podcast, hosted by Joe Garofoli. Sacramento reporters Alexei K...
ListenCan San Francisco's Iconic Cable Cars be Saved? from 2021-02-22T12:00
The city's 148-year-old cable cars have been out-of-service for nearly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has no timeline for when they'll re...
ListenExtra Spicy: The Fight to Save Chinatown from 2021-02-15T09:00
The 2021 Lunar New Year marks a full year of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on San Francisco’s Chinatown. Well before the Bay Area shut down, America’s oldest Chinatown experienced reduced busin...
ListenTrump Trial Moves Forward from 2021-02-10T09:00
The Chronicle's Washington correspondent Tal Kopan has the latest from the impeachment of Donald Trump. While a majority of senators rejected Trump's argument that a trial is unconstitutional, Demo...
ListenWhat's Wrong With Herd Immunity from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why can't we defeat the pandemic by allowing the coronavirus to infect the majority of the population? Health reporter Erin Allday breaks down the science behind the idea, how it factors into the o...
ListenWhat We Know About the Gilroy Shooter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why did a 19-year-old man gun down three people and wound a dozen more at the Gilroy Garlic Festival? Reporter Rachel Swan on the hunt for a motive, the search of the shooter's apartment and the tr...
ListenDo Face Shields Work? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Just as Bay Area residents got used to wearing masks, a new coronavirus accessory has cropped up: face shields. Reporter Aidin Vaziri explains their pluses and minuses. He also discusses how a data...
ListenBay Curious: Your Questions on Homelessness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a collaboration with the NPR podcast Bay Curious from KQED, Chronicle editor in chief Audrey Cooper and reporter Kevin Fagan join host Olivia Allen-Price to answer four key questions about the h...
ListenEviction Catastrophe Is Looming from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
One in seven Californians can't make their rent, and a freeze on state courts processing evictions during the coronavirus crisis is about to end. Reporter Alexei Koseff describes two different prop...
ListenHorror at the Gilroy Garlic Festival from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Lizzie Johnson joins Demian Bulwa to talk about the latest on the mass shooting in Gilroy. How did the shooter get his weapon? What was his motive? And who were the people — including two ...
ListenHow Restaurants Are Dealing With Unsavory Times from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus pandemic is battering restaurants like few other industries. Some are moving outdoors and switching menus, others are laying off staff or closing altogether. Justin Phillips, co-hos...
ListenPhotographing Homelessness For 24 Hours from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Photographers Gabrielle Lurie and Jessica Christian discuss photographing homelessness during our 24-hour homelessness project. They talk about the challenges of photographing for 24-hours straight...
ListenThe Attorney Who Gives Police Fits from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Civil rights attorney John Burris' clients have included Rodney King and the family of Oscar Grant. He talks about the George Floyd killing, the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements, ...
ListenSafe Parking for the Homeless from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
People living in vehicles is the next frontier in the homelessness crisis for San Francisco city officials to deal with. A new proposal would turn a parking lot near Balboa Park into a "triage cent...
ListenCalls to Defund the Police Are Shaping Oakland Races from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Five Oakland City Council seats are up for grabs in November, and with them the potential to reshape the city’s political leadership. Reporter Rachel Swan talks about the most closely watched races...
ListenTown-Gown Quarrels at Stanford & UC Berkeley from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tight housing and more students spell tension between the elite universities and the cities they live in. The city of Berkeley is suing UC, as Santa Clara County wrestles with an expanding Stanford...
ListenHow Deadly Is COVID-19? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus has killed more than 150,000 Americans — more than World War I or Vietnam. But scientists haven't come to a consensus on how likely it is that anyone infected will die. Chronicle he...
ListenNewsom Takes on PG&E Wildfire Crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As wildfire season began, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a plan to shield utilities from wildfire liabilities. How does the fund work and how did Newsom navigate his first big ...
ListenTheo at 7: A Year in a Homeless Kid's Life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle photographer Gabrielle Lurie and reporter Sarah Ravani talk about the year they spent following Theo, who's been homeless his whole life, and his mom, Naomi, as they navigate the streets,...
Listen'Miscarriage Leave' On the Rise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Miscarriages are very common — and emotionally searing. Some Bay Area companies are offering paid leave to employees, both men and women, who have experienced losses. Learn more about your ad choic...
ListenInside San Quentin's Death Row Outbreak from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jarvis Masters, a condemned inmate and COVID-19 sufferer speaking from San Quentin death row, talks with reporter Jason Fagone about what he calls the "incompetence" that led the prison to become C...
ListenA Change Could Be Coming to Prop 13 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A ballot measure headed for the 2020 ballot could bring $11 billion more in tax revenues by changing the way that commercial property is taxed. But county assessors said it would be a logistical ni...
ListenHow Will the Arts Survive COVID-19? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated an ongoing loss of arts infrastructure in the Bay Area — studios, galleries, performance spaces, working artists who can afford the cost of living. But, as Sama...
ListenNo Straws, No Forks from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Welcome to ‘Ban Francisco’! Business editor Owen Thomas and writers Carolyn Said and Elena Shao discuss the city’s latest attempt to crack down on something. In this case it’s plastic waste from al...
ListenS.F. Wedding Leads to Outbreak from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A wedding was quietly held at SS Peter & Paul's Catholic Church in San Francisco, even after church leaders were warned not to break coronavirus rules. Now the bride, the groom and some guests have...
ListenImmigration Politics in a Word: Chilling from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Senior political writer Joe Garofoli explains the politics behind the citizenship question on the census, the federal immigration raids, the new asylum laws and President Trump’s racist tweets abou...
ListenCalifornia's Child Care Crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Amid the state's sputtering reopening efforts, child care providers across are confronting a crushing choice: Stay closed and risk financial ruin, or reopen at a reduced capacity and expose childre...
ListenWhat Google's $1 Billion Housing Plan Means from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The tech giant's big Bay Area housing commitment is one of the largest of its kind and a sign that even the wealthiest companies are burdened by high rents. But many details are unclear. Learn more...
ListenPandemic Pods: Solution or Problem? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Faced with the prospect of having to again stick their kids in front of screens for distance learning, some parents of means are cobbling together an alternative. Education reporter Jill Tucker tal...
ListenCan Co-Living Help Make San Francisco More Affordable? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
While young people have long shared housing in cities, an increasing number of real estate developers are betting that co-living can work on a much larger scale. In this episode we talk about the t...
ListenWill Coronavirus Baseball Work? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Giants and A’s are starting their seasons under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic — with a shortened schedule, new rules and empty stadiums. Giants beat writer Henry Schulman, host of the Gia...
ListenNew Turn in Rideshare Rapist Case from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A defense attorney in SF’s infamous “Rideshare Rapist” case says an illegal DNA search led police to the suspect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenDeath of a Nurse in Oakland from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Janine Paiste-Ponder, a 59-year-old nurse treating COVID-19 patients, died on July 17 after contracting the disease herself. The coronavirus has killed more than 100 health care workers in Californ...
ListenSF Mayor London Breed -- One Year In from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
With Mayor London Breed poised to cruise into a full term in office, Chronicle Editor In Chief Audrey Cooper and City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa take stock of her past year in Room 200, and loo...
ListenFederal Agents in Portland: Is Oakland Next? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As images of Homeland Security agents in camouflage attacking peaceful protesters in Portland go viral, President Trump has threatened to send federal forces to the Bay Area. Political reporter Joe...
ListenEmployees Versus Contractors: California’s Big Question from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A new law will formalize a California Supreme Court ruling in a case called Dynamex that will make many workers employees instead of contractors. Reporter Carolyn Said explains why this matters to ...
ListenUniversal Basic Income: Can It Work? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The idea of putting, say, $1,000 a month in the hands of every American is gaining currency amid the economic shocks of the coronavirus pandemic. Reporter Jason Fagone, who wrote about UBI for The ...
ListenBest Of: Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants With Soleil Ho from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle’s new restaurant critic sat down with Audrey Cooper to talk about taking over longtime critic Michael Bauer’s signature list, what “top” means to her, and what’s different about the l...
ListenShould Wineries Be Open? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
People are drinking more, which is a boon for California wineries, but the industry's also struggling with shutdown orders as the coronavirus pandemic worsens. Wine critic Esther Mobley talks about...
ListenBest Of: Rebuilding of Aisha from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From May: Aisha McCain spent years in prison after getting busted in a massive San Francisco gang crackdown, then she felt a lump in her breast and everything changed. Learn more about your ad choi...
ListenDefund the Police: Berkeley Tries It from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Pressed by the killing of George Floyd and demonstrations for racial justice, Berkeley is promising big changes designed to reduce bias. But as reporter Brett Simpson and columnist Otis Taylor Jr. ...
ListenFentanyl Takes Hold in SF from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fentanyl overdoses killed 57 people in San Francisco last year – more than heroin or prescription pain pills. The synthetic opioid that’s 100 times stronger than morphine is now fully embedded in t...
ListenSan Francisco Zoo Is Back in Business from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Director Tanya Peterson had to feed 2,000 animals with no ticket revenue coming in since March because of the coronavirus shutdown. She's delighted the zoo is open again, and she says she can tell ...
ListenPot in Wine Country? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A local citizens group wants to legalize commercial cannabis cultivation in Napa County. But opponents claim that pot could threaten the success of America’s most famous wine growing region. Learn ...
ListenCaltrain Could Be Derailed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Under the strange governance system that rules the Peninsula train system, two San Francisco supervisors were able to kill a sales tax measure to save it. Caltrain has lost 95% of its riders during...
ListenTransbay Transit Center Reopening from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nine months after discovery of a cracked steel girder forced the closure of the Transbay Transit Center, the $2.2 billion transit hub, retail center and rooftop park has been repaired, inspected a...
ListenCalifornia's New Shutdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Newsom has demanded that a host of activities come to a halt — including nail and hair salons, indoor dining, movie theaters and gyms — as coronavirus cases surge around the state. Health repo...
ListenWhy Oakland Decriminalized Psychedelics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In early June, Oakland became the second city in the U.S. to decriminalize natural psychedelics like magic mushrooms. That initiative was sparked by growing interest – especially in the Bay Area – ...
ListenReopening Schools: Confusion and Frustration from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Getting kids back to school is tops on President Trump's agenda, but California districts are increasingly opting for distance learning. Parents and teachers are anxious and upset about the slow pl...
ListenTop 100 Bay Area Restaurants With Soleil Ho from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle’s new restaurant critic sits down with Audrey Cooper to talk about taking over longtime critic Michael Bauer’s signature list, what “top” means to her, and what’s different about the ...
ListenSan Francisco As a Biking and Walking Utopia from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit fans have long dreamed of major changes to the unsafe streets of San Francisco. In The Throughline, the Chronicle's new section about life in the post-cor...
ListenHow a Chronicle Food Writer Found the Most Important Chef in America from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Food Reporter Justin Phillips and Metro Editor Demian Bulwa discuss the scarcity of black food writers and how Kwame Onwuachi has changed the country’s celebrity chef landscape. Learn more about yo...
ListenCoronavirus Surges on College Campuses from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's a bad trend at UC Berkeley and elsewhere: An outbreak of coronavirus cases tied to fraternity parties. The surge is threatening colleges' plans to reopen for the fall. Reporter Ron Kroichick t...
ListenCan California Avoid A Third Year of Deadly Fire? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Firefighters, policymakers and emergency responders are trying to make the state safe from fire, but they have a long way to go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenBaseball Season Is Looking Doubtful from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sports columnist Ann Killion says that given the rough start to training camp — with not enough coronavirus tests and slow results — she's skeptical MLB will be able to launch its season in two wee...
ListenColumnist Leah Garchik On Her 47-Year Career from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik announced in her May 1 column that today, she is leaving the newspaper after 47 years. Host Peter Hartlaub and reporter Steve Rubenstein sat down with Garchik to ta...
ListenMuni's Breakdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco's love-it-or-hate it transit system is in major trouble with few people willing to step aboard during the coronavirus pandemic and revenue plunging. The city will probably lose 40 of ...
ListenInside Juul’s Fraught Relationship With San Francisco from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Editor in chief Audrey Cooper and business reporter Catherine Ho discuss the latest in San Francisco’s efforts to ban the sale of e-cigarettes — and how Juul, the nation’s largest e-cigarette compa...
ListenSan Francisco Without its Nightlife from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Heklina, one of the city’s best-known drag queens, talks about how bars and nightclubs can eventually reopen safely and why she’s angry bar owners in other parts of the state and country are acting...
ListenMuni's Mess and Mayor Breed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco Mayor London Breed didn't campaign on transportation issues, but she zeroed in on them once she took office. Rachel Swan on why the mayor is gunning for Muni, and the future of transi...
ListenSF Homeless Project Takes on COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Will coronavirus worsen homelessness or provide an opportunity to get people housed? Reporter Kevin Fagan and host Demian Bulwa kick off the SF Homeless Project, a weeklong Chronicle special report...
ListenTaxing Wealthy Companies to Solve SF's Problems from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Should San Francisco raise taxes on prosperous companies to help pay for the city's most gripping problems? Between a tax on IPO's, Uber and Lyft and exorbitantly paid CEO's voters will have plenty...
Listen40 Years in the Wilderness With Tom Stienstra from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle's outdoors columnist talks about how he landed his plum job after having an epiphany while covering a Raiders-Packers game in Green Bay. Plus: He tells campfire tales about the wildes...
ListenThe California Legislature's Key Bills to Watch from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What bills are alive in the California Legislature after a month of big deadlines? We have the rundown, from proposals to expand housing to vaccine exemptions to a push to let bars serve until 4 a....
ListenBlack Lives Matter Protests: What Comes Next? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As demonstrations in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd have begun to cool, Sheryl Davis, executive director of San Francisco's Human Rights Commission, has been surveying people of col...
ListenWhy SF's North Beach Is Struggling from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco's Little Italy has seen a spike in empty storefronts. Residents, business owners and city officials blame a slow permitting process, earthquake construction and other challenges. Lear...
ListenHealth Officers Facing Threats, Intimidation from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Given great power during the coronavirus pandemic, local public health officers are dealing with great scrutiny — and sometimes intimidation and threats. Some have quit. Staff writer Carolyn Said o...
ListenHalfway Through the Ghost Ship Trial from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Crime reporter Megan Cassidy speaks to Metro Editor Demian Bulwa at the halfway point through the criminal trial of the Ghost Ship fire, where two men are charged in the deaths of 36 people who die...
ListenCoronavirus Spike: How Worried Should You Be? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rising COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area and around the country are forcing communities to pause, and in some cases backtrack, on reopening plans. Health reporter Erin Allday on what's behind the surg...
ListenThe Bay Area's Crumbling Streets and Bridges from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Drivers, it's not your imagination: the Bay Area has the worst roads in the nation. We also have concrete crumbling from bridges and freeway overpasses. How did we get to this point -- and what wil...
ListenCoronavirus Means Bad Times for Goodwill from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
William Rogers, CEO of Goodwill San Francisco, describes having to close all of his shops and furlough the majority of his 600 employees after learning his nonprofit was too big to qualify for fede...
ListenPalo Alto's Private Park from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Michael Cabanatuan joins Demian Bulwa to talk about 1,400-acre Foothills Park. It's usually populated with wildflowers, deer and lawbreakers. That is, anyone who doesn't live in Palo Alto....
ListenShould You Fly During the Pandemic? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Features editor Sarah Feldberg discusses how airlines are responding and what travelers need to know to be safe from coronavirus if they have to board a plane, or if they want to for pleasure trave...
ListenWhy California Teachers Who Get Sick Have to Pay For Their Own Substitutes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A strange state law allows school districts to charge teachers who get very sick for their own substitutes. But San Francisco Unified School District appears to be as strict as possible on the subj...
ListenCalifornia's Alarming COVID-19 Spike from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
More than 12,000 residents of the state tested positive for the coronavirus in just two days this week, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to caution Californians to continue being careful or the state's ...
ListenEnd of an Era for the Warriors? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Columnists Ann Killion and Scott Ostler on whether the team's move to San Francisco will turn then into a symbol for Big Tech. Also: What’s with that co-owner pushing a Raptors player? And is Golde...
ListenCOVID-19 Terror at San Quentin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
State prison officials dealt with a coronavirus outbreak at Chino State Prison by transferring untested inmates to San Quentin, and now the virus is ripping through the Marin County facility. Repor...
ListenFrom DACA Recipient to Med School Grad from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Immigration reporter Tatiana Sanchez talks about 29-year-old New Latthivongskorn, the first undocumented immigrant to graduate from the UCSF Medical School in it 155-year history. Latthivongskorn i...
ListenSan Francisco's Toppled Statues from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From the removal of Christopher Columbus outside Coit Tower to the toppling of Father Junipero Serra, Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant in Golden Gate Park, the city's not-so-progressive statu...
ListenThe College Admissions Scandal & the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As high school seniors graduate and prepare to head off to universities, the college admissions scandal continues to play out inside federal courtrooms. Many of the defendants have ties to the Bay ...
ListenNew From The Chronicle: Extra Spicy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle food writers Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips are hosts of The Chronicle's new food and culture podcast, Extra Spicy. They talk with Heather Knight about why they're launching a food podcast...
ListenAn Epidemic of Prison Overdoses from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Criminal justice reporter Megan Cassidy joins Audrey Cooper to talk about a 113% increase in drug overdoses in California prisons since 2015. Nearly 1,000 people received emergency medical attentio...
ListenAn Announcement: Goodbye Audrey, Hello Demian from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle Editor in Chief and Fifth & Mission co-host Audrey Cooper says farewell as she heads off for her new job as editor in chief at WNYC in New York. She and co-host Heather Knight welcome Dem...
ListenThe Man Who Wrote the AIDS Crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Randy Shilts may have been the first out gay reporter at a major American newspaper. In 1982, he began writing about what would soon come to be known as AIDS. He would become it's top Chronicler — ...
ListenCoronavirus Survivors Tell Their Stories from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporters Peter Hartlaub and Annie Vainshtein play excerpts from and talk about their project Surviving the Virus, in which they interviewed people who have recovered from COVID-19. Plus: Rafael Ar...
ListenOakland Ballpark Dreams from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The A's would love to build a baseball cathedral on the waterfront, just like the Giants. Can they pull it off? And would that be good for Oakland? Phil Matier and Susan Slusser join Demian Bulwa t...
ListenSupreme Court Victory for Dreamers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Tatiana Sanchez joins Dominic Fracassa to unpack Thursday's SCOTUS ruling that blocks the Trump administration's attempt to dismantle DACA, dealing a major blow to the president. The Defer...
ListenCan PG&E Survive? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
J.D. Morris joined The Chronicle days after the Camp Fire broke out, transforming his plans to report on PG&E. In this episode, he and Business Editor Owen Thomas take you inside how we’ve covered ...
ListenThe Politics of Policing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As the furor grows over police brutality directed at black and brown people, the political power of police unions is being questioned. Joe Garofoli talks about how the unions might react to the upc...
ListenOpioid Addiction: One Family's Story from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We're sharing an episode of the San Francisco City Insider podcast. When 33-year-old Jeffrey Choate’s parents saw their son, homeless and addicted to heroin and meth, in Heather Knight's Chronicle ...
ListenThe Coronavirus Rent Drop from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused upheaval in the housing market, causing home sales to drop and prices to sink. Rents are also falling as huge numbers of tenants break their leases and move out of ...
ListenPolice Conduct in Vallejo from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
East Bay Columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. talks about the controversial arrests, fatal shootings and police intimidation of black and brown people in Vallejo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...
ListenAfter the Ruling, What Now for Gay Civil Rights? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
This Pride month was made sweeter with a Supreme Court decision forbidding employment discrimination based on gender or sexual identity. Reporter Ryan Kost talks about what that surprising ruling m...
ListenThe Fallout Over Those Crazy San Francisco General Hospital Bills from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco General Hospital has finally changed its billing practice so patients will no longer be charged $92,000 for a simple appendectomy or $24,000 for bumps and bruises. But in today's brok...
ListenWhy the SFPD Chief Is OK With "Defund the Police" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chief William Scott says he feels conflicted as a black man watching national protests against police brutality. He was a young LAPD officer during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and he says that expe...
Listen"American Taliban": Terrorist or Scapegoat? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
With John Walker Lindh set to be released from prison, reporter Kevin Fagan joins Demian Bulwa to talk about the Marin County man who was captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan in 2001. Learn...
ListenPolice Reform: Promises Made, Often Broken from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After SFPD officers fatally shot Mario Woods in 2015, authorities promised reforms. But more than half of the changes recommended by the Department of Justice have yet to be fulfilled, and while us...
ListenPhotographing California's Wildfires from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gabrielle Lurie, a staff photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, sits down with Metro Editor Demian Bulwa to discuss how she covers the wildfires, the dangers that come with it and what stori...
ListenAre We Reopening Too Quickly? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus cases are increasing across the state, but counties are pushing forward with reopening plans. Is that good for public safety? Health reporter Erin Allday delves into the latest case num...
ListenNavigating San Francisco's Shelter System from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Homeless shelters and Navigation Centers are critical in San Francisco's fight against homelessness. But they're only one piece of a harrowing, complicated puzzle. Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper and...
ListenBlack Voices: Why I Protest from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle photojournalist Yalonda M. "Yoshi" James was tired of the media's focus on looting and vandalism during the George Floyd protests. So she turned her camera on African Americans marching, ...
ListenThe Rebuilding of Aisha from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Aisha McCain spent years in prison after getting busted in a massive San Francisco gang crackdown, then she felt a lump in her breast and everything changed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
ListenWhere Does Black Lives Matter Go From Here? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Have the George Floyd protests launched a real change in American life, or will the widespread white support fade over time? How can white allies stay in the fight? And is "Defund the Police" an id...
ListenJeff Adachi, a Police Raid and the Freedom of the Press from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi's death, a confidential police report with photos leaked. This week, police raided a freelance journalist's home to investigate who in their own department gave...
ListenThe Dos and Don’ts of Reopening from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Counties around the state are slowly reopening for business and loosening the shelter-in-place restrictions in place since March. But what will best practices be? Can you have a dinner party? What ...
ListenInside Our Investigations from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Managing Editor of Investigations and Enterprise Michael Gray talks about the Chronicle's past and present investigative reporting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenBrianna Noble: The Black Lives Matter Rider from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tony Bravo talks to the 25-year-old East Bay native who went viral by riding her horse, Dapper Dan, to a George Floyd protest last week in Oakland. She discusses bringing people of color like herse...
ListenHow a Young Vegetarian Became California's Face of Hunting from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Interest in hunting and fishing is down in California, and so are the revenues generated from the sports that pay for conservation. To counter the trend, the state has hired Jen Benedet, a.k.a. Jen...
ListenSchool's Out: Now What? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Now that one of the strangest school terms in American history is wrapping up, are students going to be woefully behind? And what has the coronavirus shutdown shown about the inequities in our publ...
ListenPeople's Park at 50 With the Man Who Started It from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of the People's Park riot which resulted in the only fatality in the long history of protest and activism in Berkeley. To honor it, Heyday Books will release an e...
ListenA Reform Plan for the SFPD from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sparked by the national protests over the death of George Floyd, San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton wants to ban the police department from hiring any officer who engaged in misconduct in a pr...
ListenDisabilities Services Struggle to Survive from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper interviews reporter Catherine Ho about her story on why nonprofits that provide services for people with disabilities are shutting down across California. Le...
ListenFighting for Gun Safety During COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Shannon Watts, a new resident of the East Bay, founded Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America after the Sandy Hook school shooting. She's worried about the panic buying of guns during the coro...
ListenMid-Market: Vision vs. Reality from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The “Twitter tax break” San Francisco created in 2011 to draw companies to the downtrodden Mid-Market neighborhood is expiring. Chronicle reporters Trisha Thadani, J.K. Dineen and Roland Li discuss...
ListenThe Protests Are Different This Time from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Curfews have been imposed across the region and country as protestors spill onto city streets. In some towns, major shopping areas have been looted. Chronicle East Bay columnist Otis Taylor Jr. joi...
ListenThe Camp Fire: 6 Months Later from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kurtis Alexander talks about how far the Northern California town of Paradise has to go in order to rebuild — and whether it should. Lizzie Johnson discusses the difficult and monumental job the co...
ListenSan Francisco's "$1.7 Billion Dollar Challenge" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Controller Ben Rosenfield describes what it's like to go from balancing the books of an economic powerhouse — the City and County of San Francisco — to facing down a $1.7 billion budget gap that ap...
ListenSB 50: The Battle Over California's Housing Crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From the archives: SB 50, a new housing bill, has drawn national attention to a growing crisis in California. And it’s reinvigorated a years-long fight over about who gets to shape neighborhoods. L...
ListenSan Francisco's Grand Reopening from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mayor London Breed laid out when residents can browse in stores, eat in restaurants and work out at gyms. Reporter Dominic Fracassa delves into the details and describes the new, stricter face-cove...
ListenFrom Homeless to a $4 Million Home from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Otis Taylor Jr. talks about Greg Dunston and Marie Mckinzie, a black homeless couple he first wrote about in January. A Piedmont developer took them in, but neighbors in the wealthy, mostly white t...
ListenBART on the Ropes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Riders have peeled away and sales tax projections are abysmal because of the coronavirus crisis. Some officials want to close stations. BART has a budget to survive for one year. What happens after...
ListenThe Future of Winter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
With climate change threatening to make our winters shorter and warmer, writer Porter Fox looks to ski areas around California to understand how higher temperatures are already changing how resorts...
ListenWhy Are COVID-19 Cases on the Rise? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Diagnoses of coronavirus are increasing in some Bay Area counties. Notably, Alameda County is now the hardest hit in the region. What’s happening here? Health writer Erin Allday explains the latest...
ListenWhat to Do About the 'Dead Indian' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A controversial and historic mural at a San Francisco high school -- with depictions of slavery and the killing of Native Americans -- has critics calling for its destruction and art preservationis...
ListenInside a Homeless Hotel in San Francisco from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Supervisor Matt Haney has been working at a hotel for homeless people to shelter in place during the coronavirus pandemic. He tells Heather Knight it's convinced him more people on the streets need...
ListenUpheaval at BART from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Transportation reporter Rachel Swan on the latest challenges for the Bay Area's core transit system: Crime, fare evasion, homelessness, the rollout of new cars, and the need to find a new general m...
ListenCOVID-19 Devastates the Tenderloin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ten weeks into shelter-in-place, the San Francisco neighborhood remains crowded with tents, and people can't maintain social distance. Sam Dennison of the anti-poverty nonprofit Faithful Fools lays...
ListenShould IPOs Be Taxed in SF? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As major SF tech companies IPO, a San Francisco supervisor wants the city's coffers to benefit. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani breaks down the reaction to the proposal. Learn more about your ad ...
ListenWhere and How to Go Outdoors from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Slowly but surely, governments are reopening parks, preserves, beaches and lakes. The Chronicle is keeping track of all the open places to recreate, and outdoors writer Tom Stienstra joins Audrey C...
ListenBig Day for the 49ers and Raiders from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The 49ers pick second and the Raiders fourth in today's NFL Draft. Beat writers Eric Branch and Matt Kawahara talk about the prospects who might turn these teams around, including Nick Bosa, who re...
ListenThe Mystery of the Missing PPE from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A shortage of masks, gowns and other medical-grade personal protective equipment has been a major issue in the coronavirus pandemic. It's still happening, and reporter Dominic Fracassa says that ho...
ListenThe California GOP Is Impotent. Can Anyone Save It? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Republican Party is virtually invisible in California. Republicans hold no statewide office, are a super minority in the Legislature and have a 20 percentage point registration gap compared to ...
ListenHow to Smile With a Mask On from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
You're never fully dressed without a smile, but with face masks mandatory in the coronavirus crisis, no one can tell you're smiling. That's important because smiles play a big role in American cult...
ListenMeasles in California from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The United States is in the middle of what could be the worst measles outbreak in more than 20 years. California has had some small outbreaks but has largely been spared, in part because the state ...
ListenSongs of the Coronavirus Shutdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Professional musicians around the Bay Area are entertaining and consoling their neighbors with public performances during shelter-in-place. Heather Knight talks to Page Street cellist Saul Richmond...
ListenI'm Over 65 But Who Are you Calling Elderly? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Age is a factor in coronavirus risk, but many Americans over 65 are pushing back on sometimes condescending advice to isolate — often from their own adult children. Reporter Ryan Kost set out to ex...
ListenLifting the Curtain on Police Secrecy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For decades, records of police officers' misconduct were hidden from view. But a new law, SB1421, has thrust into public view numerous incidents of dishonesty, sexual misconduct and use of force. L...
ListenExamining COVID-19 Myths from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Does eating garlic prevent the coronavirus? Can you test whether you have it by holding your breath for 10 seconds? Chronicle reporter Sam Whiting tells you if any of the wild things you might have...
ListenBonus: Singing Across Gender Lines, Part II from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Joshua Kosman interviews Elliot Franks, who gave up a career as a mezzo-soprano for a new life and a new baritone voice after going through gender reassignment surgery. Learn more about your ad ch...
ListenCoronavirus Detectives: Contact Tracers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
They'll be a key part of gaining control of the spread of coronavirus, but most health departments don’t have nearly enough people to track the outbreaks. Aidin Vaziri discusses the effort to train...
ListenSinging Across Gender Lines from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For trans vocalists, the familiar categories that have long defined operatic and choral music don’t always apply. San Francisco Chronicle editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper talks with classical music cr...
ListenCalifornia Budget: Pay Cuts, Furloughs and Tax Hikes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a way to close a $54 billion hole in the state budget, and none of it is going to make anyone happy. Alexei Koseff breaks down the governor’s proposals and how it wil...
ListenBuckle Your Seatbelts, Here Comes Uber from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Uber is set to thunder onto Wall Street with a stock market debut valuing it at $100 million. Its massive initial public offering will have ramifications for San Francisco, the Bay Area and beyond....
ListenCoronavirus and the Flu: A Potential Disaster from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Medical experts are predicting a relatively calm summer before a big uptick in COVID-19 cases in the fall. Health reporter Erin Allday describes why that, coupled with the regular flu season, has h...
Listen"Freedom Week": A Frenzy of High Capacity Magazine Sales from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Over a brief seven-day span, California gun owners were allowed to buy high capacity magazines for the first time in almost 20 years following a judge's ruling. They went on a shopping spree. Learn...
ListenBudget Ideas: Help for Renters? Tax Hikes? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The hole in California's budget is massive — tens of billions of dollars. But officials say they need extra money to help renters and others suffering during the coronavirus pandemic. New proposals...
ListenBART Cracks Down on Fare Enforcement from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Commuters arriving by BART in downtown San Francisco Monday were met by teams of police officers, fare inspectors and managers in neon green vests. It was the beginning of an enforcement blitz mean...
ListenA San Francisco Doctor at the COVID-19 Epicenter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Maya Kotas was on one of two teams of UCSF health care workers who traveled to the two communities hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis: the Navajo Nation and New York City. She tells the Chro...
ListenVanishing Violence from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From the archive: Chronicle reporters Jill Tucker and Joaquin Palomino offer an inside look at the months they spent documenting the steep drop in youth crime. But they found the good news meant em...
ListenElon Musk’s Strange Gamble from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle business editor Owen Thomas, who's been covering Elon Musk since the '90s, joins Heather Knight to talk about the Tesla CEO's huge ego and whether his fight with Alameda County could hurt...
ListenGiants Fan Bryan Stow Embraces New Life After Attack from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Giants fan Bryan Stow, who suffered severe brain damage in a March 2011 assault at Dodger Stadium, is starting to feel ‘whole’ again through sharing his anti-bullying message with kids. Learn more ...
ListenCoronavirus and the Future of Sports from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
America’s favorite pastimes are a clear casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. But with billions of dollars at stake, teams and players are eager to get back to work. Ann Killion discusses the implicat...
ListenAging Into Homelessness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A groundbreaking study shows that nearly half of all homeless people over the age of 50 became homeless for the first time after their 50th birthday. Our reporter Kevin Fagan talks with head resear...
ListenSuing to Save the Tenderloin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rhiannon Bailard, executive director of operations for Hastings Law School in San Francisco, discusses the dire conditions in the Tenderloin — made worse by the coronavirus pandemic — that prompted...
ListenFinding Kyle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kyle Gamboa’s leap from the Golden Gate Bridge left his family stunned. But in the wake of the 18–year-old’s death, they found a cause to devote themselves to. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
ListenLatinos’ Coronavirus Burden from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Data analyzed by The Chronicle shows just how hard COVID-19 has hit communities of color — particularly Latinos and black people. Reporter Joaquin Palomino explains the data and why it poses a majo...
ListenComing Soon: Fifth & Mission from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dive inside the biggest Bay Area stories of the day with Fifth & Mission, a new podcast from the San Francisco Chronicle coming April 2nd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
ListenWhy the Bay Area Can't Open Up Yet from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Mark Shapiro, a hospitalist at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and the host of the podcast Explore the Space, explains why it's important to continue sheltering in place despite the region's coron...
ListenLayoff Tracker: 92,000 and Counting from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Business reporter Roland Li talks about the Chronicle's new tool, a constantly updated tally of Bay Area workers who've lost their jobs as the coronavirus crisis has hammered the economy. | Get unl...
ListenWhat It's Like to Be a Nurse in the Crisis from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On National Nurses Day, several Bay Area nurses talk about how the coronavirus crisis has affected their lives and their work — from delivering babies to caring for the elderly in nursing homes. Th...
ListenBaby Steps Toward Reopening from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces some changes to how businesses may operate under shelter-in-place orders — but they won’t supersede the Bay Area’s more stringent limitations, and they certainly aren’t ...
ListenNew Shelter-in-Place Rules: What’s Allowed? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's complicated. Reporter Dominic Fracassa explains where you can go, what you can do — and, critically, how health officials will know if we are successfully staving off a coronavirus resurgence....
ListenMaking Homeless Tent Camps Safe from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman has proposed building safe sleeping sites for unhoused people on city parking lots and in schools and parks to keep people safer during the coronavirus pan...
ListenHow Coronavirus Is Affecting the Tenderloin's Drug Trade from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Del Seymour, a former drug dealer now known as the Mayor of the Tenderloin, talks to Heather Knight about how the neighborhood is coping during shelter-in-place. | Full COVID-19 coverage: sfchronic...
ListenWill JFK Drive Stay Closed? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco has finally closed some streets to cars, including roads in Golden Gate Park and McLaren Park. Marta Lindsey of the pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF talks about why she's hopeful the...
ListenA Terrifying Day in the Life of an E.R. Nurse from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco General Hospital emergency room nurse Christa Duran prepares for her shifts like a soldier preparing for battle. Reporter Trisha Thadani talks about how Duran and her colleagues confr...
ListenCan Your Marriage Survive Shelter in Place? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We've been stuck inside for almost two months. How's your relationship faring? Columnist Tony Bravo surveyed a variety of Bay Area couples, and he has some ideas about how to make marriage work dur...
ListenWhat Victim No. 1 Taught Us from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The first known U.S. resident to die of coronavirus died from a ruptured heart, according to autopsy reports obtained by The Chronicle. As frightening as it sounds, that information could be useful...
ListenShelter In Place: A Relaxation and Extension from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Six Bay Area counties have extended the shelter-in-place orders, but many public health officials say they intend to ease limits on some low-risk activities. Erin Allday discusses what that means, ...
ListenThe Class of '20 Is Dejected Over Covid-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
No prom. No sports championships. No graduation ceremony. There's never been a senior year quite like this one. Kate Green, a senior at Lowell High in San Francisco, tells Heather Knight what the c...
ListenYou Have to Wear Face Masks: Make Them Fun from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sister Roma, one of San Francisco's most beloved drag queens, tells Heather Knight about judging the "Masks Are Fierce" competition this week and explains how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting ...
ListenWhat Will Our New Normal Be? A Doctor's View from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Jessica Briggs, an infectious disease fellow at UCSF, tells Heather Knight what Bay Area life will look like as the coronavirus crisis plays out over the next year — and why she's recruiting re...
ListenThe Future of the Bay Area Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
New data shows unemployment is at record levels in the region, with as many as 1 in 6 San Franciscans out of work. But some tech stocks are at an all-time high. Business Editor Owen Thomas discusse...
ListenThe Critical Barrier to Reopening California from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom started slowly — very slowly — easing restrictions in California Wednesday. But he also dramatically revised upward how many daily coronavirus tests would need to be done before t...
ListenCoronavirus Was Killing in February: Why It Matters from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A person infected with COVID-19 died in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6, a stunning discovery that adds to the evidence that coronavirus was in the United States far earlier than once thought. It also...
ListenWhy COVID-19 Has Hit the Mission and Bayview So Hard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa joins Heather Knight to discuss why people living in the ZIP codes around those areas are more likely to get the coronavirus than those in wealthier neighborhood...
ListenKeeping San Francisco Voters Safe From COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
David Campos, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, is calling for an all vote-by-mail election in November so voters don't have to go to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic. He also t...
ListenTroubles with Coronavirus Testing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Regular and widespread testing might be the biggest hurdle to overcome before the U.S. can return to normal. But California is still struggling with getting tests where they should go and clearing ...
ListenIt’s All Political: Kamala Harris "Would Be Honored" to Be VP from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode of the Chronicle’s It’s All Political podcast, California Sen. Kamala Harris reveals what she'd say if Joe Biden asked her to be his running mate. In an interview with Joe Garofoli ...
ListenDevastation at Nursing Homes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Long-term care centers around the country are becoming deadly hot spots for the coronavirus. Reporters Jason Fagone and Megan Cassidy discuss criminal investigations into one Bay Area nursing home,...
ListenCoronavirus Danger in the Tenderloin from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jose Ramirez, executive director of St. Anthony’s, says City Hall has left the Tenderloin out of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the neighborhood is as crowded and neglected as ever. ...
ListenHealth Workers Exposed to Coronavirus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
More than 2,700 doctors, nurses and other health workers in California have COVID-19. Heather Knight talks to reporter Mallory Moench about what frontline workers are afraid of, what protection the...
ListenWhy San Francisco Won't Close Streets from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rec and Parks director Phil Ginsburg explains why the city is not following Oakland's lead of shutting down miles of roads to cars during the coronavirus shutdown to allow walkers and bicyclists to...
ListenUnderstanding Dr. Fauci's History from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Longtime Bay Area residents remember Dr. Anthony Fauci not as the man who is leading the coronavirus charge but as the one who helped the country fight AIDS. Peter Hartlaub talks about how The Chro...
ListenArmistead Maupin Consoles Us from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The beloved author of the "Tales of the City" series has been offering virtual readings during the coronavirus shutdown, including the first chapter of his latest book in the classic series of San ...
ListenHow Close Is the Coronavirus Peak? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Scientific models can’t predict the future, but they can give a pretty good idea of what it might look like. The most optimistic ones say Bay Area coronavirus deaths will peak this week, while the ...
ListenWhy Animal-to-Human Viruses Are on the Rise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Scientists are increasingly concerned that environmental degradation is linked to an increase in the transmission of viruses — like the coronavirus from animals to humans. Reporter Kurtis Alexander...
ListenHeather Knight Joins Fifth & Mission as Co-Host from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
To better cover the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout, City Hall columnist and San Francisco City Insider host Heather Knight joins Fifth & Mission as co-host with Audrey Cooper. In this episode...
ListenWear a Mask! But How? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Health officials say everyone should wear a mask when going out during the novel coronavirus pandemic. But the scarcity of surgical and N95 masks is well known, so what's a person to do? Tony Bravo...
ListenHomelessness, Fare Evasion Worsen on BART from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Essential workers who rely on BART feel even less safe in transit than they did before coronavirus prompted shelter-in-place orders, as the homeless population on the trains seems to be rising and ...
ListenMore Trouble Aboard the Theodore Roosevelt from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the wake of Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigning amid controversy over how little the military is doing to contain a coronavirus outbreak aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, Matthi...
ListenWe’ve Flattened the Curve — Now What? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The pace of the coronavirus outbreak is slowing down in the Bay Area, and the number of new cases may even be falling in San Francisco. Can we declare victory yet? Erin Allday discusses what this m...
ListenExclusive: Listen to Acting Secretary of the Navy Speaking to Theodore Roosevelt Crew from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission presents the raw audio of a speech given by Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly to the crew of the nuclear aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt Monday. Modly relieved Capt. Bre...
Listen“I Am Risking My Health By Being Here” from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Listen to the voices of San Francisco workers who have either lost their jobs to the coronavirus shutdown or must continue to work — possibly endangering themselves — amid the pandemic. | Get unlim...
ListenFirst Responders Sickened, Sidelined from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus is spreading among health care workers and first responders. Reporter Megan Cassidy joins Audrey Cooper to talk about what local police, fire and ambulance companies are doing to limit ...
ListenHomeless and Coronavirus Positive from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco has recorded its first instance of a homeless person testing positive for coronavirus. Kevin Fagan discusses the extensive steps officials are taking to contain the spread before the ...
ListenFinancial Help You Might Not Know About from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
If you’re confused about the money you could be entitled to receive from the government, you’re not alone. Columnist Kathleen Pender tells Audrey Cooper about the new programs designed to help peop...
ListenSF City Insider: San Francisco After COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cities have long weathered public health crises and emerged stronger because of them. In this episode of San Francisco City Insider, Benjamin Grant, urban design policy director at SPUR, talks with...
ListenSchool’s Out For Summer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It’s all but certain that most, if not all, California schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Does this mean students will fall woefully behind? And what does it show about t...
Listen“Sailors Do Not Need to Die” from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a stunning letter obtained by The Chronicle, the captain of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier pleads with the Navy to help him contain the coronavirus as it spreads among his sailors. Matthias Gaf...
ListenSF City Insider: Is the Coronavirus Surge Still Coming? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Have we flattened the curve? In this episode of San Francisco City Insider, Dr. Allison Bond, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, gives Heather Knight an inside view of San Francisco hospitals — ...
ListenCoronavirus Scammers and Price Gougers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Criminals are using the pandemic as a fresh excuse to swindle people, law enforcement officials say. Crime reporter Megan Cassidy runs down some of the common scams and offers tips on how to avoid ...
ListenIs San Francisco the Next New York? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic is New York City, where officials acted more slowly than the Bay Area to shut down businesses and schools. Health reporter Erin Allday and Audrey Coop...
ListenSF City Insider: Inside San Francisco's Emergency Command Center from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode of the San Francisco City Insider podcast, Ivy Lee, a legislative aide who’s among the hundreds of City Hall staff members who've been spending long days inside Moscone Center to pr...
ListenMortgages on Hold — Is Rent next? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces new relief for people struggling to pay their mortgages due to the coronavirus and subsequent shutdowns. Alexei Koseff discusses those efforts, plus what tenant advocate...
ListenBruce Bochy on His Past and Future from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The former San Francisco Giants manager talks to John Shea about his life in the year since his retirement, which has included jumping out of a helicopter and managing the French team before the sh...
ListenIs Your Check in the Mail? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Congress is on the brink of passing a historic $2 trillion aid package that could mean cash payments to some Americans, loans for big and small businesses and an expansion of unemployment benefits....
ListenHospital Crisis Eases, but Tough Times Ahead from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California’s coronavirus numbers are showing signs that the worst of the post-Thanksgiving surge is behind us. Erin Allday talks about how soon is too soon to start getting our hopes up, and reflec...
ListenIs S.F.’s “Powder Keg” About to Explode? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Jason Fagone on Laguna Honda Hospital, a nursing home full of some of the state’s most vulnerable people. It's struggling to determine the full size of its coronavirus outbreak after two n...
ListenSF City Insider: Disaster for Small Businesses from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
`In this episode of San Francisco City Insider, Heather Knight talks to Sharky Laguana, president of San Francisco's Small Business Commission, about how the shutdown to stem the coronavirus outbre...
ListenCalifornia at a Coronavirus Breaking Point from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California was poised Wednesday to cross 2 million total confirmed coronavirus cases, with the second million coming over just the past six weeks. With hospital ICUs almost out of space, counties i...
ListenWhere Are the Tests? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For weeks, the country has struggled to test everyone suspected of having the coronavirus, a key part of helping to slow the spread of Covid-19. Catherine Ho and Audrey Cooper talk about whether it...
ListenChronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? Episode 3 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
"That Little Girl Was Me." In this episode of The Chronicle's 6-episode limited series profiling the vice president-elect, reporters and hosts Joe Garofoli and Tal Kopan explore how her childhood i...
ListenCoronavirus Hits Workers Hard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
People who've lost jobs are worrying about how to pay their bills, and many who work for essential businesses are worrying about staying safe. Reporter Mallory Moench joins Audrey Cooper to discuss...
ListenCalifornia Is Driving the Holiday Surge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Vaccinations have begun, but COVID-19 is spreading so fast the state is opening makeshift field hospitals and bringing in hundreds of additional health care workers. If it gets much worse, doctors ...
ListenCoronavirus: When Will This End? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Health reporter Erin Allday joins Audrey Cooper to talk about whether the current shelter-in-place is working to #FlattentheCurve, if the entire country could soon follow suit, and what optimistic ...
ListenBest of 5M: One Man's Desperate Search for Help from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Will Andrews was 23, homeless and addicted to heroin, then fentanyl. He agreed to let reporter Trisha Thadani follow him as he tried to kick his addictions while living on San Francisco's streets. ...
ListenWhere Are the Masks? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As hospitals brace for a surge of coronavirus patients, many are running out of critical protective gear — especially masks. Rachel Swan and Audrey Cooper discuss a situation so dire the CDC is tel...
ListenAre Shelter-In-Place Rules Working? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor at UCSF, says that some of the current shutdown rules are so strict that people have stopped paying attention to them. She says schools and outdoor d...
ListenRefusing Coronavirus Tests from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Vice President Pence promised that every Grand Princess passenger would be tested for coronavirus. But The Chronicle's Matthias Gafni has learned that hundreds of quarantined patients — encouraged ...
ListenTo Catch a Fire-Setter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cal Fire’s Mike Thompson suspected serial arson in a devastating string of blazes in Lake County. And he and his fellow investigators identified a suspect: Damin Pashilk, a former inmate firefighte...
ListenCoronavirus Evictions from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Local officials have taken steps to keep people and businesses from being evicted. But what happens after shelter-in-place ends? And how are we taking care of the homeless? Dominic Fracassa discuss...
ListenCoronavirus Update: $1.1 Billion Aid Package from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Alexei Koseff reports from Sacramento, where state lawmakers passed funding for coronavirus response on Monday, then suspended their session for a month — reportedly a first in more than 150 years....
ListenThe Vaccine Arrives in the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's light on the horizon even as U.S. COVID-19 deaths pass 300,000: San Francisco was to see its first vaccinations Tuesday, a day after hospitals in Los Angeles started doling out the long-awa...
ListenShelter in Place from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Bay Area is shutting down after an emergency order across most of the region that's the nation's strongest move so far in response to the coronavirus threat. Erin Allday and Audrey Cooper discu...
ListenWill San Francisco Cancel Abraham Lincoln? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The San Francisco school board designed a process to take controversial names off of public schools, and 44 names could be ditched. One big surprise: The 16th president. What makes Honest Abe contr...
ListenThe Kids Are Home: Now What? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter — and former kindergarten teacher — Steve Rubenstein gives Audrey Cooper and all parents advice on what to do with kids who are because of school closures in response to the coronavirus. P...
ListenPredicting the Coronavirus Future from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Disease modelers are trying to come up with their best guesses about how badly COVID-19 could take hold in the United States. Health reporter Erin Allday discusses what we know and what could stave...
ListenCoronavirus is Surging, So is Defiance from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As California endures its worst wave yet of the pandemic, reporter Kurtis Alexander finds that residents and business owners in some places are defying new shutdown orders designed to preserve hosp...
ListenSchools Are Closing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Children in San Francisco will be out of school for three weeks due to coronavirus fears and districts around the region are following suit. Trisha Thadani on what happens to families with no other...
ListenFifth & Mission Is Working From Home from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus has forced thousands, maybe millions, of Americans to work from home. That includes Chronicle journalists like Audrey Cooper and Mallory Moench, who discuss pros and cons and what to ex...
ListenSF City Insider: “This Is Going to Be Catastrophic” from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Franciscan Amanda Kahn Fried is on sabbatical in Italy, a coronavirus hot spot where events seem to be a few weeks ahead of the Bay Area. On the San Francisco City Insider podcast, she tells ho...
ListenA Top S.F. Doctor on the Coronavirus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Andre Campbell, a longtime trauma surgeon and ICU doctor at San Francisco General Hospital, tells Heather Knight what to expect with COVID-19 in the weeks ahead and how the hospital is preparin...
ListenThe Return of the Shutdown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces new restrictions for regions where fewer than 15% of ICU beds are available — which isn't the Bay Area yet, but could be soon. Capital reporter Alexei Koseff and food wr...
ListenCan We Contain the Coronavirus? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As mitigation measures spread across the country, health writer Erin Allday discusses whether they can succeed and explains the leading theories about how best to keep the public safe. | Get unlimi...
ListenBay Area Hospitals Brace for a Third Surge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hospitals say they're mostly ready for the onslaught of COVID-19 patients expected to fill their beds in the coming weeks, but political leaders are warning they could reach capacity by Christmas. ...
ListenDrones at the Golden Gate Bridge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Flying cameras are swarming San Francisco's landmark bridge, and officials say photos are being taken illegally. Business reporter Roland Li talks to Audrey Cooper about the rise – and crashes – of...
ListenNow It's Breed's French Laundry Getting Aired from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Newsom wasn't the only elected official who lived it up at the opulent restaurant as he asked the public to limit movement amid the coronavirus pandemic. As Heather Knight first reported, San ...
ListenCoronavirus: What We Know Now from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Health reporter Erin Allday joins Audrey Cooper to explain the latest on the coronavirus response and business reporter Mallory Moench explains what parents should do to keep kids safe and calm. | ...
ListenA Jewish Doctor Encounters a Nazi COVID-19 Patient from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Emergency Dr. Taylor Nichols saw the swastika tattoo on the chest of a patient and paused. Reporter Jill Tucker says that hesitation, a product of pandemic fatigue, made him question his own compas...
ListenSuper Tuesday: What Did We Learn? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Super Tuesday is over and we're down to a two-man race. Joe Garofoli and John Wildermuth join Audrey Cooper to break down the results, including some interesting races you might not have thought mu...
ListenEntering the "Dark Winter" of COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus hospitalizations in the Bay Area were rising even before Thanksgiving. The beginning of the holiday season has health officials bracing for the worst surge yet. Erin Allday explains why...
ListenSuper Tuesday Troubles from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Democratic candidates are dropping out, much to the dismay of voters who have already cast their ballot. Political writers Joe Garofoli and John Wildermuth break down what's likely to happen as Cal...
ListenTotal SF: Animal Twitter Star Officer Edith from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission is presenting episodes of other Chronicle podcasts this weekend. In this episode of Total SF, Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight welcome Lt. Eleanor Sadler from San Francisco Animal ...
ListenTracking the Coronavirus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Erin Allday talks about efforts to keep track of who has the virus. See the Chronicle's tracker. Plus: Chase DiFeliciantonio on what local industries and workers are doing to prepare, and some wild...
ListenExtra Spicy: Roman Mars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission is presenting episodes of other Chronicle podcasts this weekend. In the current episode of Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips’ food show, the author and host of the design and architectu...
ListenCoronavirus Game Changer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The diagnosis of a Bay Area resident shows the virus has spread beyond those who recently visited China. Plus: The fight to get more testing kits into California hospitals. Erin Allday and Catherin...
ListenChronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? Bigger Job, Bigger Fights from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission is presenting episodes of other Chronicle podcasts this weekend. In Episode 2 of the biographical miniseries Chronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? the former San Francisco district atto...
ListenSan Francisco’s Coronavirus Emergency from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Warnings about a global pandemic are becoming more urgent as stocks fall and local officials — including Mayor London Breed — declare states of emergency. Health reporters Erin Allday and Catherine...
ListenA First: San Francisco Cop Charged With Homicide from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
District Attorney Chesa Boudin has charged Christopher Samayoa with manslaughter for his role in the 2017 shooting of Keita O’Neil — the first time an SFPD officer has ever been charged with homici...
ListenChinatown's Gentrification Fears from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Food reporter Janelle Bitker on the closing of banquet halls, long a mainstay of Chinatown's culture. They're being replaced with tonier spots, leaving residents worried about the future. | Get unl...
ListenThe Man Who Counts San Francisco's Overdose Deaths from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dr. Luke Rodda, the city's chief forensic toxicologist, talks about the devastating surge in overdose deaths — 563 through October, triple the number lost to COVID-19 — and why it's important to re...
ListenOur Life in Coronavirus Quarantine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Otis and Carol Menasco's Japan cruise is now "the vacation that has become a nightmare" as they're quarantined at an Air Force base near San Antonio. They can't get movies or booze, but they can ma...
ListenHow to Think About Your Thanksgiving Plans from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As coronavirus surges, experts are advising that your plans for the big day should be: Don't do it. Erin Allday and Annie Vainshtein join Heather Knight to talk about how realistic that is, and how...
ListenTrump in California: Who Gets the Water? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
President Trump traveled to the Central Valley to sign an agreement that would send more water to farms — and, environmentalists say, hurt the Delta ecosystem. Reporter Peter Fimrite talks about th...
ListenNewsom Orders a Curfew: Will It Work? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Californians in counties where the coronavirus is raging the most must change their behavior starting Saturday. Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. anyway. Erin Allday and Heather Knight discuss Gov. Gavin ...
ListenTroubling Gifts to Mayor Breed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The mayor has admitted taking nearly $6,000 from Mohammed Nuru, the ex-public works chief at the center of an FBI corruption investigation — and a man she now says she once dated. Dominic Fracassa ...
ListenA New Supervisor Navigates the Pandemic from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Connie Chan won a close race and will represent the Richmond on the Board of Supervisors starting in January. She talks with Heather Knight about fighting for cash for small businesses hit hard by ...
ListenThe Fight to Put Women in the Constitution from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nearly four decades after the Equal Rights Amendment was declared dead, politics writer Dustin Gardiner joins Audrey Cooper to talk about why the battle to enshrine women’s rights has returned. Lea...
ListenCrisis at School from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Teachers and parents say one S.F. middle school has devolved into violent chaos and the district is refusing to send help. Columnist Heather Knight discusses her shocking report on the school. | Ge...
ListenNewsom Pulls the "Emergency Brake" — and Apologizes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The dreaded cold-season coronavirus surge is upon us. And even as vaccine trials show promise, Gov. Gavin Newsom says many counties need to go to purple status, the most restrictive. Newsom also ap...
ListenThe Coronavirus Hits Close to Home from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Bay Area shares cultural and economic ties with China stronger than anywhere else in the country. Reporters Tatiana Sanchez and Anna Bauman on how the region is impacted by the deadly coronavir...
ListenTrump's New Target: Modern Architecture from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Urban design critic John King on how haters of futuristic buildings like the San Francisco Federal Building are trying to team up with the president to — we kid you not — “Make Federal Buildings Gr...
ListenIt’s Beer Week! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Esther Mobley, wine critic and author of the Drinking With Esther newsletter, and Audrey Cooper go deep into the history of Beer Week, trends in regional craft brewing and how you can celebrate thi...
ListenFifth & Mission Live: Primaries 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Live from Manny's in San Francisco, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper, politics writer Joe Garofoli and columnists Heather Knight and Phil Matier talk about Iowa, the upcoming primaries, and local poli...
ListenCoronavirus in the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Health writer Erin Allday tells you what you need to know about the virus’ penetration in California and what you can do about it. | Get unlimited Chronicle access. Learn more about your ad choices...
ListenSuper Bowl: What Happened to the 49ers? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Patrick Mahomes happened. Ann Killion and Eric Branch talk about the Chiefs' comeback win over San Francisco in Super Bowl LIV. Should Bay Area fans put the blame on Kyle Shanahan, or just apprecia...
ListenDeveloping San Francisco’s West Side from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco has a new member of the Board of Supervisors: Myrna Melgar of District 7, the area west of Twin Peaks. She wants more apartments and in-law units in her district, a reopening of the p...
ListenWhat to Look for in the Super Bowl from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ann Killion and Eric Branch break down the game. The 49ers vs. the Chiefs, Jimmy G. vs. Patrick Mahomes. Kyle Shanahan vs. Andy Reid. And San Francisco's great defense vs. Kansas City's great offen...
ListenIt's Over: Biden Wins — What's Next? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a combined episode of the Fifth & Mission and It’s All Political podcasts, Joe Garofoli, Tal Kopan and Demian Bulwa talk about the moment that put the Biden-Harris ticket over the top, the histo...
ListenShen Yun Spending from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Matthias Gafni cracks the mystery of how much a controversial religious group spends on those ubiquitous ads promoting the dance company's shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...
ListenElections Update: Where Things Stand from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
With Joe Biden having moved into the lead overnight in ballots counted in Pennsylvania and Georgia, a Biden victory over President Trump looks likely. But it's not quite assured. Political reporter...
ListenSuper Bowl Week in Miami from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Ann Killion and Eric Branch report from the three-ring circus all over Miami, where nothing is close to anything else, as the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs get ready to play. Full coverage. | Get un...
ListenProgressive Causes Turned Back at the Polls from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The police killing of George Floyd energized liberals seeking to root out systemic biases. But in California, the election was a disappointment for reformers. Affirmative action remains banned, an ...
ListenBombshell Arrest of "MrCleanSF" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru and Lefty O'Doul's owner Nick Bovis are charged with fraud after a months-long federal corruption probe. Audrey Cooper, Heather Knight and Evan Ser...
ListenYIGBY: Yes in God's Back Yard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
J.K. Dineen reports that church parking lots are among the "soft sites" — underused real estate — that could be a rich source of land on which to build housing in San Francisco. | Get unlimited Chr...
ListenElections Update: Trump Rallies in the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Photographer Scott Strazzante talks about covering a Trump youth march in Danville on election eve and a watch party in Novato on election night. He was one of very few wearing a mask at the march,...
ListenPrivacy or Prison from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets are citing a 30-year-old privacy law to resist defense subpoenas that could save people from going to prison and even possible execution, as Megan C...
ListenElections Update: The Maps Changed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Washington correspondent Tal Kopan talks about why Democratic voters who went to bed Tuesday night feeling pessimistic had more reasons for optimism when they woke up Wednesday morning — though not...
ListenThefts on BART from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cell phones and laptops are being stolen from BART passengers at a higher rate than ever. Phil Matier and Audrey Cooper discuss the crime wave, what BART's trying to do about it, and how you can av...
ListenElection Night Wrap: What We Know from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a combined episode of the Fifth & Mission and It’s All Political podcasts, Joe Garofoli, Heather Knight, Alexei Koseff and Demian Bulwa sum up a tense, inconclusive presidential election day, pl...
ListenDoes Uber Transparency Lead to Discrimination? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Uber’s recent overhaul of its ride process has advocates concerned that the changes could lead to discrimination. Carolyn Said joins Otis Taylor to discuss how Uber’s changes could impact riders. L...
ListenElections Update: San Francisco's Coolest Polling Places from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The city operated 588 polling places on Election Day — and some were very unusual. Hear from poll workers at the gay leather bar the SF-Eagle, the Museum of Ice Cream, the Geneva Car Barn and the B...
ListenMega-Problems With Housing Mega-Projects from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the last decade, Bay Area public officials banked on big projects — many on former military bases — to fill our vast housing needs. J.K. Dineen on why most of the homes remain unbuilt. Learn mor...
ListenElections Update: The Excitement of First-Time Voters from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Nora Mishanec visits the Eritrean Community Center in San Francisco, where poll inspector Jessica Kuo says many of the in-person voters are casting ballots for the first time. She says the...
ListenWhat the Moms 4 Housing Want from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the wake of the pre-dawn eviction of a group of homeless mothers from a West Oakland house Otis Taylor Jr. and Sarah Ravani join Demian Bulwa to talk about Oakland's housing crisis and what's ne...
ListenElections Update: Mayors Breed and Schaaf, Barbara Lee Hit the Phones from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf are among the political luminaries phone banking from "victory booths" at Manny's in San Francisco on Election Day. Heather Knight al...
ListenWi-Fi on Bart? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Want to use your computer in the Transbay Tube? Reporter Rachel Swan on the system's plan to finally get Wi-Fi — and improved cell service — after years of frustration and delays. Learn more about ...
ListenElections Update: Gov. Newsom on Unrest, Replacing Harris from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Heather Knight spent the morning at Manny's in San Francisco, which hosted a phone-banking event that many of top local and state elected officials attended. In this update, Gov. Gavin Newsom talks...
ListenThe Suspect Next Door from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After Leola Shreves was brutally beaten and killed in her own home, police got a confession from her next-door neighbor. But as Matthias Gafni reports, all the evidence pointed to another man. Lear...
ListenWhat to Expect on Election Day from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
More San Franciscans will vote in this election cycle than ever before, and we could beat the all-time record for turnout percentage of 86.82% set in 1944. John Arntz, director of the San Francisco...
ListenThe Housing Shortage Fight from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
SB50, Scott Wiener’s controversial bill to boost housing construction around public transit in wealthy suburbs, flamed out in the Legislature last year. Can new amendments overcome opposition from ...
ListenTrouble at Yosemite’s Iconic Hotel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For decades, the sumptuous Ahwahnee Hotel at the foot of Half Dome has attracted presidents, movie stars and big spenders. But as Kurtis Alexander reports, some say the property has seen better day...
ListenHere Come the Gas Bans from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bay Area cities are starting to ban natural gas appliances inside new homes, a bid to fight climate change. Reporter Mallory Moench talks about the effort and the backlash, including from restauran...
ListenLive! What Women Want in 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hundreds of thousands of women are dropping out of the workforce every month due to lack of childcare and closed schools during the pandemic. The Chronicle's Heather Knight and Tal Kopan interview ...
ListenDatebook: Babylon Gone, Part 1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission presents the first episode in the Datebook podcast's three-episode series on "Beach Blanket Babylon," the musical revue that closed on New Year's Eve after a world's longest 45-year...
ListenHas the Alameda County D.A. Had a Change of Heart? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nancy O'Malley made headlines recently by charging a cop for a shooting in San Leandro — a first in her tenure — then reopening the investigation into the BART police killing of Oscar Grant. She sa...
ListenGang Fight in San Francisco from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When Chesa Boudin takes over as district attorney this month, he plans to stop prosecuting a type of gang charge he says is “infused with racism.” Reporter Evan Sernoffsky on the emotional debate. ...
ListenIs the Coronavirus Surge Coming to the Bay Area? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
COVID-19 is spiking around the country. What are San Francisco and the Bay Area doing to sidestep the trend? And will it last? Reporters Catherine Ho and Aidin Vaziri talk about the local numbers, ...
ListenTop 10 Stories of the Year from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle reporters Kevin Fagan, Rachel Swan and John Wildermuth join Demian Bulwa to talk about the biggest Bay Area stories of 2019 — from PG&E blackouts to trouble aboard BART and teen vaping — ...
ListenChronicled: Who Is Kamala Harris? Episode 1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Senior political writer and It's All Political host Joe Garofoli and Washington correspondent Tal Kopan are the co-hosts of The Chronicle's new six-part miniseries about the life and career of the ...
ListenThe Decade in Sports from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
From the Giants to the Warriors to Colin Kaepernick, Chronicle columnists Ann Killion and Scott Ostler join metro editor Demian Bulwa to talk about the biggest stories of the 2010s. Learn more abou...
ListenGet Out the Vote: The Final Days from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco resident Lala Wu co-founded Sister District, a national organization to influence the outcomes in state legislature races around the country. She tells Heather Knight why she’s optimi...
ListenMick LaSalle’s Best Movies of 2019 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle’s critic talks about the best, worst and most interesting movies of the year with Audrey Cooper — who’s seen none of them — and recalls the day he had to watch a Star Wars movie 6 tim...
ListenTowering Changes in San Francisco from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle urban design critic John King explains how he selected the city’s best buildings and spaces of the past 10 years — and what the future might hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
ListenThe New Niners from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The San Francisco 49ers are once again one of the best teams in football. But what’s it like behind the scenes? Beat reporter Eric Branch and Columnist Ann Killion give the real story. Learn more ...
ListenWhen Will San Francisco Public Schools Reopen? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Susan Solomon, president of the San Francisco teachers' union, speaks with host Heather Knight about why San Francisco's schools are lagging behind some other Bay Area districts in reopening and wh...
ListenThe Homeless Camp That Can't Be Rousted from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A growing tent city in Santa Rosa is the latest flashpoint in the homelessness crisis. Kevin Fagan reports that authorities can't break it up unless they can provide enough housing for all the resi...
ListenLive: Race and Election 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
East Bay Columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. leads a discussion about what this election means for race in America. Joining him on the live Zoom event are Sarah Treuhaft, vice president of research at Pol...
ListenThe Shocking Cost of Building Housing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco has the highest construction costs in the world. Metro editor Demian Bulwa and reporter Roland Li break down the factors making new housing close to impossible. Learn more about your ...
ListenThe Hero of the Kincade Fire from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When flames swept over him in Sonoma County, a Cal Fire captain made a last-ditch decision: He pulled two residents under a fire blanket the size of a beach towel. Reporter Lizzie Johnson tells the...
ListenSan Francisco as the Seat of the Resistance from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lots of city residents are volunteering to sway swing state voters with calls, texts and letters. Eighteen drag queens joined the fight at Manny's outdoor victory booths and explained why so much h...
ListenCops Sue Over Shipyard Workplace from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nearly 400 current and former SFPD employees have sued a company tasked with cleaning up contamination at the Hunters Point Shipyard. Editor Audrey Cooper talks with Jason Fagone and Cynthia Dizike...
ListenA Battle Over Lowell High School from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A proposal to change how students are admitted to one of the nation's top public schools has ignited an emotional debate that spilled into a San Francisco school board meeting late Tuesday. Due to ...
ListenThe Class of 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What is life like for teens about to graduate? Chronicle director of photography Nicole Frugé and photographer Gabrielle Lurie join Audrey Cooper to talk about Class of 2020, documenting life in Ba...
ListenWhy Hasn’t COVID-19 Spiked in the Bay Area? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus is surging in several states as people loosen their behavior and President Trump downplays the risk. So why hasn't the Bay Area seen the same trend? Health reporter Erin Allday explains...
Listen2020 Hindsight from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle's Culture Desk looks back on this century with 20 moments that say something about the current state of the Bay Area and, by extension, the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...
ListenA Walk Through the Tenderloin With a Veteran of the Streets from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Thomas Wolf, who was homeless and addicted to heroin in the Tenderloin, now takes anybody who's interested on walking tours of the neighborhood. He thinks City Hall needs to overhaul its approach t...
ListenA Surge of Drug Deaths from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
More than 10,000 people have now died across the Bay Area in drug overdoses since 2006. Reporter Erin Allday digs into a growing epidemic of meth and fentanyl abuse. Learn more about your ad choice...
ListenHow to Rev Up San Francisco's Weak Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In many ways, things are as bad as they've been since the Great Depression. City leaders charged with fixing them have some creative ideas, ranging from universal basic income for artists to making...
ListenIPO to IP-Uh-Oh from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Breathless (non-Chronicle) headlines warned that San Francisco would be drowning in IPO millionaires in 2019. But the housing market has turned soft. Columnist Kathleen Pender and business editor O...
ListenIt's All Political: “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking” from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On the Chronicle's politics podcast, host Joe Garofoli is joined by Heather Knight, John Diaz and John Wildermuth to break down the historic Harris-Pence vice presidential debate, where Sen. Kamala...
ListenBest of Fifth & Mission: How to Drink Wine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle wine critic Esther Mobley shares her secrets and brings her spit bucket for a tasting session with Audrey Cooper. Plus: How California vintners are adjusting to climate change, which thre...
ListenSeparating Fact From Trump’s COVID-19 Fiction from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Doctors, like many of us, have been shocked by President Trump’s statements since testing positive for the coronavirus last week. Chronicle reporter Aidin Vaziri recounts what the UCSF medical team...
ListenHow to Stop Homelessness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Since 1982, The Chronicle and the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund have found a novel way to keep people from becoming homeless: The Season of Sharing Fund. Audrey Cooper and Kevin Fagan chat with n...
ListenLive: San Francisco and California Ballot Guide from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
All eyes are trained on the presidential race, but there are many local and state issues that deserve your attention. Heather Knight is joined by Joe Garofoli, host of the It's All Political podcas...
ListenCrab Season Blues from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why won't Dungeness crab be in grocery stores by Thanksgiving? Assistant food editor Tara Duggan explains the latest delays, which are linked to the health of whales. Learn more about your ad choic...
ListenTrump's Wild Weekend With COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The president's hospitalization has intensified outrage over his longtime downplaying of the coronavirus pandemic and called into question his ability to carry out his duties. Meanwhile, the White ...
ListenMinor Crimes, Major Time from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporters Jill Tucker and Joaquin Palomino, as part of their Vanishing Violence investigation, have found that California officials' claims that juvenile halls now mostly hold serious offenders is ...
ListenFire is a Climate Crisis: What's the Solution? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
If California's going to confront the wildfires that are again ravaging the state, it has to think big. There's no silver bullet, says reporter J.D. Morris, but rather an array of needed changes. T...
ListenSan Francisco's Deadly Streets from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A spike in traffic violence has claimed 27 lives so far this year. Metro editor Demian Bulwa and columnist Heather Knight talk about why San Francisco's Vision Zero plan, to eliminate traffic death...
ListenWildfires Update: Searching for the Glass Fire Ignition Point from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Walk up a steep road through a scorched landscape with reporter Matthias Gafni in St. Helena. Gafni narrates his walk up North Fork Crystal Springs Road, near the Dancing Bear Ranch Vineyard, part ...
ListenLive: How We Cover Disasters, Part 2 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporters J.D. Morris, who covers PG&E, and Kurtis Alexander, who covers California climate and environmental issues, talk with metro editor Demian Bulwa about how they work their beats as the stat...
ListenSan Francisco Opens Up: Is It Safe? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The city now allows restaurants and places of worship to welcome people back inside, but do people feel safe enough to go? Host Heather Knight speaks with Justin Phillips, co-host of the Extra Spic...
ListenLive: How We Cover Disasters, Part 1 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Lizzie Johnson and photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez talk with editor in chief Audrey Cooper and a live audience at the Chronicle Center in San Francisco about covering wildfires — how th...
ListenWildfires Update: St. Helena from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Trisha Thadani spent the day in this Napa County town covering the Glass Fire and talking to residents, some of whom have had to evacuate several times. One woman, considering various clim...
ListenLondon Breed’s Brother Seeks Freedom from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After a woman died on the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000, Napoleon Brown got 44 years in prison. He’s seeking a shorter sentence in light of a new law. His sister, the mayor of San Francisco, has advoc...
ListenIt's All Political: Trump Biden Debate 1: What the Hell Was That? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On The Chronicle's politics podcast, editorial board editor John Diaz and — GENTLEMEN, PLEASE! — political writer John Wildermuth join — EXCUSE ME! — host Joe Garofoli to analyze the first presiden...
ListenOrinda Shooting Aftermath from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Police have still made no arrests after the mass shooting at a Halloween "Mansion Party" at an Orinda Airbnb. Reporter Evan Sernoffsky talks about the victims, the possible motives and the new scru...
ListenWildfires Update: Castello di Amorosa from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Wine critic Esther Mobley reports from the famous castle winery in Calistoga, which lost a farmhouse and all of its bottled wine in the Glass Fire. Mobley talks about the large number of wineries t...
ListenStarting Over in Paradise from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How do you recover from the worst fire in California history? A year after the Camp Fire killed 85 people and leveled a whole town, just 14 homes have been rebuilt. But there's hope, say reporter L...
ListenWine Country Ablaze Again from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Napa and Sonoma counties are back to a familiar chaos. Homes, businesses, resorts and wineries have burned and thousands have fled ahead of burning embers. Firefighters dug in. And shadowing it all...
ListenA Silver Bullet for Meth? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
No. There’s no such thing. Reporters Kevin Fagan and Dominic Fracassa talk about how meth’s powerful grip on San Francisco is killing people and contributing to the city’s biggest problems, and abo...
ListenWildfires Update: A Harrowing Escape from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Matthias Gafni talks about an uncomfortably close call late Sunday night as he followed a city bus through flames of the fast-moving Shady Fire as the bus evacuated residents of the Oakmon...
ListenElection Day Preview from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Editorial Page Editor John Diaz and City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa join Audrey Cooper to talk about today’s election in San Francisco, including two races that have received national attention...
ListenThe Bay Area's Coronavirus Long-Haulers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We often measure the toll of the pandemic by deaths, which have surpassed 200,000 in the U.S. But what is of increasing concern is the long-term, perhaps even permanent, damage that COVID-19 can ca...
ListenThe Fisherman’s Secret from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What would you do if you suddenly found a golden treasure? Audrey Cooper interviews reporters Tara Duggan and Jason Fagone about an unbelievable tale that took more than a year to report — the stor...
ListenCoronavirus Inequality in the Mission District from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jon Jacobo, head of San Francisco's Latino Task Force, discusses why Latinos make up more than half of San Francisco's positive coronavirus cases despite being just 15% of the population. He says C...
ListenBART: Parking vs. Housing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As the transit agency begins filling its lots with residential buildings, it’s chipping away at a perk commuters have enjoyed for years — cheap parking spaces. Rachel Swan on the battle of housing ...
ListenSequoias vs. Climate Change and Wildfires from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It’s a pivotal moment in the history of the state’s redwood forests, many of which have been badly burned in the latest scourge of wildfires. Save the Redwood League president Sam Hodder argues for...
ListenPG&E Outages: Cell Phones Too from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Bay Area residents needed cell service more than ever as they lost electricity and worried about wildfires. Reporter Mallory Moench joins us to talk about why cell service providers in some places ...
ListenWildfires Update: The Inspectors from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lizzie Johnson talks about shadowing two firefighters, one a Cal Fire division chief and one a fire marshal from Riverside County, as they inspect the damage inflicted by the Kincade Fire and encou...
ListenOne Man's Desperate Search to Kick His Addiction on San Francisco's Streets from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Will Andrews was 23, homeless and addicted to heroin, then fentanyl. He agreed to let reporter Trisha Thadani follow him as he tried to get help. His story is one of personal struggle, but also of ...
ListenWildfires Update: First Responder Heroism from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sarah Ravani reports on the heroism she's been seeing at the Kincade Fire, including firefighters who used water from a swimming pool to help save three houses in Windsor. She also talks about the ...
ListenExecutions Under Trump Split Catholics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Attorney General William Barr has restarted federal executions for a president who wants to exude toughness. He's also a devout Catholic, in a church that opposes the death penalty. Reporter Jason ...
ListenWildfires Update: Kincade Fire from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Evan Sernoffsky reports from the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa during the calm before the big windstorm that's expected to kick up Tuesday afternoon and evening. Firefighters fear the win...
ListenJackie Fielder: A Challenger From the Left from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A 25-year-old democratic socialist who got her political start joining Lakota relatives protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, Fielder is running against Se...
ListenWildfires Update: Wineries from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Wine critic Esther Mobley joins Audrey Cooper to talk about how California’s biggest cash crop, the $40 billion wine industry, is faring in the latest round of wildfires and power shut-offs. Fifth ...
ListenCommunal Living in a Pandemic from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Manor of Being in San Francisco includes 11 residents who share meals, values and the desire to improve themselves. Here's the inside story from Chronicle reporter Annie Vainshtein on how they'...
ListenWildfires Update: Windsor from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission is updating more frequently than usual this week as we focus on the wildfires and power shut-offs around Northern California this week. In this episode, Megan Cassidy reports from W...
ListenSix Months Into Our New Normal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A half year has passed since that fateful day when Bay Area residents were ordered to shelter in place to avoid the coronavirus. What many assumed would be temporary has become our new way of life....
ListenPowerless: A Weekend of Shut-offs and Fire from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Megan Cassidy joins Audrey Cooper to talk about her reporting on the Kincade Fire, one of many wildfires around the Bay Area. J.D. Morris talks about the massive PG&E shut-offs in response to the w...
ListenA State Senator Battles QAnon from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California Senator Scott Wiener has become the target of revolting online harassment and even death threats from followers of QAnon, the blatantly false delusion that says shadowy Democratic pedoph...
ListenHow the Fire Tracker Works from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Senior interactive developer Evan Wagstaff joins Audrey Cooper to talk about how he and his team build the tools that are some of the Chronicle's most popular features, including the California Fir...
ListenTrump Brings Climate Denial to a Burning California from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As wildfires continue to endanger lives and foul air up and down the West Coast, the president pays a visit to the Sacramento area. Reporter Alexei Koseff recounts how Trump resisted Gov. Gavin New...
ListenPG&E Shut-offs: Here We Go Again from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
For the second time this month, PG&E is preparing to preemptively cut power to hundreds of thousands of people in a bid to prevent wildfires. Reporters J.D. Morris and Mallory Moench tell us what t...
ListenPolice Violence in Vallejo from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the last five years, at least 60 people, most of them people of color, have complained they were victims of excessive force by officers in Vallejo. And 19 people have been fatally shot in that c...
ListenSports Wagering in California Is No Sure Bet from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Michael Cabanatuan talks about the slow road to sports betting in California. A third of states now allow it, but not the Golden State, where it will take cooperation between gambling interests, as...
ListenSan Francisco's Master of Disasters from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Coronavirus, heat waves, wildfire smoke and apocalyptic orange skies have hit the city — and it's Mary Ellen Carroll's job to respond. She's the director of the Department of Emergency Management, ...
ListenTony Bravo: The View From the Audience from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The San Francisco Chronicle arts writer joins Audrey Cooper in a chat about his new column exploring the Bay Area’s vibrant scene, what he learned from drag shows and how to be a supporter of the a...
ListenThe Bay Area's Blade Runner Skies from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What's causing our air to turn an apocalyptic orange? Is it safe to breathe? How long will this dystopian atmosphere stick around? Chronicle reporter Michael Cabanatuan has talked to scientists and...
ListenOld Quakes, New Quakes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Northern California residents marking the 30th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake were shaken anew this week by a couple of big jolts. Reporter Peter Fimrite joins Demian Bulwa to talk quake...
ListenCoronavirus' Disproportionate Toll on Latinos from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Latinos make up 16% of the population of Marin County, but 71% of coronavirus infections. Though it's more extreme in Marin than elsewhere, that disparity exists all over the Bay Area and beyond. R...
ListenLife on the Warriors Beat from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Connor Letourneau joins Audrey Cooper to talk about what it’s like to cover the Golden State Warriors. They discuss what Steph Curry’s really like, how things will be different for the team at the ...
ListenWhy There Was a Baby in the Assembly from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks just had a baby in late July and wanted to vote by proxy to avoid coronavirus risks. When the Assembly speaker said no, Wicks drove from Berkeley to Sacramento and cast cr...
ListenPG&E Outage: Anger, confusion erupts from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The power is out in huge parts of Northern California as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. makes good on its threats to turn off electricity lines to an estimated 2.3 million people. Across the region, of...
ListenTotal SF: Pandemic News From the Kids from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On this episode of the Total SF podcast, host Peter Hartlaub talks to Chris Colin, a Bernal Heights writer and parent who, on a whim, launched Six Feet of Separation, an online newspaper for the co...
ListenPG&E's Power Shut-offs from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hundreds of thousands of people — not just those in wooded areas — could be affected as PG&E prepares to shut off power in an attempt to prevent wildfires in this week's dry and windy weather. Repo...
ListenA Fire's Hellish Path: How the Hennessey Fire Raged into Vacaville from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle reporters Matthias Gafni and Lizzie Johnson reconstruct the Hennessey lightning fire as it raced east from Napa County into Vacaville, burning homes, forcing people to flee for their live...
ListenTeen Crime Plunge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a rare good-news crime story, reporters Jill Tucker, Evan Sernoffsky and Joaquin Palomino have been tracking historic drops in crime among teens. They talk about that and their investigation int...
ListenA New Direction for San Francisco Police from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Malia Cohen, sworn in this week as the city's newest police commissioner, discusses changes she'd like to see in the San Francisco Police Department and what comes next in the national protests ove...
ListenVisiting Our Underwater Future from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Culture Desk Reporter Ryan Kost spent four days wandering the Bay Area to explore future flood zones, areas that scientists expect to be swallowed up by rising sea levels. He tells Audrey Cooper ab...
ListenWhy They're Fighting About Water in the California Delta from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Gov. Gavin Newsom, like governors before him, wants to overhaul how water moves through the delta and supplies the rest of the state, proposing a 30-mile tunnel out of the Sacramento River. But as ...
ListenWhat Is Bay Area Culture? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Bay Area is a quirky place. And The Chronicle is launching an effort to explore all of those quirks that make us hella Bay. Sarah Feldberg joins Audrey Cooper to debut the Culture Desk, a new c...
ListenRocks and Hard Places on Clinton Park from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Heather Knight and Kevin Fagan join Demian Bulwa to talk about the infamous boulders on Clinton Park alley, which have become a symbol for San Francisco's inability to provide basic services for it...
ListenThe Trained Firefighters Who Can't Fight Wildfires from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Prison inmates can learn how to fight fires and thin forests at 43 fire camps around California. But once they're out, their criminal records prevent them from joining fire departments. Heather Kni...
ListenBART vs. Fare Evasion and Suicide from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Transportation reporter Rachel Swan talks about BART's plan for fare gates that scofflaws might find harder to hurdle or squeeze through, and the agency's frustration over trying to prevent suicide...
ListenWarriors Off Court: Protests in Sports: What Impact Will They Have? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On the Warriors Off Court podcast, Chronicle columnist Otis Taylor Jr. joins Connor Letourneau to talk about the decision by NBA players to sit out playoff games in protest of the shooting of Jacob...
ListenSoleil Ho on Restaurants, Culture and Politics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The San Francisco Chronicle's restaurant critic talks with Audrey Cooper about how she wants to challenge readers to think about where they dine and how that intersects with politics and influences...
ListenMore Tests, Not Less from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When the CDC tightened its guidance this week on who should get tested for the coronavirus, Bay Area health experts were shocked. We need more testing, they said, not less. Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Ne...
ListenPelosi Pulls the Impeachment Trigger from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Political reporter Joe Garofoli and editorial page editor John Diaz join Demian Bulwa to talk about Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that the House of Representatives will open an impeachment in...
ListenTerror at the RNC! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's All Political host Joe Garofoli joins Heather Knight to talk about the GOP's strategy at the Republican National Convention: Scare the base with a bleak picture of America, and win President T...
ListenSan Francisco's Broken Mental Health System from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Trisha Thadani talks about The Chronicle series "Broken Care," which explores breakdowns in the way San Francisco aids its most vulnerable residents — those who are homeless, addicted and ...
ListenWildfires Update: Redwoods Saved from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle photographer Carlos Gonzalez reports from the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve near Guerneville, where CalFire was able to save heritage trees threatened by the Walbridge Fire, in...
ListenA Brother’s Heartbreak on San Francisco’s Streets from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When a photo of a desperate, homeless heroin addict ran in The Chronicle, the man's brother — with help from reporter Kevin Fagan — launched an effort to find and help him. Incredibly, he succeeded...
ListenNew Crisis for Schools: Fire Season from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the remote communities of the Santa Cruz Mountains, distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic was already hard enough. Now students and teachers are evacuated, fleeing from the CZU Light...
ListenTransportation, Housing and Climate Change from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Much of the Bay Area's new housing is in distant San Joaquin County. Reporter J.K. Dineen talks about the environmental impact of that. Plus: Rachel Swan on California falling short of its emission...
ListenGrowing Up During the COVID-19 Pandemic from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kids’ worlds have shrunk dramatically because of coronavirus. They can’t go to school, play sports or see their friends. Reporter Annie Vainshtein talks about how that’s affecting children now, and...
ListenProtecting San Francisco From the Bay from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Urban design critic John King on why we need to start planning now to prepare the Bay Area for the impacts of sea level rise — and why the development of vulnerable spots like Treasure Island is st...
ListenFires and Pandemic: A Collision from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Wildfires are filling the Bay Area with smoke and ash amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health reporter Erin Allday digs into whether the poor air quality could worsen COVID-19 or its spread, and how ...
ListenCalifornia's "Underground" Climate Fight from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Washington correspondent Tal Kopan on the growing divide between President Trump's denial of climate change and California's effort to do something about it. Part of the cooperative Climate Week me...
ListenDonald Trump: Pre-existing Condition from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kristin Urquiza of San Francisco lost her father to the coronavirus in June. Her speech at the Democratic National Convention blaming the president for her dad's death went viral. "His only pre-exi...
ListenThe Symphony in Blue Jeans from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As the San Francisco Symphony opens its final season under Michael Tilson Thomas, classical music critic Joshua Kosman talks about the longtime conductor's legacy, and advises first-time symphony-g...
ListenWildfires Update: Santa Cruz County from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mallory Moench reports from Scotts Valley, where the incident command center for the CZU Complex fires is located. She says local volunteer firefighters say they've had no help from CalFire, and no...
ListenThe Life and Death of Braden Varney from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Cal Fire bulldozer operator reported to the Ferguson Fire last summer to protect his community. It was his last call. Lizzie Johnson on the remarkable recovery operation that ensued as his frie...
ListenWildfires Update: Mid-day Roundup from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jill Tucker runs down the latest on the three huge fire groups burning in the Bay Area and surrounding regions: The CZU, LNU and SCU complex fires. Four residents have been killed in the LNU Comple...
ListenThe Cops Who Sleep in Their Cars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Mateo has a plan to house police officers who've become super-commuters because they can't afford the sky-high prices in that city. Reporter J.K. Dineen explains. Learn more about your ad choic...
ListenWildfires Update: Healdsburg from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Dustin Gardiner reports from the edges of the Walbridge Fire in Sonoma County, one of the fastest-burning blazes overnight. CalFire, occupied with other fires, hadn't directed many resources to the...
ListenThe Ghost Ship Verdicts from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Megan Cassidy on the scene in the Alameda County courthouse as Max Harris is acquitted on 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the 2016 warehouse fire. The jury hung on cha...
ListenWildfires Update: Vacaville Strong from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
At the end of a long day, Matthias Gafni is able to report back to evacuated residents of Solar Hills Drive who'd asked him to check on their homes: The fire came right up to the houses, but they'r...
ListenSilicon Valley’s $15 million Teardown from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A wealthy couple buys a big new mansion in Hillsborough. Is it their dream home? Nope. It’s a teardown. Reporter Matthias Gafni on the latest stunner in Bay Area housing. Learn more about your ad c...
ListenWildfires Update: Vacaville After the Chaos from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporting from hard-hit English Hills Road, Matthias Gafni describes Vacaville on Thursday afternoon as people return to the area, sort through their damaged homes and, in some cases, breathe a sig...
ListenBacklash Over Ethnic Studies Curriculum from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Educators who want ethnic studies taught statewide in California schools are getting pushback from critics who say they support the idea in principle, but that the proposed teaching guidelines push...
ListenWildfires Update: "Our House Is Going to Burn Down" from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni interviews Jimmy Santos, a Vacaville homeowner he'd met Wednesday night as Santos and his wife waited for word about whether their “dream house” — bought only two ...
ListenBest of Fifth & Mission: Photographing Homelessness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode first published July 29, photographers Gabrielle Lurie and Jessica Christian discuss photographing homelessness during the Chronicle's 24-hour project. They talk about the challenge...
ListenCOVID-19's Toll on Nonprofit Workers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Joe Wilson, executive director of a homeless shelter in the Tenderloin, talks about the grueling nature of the job for those who do nonprofit work during the coronavirus crisis. Requests for mental...
ListenBBQ in the Bay from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In a region that has nearly every type of cuisine, good barbecue restaurants have been hard to find. That seems to be changing with an explosion of pop-ups and even some brick-and-mortars springing...
ListenWhen Fires Erupt Amid a Pandemic from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The wildfires burning through California are raising difficult new questions: How to evacuate while social distancing? Is the state prepared to fight the blazes? How bad is the air quality througho...
ListenMeet Mission Bay from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Urban design critic John King explores the history of San Francisco's newest neighborhood, what went wrong in designing it and what he thinks of the Warriors' arena plopped in the middle of it. Lea...
ListenLightning-Sparked Wildfire Explodes Into Vacaville from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Matthias Gafni reports from the scene in Vacaville, where flames swallowed dozens of homes early Wednesday. A fast-moving fire raced into the town from the northwest, prompting frantic evacuations ...
ListenBroken Promises at the Hunters Point Shipyard from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What led federal and city officials to back away from voter-demanded promises to completely clean radiological contamination and what is next for the nation’s most complex Superfund site? Note: An ...
ListenSan Francisco's Plunging Rents from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Prices have dropped 20% in some neighborhoods and are expected to keep falling in the coronavirus crisis. Landlords are begging tenants to stay, offering reductions, weeks of free rent and even gif...
ListenEsther Mobley on How to Drink Wine from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Chronicle’s wine critic shares her secrets and brings her spit bucket for a tasting session. Plus: How California vintners are adjusting to climate change, which threatens Cabernet Sauvignon, t...
ListenWhy the Bay Area Is Facing Rolling Blackouts from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Amid a historic heat wave, millions could lose power in the first rolling blackouts since the electrical crisis two decades ago. Reporter J.D. Morris talks about how California got here, who's to b...
ListenOakland's Warehouse Scene After Ghost Ship from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A crackdown on people living and making art in warehouses followed the deadly 2016 fire at an unsanctioned music event. But as Rachel Swan reports, bigger changes came as a result of another shift:...
Listen"Mission Impossible" for Working Moms from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
School is starting remotely in the Bay Area, and as working parents try to juggle jobs and distance learning, data and real-life stories show mothers are bearing the brunt of the extra work. Report...
ListenThe Doctor Accused of Murder from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Health reporter Erin Allday on Dr. Thomas McNeese Keller, the Santa Rosa physician who, already under investigation by the state medical board, has been charged with murder in the deaths of five pa...
ListenA New Vision for Police in Berkeley from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
If the City Council has its way, cops will no longer make traffic stops or respond to mental health crises. Different city workers will take on those jobs, leaving police to investigate violent cri...
ListenJustin Phillips on Black Culture in the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Justin Phillips talks to editor in chief Audrey Cooper about his new column on the African American experience in and around San Francisco. Learn more about your a...
ListenPolice Issues May Decide BART Election from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has BART on the ropes. But reporter Rachel Swan explains that the election for key board seats may be decided by another issue that has long ...
ListenHow the Town Beats the City on Housing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Oakland has historically underproduced housing, but in 2019, it's on pace to finish about 2,000 more new units than San Francisco. Reporter J.K. Dineen talks about what's changed in the East Bay. ...
ListenEviction Crisis: David Chiu’s Proposal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Assemblyman David Chiu of San Francisco has a plan to stem the wave of evictions expected to hit California in September, but just over two weeks to get it through the Legislature. He's also deeply...
ListenSF City Insider: An Epidemic of Untreated Mental Illness from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Fifth & Mission presents an episode of the Chronicle podcast San Francisco City Insider. The city is compelling far fewer mentally ill people into mandated treatment. Columnist Heather Knight and C...
ListenVaccine Trials Launch in the Bay Area from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Developers of two of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates are seeking volunteers in San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Clara County. Health reporter Erin Allday talks about how the studies ...
ListenShould San Francisco Buy PG&E's Power Lines? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The utility's wildfire-related bankruptcy has San Francisco looking to take over its power operation in the city. Reporters J.D. Morris and Dominic Fracassa talk about the opportunities and risks t...
ListenAll Masks Are Not the Same from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Covering your face is good, but new research suggests that how you do it is important. Many help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but some are not as effective as others. Reporter Aidin Vazir...
ListenSwag: It’s Fun! It’s Free! It Works! It’s a Nightmare! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It’s a constant in the tech industry and has been for ages. The data says swag is an effective marketing tool, and sometimes the goodies are nice. But there’s a cost for the environment. Owen Thoma...
ListenWhy Kamala Harris is Joe Biden's Pick from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The former San Francisco DA and California attorney general is in position to make history. Political reporters Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli break down why Biden wants Harris as his running mate and ...
ListenLive Event: San Francisco Homelessness With Mayor Breed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Editor in chief Audrey Cooper and homelessness reporter Kevin Fagan talk about highlights from the recent Chronicle Talks event with Mayor London Breed and a panel of homeless people and experts. ...
ListenWhy California's Coronavirus Chief Quit from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A data glitch and a problematic public statement by Gov. Gavin Newsom prompts a changing of the guard in Sacramento, where Dr. Sonia Angell suddenly resigned as the state's top public health office...
ListenSalesforce Tower Light Show, Featuring ... YOU? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Reporter Melia Russell on new images atop Salesforce Tower. Starting this fall, the tower top will show snippets of city life that are recorded by cameras planted around San Francisco. The next ver...
ListenIs More Screen-Time Affecting Our Brains? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
During the coronavirus pandemic, our ever-worsening screen time obsession has increased. From working, going to school, exercising, socializing and recreational time, nearly everything involves a d...
ListenThe Big Event: Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor of Ear Hustle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this episode of the Chronicle podcast The Big Event, Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods tell Peter Hartlaub about creating one of the biggest hits of the podcast boom, which brings listeners inside S...
ListenGet Ready For Socially Distant Fire Evacuations from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
California is entering its worst months for wildfires, and the danger is only exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. What do Bay Area residents need to know about the conditions on the ground, PG...
ListenCalifornia's Secret Automaker Deal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Alexei Koseff of the Chronicle's Sacramento bureau joins Audrey Cooper to talk about the state getting four carmakers to agree to cut emissions — a deal that puts California on a collision course w...
ListenTech Exodus From San Francisco from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Now that their companies are allowing them to work remotely for the duration, tech workers are fleeing high-priced San Francisco. What does that mean for the city's future as an internationally imp...
ListenOn the Streets With the Homeless from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Kurtis Alexander, Nanette Asimov and Evan Sernoffsky talk about reporting for the Chronicle's multimedia project "One Day, One City, No Relief: 24 hours Inside San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis." Lea...
ListenThe Man Who Finds Bodies from 2021-01-26T09:00
Keith Cormican has a very unusual job: he finds and retrieves dead bodies in lakes and rivers across the country. Cormican has been especially successful in Lake Tahoe, where in just under 2 months...
ListenVaccination Frustration from 2021-01-15T09:00
The coronavirus is surging. A more contagious variant is taking hold. People are struggling. But California has fallen behind almost every other state when it comes to getting vaccines into people’...
ListenThe Top 25 Restaurants in the Bay Area from 2021-01-13T09:00
Restaurant critic Soleil Ho has a brand new list of the region's best eats, which she'll update quarterly to reflect the quickly changing restaurant scene during the pandemic. Plus: Ho gives us a s...
ListenExtra Spicy: 2020, What Was This Nonsense? from 2020-12-28T09:00
In the final episode of Season 1 of The Chronicle's food podcast, hosts Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips apply their “What is this nonsense?” segment to the year 2020. From a KFC movie to the politics...
ListenVaccination Drive Launches in Bay Area from 2020-12-16T09:00
With a bit of fanfare and lots of relief, five front-line workers at San Francisco General Hospital were given their first doses of vaccine on Tuesday. The historic day opened up numerous questions...
ListenFar From Home, Far From Safe from 2020-12-11T11:00
California has sent thousands of its most vulnerable children to out-of-state facilities run by a for-profit company, despite laws meant to stop that practice. And often, allegations of rampant abu...
ListenA Grim Milestone in California: 20,000 Dead from COVID-19 from 2020-12-09T09:00
As cases, deaths and hospitalizations surge, California medical experts warn that hospital beds will soon run out. Chronicle reporter Aidin Vaziri lays out our scary next few weeks. Plus, education...
ListenBecerra's Departure is Newsom's Opportunity from 2020-12-08T09:00
President-Elect Joe Biden's pick for a big cabinet job — Health and Human Services secretary — is California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra. That means the stakes are high for Gov. Gavin Newsom,...
ListenMaking Sense of the New Coronavirus Shutdown from 2020-12-07T09:00
Nine months into the pandemic, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are surging. So five Bay Area counties have ordered the most strict rules since March, including a ban on outdoor dining. Erin ...
ListenCrossing the Border Amid the Pandemic from 2020-11-18T09:00
The U.S.-Mexico border has been a major focus of the Trump administration. But for some American citizens, it's simply a part of their day. They live in Mexico but work or go to school in the U.S. ...
ListenCatching up with new SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin from 2020-11-16T09:00
San Francisco's DA discusses what could curb the city's rampant drug dealing, his idea for a new trafficking court and why voters are increasingly choosing progressives as their top prosecutors. |...
ListenThe San Francisco Exodus is an Opportunity to Some from 2020-11-13T09:00
The coronavirus has emptied much of downtown San Francisco. Some remote workers, freed from the office, are moving to faraway places like Tahoe. But with rents in the city taking a rare plunge, som...
ListenThe Election Is Over, But Divisions Remain from 2020-11-12T09:00
The election is over, but the political divisions in the country remain. If anything, they appear wider than four years ago. A week after Joe Biden's win, Republicans are backing Donald Trump’s att...
ListenSan Francisco Is Pausing Reopening. But at What Cost? from 2020-11-11T09:00
San Francisco will shut down indoor dining starting this Friday at midnight and is pausing plans to reopen high schools after reporting an alarming spike in coronavirus cases. Food writer Janelle B...
ListenWill Pfizer's Coronavirus Vaccine End the Pandemic? from 2020-11-10T09:00
Rare good news on the coronavirus front: Pfizer on Monday announced its vaccine is proving 90% effective in battling COVID-19. Will the vaccine get us closer to ending the global pandemic? Also, Pr...
ListenWhat Uber and Lyft's Ballot Win Means for Gig Workers from 2020-11-05T12:00
The ride-hailing giants poured millions into a California ballot measure to keep their drivers as contractors, rather than employees with full benefits. And it paid off. Uber and Lyft saw their sha...
ListenIn Oakland, Police Reforms Collide With a Homicide Spike from 2020-11-02T09:00
The police killing of George Floyd launched a nationwide rallying cry: “Defund the Police.” But as staff writer Rachel Swan reports, the organized effort to slash the police budget in Oakland has c...
ListenThe Usual Suspect from 2020-10-30T08:00
Matthias Gafni has the shocking story of Michael Alexander, who confessed to a 2013 murder and went to prison even though another man's blood was all over the scene. He was freed years later after ...
ListenExtra Spicy | A Fine Dining Legacy, Burned Down from 2020-10-22T08:00
Located in Napa Valley’s St. Helena, the highly acclaimed Restaurant at Meadowood was destroyed on September 28th by the massive Glass Fire, which scorched close to the 67K acres in Sonoma and Napa...
ListenShould Black Californians Get Reparations? from 2020-10-21T08:00
Under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newson, the state is launching a task force to study how it might approach reparations. The effort is a reminder that although California joined the union as a "fr...
ListenThe Great San Francisco Lemur Heist from 2020-10-16T08:00
Maki, a 21-year-old ring-tailed lemur, was stolen from his enclosure at The San Francisco Zoo this week. It was the third high-profile theft from the zoo in recent years. News broke Thursday night ...
ListenTop 100 Bay Area Restaurants from 2020-09-24T10:00
Food critic Soleil Ho talks about this year's Top 100 list and how the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything about the Chronicle tradition. Some of her picks have closed. Others have pivoted ...
ListenHow Will Chinatown Survive? from 2020-09-01T08:00
San Francisco's historic neighborhood is under a double attack — from the coronavirus pandemic's crippling of service industries and from racism about COVID-19. Writer Melissa Hung, who wrote about...
ListenComing Soon: Fifth&Mission from 2019-03-21T21:50:43
Dive inside the biggest Bay Area stories of the day with Fifth&Mission, a new podcast from the San Francisco Chronicle coming April 2nd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ListenComing Soon: Fifth&Mission from 2019-03-21T21:50:43
Dive inside the biggest Bay Area stories of the day with Fifth&Mission, a new podcast from the San Francisco Chronicle coming April 2nd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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