Published by KQED
Bay Area-raised host Ericka Cruz Guevarra talks with local journalists about what’s happening in the greatest region in the country. It’s the context and analysis you need to make sense of the news, with help from the people who know it best. New episodes drop Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.
Listen on Apple PodcastsHeaded to the beach? Keep a watchful eye on the ocean for sneaker waves. They’re sudden, far-reaching waves that are notorious for catching beachgoers off-guard. Videos of Californians being swept away have gone viral, including a recent incident in Santa Cruz where a lifeguard saved a 10-year old from drowning. KQED’s Sarah Wright explains what sneaker waves are, why they’re dangerous, and how to stay safe while still enjoying the ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What does it mean to live, work, and make decisions in a rapidly automated world? Life, Automated, a new podcast distributed by KQED and made by our partners at the Ryan Institute for Complexity at Northwestern University, explores this urgent question. Listen every other Wednesday wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As we ramp up production for August, we’ve been thinking about you – our listeners – a lot. And we’d love to chat. About what you like hearing, what you want to hear more of, and some ideas we have. If you’re up for that, leave us a voicemail at 415-710-9223. Please leave us your name and a good number to call. Talk soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I’m sure you’ll agree with us: Sometimes, it's good to take a break from the news. Every July, The Bay takes a break from making new episodes. We use this time to reset, rest, and brainstorm what we want to make for you. We will resume our regular schedule on Monday Aug. 3. Say hello anytime thebay@kqed.org. We always love hearing from you. Thank you for listening and enjoying the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this June 2026 edition of the monthly news roundup, we discuss the Giants’ pride month controversy, the debate over a new data center coming to Pittsburg, and how high school students pushed for improvements to their local bus line in San Francisco. Links: Pittsburg controversy over data center on old Delta View Golf Course This Bay Area suburb lost its main industry. Can it rebuild? In San Francisco, Students Become Transit Advocates to Fix ‘the City’s School Bus’ Fans chew out SF Giants for team's 'weak' response to Pride Night saga Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today’s episode, we bid farewell to The Bay’s producer, Jessica Kariisa, and discuss her deep love for San Jose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Last month, the streaming platform Spotify added a new feature that allows users to generate their own AI remixes. With no signs of AI slowing down in the music industry, we’re revisiting this episode about the labor implications, and how human artists are adapting. This episode first aired Nov. 14, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) was one of the first gay-positive Christian churches. During the height of the AIDS crisis, it was a place where hundreds of LGBTQ Christians found community, sustenance, and healing as they grappled with the illness and death of the epidemic. When We All Get to Heaven, a 10-episode audio documentary series produced by Eureka Street Productions and distributed by Slate, follows queer Christians caught between two communities: a religious world that said gays had no place, and a gay rights movement that said God had no place. Links: Listen: When We All Get to Heaven Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In 1945, Wesley Johnson, a San Francisco State graduate from Texas, rode down Fillmore Street, announcing Juneteenth and inviting all around to celebrate. At that time, the Fillmore district was the heart of San Francisco’s Black community, and famously known as the ‘Harlem of the West.’ But over the decades, systemic displacement in the name of urban renewal has dramatically shrunk the neighborhood’s Black population. Between 1970 and 2020, the Black population in the Fillmore dropped from 57% to just 16%. In this episode, we head to the Fillmore’s annual Juneteenth celebration and talk to a Fillmore native dedicated to keeping the community alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Another huge sporting event is here in the Bay Area. The World Cup, with 48 participating countries and 104 matches spread out across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, is underway until the final on July 19. In addition to the six World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, free watch parties are on all over the region, and two teams – Paraguay and Australia – are using the Bay Area as their base camps. KQED reporter Ayah Ali-Ahmad tells us what it’s like on the ground in San Jose, as thousands of visitors come to the Bay Area yet again. Links: Team Paraguay Arrives in San José Ahead of World Cup Games at Levi’s | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Last week, the Pacifica City Council approved an emergency declaration to demolish the beloved Chit Chat Cafe at the Pacifica Pier, as parts of the structure began to crumble into the ocean. Plans for the rest of the pier are still up in the air, as Pacifica residents reckon with the future of their coastal community in the face of coastal erosion, sea level rise, and climate change. Links: ‘You Can’t Beat Mother Nature’: Destroyed Cafe Gives Pacifica Look at Climate-Changed Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The World Cup is now underway, with planned events around the Bay Area. Under the ethos of soccer as a “global language,” local soccer leagues in the Bay Area have been providing a rare sense of solace for new immigrant youth. This episode first published June 11, 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
California still has lots of ballots left to count, more than one week after the primary. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have seized on the slow count to spread conspiracy theories of election fraud. But what’s actually behind the holdup? KQED’s Marisa Lagos explains why California counts ballots so slowly, and what could help speed up the count. Links: Ballots Are All In, but California Election Results Could Take Weeks to Settle. Why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In conversations with loved ones, transgender and non-binary kids from the Bay Area discuss acceptance, trust, and what it looks like to thrive. This episode first aired Dec. 4, 2025. Links: Become a KQED member Email us: thebay@kqed.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are still many ballots left to count, but from the governor’s race to local tax measures and the race to replace Nancy Pelosi in the House of Representatives, we sit down with KQED’s politics and government correspondent Guy Marzorati about the results of the primary so far. Links: KQED: California Primary Election Results Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jason Agan was a popular teacher at Angelo Rodriguez High School in Fairfield. But for years, students whispered about his behavior. He touched some of them in public in ways that made them uncomfortable, they said, including hugging students and massaging their shoulders. In late 2019, after multiple written complaints and an administrative hearing, the school district fired Agan. But he never lost his teaching license, and went on to teach at two more schools in California. Holly McDede, who reported this story for KQED and ProPublica, explains how a pattern of delays and a lack of transparency has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state. Links: He Was Fired for Sexually Harassing Students. California Allowed Him to Keep Teaching Anyway | KQED California Teacher Previously Fired for Sexual Harassment Is No Longer in the Classroom After New Complaints | KQED KQED and ProPublica will continue reporting on how California handles cases of alleged teacher misconduct. We need your help to get the full picture, and we want to hear from you. You can share your experience with the state’s disciplinary process online at propublica.org/kqed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This graduation season has felt different. Commencement speakers across the country are getting booed for promoting AI in their speeches – and the videos have gone viral. Recent college graduates were in school when ChatGPT first launched in late 2022, and many are worried about how AI will affect their future job prospects and society at large. Today, we hear from three recent graduates in the Bay Area about their thoughts on AI, how it affected their education, and how they feel about their futures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, Alan Montecillo is joined by KQED political correspondent Guy Marzorati and KQED reporter Sydney Johnson ahead of California’s primary election on Tuesday, June 2. They preview the race to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, Measures A and E in San Jose and Oakland, and the mayoral election in the city of Richmond. Links: 2026 Primary Voter Guide: California and Bay Area Elections | KQED After Pelosi, Young SF Voters Want Change. 2 Progressives Are Competing to Offer It | KQED LISTEN: San Francisco’s Congressional Debate The Measure E parcel tax fight is hot — and pricey Will Richmond’s next mayor be a progressive, a moderate or a staunch conservative? Richmond mayoral candidates take stances on green jobs, safety and life beyond Chevron Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On April 15, 2024, dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the Golden Gate Bridge, in an attempt to pressure the U.S. government into ending military aid for Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. Now, seven of those protesters are on trial facing felony charges in San Francisco. If convicted, they could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The wetsuit changed surfing forever, making it possible for surfers to wade in the frigid waters of the Bay and allow the scene to thrive. In this episode of Bay Curious, we learn about the Ocean Beach surfers and the UC Berkeley physicist who had a part to play in the wetsuit’s invention. Links: The Wetsuit Changed Surfing — We’ve Got a Berkeley Physicist to Thank for It Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices