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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.
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The recent killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement set off a wave of protests across the country. It’s also brought attention to the federal government’s efforts to stop people from recording federal agents in public.
Today, we’re sharing an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, where host Morgan Sung sits down with criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella to find out whether or not you have the right to record ICE.
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Bay Area police departments say automated license plate readers contracted by an Atlanta-based company called Flock Safety have been a powerful tool for solving crime. But Bay Area residents and privacy advocates are increasingly concerned about the impacts on our privacy, as the Trump administration continues its federal immigration crackdown. In Santa Cruz, the city council voted 6-1 to end its contract with Flock, citing reports that the city’s data was accessed by out-of-state agencies.
Links:
Santa Cruz the First in California to Terminate Its Contract With Flock Safety
San Jose latest city to face questions whether federal authorities are accessing police license plate camera data
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Five current and former students at Stanford are on trial for barricading themselves inside the university president’s office on June 5, 2024.
The protesters, who face counts of felony conspiracy and felony vandalism, say their actions were aimed at pressuring Stanford to divest from companies that support Israel’s bombing and invasion of Gaza. Prosecutors say that protesters committed a crime by breaking into a building and causing damage to university property.
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San Francisco residents are furious with Pacific Gas & Electric after nearly one third of the city was hit by a series of power outages over the holiday season. This public outrage has also revived calls for the city — or even the state — to take over the investor-owned utility.
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Last weekend’s storms, coupled with king tides, caught Marin County cities like Corte Madera, Sausalito and San Rafael off guard. Floodwaters spilled over levees, covered bike trails, and surrounded homes and businesses.
Nobody was seriously injured and the level of damage is still being assessed. But it’s a wake-up call for residents, both in Marin County and across the Bay Area, about the risk of more flooding in our future.
Links:
Marin County Looked Like ‘a Lagoon’ After King Tides, Heavy Rain | KQED
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In the wake of President Donald Trump’s military operation in Venezuela, which led to US forces seizing the country's president, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelans in the Bay Area have experienced a wide range of feelings. Some rejoiced, others felt outrage, and all had many questions about the future.
Links:
‘A Really Confusing Moment’: Bay Area Venezuelans Struggle to Make Sense of US Attack | KQED
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In response to arrests of street vendors and day laborers by federal immigration authorities, thousands of volunteers have mobilized to ‘adopt’ a street corner. KQED’s labor correspondent Farida Jhabvala Romero takes us to one corner in East Oakland to meet the volunteers offering their time to watch out for ICE and Border Patrol agents.
This episode originally aired on Sept. 5, 2025.
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Girls’ flag football is exploding in popularity at high schools across the Bay Area. It coincides with the rise of professional women’s sports teams like the Golden State Valkyries and Bay FC, which have cemented the Bay’s status as the new capital of women’s sports.
This episode first aired on Sept. 26, 2025.
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If you want solar power in your home, you usually need to be a homeowner with a good roof and a decent amount of cash to pay up front.
But some Bay Area residents are trying out plug-in solar, which can hang from an apartment balcony, out a window, or be tented in the backyard.
This episode originally aired on August 13, 2025.
Links:
Forget Rooftops — Bay Area Residents Are Plugging Solar Into the Wall
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San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, often in the news for headlines associated with crime, homelessness and drug use, has the highest concentration of kids in all of San Francisco. So a reporter decided to give Tenderloin kids disposable cameras to see the neighborhood from their perspective.
This episode first aired on Sept. 24, 2025.
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In 1969, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and his first wife Joyce built Snoopy’s Home Ice in Santa Rosa. Since then, generations of locals — including KQED’s Gabe Meline — have made it a tradition to visit the skating rink, especially during the holidays.
This episode first aired on Dec. 18, 2024.
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In the Bay’s final news roundup of 2025, Ericka, Alan and Jessica discuss the recent series of small earthquakes in San Ramon and Sonoma County, Oakland’s decision to expand its network of license plate reader cameras, and new upgrades to the Clipper card system.
Links:
Scientists Say San Ramon’s Latest Earthquake Swarm Is Normal, but Residents Are on Edge | KQED
Oakland Council Expands Flock License Plate Reader Network Despite Privacy Concerns | KQED
New Clipper Cards Are Here, With Big Perks for Riders. How to Manually Upgrade Yours | KQED
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You’re not imagining it — your Pacific Gas & Electric bill really is going up. In fact, according to a KQED analysis, the average PG&E utility bill went up nearly 70% between 2020 and March 2025.
But it’s not just the cost: understanding what’s actually in your bill can be confusing. Today, KQED climate reporter Laura Klivans helps Ericka decode her PG&E bill.
Links:
The Average PG&E Utility Bill Has Gone Up Nearly 70% Since 2020 | KQED
Bay Area Electricity Bills Are Some of the Highest. Where Does Your Money Go? | KQED
PG&E Bills Keep Rising. What Can You Do to (Potentially) Lower Your Bills? | KQED
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Engineered stone is a man-made material made with high concentrations of silica that is commonly used to make kitchen countertops in the U.S.
But doctors are seeing more and more workers in the countertop industry developing silicosis, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut. Even though California has safety rules in place to reduce the risk to workers, some say it’s time to ban the use of engineered stone altogether.
Links:
California Doctors Urge Ban on Engineered Stone as Silicosis Cases Surge | KQED
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The Ukraine-Russia war has been called the most technologically advanced war in history. In an episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, Bay Area journalist Erica Hellerstein visits Ukraine to learn about how the nation’s culture of tech innovation — and its surprising ties to Silicon Valley — are fueling the country’s resistance through an army of engineers, coders, hackers, and tinkerers.
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San Francisco could see taller and more dense buildings in the city’s north and west side after the Board of Supervisors approved Mayor Daniel Lurie’s ‘Family Zoning’ plan last week.
Some believe it will lead to more housing and lower rents, while others worry that new construction will change their neighborhoods and lead to displacement. But how soon — and how much — could it really change the city?
Links:
San Francisco Supervisors Pass Rezoning Plan, Making Way for Taller, Denser Housing
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Inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish — home to historic farmworker organizing in East San Jose — we sit down with Father Jon Pedigo, a Catholic priest in the South Bay, to talk about the role of faith and houses of worship under the Trump Administration, what he’s seen in his primarily Spanish-speaking communities, and why he's leaving the pulpit to become a full-time organizer.
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Nearly 3,000 teachers and staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School district went on strike Thursday morning after negotiations with the district broke down. It’s the latest in a series of labor disputes between educators and districts across California. Today, Jana Kadah, education reporter with Richmondside, talks to us from the field about why West Contra Costa educators walked off the job for the first time in the district’s history.
Links:
Richmondside: Is your family prepared for WCCUSD teachers strike? Here’s what to know
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UC Berkeley student and animal rights activist Zoe Rosenberg will be sentenced today after facing a felony conviction for taking four chickens from a Sonoma County poultry facility 2 years ago. The case, which has garnered international attention, comes after years of tension in Sonoma County over animal rights.
Links:
Berkeley Animal Rights Activist Found Guilty in Sonoma Chicken Theft Case
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In a new series called ‘Love You for You,’ KQED’s The California Report Magazine host Sasha Khokha sat in on conversations between trans and nonbinary kids and the people who love them. Today, we talk with Sasha about the series.
Links:
Check out the entire ‘Love You For You’ series
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awesome podcast thank you !!!
what an amazing wonderful informative high quality podcast !!! thank you soooo much !!!!
this episode is not about green infrastructure
this episode is not about banning flavored tobacco
Listened to this tonight and I just want to say I am grateful for nurses like her. Her story of the AIDS patient she stood by meant a lot. That’s such strong and stalwart kindness in a time when fear and ignorance around the last massively scary disease happened in the US. We stayed away from family because of COVID. Hearing her story only amplified who needs us to stay extra cautious right now—the nurses and doctors and EMTs who are going to be by our bedside if we don’t.
I love this podcast! I listen to it every morning using my Alexa. I’ve even gone to a few of the community events they’ve held and met the creators. I love how passionate they are about reporting from the people who are effected by the news. Great local show!
Typical Berkeley: love the poor, until you have to look at them 🙄 How about increasing housing supply so the rates arent astronomical and people dont have to live in fucking RVs? Oh that would affect the "character" of the neighborhood? I guess the poor just dont deserve housing, how progressive