Fifth & Mission

A Chronicle special project looks at textured hair: How it’s represented in the media and why it’s so central to the Black community. Newsroom developer Katlyn Sofaea Alo Alapati and reporter Shwanika Narayan join host Cecilia Lei to talk about what they’ve learned. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Covid infections — and reinfections — becoming more common, many doctors recommend having a strategy in place for the latest Covid tools, including Paxlovid. Chronicle health reporter Catherine Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what we've learned about the anti-viral pill. Plus: What should Bay Area parents expect once vaccines for kids 5 and under are authorized? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chesa Boudin recall has spotlighted the activism and political power of Asian Americans, but the Bay Area already has a long history of Asian American activism. While the latest generation has been motivated by public safety concerns, that doesn't mean they're all advocating for more policing. Justin Zhu, the co-founder and executive director of Stand With Asian Americans, joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about his pivot from Silicon Valley to organizing, and what this moment means for him. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of the most contested races of the California primaries have one central issue in common: how to deal with public safety. From the recall of San Francisco district attorney Chesa Boudin, to the state attorney general and governor's race. Chronicle data reporter Susie Neilson joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the breakdown of the Boudin recall election by neighborhood, and then state Capitol reporter Dustin Gardiner explains what went down in the statewide primary races -- and whether the Boudin recall had a ripple effect. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chesa Boudin was decisively voted out of office in a recall election Tuesday. Chronicle crime reporter Megan Cassidy and senior political writer/It's All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli talk to host Demian Bulwa about what went wrong for the district attorney and what the vote means for San Francisco, police reform and the national progressive D.A. movement. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Golden State back in the NBA Finals after a 2-year absence, the Chase Center emcee talks with host Demian Bulwa about how he got his job, what it means to him to be the only Asian American hype man in the league, and how he became a Warriors superfan to avoid bedtime as a kid. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The weapon used in the devastating mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was once banned in the United States. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was signed into law in 1994, but 10 years later, the landmark legislation was allowed to expire. Stanford law professor and gun law expert John Donahue has studied the impact of the assault weapons ban, and he tells host Cecilia Lei that it worked. But he says gun lobby disinformation and a GOP that won’t stand up to the NRA means new federal gun restrictions are unlikely. This is the second of two episodes on gun safety. The first was an interview with former Assemblyman Mike Roos, who wrote California's assault weapons ban in 1989. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has some of the toughest gun restrictions in the country, including an assault weapons ban, which was passed in 1989. The law remains at the heart of the state's debate over how to regulate guns. Host Cecilia Lei speaks with one of the ban's co-authors, former California Assemblyman Mike Roos, to discuss the legacy of the law in light of the most recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The embattled San Francisco district attorney, who could be recalled by voters Tuesday, tells host Demian Bulwa that he's just as frustrated with crime in the city as everyone else, but he says much of what ails the city isn't in his power to change, and his foes are offering no solutions. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Garofoli rides Planned Parenthood's "Bans Off Our Bodies" bus around the state with three top advocates for abortion rights. Jodi Hicks of Planned Parenthood, East Bay Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Jessica Pinckney of ACCESS Reproductive Justice talk about how California would be affected if the Supreme Court, as expected, overturns Roe v Wade this month. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the office ever be the same after COVID? Not likely. When San Francisco's TaskRabbit announced it would shut down all its offices, the company acknowledged reality: As the pandemic drags on, more and more employees want a hybrid workplace, if not a fully remote one. Chronicle reporter Ryan Kost and Stanford future-of-work guru Nick Bloom join host Demian Bulwa to discuss the benefits and dangers of these mind-blowing shifts. What do today's office workers want? And what are companies doing to meet them where they're at — even if it's three states away? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the San Francisco Chronicle's food podcast, host Soleil Ho talks to Ella Clark, a high school junior who's leading the organizing efforts at her local Starbucks in Mill Valley. Ella, 17, talks about holding Starbucks accountable to its values. Plus: UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education chair Ken Jacobs explains why the wave of Starbucks unionization is spreading — and why it’s unlikely to end anytime soon. | Follow Extra Spicy on your favorite app: sfchronicle.com/spicy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has changed how people watch movies, and movie studios and theaters are trying to survive. Datebook movie critics Mick LaSalle and G. Allen Johnson join host Cecilia Lei to talk about how the movie industry is faring and what theaters are doing to try to lure people back, including live events, and who they're targeting as likely customers. Plus: Mick and Allen share their summer movie recommendations. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco's Asian American voters have played a key role in February's school board recall and the upcoming bid to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Political scientist David Lee joins host Cecilia Lei to explain how they built their political power and what the city should expect from the new generation. Plus: Kasie Lee, chief of the Victim Services Division of the DA's office, talks about how she's trying to reach AAPI victims of crime. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a likely case detected near Sacramento, is it time to worry about this virus in the smallpox family? Health reporter Erin Allday joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about monkeypox, and about why the CDC is advising caution for gay and bixexual men. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Organizers of San Francisco Pride banned in-uniform police officers at this year's event because they say some LGBTQ community members feel unsafe in their presence. In response, SFPD announced that officers will skip the parade. Mayor London Breed and other city agencies followed suit. Interim Pride executive director Suzanne Ford and SFPD officer Kathryn Winters join host Cecilia Lei to share their sides of the debate. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a vigil in Oakland following the white supremacist killing of 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, people grappled with how to move forward amid a resurgence of hate. They felt anger and fear and fatigue, while expressing resolve and "Black joy." Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips and Oakland community leader Cat Brooks — who organized the vigil — discuss the "replacement" conspiracy theory cited by the shooter and tell host Demian Bulwa that confronting such racism requires standing up to injustice across society. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has faced criticism for prioritizing diversion programs, which provide alternatives to incarceration. But they've proven effective. The Make It Right program has kept young people out of jail, but why hasn't it grown under Boudin's leadership? Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the limits of Boudin's reach. Later, one father, Jon Rahoi, explains how Make It Right helped his troubled teenaged daughter. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns have written "This Will Not Pass," a bestseller that recounts the 2020 election and the political breaking point the country is approaching. The authors join It's All Political on Fifth and Mission host Joe Garofoli to discuss what's at stake in the 2022 midterms, and what's next for key California politicians including Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area restaurants are still facing staffing shortages, supply chain issues and Covid-19 infections. Chronicle food reporter Elena Kadvany joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about how the latest surge is impacting the Bay Area food industry. Plus: Stella Dennig of Oakland's Daytrip shares the financial and emotional toll of dealing running a business with little public health guidance. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Local homeless populations haven't been counted since 2019 due to delays caused by the pandemic. On Monday, new data was released in six Bay Area counties, including Alameda and San Francisco. Chronicle reporters Sarah Ravani and J.D. Morris join host Cecilia Lei to talk about the uneven results across the region, and whether early pandemic efforts to get people off the streets worked. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California once drew a hard line around potential vaccine mandates in places like schools, but now there's been a dramatic shift in tone as vaccine bills are being shelved or delayed in Sacramento. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to explain why, and how it's not just Republicans and anti-vaccine activists who are pushing back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to new options like Paxlovid, assessing personal risk and safety has gotten a little easier. Chronicle health reporter Catherine Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about how anti-viral pills are providing peace of mind. They're also changing how the virus spreads. Data reporter Susie Neilson discusses why San Francisco's wealthy neighborhoods may be hit hardest by the next surge. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rebecca Taub travels each month to provide care to people who live in states where abortion protections aren't available. She's seen what a world without Roe v. Wade looks like and she shares with host Cecilia Lei what she thinks California should be bracing itself for, even as a sanctuary state for abortions. Plus, Chronicle readers and listeners share their reactions to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chesa Boudin's office is resolving a significantly greater share of criminal cases via diversion programs than under his predecessors. That's become a focus of the recall campaign as his opponents say the strategy has made San Francisco more dangerous. Chronicle reporters Susie Neilson and Joshua Sharpe join host Cecilia Lei to talk about what diversion programs are and how they work. They also explain that despite the political fervor around the Boudin recall campaign, diversion programs have been a mainstay in the city for decades, and are part of a larger national trend in criminal justice reform. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayor London Breed has tapped Matt Dorsey to represent District Six. He was sworn in Monday. Chronicle reporter Rachel Swan tells host Dominic Fracassa that the appointment signals the mayor doubling down on her new tough-on-crime image. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As coronavirus cases tick up in the Bay Area, most illnesses will be mild. But Chronicle reporter Nanette Asimov has the story of the region's many long COVID patients, who've struggled with pain, fatigue and other symptoms of a disease that remains mysterious. What are doctors doing to treat people, and why isn't the government doing more to help? Later in the show, host Demian Bulwa speaks with reporter Catherine Ho, who has the latest news on the vaccine rollout, including when the youngest kids can expect their shots. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The neighborhood at the center of San Francisco's thorniest debates has a new city supervisor. It's Dean Preston, the staunch progressive, who takes over after a divisive redistricting process and in the wake of Mayor London Breed's declaration of an emergency over the deadly drug trade in the neighborhood. Chronicle reporter J.D. Morris spent time with Preston and joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about Preston's challenges — including working with Tenderloin residents who want tougher law enforcement. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Retired preschool teacher Bobbi Loeb decided to sell her Point Reyes home to a land trust for $550,000 — only about half its $1M value. Chronicle reporter Lauren Hepler joins host Cecilia Lei to explain why the arrangement is a solution for affordable housing, and the benefits it provides to homeowners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Bollag join senior political writer Joe Garofoli to talk about what the future of abortion services could look like in California and whether a public health crisis is looming. If you’d like to share your thoughts about the news and tell the Chronicle how it’s affecting you, visit sfchronicle.com/roe-wade. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state was the first to pass a law criminalizing so-called revenge porn in 2013, but prosecuting perpetrators of the crime has been uneven, including in the Bay Area. Chronicle reporter Tal Kopan joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what was revealed during a Chronicle review of the state law, and how an effort to make revenge porn a federal crime could strengthen it. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York was the first city in the country to open supervised consumption sites for people using drugs. Chronicle columnist Heather Knight and photographer Gabrielle Lurie traveled there to see how the facilities operate. They join host Cecilia Lei to offer what they think San Francisco can learn from what they observed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That's the question Gov. Gavin Newsom and California legislators have to answer after Senate Democrats announced their estimate that the state’s budget surplus has more than doubled to that amount. Reporters Sophia Bollag and Dustin Gardiner join host Cecilia Lei to talk about the unusual problem of the state having more money than it knows what to do with. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People all over the Bay Area are getting COVID again at increasing rates — but this time it's different. As Dr. Anthony Fauci says that America is "out of the pandemic phase," far fewer people are getting seriously ill or dying. Restrictions like mask mandates may be a thing of the past, and everybody has to make their own choices about safety. Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday tells host Demian Bulwa what we should make of Fauci's remarks and the latest spread of the disease. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stanford ICU nurse Brittaney West joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about why nurses throughout the Bay Area are staging job actions and preparing to strike if they don't get what they say they need from the hospitals they work for. "And it doesn't just come down to wages," she says, but also involves adequate staffing, mental health care and other forms of support befitting the "heroes" they're often portrayed as being. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has long depended on single room occupancy units, or SROs, to house its most vulnerable populations. A year-long investigation by Chronicle reporters Joaquin Palomino and Trisha Thadani reveals that many of these buildings are unsanitary and unsafe. They discuss their findings with host Cecilia Lei and share what tenants say life is like for them inside SRO hotels. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a San Francisco teacher recently handed students cotton plants in a lesson about the hardship of slavery, it ignited immediate controversy at the school. There was an investigation, a debate among parents and an apology. Host Demian Bulwa hears from Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker and Ohio State University professor Hasan Jeffries about why incidents like this are so complicated — and important — as the nation reckons with the ongoing harm of racism — and as conservatives seek to ban such teaching altogether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yema Khalif and Hawi Awash are the only Black retail owners in the wealthy town of Tiburon. During the summer of 2020, police asked the couple to prove that they owned the store, and the body cam footage of the incident went viral. Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how the couple leveraged that incident to implement police reform in the coastal city nearly two years later. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco supervisor defeated David Campos by positioning himself as the pro-housing candidate for the state Assembly seat. Chronicle reporter Dustin Gardiner joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why Haney's win is a coup for YIMBYs. But political victories won't be enough. A new bill in the Assembly aims to make development easier, even in difficult cities like San Francisco. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that a federal judge has tossed out the mask requirement on airplanes and public transit, Bay Area transit agencies are scrambling to figure out their mask requirements, creating a patchwork of conflicting policies for travelers. UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter joins host Cecilia Lei to share his thoughts on the latest federal mask update and why he still recommends keeping masks on in certain public settings. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin's Innocence Commission has exonerated its first person — and the case is extraordinary. The defendant, Joaquin Ciria, has been behind bars for more than 30 years, accused of killing a friend in a gun attack in SoMa. Now, there's a new witness — and fresh questions about what went wrong. Chronicle reporter Joshua Sharpe joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the case and what it means. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in the Tenderloin and pledged to bring in more police, critics feared she was criminalizing drug users. Months later, Breed maintains her position. Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to share what she learned from her conversation with Breed, and what changes have actually been made in the Tenderloin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The task force tasked with drawing the city's new supervisor districts has missed its deadline, and it's not clear how the process — marked by protests and outbursts at public meetings — will play out. Reporter J.D. Morris joins host Cecilia Lei to sort out the complex and controversial story of drawing a new map. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At age 88, the giant of California politics is the oldest sitting U.S. senator. Five members of Congress — including four Democrats — have told The Chronicle that they're concerned that her memory is rapidly deteriorating, and that it appears she can no longer represent the state without her staff doing much of the work. Reporters Tal Kopan and Joe Garofoli join host Demian Bulwa to discuss these concerns and the response from Feinstein and her allies. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 "It's All Political on Fifth and Mission" Joe Garofoli chats with Mini Timmaraju, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. They discuss what anti-abortion laws mean for California and what the future looks like for reproductive rights organizing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Department of Education released data on Monday that revealed public school enrollment fell below 6 million for the first time in more than a decade. That means school districts are facing more budget cuts and long-term financial instability. Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker joins host Cecilia Lei to explain what's causing the declines and how the state might help. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Covid-19 vaccines and boosters have allowed many people to return to their pre-pandemic activities, but they still don't appear to provide long-lasting protection against Covid infections. Chronicle health reporter Catherine Ho joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what the future of Covid immunizations could look like, how scientists are looking for a 'pan-coronavirus vaccine' and why that is critical for future coronavirus epidemics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Area residents are being confronted by fentanyl in places you might not expect. A local organization is making fentanyl test kits available in bar bathrooms, just one element of a larger harm reduction strategy that's necessary to fight the Bay Area's growing fentanyl crisis. Reporter Caron Creighton delves into the differing harm reduction strategies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Ailee Jong, bring into question John Muir's ability to perform complex procedures. Chronicle reporters Matthias Gafni and Cynthia Dizikes join host Cecilia Lei to discuss their investigation, which revealed that hospital staff members had warned that John Muir shouldn't operate on Ailee. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 change? Chronicle senior political writer Joe Garofoli lays out the obstacles, including opposition from Republicans in Congress who fear alienating their voters and California’s inability to keep guns from streaming in from states with weaker laws. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices