The Bay

In August, a Foster Farms poultry processing plant in Livingston was temporarily shut down because of a a COVID-19 outbreak where at least 392 workers tested positive and 9 workers died. Now, Foster Farms is facing outbreaks at three of the company’s plants in the Central Valley. But it’s been really hard to get basic information about what’s going on about things like worker safety and who makes the final decisions. Today, we talk about what we do and don’t know about these outbreaks, and what this lack of information means for the general public and the company’s workers. Guest: Alexandra Hall, KQED Central Valley reporter Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the fourth episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. It's been called one of the biggest protests the world has ever seen. Farmers in India have been protesting for months over new agriculture laws passed by the Indian Parliament in September, which farmers feel would destroy their livelihoods. People around the world are showing solidarity with them, including here in the Bay Area. On Dec. 5, some thousands of protestors led by Sikh Americans — many who have personal connections to what's happening in India — marched to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, using the Bay Area as a platform to help boost awareness abroad. Guest: Lakshmi Sarah, KQED reporter Read the transcript here. Subscribe to our newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area has a long history of providing refuge to migrants seeking asylum. And for some, like Luna Guzmán, a transgender woman who left Guatemala at 22, places like San Francisco are one of the few places where they feel safe. But the journey to seek asylum can be dangerous, especially when U.S. immigration policy fails to protect people who live outside the gender binary. Now, the Trump Administration plans to issue new rules for asylum that would restrict access to the U.S. even more. Today, we share Guzmán's journey. This documentary originally ran on The California Report Magazine. You can subscribe to that podcast here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, another surge in COVID-19 cases once again led to playgrounds being closed in many communities across California and in five Bay Area counties. But some parents felt like this part of the new stay-at-home order goes too far — especially because some indoor shopping stayed open. Many also worried that losing access to a safe and free outdoor space could harm both kids and families. Guest: Matthias Gafni, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle UPDATE: On Wednesday morning, the California Department of Public Health changed its stay-at-home guidance to let counties keep outdoor playgrounds open. Check out Matthias' story here. Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the third episode of By The People, The Bay podcast’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. A vote in Oakland today goes farther than it did prior to 1980. That’s when voters passed Measure H, which moved the city from at-large to district-based elections . The change was huge for Black and brown voters, who now had the opportunity to elect candidates from their neighborhoods instead of being represented by white men backed by money and power. The reason why Measure H passed can be traced back through decades of organizing by Black activists seeking political representation. Guest: Darwin BondGraham, editor of The Oaklandside Read the transcript here. You can read Darwin’s full article here Donate to KQED and support The Bay or subscribe to our weekly newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is planning its rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. Healthcare workers have already been prioritized, but figuring out who comes next and how that decision will be made is now in the hands of an advisory committee made up of health and community leaders. One factor they’ll use to decide who gets the vaccine next? A look at the nation’s history of social injustice, and which groups have been overlooked, and wronged, in the past. Guest: April Dembosky, Health Correspondent for KQED Read the transcript here. Sign up for our weekly newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's always been difficult to charge a police officer after they've killed someone while on the job. But in the Bay, it's happened a few times within the last three months. For example, in September, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley charged San Leandro police officer Jason Fletcher for killing Steven Taylor in April 2020, and last week San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin charged Christopher Samayoa for shooting and killing Keita O'Neil in 2017. So what led these two Bay Area DAs to file charges when it's been so rare in the past? Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED Criminal Justice Editor Read the transcript here. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the second episode of By The People, The Bay podcast's new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. Many activists work their whole lives from outside the systems they want changed. That’s what Shakira Simley did, until recently. Simley is now Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity and says she brought a lot of the lessons she learned as an activist with her into City Hall. Simley talks with us about why it’s important to see public institutions as ours to behold — and change. Guest: Shakirah Simley, Director of San Francisco’s Office of Racial Equity Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Evelyn Legarte migrated from the Philippines to the Bay Area in 1980, she was part of a growing number of Filipinos that now make up about 20% of nurses in California. As the holidays approach, we want to acknowledge the many Filipino nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic who are caring for people like they’ve done in past public health crises. This episode originally ran on May 22, 2020. Guest: Evelyn Legarte, retired Bay Area nurse Subscribe to our newsletter here! Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One way to change your hometown? Run for office. That’s what Alex Lee, James Coleman, and Lucy Shen decided to do in the 2020 elections. All three are among a number of young, queer candidates of color who ran in local races this year. They’re from different parts of the Bay Area – with unique relationships to their hometowns – but they all found themselves looking for change and diving into politics. This is the first episode of By The People, The Bay’s new series highlighting the way democracy shows up in the places around us, and how we can all plug in. Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Silicon Valley reporter Subscribe to our newsletter here! Read the transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the pandemic hit, thousands of unsheltered people were moved into hotels under a plan known as Project Roomkey. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the goal was to eventually move people into permanent housing. But early data from eight Bay Area counties analyzed by KQED shows that most people discharged from hotels have not found a more secure home. Now, some of those hotels are closing, and as coronavirus cases surge again the question still remains: where will the unhoused go? Guest: Erin Baldassari, KQED housing reporter and co-host of Sold Out, a podcast about the challenges and solutions to our housing crisis. Read the transcript here. And sign up for our newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that California has seen the fastest two-week increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. Now, most counties, including six in the Bay Area, are under the state’s most restrictive pandemic mandates. Guest: Katie Orr, KQED politics and government reporter Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/2UzUKpp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've heard a lot about how older people are vulnerable during this pandemic. And it's true that they're more vulnerable to the virus and that loneliness and depression among seniors has been rising. But there's another part of the story we don't hear much about: how and why some seniors are finding ways to be more resilient right now. Guest: Lesley McClurg, KQED Science Reporter Read the transcript here: https://bit.ly/32IXaXt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Proposition 22 was a big win for tech companies. Its passage allows a handful of corporations — like Uber and Lyft — to create a new "gig" contractor category for their workers that doesn’t have to include employee protections and benefits, like unemployment insurance and workers compensation. Now, those same companies that won in California want to expand beyond the state. Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3eSSCCw Guest: Sam Harnett, Silicon Valley reporter for KQED Listen to our special series 'How We Got Here' with Sam here. And sign up for our newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area passed a number of local measures related to civilian oversight of police this election. This means an increase in access for what citizens get to know, and get to do, about issues within their local police departments – including policy changes and police misconduct. We look at the recently passed Measure P, out of Sonoma County, which increases the powers of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO). And the public outcry for police accountability, dating back to the 2013 fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez. Guest: Alex Emslie, KQED Criminal Justice Editor Read the transcript here: https://bit.ly/3pd5tEF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things are still really stressful right now. But comedian Luna Malbroux navigates that stress but choosing laughter and joy in a time of extreme anxiety.Today, we're sharing an interview with Luna on an episode of Rightnowish, hosted by KQED columnist and host Pendarvis Harshaw. Read the transcript: https://bit.ly/3kb2Qze Sign up for The Bay's newsletter: https://bit.ly/2Ij412e Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voting in the Bay Area seemed to go smoothly on Tuesday, thanks in part to California's efforts to get people to vote early and by mail. That says a lot, in an election where there's been so much misinformation about the process, and where a pandemic threatened the health and safety of people voting in person. Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED Politics and Government reporter Guy is following up with Bay Area counties to see what more we can learn about voting this election. If you experienced problems either voting by mail or at the polls let Guy know by tweeting him @GuyMarzorati or email him at [email protected]. Read the episode transcript here: https://bit.ly/3p17qns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California may have mailed all voters a ballot, but a lot of people still chose to cast their ballots in person. And thousands of people worked long hours to make sure voters could do just that. Today, we're bringing you the stories of three poll volunteers from different corners of the Bay Area. Guests: Amy Mar, Thuc Nguyen, and Ronak Chakraborty, poll volunteers in Hayward, San Jose, and San Ramon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The killing of George Floyd led to protests in South San Francisco, and the creation of a youth-led activist group called Change SSF. These last few months have also exposed a generational divide about how quickly the city should make changes — and how sweeping they should be. And that divide is also showing itself in South San Francisco's race for city council, where a 22-year-old political newcomer is running against the city's longtime mayor. Guest: Adhiti Bandlamudi, Silicon Valley reporter for KQED News This episode is part of our series on how protests on policing and racial justice are showing up on Bay Area ballots and beyond. Click here to listen to the story of the local police shooting at the center of this year's city council race in Walnut Creek. And click here to listen to how Martinez residents are growing an infrastructure for activism in their community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Martinez isn't known for its activism. But after George Floyd was killed, and after a white couple defaced a Black Lives Matter mural in Martinez, many residents decided it was time for that to change. Now, they've started a conversation about race in Martinez that hasn't really happened in public before. That conversation has been difficult, especially with local leaders — but activists say this is just the beginning of a long struggle to build the Martinez they want. Guest: Devin Katayama, The Bay host and reporter This episode is part of how protests on policing and racial justice are showing up on Bay Area ballots and beyond. Tap here to listen to the story of the local police shooting at the center of this year's city council race in Walnut Creek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miles Hall was shot and killed by Walnut Creek police a year before many residents joined national protests supporting Black lives this past summer. The Hall family and friends have been showing up at City Council meetings demanding justice for a year, but it wasn't until George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police that more people began pressuring local politicians. Now half of the eight City Council candidates in Walnut Creek are running because of what happened to Hall, and some activists see this election as a referendum for how much this wealthy, mostly white Bay Area suburb supports Black lives. Guest: Ericka Cruz Guevarra, producer and reporter for The Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bela Gonzalez and Louie Licea are 15. Both of their parents are essential workers and need to leave the house every day. It's all pretty stressful. And it's also brought more responsibility: while their parents are gone, Bela and Louie take care of their little sister, Mia. Guests: Sasha Khokha, host of The California Report Magazine, Bela Gonzales and Louie Licea This episode originally ran in April 2020. Click here for info about power shutoffs. You can also check to see if your address will be affected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, a California court ruled that officials at San Quentin State Prison have to either transfer or release half of the facility's population. That's because the outbreak at San Quentin got so bad that roughly 2,200 people got sick with COVID-19. 28 people have died. Today, we're revisiting how the outbreak first started at the beginning of the summer — and what incarcerated people and their loved ones were warning and worrying about at the time. Guest: Kate Wolffe, KQED reporter This episode originally aired on June 26, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Housing is not a human right in the United States. But more people are saying it should be. That growing movement has roots here in the Bay Area, where it's been nearly a year since the mothers behind Moms 4 Housing first occupied a house on Magnolia Street in West Oakland. Earlier this month, the moms announced that the home would soon be used for transitional housing. In the latest episode of the KQED podcast Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America, hosts Molly Solomon and Erin Baldassari dive deep into what it would actually mean to make housing a right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Generations of Armenians and descendants of those who escaped the Armenian Genocide have found refuge in San Francisco. That’s the epicenter of a robust church community center and where Armenian Americans can celebrate their culture, history and heritage. It’s also where a recent spate of suspected hate crimes are raising fears about the current border conflict — and painful memories of violence. Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, KQED Arts and Culture editor and reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Community fridges have been popping up all over the Bay since the pandemic began as a form of mutual aid, which has deep roots here. There's a long history of this kind of community care, especially around food insecurity. Private companies have also used similar language to describe some of their own efforts. But KQED food writer and columnist Ruth Gebreyesus writes that the values of mutual aid are distinct — and worth protecting. Guest: Ruth Gebreyesus, food reporter and columnist for KQED Arts and Culture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Proposition 25 is the culmination of a long fight over the bail system in California. A win for the "Yes" vote would uphold a law that abolishes cash bail and replaces it with a system that uses "risk assessment" algorithms to help judges decide whether to keep people locked up before trial. A win for the "No" vote would stop these changes and keep cash bail in place. The bail industry is in the "No" camp, but so are some progressive groups who think this new system would also be unjust and want the state legislature to go back to the drawing board on bail reform. That's why the campaign around Prop 25 isn't just about the merits of cash bail — it's about whether or not this is the state's best chance to end it for good. Guest: Marisa Lagos, KQED politics correspondent and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast Click here to check out KQED's California Voter Guide, which includes information on statewide propositions, local measures, and voting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Distance learning is hard enough. And once you get past acquiring the technology needed to make it happen, there’s an additional step for many immigrant families and Indigenous-language speakers: figuring out how to log on and communicate with your teachers. In Oakland Unified School District, where about half of students speak a language other than English at home, supporting all students has been a struggle. Guests: Madeleine Bair, founding director of El Tímpano and Ashley McBride, Education Equity reporter for The Oaklandside You can find the full story at The Oaklandside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Curious is exploring the 12 statewide ballot propositions with its Prop Fest series. Today, we're sharing their guides to Props 16 and 17, which make big decisions on affirmative action and voting while on parole respectively. For more on Bay Curious’ Prop Fest, click here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Latino and immigrant workers keep the economy of "wine country" going. And while many in the Bay Area sheltered in place at the start of the pandemic, farmworkers in Napa and Sonoma counties continued working. Now, the Glass Fire is threatening their livelihoods. Many workers have evacuated, and likely won't get much support from the government to help stabilize their lives. Guest: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED immigration reporter These organizations offer cash assistance to undocumented immigrants in Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties: UndocuFund for Disaster Relief in Sonoma County UpValley Relief Fund (includes Napa and Lake counties) Down Valley Relief Fund (Napa County) Find a full list of organizations providing assistance in Northern California here via the California Immigrant Resilience Fund. Find COVID-19-related resources from the state of California for immigrants in Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Berkeley recently renamed a street after a South Asian activist Kala Bagai. But her story isn’t the typical one you hear about people who get streets or monuments named after them. Nearly 100 years ago, Bagai and her family were driven out of town by racist neighbors who didn’t want them to move in. She and her family eventually left the Bay Area, and a lot of her later activism was the kind of work that didn’t make the headlines. But that’s exactly why some people feel like she’s the perfect person to represent the past and the present. Guest: Barnali Ghosh, curator and community historian with the South Asian Radical History Walking Tour Click here to read a Mar. 12, 2020 op-ed in Berkeleyside by Kala Bagai’s granddaughter, Rani Bagai, about her grandmother’s story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

North Bay journalist Sarah Stierch has become a resource for locals looking for critical fire information, down to their specific block. That’s because when the North Bay was burning in 2017, she knew the streets and roads and homes intimately enough to gain the trust of her neighbors seeking information. But aside from the latest fire reports, she’s also been a compassionate voice for many people during these traumatic times. Guest: Sarah Stierch, writer and freelance journalist in Sonoma Consider supporting Sarah’s work by donating to her Venmo or PayPal accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are still Californians who need to be counted for the 2020 Census. Here in the Bay Area, there’s the extra challenge of making sure we count people who don't have housing and families whose homes have been affected by wildfires. And this matters a lot, because who gets counted will help determine Congressional representation, federal funding, and how we define Bay Area identity for the next 10 years. Guest: Tyche Hendricks, KQED editor and reporter covering immigration and the 2020 Census Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California wasn’t ready for the spike in unemployment since the pandemic. And one big reason is because the agency that handles unemployment benefits has had a lot of problems: dated technology, lack of staffing, and a system that focuses more on stopping fraud than getting people the money they need now. Today, that means 1.6 million Californians are waiting for help while the pandemic rages on. Guest: Mary Franklin Harvin, reporter and producer for KQED’s The California Report. Recommended Reading: How to File for Unemployment in California During the Coronavirus Pandemic State Report Asks for Reforms, but Many May Not See Unemployment Benefits Until January Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state plans to eliminate the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035 in order to keep cutting California's greenhouse gas emissions. Many environmentalists say we need to move even faster — and take bolder steps to ban fracking in our state. So what does this all mean for our climate future? And is this ban a big deal? Guest: Kevin Stark, KQED science reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before the coronavirus, orange skies from wildfires, and huge protests against police violence, housing was the issue in California. But still, even with multiple crises happening at once, so much of what's going on comes back to where we live. In the new podcast 'SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America,' KQED's Molly Solomon and Erin Baldassari explore some of the solutions to our housing shortage that would make a meaningful difference — because we can't afford to wait. Guests: Molly Solomon and Erin Baldassari, KQED housing reporters and co-hosts of SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America Help KQED by telling us about your podcast listening habits! Take our podcast survey here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the 90s, law enforcement groups like police unions, correctional officer unions, and sheriffs' associations have had a huge influence on policing and criminal justice legislation, both in Washington and in Sacramento. This led to laws like the 'three strikes' rule and the 1994 Crime Bill that passed through Congress and was signed by President Clinton. But law enforcement officials aren't speaking with one voice anymore. Some district attorneys want to focus on changing the system and focusing on rehabilitation. And now, a new group of progressive-minded district attorneys in California want to counter the 'tough on crime' voices that have usually held sway. Guest: Marisa Lagos, correspondent for KQED’s California Politics and Government Desk and co-host of the Political Breakdown podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the Tubbs Fire in 2017, Lil Milagro Henriquez felt she had to do more than just tell her students to mask up for the smoky air. She wanted to empower her students to face the challenges of climate change head on. That’s what moved her to found the Mycelium Youth Network, which provides programs that empower Black and brown youth to tap into indigenous ways of living with the land. Guests: Lil Milagro Henriquez, founder and executive director of Mycelium Youth Network, and Phoenix Armenta, educator Recommended Reading: Helping Kids Protect Themselves From Dirty Air, One DIY Filter at a Time More information on Mycelium Youth Network's Apocalyptic Resilience Conference here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sixteen year-old Crista Ramos was in her high school Zoom class when her family got some stressful news: A federal court ruled in favor of ending the humanitarian protection known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The program allows hundreds of thousands of immigrants who fled their home countries, including Crista’s mom, to work and live in the United States. For more than two years, Crista has been a lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against President Trump’s plan to end temporary protected status. With this recent court ruling, more than 400,000 immigrants could lose their TPS status and be deported as early as next March. But Crista vows to keep fighting. Guest: Farida Jabvala Romero, Immigration Reporter for KQED This episode originally aired in February 2019. At the end of the episode, we provide an update on the recent court ruling and how it affects Crista and her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suburbs are some of the most diverse spaces in America. It's one reason why — more and more — they’ve become the backdrop of tensions between police and communities of color. That friction is at the center of a protest over policing in Antioch, where activists went on a hunger strike for five days and are camped out in front of the local police department. Guest: Sandhya Dirks, race and equity reporter for KQED Click here to check out Season 1 of American Suburb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When KQED photojournalist Beth LaBerge woke up to orange skies in San Francisco Wednesday morning, she rushed out the door to document the extraordinary moment. In a year with the coronavirus pandemic, racial justice protests and wildfires, Beth has been on the frontlines documenting it all. And in some ways, it helps her process all that’s been happening. Guest: Beth LaBerge, photojournalist for KQED Click here for a few more of Beth's photos that she's taken for KQED. Resources: Bay Area Air Quality Map What To Pack In Your Emergency Bag What's All This Smoky Air Doing to Your Body? We Asked A Lung Doctor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has set off a chain of events that will make this year’s election in California different from years past. For one, the state can’t bet on its most reliable poll workers — older Californians — to volunteer. On top of that, many traditional polling places have been closed because of the risk of an outbreak. So now the state is mailing all registered voters a ballot. And while that will make voting safer for many people, some will still need to cast their ballots in person. And counties are trying to make sure that those voters don't get left behind. Guest: Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer for KQED’s California politics and government desk Click here for more info on volunteering to be a poll worker in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uncle Bobby Johnson, also known as the People’s Uncle, has been standing up to police brutality ever since his nephew Oscar Grant was shot by a BART police officer in 2009. He's also spent a lot of time supporting families who've lost loved ones to police violence. And today he sees a movement that is much bigger than when he first became an activist more than a decade ago. Guest: Cephus Johnson, aka Uncle Bobby X, founder of the Oscar Grant Foundation and Love Not Blood Campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last eight years, Uber and Lyft have successfully beaten state and local attempts to change its core labor model: treating drivers as independent contractors instead of employees with benefits. Then the pandemic hit. And now, California’s public officials — including state attorney general Xavier Becerra — might actually have the political will to force gig companies to change how they treat their employees. Guest: Sam Harnett, tech and work reporter for KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soon after the pandemic started and Californians began to lose their jobs, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued what he called an 'eviction moratorium' to protect those who couldn’t make rent because of COVID-19. But there are a lot of vulnerable people who were never protected by that order. And since March 4, at least 2,000 California households have been kicked out of their homes. Guest: Matt Levin, housing and data reporter for CalMatters Recommended Reading: Exclusive: More than 1,600 Californians have been evicted during pandemic Newsom Announces New Statewide Eviction Moratorium — But Major Concessions May Threaten Tenants Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fire season doesn't have to be this bad. There are lots of things we can do to prevent more and more extreme wildfires. It'll take a big shift in the way we do things. California has spent decades reacting to and suppressing natural fires, which is one reason why the wildfires we're currently dealing with are so extreme. But it's still possible to rethink our relationship with fire and change our situation for the better. Guest: Danielle Venton, KQED science reporter Recommended Reading: To Manage Wildfire, California Looks to What Tribes Have Known All Along We Can Make California Wildfires Less Horrific. Will We? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is low on firefighters at a really bad time. It’s partially because the state released thousands of incarcerated firefighters to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But it’s also because this system of relying on incarcerated people to help fight fires — which we’ve had since after World War II — isn’t sustainable. Guest: Kevin Stark, KQED science reporter Recommended reading: Rare Honors This Weekend for Inmate Firefighters Killed on the Job Let's Talk About Wildfires and Prisons Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that could ban WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, from operating in the United States. But this potential ban would also have ripple effects on local politics in San Francisco, where about one in five residents are Chinese. Many use the app to talk with family and do business, but also to reach voters and organize around issues like tenants’ rights. So without it, Chinese-speaking residents would lose a pillar of their organizing infrastructure. Guest: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Reporter for KQED For the latest information on wildfires currently happening in the Bay Area, visit kqed.org. The newsroom has also put together resources on protecting against wildfire smoke, along with a resource on what to pack in an emergency bag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2017, Quinn Jasmine Redwoods saw a long line of people at a food distribution center in Oakland. Nobody in line had a mask, even though the most deadly and destructive wildfires in Californian’s history were spreading pollutants into the air. So Redwoods picked up 300 masks at a local store, and created Mask Oakland, a trans/queer led grassroots organization to distribute masks to mostly unhoused and disabled people. And now, fires are burning again — this time, in the middle of a pandemic. Guest: Quinn Jasmine Redwoods, founder of Mask Oakland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People across the state lost power with almost no warning over the weekend, and there’s a risk it could happen again soon. The California Independent Systems Operator instituted rolling power shutoffs to prevent an uncontrolled loss of power, and is asking people to limit how much electricity they're using. But why is this even happening in the first place? Guest: Dan Brekke, KQED editor and reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices