Crosscurrents

Residents of the agricultural town of Pescadero in San Mateo County have long dealt with the issue of flooding. But what happens when each solution spells an issue for their neighbors?

Today, we'll hear how residents of an agricultural townare working towards solutions to flooding. Then, a local photojournalist who has been documenting the immigration raids.

For more than a decade, photographer Pablo Unzueta has used his camera to capture the rich cultural and political tapestry of ordinary people for San Francisco's El Tecolote Newspaper.

The night sky can remind us that we're very small. And part of something very big. The same can be true of poetry too. Here's Dr. Naomi Helena Quinonez reading her poem, “Sometimes the Moon.”

Today, how one Humboldt County restaurant experienced an outpouring of love, and help, from their community in the wake of flood damage. Then, what went wrong at Oakland's Wood Street Community Cabins? And, a poem for the people who keep going, even when it feels impossible.

King Salmon is an unincorporated community on the southern edge of Eureka, CA. But three to four times a year “King Tides” roll in. And when those tides combine with the heavy rain, it's not uncommon for buildings in King Salmon to flood with a foot or more of water.

A homeless shelter in Oakland closed this week. But things did not go as expected—here's how.

Disappointment can feel so big, it's overwhelming. Today, a poem for the people who keep going, even when it feels impossible. Here's East Oakland poet Tiny Gray-Garcia aka Poverty Skola, reading "this poem is in honor of homeless mothers.” 

Today, an Oakland basketball legend talks about visibility on and off the court. And we hear from a former USA paraolympics women's basketball coach.

Today we're re-airing a story from tbh that first came out in 2020. It's all about the power of sports to bring people together and why one athlete doesn't want to be called “inspirational.” 

Today, we meet members of a riverside community who are grappling with an uncertain — and expensive — future. Then, we hear from teens on what the land back movement means to them.

Residents of a riverside community in Napa County are being forced to confront sea level rise — and conflicts about how to build for the future.

Today we're bringing you a story from tbh, our podcast by, about and for teenagers. It's a look at Berkeley's landmark decision last year to return a sacred Shellmound site to the Sogorea Te Land Trust, through the eyes of young indigenous folks. And it just won a Public Media Journalists Association Award! 

Walking in San Francisco has its joys – but also its dangers. We hear what safety advocates have tried to do to tip the scales. Then, an author takes us back to the gay scene in 1990's SF. Plus, the Conservatory of Flowers' corpse flower recently bloomed, but what's next? 

San Francisco is a pretty small city. Despite those 48 hills, it's a fun place to walk. But it's not always safe. In 2024 pedestrian fatalities hit a 10-year high. Now advocates are pushing for change. 

Old movies bring together gay San Franciscan's in Christopher Tradowsky's "Midnight at the Cinema Palace." Tradowsky pulls from his own experience of 90s San Francisco to tell the story of three friends.

On Tuesday evening the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers announced that their corpse flower, named Chanel, was beginning its bloom. KALW's Wren Farrell took a look at the program last year when the Academy's corpse flower ‘Mirage' had its own bloom. Here's that story.

Getting out of prison is often called 'going home.' But when people have been away from it for so long, the idea of home can be complicated. In this episode host Greg Eskridge shares three stories from Uncuffed producers about finding home in unexpected places.

Today, one man's hope for the future after 25 years in prison. And jokes bring joy to the men at San Quentin. Then, a Pixar animator takes on her inner critic. 

Mandrell Knight spent more years of his life incarcerated than free. Now, he's rewriting his story to prove his past doesn't define his future.

Uncuffed producer Matt Sheppard is also a comedian. He shares some jokes from a memorable stand-up performance at the prison. 

Have you ever tried to do something really important, but you hear that annoying, negative voice inside that tears you down? Award-winning filmmaker Masha Ellsworth captures that feeling of struggling with a tormenting, inner critic in her animated-short "Little t.”

Today, we meet a local mandolin ensemble. Then, the Supreme Court's history of resistance to Black progress. And, we'll hear some readings from local fiction writers.

Mandolin orchestras were everywhere during the early 20th Century. It turns out that the Bay Area is the birthplace of a mandolin super-group founded by a man who doesn't even play the instrument. He wanted to honor the memory of a Jewish mandolin ensemble whose members perished in the Holocaust.

Writer and scholar Brando Simeo Starkey's new book, “Their Accomplices Wore Robes,” follows the US Supreme Court from the Civil War to today. He makes the case that time and again the Supreme Court has chosen white supremacy over racial fairness.

Here are some readings from our series New Arrivals, a pocket-sized book tour with Bay Area authors. Today we're featuring a collection of fiction writers.

Today, the public and private partnerships in the city's policing. Then, a hip-hop musical about Oakland's spirit. And, reading Plato in prison gave one man a new perspective.

Last month the San Francisco's police commission approved a plan to incorporate the largest donation ever made to SFPD. What does the city stand to gain, or lose, from partnering with wealthy donors?

RyanNicole is an actress and Grammy-nominated hip hop artist who co-wrote and co-stars in the musical “Co-Founders.” In it one young brilliant coder is trying to save her childhood home in West Oakland by succeeding in the tech world. 

Poet Danni Blackman brings us this piece, that's also their visual artist name, “Decomposing Mystic.” This one is all about finding forgiveness, especially for yourself. 

Uncuffed producer André Davis recognizes himself in Plato's allegory of the cave.

Today on Crosscurrents, we bring you one of our favorite episodes of The Stoop Podcast. In it we meet Ayanna Davis to learn what it means to be "Phenomenally Autistic." And, why Black people with autism are diagnosed later in life. Check out more from The Stoop Podcast here!

Today, It's a new episode of BOUNCE: The Valkyries's First Season In The Bay. This time, we hear from players and coaches on the WNBA's rapid growth. And, as the league's popularity continues to rise, we ask if player salaries will too?

Today, how poetry can invite us to celebrate the threads that connect us to one another. And, the history, hard work, and personal stories of caregiving in America. 

This is Sidewalk Stories, where we hear from unhoused people about how they survive and build a life outside. Sometimes “survival” looks like maintaining an identity apart from homelessness, whether that's a paid job, a network of friends and family, or cultivating a creative practice. In celebration of Pride month, this segment of Sidewalk Stories features the work of two queer, unhoused poets. 

Caregiving is one of the most important acts of love you can give someone. But we don't always get to choose when and how we take on the role. And while it can be intimate, and rewarding, it can also be tough. Chris Durrance tackles these themes in the PBS documentary "Caregiving." 

Rose Aguilar is the host of KALW's “Your Call.” She shared some of her personal caregiving experiences, along with some advice for the event participants, on how to navigate their own journeys with caregiving.

Today we'll meet the Haitian pastor trying to advise his flock in these uncertain times. Then Oakland's first Haitian restaurant serves up some hearty, braised goodness. And, a multicultural choir comes together to sing classical Arabic music.

Pastor Stevenson Noel heads a community church in the North Bay, and estimates about 5000 Haitians living in the Bay Area. He says his congregation is living in fear and confusion.

The Bay Area is home to thousands of Haitians. In this segment of our Diaspora stories, Crosscurrents host, Hana Baba went to visit one whose restaurant was  named one of the tastiest restaurants in the Bay Area by the SF Chronicle.

The Arabic music ensemble Aswat is based in the city and plays classical Arab standards in concerts throughout the Bay Area. But you don't have to know the language to participate.Non-Arabic speaking Americans make up half of the choir members and musicians, and that's part of the mission: to spread a love for Arabic music that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Decades after a traumatic childhood - the host of Uncuffed finally gets to ask his mother a question. Then, we'll hear from women in prison on cargiving from the inside.