The Bay

As an anxious, homeschooled kid, Mychal Threets found a haven in his local public library. Now he’s a librarian in Fairfield, and he’s recently become famous for talking about his passion for books and libraries on TikTok. In this episode we’re re-running from Rightnowish, host Pendarvis Harshaw and producer Marisol Medina-Cadena talk to Threets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, Oakland returned 5 acres of Joaquin Miller Park to the Sogorea Te’ land trust and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, marking the first time a Bay Area city has given land back to Native Americans.Despite no significant opposition to this plan, the process took more than 5 years. So what does it actually take to give land back?This episode originally aired on Nov. 28, 2022.Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last summer, Ericka told a story live on stage at KQED, at an event hosted by the San Francisco chapter of the Asian American Journalists’ Association called “Hella Asian.”It’s a story about a camping trip she went on with her best friend during the pandemic. It’s also a story about the mental impact of the news, and her sense of safety as attacks on Asians were in the headlines. Today, we’re sharing that story again.This episode originally aired on Aug. 8, 2022.This episode was produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With thousands of people taking to the streets on either side of the issue of Israel’s siege of Gaza, how are the Bay Area’s representatives in Congress weighing their position on the issue?Links:Apply to be our intern!This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Guy Marzorati, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January, a gunman killed 7 farmworkers at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay. Months later, one community group has been trying to use accordion classes as a way to help farmworkers heal from the trauma.Links: Apply to be our intern! Episode transcript This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A quarter of California’s carbon emissions come from homes and buildings -- from the appliances we use to keep ourselves warm and our families fed. In this episode of KQED’s Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America, we head to a neighborhood in Oakland that is taking a revolutionary approach to reducing their emissions: by electrifying together, all at once. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next week, San Francisco is hosting its largest international event since 1945. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference — or APEC — is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors and foreign dignitaries to the city. With lots to prove to its guests, including President Joe Biden, San Francisco has ramped up preparations that have already affected local residents.Links: Apply to be our intern! APEC 2023 San Francisco City Guide   KQED: From Street Closures to Security Checks, What to Know About SF APEC 2023 This episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As red states pass laws targeting transgender rights and LGBTQ-inclusive education, conservatives in the South Bay have formed their own strategy: focusing on local, nonpartisan school board races.Episode transcriptThis episode was produced by Maria Esquinca and Alan Montecillo, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foster City is home to one of the largest annual gatherings of Palestinians in the Bay Area. It’s also where Councilmember Sam Hindi holds office as the only current elected official of Palestinian heritage in the region.Today, we talk with Hindi about how the war in Gaza has affected him — as an elected official, as a father, and as a Palestinian-American.This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo and Maria Esquinca, and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.Episode transcript Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has lifted a decades-old ban on lowrider cruising. The state, widely understood as the birthplace of lowrider culture, has also historically been unfriendly to it. For decades, lowriding was blamed for traffic and alleged connections to gang violence. KQED’s Paloma Yaritza Abarca explains the years-long fight by community members to let their cars ride freely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices