The Bay

Formerly incarcerated people who can’t find work after prison face a 50 percent chance of returning to prison. Those who do find work have a better chance of staying out. San Quentin State Prison, California’s oldest prison, has several programs such as arts, continuing education and electronics training to help inmates prepare for life outside its walls. One of these programs, Quentin Cooks, helps inmates learn kitchen skills and get certified to work in the food service industry after they get out of prison. But there are challenges that rehabilitation and transitional programs can’t prepare you for — the shock of being released into a Bay Area that looks and feels very different from the one you left. Guest: Mary Franklin Harvin, KQED reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cost of going to prison is both personal and financial. That’s exacerbated by the price of phone calls from the inside. In San Francisco, a 15-minute phone call can cost $2.10. Other jails charge about $5. And it's often the family and friends of incarcerated people who pay these fees; often they are women of color and low-income people. So, San Francisco plans to eliminate fees for phone calls from jails, and will stop marking up the cost of items such as toiletries and food at the commissary. The proposal is personal for Mayor London Breed whose family members have served time in jail. She sees it as a form of rehabilitation that can improve inmate behavior and help people reenter society. Guest: Marisa Lagos, correspondent for KQED’s Politics and Government Desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Surreal" is the word Paradise High School seniors used over and over again to describe their graduation months after the deadly Camp Fire that leveled most of the town. Most of the students lost homes in the fire, the most deadly and destructive fire in recorded California history. Last week's ceremony was the first time most students had set foot on campus since they were forced to evacuate. We hear from students whose sense of normalcy was restored, at least for an evening. Guest: Jeremy Siegel, KQED reporter Click the "listen" button above to hear the interview. Or find the episode on your favorite podcast app. Read Jeremy's story about twins Kirsten-Grace and Nicholas Baker graduating together from Paradise High, and see photos of the moving graduation ceremony. Subscribe to The Bay on any of your favorite podcast apps to hear more local, Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One, or via Alexa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The teachers strike at the New Haven School District in Union City and South Hayward has been going on for two weeks now. Unlike more recent teachers strikes around the Bay Area, New Haven’s comes at the end of the school year when students are supposed to take final exams and graduate. So if there’s no agreement, what does that mean for students? Guest: Joseph Geha, reporter for the East Bay Times and Mercury News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s hard enough to live, work and survive in the Bay Area. But people whose work is their passion often make additional sacrifices to do what they love. Many of you shared stories of “passion exploitation” after KQED Arts published an article in March about how San Francisco’s Apple store paid in-store performers with merchandise instead of cash. It turns out there’s research that shows creative people can be vulnerable to passion exploitation. Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, music editor with KQED Arts. Click the "listen" button above to hear the interview with Nastia, or find the episode on your favorite podcast app. If you would like to share your story with Nastia and KQED, complete this short survey. Subscribe to The Bay on any of your favorite podcast apps to hear more local, Bay Area stories like this one. New episodes are released Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 a.m. Find The Bay on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, NPR One, or via Alexa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not uncommon to see people struggling with mental health in San Francisco. People experiencing the trauma of homelessness often have their worst days unfold on city streets. San Francisco supervisors plan to introduce a November ballot proposal this week to let voters decide whether to offer universal mental health care for all residents. It would make San Francisco one of the first cities in the nation to do this. The city's homeless are top of mind, but so are everyday San Franciscans who have trouble accessing care -- even with insurance. Guest: April Dembosky, KQED health reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A series of police shootings in Vallejo over the last few years has mobilized residents to city hall in protest. This week, the families of Angel Ramos, Willie McCoy, and Ronnell Foster -- three men of color shot and killed by Vallejo police -- demanded truth, justice and accountability from the department. Vallejo, a city of about about 120,000 people and one of the most racially-diverse cities in America, is right across the Bay from the politically-active cities of Oakland and San Francisco. Vallejo residents have vowed to continue protesting until justice is served, and people are starting to pay attention. Guest: Otis Taylor Jr., Metro Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Bay Area cities clear homeless encampments, proponents of such plans often say they're trying to fix a public health issue, or that encampments have become too unsafe or unhealthy. But some are making the case that treating housing as an issue of public health is more effective. Dr. Joshua Bamberger says it doesn't matter what medicines he prescribes -- they won't help if his patient doesn't have a home. Guest: Dr. Joshua Bamberger, associate clinical professor of family and community medicine and UC San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Tonya Mosley thinks about conversations she's had with friends and family about race, she's usually asking for advice. Now, there's a podcast for that -- and Tonya is hosting it. Truth Be Told is a show about race created for people of color, by people of color. The episodes tackle topics like colonized desire and well-meaning white folks. It also taps into the expertise of 'wise ones,' people of color with a wealth of knowledge from lived experience. But why an advice podcast -- and why now? Listen to Truth be Told on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or NPR One Guest: Tonya Mosley, host of Truth Be Told Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Jose has undergone dramatic change since the Sharks first came to the city in 1993. The population has spiked to more than 1 million, the median home price is $1 million, and the SAP Center (Shark Tank) isn't the only development getting attention anymore. The region's identity has become intertwined with the tech boom that's changing San Jose. But at least one thing has remained the same: the city's love for its professional ice hockey team. Guest: Brian Watt, host of KQED's Morning Edition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices