

KQED's The California Report
KQED
KQED's statewide radio news program, providing daily coverage of issues, trends, and public policy decisions affecting California and its diverse population.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 11, 2025 • 11min
Latino Communities Contend with the Mental Health Toll of Increased Immigration Enforcement
Across Latino communities, the fear of arrest has become a part of daily life under stepped up immigration enforcement. Advocates say that constant stress is wearing on people's mental health.. And many are carrying the burden quietly.
Reporter: Anthony Victoria, KVCR
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s attempt to fast-track his administration’s proposal for a 45-mile-long tunnel under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta failed to pass the Legislature.
Reporter: Ezra David Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 10, 2025 • 11min
Trump Administration's Shift On Homelessness Leaves California In Limbo
For two decades, the nation’s solution to homelessness has been pretty straightforward: get people into housing. This approach is known as Housing First, and in California it’s even written into state law. But this summer, President Trump signed an executive order reversing this policy, turning a California mandate into a liability.
Reporter: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED
The Garnet Fire east of Fresno has burned more than 56,000 acres, and has reached the McKinley Grove of Giant Sequoias.
Reporter: Kerry Klein, KVPR
A San Diego law firm filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement – arguing that federal agents are breaking the law when they arrest asylum seekers at immigration court.
Reporter: Gustavo Solis, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 9, 2025 • 10min
Immigrant Advocates Vow To Continue Fight Despite Supreme Court Ruling
Immigrant communities across Southern California are once again on edge after the US Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration’s roving immigration sweeps can continue. There could be broad implications from Monday's ruling.
Reporter: Wendy Fry, CalMatters
Business owners in the Bay Area, and across the state, have been following the dramatic workplace immigration raids in Southern California. That’s left many wondering what to do if ICE shows up at their place of business.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 8, 2025 • 10min
California's Aging Farm Labor Work Force Leaves Questions About The Future Of Agriculture
California’s farm labor force is aging and younger generations aren’t stepping in to fill those jobs. At the same time, agriculture itself is changing with new technology and immigration enforcement, leaving big questions about the future of the industry.
Reporter: Madi Bolanos, The California Report
John Burton, a towering figure in California politics, has died at the age of 92. A family member confirmed his death to KQED.
Reporter: Scott Shafer, KQED
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Sep 5, 2025 • 11min
Central Valley Coffee Shop Training The Next Baristas
Climate change and tariffs may be shaking up the coffee industry. But young people are still abuzz these days about specialty drinks like lattes and macchiatos. And a Merced coffee shop is even giving this industry a boost, by training more people to serve up the delicious drinks.
Reporter: Rachel Livinal, KVPR
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed suit against Southern California Edison, over its alleged role in starting a pair of deadly wildfires.
Reporter: Dan Brekke, KQED
A bill that would have created career pathways for incarcerated firefighters was shelved by a Senate committee on Thursday.
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Sep 4, 2025 • 11min
Debate Over Key Climate Change Program Continues In Sacramento
At the state capitol, negotiations are heating up over California's signature program to fight climate change. It's called cap and trade, and the state uses it to cap greenhouse gas emissions. But the program expires in 2030, and lawmakers are debating how to extend the program amid rising energy costs and concerns about the closure of oil refineries.
Guest: Guy Marzorati, KQED
California, Oregon, and Washington are forming a health alliance to issue their own vaccine recommendations. The move comes in response to the Trump administration’s changing vaccine guidance.
Reporter: Lesley McClurg, KQED
A major new immigration detention facility has quietly opened in California’s Mojave Desert. But advocates say the private prison company that owns it has not obtained permits to operate.
Reporter: Tyche Hendricks, KQED
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Sep 3, 2025 • 10min
Sonoma Wineries Prepare For Possible Impacts from Immigration Enforcement
The federal budget allocated a record-setting $170 billion for immigration enforcement. The money is set to go toward expanding detention facilities and hiring new agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After pledging in June to protect the agriculture industry from crackdowns, President Trump reversed course a few days later. Now, as California’s annual grape harvest begins, the state’s wine community is on edge.
Reporter: Tina Caputo
The only emergency room in a rural North State county is closing its doors on October 21. Glenn Medical Center serves some 30,000 people in Glenn County but federal regulators have pulled its funding.
Reporter: Sarina Grossi, North State Public Radio
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Sep 2, 2025 • 11min
Volunteers Help Monitor For ICE Activity Near Where Day Laborers Gather
Hundreds of volunteers in California are getting up early in the morning to stand at corners where day laborers wait for jobs. The goal? To watch out for ICE.
Reporter: Farida Jhabvala Romero, KQED
Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new taskforce to clear homeless encampments in California.
Reporter: Marisa Kendall, CalMatters
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Sep 1, 2025 • 11min
Dolores Huerta On The State Of Worker's Rights In California
On this Labor Day, we're taking a closer look at the labor force here in California. With increased immigration enforcement from the Trump administration, the state of the immigrant workforce has perhaps never been more in flux.
Guest: Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder of United Farm Workers, President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 29, 2025 • 11min
Modesto Loses Its Longtime Minor League Baseball Team
Minor league baseball has a rich history in California, going back more than a century. But minor league baseball is changing. Like other professional sports, it has become a big-money game, attracting owners looking to cash in on rising team values. One Central Valley city is witnessing what that big-money game looks like firsthand, as its longtime team plays its last few home games, before moving to Southern California.
Reporter: Keith Mizuguchi, The California Report
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