Shows / Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents is KALW Public Radio's award-winning news magazine, broadcasting in the Bay Area Mondays through Thursdays on 91.7 FM. We make joyful, informative stories that engage people across the economic, social, and cultural divides in our community.
Episodes
- Crosscurrents
How public transit agencies are addressing harassment
A campaign in the South Bay works to address rider harassment on public transportation.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Turning Trials Into Art
In Oakland, two musicians are inspired by the urban ecology of the Town. Then, we go to Mill Valley, where a play uses humor to discuss alcoholism.
- Crosscurrents
Maria BC and Kathryn Mohr craft soundscapes inspired by Oakland
In Oakland, the borders between the natural and human worlds offer a new way of making music.
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: 'The White Chip' play uses humor to address alcoholism and recovery
A play that uses comedy and compassion to address alcoholism is coming to the Marin Theater.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Feeling the Impact of Federal Limits to Student Work Visas
The Federal Government is now forcing universities to limit the rights of their international students. Today, we hear a conversation about how this affects UC…
- Crosscurrents
UC Berkeley forced to shut down work program for foreign students
Bay Area college students have been back in school for less than a month now. At UC Berkeley, immigration is coming up as part of the back to school experience…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: 'Crushing' takes real, pretty and messy stories about love to the A.C.T. stage
The stage show “Crushing” is all about love- and it’s returning to San Francisco at the A.C.T. Strand Theater. In the show, 10 artists step up to the mic and…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE Ep.7: Connecting Through Sports
For the past few weeks, we’ve been bringing you episodes of BOUNCE, KALW’s sports podcast that’s following the rise of women’s professional sports in the Bay…
- Crosscurrents
For the Love of Water
Humans have an innate attraction to water... But why? Today, we hear from Bay Area author, Bonnie Tsui, about 'Why We Swim.' Then, how free swim lessons are…
- Crosscurrents
tbh: Teens Rapping Underground
tbh is KALW’s podcast that’s made by, for, and about teenagers and it’s back! In the first episode of the newest season we’re going underground to meet the…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: How the WNBA’s ‘glass closet’ cracked in Sacramento
The WNBA has a reputation for embracing LGBTQ+ players and fans… but that wasn’t always the case. Today, the history behind the WNBA’s “glass closet era.” But…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Surveillance Pricing and You
Companies are using your browsing history, and other information about you, to customize the prices you see online. Today, how companies use your data to…
- Crosscurrents
How companies use your data to set prices
If you've ever wondered why the same flight, hotel room, or grocery item seems to cost a different amount depending on who's buying it, you’re not imagining…
- Crosscurrents
Oldest San Francisco: Suicide prevention hotline
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In San Francisco, at an undisclosed location, in a non-descript building, people have been saving lives with…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The History of Labor and Transit
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a powerful organizing force in the Bay Area, and it all got its start more than 90 years ago. Today, the…
- Crosscurrents
Public Labor: 90 Years of Radical Solidarity with the ILWU
Over the years, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, or ILWU, has thrown their weight behind many causes. Like in 2020, they shut down the ports…
- Crosscurrents
The history of San Francisco through the lens of Muni photographers
San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency, or SFMTA, is 100% unionized. The 6,000 public servants who work with the agency are represented by 18…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The New Deal Hides in Plain Sight
The Berkeley Rose Garden is a beautiful place, but did you know it was built during FDR’s “New Deal” in the ‘30s? The New Deal is still all around us today —…
- Crosscurrents
Oakland government corruption trial moving forward
The federal corruption trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her former live-in partner, and a prominent local father-son team of businessmen, appears set…
- Crosscurrents
Public Space: New Deal history hides among the roses
The current administration has made it their goal to shrink the federal government. But many of the impacted agencies were actually created from a belief in a…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: Tracing the History of the San Francisco Pioneers
Today, we're rolling it way back to meet the first professional women's basketball players in the Bay. It’s Bay Area women’s basketball history with the living…
- Crosscurrents
Coyote Media: doing away with 'old, tired ethics'
One of the Bay Area’s youngest journalism organizations is about to turn one. Coyote Media Collective launched last September 2025, in the midst of shrinking…
- Crosscurrents
The revolutionary act of repair
Repair events, where handy volunteers fix things for free, are becoming popular in the Bay Area. Recently, KALW climate reporter Mary Catherine O’Connor hosted…
- Crosscurrents
Building community at the Richmond tool library
The work of keeping things from ending up at the garbage dump involves repair, which in a lot of cases involves tools. But buying tools can be expensive — and…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Repairing and Sharing
Coyote Media Collective launched last year as a news organization that wanted to switch up what journalism looked like. From their worker-owned model, to their…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Back-to-School Season
There’s a new teacher in San Francisco classrooms. And she’s an AI bot…but not everyone is on board. Today, we hear how this reading tool is working. And, the…
- Crosscurrents
State of the Bay: SF Back-to-School
It’s back to school season in the Bay Area, and San Francisco’s public school system is also hoping for a fresh start on some old issues. Dr. Maria Su has led…
- Crosscurrents
Meet Amira: The AI program teaching San Francisco kids how to read
There’s a new instructor measuring how well San Francisco’s first and second graders can read. Her name is Amira and she’s an AI bot. Teachers today are…
- Crosscurrents
Audiograph: Philip & Sala Burton High School Band
Long time listeners will know that KALW has a special relationship with the San Francisco Unified School District. Not only do they hold our broadcast license…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The Cool, Gray, Sound of Love
In 1987, in an act of love, a man recorded fog horns from Lands End in San Francisco. Now, that recording has captured the hearts and imaginations of thousands…
- Crosscurrents
A 1987 recording keeps San Francisco’s fog horns alive
There’s a world of sound that doesn’t really exist anymore, and there’s a recording made on the water’s edge in San Francisco over 40 years old that captures…
- Crosscurrents
Audiograph: The sonic signature of the Bay's Wave Organ
At the western edge of the Marina District, there’s another sound unique to San Francisco. Stretched out on a point in the water, you’ll find the Wave Organ: a…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: Reflecting on 30 years of the WNBA
Today, we hear from three very different fans and athletes as they reflect on 30 years of the WNBA. Plus, the Valkyries are back in the playoffs!
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Uncuffed's 'Dance Dance Revolution'
There’s a lot of cultural expectations around dancing… Especially in prison. But on today’s newest episode of Uncuffed - we’ll hear stories about how dancing…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Preserving the History of Power Through Art
Some local businesses see the value in preserving trades that are still done by hand. Today, we hear about a hand-painted-sign renaissance in San Francisco…
- Crosscurrents
Hand-painted signage is having a local renaissance
When you walk around San Francisco, you’re bound to notice the architecture, murals, and even graffiti… But some of the art surrounding you is not as obvious…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: 'Conjuring Power: Roots & Futures of Queer & Trans Movements' exhibition
One new exhibit wants to celebrate the history of power in San Francisco's LGBT+ communities. It’s called “Conjuring Power: Roots and Futures of Queer and…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Tuning in to the Music Inside
One Christian rapper says music helped her survive addiction, abuse, and homelessness. Today, how music and faith became her path to recovery. Then, one…
- Crosscurrents
Bay Area Beats: 'God gave me my music back’ — LT Finesse on faith, addiction and healing
Music was always part of Natia Woodfork's life. Growing up in San Jose, music became the language her family spoke. She started writing poetry as a kid and…
- Crosscurrents
Notes from the Edge: Valerie June shows us 'a gentler way of being in the world'
Music… it’s part of our celebrations, our devotions… our joy, and our hard times. Musician Valerie June knows all about that. She wrote the anthem “Working…
- Crosscurrents
Flipside Lovers and South Bay cruising
We are halfway through August and that means San Jose is entering Low Rider season. From influential publications, and generational car clubs, the city is one…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: Changing the Game
The Bay Area is full of fans of women’s professional sports, and they have a lot of questions. Today, KALW’s sports podcast, BOUNCE, is here to answer them.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Finding Human Connection Through Song
A new sound exhibit at Grace Cathedral lets visitors experience what the bells hear. Today, the Cathedral’s artist in residence talks about the fifty years…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: Sound sculpture artist Bill Fontana
When Bill Fontana sees a still object, he doesn’t just notice what it looks like, he wonders what it sounds like. He asks himself, “what does it hear?” Bill is…
- Crosscurrents
CircleSinging brings connection through group improvisation
Grace Cathedral is a place where people gather around sound. They host organ recitals, sound baths and of course choirs. And it's where Bay Area singer and…
- Crosscurrents
Keeping history alive and ringing
Most days, the corner of Green Street and Van Ness Avenue, in San Francisco.. sounds like any other place in the city — Cars, joggers, the occasional barking…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Sustaining Ourselves, and Community, Through Comedy
Today, we go behind the scenes of the local comedy scene. Then, an improv theater celebrates 40 years of encouraging actors to do what comes naturally to them…
- Crosscurrents
The Bay Agenda: Making a Scene — Exploring the Bay Area Comedy Landscape
The Bay Area comedy scene has given us many gifts: A robust improv ecosystem fostered sketch comedy for a national stage, and nurtured stand up comedians for…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: BATS Improv co-founder William Hall on the theater turning 40
Brian Lohmann, co-founded Bay Area Theater Sports or BATS. It’s the largest and longest-running improvised theater company in Northern California. And this…
- Crosscurrents
Laughing through the fear: Comedians find power in humor
Humor can be a source of laughter and - a form of political resistance. It’s a scary time for many immigrants in this country right now and it may feel weird…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Freedom Needs a Soundtrack Ep.4 — The First Concert
Today, we’re gonna go back 30 years to a moment when major artists came together for nonviolence, freedom, and Tibet: The Tibetan Freedom Concerts. In the…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: A New Generation of Opportunity in Girls Flag Football
Girls flag football is growing, and opening doors for players that didn’t exist just a few years ago. Today, we explore why coaches, athletes, and major brands…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Uncuffed's 'More Than A Game'
Today, a new episode of Uncuffed that’s all sports, play, and the pleasure of competition. We’ve got stories from the track and the chess board. Plus, life…
- Crosscurrents
Fixing What’s Broken to Give it New Life
Today, we meet the people who fix broken but beloved belongings. And, we get an update on the federal corruption trial of recalled former Oakland Mayor Sheng…
- Crosscurrents
Sex, bribes, and phone tape: An update on Oakland's corruption scandal
This October, the trial of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, her boyfriend, Andre Jones, and prominent local businessmen David and Andy Duong is set to begin…
- Crosscurrents
The Stoop: Bury Me Whole
August is National Minority Donor Awareness month. It's a month for raising awareness of organ donation and transplantation in communities of color. Studies…
- Crosscurrents
Fixit Clinics turn consumers into fixers
Here’s a question for you- if you have something around your house that needs fixing- an appliance, a device… What do you do? Fix it or ditch it? If you do…
- Crosscurrents
New Arrivals: Mike Huguenor chronicles iconic indy label Asian Man Records
New Arrivals is KALW's pocket sized book tour of Bay Area Authors. Mike Huguenor lives in San Jose. His book, "Elvis is Dead, I’m Still Alive: The Story of…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The Lasting Fallout from Local Immigration Court Closures
The closure of San Francisco’s immigration courts has had big ramifications. Today, we get an update on how immigrants are navigating an increasingly difficult…
- Crosscurrents
Move to Concord immigration court proving chaotic for judges, asylum seekers
On May first, the Trump administration closed its main immigration court in San Francisco's Financial District. That follows months of clashes outside the…