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
The Spiritual Edge: Fearless Nuns
Today, in a story from The Spiritual Edge we'll meet two Catholic nuns who, after decades of work with immigrant detainees, aren’t slowing down. They attend…
- Crosscurrents
Project Homekey / Church Of Coltrane / New Arrivals: Kim Shuck
A state grant is helping San Francisco achieve its ambitious goals on homelessness. Then, how one church uses the music of John Coltrane at the center of their…
- Crosscurrents
Sacred Steps: A Mennonite Couple Turn Street Ministry Into Song
Today, in a story from The Spiritual Edge, we'll meet Al and Andi Tauber, married singer-songwriters who direct music for a congregation of urban Mennonites in…
- Crosscurrents
The Wildfire Litigation Industry / Dangerous Air / New Arrivals: Stephanie M. Wildman
When towns face the destruction of wildfires, many outsiders rush in to help. Today, we hear how some residents are questioning whether these newcomers have…
- Crosscurrents
Firefighter Training Risks / Pittsburg Unified Lawsuit / New Arrivals: Annalee Newitz
Today, we learn how seasonal firefighters are getting sick, and even dying, during training. Then, we talk about how the ACLU is suing an East Bay school…
- Crosscurrents
Throwback: Audiophiles — The Magic Of RadioLab
It's throwback Thursday, so today we're going back to the early days of Crosscurrents to bring you a classic from our Audiophiles: conversations with the most…
- Crosscurrents
The Spiritual Edge: Calling On Ancient Maya Wisdom
Today, in a story from the Spiritual Edge, we meet Rosalina Tuyuc. The Guatemalan civil war took her father, husband, and more relatives — her Maya indigenous…
- Crosscurrents
THE INTERSECTION: The Sidewalk Chef Of The Tenderloin
Today, we’re looking back at season one of “The Intersection,” exploring cities one street corner at a time. In this episode, we go to Golden Gate and…
- Crosscurrents
Throwback: The Stoop / Snap Judgment / 99% Invisible
Today we’re featuring stories from podcasts that got their start right here in the Bay Area in partnership with KALW. First, it’s The Stoop featuring voices…
- Crosscurrents
Turkey's Independant Radio Station / An Ode To Morse Code / Aladdin Radio Repair
Today, we’re putting a lot of beeps and other sounds on the air, as we honor the medium that has given our lives so much: radio. We're going to ride the radio…
- Crosscurrents
He Started A Movement To #StopAAPIHate
Former President Trump labeled COVID-19 the "China Virus" and "Kung Flu." Since then, violence targeting Asian Americans has surged.
- Crosscurrents
Prescribing Parks As Medicine / Betty Reid Soskin Turns 100 / New Arrivals: Mike Chen
Today we answer the question, what if your doctor prescribed you a walk in the park instead of a pill? Doctors in San Mateo County are part of a program that's…
- Crosscurrents
Guerilla Art Projection / Director Of Barbara Lee Documentary / New Arrivals: Jennifer Worley
Today, we talk about the guerilla art installations that went up across the Bay Area last spring. We will learn more about the Dear America project and why a…
- Crosscurrents
What Is A Good Death? / Translating Jewish Mystical Text
Today, we hear from a hairdresser in North Carolina as she contemplates the end of life. Now her mission is to get other people to think about it. Then, on the…
- Crosscurrents
Gray Davis Reflects On His Recall / Supporting Teen Mental Health
Many of the Bay Area’s public high schools reopened last month after almost a year and a half of remote learning. Today, we learn how a lost year of lockdown…
- Crosscurrents
Heat-Related Illness And Death / The Intersection: Homeless In Googleville
Today, we hear how California has laws meant to protect workers from heat, but people are still falling victim to hot days. We look at the numbers to find out…
- Crosscurrents
COVID-19 Is Exposing The Caregiving Crisis, Leaving Disabled People And Their Families Desperate
For the last 50 years, people with developmental disabilities have had the right to live the same kind of lives as people without disabilities. But when the…
- Crosscurrents
Disability Visibility In Medicine
Today, we hear how bias against people with disabilities exists in hospitals and across California's pandemic response and meet advocates on the front lines of…
- Crosscurrents
Breaking Health Insurance Boundaries / Death Cafes
Today, we learn about a program in San Mateo that keeps people out of nursing homes and off the streets and how California's Medi-Cal program is trying to…
- Crosscurrents
Housing As Healthcare / Artist As First Responder / New Arrivals: Leticia Hernandez
Today on Crosscurrents, we hear about what happens when you integrate housing, and public healthcare. We speak with Dr. Josh Bamberger about how the pandemic…
- Crosscurrents
Shelter-In-Place Hotels For Seniors / Education Budget Windfall / New Arrivals: Christine Peck
Today, a nurse practitioner takes us inside one of San Francisco's shelter-in-place hotels, and we hear from one of the hotel's guests about how regular…
- Crosscurrents
Lost Learning / The Cost Of Internships / New Arrivals: Lou Cook
Today we ask, how much learning did K-12 students lose because of COVID-19 and is that what matters most? We discuss balancing academic catch up against…
- Crosscurrents
Wildfires & COVID-19 / Water Rights / Oakland Poet Paul Corman Roberts
Today, we hear how wildfire smoke makes COVID-19 cases worse and how it affects some families more than others. Then, we get an update on the state’s wildfire…
- Crosscurrents
Delta Variant And Vaccine Boosters Update / @Work: Forensic Diver / New Arrivals: Jaimal Yogis
Today, we hear from UCSF’s Bob Wachter on how the best practices for Covid-19 keep changing as we learn more about the pandemic. We listen to the latest…
- Crosscurrents
Lake Merritt Street Vendors / DJ Umami
When the pandemic increased unemployment in the Bay Area, some Oaklanders turned to street vending at Lake Merritt to make ends meet. Today, we hear how…
- Crosscurrents
Afghan Community In Fremont / Roots Of Peace Works To Evacuate Staff From Afghanistan / Quilter Amy Ahlstrom
Today, we head to Fremont’s “Little Kabul” to hear how Afghan Americans are responding to America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Then, in San Rafael, a non…
- Crosscurrents
Sacred Steps: An Evangelical Professor And Her Students Inside A Maximum Security Prison
COVID-19 prison lockdowns prevented family and friends from visiting the nation's nearly two million prisoners, and they shut down education programs. At a…
- Crosscurrents
Mirikitani Memorial / San Jose's Japantown Art Project / Author Tonga Victoria
San Francisco's most celebrated poets come together to honor San Francisco Poet Laureate and social justice activist Janice Mirikitani. Then, we take a walking…
- Crosscurrents
Violent Crime In Oakland's Chinatown / Interview With Carolyn Jones / Hamilton Online
Oakland’s Chinatown is grappling with a sharp increase in violent crime. Today, we'll hear what the community is doing to address it. Then, we are going back…
- Crosscurrents
High Levels of Lead At South Bay Airport / Sunday Skool / DJ Margarita
A South Bay airport may be shut down after a study found it’s causing high levels of lead in the children who live nearby. We examine the debate over San…
- Crosscurrents
A Jain Tech Innovator Combines A Religious And Worldly Perspective In Education
Mehool Sanghrajka isn't your typical tech CEO. To start with, his worldview is grounded in ancient Indian philosophy — one which inspires him to serve not just…
- Crosscurrents
The Modern American Nun / Hey Area: BART Tracks / New Arrivals: Allison Larkin
Today, we hear from a nun who reflects on her lifelong spiritual quest for social justice, and what it means to live a complex and meaningful life in modern…
- Crosscurrents
Inside San Francisco’s Secret SoundLab / Entering The Soundscape With Bernie Krause
Get your headphones ready, today’s show is all about sound. We’ll visit a laboratory where the sounds of indoor spaces are designed. Then, we keep our ears…
- Crosscurrents
A Mental Health Counselor In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Creates New Rituals For Grief
COVID-19 stopped people around the world from gathering for over a year. There’s a lot of talk about the toll this has taken on our collective mental health…
- Crosscurrents
Jennifer Dounda The Musical / Walter Isaacson On The Science / Author Stefan Salinas
Today on Crosscurrents, we will hear about a musical dedicated to the work of Nobel Prize winning biochemist Jennifer Doudna. Then up next we'll break down the…
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The Radical History Of The Murals At George Washington High School
The San Francisco Unified School District board had planned to cover up a controversial mural at George Washington High after heated debates in 2019, but a…
- Crosscurrents
Cellist Zoe Keating / DJ J Boogie / Author Lindsey Ellis
Today for Throwback Thursday, we’ll meet a cellist who multiplies her sound to create a one person orchestra. Then, we’ll meet KALW’s new Friday night music…
- Crosscurrents
Paradise Mayor On PG&E Plan / DJ LadyRyan / Unwritten Prison Rules
California’s utility giant PGE has committed to burying ten thousand miles of power lines in rural areas. We’ll hear from Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder about…
- Crosscurrents
Modern-Day Gold Rush / History Of The Hangtown Fry
The California Gold Rush petered out in the mid 1800s, but it never quite ended... In the latest from our @Work series, we meet modern-day gold miners. Then…
- Crosscurrents
The Past And Present Of Disability Activism
It’s been 31 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed. Today, we’ll hear how Berkeley protesters helped bring about the ADA. Then, San…
- Crosscurrents
Audiophiles Throwback: Exploratorium / DJ Aaron Byrd
For today's throwback, we’re digging into our Audiophiles, and getting our hands dirty and going deep into a world of surprising sounds at the Exploratorium…
- Crosscurrents
Getting Parole While Undocumented / New Arrivals
The legislature is considering a bill that would keep California state prisons from handing people who get parole and are undocumented over to Immigration and…
- Crosscurrents
Florist @Work / DJ King Most / New Arrivals
A Bay Area florist shares how she stayed connected to her community. It’s the latest installment of our @Work series. Then, we’ll hear from one of KALW’s…
- Crosscurrents
New Shows On KALW / DJ Wonway Posibul / Ken Taylor's 'Referring To The World'
This week KALW is bringing new voices to our airwaves. We’ll hear from the station’s general manager Tina Pamintuan about what to expect. And then, we'll meet…
- Crosscurrents
Angel Island History / Anna Sale On Difficult Conversations / New Arrivals
Today, we visit an island in the San Francisco Bay where the walls can talk… and they tell a tragic story. It's secret that unlocked a new life for the…
- Crosscurrents
Unraveling The Legend Of Rattlesnake Dick
Auburn, California is a town of 14,000 people nestled in the Sierra foothills. Many Bay Area residents pass through it on summer getaways into the mountains…
- Crosscurrents
What Works In East Palo Alto / Seniors In Isolation / New Arrivals: Climate Courage
Today, in the next episode of What Works, health workers in East Palo Alto go door-to-door to get information out about the COVID-19 vaccine and rent relief…
- Crosscurrents
What's Next For Project Roomkey? / SOMA Pilipinas Celebrates 5 Years / StoryCorps: Transpacific Romance
San Francisco rented hotel rooms during the pandemic to house thousands of people experiencing homelessness. Today, we hear how they're starting to close them…
- Crosscurrents
Oakland Among Most Segregated Cities / Music Producer Chris Keys / New Arrivals: Josiah Luis Alderete
A UC Berkeley study ranked Oakland in the top 20 most segregated cities in the U.S. Today, we hear how that affects quality of life for marginalized groups…
- Crosscurrents
What Works In East Palo Alto
In the latest episode from our podcast What Works: Grassroots Solutions Around the Bay Area, we meet Nevida Butler, who has been working with the Ecumenical…
- Crosscurrents
Oakland Poet Laureate / Orinda's Watery Past / Cookbook Explores SF Chinatown
Oakland has appointed its first-ever poet laureate. Today, we meet Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, also known as WordSlanger. Then, we dive into the watery past of Orinda…
- Crosscurrents
Sound Theater / Struggling With Mental Illness In Prison / New Arrivals: Jenny Bitner
Today, we’re going to a half century old San Francisco establishment that uses sound for healing. Then, from Solano State Prison, we hear about one man’s…
- Crosscurrents
Richmond Mayor Tom Butt / Why Is The Richmond Bridge So Long? / New Arrivals: Bonnie Tsui
Today, we hear about conflict of interest case against Richmond Mayor Tom Butt. Then, the story behind the construction of one of the Bay Area’s most unusual…
- Crosscurrents
What Works In Richmond / New Arrivals: Steamed
Today, we're going to Richmond in the latest episode from our series "What Works: Grassroots Solutions Around The Bay Area." We'll hear about a garden project…
- Crosscurrents
How Do Animals Recover From Wildfires? / Marin County's Namesake / Oakland Artist Satya
Today, we meet a scientist studying the epic tale of California wildlife facing big wildfires. Then, how did Marin County get its name? And, a young singer…
- Crosscurrents
Fitch Mountain Wildfire Drills / 'Monster Kody' / New Arrivals: Gabriela Garcia
As fire season bears down on Sonoma County, some communities are practicing evacuations. Today, we hear about wildfire drills. Then, a former L.A. gang member…
- Crosscurrents
Community Organizing In Fairfield / New Arrivals: Gary Kamiya
Today, Fairfield City Councilmember Doris Panduro talks about what it's like connecting directly with the people of her city in the latest episode in the…
- Crosscurrents
South Bay Buffalo Soldiers / Malcolm Spellman's New Marvel Series
First, we meet a group of South Bay Bikers with a message and a mission. Then, Berkeley screenwriter Malcolm Spellman talks about his hit Marvel series “The…
- Crosscurrents
The Spiritual Edge In Alaska / Queer Latin Dance Duo / Uncuffed: Fatherhood From Afar
Today we bring you the story of an indigenous Alaskan leader who is fighting to stop oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Then, a latin dance…
- Crosscurrents
Youthful Assemblymember Debate / Caste Discrimination Case / Writer Tureeda Mikell
First, Alameda youth host a debate for candidates running for District 18 Assemblymember. Then, we hear about a case in Santa Clara County that tackles the…