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
Sights + Sounds: BART Prom Royalty
Recently BART held their first ever… prom! More than twelve hundred people attended (and danced at!) the sold-out Under the sea/’80s-themed party under the…
- Crosscurrents
BOUNCE: A Heyday for Girls Baseball
It’s a brand new season of BOUNCE! Today, KALW's Anna Casalme is taking us out to the ball game, where every kid on the field is a girl. Plus, an update on how…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Staying Safe From Scams in the Age of AI
AI scams are getting incredibly sophisticated. But protecting yourself doesn’t have to be. And, we honor the Oakland storytelling icon, Diane Ferlatte.
- Crosscurrents
AI accelerates organized cybercrimes
Online scams have proliferated and are even trickier to detect now… thanks to the use of new AI tools. These scams have become so widespread that this month…
- Crosscurrents
Remembering Oakland storytelling icon, Diane Ferlatte
Earlier this month, we lost a Bay Area storytelling icon — Oakland’s Diane Ferlatte. She was an award winning, grammy nominated teller of African American…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: How Fatherhood Shapes Men's Brains, and Lives
The way we raise our children is once again changing. Today, the latest science and understanding behind fatherhood. Then, we tag along on the thousand mile…
- Crosscurrents
Litquake - Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men's Lives
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about why it is so difficult to raise families in this country. And the question of starting families is one of the unique…
- Crosscurrents
A musician’s thousand mile journey to help the monarch butterfly
Right now the butterflies are north of us and inland for the summer, but in a month, they’ll begin heading west to make it back to the California coast before…
- Crosscurrents
Bounce Season 3 Trailer
Last year, our podcast Bounce followed the first season of San Francisco’s newest WNBA team, the Valkyries. They did not disappoint, and gave the fans a…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The Regenerative Cycle of Bay Area Art and Culture
A legendary venue in Oakland reopens after two decades of closure. Then we go into KALW's live event venue to hear from the artists that transformed it into a…
- Crosscurrents
Sights and Sounds: The Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts reopened
A legendary venue in Oakland reopens after two decades of closure.
- Crosscurrents
Artist Talk: CreatingAS1 — Pollinating the possible
We hear from the artists that transformed KALW's live event space into a living gallery.
- Crosscurrents
Bay Poets: “Because our roots are in rivers, not Latin”
Today, Berkeley poet Beth Patote brings us back to the water with her poem.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: The Queer history of Bay Area radio
Today, the deep and personal history of Queer media in the Bay Area with the pioneers who made their voices heard.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Uncuffed's 'Just a Kid'
We're kicking off season five of Uncuffed by going back in time to the defining childhood experiences of Uncuffed producers inside three California Prisons.
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Using Cold Water to Heal, Connect and Compete
Today, the transformative power of cold water and the people who jump right in. Then, we meet a club that has been swimming in frigid water for more than a…
- Crosscurrents
The Transformative Power of Cold Water
Chris Ballard is the author of “ The Plunge: Maverick Swimmers, An Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water.” Chris jumped into some frigid…
- Crosscurrents
Oldest San Francisco: South End Rowing Club
People that swim in cold waters often do it in community. And one crew of ocean swimmers has been carrying on a local legacy that began more than a century ago.
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State of The Bay: Dogsurfing Championship comes to Pacifica
This August crowds will be gathering at Lindemar Beach in Pacifica to answer one question. Which dog is the greatest surfer in the world?
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SHOW: Rising up: Housing, Soul, and Song
New laws meant to encourage the construction of new homes in San Francisco give a lot of power to the state. Today, we explore how and where the homes get…
- Crosscurrents
State of the Bay: Housing vs Local Control
Keeping up with your rent in San Francisco is not for the faint of heart. Online rental services were showing that the average monthly rent for a one bedroom…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: Melissa Etheridge
Music legend Melissa Etheridge recently released her first new album in seven years. Her album “Rise” is inspired by some of the challenges she’s had to rise…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Animals Outside; Domestic and Wild
Pets are often important companions for unhoused people. Today, we meet a grassroots organization that’s helping homeless folks take care of their animals…
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In Oakland, one nonprofit looks beyond the dog days
Homelessness ends with a home... Technically. But there’s much more to it, and the path to live indoors is most always complicated. For many unhoused people…
- Crosscurrents
New Arrivals: Vanessa Hua tackles race, class, housing, and suburbia in new novel
Now, it’s time for New Arrivals, our pocket sized book tour with Bay Area authors. Vanessa Hua lives in the East Bay. Her new novel, "Coyoteland," is set in a…
- Crosscurrents
Intergenerational Conversations and Life Lessons
Today, lasting lessons from the AIDS crisis. Then, we hear three generations of local leaders share their experiences of transitioning. Plus, a poem about…
- Crosscurrents
Living Lessons from the AIDS Crisis: Queer Elders on Care, Activism & Community
It’s been 45 years since AIDS was first named. The disease has killed roughly 40 million people worldwide, including 700 thousand Americans. And while much…
- Crosscurrents
Bay Poets: 'What If We Didn't Die' after Bayani Bala & Maria Bolaños by poet Keana Aguila Labra
And now we let poetry help us imagine an impossibly beautiful world with no goodbyes. Filipinx poet Keana Aguila Labra and her piece "What If We Didn't Die…
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Transitioning, trancestors, and community legacy
Intergenerational conversations are important, and they take on an even greater role in communities that have been historically marginalized. Jojo, Honey, and…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Disability Pride, Advocacy, and Justice
Today we honor one of the strongest voices that's fought for the disabled community. And one group is trying to make a notoriously demanding festival more…
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Remember Alice Wong, one of the Bay Area’s strongest fighters for disability advocacy
Alice Wong was born in Indianapolis in 1974. She was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and was told she wouldn’t live to be older than 18. But in 1997, at 23…
- Crosscurrents
The Intersection: Will meets way at Burning Man
July isn’t just Disability Pride Month, it’s also the time when lots of Bay Area folks are preparing to go to the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock desert…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: 'Wood Street' Documentary, An Uncuffed My Mixtape, and the best of CA State Parks
A new documentary takes viewers into the large, West Oakland homeless encampment 'Wood Street.' Community and resistance among Oakland’s unhoused people. Then…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: 'Wood Street' documentary
A new documentary follows the 2023 sweeps of the homeless encampment in West Oakland known as ‘Wood Street,' and the struggle leading up to it. It’s been…
- Crosscurrents
Uncuffed My Mixtape: Seyomay
The Uncuffed My Mixtape is a selection of our producers' favorite songs. Uncuffed producer Rahim Bradshaw interviewed HabenMichael about an Eritrean song that…
- Crosscurrents
State of the Bay: California State Parks
Earlier this year, California residents ranked our 280 State Parks from the best park for flowers, birding and even the under the radar favorites. So what did…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Storytelling our Memories
For many new immigrants, learning English is an important goal. Sometimes at the expense of their mother tongue. Today, how growing up straddling two languages…
- Crosscurrents
Litquake - Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can't Forget
For many immigrants, crossing the border is the first step on an often complicated, exhausting path of figuring out life in America. Author Reyna Grande…
- Crosscurrents
Uncuffed My Mixtape: U Should've Known Better
The Uncuffed My Mixtape is a selection of our producers' favorite songs. Uncuffed producer Ryan Pagan interviewed Louis Sale about a song that reminds him of a…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: Storyteller Ben Tucker on his memoir 'A Good Run'
Have you ever had a relative that you enjoyed sitting by during family functions because they always had good stories to tell? Ben Tucker is that kind of guy…
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An Award Winning Episode of Uncuffed: Mama
Today, we’re bringing you the episode of Uncuffed that won first place for Narrative/Produced Program at the 2026 Public Media Journalism Awards. First, we…
- Crosscurrents
The Multiple Choice Test of College Admissions
The SAT’s are back in the conversation around college admissions. Today, two perspectives on if we should or shouldn’t bring back standardized testing. Then…
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State of The Bay: Should the UCs Bring Back Standardized Testing?
For decades, standardized tests like the SAT and ACT were a central part of college admissions. In 2020, the University of California system became one of the…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: 'Paper Bag Plan' film
For parents with children who are disabled, there can be a haunting question - “Who is going to take care of my child when I die?” In the award-winning film…
- Crosscurrents
Oldest San Francisco: Mitchell's Ice Cream
It’s summertime! And with the high heat of Midsummer comes: National Ice Cream Month. So today, we’re bringing you one of our favorite ice cream stories. On a…
- Crosscurrents
SHOW: Fighting Back by Staying United
Today, an annual check up on San Francisco’s RV ban. Then, we meet some of the talent behind San Francisco’s iconic club, Oasis. Plus, a poem in memory of a…
- Crosscurrents
San Francisco's crackdown on RVs leaves some homeless residents in limbo
Last year, San Francisco established new parking restrictions. They were aimed at curbing the city's growing number of people living out of their vehicles…
- Crosscurrents
OASIS Lives!
The day after Christmas, some stage performers, cabaretists, and dancers got some really good news. The beloved San Francisco nightclub Oasis was slated to…
- Crosscurrents
Bay Poets: 'ode to the beating heart' by poet Alexiz Angel Romero
Today, we’ll hear a poem that honors the way we feel when we lose a friend, a space, a community. Here’s Alexiz Angel Romero reading her poem ‘ode to the…
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AI and Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity isn’t just a concern for the largest corporations, it has local impacts too. Today, what adding AI does to changing cybersecurity risks. Then, in…
- Crosscurrents
How does adding AI change cybersecurity risks for government agencies?
We share our personal information all the time: at the pharmacy, at school, at the insurance agency. Many of us assume someone there knows how to keep our data…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: Adam Nimoy's memoir 'The Most Human'
This year marks the 60th anniversary of “Star Trek.” Filmmaker and actor Adam Nimoy not only watched the show, but he went on set when he was a kid. That’s…
- Crosscurrents
Music Notes from the Edge of America's 250th: Julian Brave NoiseCat
We’re approaching the Fourth of July weekend. A time when people are reflecting on what it means to be American. And with that reflection comes a complicated…
- Crosscurrents
Getting to Know the New Class of Uncuffed!
There’s a new cohort of journalists learning how to make radio in California prisons. Today, we introduce you to this year’s Uncuffed class at the California…
- Crosscurrents
Envisioning a More Inclusive Place
Queer spaces are always evolving, but some things stay constant. Today, a conversation on the challenges and possibilities of creating community spaces. Then…
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Creating queer third spaces: Envisioning places to connect & belong
It's the last day of June, so today we are going to send off this year's Pride Month by imagining what the future of Queer spaces could be. In this segment we…
- Crosscurrents
MUSIC NOTES from the Edge of America's 250th: La Doña
We are approaching the July 4th weekend, and now more than ever people are reflecting on what it means to be American with a complicated mix of emotions. Some…
- Crosscurrents
BayCon Takes Us Into The AfroFuture
A long time Bay Area sci-fi convention is adding AfroFuturism to its programming. Then, we hear how the way schools embrace the LGBTQ+ community impacts how…
- Crosscurrents
Sights + Sounds: The AfroFuturism Lounge returns to BayCon
The 4th of July holiday is this weekend. For some Bay Area nerds, their weekend will include not only fireworks and hot dogs… but space ships, and magic too!…
- Crosscurrents
tbh: When They Listen — A LGBTQ+ Rights School Success Story
Today, the KALW high school summer podcasting institute is kicking off! Each cohort of students produces a show called tbh, short for to be honest. In honor of…