KQED News

If approved, Measure B would change several aspects of local elections.

KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi introduces us to three different families and tells us what they’re doing to get by.

What did this week's heated governor's debate reveal about California's still unsettled race?

Many see it as an effort to push the Trump Administration’s preference for fossil fuels.

Listen to this and more in-depth storytelling by subscribing to The California Report Magazine podcast. In East Oakland, a Store Where 1 Item Is Always Free If you find yourself wandering around Oakland’s Dimond District, you might come across a rather unusual store. The space looks like a hoarder’s attic. It’s crowded with mismatched objects: glassware, old electronics, knitted hats, typewriters and rotary phones. But you don’t need money to shop here, you can actually take one item home for free. Free Oakland UP is both an art installation and mutual aid model, offering commentary on waste and reuse. KQED’s Srishti Prabha brings us the story of this space, and what it means to community members. A Basketball Trailblazer: My Mother, the WNBA Star You’ve Never Heard Of On May 8th, the WNBA will celebrate the start of its 30th season. Along with a surge in viewership and attention in recent years, players are also celebrating a new collective bargaining agreement. Athletes will receive 20% of gross league and team revenue, resulting in a big bump in salaries. This progress comes after decades of advocacy by early players who worked to carve out space for the women’s professional game. Judy Mosley McAfee was one of them. She was the sixth woman drafted into the WNBA. Last July, her daughter, reporter Audy McAfee looked back at her mom’s career. In California, Women’s Hockey Is Growing In February, the U.S. women’s hockey team took home Olympic gold. The win has inspired a new wave of players, including adults. Recently USA Hockey announced that the number of women and girls who’ve signed up to play the sport has surpassed 100,000 for the first time. In California, women’s college hockey is growing too. Much of that momentum comes from grassroots efforts by women who don’t want to hang up their skates. Reporter Susan Valot hit the ice to bring us this story from Los Angeles.  [ad fullwidth]

Emma Silvers, journalist and co-owner of COYOTE Media Collective, explains why Bay Area artists are talking about the Civic Joy Fund right now.

Prediction markets have exploded in recent years, with platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi allowing people to put real money on everything from sports outcomes to election results to armed conflicts overseas. Marisa, Scott and Guy discuss how these markets are influencing state and national politics. Then, they’re joined by Kate Knibbs, senior writer at WIRED, … Continue reading How Prediction Markets are Colliding With California and National Politics →

Many say electric motorcycles are the actual causes of the dangerous crashes.

Alameda’s bridge tenders work around the clock ensuring safe travel around the Bay Area’s island city. The job comes with some great perks and serious consequences.

Eight candidates took to the stage in Southern California to distance themselves from the crowded field.

Eva Galperin talks about how activists and researchers are fighting back against the shadowy stalkerware industry.

In this month’s edition of The Bay’s news roundup, Ericka, Alan, and KQED outdoors reporter Sarah Wright discuss a new homelessness policy in Oakland, a possible tax on billionaires, and weddings at the San Francisco Public Library.

In a federal courtroom in Oakland, attorneys for tech elites Sam Altman and Elon Musk painted very different pictures of the early years of OpenAI and its mission to benefit the common good.

California has been cracking down on hospice scams for years, but plans to implement new licensing regulations have been pushed back.

More than 60 Mountain View households remain under a do-not-drink order after cement slurry contaminated part of the city’s water system near Bonita Avenue and Cuesta Drive and tests detected bacteria.

Teachers say they find it hard to stay in the Bay Area. One solution is workforce housing.

Exactly 120 years after the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco faces ongoing seismic risk and experts warn the city is still not fully prepared for a major quake.

Following Swalwell's downfall, the remaining candidates for California governor are wasting no time pitching themselves to voters.

Listen to this and more in-depth storytelling by subscribing to The California Report Magazine podcast. This week, we’re revisiting two stories from the series, California Foodways. While Oakland Sleeps, a 100-Year-Old Produce Market Bustles With Life California’s fruits and vegetables make a lot of stops on the way from the fields to your table. One of those places is the Oakland Produce Market, which supplies small markets, restaurants and other food providers with the freshest foods. You don’t have to work for a grocery store or run a restaurant to shop here, as long as you buy in bulk. For her series, California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse got up in the middle of the night to meet some of the people who keep the Oakland Produce Market humming.  The Crucial Job That Keeps Central Valley Water Flowing  In California farm country, you often see signs  that say “Food Grows Where Water Flows.” The system of canals and reservoirs that feeds farmland in the Central Valley is one of the biggest in the world. But irrigation canals are also places where people dump unwanted objects, like toilets, furniture or shopping carts. It’s Big Valley Divers’ job to clean and maintain the canals and the dams that send water to farms. For her series California Foodways, Lisa Morehouse spent a day in Colusa County to learn all about the unusual job that keeps the water flowing.  [ad fullwidth]

Starting your own garden doesn’t have to cost much. Find out what you need to grow grocery staples.

Why do BART announcements sound so ancient in America’s tech capital? In this episode from our friends at Bay Curious, reporter Ana De Almeida Amaral sets out to find the answer.

Californians are paying a premium at the pump. How much are those prices driven by the war in Iran?

Politics and earthquakes have shaped this key Bay Area thoroughfare, a geography professor at San Francisco State University says ahead of this weekend’s big closure.

Many of the flights are out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

California is uniquely vulnerable to oil and gas shortages. Here’s how residents could be affected.

Before he ended his campaign, Swalwell was the top choice of Bay Area voters. Now his supporters are up for grabs ahead of the June 2 primary.

A leading candidate for California governor is facing sexual assault allegations from a former staffer.

Listen to this and more in-depth storytelling by subscribing to The California Report Magazine podcast. This week, we’re revisiting a conversation from September 2025 with Oakland comedian Jackie Keliiaa. She’s a stand-up, writer, actor, and producer whose work not only reflects on her everyday life, but also her Native heritage. She’s been featured on Comedy Central, Team Coco, Netflix and IllumiNative’s list of 25 Native American Comedians to Follow, and she organizes the all-Native comedy show, Good Medicine. Host Sasha Khokha sat down with Keliiaa for a conversation about comedy, identity, and how laughter can help keep us going during hard times. Listen to more conversations in our resilience series here.  [ad fullwidth]

For many people, staying in the Bay Area despite soaring costs is a choice. But for some transgender Californians in the current political climate, it’s also a matter of safety.

We asked you to share your experiences with making friends in the Bay Area. Today, we hear from you — and follow one listener as she tries to meet new friends in San Jose.

Rep. Eric Swalwell discusses his run for California governor, including his housing and corporate tax plans and why the Trump administration is pushing the FBI to release files related to his ties to a suspected Chinese spy.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is starting to offer a new set of aesthetic services, ranging from Botox to IV hydration.

Free Oakland UP in East Oakland is a free store and community space where shoppers can take one item at no cost, blending mutual aid, affordability and sustainable reuse in a city facing displacement and rising living costs.

Redevelopment in the Bay Area is hard. The story of the one neighborhood in the South Bay can show us why.

It argues low wages are not just an economic issue, but a public health crisis.

Rising child care prices leave many Bay Area parents with little choice, but to turn down career opportunities, cut back hours, quit or come up with creative solutions.

Author and journalist Fortesa Latifi breaks down the hidden industry behind Mormon “momfluencers.”

Victoria Duran, who teaches ethnic studies and psychology at William C. Overfelt High School in East San José, is reckoning with how to teach about Cesar Chavez in light of sexual abuse allegations.

Bass's challengers include a progressive city council member who once supported her and a conservative reality TV star.