The Bay is a local news podcast from KQED. It’s hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, with new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The story driven episodes give listeners context while exploring Bay Area identity. I’ve filled in as a producer on the show and I managed the team as the podcast editor at KQED from April of 2020 to June 2022.
Here are a few of the episodes I worked with the team to produce:
The opioid crisis has dominated the news, but there is growing evidence that methamphetamine has made a return to San Francisco. Overdoses from meth have more than doubled and about half the people admitted to San Francisco General Hospital with a psychiatric emergency are high on meth. Some health experts think the two drug crises could be related.
PG&E is under pressure to not spark a wildfire this summer. A federal judge overseeing the investor-owned utility's probation case is demanding they take prevention measures. This week, PG&E presented its wildfire safety plan to state regulators, which includes cutting back trees, replacing power poles, installing weather stations, and shutting off power when it’s hot, dry and windy. But PG&E says these plans are costly. And, the question of who will pay for it all, lingers as does PG&E's bankruptcy case.
East Bay rapper Keak Da Sneak is credited with pioneering the Hyphy style. This Thursday he has to turn himself in to serve a 16-month state prison sentence. Since being shot in 2017, he’s confined to a wheelchair and needs round the clock care. He can’t expect that kind of care in prison. This has started a conversation about accessibility and medical care while serving time.