A Tiny Plot

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Burned Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

The group from Union Point moves into their new homes on the tiny plot of land near Lake Merritt. They run their own security and decide who comes into their space. But then, on a Monday morning in March, we hear devastating news…

A fire burns through the plot of land on E12th. Is this the end of the experiment, or will the group keep building?

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening.

Thank you to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your story with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy

Edited by Anna Sussman

Original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Director of Production: Marisa Dodge

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich.

Special thanks: Jen Chien, Catherine Winter, the City of Oakland, Sweetie at the Travel Inn, Ryan Finnegan, Will Craft, JP Dobrin, Thomas Brouns, Sukey Lewis, Alistair Boone, The Street Spirit, KQED legal, and Ott House Audio.

Episode 5 of 5. Listen to the entire series now!

Rocked Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Mama D, President Matt, and the rest of the group are finally seeing their experiment in co-governance take shape. They built their security sheds and saw their tiny homes for the first time. But when Nino Parker stepped onto the sidewalk in a neck brace, on crutches, it was clear that the group was about to face a whole new level of chaos.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening.

Thank you to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your story with us.

A Tiny Plotis a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy

Edited by Anna Sussman

Original music by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Director of Production: Marisa Dodge

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich

The Fence Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Mama D sees that the future of the experiment is up to her and what she decides: Lead the group to the plot of land offered by the city, hope and pray for a magical new plot, or disband the group and dissolve the experiment.

Following weeks of indecision, Mama D makes a choice. And while everyone from the group was hard at work to turn their dream into reality, they didn’t seem to notice a major problem with the setup. A fault line of sorts.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening.

Big thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

A Tiny Plotis a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy

Edited by Anna Sussman

Original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller, artwork by Teo Ducot.

Director of Production: Marisa Dodge

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich

Moving Camp Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

The standoff between Public Works and the group from Union Point Park ends with a handshake -- a deal to build a new kind of housing community funded by the city where homeless residents make their own rules. But right away, the civility of this agreement seems to break down.

And after months of waiting, the group from Union Point Park finally gets a plot of land on E12th Street for their radical experiment. But there’s a big problem with the land. It's something that leaves the future of this experiment in limbo.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening.

A Tiny Plotis a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios.

Big thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy

Edited by Anna Sussman

Original music by Renzo Gorrio

Engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller

Artwork: Teo Ducot

Director of Production: Marisa Dodge

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich

The Barricade Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Using broken refrigerators, mattresses and dishwashers, residents of Union Point Park barricade their tent-city. And they fight for an extraordinary idea: their own plot of land from the city, where they could live in community and set their own rules, on their own terms.
A Tiny Plotis a new 5-part series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Host and Reporter Shaina Shealy takes listeners inside an encampment in Oakland for an against-all-odds story about scarcity, community, and the complexity of building something new from the margins of a broken system. What happens when people who’ve been shut out of a system that has failed them decide to take the lead? Disaster, and unexpected beauty.

This episode contains strong language & graphic imagery. Please take care while listening.

Huge love & thanks to the entire cast from A Tiny Plot for sharing your worlds with us.

Hosted and produced by Shaina Shealy.

Edited by Anna Sussman,

Original music by Renzo Gorrio, engineering by Pat Mesiti-Miller, artwork by Teo Ducot. Director of Production: Marisa Dodge.

Executive Producers: Glynn Washington and Mark Ristich.

Trailer Sep 09, 2025

Show notes

It's barricades vs. bobcats, tents vs. tiny homes, and a team of people fighting to stay together. Listen to a radical experiment in freedom that puts an entire city under the microscope…

"A Tiny Plot” is a new series from KQED’s Snap Studios. Producer Shaina Shealy embedded with a group of people in an encampment in Oakland at a park called Union Point. They were ordered to disperse, running out of time, but they were bound together by an extraordinary new idea: their own living space where they can set their own rules. Over five episodes, we learn the story of Mama D, Papa Eddie, President Matt, and more. They invite listeners in to witness high-stakes decisions, devastating failures, and wild successes.

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