The Bay

Latest Episodes:

A Black Chef’s Dream of Returning to the Fillmore Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

Fernay McPherson has built up her business, piece by piece, for six years. Today, you can find Minnie Bell's Soul Movement at the Emeryville Public Market.
But Fernay's biggest professional dream is to bring her restaurant back to the place where she and so many other black folks in the Bay Area lived until it became unaffordable — the Fillmore in San Francisco.
This episode is from Copper & Heat, a podcast produced in Oakland that explores the unspoken rules and traditions of restaurant kitchens.

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‘Fui Muy Afortunado’: How One Asylum-Seeker Made It to the Bay Area Feb 07, 2020

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It’s been about one year since the Trump administration changed how seeking asylum works at the U.S-Mexico border. The so-called “Remain in Mexico” policy means that tens of thousands of migrants from Central America have to wait for their court hearings in what can be dangerous conditions.
This policy has made the process much harder for asylum seekers, who already have an uphill climb to get their claims approved. Only a small fraction of those seeking asylum to escape violence in their countries are accepted into the U.S.
Douglas Oviedo is one of those lucky few. Now he lives in the Bay Area, and he's trying to help the people who are still waiting at the border.

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To Be Asian With a Face Mask During the Coronavirus Outbreak Feb 05, 2020

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When Santa Clara University's provost sent an email reminding people to be aware of their racial biases around the coronavirus, Sherry Wang, a professor in the school's Department of Counseling Psychology, responded to add some more context.
"I think that this is also an opportunity to remind each other about the historical legacy of racializing infectious diseases against People of Color," Wang wrote to her campus community.
As a professor who is also Asian American, Wang says she both is and isn't protected from the sinophobic fears around the coronavirus, and she's making calculations of her own over whether or not to wear her face mask in public.
Guest: Sherry Wang, assistant professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University
For more up-to-date info about the coronavirus, visit KQED and NPR's websites, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We also mention an Instagram post from UC Berkeley where xenophobia is described as a "normal" fear. Read more here for context.
And hey, we're having our first meetup of the year this Friday, Feb. 7! We'll be at the Mare Island Ferry Taproom in Vallejo from 5-7 pm. If you're coming from San Francisco, you can take the ferry and it'll drop you off right there.

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Why One of California’s Biggest Housing Bills Failed Feb 03, 2020

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SB 50 would have made big changes to the way housing in California gets built. So why did it fail?

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The ‘Casual Corruption’ of San Francisco’s Mohammed Nuru Jan 31, 2020

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Mohammed Nuru has been in San Francisco city government for a long time. He was appointed to the Public Works department in 2000 by then-Mayor Willie Brown and eventually became the director of that department in 2011.
Nuru has been accused of shady behavior at various times during his career. But on Monday, the FBI made it official when they charged him with public corruption and lying to investigators. So why is he getting arrested now?
Guest: Joe Eskenazi, editor and columnist for Mission Local

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Is Your Food Delivery Order Legit? Jan 29, 2020

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What happens when food delivery apps add local restaurants without the owners' permission?

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What ‘American Dirt’ Gets Wrong Jan 27, 2020

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Many Latinx writers, including here in the Bay Area, have expressed frustration with American Dirt, a new book by Jeanine Cummins that has been called the next great American novel. Oprah even selected it for her book club.
But it's also been criticized for an inaccurate, stereotypical depiction of migrants who are trying to cross the US-Mexico border.
"If it had been published and kind of billed as, 'This is our romanticized view of the border and its just for entertainment,' there's room for that on the shelves for whoever wants to read that story," said Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Fruit of the Drunken Tree.
"To call it the novel of Las Americas and to put this much attention on a book that is actually erasing the politics at the border, I think, does more harm than good," she said.
And all the hype surrounding the novel's release - including a seven-figure advance for Cummins - has raised questions about which stories about migrants get attention, and which ones don't.
"Look where we're at," said Oscar Villalon, managing editor of the journal Zyzzyva. "If it hasn't been driven into your skull by now, clearly, not all Americans are valued the same."
Guests: Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Fruit of the Drunken Tree, and Oscar Villalon, managing editor of the journal Zyzzyva
Oscar Villalon's Recommendations:
"The Devil's Highway: A True Story" by Luis Alberto Urrea
"The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail" by Oscar Martinez
"The Distance Between Us: A Memoir" by Reyna Grande
"The Faraway Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life" by Lauren Markham's
"By the Lake of Sleeping Children: The Secret Life of the Mexican Border" by Luis Alberto Urrea
"The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story" by Aaron Bobrow-Strain
Ingrid Rojas Contreras' Recommendations:
"Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions" by Valeria Luiselli
"Retablos" by Octavio Solis
"Unaccompanied" by Javier Zamora
"Tears of the Trufflepig" by Francisco Flores
"Signs Preceding the End of the World" by Yuri Herrera
"Lost Children Archive" by Valeria Luiselli

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A Six-Year Journey to Find a Home Jan 24, 2020

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Eddie Thomas lost his housing when he was 55 years old after working at Intel for five years. He's part of a growing trend of people becoming homeless later on in life.
Eddie was lucky enough to have help with finding work and housing. But even still, it took six years — and being homeless as you get older has its own share of unique challenges.
Guest: Sara Hossaini, KQED reporter

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What It Takes to Help ‘Newcomer’ Immigrant Students in Oakland Jan 22, 2020

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Many local leaders in the Bay Area have made it a point to say that their communities are welcoming places for new immigrants, including those who are undocumented, are seeking asylum or are refugees.
Oakland Unified School District prides itself on helping "newcomer" students. And this year, they could see an unprecedented number of new arrivals. But the district can't always get new students enrolled in class, let alone provide all the help that families and kids need.
Guest: Vanessa Rancaño, KQED education reporter

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Indie Artists Vs. The Frida Kahlo Corporation Jan 17, 2020

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You can find Frida Kahlo's image all over the Bay Area. The Mexican painter lived in San Francisco for a little bit in the '30s and '40s with her husband, Diego Rivera.
She became even more famous in the years after she died, and now you can find her name and likeness on everything from shoes, to tequila, to even Barbie dolls.
The Frida Kahlo Corporation, which is behind many of these products, wants to monopolize the use of her name — and it's been going after indie artists who make and sell Frida Kahlo-inspired art. Now, one California artist is taking company to court in San Francisco later this month.
Guest: Chloe Veltman, KQED arts and culture reporter
We're off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But you should check out the latest column from KQED's Pendarvis Harshaw, where he connects King's moral arguments with what's happening in the Bay Area today.

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