Crosscurrents

Series produced by KALW

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Context, culture and connection from around the Bay Area.

KALW's Crosscurrents is the Bay Area's public radio news magazine. Winner of three awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and voted "Best Local News Program" by SF Weekly, Crosscurrents brings you context, culture and connection from around the Bay Area.


356 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Ayanna Davis preparing the altar, Credit: Jen Chien
“Our Hallowed Ground - The Love Balm Project”is a series of performances based on testimonies of Bay Area mothers and grandmothers who have lost ch...

  • Added: Oct 09, 2013
  • Length: 07:07
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On Sunday morning, while the Fillmore District is brunching or sleeping in, I’m sweating to attend something I’ve never run for in my life: church....

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Jun 20, 2013
  • Length: 13:25
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Tina Hayes School of Etiquette Class
California has been in an ongoing struggle trying to figure out how to deal with overcrowding in prisons. The problems extend to the Division of Ju...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 07:19
Caption: On board the Facebook bus, Credit: Kristina Loring
Real talk: I’m not the biggest fan of San Francisco public transportation. So when I first heard of the alternative transportation network of priva...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 05:59
Caption: A Muni bus passes a "Google Bus" in San Franisco, Credit: Sven Eberlein
Private shuttles have been using Muni stops in San Francisco for a while. But they’ve mostly been smaller buses, for hospitals and universities. In...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 05:44
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Your watch is your personal trainer. Your headband is making an action documentary of your life. Your bracelet congratulates you on your daily wate...

Bought by Kansas Public Radio, PRX Remix, and WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 09:53
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Ricardo Orozco, Area 3 Captain, OPD, Credit: Oakland Police Department
Oakland Police Captain Ricardo Orozco says he’s living his dream of being a cop. “Ever since I was a small boy, the show that I always liked to wa...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 16:20
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If you walk upstairs from the kitchen at Mother Brown’s drop-in center in the evening, you’ll find dozens of people sleeping in chairs. During the ...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 06:46
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If you walk down Mission Street this weekend you’ll see family members holding pictures of loved ones in one hand and candles in another. You may s...

  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 13:35
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You may have already seen some of these driverless cars zipping around Bay Area roads. Automotive scientists predict similar cars will be available...

Bought by XRAY.fm


  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 07:12
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Gunning skiff, Collection of San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, Credit: Oakland Museum of California
Think of a ghost town, and San Francisco Bay is not likely to come to mind. Yet the remnants of such a place are currently sinking into the marshes...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Nov 06, 2013
  • Length: 07:44
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Veterans Commons resident Jesse Breedwolf, 74, Credit: Liz Pfeffer
California has the largest concentration of homeless veterans in the nation, and in San Francisco, it’s likely that more than 700 homeless vets wil...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 07:22
Caption: Wes Smoot (far right), Don Pardini (second from right) and friends socialize at the Redwood Drive-in in Boonville, CA, Credit: Liz Pfeffer
A few hours north of San Francisco is the town of Boonville, nestled in the quaint Anderson Valley of Mendocino County. Like Silicon Valley, this p...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 13:24
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The weekend is a time for relaxing or maybe going to dinner and a show with friends. One typical scenario is you meet up with them, get dinner. Now...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and XRAY.fm


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 07:04
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Charles Hodgkins, aka 'The Burritoeater,' and KALW's Ben Trefny, Credit: Jonathan Lifeson Smith
Charles Hodgkins and I are walking with several other burrito-eaters through the Mission District. He’s clearly the boss, though. It’s not just the...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 05:03
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The name Andy Lopez probably didn’t ring a bell before October 22, 2013. On that afternoon, the 13-year-old Lopez was just a kid playing with a BB ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 07:35
Caption: Suzy Clement and her son Lucien, Credit: Suzy Clement
The birth of a child is life-changing. For the wallet, the lifestyle and the fact that there’s another human to care for. But for many California ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 09:23
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On Sunday mornings in the Castro neighborhood, there’s a place where rhythm reigns. Dancers pull out their leg warmers, spandex and fluorescent hea...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 06:09
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: John Muir and Frank Quan, Credit: Julie Caine
Lots of us know about China Camp State Park--there’s good hiking and mountain biking, and the beaches along San Pablo Bay are peaceful. But before ...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 10:16
Caption: Jessy Jones and her third graders looks on as Principal Tracy Peoples shares in the community circle, Credit: Jen Chien
Last month, a group of students from the 100% College Prep Club in the Bayview district marched into the San Francisco Unified School District boar...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2013
  • Length: 08:54