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
Heart Wrenchers Auto Club takes women beyond the driver’s seat
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Members of the Heart Wrenchers Auto Club, Credit: Jen Chien
Natasha Cronin is a first-year student in the Automotive Technology Department at Skyline College in San Bruno. She and her classmates are standing...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 07:42
  • Purchases: 1
Alameda County grapples with implementing Laura’s Law
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: If implemented, Laura’s Law would allow courts to compel those suffering from severe mental illness to outpatient treatment. , Credit: Flickr user andersdenkend
The shooting at Seattle Pacific University marks the latest gun-related tragedy in the U.S. It follows the attacks in Isla Vista at UC Santa Barbar...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 09:14
  • Purchases: 1
The Hamlin School celebrates 150 years tradition and innovation
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The Hamlin School on Broadway Street in Pacific Heights, Credit: Flickr user rocor
Callie Jones is showing me how to 3D print a tiny yellow chess piece, after designing it herself on a computer. It’s her second day in the 3D print...

  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 06:04
Who’s using San Francisco WiFi?
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The map shows both active and planned wireless service. Currently, only the Free Wifi Service on Market Street is a supported service. , Credit: City of San Francisco
At the corner of Sanchez and Market, Jason Dorn pulls out an iPhone. He’s at one end point of the access area for San Francisco Free WiFi, a free w...

  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 05:30
Not Your Grandma's Orchestra
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: The Firehouse Art Collective door opens to rainy Adeline Street., Credit: Mary Rees
Once or twice a month in the East Bay, violinists and bass-players, flautists and trumpeters -- gather to play orchestra music. But instead of a co...

  • Added: Oct 16, 2014
  • Length: 07:21
In Nob Hill, a fence divides a neighborhood
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Pending approval, a reconstructed 6 foot fence could line the perimeter of Huntington Park in Nob Hill., Credit: Visualization courtesy of SF Recreation and Park Department
If you live in the neighborhood, Huntington Park in San Francisco’s Nob Hill, it's a great place to relax, read a book, or, as Haris Butt says, bri...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 05:48
  • Purchases: 1
Controversy over new morality clause for Catholic teachers in Oakland
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
Current Pope Francis has famously said about homosexuality, “who am I to Judge?” But despite his progressive words, the Roman Catholic church does ...

  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 06:06
Fashion and drama at San Francisco Opera's Costume Sale
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Our tour guide: Christopher Verdosi, assistant costume director, Credit: David Boyer
San Francisco seems to jump at any excuse to throw off daily wear in favor of something more theatrical. That explains why around 2500 people showe...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 07:58
  • Purchases: 1
3D printed prosthetics are fashion statements for amputees
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: A selection of different types of Bespoke fairing designs., Credit: Angela Johnston
When Deborah Bevilacqua lost her leg in a motorcycle accident ten years ago, she had to get a prosthetic leg. It’s been functional she says, but it...

  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 11:41
Turning heads with that dapper butch swagger
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
For some people, getting dressed in the morning isn’t about just throwing on what’s in reach, or clean. For others, it’s more of a ritual with atte...

  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 05:15
Berkeley School District protects students against threat of violence
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Second grade teacher Pamela Diebel releases her class after the lockdown drill., Credit: Rhian Miller
Every time news of another school shooting hits the headlines, so does the debate about how to keep children safe. After the shootings at Sandy Hoo...

  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 10:14
Project-based learning gets kids back on track
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Downtown High School project-based learning student-centered learning alternative education high school public education SFUSD, Credit: Jen Chien
Nearly a dozen teenagers are scattered in small groups across a large classroom at Downtown High School in San Francisco. Some strum on guitars. Ot...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 21, 2014
  • Length: 09:28
  • Purchases: 1
Chinatown Tenants Gather Strength
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Chinatown resident Lee Ming Dang in her 7 by 7 foot home., Credit: Melanie Young
Tenants are facing a tough time in San Francisco. The city has some of the nation’s highest rents and laws like the Ellis Act have made evictions f...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 22, 2014
  • Length: 08:29
  • Purchases: 1
Why some Bay Area dogs are tied up in controversy
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Off-leash dogs and dog walkers at Muir Beach., Credit: Tiffany Camhi
Just over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, a few miles from Muir Woods, lies Muir Beach. The beautiful and peaceful waterfront is a favorite...

  • Added: Oct 22, 2014
  • Length: 06:13
Holding back rising sea levels in the City of Alameda
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Area slated for nature reserve on Alameda Island, Credit: Laura Flynn
I’m on the east side of Alameda Island, standing in mud in front of a storm drain that empties out into San Leandro Bay. There’s a stretch of homes...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:51
A musician, going deaf, fights for a life in music
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Sandy Mix teaches piano to Diane Wilson., Credit: Rachel Wong
From the moment Sandy Mix wakes up in the morning, she is thinking about music. Over coffee, she plans the day’s lessons.

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 04:58
  • Purchases: 2
Zero waste in San Francisco is a 2020 vision
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
“The goal is Zero Waste by 2020, and we think that is an achievable goal.” Those words from former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom back in 2009 p...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 06:04
Kids of incarcerated parents speak out
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Family visits at the Alameda County Jail , Credit: Daniel Arauz
Nearly one in ten children in California have a parent in the criminal justice system, but it’s hard to find numbers for individual cities. Experts...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 05:37
At children's hospital, kids find comfort in music therapy
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Caption: Oliver Jacobson is a music therapist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Here, he plays a session with one of his patients, Maia Mead, Credit: Liz Mak
Oliver Jacobson started playing violin when he was six years old. At 18, he enrolled at Berklee College of Music, one of the top music schools in t...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 09:29
  • Purchases: 1
Urban agriculture ordinance heads to fruition in Richmond
From: KALW
Series: Crosscurrents
Piece image
A vibrant mural announces Happy Lot Farm and Garden to visitors and anyone passing by. A greenhouse stands in the middle of the lot, and an improvi...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 06:45