Crosscurrents

Series produced by KALW

Series image

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
Piece image
At about 1:30am, after a night out with friends, Kyle Nichols-Schmolze is waiting for the AC Transit 800 bus near Market and Van Ness in San Franci...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 08:49
Caption: Wildlife biologist Doug Bell birdwatching at the Altamont Pass, Credit: Judy Silber
California entrepreneurs saw potential in the gusty winds that blew out at the Altamont Pass, between the Central Valley and Bay Area. By the mid-’...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:09
Caption: Reporter Martina Castro interviews a pigeon, Credit: Elizabeth Young
So what? I’m a little obsessed with pigeons. I’m not sure when it started exactly, but at some point I realized I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them...

Bought by WAMC Northeast Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 08:03
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The 168th class of the Oakland Police Academy, Credit: Kyung Jin Lee
After years of struggle, the Oakland Police Department is finally getting some positive news. Crime rates are down in all major categories, includi...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:24
Piece image
California seems to be getting it from both sides. The state is in a serious drought at the same time coastal areas are studying ways to avoid bein...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 06:46
Caption: Cast of Multi Ethnic Theater's "Jitney"
In the garage of a house in San Francisco’s Excelsior district, rehearsal is underway. In the space where a car would normally go is a stage set: a...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:15
Caption: Santa Rita Jail, Credit: California Energy Commission
Arthur Streeter is taking me to meet an inmate who’s going to be released from jail today. “So we’re going to pick him up and get something to eat...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 27, 2014
  • Length: 12:49
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
It all started a couple of years ago, when a happy-go-lucky guy I swim with named Joe Omran showed up at Aquatic Park one day in a foul mood. Thirt...

  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 14:18
Caption: Agriculture experts from Acta Non Verba on the job, Credit: Kelly Carlisle
I’m walking across an old baseball diamond at Tassafaronga Park in Oakland with four very qualified agriculture experts. We’re approaching a new ve...

Bought by KISU


  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 05:20
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Edible Garden at AT&T Park , Credit: San Francisco Giants
Behind a wall in a park in San Francisco, there’s a large and thriving vegetable garden. That might not seem like such a big deal. But the park is ...

  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 03:22
Caption: Rosie the Riveter smiles out from the side of a trashcan decorated by Daud Abdullah in front of Richmond’s City Hall., Credit: Sukey Lewis
Mosaic artist Daud Abdullah up-cycles pieces of trashed pottery, tile, mirror, and glass to make public art on garbage cans in Oakland and Richmond.

Bought by WXDU


  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 05:59
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Do you hold your cell phone against your ear? Your user manual probably warns against it. Bret Bocook knew how to use a cell phone. So he didn’t b...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 06:07
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
A majority of Americans say their biggest financial concern is that they won’t be able to save enough money to retire. This finding, by a recent Ga...

  • Added: Nov 03, 2014
  • Length: 04:20
Caption: Listening to Music for a Changing Tide at Ocean Beach, Credit: Julie Caine
Every two years, San Francisco’s Soundwave Festival asks artists and musicians to focus their talents -- and their ears -- on one sonic idea. This ...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 05:18
Caption: Rosa Robinson turns out cupcakes and other confections for Sweet Dreams Bake Shop, Credit: Sukey Lewis
Sky-high rents, Google buses and gentrification are all buzzwords around the Bay Area. But that is not the case in the city of Richmond. With unemp...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 05:59
Piece image
Have you noticed how the way a space feels really depends on how it sounds? Take the California Academy of Sciences for example. With all the hundr...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 09:46
Caption: John Lovell checking his fog harvest, Credit: Leila Day
Lovell is a fog harvester. He’s obsessed with the fog, and the water resources that are floating right over our heads. He points at a little white ...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 08:45
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Sonj Basha stands in front of Mills Hal, Credit: Angela Johnston
Skylar Crownover is walking me through the lush tree lined streets of Mills College, and through buildings with red clay roofs. Students constantly...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 06:48
Piece image
San Francisco is a bike-friendly city, despite its famous hills. There are designated bike lanes on streets throughout town, and the number of ride...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 04:59
Caption: R.B. oversees the work of the Scraper Bike Team in the backyard of El ColectiVelo bike shop in East Oakland, Credit: Audrey Dilling
At the end of a narrow alley off of International Boulevard, through the open doorway of El ColectíVelo bike shop, I’m greeted by a young boy. “R....

  • Added: Nov 28, 2014
  • Length: 06:25