The Bay KQED

On April 27, 2023, an armed security guard shot and killed a Black trans man named Banko Brown outside of a San Francisco Walgreens.
Brown’s killing sparked outrage. But San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins decided not to charge the security guard who shot him, saying that he acted in self-defense. And just last Friday, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced that it supported that decision. 
This announcement has crushed Banko Brown’s loved ones, including those who say that his killing was an example of the conditions that unhoused transgender people face in San Francisco.
KQED reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez sits down with Brown’s chosen family, to discuss life as a homeless queer person in San Francisco, and Banko’s life before his death.
This episode originally aired on Sept. 6, 2023.
 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At elite high schools in Silicon Valley, the pressure to succeed is intense. And according to Sophia Shao, a former student at Los Altos High School, her proximity to California’s tech capital is a big reason why. 
In this special collaboration with KQED’s Youth Takeover, a yearlong project to highlight compelling stories written and produced by local teens, Shao talks with us about going to school in a place where everyone is expected to excel.
This episode first ran on Aug. 15, 2022
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ruins of Sutro Baths, at the far western edge of San Francisco, are mysterious. Clearly something big used to stand here. Today, the folks from the Bay Curious podcast take you back in time to what visiting this grand swimming facility would have been like.
Episode Transcript
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is in the middle of figuring out exactly how it wants to regulate artificial intelligence. CalMatters’ Khari Johnson joins us to explain how these efforts are going — and how AI could affect all of our lives soon.
Links:

Episode Transcript

How California and the EU work together to regulate artificial intelligence

Apply to be The Bay’s Producer!


Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Applying for student aid this year was supposed to be easier for incoming college students, with a more simplified application process for FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. 
But technical problems and missed deadlines for the new form’s rollout has led to disastrous results for students, especially those who are undocumented or come from mixed status families. These issues are likely a big reason why California saw a major drop in FAFSA applications for the Class of 2024.
This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Ellie Prickett-Morgan, Tamuna Chkareuli and hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra.
Transcript
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The company that owns the Regional Medical Center of San Jose says it plans to close the hospital’s trauma center on August 12. The trauma center is the only one of its kind on Santa Clara County’s east side.
Now, local leaders, patient advocates, and even some doctors from the hospital want the state to intervene, warning that this closure will have devastating ripple effects on the entire region.
Links:

Episode Transcript

Advocates Urge State to Intervene in Closure of San Jose Trauma Center

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices