Crosscurrents

Sofie Lovern is a Latina convert and comedienne who learned the difficulty of trying to merge two very different cultures in a marriage, even when their religions were the same. Her struggle with marriage is not uncommon with new convert women who are often rushed into marriage. Her marriage fails, but her comedy brings her through it all. She emerges unmarried but still Muslim.

Originally, we were planning to do this series at the beginning of this year… but then COVID-19 hit. We had to put our climate change reporting on pause to focus on covering the coronavirus. But of course, climate change has not paused. In the final episode of our series, we find out what the pandemic can teach us about climate change. And, we talk to a psychiatrist about how to cope.

Today, we hear how Bay Area Schools are now funded to give students two free meals a day, and that means schools are feeding a lot more kids. So we decicded to check in with school chefs and students to see how it’s going. Then, we keep it on the topic of school meals and also very close to home with a visit to the Burton High School cafeteria for lunch. And, we hear a reading from Santa Rosa graphic novelist Alexis Fajardo's latest work.

Today, we’re bringing you an episode of a new podcast from Northern California Public Media called Living Downstream. The podcast looks at environmental justice issues around the world, and a couple episodes take place right here in California. Last week, we brought you an episode about air pollution in West Oakland. This time, we’re going to the biggest lake in California, which is now starved of water. We hear how it impacts the health of the people who live around it. We begin with Adriana Torres, who lives in a rural community there, an area called North Shore. We'll also hear from her classmate Rosa Gonzalez.

The story of two men who work to reconcile their identity as Latinx—with their identity as Muslims. One has dedicated his life to helping the Latino Muslim community in his city, the other still isn’t even sure being in a community as a Latinx Muslim is possible.

On the first day of this year, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker called up the Bay Area’s top Covid experts. We’ll hear what they said. Then, we learn about an investigation into California’s failure to protect outdoor workers from wildfire smoke. And, we listen to Dr. Rupa Marya as she reads from her book.

West Oakland residents breathe and suffer from pollution caused by toxic diesel exhaust. In part two of this story reporter, Sarah Holtz takes us into the issue with community organizer Margaret Gordon and the Director of Clean Air Advocacy, Will Barrett.

For decades, community members and allies have complained about the diesel truck traffic around the Port of Oakland. People who live in this neighborhood have elevated instances of asthma and shorter life spans than others in the county. We meet the activists who are trying to change this reality.

Students at San Francisco’s City College started organizing this past spring to preserve the school’s language classes. Today, we hear the story behind the movement Save Cantonese at CCSF. Then, Bay Area poet Christine No writes about her personal journey of trying to understand love. And, San Francisco author Conrad Benedicto reads from his first novel.

One Black man works to connect his faith to his community, and to his fallen leaders. A new story from The Spiritual Edge series Becoming Muslim looks at a path to Islam that means walking in the footsteps of Black Revolutionaries.

Today, we'll hear stories about how people in prisons get through the holidays, even when they can’t see their families. It's a special episode from KALW's podcast, Uncuffed.

As wildfires become more common, so does their lasting impact on humans. Then, we meet some Filipinx writers who are using art to hold agency over their own narratives. And, we listen to a reading from Alameda poet Paul Corman-Roberts.

Convicted of first-degree murder and sent to Folsom State Prison, Wendell El-Amin James gravitated towards the Muslim prisoners out of a need for protection. But ultimately his conversion restructured his life to one of education and purpose.

LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness are a vulnerable population within an already vulnerable group. Then, as reparations for African Americans inch closer to being a reality, we ask, who should get reparations?

We talk about how twice as many people are living out of their vehicles in the Bay Area than there were two years ago. Then, we visit a non-profit that helps Afghan evacuees resettle in the Bay Area. And, we’ll hear a reading from Nicolette Hahn Niman.