The California Report Magazine

Oakland Pet Lovers Provide Care to Unhoused Residents’ Furry Friends For people living outside, a trip to the vet is often out of reach. Meg McAdam's Human and Pet Initiative drives through Oakland's homeless encampments, handing out kibble and vaccinating dogs and cats for free – no questions asked. Reporter Alastair Boone rides along for a day and finds that caring for the animals is also how McAdam earns the trust of their owners. This story originally aired on KALW's "Crosscurrents." A Humboldt County Field Trip Becomes a Race to Save a Baby Whale When a group of Humboldt County elementary students took a field trip to their local tide pools, they expected to find crabs and sea anemones. They also witnessed a pod of orcas attack a mother whale and her calf just offshore. Teachers and students found themselves at the center of a desperate rescue when the injured calf washed up on the beach in front of them. This story was produced by KQED's Sukey Lewis and first aired on "Snap Judgment." At Sutro Heights, Strangers Gather to Scream at the Sea Did you just get laid off? Is your love life a disaster? Did not one, but two, of your violins get stolen? These are all good reasons to release a “guttural scream at the sea” according to Danielle Egan, who invited a crowd of strangers to join her in a collective wail at the Pacific Ocean in San Francisco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ultramarathoning Helped Him Train for Life After Prison When Cesar Quijano was paroled from Ironwood State Prison in 2022, he'd spent most of his adult life behind bars. Quijano joined a reentry program near San Diego, but he still struggled to disrupt old patterns – and to alter his path for good. Then, a new mentor suggested he take up running. Reporter Lucy Copp follows Quijano’s journey as he goes from fighting to finish a mile, to taking on a grueling 100-mile race through the mountains of San Diego. This is an excerpt from LAist Studios' podcast "Imperfect Paradise,” where the story recently won a national Murrow award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach Facing a rental market where even a shared apartment can cost thousands per month, San Francisco resident Harlow Srain has spent nine months cold-calling landlords and property managers, to see if they might be willing to charge less for rent. KQED Housing Reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi follows Srain's search as she fights to stay in the community she's built, rather than move to a cheaper apartment farther away. Inside the Unlikely Dance That Brought Two Cultures Together at San Quentin Amu Wynn and Angel Rodriguez are both incarcerated at San Quentin, where Wynn dances with the prison's Native Hawaiian group and Rodriguez leads its Aztec Dance troupe. For the prison's annual Day of Peace, the two broke with prison norms to stage an unprecedented joint performance blending their traditions. This is an excerpt from KALW’s podcast "Uncuffed." Meet the Woman Attempting to Swim the Entire California Coast In July, Catherine Breed got in the ocean near the Oregon border with a goal: to swim all 900 miles of California's coastline and end near the Mexico border by October. She swims up to 15 miles a day, calling the journey her love letter to the California coast — a tribute to the women in sports who came before her. Inside the Nation's Biggest National Park Cleanup, Now in Its Third Decade at Yosemite Yosemite has seen record visitor numbers this year after the park dropped its reservation system. And more visitors means more garbage. Right now, thousands of volunteers are descending for its annual "Facelift" cleanup, hauling everything from cigarette butts to smashed bicycles out of the park. Susan Valot reports on the event, which has removed more than a million pounds of trash from Yosemite since its founding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Speaker: A New Podcast on Nancy Pelosi's Unlikely Path to Power Ahead of Nancy Pelosi's retirement, KQED's Scott Shafer traces her improbable 1987 rise in a new podcast The Speaker: How Nancy Pelosi Changed the Face of Power. The first episode revisits her primary against Democratic Socialist Harry Britt, who had hoped to become San Francisco's first openly gay congressman amid the AIDS crisis — a race Pelosi narrowly won on her way to becoming one of the most powerful women in American politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside the San Francisco Church Where John Coltrane is a Saint If Coltrane were still alive, he’d be celebrating his 100th birthday this month. In a story from our friends at KQED's Bay Curious podcast, Asal Ehsanipour visits the Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in San Francisco, where Reverend Franzo King and Mother Marina have spent 60 years turning the jazz legend's music into a spiritual practice. What began as a living room listening clinic in the 1960s grew into a congregation that has weathered evictions and a copyright lawsuit. Still, they persist in the belief that Coltrane's saxophone carries a divine message. Old Timers and Newbies Look to Cash in by Panning in Gold Country With gold prices hovering near record highs, a new wave of prospectors is showing up along California's Yuba and American rivers, joining old-timers who've been panning for generations. KQED's Katherine Monahan talks to sixth-generation miners, gold-shop owners and newcomers about whether the modern gold rush is worth the effort or mostly hype. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices