Fifth & Mission

The wait is almost over: In 2025, a new WNBA expansion team will begin playing in the Bay Area. The long-anticipated squad will be part of the Golden State Warriors franchise, benefiting from the Golden State brand and owner Joe Lacob’s deep pockets. Will women’s sports fans in the Bay Area ensure it thrives? Sports columnist Ann Killion analyzes what the move means for basketball and the Bay Area with host Laura Wenus. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wealthy tech investors recently unveiled their plans to build a utopian city in southeast Solano County, calling it California Forever. They’re promising idyllic streets and “good paying local jobs,” many of the same things touted for the development of Mountain House, a city built from scratch two decades ago in San Joaquin County. Chronicle urban design critic John King visited Mountain House, and joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss how the community has thrived — and faltered — and what lessons California Forever should take from the masterplanned town. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1969, Native activist Richard Oakes led a group representing several tribes to occupy Alcatraz Island, claiming it as the site of a new Native nation. Three years later, the charismatic face of the Red Power movement was dead, shot by a white neighbor in rural Sonoma. What happened? And how did Oakes’ killing change the course of Native activism? Reporters Jason Fagone and Julie Johnson dug into the past to uncover truths that have been buried for 50 years. They join host Cecilia Lei to share what they found. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate minority leader freezing on camera; California’s senior senator dying in office at age 90: This year has served up a number of reminders that America’s elected leaders are now – on average – far older than the constituents they serve. It’s a trend that has led progressive advocate Amanda Litman to say the U.S. has become a gerontocracy. She joins It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission Host Joe Garofoli to discuss the graying of the country’s political class and why she’s working to get more young people into office. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, Fifth & Mission gathered people on the front lines of the drug overdose crisis in the Bay Area to pose an urgent question: How do we end fatal overdoses? In front of a live audience at Manny’s, our panel of peer counselors, public health employees and medical practitioners joined host Cecilia Lei to discuss access to treatment, harm reduction strategies, the role of the police and the importance of housing — and hope. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Years ago, Dr. Robert Okin took to San Francisco’s streets with a camera and a request: to take portraits and speak with mentally ill homeless people. The former head of psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital published their stories and photos in a book, “Silent Voices,” whose second edition was released this year. Okin joins host Laura Wenus to share what he learned, what he makes of the state’s new CARE Court, and why he thinks the systems meant to stabilize this population often fail them instead. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s newest senator is Laphonza Butler, who was picked by Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Who is Butler? And will the former labor leader who has never held elected office run for the full six-year term? Reporters Shira Stein and Sophia Bollag join It’s All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli to get to know the state’s newest political leader. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As concern over public safety mounts in Oakland, the local chapter of the NAACP has railed against progressive city leaders and called for more law and order. It’s an unusual position for a group whose national organization is known for its support of increased police accountability. Columnist Justin Phillips joins host Cecilia Lei to share why he thinks the Oakland chapter is betraying the city’s Black population by using right-wing rhetoric. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trailblazing San Francisco mayor and California Senator Dianne Feinstein died late Thursday at age 90. In this 2018 interview, Feinstein offered a rare look at how tragedy, death and illness shaped her life and career. The longtime senator spoke with It's All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli about growing up in San Francisco and her time in local politics — including when she lost a bet while serving as mayor and had to wear a bathing suit to a public event. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, a new civil court program is launching in San Francisco to serve the seriously mentally ill. It’s called CARE court, and it’s intended to push more people into treatment for certain mental illnesses. While its scope is limited, some critics worry the program will infringe on civil liberties. Others say it doesn’t go far enough. Reporter Aldo Toledo joins host Laura Wenus to give a preview. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At an upscale San Francisco restaurant, diners recently got a taste of chicken that was never part of a bird. The companies developing lab-grown meat say cultivating flesh instead of raising livestock could reduce animal cruelty and the environmental impacts of our food. But how far away are those goals? And more importantly, how does it taste? Producer Keith Menconi picks up his fork — and talks with Chronicle food and wine editor Janelle Bitker and columnist Soleil Ho — to find out. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new contender to challenge Mayor London Breed's re-election bid announced his campaign on Tuesday. Wealthy philanthropist Daniel Lurie says it’s time for a "new era of leadership." Senior political writer Joe Garofoli joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss Lurie’s vision for San Francisco and why he has a fighting chance to become the city’s next mayor even as a political newcomer. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sharing a home with roommates has always been a strategy for lower-income tenants to rent in expensive cities, but now a nonprofit is matching up strangers on the verge of displacement to help them stay in San Francisco.  Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan talked with two people who moved in together with the help of the HomeMatch program. He joins host Laura Wenus to explain how the city is using this tool to prevent homelessness. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, San Francisco's African American Reparations Advisory Committee went before the Board of Supervisors to present its recommendations for repairing the harm done to the Black community. Will their report lead to action? Reparations committee chair Eric McDonnell reflects on the supervisors' professed support, and Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips analyzes where the city will likely go from here with host Laura Wenus. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Oakland’s crime continues to rise, the city’s leaders are facing growing criticism and demands for more aggressive action. Mayor Sheng Thao has resisted calls to declare a state of emergency, arguing that such a move would amount to “political theater.” Reporter Sarah Ravani joins host Cecilia Lei to help unpack the increasingly fraught politics of public safety in Oakland. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices