Fifth & Mission

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changing the world forever. In the wake of the tragedy, wars raged, national security efforts increased and Muslims in the United States faced mass scrutiny and profiling. Chronicle reporter Deepa Fernandes shares the story of two Bay Area Muslim women who came of age in the aftermath of 9/11 and how they supported their community’s resilience against oppression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Delta variant booming, cases of COVID-19 are rising faster among children than among people over 50. It's a scary time for parents and kids alike as they've mostly returned to in-person school. Reporter Aidin Vaziri has spoken with a variety of public health experts and he tells host Cecilia Lei their best advice for keeping kids safe. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Sultani family of Milpitas, who've been living in California since 2017, were visiting relatives in Kabul this summer when the Taliban seized power. Reporter Deepa Fernandes talks to Demian Bulwa about their struggle to get home, and what lies ahead for them and others in the area's large, and now growing, Afghan community. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quentin Kopp had such a long and influential career as a member of the Board of Supervisors, a state senator and a judge that the I-380 freeway is named after him. He's still going strong at 93, and on this episode of the TotalSF podcast, he's paid a visit by hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight, who have received plenty of Kopp's angry letters. Fifth & Mission is bringing you this episode of our sibling podcast as a Labor Day special. Subscribe to TotalSF: chronicle.com/totalsfpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are abortion rights in California at risk as Gov. Newsom faces a recall? Texas just outlawed abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and the Supreme Court formally rejected requests by abortion providers to block the law. Now, California and the rest of the nation brace for the impact of the ban. Host Cecilia Lei discusses what's at stake with Khiara Bridges, a professor at UC Berkeley, and Shannon Olivieri Hovis, the California Director of NARAL Pro Choice California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As voters are deciding whether to keep or dump Gov. Newsom, a new poll makes the recall look like a longshot. Today’s Fifth & Mission episode features a portion of the Chronicle’s It’s All Political podcast, hosted by senior political writer Joe Garofoli. He sits down with Sacramento reporters Alexei Koseff and Dustin Gardiner to break down the poll results and explore what Republican Larry Elder would do if he became governor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A day after an unprecedented citywide evacuation in South Lake Tahoe due to the Caldor Fire, host Cecilia Lei checks in with evacuees who share what it's been like to leave their houses behind, what the Tahoe community means to them and how they're coping with the uncertainty they face in the days ahead. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Chronicle Fire Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/firemap Chronicle wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The go-to vacation destination for Bay Area residents is also home to more than 20,000 locals who have been forced to leave. Chronicle photographer Carlos Avila Gonzalez joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss what he's witnessing on the front lines, and Bay Area native Katie MacBride talks about what it's like to potentially lose a cabin that's been in her family for generations. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod  Chronicle Fire Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/firemap Chronicle wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Chronicle Drought Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/water Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a small but telling flare-up of the housing wars, a Corona Heights homeowner wanted to add units, including affordable ones, on his spacious corner lot. Neighbors objected and called him a profiteer, zoning laws stood in his way, and pro-housing politicians balked at stepping in. City Hall columnist Heather Knight interviews Scott Pluta, the homeowner, then talks to host Demian Bulwa about why it’s so hard to build housing — and how we can expect to see even more intense fights in the near future. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's blazes are bigger and hotter, and they're jumping highways and mountains, including in the Sierra Nevada. Reporter Julie Johnson joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about how this season compares to previous years, how the drought factors into fire behavior, and what firefighters will have to face in the months ahead. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Chronicle Fire Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/firemap Chronicle wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Chronicle Drought Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/water Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year and a half into the pandemic, hospitals in Northern California's rural counties are running out of room, stricken with a contagious delta variant and communities with low vaccination rates. Patients are suffering. Doctors and nurses are exhausted and pleading with the public to get the shots before it's too late. On this episode of the Fifth & Mission podcast, Chronicle reporter Shwanika Narayan tells host Demian Bulwa how bad the surge is getting in these places, and Dr. Stephanie Dittmer, a physician in Humboldt County, describes being right in the middle of it.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Alameda County Superior Court judge striking down the measure is a win for Uber and Lyft drivers and others, but reporter Carolyn Said tells host Cecilia Lei that there are more legal battles ahead before companies must classify them as employees. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The utility has been linked to some of California's most destructive and deadliest wildfires, and fire victims have had to wait for compensation — none longer than survivors of the 2015 Butte Fire. Reporter J.D. Morris joins host Cecilia Lei to explain why the amount they’ll be able to collect could be affected by the company’s role in the massive Dixie Fire, which is burning now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Chronicle Fire Map & Tracker: sfchronicle.com/firemap Chronicle wildfires coverage: sfchronicle.com/wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chronicle reporters went to the Bay Area ZIP codes with the lowest vaccination rates and asked people why they hadn't gotten the shots. Reporter Julie Johnson tells host Demian Bulwa that people offered a mix of reasons, from lack of trust in medical authorities to belief in conspiracies, from laziness to lack of access. Plus: Reporter Ryan Kost digs into the plight of the immunocompromised as the delta variant surges. What are their lives like, and what are officials doing to help? | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2019, Christina Lalanne found a century-old diary in her San Francisco home. She spent two years chasing its ghosts around the city and across the Atlantic, uncovering a love story that was almost lost to history. Sarah Feldberg reports. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices