San Francisco City Insider
This podcast has merged into Fifth & Mission, the flagship newscast of the San Francisco Chronicle. Please subscribe to Fifth & Mission on your favorite podcast app.Old description: From the back rooms of City Hall to the chaotic streets of downtown, the San Francisco City Insider provides insight into the biggest news stories and most pressing issues facing one of the most interesting cities in the world. Chronicle columnist Heather Knight hosts, with regular appearances from The San Francisco Chronicle’s City Hall team – Trisha Thadani and Dominic Fracassa. They ask the tough questions of our city’s leaders to find out what’s going right and what needs to change.
1
San Francisco City Insider Is Moving
This podcast's timeline is ending, but the show will go on! Host Heather Knight is joining Audrey Cooper as co-host of the Chronicle's flagship podcast, Fifth & Mission, where she'll continue to interview newsmakers. And her patented Lightning Round is going with her. Subscribe to Fifth & Mission to keep listening. podfollow.com/fifth
1 min
2
BART's Coming Off the Rails
Bevan Dufty, a member of the BART board of directors, discusses how the already struggling transit agency has seen a 94 percent plunge in ridership during the coronavirus pandemic and how it will ever recover.
41 min
3
How to Combat Shutdown Loneliness
Madeline Dangerfield-Cha, the co-founder of Mon Ami, a service that matches volunteers with isolated seniors, talks about the epidemic of loneliness during our new coronavirus reality and gives tips on how to build connections.
21 min
4
Glide in the Time of COVID-19
Karen Hanrahan, CEO and president of Glide, the famous Tenderloin church and social service provider, talks about the livestream church services and what coronavirus is teaching us about poverty.
28 min
5
Homeless and Desperate
Kristie Fairchild, executive director of North Beach Citizens, talks about how more homeless people are seeking help since food and spare change from tourists and other passersby have dried up due to the coronavirus shutdown.
20 min
6
San Francisco After COVID-19
Cities have long weathered public health crises and emerged stronger because of them. Benjamin Grant, urban design policy director at SPUR, talks about the ways San Francisco will be permanently changed by coronavirus.
23 min
7
Is the Coronavirus Surge Still Coming?
Have we flattened the curve? Dr. Allison Bond, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, gives Heather Knight an inside view of San Francisco hospitals — which, so far, seem like a calm before a storm.
23 min
8
Inside San Francisco's Emergency Command Center
Ivy Lee, a legislative aide who's among hundreds of city staff spending long days inside Moscone Center to prepare for the expected surge in coronavirus cases, discusses San Francisco's readiness with Heather Knight.
21 min
9
Coronavirus: A Disaster for Small Businesses
The shutdown to stem the coronavirus outbreak has already destroyed some small businesses, including the one owned by Sharky Laguana, president of San Francisco's Small Business Commission, who talks to Heather Knight.
25 min
10
Treating Victims of S.F.’s Traffic Violence
Dr. Andre Campbell, a trauma surgeon at San Francisco General Hospital, regularly treats pedestrians and bicyclists mowed down by cars. He speaks with host Heather Knight about the uptick in street violence and what can be done to reduce it.
29 min
11
“This Is Going to Be Catastrophic”
San Franciscan Amanda Kahn Fried is on sabbatical in Italy, a coronavirus hot spot where events seem to be a few weeks ahead of the Bay Area. She tells Heather Knight what it’s like to live under lockdown.
19 min
12
Fifth & Mission: A Top S.F. Doctor on the Coron...
Dr. Andre Campbell, a longtime trauma surgeon and ICU doctor at San Francisco General Hospital, tells Heather Knight on the Chronicle’s flagship podcast what to expect with COVID-19 in the weeks ahead and how the hospital is preparing.
26 min
13
The Bart Board President's Big Dreams
Lateefah Simon, a legally blind single mom who commuted on BART for years before she was elected president of its board of directors in December, talks with Heather Knight about her plans for the beleaguered transit system.
29 min
14
Race, Power and Inequity in San Francisco
Shakirah Simley, director of the new Office of Racial Equity, talks with Dominic Fracassa about rooting out and repairing the racial harms caused by city policies.
29 min
15
There's a New Sheriff in Town
Paul Miyamoto was sworn in at a pivotal moment for criminal justice reform in San Francisco. He tells Dominic Fracassa about the future of the city’s crumbling Hall of Justice and his vow to protect the city’s sanctuary policies.
36 min
16
Vilaska Nguyen: Comedian, Public Defender and S...
In a crossover episode with Total SF, Nguyen joins hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight to announce his candidacy for District 7 supervisor, talk about how Jeff Adachi inspired his comedy and why he lives in San Francisco, and to face the City Insider lightning round.
36 min
17
Young, Homeless and Alone on the Streets
Sherilyn Adams, director of Larkin Street Youth Services, talks about youth homelessness and debunks myths about the crisis in San Francisco.
23 min
18
Corruption in the Public Works Department
Supervisor Matt Haney has long been frustrated by the filthy streets and lack of trash cans and public restrooms in his district. He was outraged by Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru's alleged corruption and is calling for major changes in the department.
31 min
19
Fifth & Mission Live: Primaries 2020
In this episode of the Chronicle's flagship news podcast, Fifth & Mission, Editor in Chief Audrey Cooper, politics writer Joe Garofoli and columnists Heather Knight and Phil Matier talk about Iowa, the upcoming primaries, and local politics at a Chronicle Talks event at Manny's in San Francisco.
60 min
20
The Rare San Francisco Trump Supporter
John Dennis, waging his fourth campaign against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, discusses what it's like to be among the 6.6% of city residents registered to vote as a Republican and why he backs President Trump. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.
23 min
21
Super Excited for the Super Bowl
Supervisor Shamann Walton, City Hall's No. 1 49ers fan, talks about his Super Bowl party and plans for a victory parade up Market Street if the Niners win their first ring in 25 years. Plus: Cable car No. 49, all decked out.
19 min
22
Fifth & Mission: Bombshell Arrest of "MrCleanSF"
San Francisco City Insider host Heather Knight joins Audrey Cooper and Evan Sernoffsky in this breaking news episode of the Fifth & Mission podcast from the San Francisco Chronicle, which we're presenting on the City Insider feed. San Francisco Director of Public Works Mohammed Nuru and Lefty O'Doul's owner Nick Bovis are charged with fraud after a months-long federal corruption probe.
16 min
23
Why San Francisco Needs a Safe Injection Site
For years, drug addiction expert Alex Kral has been studying a secret safe injection site in an undisclosed American city. He says San Francisco has to open its own site to cope with its drug crisis. | Get unlimited Chronicle access.
32 min
24
No Love for the Haight
Endless construction, high rents and increasing labor costs are harming businesses in the Haight. Booksmith owner Christin Evans, president of the neighborhood's merchant association, tells Heather Knight about the hardships.
22 min
25
The Public Defender Makes His Case
Mano Raju has big shoes to fill in replacing the late Jeff Adachi. He talks about the election of his fellow public defender Chesa Boudin to the district attorney's office and his efforts to make jury duty a regular job.
29 min