Fifth & Mission

The flagship news podcast of the San Francisco Chronicle. Producer/host Cecilia Lei and co-host Laura Wenus discuss the biggest stories of the day with Chronicle journalists and newsmakers from around the Bay Area. | Get full digital access to the Chronicle: sfchronicle.com/pod

News
Politics
326
Is Gavin Newsom Running for President?
As President Biden drops in the polls, some Democrats are shopping for a 2024 candidate. Newsom says he isn’t running, but the way he’s taking on high profile Republicans is making some wonder.
14 min
327
San Francisco School Board Goes Back to Basics
The board, once lambasted for infighting and focusing on issues like renaming schools, is vowing to pivot back to a core issue following a landslide recall — student performance. Reporter Jill Tucker joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about the challenges ahead.
14 min
328
California's Racial Profiling Problem Is Gettin...
Racial disparities in traffic and pedestrian stops by law enforcement have been a historical problem, but now California has the data to see how bad it actually is. Chronicle reporters Dustin Gardiner and Susie Neilson join host Cecilia Lei to discuss the most recent data.
18 min
329
UCSF’s Bob Wachter: How the BA.5 Covid Wave Is ...
The latest Covid-19 pandemic twist is the new Omicron subvariant BA.5, which evades immunity from vaccinations, boosters and previous infections. Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF's chair of medicine, joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about what makes this variant different, and offers guidance on future boosters and how to calculate risks.
20 min
330
How Alameda County's Mental Health System is Fu...
An Alameda County grand jury report has found that the local mental health system is making the area's homeless crisis worse. Among the findings is a lack of basic consensus on solutions, which cause mentally ill residents to cycle in and out of ERs and jails. Reporter Lauren Hepler has details.
17 min
331
Who is New S.F. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins?
Mayor London Breed appointed former Recall Chesa Boudin spokesperson Brooke Jenkins as S.F.'s new district attorney.
28 min
332
Total SF: The Castro Theatre's Organ Player Ris...
On this episode of The Chronicle's Total SF podcast: Longtime Castro Theatre organ player David Hegarty got a scare earlier this year, when Another Planet Entertainment took over operations of the 100-year-old cinema and the future seemed unclear. But the music will go on. Hegarty talks about his start as an organ player and the new digital organ for the theater that is close to reality. Fifth & Mission will return with new episodes on July 11.
27 min
333
Best of 5M: The Tenderloin Rooster
First published March 21: For months, a rooster living in a Tenderloin yard has been terrorizing the neighborhood with its all-day crowing. Longtime resident Adriel Lively wanted to do something about it, but she only found dead ends. Fifth & Mission will return with new episodes on July 11.
13 min
334
Best of 5M: Locked in Fentanyl's Grip
First published Feb. 3, 2022: Chronicle reporter Trisha Thadani takes us into the center of the city's fentanyl crisis — which has nearly double the death toll of COVID-19 — and introduces us to people who are suffering through it. Fifth & Mission will return with new episodes on July 11.
22 min
335
Fixing Our City: Why a Hole in the Ground Is “T...
The debut episode of The Chronicle’s new podcast seeking solutions for San Francisco’s seemingly intractable problems: A 2015 apartment building fire at Mission and 22nd streets killed one person and displaced 50. Seven years later, there’s an empty lot, gathering trash and growing weeds. In the midst of a severe housing crisis, why has nothing been built, and what can we learn from this hole in the ground? Fifth & Mission will return with new episodes on July 11.
25 min
336
California Gas Prices Get Even Higher, Thanks t...
California drivers will pay about 3 cents more per gallon in gas taxes after state legislators rejected a push to suspend the increase amid soaring costs at the pump. Fifth & Mission will return with new episodes on Monday, July 11.
10 min
337
How Digital Data Leaves Abortion Seekers Vulner...
Digital footprints, including Google searches and text messages, could leave abortion seekers vulnerable to prosecution.
12 min
338
The Fate of the Oakland A's Howard Terminal Bal...
15 min
339
What COVID-19's Evolution Means for Our Future
Will we ever be able to get ahead of this relentless virus? It's surpassed the expectations of health experts and scientists: With each mutation, it's been able to evade immunity and become more infectious. Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday explains the evolution of the virus to host Cecilia Lei.
17 min
340
Does the Supreme Court Have Too Much Power?
California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis tells It's All Political on Fifth & Mission host Joe Garofoli that the six justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade have discredited the court, and that she's worried a national abortion ban would supersede California's laws protecting the right to choose.
20 min
341
The Anti-Abortion Movement is ‘Not Stopping Here’
In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, there are countless questions about what comes next. Carole Joffe, a UCSF professor and an expert on the societal impacts of reproductive health care, joins host Dominic Fracassa.
19 min
342
Breaking: Roe v. Wade Is Overturned
For months, Fifth & Mission has been talking to health care workers, advocates and people who have had personal experience with abortion care about what a post-Roe world would look like. Now that we're in that world, listen to some of what they've said.
20 min
343
What's Tough About Pride for Emeryville's Gay M...
California has long been a pioneering mecca for LGBTQ politicians. But John Bauters, one of just eight out mayors in the state, says it can also be exhausting and scary as leaders like him face attacks and threats.
23 min
344
Is Getting COVID Inevitable?
Why have some people managed to avoid catching the virus despite the latest variants being highly transmissible? And will they eventually become infected? Chronicle reporter Danielle Echeverria joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss what health experts have to say about dodging COVID and why that is still worth the effort.
11 min
345
How Storytelling Drag Queens Became Right-Wing ...
A recent disruption of Drag Queen Story Hour by protesters at a San Lorenzo library has the LGBTQ community on edge. Chronicle reporter Ryan Kost joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the anxiety among Bay Area drag queens, and drag queen storyteller Per Sia shares her perspective.
19 min
346
The Future of Central Valley Abortion 'Deserts'
With the Supreme Court expected to overturn Roe v. Wade soon, California is preparing for an influx of out-state patients who will be seeking abortion care. Chronicle reporter Lauren Hepler joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the myth that the state is a post-Roe "sanctuary."
16 min
347
How The Chronicle is "Fixing Our City"
A new Chronicle podcast aims to find solutions to San Francisco's biggest challenges. As part of the SFNext initiative, Fixing Our City is tackling issues like housing and affordability by talking directly to community residents. Host Laura Wenus and producer Cintia Lopez join Cecilia Lei.
17 min
348
Key Takeaways From the Jan. 6 Hearings
Unlike impeachment or the Mueller hearings, the committee is putting on a show — with San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren taking a star turn — and ratings have been good. Washington correspondent Tal Kopan joins Joe Garofoli on It's All Political on Fifth & Mission to talk about it.
22 min
349
Big Vote for New S.F. School Board: Lowell High
A school board with three new members after this year's recall election must decide whether the prestigious public high school will stay with the lottery-based admissions system it adopted for 2021 admissions or revert to the old competitive system. Reporter Jill Tucker has details.
17 min
350
What to Expect of Bay Area's Upcoming "Cruel Su...
Chronicle reporter Kurtis Alexander joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about our hot, dry, possibly burning immediate future. Plus: State Capitol reporter Dustin Gardiner analyzes why Gov. Gavin Newsom has been hesitant to issue statewide water restrictions.
22 min