San Franciscans rejoiced when El Farolito announced its new North Beach location but the beloved Mission taqueria's plans were halted because of the city's "formula retail" laws, which consider El Farolito to be a chain. Business reporter Shwanika Narayan joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the city's ban on chains and whether the laws are actually hurting, rather than helping, local and fast-growing small businesses. Total SF podcast hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight also weigh in on the debate.

The deadly opioid has overtaken the city's drug supply and is responsible for soaring overdose deaths. City Hall reporter Trisha Thadani joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss San Francisco's new Street Overdose Response Team.

The U.S. is allowing more than 80,000 visas to vanish at the end of September, despite more than a million skilled immigrants who have been waiting — sometimes as long as decades — for their green cards. Deepa Fernandes reports.

It's been three weeks since Texas passed the most restrictive abortion law in the country. Since then, women have been fleeing to other states to obtain the procedure, including in one Oklahoma clinic that Chronicle photographer Gabrielle Lurie has been shadowing. She chats with host Cecilia Lei about the Texas women she met with, and how they've navigated the abortion ban since it went into effect.

Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott have unveiled a multi-pronged approach to combat robberies in the city. Chronicle reporter Megan Cassidy joins host Cecilia Lei to explain the new strategy.

Republished to fix an editing error: Columnist Heather Knight joins host Demian Bulwa with exclusive news: San Francisco leaders may be on a path toward removing cars permanently from John F. Kennedy Drive through Golden Gate Park. Other roadways are also being discussed.

Columnist Heather Knight joins host Demian Bulwa with exclusive news: San Francisco leaders may be on a path toward removing cars permanently from John F. Kennedy Drive through Golden Gate Park. Other roadways are also being discussed.

Chronicle senior A&E editor Mariecar Mendoza talks to host Cecilia Lei about inadvertently capturing video of London Breed breaking her own mask mandate at a Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion show, and Heather Knight chats about the political consequences.

Violent attacks have left some residents demanding increased police presence. But others say it sends the wrong message about the actual public safety needs of Chinatown, and that it pits the Asian community against other communities of color.

Two of the Bay Area's biggest public school districts will decide next week whether to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all staffers and students 12 or older. Demian Bulwa talks to reporter Rachel Swan and law professor Dorit Reiss about vax mandates.

After 19 months of the pandemic, many of us feel like COVID-19 experts but still have plenty of questions about what we should be doing. Chronicle health reporter Erin Allday joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about the latest coronavirus updates.

"We said yes to pluralism," the governor said after Californians voted overwhelmingly to let him finish his term. Chronicle reporters Joe Garofoli, Dustin Gardiner and Alexei Koseff join host Demian Bulwa to talk about what's next.

After over a year of pandemic upheaval and partisan rage, Californians will finally decide whether Gov. Gavin Newsom will remain in office. Reporter Alexei Kosseff joins host Cecilia Lei to chat about what to expect as election results roll in.

Two Bay Area residents have filed class-action lawsuits against the century-old practice of chalking tires as a form of parking enforcement. One claims chalking is an unconstitutional search. Reporter Rachel Swan says the courts are listening.

After over a year of escalated racism, turmoil and violent attacks on elders, the Asian American community got its first Marvel superhero in the film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." Star Simu Liu joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about action and identity.

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.

With the Delta variant booming, cases of COVID-19 are rising faster among children than among people over 50. 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.

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.

On this episode of the TotalSF podcast, hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight talk to former Supervisor, state senator and judge Quentin Kopp, who's still going strong at 93 and writing angry letters — including to Hartlaub and Knight.

A new law in Texas outlaws abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. How will that affect California?

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 It’s All Political podcast, hosted by senior political writer Joe Garofoli.

Host Cecilia Lei checks in with evacuees who share what it's been like to leave their houses behind in the Caldor Fire, what the Tahoe community means to them and how they're coping with the uncertainty they face in the days ahead.

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.

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, zoning laws stood in his way, and pro-housing politicians balked at stepping in.

California's blazes are bigger and hotter, and they're jumping highways and mountains. Reporter Julie Johnson joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about how this season compares to previous years and what firefighters will have to face in the months ahead.