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
1076
Best of Fifth & Mission: Photographing Homeless...
In this episode first published July 29, photographers Gabrielle Lurie and Jessica Christian discuss photographing homelessness during the Chronicle's 24-hour project. They talk about the challenges of photographing for 24 hours straight, keeping safe on the streets and making moving imagery under tough circumstances. We also learn about Jessica’s subject “Shorty,” and how he lives as a disabled homeless man on the streets of San Francisco.
30 min
1077
BBQ in the Bay
In a region that has nearly every type of cuisine, good barbecue restaurants have been hard to find. That seems to be changing with an explosion of pop-ups and even some brick-and-mortars springing up in unexpected places. Can they thrive in the Bay?
27 min
1078
Meet Mission Bay
Urban design critic John King explores the history of San Francisco's newest neighborhood, what went wrong in designing it and what he thinks of the Warriors' arena plopped in the middle of it
21 min
1079
Broken Promises at the Hunters Point Shipyard
What led federal and city officials to back away from voter-demanded promises to completely clean radiological contamination and what is next for the nation’s most complex Superfund site? Note: An earlier edit of this episode contained an error about the timing of the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests. They began after World War II.
17 min
1080
Esther Mobley on How to Drink Wine
The Chronicle’s wine critic shares her secrets and brings her spit bucket for a tasting session. Plus: How California vintners are adjusting to climate change, which threatens Cabernet Sauvignon, the state’s most important grape.
28 min
1081
Oakland's Warehouse Scene After Ghost Ship
A crackdown on people living and making art in warehouses followed the deadly 2016 fire at an unsanctioned music event. But as Rachel Swan reports, bigger changes came as a result of another shift: the legalization of marijuana.
14 min
1082
The Doctor Accused of Murder
Health reporter Erin Allday on Dr. Thomas McNeese Keller, the Santa Rosa physician who, already under investigation by the state medical board, has been charged with murder in the deaths of five patients who suffered opioid overdoses.
11 min
1083
Justin Phillips on Black Culture in the Bay Area
San Francisco Chronicle reporter Justin Phillips talks to editor in chief Audrey Cooper about his new column on the African American experience in and around San Francisco.
18 min
1084
How the Town Beats the City on Housing
Oakland has historically underproduced housing, but in 2019, it's on pace to finish about 2,000 more new units than San Francisco. Reporter J.K. Dineen talks about what's changed in the East Bay.
10 min
1085
SF City Insider: An Epidemic of Untreated Menta...
Fifth & Mission presents an episode of the Chronicle podcast San Francisco City Insider. The city is compelling far fewer mentally ill people into mandated treatment. Columnist Heather Knight and City Hall reporter Dominic Fracassa discuss the rise in clearly untreated mental illness on San Francisco’s sidewalks.
15 min
1086
Should San Francisco Buy PG&E's Power Lines?
The utility's wildfire-related bankruptcy has San Francisco looking to take over its power operation in the city. Reporters J.D. Morris and Dominic Fracassa talk about the opportunities and risks the multibillion-dollar move would present.
16 min
1087
Swag: It’s Fun! It’s Free! It Works! It’s a Nig...
It’s a constant in the tech industry and has been for ages. The data says swag is an effective marketing tool, and sometimes the goodies are nice. But there’s a cost for the environment. Owen Thomas and Carolyn Said on “stuff we all get.”
10 min
1088
Live Event: San Francisco Homelessness With May...
Editor in chief Audrey Cooper and homelessness reporter Kevin Fagan talk about highlights from the recent Chronicle Talks event with Mayor London Breed and a panel of homeless people and experts.
15 min
1089
Salesforce Tower Light Show, Featuring ... YOU?
Reporter Melia Russell on new images atop Salesforce Tower. Starting this fall, the tower top will show snippets of city life that are recorded by cameras planted around San Francisco. The next version could feature a blurry image of you.
10 min
1090
The Big Event: Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor of...
In this episode of the Chronicle podcast The Big Event, Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods tell Peter Hartlaub about creating one of the biggest hits of the podcast boom, which brings listeners inside San Quentin State Prison. Subscribe to The Big Event, your concierge to Bay Area culture, wherever you get Fifth & Mission.
36 min
1091
California's Secret Automaker Deal
Alexei Koseff of the Chronicle's Sacramento bureau joins Audrey Cooper to talk about the state getting four carmakers to agree to cut emissions — a deal that puts California on a collision course with the Trump administration.
13 min
1092
On the Streets With the Homeless
Kurtis Alexander, Nanette Asimov and Evan Sernoffsky talk about reporting for the Chronicle's multimedia project "One Day, One City, No Relief: 24 hours Inside San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis."
26 min
1093
What We Know About the Gilroy Shooter
Why did a 19-year-old man gun down three people and wound a dozen more at the Gilroy Garlic Festival? Reporter Rachel Swan on the hunt for a motive, the search of the shooter's apartment and the trend of killers fueled by online hate.
11 min
1094
Bay Curious: Your Questions on Homelessness
In a collaboration with the NPR podcast Bay Curious from KQED, Chronicle editor in chief Audrey Cooper and reporter Kevin Fagan join host Olivia Allen-Price to answer four key questions about the homeless from listeners and readers.
16 min
1095
Horror at the Gilroy Garlic Festival
Reporter Lizzie Johnson joins Demian Bulwa to talk about the latest on the mass shooting in Gilroy. How did the shooter get his weapon? What was his motive? And who were the people — including two children — who died in the rampage?
10 min
1096
Photographing Homelessness For 24 Hours
Photographers Gabrielle Lurie and Jessica Christian discuss photographing homelessness during our 24-hour homelessness project. They talk about the challenges of photographing for 24-hours straight, keeping safe out on the streets and how to make moving imagery under tough circumstances. We also learn about Jessica’s subject “Shorty” and how he lives as a disabled homeless man on the streets of San Francisco.
30 min
1097
Safe Parking for the Homeless
People living in vehicles is the next frontier in the homelessness crisis for San Francisco city officials to deal with. A new proposal would turn a parking lot near Balboa Park into a "triage center" for overnight parking and services.
14 min
1098
Town-Gown Quarrels at Stanford & UC Berkeley
Tight housing and more students spell tension between the elite universities and the cities they live in. The city of Berkeley is suing UC, as Santa Clara County wrestles with an expanding Stanford.
12 min
1099
Newsom Takes on PG&E Wildfire Crisis
As wildfire season began, California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a plan to shield utilities from wildfire liabilities. How does the fund work and how did Newsom navigate his first big crisis?
17 min
1100
'Miscarriage Leave' On the Rise
Miscarriages are very common — and emotionally searing. Some Bay Area companies are offering paid leave to employees, both men and women, who have experienced losses.
17 min