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
1101
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
1102
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
1103
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
1104
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
1105
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
1106
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
1107
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
1108
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
1109
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
1110
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
1111
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
1112
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
1113
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
1114
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
1115
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
1116
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
1117
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
1118
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
1119
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
1120
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
1121
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
1122
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
1123
'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
1124
A Change Could Be Coming to Prop 13
A ballot measure headed for the 2020 ballot could bring $11 billion more in tax revenues by changing the way that commercial property is taxed. But county assessors said it would be a logistical nightmare to implement. The Chronicle's senior political writer Joe Garofoli explains how some politicians are ready to grab California's infamous third rail of politics -- Prop 13.
12 min
1125
No Straws, No Forks
Welcome to ‘Ban Francisco’! Business editor Owen Thomas and writers Carolyn Said and Elena Shao discuss the city’s latest attempt to crack down on something. In this case it’s plastic waste from all the straws, utensils, condiment packages and other accessories that come with food orders. The new rule took effect July 1 and we found that restaurants and diners are still getting used to it.
12 min