Civic

About the ‘Silent Killer’ Series

The San Francisco Public Press examined recent efforts to step up diagnosis, vaccination and treatment for hepatitis B. Chronic hepatitis B affects an estimated 305,000 people in California, with the vast majority of cases affecting people in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Deep racial and cultural disparities in illness caused by the hepatitis B virus have persisted for decades. A cure is in trials, but those inequities, along with federal funding cuts, could hamper its rollout.



This reporting was supported with a California Health Equity Fellowship from the USC Annenberg Center f...

Veterans and advocates are sounding the alarm as massive federal job cuts and plans to eliminate 83,000 positions at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — championed as “efficiency reforms” by the Trump administration — threaten to strip away critical services. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at the human toll of sweeping layoffs and the privatization push at the VA. And we spotlight community resilience, with programs like Vets in Tech, co-founded by Craig Newmark, helping veterans transition into Silicon Valley careers—without tapping into their VA benefits. Learn more: vetsintech.co

The San Francisco Public Press on April 30, 2025, hosted a fireside chat recorded for this “Civic” episode about attacks on diversity, democracy and media with Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, the public editor at PBS, and Lila LaHood, executive director of the San Francisco Public Press. In addition to discussing how journalists can do better covering issues their audiences care about in a political environment that is fraught with conflict, how PBS engages with listeners and viewers about their critiques and concerns, and why public media newsrooms aim to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, Sandoval-Palos and LaHood talked about what might happ...

San Francisco's mayor and police department are facing praise and scorn for cracking down on homelessness and visible substance use amidst shelter and treatment bed shortages and jail overcrowding. 

Join the San Francisco Public Press for a screening of “Stripped for Parts” in San Francisco on Thursday, March 13. Details and tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/film-stripped-for-parts-american-journalism-on-the-brink-tickets-1250795746749Website for the film: https://strippedforpartsfilm.com/Rick Goldsmith’s production company: https://kovnocommunications.org/

San Francisco's immigrant communities are facing a crisis as the Trump administration threatens mass deportations. For four decades, San Francisco has been a refuge for immigrants seeking a better life and a battleground for justice when federal policies target vulnerable communities. Today, legal aid networks, rapid response teams, and mass protests are showing that the city will not stand by while so many of its residents are at risk. In this episode, we’ll hear from people affected by mass deportation efforts. We’ll also hear from experts with a historical perspective, and resistance movement organizers.

This week marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the conflict shows no signs of ending. On the eve of this grim anniversary, Russia launched its largest drone attack yet, causing widespread destruction and civilian casualties. Days later, the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution calling for Russia’s withdrawal. In this episode, we revisit conversations first aired on April 7, 2022 — just six weeks after the invasion began — as San Francisco residents with deep ties to Ukraine were fearing for loved ones and desperately trying to help. From sending vital medical supplies to welcoming refugees into the Bay...

Ever since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, emboldened anti-abortion activists have used increasingly aggressive efforts to shut down abortion access in San Francisco. In October, an anti-abortion crusader entered the local Planned Parenthood brandishing a gun. And a new anti-abortion movement that launched in San Francisco is gaining popularity through TikTok posts of members performing clinic invasions. City officials stepped up abortion protections with new legislation and Proposition O — a ballot measure to support women seeking abortions, which passed with 84% of the vote. That’s in keeping with a long San Francisco tradition of fighting for abortion access goin...

Thank you for listening. To support this work, visit: https://www.sfpublicpress.org/donate/

LGBTQ Latin Americans come to San Francisco seeking relief from oppression and hostility. But when they join substance use disorder support groups, many encounter scorn — especially if they’re transgender. When one San Francisco couple heard that transgender Latin Americans were facing hostility in peer support groups, they formed their own. Now LGBTQ people in addiction recovery across the U.S. and Latin America are turning to their group as a welcoming place to heal.

Find out how to connect by emailing RecuperacionDiversa@gmail.com.

The Navy conducted radiation experiments on humans at San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, turning hundreds of servicemen and shipyard workers into unwitting “volunteers” for Cold War scientists’ biology and safety research.

Check out the full series at https://sfpublicpress.org/exposed

Decades after the Navy closed a Cold War radiation research lab at San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, the mess isn't completely cleaned up. Neighbors in Bayview-Hunters Point are demanding accountability for the toxic legacy amid charges of environmental racism.

Check out the full series at https://sfpublicpress.org/exposed

Watch for a special investigative 2 episode podcast dropping Monday, November 25th.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco’s Latinx residents experienced higher rates of infection and deaths, and greater losses of income and homes compared with other ethnic groups. Widespread depression and anxiety resulting from the trauma led to a grassroots effort to heal the community. That’s when a UCSF psychiatrist asked them to test a new therapy that combines an app with trained coaches chosen from amongst members of their community. Now locals are envisioning a brighter future, and the project is getting kudos from the White House. 

San Francisco’s proposition K is the most heated issue in this year’s local election. It asks whether the city should close a segment of the Great Highway, a coastal thoroughfare, to car traffic, so it could later become a park. Residents are divided: some welcome the idea of a park for families and community gatherings, while others worry that it will make north-south travel on the west side more difficult, making it harder to connect with their families and communities. In this episode, we hear from residents about why this space matters to them—whether as a road o...

Affordable housing is too expensive for many in San Francisco, leaving people in untenable living situations: rentals they can’t afford, overcrowded single room occupancy hotels, or tents on the street. Proposition G tries to combat that issue by proposing the creation of a fund to subsidize 550 to 600 units of affordable housing for extremely low income seniors, people with disabilities and families in San Francisco. We speak with an older adult about her precarious housing situation, as well as local organizations that work with vulnerable populations to understand why affordable housing is so costly in the first place, and ho...

In the November, 2024 election San Francisco voters are being asked to decide whether to approve a wide range of issues in the form of 15 local ballot propositions, including ones on a major overhaul of the city’s commission system, bond measures and other program funding, changes to the business tax system, and incentives to bolster the ranks of police, fire and other emergency services employees. San Francisco’s list of ballot measures is long and complex. Here are Propositions A through O as explained by our reporting staff. 

You can find more detailed information on our November, 2024 Elect...

San Francisco commission reform is on the November 2024 ballot. If either Proposition D or E passes, they will change the city’s commissions in different ways, which have had a vital role in how the combined city and county of San Francisco has been governed since 1898. Civic speaks to John Monson, the co-author of a civil grand jury report “Commission Impossible.” To create this report, the jury carried out an extensive examination of the commissions system before Proposition D or E made it to the ballot. 

Find the Civil Grand Jury report here: https://www.sf.gov/sites/d...

There’s a glimmer of hope in San Francisco’s overdose crisis as the rate at which people are dying appears to be slowing down. But the city’s health director warned the public that the death rate may not have peaked yet. Meanwhile, health and city officials who once advocated for a place where people could safely consume substances in case of overdose have gone silent on the topic. So we provide a reminder of what overdose prevention centers can achieve by revisiting New York City’s OnPoint, which is saving lives and cleaning up its surrounding neighborhood.

Decisions by local and state governments have major impacts on our daily lives. But as transparency about those decisions decreases, and underfunded newsrooms struggle to get answers, many affected citizens are taking matters into their own hands.

San Francisco Public Press Executive Director Lila LaHood spoke with award-winning journalist Miranda Spivack, author of the

 forthcoming book, “Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities — and the Local Heroes Fighting Back.” She shared what she has learned about keeping governments accountable.

As mentioned at the end of the episode:

How Cal...

Increases in the number of migrants arriving in San Francisco have stress-tested the city’s shelter system, revealing the dire need for more housing and support for families. We talk to migrant parents driven out of their homes by violence and political upheaval about navigating San Francisco’s homeless response system and its impacts on their families’ health and wellbeing as they fight for a better future. A housing provider shares the limitations of the city’s data on family homelessness, and an immigration attorney tells us how a stable living situation helps migrant families with their court cases. 

The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic led to a rise in fatal overdoses among the tens of thousands of Indigenous Maya living in the Bay area. That alarmed Latinx advocates and officials at the Mexican consulate in San Francisco. Indigenous Latin Americans are categorized as Latinx even though many speak limited Spanish. That means vital information, like drug awareness campaigns and the dangers of fentanyl, may not be reaching the Maya-speaking community. And service providers say culturally-sensitive treatment programs are crucial for healing but are nearly non-existent for the Indigenous population. We discuss the push for change in San Francisco...

The first years of the COVID-19 pandemic are behind us and it’s time for an early reckoning of our successes and failures. An epidemiologist shares how a lack of public trust led to unnecessary deaths. AIDS activists discuss the importance of facing trauma and a woman who lost her father to COVID is fighting for a memorial for those who died. 

Three years ago, when violence against Asian Americans spiked, local organizations took action to improve public safety. One group, the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice in San Francisco, is still doing that work. In this episode, we join them for one of their recurring community visits in the Richmond District. Outreach workers share how they connect with business owners and residents and help them feel safe.

Lila LaHood, publisher of the San Francisco Public Press, talks with Nuala Bishari from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sydney Johnson from KQED, and Sylvie Sturm from “Civic” and the San Francisco Public Press about their reporting on drug use, public policy and and substance use disorder treatment in San Francisco. They discuss the harm reduction philosophy and practice, San Francisco’s inconsistent stance on overdose prevention centers, public safety perceptions, Proposition F, and what other cities are doing to address drug use, sales and treatment in their communities.

Election Special: Voters in San Francisco registered with the Peace & Freedom, Green, Republican or Democratic parties have extra choices in the March 5th election that only come around once every four years — the party county central committees. We talk to a political strategist to discuss the power dynamics of these committees in San Francisco and find out what voters are tasked to choose. We also hear from representatives of each of these parties to learn a bit more about how they operate.

Democratic County Central Committee: https://www.sfdemocrats.org/our-party/the-dccc

Republican Party of Sa...

March 2024 Election Special: Mayor London Breed is facing one of the most pivotal moments of her political career as she campaigns for reelection amidst a dual crisis of addiction and homelessness. Her solution is a ballot measure that would compel welfare recipients to submit to drug addiction screening and treatment in order to get cash benefits. We explore the fierce debate that has rippled across San Francisco and beyond, and a very similar measure that catapulted a former San Francisco supervisor onto the national stage and political stardom — Gavin Newsom.

March 2024 Election Special: Why are San Francisco residents being asked to vote on County Superior Court Judges? We talk to University of San Francisco professor of politics Keally McBride about the slate of candidates, how the process works, and what people should be thinking about when considering their vote.

*Audio fixed - Previously uploaded episode was the wrong audio and has been fixed*

Fentanyl-related deaths among teens more than tripled across the U.S. from 2019 to 2021. And the CDC reports that two thirds of teens who died had someone nearby who didn’t provide an overdose response. Now San Francisco high school students are signing up for training sessions on how to recognize drug abuse and reverse overdoses. And it’s not just teens who want to help. City residents are carrying overdose reversal nasal spray in case they come across someone in need of rescuing. But...

Fentanyl-related deaths among teens more than tripled across the U.S. from 2019 to 2021. And the CDC reports that two thirds of teens who died had someone nearby who didn’t provide an overdose response. Now San Francisco high school students are signing up for training sessions on how to recognize drug abuse and reverse overdoses. And it’s not just teens who want to help. City residents are carrying overdose reversal nasal spray in case they come across someone in need of rescuing. But reversing an overdose isn’t quite as simple as it might sound. In this sixth and fi...

The Fight for Safe Consumption Sites: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 5

As overdose fatalities reach two to three deaths a day in San Francisco, demands for supervised consumption sites are getting more urgent. But city leaders are increasingly reluctant. And health officials who once campaigned for them are now conspicuously silent. We investigate San Francisco’s long fight for safe consumption sites and what changed. And we visit an overdose prevention center in New York City that’s having a real impact on the neighborhood and people’s lives. 

The War on Drugs Revisited: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis

Some San Francisco city officials are advocating jail for unhoused people who use drugs and murder charges for people who sell drugs. Critics say their approach mirrors the abysmal failure of the 50-year-old war on drugs. In the fourth episode of our series on San Francisco and the overdose crisis, we take a historical look at the justice system’s approach to drugs, its racial inequities, what has changed, and what may be making a comeback.

San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 3

*Content Warning: Explicit language and a description of an overdose experience.* 

San Francisco city officials have decided that arresting unhoused people for using drugs is the way to get them into treatment programs. Critics say jails are no place to get clean. And besides, forcing people into rehab doesn’t work. Based on the rate of treatment refusal by those arrested, the critics have a point. In the third episode of our series on San Francisco and the overdose crisis, we take a historical look at policing drug use...

Civic Presents: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis Part 2

While San Francisco is on track to break records for the highest number of fatal overdoses in one year, health experts say the city is failing when it comes to one surefire way to save lives: housing. San Francisco’s history has made housing a huge challenge. In this second episode of our series, we take a historical look at the city’s homelessness crisis, how it worsens addiction and drug-related fatalities, and how the city is responding.

Civic Presents: San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis

San Francisco is experiencing its worst rate of drug-related fatalities ever, and as city officials impose increasingly punitive measures against people who use and sell drugs, the problem only seems to be getting worse. In this first episode of our series on San Francisco’s overdose crisis, we take a historical look at opioid addiction, and we assess the damage of stigma on the city’s most vulnerable residents.

Seven months after being violently removed from their grandmother’s Santa Cruz home and taken to reunification therapy, Maya and Sebastian take to social media to announce that they have escaped. We touch base with Maya and get an update on the push for reforms.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides confidential assistance to anyone affected by domestic violence through a live chat and a free 24-hour hotline at 800-799-7233.

San Francisco is considering reparations for Black San Franciscans. To understand why advocates are pushing for reparations in the city, we dive deep into the history of redlining, urban renewal, and other discriminatory housing policies, as well as their impact on two historically Black neighborhoods: the Fillmore and Bayview Hunters Point. The final plan, created by the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, outlines recommendations to address mass incarceration, the war on drugs, disparities in health and education and more. The plan is due June 30th to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors. Go to sfpublicpress.org for the companion...

The extreme winter storms put San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management to the test. Early in the storm cycle, the department faced challenges communicating with people experiencing homelessness. Internal confusion over the forecast delayed the opening of its Emergency Operations Center until a major storm was under way. In at least one instance, flood barriers were deployed too late to prevent homes and businesses from being inundated.

Content Warning: Audio of children in distress, discussions of child sexual abuse and child abuse, & swearing

When a family court rules that a child was brainwashed into lying about parental abuse, judges routinely order the child into programs called reunification camps. The goal is to make the child recant abuse claims and embrace the parent they allege harmed them. The process involves forcibly removing the child from their preferred parent’s home and transporting them to a reunification camp in another city or out of state. It’s a process that’s caused trauma to an untold number...

Family court judges routinely grant full custody to a parent after a child alleges they’re abusing them. That’s because they believe the other parent brainwashed their kids into lying about the abuse. The judge’s decision is often influenced by a pseudo psychological theory dreamt up 40 years ago by one guy who created a cottage industry out of defending child abusers. That cottage industry has now become a booming business for many family court lawyers. One lawyer we talked to said that in every single one of his cases, the court decided the child was lying about being...