What does it mean to live, work, and make decisions in a rapidly automated world?

Life, Automated, a new podcast distributed by KQED and made by our partners at the Ryan Institute for Complexity at Northwestern University, explores this urgent question. Listen every other Wednesday wherever you listen.

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As we ramp up production for August, we’ve been thinking about you – our listeners – a lot. 

And we’d love to chat. About what you like hearing, what you want to hear more of, and some ideas we have.

If you’re up for that, leave us a voicemail at 415-710-9223. Please leave us your name and a good number to call. Talk soon!

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I’m sure you’ll agree with us: Sometimes, it's good to take a break from the news. Every July, The Bay takes a break from making new episodes. We use this time to reset, rest, and brainstorm what we want to make for you.

We will resume our regular schedule on Monday Aug. 3. Say hello anytime [email protected]. We always love hearing from you. Thank you for listening and enjoying the show!

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In this June 2026 edition of the monthly news roundup, we discuss the Giants’ pride month controversy, the debate over a new data center coming to Pittsburg, and how high school students pushed for improvements to their local bus line in San Francisco.

Links:

• Pittsburg controversy over data center on old Delta View Golf Course
• This Bay Area suburb lost its main industry. Can it rebuild?
• In San Francisco, Students Become Transit Advocates to Fix ‘the City’s School Bus’
• Fans chew out SF Giants for team's 'weak' response to Pride Night saga

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In today’s episode, we bid farewell to The Bay’s producer, Jessica Kariisa, and discuss her deep love for San Jose.

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Last month, the streaming platform Spotify added a new feature that allows users to generate their own AI remixes. With no signs of AI slowing down in the music industry, we’re revisiting this episode about the labor implications, and how human artists are adapting.

This episode first aired Nov. 14, 2025

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The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) was one of the first gay-positive Christian churches. During the height of the AIDS crisis, it was a place where hundreds of LGBTQ Christians found community, sustenance, and healing as they grappled with the illness and death of the epidemic.

When We All Get to Heaven, a 10-episode audio documentary series produced by Eureka Street Productions and distributed by Slate, follows queer Christians caught between two communities: a religious world that said gays had no place, and a gay rights movement that said God had no place.

Links:

• Listen: When We All Get to Heaven

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In 1945, Wesley Johnson, a San Francisco State graduate from Texas, rode down Fillmore Street, announcing Juneteenth and inviting all around to celebrate. At that time, the Fillmore district was the heart of San Francisco’s Black community, and famously known as the ‘Harlem of the West.’ 

But over the decades, systemic displacement in the name of urban renewal has dramatically shrunk the neighborhood’s Black population. Between 1970 and 2020, the Black population in the Fillmore dropped from 57% to just 16%. In this episode, we head to the Fillmore’s annual Juneteenth celebration and talk to a Fillmore native dedicated to keeping the community alive. 

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Another huge sporting event is here in the Bay Area. The World Cup, with 48 participating countries and 104 matches spread out across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, is underway until the final on July 19. In addition to the six World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, free watch parties are on all over the region, and two teams – Paraguay and Australia – are using the Bay Area as their base camps.

KQED reporter Ayah Ali-Ahmad tells us what it’s like on the ground in San Jose, as thousands of visitors come to the Bay Area yet again.

Links:

• Team Paraguay Arrives in San José Ahead of World Cup Games at Levi’s | KQED

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Last week, the Pacifica City Council approved an emergency declaration to demolish the beloved Chit Chat Cafe at the Pacifica Pier, as parts of the structure began to crumble into the ocean.

Plans for the rest of the pier are still up in the air, as Pacifica residents reckon with the future of their coastal community in the face of coastal erosion, sea level rise, and climate change.

Links:

• ‘You Can’t Beat Mother Nature’: Destroyed Cafe Gives Pacifica Look at Climate-Changed Future

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The World Cup is now underway, with planned events around the Bay Area. Under the ethos of soccer as a “global language,” local soccer leagues in the Bay Area have been providing a rare sense of solace for new immigrant youth. 

This episode first published June 11, 2025

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