Today, a story about a young Oakland woman who’s a little lost… then finds herself in the middle of a mysterious cross country trip. Then, an indie folk artist explores the power of vulnerability in her music. Plus, we’ll hear from Bay Poets. 

In the new novel “Off the Books,” a young, Chinese-American woman works an underground job in The Town. She chauffeurs mysterious people to their destinations. No questions asked. But she has a lot of questions for her handsome new client. He needs a ride across the country to transport a huge, black suitcase. What’s in the bag is a mystery. 

“Off the Books” is the debut novel by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier. Soma is the former San Francisco Library Laureate and she’s now a creative writing professor at SUNY (State University of New York) at Oswego. 

KALW’s Jenee Darden spoke with Soma about themes of family, grief and romance on “The Sights + Sounds Show.” Here’s an excerpt of that interview. 

Maw Shein Win was El Cerrito's inaugural poet laureate. Here she is reading her piece, ‘The Grisham House.'

August Lee Stevens is an indie soul and folk artist from that city. She’s a graduate of Oakland School of the Arts. She   and has just In 2024 she released her debut EP - Better Places. In this segment of Bay Area beats, Stevens discusses her musical career, and what it's like producing her own music, in this 2024 piece from reporter D’Andre Ball.

It’s National Poetry Month! Today, the history of Bay Area poetry and San Francisco’s first Latino Poet Laureate. Then, we hear the deep thoughts and feelings of a teenager with autism. And, we take you to a San Francisco neighborhood that’s being torn apart… by Boba.

April is National Poetry Month, and to celebrate in proper style we’re exploring the amazing archives at San Francisco State’s Poetry Center. Josiah Luis Alderete is the host of KALW’s series, Bay Poets. And he has dug up audio of San Francisco poets that have had a deep and lasting impact on shaping this city’s literary landscape.  Here, KALW’s Sunni Khalid speaks with Josiah about Alejandro Murgia - and the historical context that led to him becoming San Francisco’s first Latino poet Laureate. 

Besides being National Poetry Month, April is also World Autism month, and today we're bringing you the words of Alameda poet Lucien Gonzalez. Lucian describes himself as a non-speaking autistic person. He loves watching NPR Tiny Desk concerts, traveling to new places, and writing poetry. Lucian worked with a KALW producer to create an audio essay weaving together two of his poems. They are voiced by Hussain Khan in this piece from 2024.

Food fights aren’t new. But in every city, there’s a different battleground. In Los Angeles, it’s the raging debate over who makes the best French Dip sandwiches – Philippe’s or Cole’s? In South Philadelphia, it’s Pat’s versus Geno’s for where to get the best cheesesteak. Or in Montreal, where can you get the better bagel – St-Viateur or Fairmount?

And in San Francisco? Tensions run high about… Boba. Also known as bubble tea, boba’s a hugely popular drink from Taiwan that is usually made of tea, milk, sweeteners, and chewy tapioca balls called “boba” that the drink is named for. For almost 20 years, the feud between two bubble tea shops, Teascape and Bobaland, has torn one San Francisco neighborhood apart. But as KALW's Anna Casalme found out, this heated rivalry… may be starting to cool.

Three and a half years after the arrival of ChatGPT, many schools have been slow to write clear guidelines for how students should, and shouldn’t, use AI. It’s the next story from The Homework Machine series.

Today, we bring you the second story from our 2025 series: The Homework Machine. In part one, we heard about the rapid rise of AI, and what it’s meant for our schools and education. 

In this next episode we’ll hear how reporter Jesse Dukes has been working with researchers at MIT, speaking to teachers and students all across California and around the country. He learned that the arrival of ChatGPT and other AI tools has led to more cheating in schools… but, it’s not always easy to define what cheating IS…  or to know what to do about it. 

Adopting and adapting to new technologies is part of the human experience. For our segment Bay Poets, poet Larry Dorsey Jr. explores the blurred lines between living life and capturing its moments through technology, Here he is reading his poem, "Your Mind Can’t Tell the Difference.”