Join host Xorje Andrés Olivares and guests to explore what it means to live within a hyphenation. Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to have easy conversations about hard things: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. Hyphenación—where conversation and cultura meet!

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After running on a promise to unite Oakland, former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee has defeated former city councilmember Loren Taylor in a tight race for mayor. Lee will complete the term of former Mayor Sheng Thao, who was recalled in November.

Today, The Oaklandside’s Eli Wolfe joins us to discuss what to expect from Mayor-Elect Barbara Lee.

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Last week, the oil giant Valero announced that it will “idle, restructure, or cease operations” at its Benicia refinery that employs more than 400 workers by April 2026. KQED’s Julie Small tells us how officials are reacting, and why many view this decision as a response to state and local regulations.

Links:

• Oil Giant Valero Looks to Shutter Troubled Bay Area Refinery. It’s ‘a Big Surprise’
• Bay Area Air District Hits Valero's Benicia Refinery With 'Historic' $82 Million Fine
• Benicia Moves Toward Tougher Oversight of Valero Refinery

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Picture an all-electric home with smart appliances that talk to each other via WiFi to figure out when to pull power from the grid. That’s the idea behind something called ‘virtual power plant’ technology. While it’s not new, the technology’s advocates hope it will power many more homes in the coming years. KQED’s Laura Klivans takes us inside one such home in north Richmond.

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On Saturday, San Francisco officially opened Sunset Dunes Park on the city’s west side. It replaces a 2-mile section of the Great Highway, 5 months after voters approved a citywide measure to permanently close it to motor vehicles.

But many residents, still furious about the decision to close the road, haven’t given up. Some are even campaigning to recall their local supervisor. 

Links:

• Sunset Dunes: San Francisco's Controversial New Park Officially Opens
• SF Supervisor Faces a Recall Campaign Over Great Highway Closure

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Self-driving Waymo robotaxis are now commonplace on the streets of San Francisco. Feelings about these autonomous vehicles vary — from excitement, to amusement, to outright hostility. Some have even gone so far as to vandalize the cars.

In this episode from KQED’s Close All Tabs podcast, Morgan Sung speaks with Bloomberg journalist Ellen Huet and law professor Ryan Calo to explore the rise of Waymo vandalism, and its roots in our collective anxiety over AI.

Links:

• Waymo’s Expansion Provokes Anxieties of AI Takeover – Ellen Huet, Bloomberg
• The next big robotaxi push is almost here — Harri Weber, Quartz 
• The Courts Can Handle the Deadly Uber Self-Driving Car Crash. But that doesn’t mean the law is ready for autonomous vehicles. — Ryan Calo, Slate
• Good Robot, Bad Robot: Dark and Creepy Sides of Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, and AI — Jo Ann Oravec, Professor at the University of Wisconsin

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The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of student visas across the country, claiming many have participated in ‘pro-Hamas’ activism on college campuses. Now, two international students at California colleges are suing the federal government after their student visas were revoked and their records in a federal database were terminated, effectively stripping them of their ability to continue studying in the U.S.

Links:

• California Students, Blindsided by Visa Cancellations, Sue Trump Administration
• What Should International Students on Visas and Green Cards Know Right Now?

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President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports go into effect today, and businesses around the Bay Area are already feeling the impact. Some worry that the costs will trickle down to consumers and discourage businesses already struggling to afford operating in the Bay Area.

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As the A’s begin their first season in Sacramento, KQED found that some Coliseum workers promised financial assistance from the A’s ahead of the team’s transition out of Oakland haven’t gotten anything. 

Links:

• Some Oakland Coliseum Workers Say They Never Received Assistance From A’s Farewell Fund

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In San Francisco, Black men born between 1951 and 1970 accounted for 12% of overdose deaths between January 2020 and October 2024, despite representing less than 1% of the city's population. The disparity in San Francisco is greater than any other major city. 

Today, we hear from Richard Beal, director of recovery services at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, about his personal story of addiction and recovery, and later talk with The San Francisco Standard’s David Sjostedt about what’s behind this trend of Black overdose deaths in the city. 

Links:

• SF is losing a generation of Black men to overdoses. It’s worse here than anywhere

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President Donald Trump’s executive orders and rhetoric have created a climate of fear in queer and transgender communities, including here in the Bay Area. KQED’s Bianca Taylor reports on a self-defense class in San Francisco’s Transgender District that teaches people skills to protect themselves while also building community.

Links:

• Amid Rising Threats, Transgender Community Builds Bonds at This SF Self-Defense Class
• Where LGBTQ+ people can find self-defense classes in the Bay Area

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