Fifth & Mission

San Francisco has made efforts to address its drug overdose crisis, but the city has largely overlooked one area: its own supportive housing system. A disproportionate number of people are dying of drug overdoses inside city-funded single room occupancy buildings, or SROs. Chronicle reporters Joaquin Palomino and Trisha Thadani join host Cecilia Lei to discuss their latest investigation and how the city has neglected to protect its most vulnerable residents. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has a bad reputation when it comes to building housing: It takes a staggeringly long time. That's not good in a city in the midst of a housing crisis, struggling to meet state-mandated quotes for building. Chronicle reporters Dustin Gardiner and Susie Neilson join host Cecilia Lei to discuss just how long it takes to get a permit, why it's gotten this bad, and the larger costs of the city's flawed system. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blue-collar labor is supporting the researchers, scholars and graduate workers who have walked out at the University of California. Reporter Ryan Kost tells host Dominic Fracassa that the teamsters, electricians and hotel workers showing solidarity with what used to be considered "ivory tower" types are signaling a shift in what it means to be “working class.” | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Along with ugly sweaters and vows not to discuss politics, COVID is again poised to be a major theme of the holidays. In the Bay Area, a surge of the virus has begun, thanks to a range of factors including the spread of new immune-evasive omicron subvariants. What does the winter have in store? Chronicle reporters Aidin Vaziri and Claire Hao join host Demian Bulwa to discuss what listeners need to know right now about booster vaccines, treatments, the strain on hospitals and the (very slim) possibility of mask mandates. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Campofreda turned from prescribed oxycodone to heroin and then fentanyl to treat chronic back pain. Unlike more than 500 people who have died from accidental overdoses in San Francisco this year, he fought his way to sobriety. Columnist and Total SF co-host Heather Knight talks to Cecilia Lei about his remarkable story, and we hear from Ben himself, who says the city has to do more for people trying to navigate its system of aid. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All of a sudden in recent weeks, everyone in San Francisco was talking about killer robots. What happened? Chronicle reporter J.D. Morris joins host Demian Bulwa to talk about why San Francisco police sought approval to use robots to kill suspects in extreme circumstances — and why the Board of Supervisors flip-flopped amid backlash. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has upended the traditional work week and some Bay Area employers are experimenting with a switch to a 32-hour work week. Critics say that the model would be costly and stunt job growth but Chronicle reporter Carolyn Said joins host Cecilia Lei to share results that say otherwise. Also: CommonFuture's VP of People Operations, Joann Lee Wagner, talks about why the four-day work week is about equity. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency a year ago to quickly open the Tenderloin Center as a response to San Francisco's drug overdose crisis. It provided treatment options, meals and a space for safe drug consumption. After less than a year of operations, the controversial center shut down. Chronicle reporter Mallory Moench joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss why, and to talk about how the city plans to address its drug epidemic now. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed nearly 1,000 bills into law in 2022, the most productive law-making year since the start of the pandemic. Chronicle reporters Sophia Bollag and Dustin Gardiner join host Cecilia Lei to discuss a handful that you should know about, from big issues like gun safety and abortion to smaller ones like jaywalking and selling fur. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Denver Riggleman, who worked for the Jan. 6 committee after losing his reelection bid in 2020, has written a book on that work called "The Breach." He talks to host Joe Garofoli about what's next for the investigation, how Republicans aren't likely to abandon Trump, and what motivates the likely next speaker of the House. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices