Fifth & Mission

The state has announced that its indoor mask mandate will end on Feb. 16. Health reporter Erin Allday chats with host Cecilia Lei about how the latest in a long line of recalculations was made on the heels of the omicron surge, and how the Bay Area is approaching its own local directives. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oakland school board will decide Tuesday night whether it will close or consolidate 16 of the district’s 80 schools. Chronicle education reporter Jill Tucker joins Cecilia Lei to discuss the controversial proposal touted as a cost-saving strategy by the district. We also hear from an OUSD employee who is on a hunger strike against the decision. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AB 1400 was supposed to be the nation’s first government-funded health care system, but the legislation didn't even get a vote in the state Assembly. Supporters of the bill are angry with its author, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, for pulling it from the floor. In this episode of It's All Political on Fifth and Mission, Kalra explains his decision to Joe Garofoli and responds to his critics. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The relationship between San Francisco's cops and its progressive district attorney was tense from the start. But on the eve of the brutality trial of a cop, an allegation of misconduct against Boudin's office has prompted a bitter legal and political battle. Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Rachel Swan join host Demian Bulwa to dig into the accusation, Boudin's response, and the concern that the fight will set back efforts to reform the city police force, which gathered steam after the 2016 killing of Mario Woods. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco's death toll from fentanyl overdoses is nearly double the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chronicle reporter Trisha Thadani takes us into the center of the city's fentanyl crisis and introduces us to people who are suffering from addiction firsthand — and she explores the limits of the city's strategy to curb the deadly opioid. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it time to move away from school mask requirements in the Bay Area? Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker tells host Demian Bulwa why some previously pro-mask parents and doctors are urging health officials to make them optional — and why others call that effort too early and too dangerous. Also, reporter Annie Vainshtein explains the anger and the fallout over Oakland’s decision to close and merge some schools, which will disproportionately hurt students of color. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom says hundreds of condemned men will be transferred as death row closes. But while Newsom opposes capital punishment, the practice remains popular among voters — and he's not setting aside sentences. Reporter Kevin Fagan digs into the news and the political calculations with host Demian Bulwa, while recalling the times he's witnessed executions in the death chamber. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lunar New Year is typically the busiest time in San Francisco Chinatown, but decreased tourism and the omicron surge are causing businesses to suffer. Chronicle reporter Janelle Bitker chats with host Cecilia Lei about how the neighborhood is surviving and what its future may look like. Then, Janet Chan shares her one-woman mission to save Chinatown, one business at a time, which she's documenting on the Instagram account sfchinatown2021. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The omicron surge has made it hard for restaurant owners to operate safely, and steep declines in revenue are threatening permanent closures. Workers are being sidelined because of COVID-19 exposures and risk losing their critical health care coverage. Producer Caron Creighton reports on the struggles of the food industry and how once-celebrated workers now feel forgotten, despite still being on the front lines of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco police say they're "closer than ever" to solving the case of the Doodler, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco's gay community in the 1970s. They're identifying a probable sixth victim: Warren Andrews, a 52-year-old lawyer who was beaten and left for dead at Lands End on April 27, 1975. Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan, who has been investigating the slayings for years, tells host Demian Bulwa why police are doubling the reward in the case, hopeful they can finally nab their man. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Listen to The Doodler, the Chronicle's 8-episode true crime podcast reported and narrated by Kevin Fagan, produced in partnership with Ugly Duckling Films and Neon Hum Media: podfollow.com/1535882542 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices