Fifth & Mission

For a while, the state wasn't doing much to monitor the spread of coronavirus variants in communities. That has changed, reporter Erin Allday says. More widespread genomic sequencing of the virus may help us respond more quickly to flare-ups, protect vulnerable communities and understand if vaccines are working. It's a breakthrough that may provide benefits even after the pandemic is over. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In just a few decades, the waterline is expected to rise by almost a foot, which will impact nearly every facet of life in the region. Chronicle urban design critic John King joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss his new four-part series, "Rising Reality," which looks at how Bay Area communities are bracing for rising sea levels. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus pandemic's toll on San Francisco public schools may be felt for years. More than 1,700 students have left, which could cost the district millions of dollars. Some families left the city, others switched to private schools whose campuses were open. Will they come back, and what happens if they don't? Reporter Jill Tucker talks about what schools are grappling with. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayor London Breed wants to spend that much over the next two years. Reporter Trisha Thadani joins Cecilia Lei to talk about how the mayor plans to spend the money, and homeless advocate Juthaporn Chaloeicheep gives her reaction to the huge price tag. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Monica Gandhi of UCSF has gained national attention with her controversial critiques of the Bay Area’s conservative pandemic response, which she argues has done more harm than good for some populations, especially schoolchildren. Before the pandemic, Gandhi was known locally as a long-time HIV/AIDS care provider who ran San Francisco General’s Ward 86. She talks with Erin Allday about how that work — and experiences in her personal life over the past year and a half — influenced her reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter Sarah Ravani and photographer Gabrielle Lurie talk with Cecilia Lei about their reporting on dementia patients at Gordon Manor, an assisted living facility in Redwood City. Dementia patients have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, as they have trouble following safety protocols, which also disrupt the routines that keep them healthy and safe, including contact with family. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After more than a year of lockdowns, people are ready to shove aside their "travel guilt" and get away, with more than three-quarters of Americans saying they're planning trips. But reporter Greg Thomas tells Demian Bulwa that not everything is back to normal: Shorter road trips might win out over long flights, and usually bustling San Francisco might have a long road to recovery as a tourist hub. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We tend to look at mass shootings as isolated events. But Guardian reporter Abené Clayton tells Cecilia Lei "the repercussions of gun violence spread like a virus," and we should be thinking about tragedies like the San Jose shooting as a public health disaster. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few issues have been as critical in the past year as keeping people in their homes, even as they struggle to pay rent. Now, as the pandemic eases, San Francisco and California face pressure to ward off a wave of potential evictions. Reporter Emma Talley has the latest on San Francisco's eviction moratorium, which was expected to be extended. And reporter Mallory Moench discusses a more controversial proposal to excuse some city businesses from paying rent if they'd been required to shut down. Landlords are pushing back on that one. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the year since George Floyd’s death, local city leaders have launched a variety of police reform initiatives, from cutting budgets to reallocating funds to the community. But do they go far enough? Reporters Sarah Ravani and Megan Cassidy give Cecilia Lei an update on how major Bay Area cities responded to last summer's protests, and whether progress has been made. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices