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It's pretty standard to pay a 20% down payment in order to buy a house. But in California, where the median price of a single-family home is $980,000, that's a tall order for most people. Supporters of Prop 37 say it would help address this problem by allowing the state to help moderate income buyers. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Adhiti Bandlamudi. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2021, California voters were asked whether or not to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. But there was also a second question on the ballot: Who should replace the governor if he was recalled? The recall ultimately failed. But if it had succeeded, Republican talk show host Larry Elder, who won roughly 48% of the vote in that second question, would have become governor. Proposition 5 would change this process by eliminating the second question from recall ballots for statewide office. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode (link to web article) Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Guy Marzorati. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you want to get elected in this state, it's no secret that you'll need to raise money — in some cases, a lot of money. This could put candidates who don't come from wealthy backgrounds at a disadvantage. California currently bans public funding for political campaign expenses. Prop. 4 would repeal it. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Izzy Bloom. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has a progressive income tax system: the more you make, the more you pay in taxes. For years, voters have approved certain tax rates for high-income earners. Proposition 3 would lock in a marginal tax rate of 10.3% to 12.3% for the state's highest income earners. The money would help fund education and health care. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Guy Marzorati. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown persuaded voters to strengthen California's Rainy Day Fund — a pot of money set aside to help the state save when times are good, while paying down its debts. Now, Proposition 2 is asking voters to make that fund even bigger. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Guy Marzorati. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the next 2 weeks, we and our friends with Bay Curious are bringing you Prop Fest, your deep-dive audio guide voting smart on the 14(!) statewide ballot measures in this year's November election. Up first: Proposition 1, which would allow the state to borrow $11.25 billion for affordable housing. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Catch up on all of Prop Fest 2026 Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Adhiti Bandlamudi. Prop Fest is a collaboration between Bay Curious and The Bay. It’s made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Anna Casalme, Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Alan Montecillo, Gabriela Glueck and Pauline Bartolone. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Bay’s monthly news roundup, we discuss a new report that found traffic delays could double if voters reject two public transit-related ballot measures. We also discuss a pilot program that builds solar panels over irrigation canals and preview the Golden State Valkyries return to the playoffs. Plus, we say goodbye to The Bay's senior editor, Alan Montecillo. Links:  Bay Bridge Traffic Delays Would Double if Transit Tax Measures Fail, Report Finds (KQED) Here’s What California Is Learning From Solar Panels Built Over Irrigation Canals (KQED) The Valkyries aren’t just an impressive expansion team. This is an all-time season (SF Standard)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nancy Pelosi is many things: Trailblazer. Lightning rod. First woman Speaker of the House. Mom of five. To some, she’s an out-of-touch elitist, to others, a champion for democracy. In The Speaker, a new limited-run podcast from KQED, political reporter Scott Shafer reflects on Pelosi’s historic life and career as she prepares to exit public office.  Links:  The Speaker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests at airports in recent months, including at San Francisco International Airport.  According to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, Customs and Border Protection has also been holding immigrants at SFO – in some cases, for more than a week. Reporter Sara DiNatale joins us to explain how the airport has become a de facto detention center. Links: Under Trump, SFO is now a de facto immigration detention center (San Francisco Chronicle) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does gun violence happen? Arms Down, a program inside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, formerly San Quentin State Prison, asks the people behind the gun. It’s a revolutionary program that treats firearm addiction like an alcohol addiction, and recasts perpetrators of gun violence as part of the solution.  This episode first aired on Aug. 25, 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s AI boom is making the rental market more competitive than ever. Prospective tenants face intense pressure to stand out, leaving them susceptible to substandard living conditions or outright scams.  Links: Part 1: As AI Booms, Daniel Lurie Declares ‘Rent Emergency’ in San Francisco  After the $18,000 Scam, How Can Bay Area Renters Protect Themselves? | KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has declared a ‘rent emergency’ in San Francisco amid a boom in the AI industry. In the first part of The Bay’s series about the AI-fueled rental crisis, The New York Times San Francisco Bureau Chief Heather Knight explains what that declaration really means, and how this housing crunch stands out from the past.  Links: NYT: San Francisco Mayor Declares Rent Emergency Amid A.I. Housing Frenzy KQED: San Francisco Mayor Lurie Infuses $30 Million in Reforms to Tackle ‘Rent Emergency’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since sexual abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez came to light last spring, city leaders quickly decided to rename parks and take down statues of the labor leader. Conversations in the classroom are also changing. Today on The Bay, we’re re-airing this conversation from last April about how one East San José teacher is recasting Cesar Chavez’s legacy in the classroom. This episode first aired on April 8, 2026. Links: Why This City’s Reckoning With Cesar Chavez Is So Complicated (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, San Franciscans began reckoning with the city’s monuments—many of which honored violent figures and fraught histories. In the years since, the San Francisco Arts Commission has been reimagining what public memory could look like. Now, temporary monuments celebrating everyday people are popping up all around us. Links: In San Francisco, a Reckoning With Toppled Statues Gives Rise to New Monuments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Living in the Bay Area is expensive, and raising kids here can be especially tough. So how do people do it? KQED reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi talks with three families about what they’re doing to get by. From cramming a family of four into one studio apartment to giving up on the dream of home ownership, compromise is always part of the equation. This episode first aired on May 4, 2026. Links: How We Get By | KQED In the Bay Area, Raising Kids Comes With Compromise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices