UpFront

Nia Wilson’s family still calls for justice, 2 years after killing; How wildfire smoke affects your health during Covid; Oakland council votes against substantially defunding police

Nia Wilson, 18-year-old girl killed in 2018 by John Lee Cowell at the MacArthur BART Station.

On this show:

0:08 – Doug Henwood, economic journalist and host of KPFA’s “Behind the News”, which airs Thursdays at 12. He just published a lengthy breakdown of the impacts of expanded unemployment benefits in Jacobin.

0:34 – What does the increase in wildfire smoke in California mean for respiratory health during Covid-19? We talk with Dr. John Balmes, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and professor of environmental health sciences at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

1:08 – Oakland’s mayor cast a tie-breaking vote last night to avoid making substantial funding cuts to police in the city’s budget, following months of organizing, peaceful protest and public comment. Cat and Brian discuss.

1:15 – Today marks two years since the killing of Nia Wilson. We speak with Alicia Grayson, her mother, and Ashara Ekundayo (@blublakwomyn) an independent curator, arts organizer and cultural strategist based in Oakland.

1:34 – In the latest installment of the series “Taken From Us,” reporter Lucy Kang speaks with the family of Mario Woods, slain by SFPD in 2016.

1:40 – EQUIPTO is an activist and hip hop artist who has been fighting for justice for victims of police violence. He was also one of the Frisco Five who went on hunger strike in 2016 outside the SFPD station in the Mission, protesting the deaths of Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, Amilcar Perez Lopez and Luis Gongora. He joins us to talk about the fight for justice for Mario Woods. Today is Mario Woods day in San Francisco, marking his birthday.