Davey D sits down with journalists Tim Redmond of 48 Hills and Rasheed Shabazz of Oakland Voices for a local year in review that ties Bay Area stories to national power plays, housing fights, and media battles. Tim opens by arguing that the big political shift in San Francisco is from a fear driven crime narrative to one centered on affordability. He contrasts Daniel Lurie’s crime focused mayoral win with New Yorks Zoran Mamdami, who ran on freezing rent, free transit, and childcare. In San Francisco that plays out through zoning fights on the west side, luxury projects like the Marina Safeway tower, and speculation driven by international capital, all while many new high rises sit half empty and regular people cannot afford rent.
Both guests connect this to prosecutors and policing. Tim and Rasheed note that reform minded district attorneys like Chesa Boudin and Pamela Price were intensely scrutinized, while their tougher on crime successors in San Francisco and Alameda County face far less media heat even as they file harsh charges, including against Gaza and ICE protesters and in the Stephen Taylor police killing case. They warn that this shift is happening alongside a Trump driven ICE crackdown and a mayor in San Francisco who appears more interested in staying on the presidents good side than defending sanctuary values.
Rasheed widens the lens to the local news ecosystem, talking about doom loop narratives pushed by outside content creators, the decline of corporate outlets, and the rise of community based projects like Oakland Voices, Coyote Media Collective, and Bay Area Current. He also highlights Blackstone and other real estate investors displacing tenants, rising evictions in Oakland, and the growing elder homelessness crisis. Looking ahead, Tim points to Pelosi’s retirement, a high stakes congressional race, billionaire influence over city policy, and the coming Super Bowl as flashpoints for austerity politics and sweeps of unhoused residents. Rasheed closes by flagging his reporting on Flip Cause withholding millions from nonprofits and raising alarms about how tech platforms and big philanthropy quietly shape both local media and frontline community work.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
