Bay Made Showcase: Beyond the Fog Radio with Lateefah Simon & Willie Brown

Representative Lateefah Simon and former Mayor Willie L. Brown join Beyond the Fog Radio and KALW for a special live and in person conversation celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King’s 96th birthday at Bay Made Showcase on January 15. 

Beyond the Fog Radio is a San Francisco-based podcast that delves into the lives and stories of the city's notable residents and vibrant neighborhoods. Produced and co-hosted by native San Franciscan and documentary film director Susan Brown, alongside co-hosts Jae Yee and Michaela Joy O'Shea, the podcast aims to celebrate the city's rich cultural tapestry through personal narratives.

Be sure to tune into Bay Made on KALW 91.7 FM the week of Jan. 13 at 11:30 AM to hear selections from Beyond the Fog Radio.

Lateefah Simon is a civil rights advocate, veteran organizer, and nonprofit professional elected to serve CA House District 12 in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has served as a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors and the president of MeadowFund. Previously Simon served as the president of the racial justice organization the Akonadi Foundation, where she worked to support youth of color in the Oakland, California area. Simon first began her career in advocacy at age 16 with the Young Women’s Freedom Center. By age 26, she became the youngest woman ever to receive a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. Vice President Kamala Harris, then serving as San Francisco’s district attorney, chose Simon to lead the creation of Back on Track, a program designed to reduce recidivism rates among youth who had interacted with the criminal justice system. Simon was born legally blind and was inspired to run for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors of 2016 in order to improve public transportation in northern California. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Mills College and a Master of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Willie L. Brown, Jr. has been a central figure in California politics for over four decades, influencing policies across civil rights, education reform, tax policy, economic development, health care, affirmative action, and more. His career spans the Lyndon Johnson presidency to George W. Bush, and he's worked with every California governor from Pat Brown to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

As Mayor of San Francisco, Willie L. Brown, Jr. revitalized the transit system, pioneered bond measures for affordable housing, reformed juvenile justice, and facilitated the development of a new UCSF campus, making the SF's Mission Bay development an anchor for the City as a biotech hub. 

Today, he heads the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Institute on Politics and Public Service, where this acknowledged master of the art of politics shares his knowledge and skills with a new generation of California leaders.

Susan E. Brown is a podcast producer and co-host of Beyond The Fog Radio an oral history podcast about the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a documentary style photographer and has a documentary film company as a producer and director. She is the Executive Director for Willie L. Brown Jr. Institute on Politics and Public Service.

Jae Yee is a co-host of Beyond the Fog Radio. Born and raised in San Francisco, he is one of the top trainers and bodyworkers in the SF Bay Area. In his spare time, he intensely studied marketing and video to create top-notch videos for J Bodyworks & Swerv Studios. His new dream was to have a podcast featuring his home city of San Francisco, and the people in it. And now that dream has come true! 

Michaela Joy O'Shea is a co-host of Beyond the Fog Radio. California born, Colorado grown, and now an eternal San Franciscan, Michaela couldn’t be happier to have made one of the most beautiful places in the world her home. She is excited that Beyond the Fog Radio offers her the chance to share and give back to the San Francisco community that has given her so much, and to talk about the roots of its greatness, with the hope that our city, and our country, can get back to those roots soon.

There is a $15 - $30 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. Thank you for supporting engaged, informed community events, made by the Bay, for the Bay.

Become a KALW member today and receive your first drink on us at all 220 Montgomery events.

📍 220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI
🚪 Doors open at 5:00
🗣️ Program begins at 6:00
🍕 Free snacks
🍷 Refreshments for donation (and KALW members get their first one on the house)
🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location

Host or Publisher KALW Public Media