Bay Curious - Your Bay Area Transit Questions, Answered: Bridge Tolls, Lane Closures and Vanity Plates Too

One of the topics we get the most questions about from our audience is transportation. Today we round up answers to a handful of your questions, including: Where does all that toll money from Bay Area bridges go? Why has one toll booth on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge been closed for years? Why are do so many of our interstates end in "80"? And: Are there more vanity plates in the Bay Area? Plus a few more! We're joined by KQED's Dan Brekke, who has been covering transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 20 years.


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This story was reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Everything Everywhere Daily - Earth’s Magnetic Pole Reversals (Encore)

Once every 450,000 years or so, the Earth undergoes a radical transformation. 


The planet’s magnetic field will literally flip. The North Pole becomes the South Pole and vice versa. 


Despite the fact that we know this has happened many times in the Earth’s history, we really don’t know what would happen if the poles were to reverse today.


Learn more about when the Earth’s magnetic poles reverse on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


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NPR's Book of the Day - A new biography tells the story of a South Asian Hollywood star who passed as white

In 1936, Merle Oberon became the first Asian woman–and person of color–to receive an Oscar nomination for best actress. She was nominated for her role in The Dark Angel and later starred in films like Wuthering Heights. But Oberon kept her mixed-race, South Asian heritage a secret, passing as white for her entire career. Mayukh Sen tells this story in Love, Queenie, the first biography of Oberon. In today's episode, Sen speaks with Here & Now's Deepa Fernandes about prejudice the actress faced during her upbringing in India, the role men played in her career, and the elaborate stories she told to keep her identity a secret.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - What’s this about a crypto reserve?

In 2009, Bitcoin launched as the first cryptocurrency. Just under two decades, President Trump has signed an executive order to create the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile." On today's show, we look at what the U.S. government plans for this new strategy, plus who benefits from a crypto reserve.

Related episodes:
Is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea? (Apple / Spotify)
Is 'government crypto' a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)

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Curious City - The Life and Legacy of Alice Hamilton

Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick.

Everything Everywhere Daily - March Madness

Every March, the United States experiences a period known as March Madness.  It is the time when college basketball teams compete for a national championship. 


The process of crowning a national champion is a months-long process where teams vie for a chance to make the national tournament. 


From there, in theory, every team that makes the big dance has a shot at becoming a champion. All you have to do is win five, or maybe six, consecutive games. 


Learn more about March Madness and how the NCAA Basketball tournament works on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.



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The Indicator from Planet Money - Why there’s no referee for the trade war

Thirty years ago, the U.S. helped create the World Trade Organization, a group of countries linked by a common set of free trade agreements. But then the U.S., starting with the Obama administration, turned against the WTO. This leaves a void where there should be a referee to settle trade disputes between countries. On today's show, how American grievances paralyzed the WTO's dispute settlement system and what happens when the U.S. no longer wants to play by the rules it once agreed to.

Related listening:
A polite message from Canada to the U.S. (Apple / Spotify)
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Update) (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by
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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘I’m That Girl’ follows gymnast Jordan Chiles’ road to the Olympics

In a new memoir, Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles describes moments of deep uncertainty in her storied career. For example, there was a time in her mid-teens when she considered quitting the sport. But a pivotal conversation with friend and future teammate Simone Biles encouraged her to continue. I'm That Girl details other challenges in Chiles' career, like being scrutinized for her appearance – and her hair in particular. In today's episode, the gymnast talks with NPR's Juana Summers about the difficulty of losing a bronze medal on a technicality, life as a student-athlete at UCLA, and Chiles' thoughts on the 2028 Olympics.

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