The Bay Agenda | New Deal Lessons for the Bay
Date and Time
- Tuesday, Jan 27, 2026 7pm - 8:30pm
Location
KALW
220 Montgomery St
Details
KALW’s The Public Works presents an evening of film, conversation, and discovery about the New Deal’s lasting impact on the Bay.
During the Great Depression, the New Deal put millions of Americans to work building parks, schools, bridges, housing, murals, and civic spaces that continue to serve the public nearly a century later. KALW and Living New Deal invite you to an evening exploring the lasting imprints of this ambitious era here in the Bay Area. Through film screenings and a community conversation led by Sheryl Kaskowitz, creator of The Public Works, we’ll explore what these local stories can teach us about the public good and shared purpose today.
🎬 Featured Films:
Your Rose Garden — A musical short film celebrating the Berkeley Rose Garden, built by the WPA in the 1930s and a living community space to this day.
A Palace for the People — Over eighty years ago, San Franciscans, with the help of the federal WPA, realized a decades-old dream: building a palace for the people on the City’s northern waterfront. Experience the story of this iconic Art Moderne building.
Panelists include:
Sheryl Kaskowitz is the creator of the audio series "The Public Works," which is supported by the Living New Deal and airs on KALW's news and culture show Crosscurrents. Her book, A Chance to Harmonize: How FDR's Hidden Music Unit Sought to Save America from the Great Depression—One Song at a Time will be available at the event. She is a proud member of KALW's Audio Academy class of 2024.
Alexis Harte, co-founder of New Deal Spotlights, is a Peabody and Annie Awards-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and film producer. In addition to sharing stages with the likes of Taj Mahal, Dar Williams, Cat Power and many others, Harte has placed countless tracks in television shows and films, including the Oscar-nominated "Pearl." In a parallel and oft-intertwined career, Harte has led diverse environmental efforts from urban/community forestry to climate change education.
John Rogers brings the Aquatic Bathhouse to life though extensive new footage of the restored artworks and architecture, interviews with historians, oral histories, archival photography and more. Rogers has been director of photography for three documentaries made by Emmy award winning producer Paul Buckhorst —one on the architecture of Bernard Maybeck, another on his masterpiece, the Berkeley Christian Science Church, and the third on arts and crafts architecture in Northern California.