Crosscurrents

SHOW: Goalball Goals, And a Modern Shakespearean Scandal

Today, we hear about a sport for blind athletes that relies on only hearing and touch to play. Emboldening athletes on and off the court with goalball. Then, a local playwright questions if Shakespeare actually wrote the literature credited to him. Plus, a Bay Area Author reads from his new YA novel.

Goalball emboldens blind athletes on the court and in their lives

Every Wednesday night in Berkeley a group of athletes gets ready to practice their sport. The first thing they have to do is line the court with a tactile marker––string taped to the floor around the perimeter––because this game relies on just two senses, hearing and feeling.  This is goalball, a sport invented for blind and low vision people which involves hurling a heavy ball filled with bells at each other.  It is sort of the opposite of dodge ball because players are trying to block the ball with their bodies. It might sound painful! So KALW's Rachel Longan visited a goalball tournament and later even padded up to play to find out if it is worth the risk.

Sights + Sounds: Ted Lange's 'Shakespeare Over My Shoulder'

William Shakespeare is possibly the most widely recognized writer in western literature… but did he actually write every single thing he gets credit for? It’s a controversial question that many have explored over the years. Including playwright and Oakland native Ted Lange. His new play “Shakespeare Over My Shoulder” is a production of the San Francisco Based African-American Shakespeare Company. KALW’s Jenee Darden spoke with Ted Lange for “The Sights + Sounds Show.” Here’s an excerpt of their conversation.

New Arrivals: Jase Peeples pens YA novel about gay, comic book-obsessed teen

Now, a segment from New Arrivals, our pocket sized book tour with Bay Area authors. Jase Peeples lives in San Francisco. His new book is, "Before You Can Fly [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGL4BX2G]." It’s a young adult coming of age romance set in 1988, that follows Clayton Wheeler, a gay, comic-book obsessed teen who is struggling with his growing feelings for his best friend.

The Homes We Live In, and The Nature Surrounding Them

San Francisco’s Sunset district is a quiet, residential area… where almost every house has a locked gate at its front door. Today, what makes a neighborhood safe? Then, we hear a podcast that acknowledges the doom, and envision the bloom, of our shared climate future. Plus, a poet reminds us why fighting for the climate is a way to save ourselves.