Prop Fest.

Every election year, Californians vote on a slate of state propositions, which often have massive implications. Sometimes they touch on issues you’re likely to have an opinion about, like 2008’s proposition 8, which would have ended gay marriage in California, or 2016’s proposition 64, which asked voters if marijuana be legal.

But other props delve into topics everyday Californians may have never considered. Like 2020’s proposition 23, which asked if doctors be present at all times at dialysis clinics.

It’s a type of direct democracy that puts a lot of power in the hands of the people. As a voter, I found myself feeling frustrated as I tried to make these big decisions. It felt like there wasn’t enough information at my fingertips to decide how to vote. I didn’t want to vote emotionally — but with full knowledge of all the factors at play.

In 2018, we launched Bay Curious “Prop Week.” It was a five-day blitz of episodes that dropped in our podcast feed delving deep into what the propositions were really about. We worked to tell full story of each proposition — what lead to it being placed on the ballot, who stands to gain/lose if it passes, who’s funding the campaigns, how things work in other states.

Our ultimate goal was to give folks the most fair, thorough and consumable package of information possible. Oh, and make it fun to listen to of course!

I think we nailed it back in 2018, and the audience response was tremendous. Since then “Prop Week” has grown into “Prop Fest,” a multi-platform explainer series that has a life on our podcast, the KQED.org website, and KQED’s social video feeds. Below is a sampling of episodes.