Sandhya Dirks
Sandhya Dirks is the race and equity reporter at KQED and the lead producer of On Our Watch, a new podcast from NPR and KQED about the shadow world of police discipline. She approaches race and equity not as a beat, but as a fundamental lens for all investigative and explanatory reporting.
Dirks covers policing, housing, social justice movements, and the shifting demographics of cities and suburbs. She's the creator and co-host of the podcast American Suburb, about the transformation of suburbia into the most diverse space in American life. She was the editor for Truth Be Told, an advice show for and by people of color. Her stories about race, space, and belonging were part of KQED's So Well Spoken project, which won RNDTA's Kaleidoscope award, honoring outstanding achievements in the coverage of diversity.
Prior to joining KQED in 2015, Dirks covered the 2012 presidential election from the swing state of Iowa for Iowa Public Radio. At KPBS in San Diego, she broke the story of a sexual harassment scandal that led to the mayor's resignation. She got her start in radio working on documentaries about Oakland that investigated the high drop-out rate in public schools and mistrust between the police and the community. Dirks lives in Oakland and believes all stories are stories about power.
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The Kansas City Defender, a Black-owned news website, is gaining credibility and attention, especially after its coverage of Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager shot after knocking on the wrong door.
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A task force in California approved recommendations on how the state can apologize to, and compensate, descendants of slavery. The recommendations head to state lawmakers next.
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Seattle is the first American city to protect people against discrimination based on caste. California could become the first state.
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The FBI hate crime data for last year is so flawed and incomplete that experts are warning it could mask the real trend: a continuing and troubling rise in hate incidents and violence.
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In the run up to the midterms, we keep hearing about a crime wave. But the claims are often rife with misinformation and racism.
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It was 10 years ago that a white supremacist opened fire at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek. Seven people died. A decade later, hate crimes against Sikhs and other South Asians are on the rise.
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Now that Roe is overturned, reproductive justice advocates say the U.S. is entering an era of policed pregnancy — women will be vulnerable to arrest and imprisonment for miscarriages or stillbirths.
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Some South Asians see the caste system as a reality in the United States and others do not. California State University and others have added caste as a protected category against discrimination.
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Brian Flores, the recently-fired coach of the Miami Dolphins, dropped an explosive lawsuit this week against the NFL — alleging systemic racism and attempted bribery.
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NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to KQED reporters Sukey Lewis and Sandhya Dirks about the second episode of the podcast, On Our Watch, which explores how police departments handle on-duty sexual misconduct.
