Britta Shoot

It’s a little after 7 p.m. on a cool January night in Oakland. At Wyldflowr Arts, an inviting new arts space with cozy thrifted sofas, everyone in the 40-person audience has a signature look — a favorite respirator mask, that is. (text + photos)

Mask blocs are grassroots mutual aid groups that distribute high-quality masks, such as N95s, for free in response to public health failures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this first piece of a three-part oral history series, mask bloc organizers across the United States explain their personal and organizing backgrounds, and what being in a mask bloc means to them.

The 504 Sit-In was the longest non-violent occupation of a federal building in United States history.

In late March, Vienna residents began leaving candles and prayers for protection at the Trinity Column, commonly called the plague column.

Officially, Conor Browne is a biorisk consultant.

Victoria Law’s new book follows five incarcerated individuals who endured the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic behind bars.

If you’re a disabled San Franciscan who can’t make it to a museum, art can come to you thanks to Art Museum From Bed by M Eilo.

It’s not easy to get a short, crisp Web address.

What is hardwired is resistant to stress.

Biomedical illustrator Farah Hamade, the inaugural artist in residence at UCSF Library, is working to untangle what she calls “a whole web” of interrelated issues impacting San Franciscans during this challenging year.

One of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is to wear a well-fitting, high-quality respirator, such as a KN95 or N95 mask. But in 2024, it’s not particularly easy to find effective masks in non-specialty stores, or at affordable prices, without buying large quantities at once. As government and pharmacy programs that met this need earlier in the pandemic are winding down, mask blocs now exist to fill it. Mask blocs are grassroots mutual groups — and sometimes lone individuals — that distribute respirator masks for free.

One of the Bay Area’s most unique, valuable public resources—the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive—began with a single person’s dedication to collecting and preserving the past.

After losing his arm to a post-cancer infection, Todd Brammer had to rethink how he plays pinball.

So data scientist Emily Gorcenski created When They Came Down to crowdsource the stories behind the topplings.

On alleys named after men, I’m honoring some of my favorite women writers.