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Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents
Crosscurrents is our award-winning radio news magazine, broadcasting Mondays through Thursdays at 11 a.m. on 91.7 FM. We make joyful, informative stories that engage people across the economic, social, and cultural divides in our community. Listen to full episodes at kalw.org/crosscurrents

Picking up litter – and spirits – on San Francisco’s streets

KALW | By Mary Catherine O'Connor
Published April 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM PDT
Volunteers gather at Manny's before heading out to collect trash.
Mary Catherine O'Connor
Volunteers gather at Manny's before heading out to collect trash.

This story first aired on July 12, 2023 and it aired most recently on the April 29, 2024 episode of Crosscurrents.

This story was made to be heard. If you are able, press the play button above to listen.

Mary Catherine O'Connor is the new Beat Reporting Fellow covering climate for the KALW newsroom. What would you like to hear her cover? Send us an email at feedback@kalw.org.

Rituals are important. They provide structure and meaning, and they support a practice—spiritual or otherwise.

A group of volunteers meet up every Sunday morning at Manny’s, a cafe and event space in San Francisco’s Mission District. Their devotion? Cleaning up the neighborhood’s notoriously litter-clogged streets. To prepare, they don rubber gloves, bedazzled orange safety vests, and turn up the dance tunes. Once the trash bags are full, volunteers receive freebies at local eateries and other merchants. Welcome to Manny’s Disco Trash Cleanup.

You can sign up for a future disco cleanup here.
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Mary Catherine O'Connor
Mary Catherine O’Connor is a radio and print reporter whose beats include climate change, energy, material circularity, waste, technology, and recreation. She was a 2022-23 Audio Academy Fellow at KALW . She has reported for leading publications including Outside, The Guardian, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera America, and many trade magazines. In 2014 she co-founded a reader-supported experiment in journalism, called Climate Confidential.
See stories by Mary Catherine O'Connor