Raphael Cohen
News ProducerRaphael Cohen is a writer and journalist committed to telling insightful stories about the urgent cultural and political issues of our time. With a focus on the Bay Area, his work frequently spotlights remarkable figures at the intersection of arts, athletics, and activism. Raphael’s profile of Yusef Wright, Stephen Curry's longtime barber, for KALW’s Bounce podcast won the Public Media Journalists Association’s Best Sports Feature award in 2020. More recently, he’s reported on Charley Nordin, an Oakland-raised Paralympic rower who used his sporting success to speak out against racial injustice, and Charley Crockett, a country and blues singer from the Rio Grande Valley who credits his time in Northern California with catapulting his career.
Raphael’s also the author of Rebel Elegant, a poetry book and solo performance paying tribute to 1990s NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, whose principled protest of the national anthem led to his exile from the league in the prime of his playing days.
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The SFPD has just proposed a new surveillance policy to guide its use of non-city surveillance cameras. Critics claim it gives the police far too much power to tap into private cameras for live monitoring. -
Leena Barakat, an activist and the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is set to become the new president and CEO of Women Donors Network – an organization that uses grantmaking to foster a just and equitable society. -
The City of Oakland has agreed to pay $1.5 million to cover attorneys fees and damages for 25 people – settling a lawsuit filed last year that alleged police violated their rights during the George Floyd protests in 2020. -
BART’s Board of Directors has approved a memorandum of agreement with the City of Berkeley on building new housing at the Ashby and North Berkeley stations. -
San Francisco voters rejected a proposition meant to limit when recall elections can be held. -
We all know sports is a business. That’s why the Warriors are leaving for San Francisco — to make more money. But sports are also emotional. Sentimental,…
