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Best of 2025! Bay Area Authors Leila Mottley and Ruth Whippman / 'Fairyland' Director Andrew Durham / Music from Meklit Hadero

Singer Meklit Hadero
John Nilsen
Singer Meklit Hadero

State of the Bay revisits some of our favorite conversations from 2025.

We hear from Oakland author Leila Mottley about her novel The Girls Who Grew Big — and what it reveals about girlhood, friendship, and resilience.

Berkeley-based writer Ruth Whippman, author of BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity, joins us to explore how cultural expectations shape boys — and what parents can do differently.

We also hear from director Andrew Durham about "Fairyland," his coming-of-age film set in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic.

And we close the hour with music from Ethiopian-American vocalist, songwriter, and composer Meklit Hadero.

Hosts: Fred Pitts, Grace Won
Producers: Katie Colley, Heather Hughes, Chris Nooney