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.
-
Since Los Angeles exploded three decades ago, some things have changed and so much remains the same. -
30 years ago Friday, the police officers who beat Rodney King were found not guilty — and people took to the streets in Los Angeles to protest. Here's how the Los Angeles Riots are still relevant.
-
On the anniversary of the spa shootings in Atlanta, we look at the long history of Anti-Asian hate, from pandemic-related hate to the fetishization of Asian women.
-
The confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson are set for March 21. Activists who pushed for a Black woman are excited and ready for a fight. -
Civil rights activists are rallying behind the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and preparing for the possibility of a rough confirmation process.
-
Black history is more than a month — and it's more than just the sanitized story of the same handful of heroes told over and over.
-
With President Biden set to appoint the first Black woman Supreme Court justice, Black women in the legal profession reflect on the limits and promises of representation. -
As President Biden is set to fulfill his promise to nominate a Black woman justice to the Supreme Court, Black women in the legal profession talk about the significance of the moment.
-
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.
-
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.
