san francisco · Tuesday, October 13, 2026
300+interviews · all 11 districts
SF Street Interviews
1½ yearson the street, every week

sf doesn't reveal itself to those who don't ask.

reported by nikethana karthikeyan
Latest
What a year and a half of weekends taught mePolicy, block by blockLost, with a dead phoneBroad daylightA different questionWe stopped filmingArt driven by activismSixty percent of January happened in parksThe stories that get glossed overA city warm in winter
the lead · city life

A teenager, a mic and a year and a half of asking strangers about their city

300+ interviews across all 11 of the city's districts, on the political, social and cultural questions San Franciscans actually care about.

Reported by Nikethana Karthikeyan

For the past year and a half I travelled through San Francisco with a camera crew, nearly every week, to document the stories of the city and hear its many perspectives on city policy. It began as street interviews for a congressional campaign. It became something closer to listening.

I chased down strangers, got gifted donuts by activist baristas, teared up with a man in the Castro over the loss of his dog, and learned to spot a long-time local by their fit. No matter where someone sits on the political spectrum, San Franciscans are always ready to speak their mind.

watch the interviews ↓ read the field notes
“I grew up in SF, I've watched my friends and family slowly get displaced out of their homes in the Mission.”— Mission resident, Jan. 2026

On the street with Nikki

section b · video

The project

section c · the reporting

I went into the city nearly every week for a year and a half, on a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, as a street interviewer for congressional campaigns, and made it to all 11 of San Francisco's supervisorial districts. The assignment was to bring real residents' stories to the campaign. The job turned out to be listening.

The conversations happened on Muni platforms, in the Mission, the Castro, Chinatown and the Financial District, and in parks across the city. Housing, public safety, art and who gets to stay came up again and again. Every clip below is a different stranger who said yes.

By the numbers
300+
interviews with locals
11
of 11 city districts visited
1½ yrs
on the street, nearly every week
3
major topics of discussion: affordability, representation, and communities
52¢
what one rider remembers Muni costing

On the record

section d · what i heard
“The messy is what makes it beautiful, but we can't romanticize it like that all the time.”
Longtime resident
“I've seen crimes happen in the middle of the day, and I'll watch the police do literally nothing.”
Mission resident
“There's no parking! I'm a student and living here has been incredibly expensive.”
Student, Dolores Park
“The biggest problems aren't even the homeless, it's the random guys on the metro who follow you for six blocks.”
Muni rider
“Now this city belongs to you.”
Rider on the N Judah
Artists dreaming of murals. Small business owners wishing the city knew their neighborhood's history.
Also heard

In the field

section e · notebook
  1. No. 1chased down strangers on slow days
  2. No. 2got gifted a donut by an activist barista
  3. No. 3teared up with a man in the Castro over the loss of his dog
  4. No. 4learned to identify a long-time local by their fit
  5. No. 5leaned on a light pole at a 4:30pm winter sunset, talking to strangers
editorial · why i ask
  • Telling storiesfor the people who don't usually get asked
  • Asking questionsto learn my community, block by block
  • Noticing the gapsand taking action on what I hear

Latest dispatches

all field notes →

Policy, block by block

Each neighborhood carries its own political undercurrent.

Lost, with a dead phone

8pm, somewhere between the Castro and the Mission, and no map.

read all 20 dispatches →

Letters to the editor

tips, stories, collaborations

Have a story about your neighborhood, or want to be interviewed? Write in. I can't wait to meet you.