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Radio Atlantic

No Easy Fix | 3. A Golden Opportunity

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, Society & Culture, News

4.3 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In July, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for an expansion of involuntary commitment—forcing people into treatment facilities—in response to the homelessness crisis. San Francisco has been attempting such an expansion for the past 19 months. What can the rest of the country learn from California?  This is the final episode in a three-part series from Radio Atlantic, No Easy Fix, about homelessness and addiction in San Francisco. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at ⁠⁠TheAtlantic.com/listener⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

11 Labs powers AI voices that don't sound like AI voices, like this one.

0:05.1

Eleven Labs voice agents are used to handle everything from customer support queries to appointment scheduling.

0:10.8

Get started for free at 11 Labs.io slash Atlantic.

0:17.7

This is Radio Atlantic. I'm Hannah Rosen.

0:28.6

Today, we have the third episode of our series about San Francisco and what it takes to escape homelessness and addiction. Last week, we talked to San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

0:32.6

We as a city just got to this point where we were like, if somebody wants to keep harming themselves

0:38.4

and really killing themselves, that's their right.

0:42.1

And we followed Evan, who's trying to get off the streets through a critical 48-hour period.

0:48.2

I don't know where to go. And it's raining. I'm cold. I'm hungry.

0:57.9

And I'm over it.

1:00.4

I'm so over it.

1:06.3

This week, Evan is missing, and he badly needs medical care.

1:12.1

We follow the search for Evan, and we look at a new experiment with involuntary treatment.

1:15.5

Here's reporter Ethan Brooks.

1:21.5

Hey.

1:22.6

How you doing?

1:23.9

Doing all right.

1:27.1

It's been a few weeks now since anyone's seen Evan. The last time I saw him

1:29.2

was late at night in the Mission District. He needed urgent medical care for his leg, which was swollen

1:34.7

and infected, and he planned to go to the hospital. And then he disappeared. He could lose his

1:41.1

leg, you know? That's why when we separated, I was really clear with him that he understood that his leg was not going to get better on its own.

1:52.3

When Liz can't find someone, usually at least someone out there, one of the many missing people Liz has found over the years, has seen that person around.

...

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