The Sunset Connection: People, Property & Policy in the Bay Area
If you live in the SF Bay Area, or are planning to, you probably have questions. Who lives here, what do people care about, and why? How do you find a home, open a business, plan for your family’s future, or understand what’s changing in your neighborhood?
I’m Jessica Ho, an insatiably curious person whose work has taken me through healthcare, government, community advocacy, consulting, and real estate.
Across these fields, I keep asking how things connect. I bring those experiences and insights to this podcast to help you understand the bigger picture and make better decisions.
On The Sunset Connection, I talk with residents, business owners, civic leaders, and specialists about their experiences and the systems shaping their choices. Together, we explore housing, commercial spaces, estate planning, neighborhood change, and practical resources that can help.
Rooted in San Francisco’s Sunset District and reaching across the Bay Area, this show brings curiosity, context, and a human perspective to everyday decisions.
Things are rarely as simple as they seem. Asking better questions helps us understand the challenges and see what’s possible.
Bring your questions. Let’s connect the dots together.
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/jessica_j_ho
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesunsetconnection
Website: www.jessicajho.com
Email: jessica.jasmine.ho@gmail.com
Episodes
33 episodes
What's Next for The Sunset Connection?
In this short update and Season 2 finale, I’m catching you up on where I’ve been and what I’m planning next for The Sunset Connection: People, Property, and Policy.With a new tagline and cover art, the show will explore the ques...
Beers, Burgers, and Baseball: How Tommy and Max Created A Sunset Destination
The Sunset is changing, and few businesses have captured the neighborhood's attention quite like Two Pitchers Brewing Company and
SF June Ballot Guide: What Is the “CEO Tax” Really? With Ryan Blake
San Francisco voters are being asked to weigh in on earthquake preparedness, term limits, and two competing business tax measures that could shape the city’s economic future.In this episode, Jessica Ho is joined by Ryan Blake of Platinum...
How to Navigate Affordable, Low-Income, and Senior Housing in San Francisco - with Manson Leong
Most people in San Francisco think “affordable housing” is for someone else.But the reality is more complicated.In this episode, I sit down with Manson Leong from Self-Help for the Elderly to break down how the system actually wor...
District 4 Candidate Series Finale: A Conversation with Supervisor Alan Wong
Disclosure: My husband, Christian Kropff, is Supervisor Alan Wong's campaign manager. Every candidate in this series was made aware of this connection before recording. The questions in this episode are the same ones asked of every candi...
Is There Really a “War on Cars”? Emma Hare Explains!
In this episode, I talk with Emma Hare, legislative aide to Supervisor Myrna Melgar, about the Inner Sunset and transportation policy in San Francisco. If you've ever wondered what a legislative aide actually does, what makes the Inner Sunset u...
Who Gets to Stay? Inside the Starship House of the Sunset
What happens when a home becomes more than real estate?Welcome to the home of Jim Kirk (yes, that’s really his name), who lives in a house that has become memory, identity, and community all at once.In this episode of The Suns...
District 4 Candidate Series: Meet Jeremy Julian Greco
This episode continues The Sunset Connection’s District 4 Candidate Series, where each candidate for Supervisor is asked the same questions in the same format.In this conversation, Jeremy Julian Greco - a longtime District 4 res...
District 4 Candidate Series: David Lee on Leadership in the Sunset
This episode continues The Sunset Connection’s District 4 candidate interview series.I’m speaking with every candidate running for Supervisor and asking the same questions, in the same order, to give Sunset residents a clear loo...
District 4 Candidate Series: Natalie Gee on Leadership, Community, and City Hall
This episode continues the District 4 candidate mini-series on The Sunset Connection.I’m speaking with every candidate who agrees to participate, using the same questions and the same format each time. The goal is simple: to giv...
District 4 Candidate Series: A Conversation with Albert Chow
This episode marks the start of a District 4 candidate mini-series on The Sunset Connection.I’ll be speaking with every candidate who agrees to come on the podcast, using the same questions and the same format each time. The goa...
Getting to Know Supervisor Alan Wong
As we close out the year, I’m sharing a conversation that feels especially fitting for this moment.In this episode, I sit down with Alan Wong, the newly appointed Supervisor for San Francisco’s District 4, to talk about his roots ...
Part II: Pat Maguire on Love, Loss, and a Life Beyond
In this episode, Pat Maguire opens up about the moments that shaped his new book, All Things Beautiful. He talks about the night that changed everything for his family, what grief taught him, and the unexpected place where he rediscove...
The Fights That Bound Us: Pat Maguire on Growing Up Irish Catholic in the Sunset
In this episode of The Sunset Connection, I talk with Pat Maguire, who opened and runs Java Beach Café with his wife, Buffy Maguire. Both Pat and Buffy are San Francisco natives with deep ties i...
Assessing How SF’s Assessor-Recorder, Joaquin Torres, Works For You
In this conversation, Joaquin shares how his upbringing inspired his work in public service and what the new SMART Property System<...
SarangHello, Sunset!
There’s a K-Pop store in the Sunset District. Yeah, you read that right. In a neighborhood better known for dimsum than fandom, SarangHello has become a magnet for teens, stans, and anyone chasing joy. Jessica t...
The Return of the Sunset Night Market and Holiday Updates With Angie Petitt
What happened to the Sunset Night Market? What is Sunset Mercantile? And how did the Outer Sunset Farmers Market and Mercantile get started? Is there anything happening for the holidays in the Sunset?Tune in to The Sunset Co...
October Means Movies in McCoppin Park - It's a Tradition!
A foggy square, a rolling library cart, and a neighborhood ready to gather, this is how a small idea became a 15‑year tradition that now brings 700 people together every Friday in October. We sit down with Albert to tell the full story of Movie...
Education as the Great Equalizer: A Conversation with Parag Gupta
In this episode of The Sunset Connection, Jessica Ho sits down with Parag Gupta - SF Board of Education commissioner, affordable housing leader, and proud SFUSD parent. Education is often called the “great equalizer,” but in S...
House Hunters: Sunset Edition
Yes, Redfin and Zillow are great for browsing listings, but will they tell you about the home that hasn’t hit the market yet, the seller quietly desperate to move, or the problems hiding behind perfect staging?In this episode of The ...
Sunset Commons: A New Kind of Third Space for the Sunset
In this episode, Jessica sits down with Carmen and Steven Lee, the creators of Sunset Commons, a brand-new arts and crafts café in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset. The two high school sweethearts turned small business owners talk about what it tak...
Where Do We Go Now? Processing the BBB as Chinese Americans
What does it mean to be Chinese American in 2025, when a sweeping new federal law - HR 1, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” - fundamentally changes immigration, enforcement, and who feels like they belong?NEW!
Behind the Numbers: Han Li on SFUSD’s Budget
If you live in San Francisco, chances are you either went to public school, have a child in public school, or know someone who does. But even if you don’t, the health of our schools reflects the health of our neighborhoods, our tax dollars, and...
When They Come for Us: Dr. Russell Jeung on Being Asian in America Today
Dr. Russell Jeung is a sociologist, Christian, and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. In this powerful conversation, Russell joins Jessica Ho to talk about what it means to be Asian American in a time of rising...
Inside the SFUSD Lottery: A Parent’s Guide to Surviving the System
What happens when your kid’s school assignment isn’t tied to your address, but to a citywide lottery? In this episode of The Sunset Connection, host Jessica Ho sits down with four Sunset District parents to unpack the complexities of S...