Kava, kratom and caffeine — the stories in this episode of our podcast dive into obsession, addiction and habits. We follow reporters Susie Neilson ad Padmini Parasarathy as they goes to Melo Melo Kava Bar where people consume Kava, a Polynesian root-brewed tea, helping people with their anxiety and overcome addiction. Alexa Hornbeck takes us to Sacramento as she speaks with a mother fighting to keep kratom, a controversial herbal supplement, from being made an illegal substance in the United States….
The Nevin Community Center is in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, a few yards from Kaiser Hospital. The center’s playground is fenced off from a large patch of grass that stretches from the center to the sidewalk on the 800 block of Macdonald Avenue. Across the grass, a couple of older men are hanging out, sipping beers at a picnic table. A woman with a stroller walks by and asks them for a cigarette. Standard park sounds—like the laughter of toddlers—mix…