Since the pandemic hit, attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise. The special series The Race Gap in the U.S. premieres with an episode exploring the forces behind the racial hatred stoked by politicians, and the very real consequences of those actions.  

Correspondent Gerry Hadden travels to the Bay Area, in and around San Francisco, where around a third of the population is of Asian descent. He talks to some of the victims of these attacks and traces back to the origins of this racial animosity with the help of scholars, activists and experts.

This vicious circle entered a new phase with the COVID-19 epidemic, getting to the point where some members of the Asian American community grew more fearful of attacks than contagion.