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In ‘The Cities We Need,’ Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani Celebrates Unassuming Places That Foster Community Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

The donut shop. The local diner. The vacant lot where kids gather to play. These are the kinds of unassuming places that can foster a sense of belonging, according to author, scholar and visual artist Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, In her new book, “The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places,” she argues that these often overlooked places do the essential work of forming communities. She spotlights residents making acute observations about the ordinary wonders in places such as Oakland’s Mosswood neighborhood. We talk about the book, and hear from you: Where would you take someone on a guided tour of your neighborhood? Email us at forum@kqed.org or leave a voicemail at 415-553-3300.

Guests:

Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, author, "The Cities We Need:Essential Stories of Everyday Places", Bendiner-Viani is the co-founder of Buscada, an interdisciplinary art, design and social research studio. She is also the author of "Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York's Seward Park Urban Renewal Area."

Marty Price, longtime resident of Oakland. Born and raised in Oakland and served as vice principal of Oakland Technical High School.

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Forum From the Archives: Music Critic Ann Powers on ‘Traveling’ on Singer-Songwriter Joni Mitchell’s Path Sep 02, 2024

Show notes

When Ann Powers began to draft her expansive new biography of Laurel Canyon music legend Joni Mitchell, she says that “certain subjects emerged: childhood as an imaginary terrain where singer-songwriters could express their ideals and idiosyncrasies; sadness as a complicated form of women’s liberation; side roads and retreats as the secret sources of an artist’s strengths. And traveling, always traveling.” Powers’ book charts Mitchell’s influences, collaborators and milieu, weaving in reflections on the broader politics and trends of each decade during Mitchell’s career. It grapples with the sexism of Laurel Canyon’s heyday and Mitchell being labeled a “confessional” artist, as well as Mitchell’s own complicated relationship with feminism and with being the only woman at the table. We talk to Powers about Joni Mitchell’s life and art and hear how Mitchell has affected you. Powers’ new book is “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.”

Guests:

Ann Powers, music critic and correspondent, NPR

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Forum from the Archives: A Sensitive Meathead’s Quest to Get ‘Swole’ Sep 02, 2024

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Michael Andor Broudeur is a classical music critic for the Washington Post and he’s also a self-described “meathead” with an relentless desire to make his body bigger. In his book “Swole: The Making of Man and the Meaning of Muscle” Broudeur grapples with the contradictions and complexities of male body image and masculinity. He embraces the gay male gym culture he’s a part of but writes that it would be silly “to try and distance the symbol of the buff male bod from its long and wide lineage of unsavory cultural signifiers. As a mascot for classical beauty, the meathead must also embody white supremacy, hetero-patriarchy, and a vast panoply of nationalisms.” We listen back to our June conversation with Brodeur about how weight training has shifted his perspective on what it means to be a man.

Guests:

Michael Andor Brodeur, author, "Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle"; classical music critic, The Washington Post

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Forum From the Archives: Caitlin Dickerson on the Darién Gap’s Humanitarian Catastrophe Aug 30, 2024

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The Darién Gap, the perilous mountain region connecting Central and South America, was thought for centuries to be all but impossible to cross. But now, hundreds of thousands of migrants are doing just that to reach the U.S. Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration reporter Caitlin Dickerson took three trips to the Darién Gap over five months, following groups of migrants on their 70-mile trek from northern Colombia into southern Panama. They risked hunger, thirst, drowning, disease, violence, sexual assault and death. We talk to Dickerson about what she witnessed and what she calls the “flawed logic” of U.S. immigration policy – “that by making migration harder, we can limit the number of people who attempt it.” Her new article in the Atlantic is “Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.”

Guest:

Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic; Dickerson won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on immigration; her new article is "“Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.”

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Small and Big Acts of Kindness Shine in New Book from Upworthy Aug 30, 2024

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The son who traveled 2,500 miles to save his parents’ dog. The stranger who picked up the tab for a girl who was trying to buy a prom dress at Goodwill. The airport janitor who stopped to feed and comfort a stranded passenger. These are some of the small and big acts of kindness website Upworthy compiled into a new book, “Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity.” We’ll talk to the editors and hear from you: What is a memorable act of kindness you have received or given?

Guests:

Lucia Knell, co-author, "Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity "; Knell is the vice president of the media company Upworthy. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Glamour and Vogue, among other publications.

Gabriel Reilich, co-author, "Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity"; Reilich is the head of content and innovation at the media companies Good and Upworthy. He developed the Upworthy Instagram account which now has five million+ followers.

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Nancy Pelosi Explains 'The Art of Power' Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi says that she’s won nearly all the legislative battles that she started — and she characterizes those she hasn’t won simply as “not yet achieved.” Pelosi has exerted her powers of persuasion and negotiation for 37 years as San Francisco’s congressional representative, pushing forward the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act and leveraging behind-the-scenes influence in both Congress and the White House. We talk to Pelosi about the people and principles that motivate her and why she says managing differences in her caucus is like being “a weaver at the loom.” Pelosi’s new memoir is “The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House.”

Guests:

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the House and U.S. Representative for California's 11th District (San Francisco); author, "The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman House Speaker"

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California Legislature Passes Controversial AI Bill Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

California lawmakers approved a landmark bill regulating artificial intelligence on Wednesday. SB 1047, co-authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), aims to curb potential dangers of AI such as misinformation, cyberattacks and the creation of novel biological weapons. It would mandate safety testing for advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million dollars, allow a kill switch for ones that go awry, and add protections for whistleblowers. We’ll talk about how the bill, if signed into law by Governor Newsom, could impact the future of AI in California and across the nation.

Guests:

Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk, KQED

Cecilia Kang, tech reporter, The New York Times

Shirin Ghaffary, AI reporter, Bloomberg

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Evan Friss on the Enduring Power of ‘The Bookshop’ Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

The smell of ink on paper. The handwritten staff recommendations. The plan to only buy one book, and the inevitable exit with five. Visiting a brick-and-mortar bookstore is not just a serotonin-releasing individual experience. Bookstores build community among the aspiring writer employee, the bookworm regular and everyone else who has “an attachment to the store and the store to them.” That’s according to Evan Friss, author of “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore.” We’ll talk with Friss and with some California bookshop owners about the communities they serve, and we’ll hear from you: What’s your favorite bookstore? Why?

Guests:

Evan Friss, professor of history, James Madison University; author, "The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstores

Brad Johnson, owner of East Bay Booksellers in Oakland

Jhoanna Belfer, owner and head booknerd, Bel Canto Books in Long Beach

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San Francisco Superintendent Matt Wayne Talks About Solving the School District’s Budget Crisis Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

As a new school year kicks off, San Francisco Unified School District faces several big challenges including pending school closures set to be announced later this month. The district, with a budget of $1.3 billion for this fiscal year, has been overspending for years as enrollment has declined. With its financial reserves running dry, district leaders and school board members have to wrangle in spending to close a $420 million deficit or confront a state takeover. We’ll talk to SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne and other experts about the district’s financial problems, what could happen next, and take your questions.

Guests:

Jill Tucker, K-12 Education Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Mark Sanchez, commissioner, San Francisco School Board of Education - San Francisco Unified School District

Matt Wayne, superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District

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‘Feeding the Machine’ Spotlights the Human Laborers Behind AI Aug 27, 2024

Show notes

Tech companies often portray their AI products as self-sufficient systems that learn from large datasets. However, AI development in reality relies heavily on a global workforce of undervalued workers, including data annotators, content moderators and machine learning engineers, who endure long hours for low pay while performing repetitive tasks. A new book, “Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labor Powering A.I.”, exposes the harsh conditions these workers face and the human labor essential to AI’s growth. We talk with one of the book’s authors, James Muldoon, to learn more and how we can better protect the rights of low-wage AI workers.

Guests:

James Muldoon, Associate Professor, University of Essex - Research Associate at University of Oxford’s Internet Institute

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