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Bikes Stolen In the Bay Area Show Up On Global Blackmarket Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

Hundreds of bicycles stolen in the Bay Area and other places have ended up for sale in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico. A recent article in Wired follows the efforts of a co-founder of Bike Index, a site where people can report bike thefts, to track down a reseller who set up a supply chain of stolen bikes resold via social media. Meanwhile, bike thieves in the Bay Area have become even more sophisticated in their methods leaving cyclists feeling hopeless and vulnerable. We’ll talk about the local and global black market for stolen bikes and what – if anything – can be done about it.

Guests:

Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli, community engagement reporter, KQED

Bryan Hance, co-founder, Bike Index

Christopher Solomon, freelance journalist; author, the recent Wired article “The West Coast’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico"

Nancy Hernandez, education program co-manager, Bike East Bay

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Neuroscientist Rahul Jandial Explains Why We Dream Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

Despite spending one third of our lives asleep, we know very little about why we dream. But in a new book brain surgeon and neuroscientist Dr. Rahul Jandial begins to peel back the mystery. He says that dreams may help us practice responding to threats, allow us to test different interpersonal scenarios, or serve as a sort of “nocturnal therapist, helping us digest and metabolize anxiety-provoking emotions.” We talk to Jandial about the neurobiology of dreams and what they contribute to our waking lives. Jandial’s new book is, “This Is Why You Dream.”

Guests:

Dr. Rahul Jandial, surgeon and neuroscientist, City of Hope

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Annalee Newitz on How Stories are Weaponized Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

As a journalist and a science fiction writer, Annalee Newitz thinks a lot about the power of narrative and how it can change minds, “if a story can make you feel better or smarter, it can also make you feel worse and more confused. And if that story can change your behavior—whether in the voting booth or on the street—it becomes a weapon.” In their new book, "Stories Are Weapons," Newitz dives into the history and practice of psychological warfare and traces how the military tools of psyops – including propaganda and disinformation – have seeped into our lives. We’ll talk about how stories are used to manipulate our politics and drive the culture wars and how we might snap out of their sway.

Guests:

Annalee Newitz, science journalist; science fictions writer; author, "Stories are Weapons"; Newitz is also the author of the books "The Terraformers," "Autonomous" and "Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age"

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Grace Jung’s ‘K-Drama School’ Unpacks a Pop Culture Phenomenon Jun 14, 2024

Show notes

“Squid Game.” “Crashing Landing on You.” “Winter Sonata.” Korean dramas have injected themselves into American pop culture thanks to their addictive story lines and the advent of streaming services. Grace Jung should know. She spent 10,000 hours watching Korean television for her UCLA PhD in cinema and media studies. A stand-up comedian, podcast host, and critic, Jung unpacks the cultural significance of Korean television in her new book “K-Drama School.” We’ll talk to Jung and hear from you: What’s your favorite Korean television show?

Guest:

Grace Jung, author, "K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television." Jung is also a standup comedian, critic and host of the podcast "K-Drama School."

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Slow Burn Podcast Excavates Bay Area LGBTQ History with ‘Gays Against Briggs’ Jun 14, 2024

Show notes

Forty six years ago, California held its first statewide vote on gay rights. Prop 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative, sought to ban gay teachers from the classroom. The battle to stop that proposition is the subject of Slate’s current “Slow Burn” podcast season, chronicling an explosive moment in both Bay Area and gay liberation history. It follows the political trajectory of Harvey Milk, as well as a wave of anti-gay backlash from conservative politicians across the country. We speak with Slow Burn host Christina Cauterucci and early gay rights advocates Cleve Jones, Gwenn Craig and Ruth Mahaney, about lasting lessons from the Briggs Initiative and those who opposed it.

Guests:

Christina Cauterucci, host of Slate's "Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs" podcast

Cleve Jones, author, "When We Rise," organizer with UNITE HERE, a hospitality workers' union. Also co-founder of the AIDS Foundation and founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt

Ruth Mahaney, former professor of gender and LGBTQ studies

Gwenn Craig, queer elder who has worked on several electoral candidate and issues campaigns in San Francisco, including the supervisorial campaign of Harvey Milk and San Franciscans Against Proposition 6

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Music Critic Ann Powers on ‘Traveling’ on Singer-Songwriter Joni Mitchell’s Path Jun 13, 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.”

Guest:

Ann Powers, music critic and correspondent, NPR

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The Global Battle to Control Food and Water Chronicled in Documentary ‘The Grab’ Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

Every historical era is marked by the fight for a commodity: spices, gold, oil, steel, to name a few. In the next decades as climate change deepens and resources become scarcer, security experts believe the commodities fueling conflict will be food and water. The global battle to control these two resources centers the documentary “The Grab,” which follows Center for Investigative Reporting journalist Nate Halverson’s quest to uncover state-sponsored efforts to snatch up land and water rights in other countries, including the U.S., at the expense of the people who live there.

Guests:

Nathan Halverson, reporter with the Investigative Reporting Program, UC Berkeley - Halverson is featured in the documentary "The Grab," which centers on his efforts to uncover the players behind state-sponsored land grabs around the world.

Brigadier Siachitema, consultant, Women’s Lands & Property Rights at Southern Africa Litigation Centre

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National Academies Push for New Definition of Long COVID Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine on Tuesday called on the medical community to adopt a new, universal definition of Long COVID to help patients access better medical care and benefits and minimize skepticism and social stigma around the condition. The National Academies would define Long COVID as an “infection-associated chronic condition that occurs after COVID-19 infection and is present for at least three months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems.” Long COVID afflicts an estimated 17 million Americans. We’ll talk about the latest Long COVID research and hear your experiences.

Guests:

Dr. Linda Geng, co-director, Stanford Long COVID Collaborative

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‘Father Time’ Explores How Parenthood Alters Men’s Brains and Bodies Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

In her new book, “Father Time: A Natural History of Men and Babies,” primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy rebuffs the idea that men don’t develop a dad instinct the way mothers do. For centuries, it was just assumed that men were not inclined to be good at caregiving and Hrdy says academic researchers overlooked studying what happens when men become fathers. Hrdy’s own research found that fathers, like mothers, experience biological and neurological changes when they become parents. We’ll talk about how the role of fathers is changing and why we should rethink the way society treats dads.

Guests:

Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, anthropologist and primatologist; author, "Father Time: A Natural History of Men and Babies"

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R.O. Kwon Mines Complexity of Desire, Both Romantic and Creative, in ‘Exhibit’ Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

In her new novel “Exhibit” R.O. Kwon introduces us to Jin Han, a photographer in San Francisco who’s unsure if her transgressive infatuation for a ballet dancer activated a family curse, conjuring a ghost from her family’s past in Korea. Through Jin, Kwon explores the nature of desire — and why shame too often accompanies it.. Kwon says it’s as though she “made a list of boxes a person might tick to explain why a woman ought to be disliked, perhaps despised, and then, writing this novel, I filled in each box.” We’ll talk with Kwon about why women especially feel shame for the desire they feel for others or for personal creative fulfillment — and for not desiring motherhood. And we’ll hear about how she grappled with her anxieties and reflected on her politics while writing this novel.

Guests:

R.O. Kwon, author, "Exhibit" and "The Incendiaries"; co-editor, "KINK: Stories" the anthology

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