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How to Climb Mt. Everest Sustainably and Ethically Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

Adrian Ballinger, a mountain guide based in California, has reached Mt. Everest’s peak 8 times – including once without supplemental oxygen. Now that China has reopened the less-traversed north side route to foreigners, he’s headed back next month for the first time in four years. We talk to him about what draws hundreds of climbers to attempt to summit Mt. Everest every year, how to climb ethically and sustainably as ever more visitors descend on the mountain and what it feels like to be on top of the tallest peak in the world.

Guests:

Adrian Ballinger, mountain guide; founder, Alpenglow Expeditions

Graham Cooper, member of Mt. Everest expedition team

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DOJ Targets Apple in Latest Anti-Monopoly Action against Big Tech Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

The Department of Justice, along with 16 states including California, filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple last week. The government alleges that the trillion-dollar company’s practices around its iPhone have quashed competition by limiting access to its app store, constraining the ability to send messages across different platforms and blocking alternative wallet payment systems. The suit is part of a suite of antitrust legal actions aimed at breaking alleged monopolies by tech behemoths including Google, Meta, and Amazon. We’ll talk about what these suits mean for Apple’s devoted user base and the tech industry.

Guests:

Aaron Tilley, reporter, Wall Street Journal

Tim Wu, professor of law, science and technology, Columbia Law School; author, "The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age"

Margaret O'Mara, Scott and Dorothy Bullitt professor of American History, University of Washington; author, "The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America"

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Accelerating Climate Change to Force Mass U.S. Migration Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

“As the planet slowly cooks, people will do what they have done for thousands of years in response to climate change in their environment,” writes journalist and author Abrahm Lustgarten, “they will move.” Less than one percent of the earth’s surface is now considered too hot or dry to support human civilization, but climate researchers estimate that by 2070 nearly one-fifth of the planet will be unlivable. The impact will be most acute in parts of Asia, Africa and Central America. But climate models also predict that tens of millions of Americans will become climate migrants during this century– moving to more temperate zones in response to wildfires, flooding, extreme heat and drought. We talk to Lustgarten about what a climate change-induced mass migration could look like in the U.S. and why Californians will be among the most likely to move.

Guest:

Abrahm Lustgarten, senior environmental reporter, ProPublica; author, "On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America"

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Graphic Novelist Raina Telgemeier Taps into Adolescent Anxiety, Zeitgeist Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

You might not think that 224 pages devoted to a sixth grader’s tricky journey with braces would make for a bestseller, but since its publication in 2010, Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel “Smile” has remained hugely popular with the kid set. And her follow ups “Guts,” “Drama” and “Ghosts” have earned her rave reviews from kids, tweens, parents and librarians for the humorous, hopeful, and honest depictions of life as an anxious kid. We’ll talk to Telgemeier, a Bay Area native, about her work and how she taps into the zeitgeist of adolescence.

Guests:

Raina Telgemeier, author of "Smile," "Guts," and "Sisters," among other popular graphic novels for teens and kids

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Love in the Digital Age: Navigating the Pitfalls of Modern Romance Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

The explosion of online dating apps has made meeting new people radically convenient. But more of those looking for love complain that the platforms take the romance out of dating and turn it into nothing but a game of odds. Perhaps that’s why dating apps are losing their appeal, especially among Gen Z. According to one study, Gen Z-ers make up only 26% of dating app users. We’ll discuss how different generations find connections and why it still might be possible to find romance online. What’s been your experience with dating apps?

Guests:

Jeanne Proust, interim/acting director, the Center for Public Philosophy; lecturer of philosophy, UC Santa Cruz; philosophical counseling practitioner

Myisha Battle, sex and dating coach; host, KCRW's "How's Your Sex Life" podcast; author, Time Magazine's Real Love column; author, "This Is Supposed to Be Fun: Finding Joy In Hooking Up, Settling Down, and Everything In Between"

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What Will the Realtors’ Settlement Mean for the Bay Area Housing Market? Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

The rules that guide real estate transactions could soon change dramatically. As part of a $418 million legal settlement, the powerful National Association of Realtors has agreed to eliminate the standard 6-percent sales commission. Under the settlement, subject to a judge’s approval, home listings will no longer automatically offer commission to buyers’ agents, requiring buyers to negotiate fees upfront. We’ll talk about what that might mean for realtors, consumers, and Bay Area home prices.

Guests:

Nicole Friedman, reporter, Wall Street Journal - where she covers the U.S. housing market and the home building industry

Vanessa Gamp, president, San Francisco Association of Realtors

Jenny Schuetz, senior fellow, Brookings - where her research focuses on improving housing and land use policies

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Beth Linker’s Book ‘Slouch’ Recounts History of ‘Posture Panic’ Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

There was a time when the nation was gripped by an epidemic that leaders felt went to the moral core of the country: bad posture. In her new book, “Slouch,” University of Pennsylvania historian Beth Linker recounts how curved spines, rounded shoulders, and slumped backs were considered reflections of moral fitness, the ability to hold a job, and even intelligence. We’ll talk to Linker about this “posture panic” that contributes to the ableism we see today, and we’ll hear from you: How’s your posture?

Guests:

Beth Linker, author, "Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America"; professor of history and sociology of science, University of Pennsylvania

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'Who’s Afraid of Gender?' According to Judith Butler, Nearly Everyone. Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

When Judith Butler wrote the pioneering book “Gender Trouble” in 1990, they introduced us to the nascent field of gender theory. Now, more than three decades later, gender has become a catch-all term and bogeyman for conservative movements around the world. It’s become a lightning rod for social anxieties, Butler argues, about sex, feminism, racial equality and queer existence. In their latest book, Judith Butler asks: “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” And why? We’ll talk with Butler about how gender became such an incendiary buzz word and why we still struggle to find common language around it.

Guests:

Judith Butler, distinguished professor in the Graduate School Department of Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley

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Don’t Call It a ‘Superbloom,’ But CA’s Blooms This Year Sure Seem Super Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

A drenching rainy season that isn’t over yet has given California another gift, besides a big snowpack and gnarly skiing: a “superbloom.” A superbloom is not a scientific term according to botanists, but this year’s bloom promises to deliver a spectacular display. Anza-Borrego Desert is already reaching its peak, the park currently awash in a carpet of desert sunflowers, dune primrose and dandelions. For many areas across the state, peak blooms are still ahead. We talk to superbloom explorers, experts and wildflower lovers about what to look out for and the best ways to experience this year’s bonanza.

Guests:

Radhika Thekkath, co-president, Santa Clara Valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society

Evan Meyer, botanist and executive director, nonprofit Theodore Payne Foundation

Dan McCamish, senior environmental scientist, Colorado Desert District, California State Parks

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SFMOMA Chiura Obata Exhibit Captures “Grand Nature” of California Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Chiura Obata had a promising career when he left Japan for California in 1903. But the pull of this new country was compelling. A long-time arts professor at Berkeley, Obata was a leading figure of the Northern California arts community. His watercolor and ink paintings of the natural world, including vistas of the Sierras and Yosemite, as well as finely wrought and closely observed paintings of flowers, fish and fauna brought him acclaim. But the art schools he opened while incarcerated in concentration camps at Topaz and Tanforan in World War II made him beloved. Reflecting on his career, Obata wrote, “I dedicate my paintings, first, to the grand nature of California, which, over the long years, in sad as well as in delightful times, has always given me great lessons, comfort, and nourishment. Second, to the people who share the same thoughts, as though drawing water from one river under one tree.” We’ll talk about a current exhibit of his work at the SFMOMA with Obata experts, including his granddaughter.

Guests:

Kimi Kodani Hill, Obata family historian - Kodani Hill is the granddaughter of painter Chiura Obata whose solo exhibition is up at the SF MOMA through July 14.

Nancy Lim, associate curator, San Francisco Modern Museum of Art (SF MOMA) - Lim curated the Chiura Obata exhibition currently on display at SFMOMA.

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