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Caregivers Need Care Too Jan 17, 2024

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53 million Americans provide care for a family member or friend with health or disability issues. While there can be joy and satisfaction found in helping a loved one age or cope with an illness, the work can also be hard and emotionally draining: Research shows that caregivers are at greater risk for anxiety, depression, chronic health problems, and financial strain. With little to no government support, how can we support caregivers? We’ll talk to experts and hear from you: How are you handling the responsibilities of caregiving?

Guests:

Christina Irving, client services director, Family Caregiver Alliance

Oanh Meyer, associate professor, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in UC Davis School of Medicine

Kelly Dearman, executive director of the department of disability and aging services, San Francisco Human Services Agency

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Rebecca Boyle on How the Moon ‘Made Us Who We Are’ Jan 16, 2024

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Ever since our moon formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago, it has “conduct(ed) the symphony of life on Earth.” That’s according to lifelong moon enthusiast and science journalist Rebecca Boyle, who says that the moon has influenced modern science, reproduction, migration, religious rituals and even possibly the blood in our veins. Boyle’s new book is “Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are,” and she joins us to talk about how the moon has inspired and guided human history and to share the pleasure of looking up at the night sky.

Guests:

Rebecca Boyle, author, "Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are." Boyle is also a science writer for The Atlantic, the New York Times, New Scientist, Popular Science, Smithsonian Air & Space and many other publications.

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Mayor Matt Mahan and the Year Ahead for San Jose Jan 16, 2024

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San Jose mayor Matt Mahan has only been in office about a year but he’s already up for re-election in March. We talk to mayor Mahan in our San Jose studio about what he’s learned in the past year that informs his plans to address San Jose’s most pressing issues including homelessness, housing and policing. Then we check in with Santa Clara Board of Supervisors president Susan Ellenberg about the county’s priorities for the San Jose area. And we’ll take your questions and suggestions for the elected leaders about what you hope to see for the South Bay in the coming year.

Guests:

Matt Mahan, mayor, San Jose

Susan Ellenberg, president, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors

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Forum From the Archives: ‘Black Folk’ Centers History and Activist Legacy of Black Working Class Jan 15, 2024

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“Our national mythos,” writes historian Blair LM Kelley, “leaves little room for Black workers, or to glean any lessons from their history.” Kelley’s latest book “Black Folk” offers a corrective, focusing on the lives of Black working people after the Southern Emancipation, the challenges they faced bringing their skills to bear and the networks of resistance they formed. Kelley’s book is also personal, grounded in the stories of her own ancestors, including her great, great grandfather, a highly skilled blacksmith who was enslaved. We’ll talk to Kelley about the origins of the Black working class and about the people who animate it, then and now.

Guests:

Blair LM Kelley, author, "Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class." She is the director of the Center for the Study of the American South and co-director of the Southern Futures initiative at the University of North Carolina.

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Forum From the Archives: ‘Before the Movement’: The Hidden and Vibrant History of Black Civil Rights Jan 15, 2024

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Court cases like the Dred Scott decision and Brown v. Board of Education are among the legal milestones that mark the arduous journey towards civil rights. But throughout the 19th century, ordinary Black Americans, freed and enslaved, sought to enforce their rights under the law. It’s a hidden and largely untold story of how Blacks both relied on, trusted in, and tried to leverage the legal system to establish and protect their rights, and it’s the subject of UC Berkeley historian Dylan Penningroth’s new book, “Before the Movement.” We’ll talk to Penningroth about his work.

Guests:

Dylan Penningroth, author, "Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights;" professor of law and history at U.C. Berkeley and associate dean of the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program.

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In Transit: What’s the Status of California’s High-Speed Rail Project? Jan 12, 2024

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How soon will Californians be able to travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco by high-speed rail? In welcome news, the California High-Speed Rail Authority received nearly $3.1 billion in federal funding last month to advance work on the project. Environmental reviews are largely complete for the 500-mile route, and construction has begun on bridges and tunnels in the Central Valley. But the cost for the entire project is now expected to reach $128 billion, four times higher than was estimated when voters first approved it in 2008. In this installment of our In Transit series, we speak to the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to get updates and take your questions.

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The Objects We Keep That Tell Our Stories Jan 12, 2024

Show notes

The key from your first apartment. An old typewriter you used to write your thesis. Fabric buttons made by your grandmother. We all have objects, big and small, that have no real monetary value, but are precious. They tell the story of our lives or remind us of a happy or even sad time. These are the objects that constitute our own personal archive. We’ll talk to artists and writers about the things we keep, and why we keep them. And we’ll hear from you: what object have you kept for its special meaning?

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The Benefits and Limits of Gentle Parenting Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

“Gentle parenting” is generally described as parenting your child without shame, blame or punishment. It has gained traction in recent years, driven in large part by social media. Fans of the approach say it’s all about treating kids with empathy and respect, a stark contrast to the power dynamics of prior generations. But what happens when those well-meaning techniques — modeled so simply in Instagram reels — don’t work with your family? New research is suggesting that gentle parenting may not be so gentle on parents, leading to overwhelm and burnout. We’ll talk with experts about the benefits and limits of gentle parenting.

Guests:

Mercedes Samudio, licensed clinician and author, "Shame-Proof Parenting: Find Your Unique Parenting Voice, Feel Empowered, and Raise Whole, Healthy Children"

Dan Peters, psychologist, parenting expert and host of the podcast “Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan"; author, "Make Your Worrier a Warrior"; co-author, "Bright, Complex Kids"

Annie Pezalla, assistant professor, Developmental Psychology and Family Studies, Macalester College. Her recent article in the Conversation is "Gentle parenting can be really hard on parents, new research suggests."

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Researchers: San Francisco is the Center of the Tech Solar System and Austin is Just a Satellite Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

A lot of ink has been spilled about the outflow of workers from San Francisco and the Bay Area but, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “In the technology world, San Francisco remains the center. It remains the sun on which the planets orbit.” Those planets include places like Portland, Seattle, and Austin, to which companies and workers decamped during the pandemic. This theory of the “meta city” offers a new way to think about our globalized economy. It also suggests that the fear that San Francisco’s best days have passed is misplaced. We’ll talk about this concept and what it might mean for the city’s economic future… and self-esteem.

Guests:

Richard Florida, professor at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; author of "The Rise of the Creative Class" and co-author of the recent Harvard Business Review article, "The Rise of the Meta City"

Molly Turner, lecturer and expert on technology startups and cities, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

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Should Donald Trump Appear on the 2024 Ballot? Jan 10, 2024

Show notes

In a case with potentially monumental legal and political implications, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the 2024 ballot. Late last year, the Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion removing him from the state’s primary ballot for his effort to overturn the 2020 election and his incitement of the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. Shortly after, Maine’s Secretary of State followed suit. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on February 8, just days before Colorado is set to mail ballots to voters. We’ll talk about the issues before the Court and we’ll hear from you: should the former president be excluded from the ballot for inciting an insurrection?

Guests:

Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent, Vox; author, "Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted" and "The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America."

Andrea Scoseria Katz, associate professor of law, Washington University in St. Louis

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