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Concord Launches Guaranteed Income Pilot As Programs Gain Traction In The Bay Area Dec 05, 2023

Show notes

Concord has joined a growing list of Bay Area cities testing guaranteed income programs. The East Bay city’s model will provide 120 families with $500 a month for a year. More than 20 similar pilot programs have sprung up in the Bay Area in the last few years after more state and local officials allocated money to fund them. That has made California a hotbed for guaranteed income experiments. Advocates say that “no-strings attached” funding puts participants on a path to financial security because they often use the money to cover basic necessities, pay off debt, and build up savings. We’ll talk about the latest guaranteed income programs, what we’ve learned from the pilots, and how state support is changing local experiments.

Guests:

Natalie Foster, president and co-founder, Economic Security Project; senior fellow, The Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative

Jessica Travenia, director, Richmond Rapid Response Fund. They are preparing to launch the Contra Costa chapter of the Abundant Birth Project, a guaranteed income pilot for pregnant moms.

Julia Quintero, ELEVATE Concord project manager, Monument Impact. They are a nonprofit organization that is administering a guaranteed income program in Concord

Amy Castro, associate professor of the School of Social Policy and Practice & co-founder and faculty director of the Center for Guaranteed Income Research, University of Pennsylvania

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Trailblazing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Dies at 93 Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, died on Friday. She was 93. A Ronald Reagan appointee who retired from the high court in 2006, O’Connor was known as a swing vote in contentious cases on abortion, religious liberty and affirmative action. She once wrote, “Rare indeed is the legal victory — in court or legislature — that is not a careful byproduct of an emerging social consensus.” We’ll talk about her influence and legacy.

Guests:

Melissa Murray, professor of law, NYU School of Law; co-host, the Strict Scrutiny podcast

Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor and legal correspondent, Slate; host, Amicus podcast; author, "Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America". Website URL: http://www.slate.com/authors.dahlia_lithwick.html

Cristina Rodriguez, professor of law, Yale Law School; former clerk for Justice O'Connor during the Supreme Court's 2002 term

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Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, on Creating Human-Centered AI Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Fei-Fei Li is a literal visionary. Her groundbreaking work on ImageNet, a vast visual recognition database, helped propel artificial intelligence at a critical moment. As one of the key innovators and thinkers in AI, Li has argued for a human-centered artificial intelligence that augments people’s capabilities instead of displacing them. We talk to Li about her work, her vision for AI and her new memoir, The Worlds I See, in which she recounts her journey as a scientist and immigrant, and how those two roles inform each other.

Guests:

Fei-Fei Li, professor of Computer Science Department, Stanford University; author, "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI"

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Governors Newsom, DeSantis to Meet in Fox News Debate Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

It might be the most unusual event of this campaign season: California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to face off Thursday night against Governor – and GOP presidential candidate – Ron DeSantis of Florida in a Fox News-sponsored debate. What will this clash of two rising political stars from two of the nation’s most populous states reveal about issues like abortion, immigration, homelessness and our political moment? We’ll bring you a recap and analysis of the debate, which is being held in Georgia and moderated by Fox host Sean Hannity.

Guests:

Melanie Mason, senior political correspondent covering California politics, Politico

Joe Garofoli, senior political writer, San Francisco Chronicle

Taryn Luna, staff writer covering California politics, LA Times

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What Makes San Francisco Government Vulnerable to Corruption? Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

Earlier this month, the FBI indicted a major local real estate developer for bribing three San Francisco officials to obtain permits and expedite inspections. This episode is just the latest in a series of corruption scandals that began in 2020 and brought down officials in the Department of Power and Water, the Department of Building Inspection, and the city’s public utilities commission, among others. Is there something systemic or cultural that leaves San Francisco more vulnerable to corruption by public officials? We talk to experts and hear from you.

Guests:

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter/producer covering politics, KQED News

Jason McDaniel, associate professor of political science, San Francisco State University. He teaches urban politics and campaigns and elections.

JoAnne Speers, principal, S2 Ethics Strategies. Speers is the former chief executive of the Institute for Local Government and former general counsel of League of California Cities

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‘From Spices to Vices’: Evolutionary Biologist Noah Whiteman on Nature's Toxins Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

Beneath the surface of a coffee bean or a red pepper flake or a nutmeg seed — or any of the plants we rely on for medicine, food and drink — lie a “bevy of poisons,” writes UC Berkeley evolutionary biologist Noah Whiteman. But the chemical compounds that treat our infections, spice up our meals and calm our nerves didn’t evolve for our benefit. Instead, plants, fungi and even some small animals produce toxins to defend themselves against predators, attract pollinators and engage in battles of chemical warfare. We’ll talk about the biology and influence of “nature’s pharmacopeia” with Whiteman, whose new book is “Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins — From Spices to Vices.”

Guests:

Noah Whiteman, professor of Integrative Biology and Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; director, Essig Museum of Entomology; author, “Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins — from Spices to Vices”

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Why Cults Fascinate Us With UC Berkeley Professor Poulomi Saha Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

In the last several years, a cult industrial complex has emerged to capitalize on Americans’ fascination with groups such as Jonestown, the Manson Family, the Branch Davidians, and the Rajneeshpuram community in Wasco County, Ore., argues UC Berkeley professor Poulomi Saha. But in her highly sought-after class called Cults in Popular Culture, they emphasize that it’s important to look beyond the sensational examples and recognize how cult-like behavior shows up in many facets of our lives and society. We’ll talk with Saha about why some groups are labeled as cults, why people are drawn to them, and what cults reveal about spirituality and culture in America.

Guests:

Poulomi Saha, associate professor of English and co-director of the Program in Critical Theory, UC Berkeley. Saha teaches a course called Cults in Popular Culture.

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Can California’s Animal Shelters Support Pets and Their People? Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

California’s stray animals face a slew of challenges that might sound familiar to human residents of the state: a lack of affordable housing, prohibitive health care costs, and a shortage of service providers. Animal shelters that emptied during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic have since refilled, and placing those animals in homes can be a struggle. We speak with a veterinarian and two shelter administrators about how they’re adapting to the volume of animals – and people – in need of their services, and how community supporters can help. We’ll also hear from a journalist covering animal welfare at the national level, and from you: Have you tried to adopt, or rehome, a pet? What was your experience?

Guests:

Ann Dunn, director, Oakland Animal Services

Cynthia Karsten, director of outreach and shelter medicine, University of California-Davis

Kenny Torrella, staff writer, Vox

Sarah Aguilar, director, Santa Barbara County Animal Services

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What the Failed Oslo Accords Can Teach Us About Prospects for Middle East Peace Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

Thirty years ago, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands on the White House lawn and pledged to work together for peace. At that historic meeting, they signed what became known as the first Oslo Accord, ushering in an era of renewed optimism that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be resolved. Was its failure inevitable? Amid the tragedy of the current Israel-Hamas war, The New York Times magazine recently assembled a panel of experts — three Palestinian, three Israeli and one American – to discuss the Oslo peace process and why it broke down. Two of the participants in that discussion and journalist Emily Bazelon, who moderated it, join us to look back at what happened before and after the handshake and what it can tell us about the possibilities for negotiating peace.

Guests:

Emily Bazelon, staff writer, The New York Times Magazine; author, "Was Peace Ever Possible?" in the New York Times; co-host, Slate's political gabfest

Efraim Inbar, professor of political studies, Bar-Ilan University; president, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security

Omar Dajani, former senior legal advisor, Palestine Liberation Organization's Negotiations Support Unit; professor of law, University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law

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15 Years Ago, Prop 8 Banned Gay Marriage in California. What Do You Remember? Nov 28, 2023

Show notes

Proposition 8 passed 15 years ago this month, banning same-gender marriage in California. Two couples — one lesbian, one gay — sued to overturn the proposition and succeeded, with gay marriage made legal in California in 2013. The trial was videotaped, but those tapes didn’t become public until last year. That inspired KQED reporters Scott Shafer and Carlos Cabrera-Lomeli to invite those two couples to watch their testimony and reflect on how much LGBTQ rights have changed — and how far we’ve yet to go. We’ll talk with them and with plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and we’ll hear from you: What do you remember from Prop 8?

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