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CA’s Teacher Shortage Hits Rural Schools Hardest Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

California has not been spared from the national teacher shortage. The state Department of Education reported more than 10,000 teacher vacancies during the 2021-2022 school year, and Los Angeles Unified School District has 450 teacher openings for this new school year. But shortages are particularly acute in rural communities: Alturas Elementary School, in northern California’s Modoc County, is missing a quarter of its necessary teaching staff. From retention to credentialing requirements to logistically impossible state mandates, the problems plaguing Modoc are common among rural districts. We’ll talk about the problems California’s rural school districts are facing in the new school year and hear potential solutions.

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Guests:

Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer, Los Angeles Times - who reported the piece, "‘No one is coming to our rescue’: Inside rural California’s alarming teacher shortage"

Lisa Pruitt, professor, UC Davis School of Law - whose work focuses on rural communities

Tom O'Malley, superintendent, Modoc Joint Unified School District in Alturas, CA

Laurel Rulison, kindergarten teacher, Alturas Elementary in Modoc County

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How AI Could Transform Mental Health Care Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

Artificial intelligence is being put to work across various fields in the hopes that it can solve some of our most pressing problems. Among them: a growing demand for mental health services and a shortage of providers. Researchers say the technology has the potential to vastly improve patient access, lighten therapist workloads and combat disparities in quality of care but warn of the risks of deploying AI too soon, with vulnerable patients left to bear the brunt of early mistakes. Others question whether AI belongs anywhere near a therapist’s couch. We’ll talk to psychologists and researchers about how AI might transform the mental health industry and how to avoid the worst imagined outcomes.

Guests:

Jodi Halpern, professor of bioethics and chancellor's chair, University of California, Berkeley

Lloyd Minor, dean, Stanford University School of Medicine

Mainul Mondal, founder and CEO, Ellipsis Health

Betsy Stade, clinical psychologist and postdoctoral researcher, Stanford

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Would You Want Congestion Pricing in Your City? Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

To ease crushing urban traffic, London, Stockholm and Singapore all use congestion pricing, charging drivers to use busy roads in city centers or in certain zones at particular times of day. Congestion pricing has yet to be adopted in any U.S. city, but Los Angeles is taking a hard look at the concept. LA Metro will soon release a study examining which parts of the city could benefit most from congestion pricing, the environmental and public health benefits it could bring and who could qualify for carve-outs. We’ll talk with LA Metro about their study, which will be open for public comment once released. And we’ll hear from Ethan Elkind, our partner for our recurring series “In Transit,” about what LA’s proposal could mean for the rest of the state.

Guests:

Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; podcast host, Climate Break

Mark Vallianatos, executive officer in the Office of Strategic Innovation, LA Metro

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Venture Capital Still Largely Leaves Out Women-led Companies Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

Women start roughly two out of five businesses in America, but have mostly been shut out of the venture capital ecosphere. Companies funded solely by women snapped up just 2.1 percent of venture capital funding in the United States in 2022. According to research firm Pitchbook, the percentage hasn’t budged much in the past 15 years despite women creating more startups, incubators and venture funds. Women founders say there are still major disparities in how venture capitalists evaluate companies based on gender. We’ll talk about what this trend means for entrepreneurs and the economy.

Guests:

Lata Setty, first founding limited partner and limited partner advisory committee, How Women Invest

Catherine Berman, Co-Founder & CEO, CNote, a fintech company that helps corporations and foundations invest capital into underserved communities at scale

Jeremy Owens, technology editor and San Francisco bureau chief, MarketWatch

Maura O'Neill, distinguished teaching fellow, entrepreneurship and innovation, Haas School of Business, University Of California, Berkeley, founder, The Decade Project, an organization dedicated to making business ownership reflect the race, gender and ethnicity of the United States

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When A Pet Dies, How Can You Find Comfort? Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

“Mourning her absence was breathtaking in a literal sense; it took the wind out of me,” writes Sara Bader about the grief she felt with the death of her best friend. She was not talking about a person; she was writing about her cat, Snowflake, a constant and faithful companion. Pets are like our family, so when one dies the loss can feel immeasurable. But often, society places little value on that grief: “It’s just an animal. Why don’t you get another?” Yet, the death of a faithful, longtime companion, whether dog, cat, bird or other creature, great or small, can leave a void that is hard to fill. We’ll talk about grieving our pets and how to help them across the rainbow bridge.

Guests:

Sara Bader, author, "The Book of Pet Love and Loss"

Jennifer Scarlett, DVM and CEO, San Francisco SPCA; veterinarian

Jill Goodfriend, registered nurse and licensed clinical social worker - Goodfriend leads Berkeley Humane's pet loss support group and specializes in pet loss and grief in her practice

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‘Moonshot for Biology’ Aims to Sequence a Genome of Every Type of Plant and Animal on Earth Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

A group of scientists is racing to sequence genes from every plant, animal, and fungus on Earth for a global database of DNA. The organizers of the global Earth BioGenome Project call it a ‘moonshot for biology’ which would provide a treasure trove of information on evolutionary biology, the development of medicines, the conservation of species and more. We talk with scientists about their race against time to collect genes while tens of thousands of species are threatened with extinction and what they hope will come of it.

Guests:

Harris Lewin, chair, the Earth BioGenome Project Executive Committee; distinguished professor Emeritus of Evolution and Ecology, the University of California, Davis

Brad Shaffer, director, UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science; distinguished professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Sadye Paez, chair of the justice, equity, diversity and inclusion committee, the Earth BioGenome Project; collaborator on the Vertebrae Genome Project, the The Rockefeller University

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Deadly Wildfires Devastate Maui Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

At least 53 people are dead after wildfires whipped through neighborhoods in Maui, destroying the historic town of Lahaina and prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents and visitors. As of Thursday thousands of people were without power and cell service. We talk about the situation on the ground, what it will take to rebuild and how to help those affected.

Guests:

Marcel Honore, staff writer, Honolulu Civil Beat

Michelle Ka'uhane, senior vice president and chief impact officer, Hawai'i Community Foundation

Clay Trauernicht, extension specialist in ecosystems and fire in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Kahele Dukelow, professor of Hawaiian studies and administrator, University of Hawai'i, Maui College

Christin Bourland, resident of West Maui

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Creators of Fashion Newsletter "Blackbird Spyplane" Explain Bay Area Style Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Starting in 2020, the newsletter Blackbird Spy Plane has served readers what’s billed as “unbeatable recon” on style and culture. Journalist Jonah Weiner and design scout Erin Wylie have amassed a cult following for their takes on everything from why you should “Tuck All Tops” to what “Democratizing” fashion really means. The duo provides recommendations on apparel, housewares and even art that celebrates beauty, singularity and unapologetic swagger. We talk with the creators about the newsletter, whether there is a Bay Area style, and how to create your own fashion mindset.

Guests:

Jonah Weiner, co-founder, "Blackbird Spyplane," a newsletter about Bay Area style and culture

Erin Wylie, design scout; co-founder, "Blackbird Spyplane"

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What Does AM Radio Mean to You? Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

More than 82 million Americans listen to AM radio monthly, and most do so in their cars, according to recent Nielsen data. But many automakers have been phasing out the AM band in electric vehicles, citing interference with the cars’ batteries. That’s sparked bipartisan pushback, as AM radio is both dominated by conservative talk shows and home to non-English-language and local content that can’t be found on the FM band. We’ll talk with some of California’s AM stations about the communities they serve and we’ll hear from you: What do you tune in to AM radio for? Or, if you have an EV that can’t access AM radio: Do you miss it?

Guests:

Katie Thornton, freelance print and audio journalist; host of the Peabody-winning podcast series “The Divided Dial,” made with WNYC’s “On the Media” about how the right came to dominate U-S talk radio. She also wrote the recent Guardian piece, “New electric cars won’t have AM radio. Rightwingers claim political sabotage”

Lilia Galindo, host and producer of the radio talk show “Cafe Con Leche” on KUTY Hermosa 1470 AM

Irene Tsan Fong, operations director, In-Language Radio, which represents stations including the 24-hour Bay Area Cantonese-language station KVTO-AM 1400 (93.7 FM San Francisco)

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Forum is Launching a New Digital Community! How Can We Make the Internet Feel Like Your Bay Area? Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

For many of us, the internet has two faces. It can be a place where we’re bombarded by disinformation and polarized viewpoints, subjected to rage and frustration. But it can also be where people with different interests, ideas, and life experiences come together to find common ground. Share jokes. Build things together. This hopeful version of the internet is the focus of a new digital community that Forum’s creating on the platform Discord. We’ll talk about what our new community is, what we hope it will become, how to escape social media’s nasty decline, and how to foster conversations on the internet that aren’t awful.

Guests:

Eli Pariser, author, "The Filter Bubble: What the internet is hiding from you;" founder, New Public

Marina Gorbis, executive director, Institute for the Future

Grace Ling, founder, Design Buddies, Discord community

Francesca Fenzi, digital community manager, KQED's Forum

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