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Coronavirus Disproportionately Hits Latinos in California Jul 14, 2020

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Across California, Latinos have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. They make up about 39 percent of the state’s population, but account for 55 percent of reported infections. Community leaders are calling for more resources to help reduce the spread and risks for Latinos, many of whom have to work outside the home. The pandemic has been especially burdensome for undocumented people and low-income workers -- a significant component of the Latino population. We look at what can be done to blunt the sharp rise in case counts.

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Eduardo Porter’s New Book Explains How Racism Poisons America’s Economy For Everyone Jul 14, 2020

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As the United States grapples with civil unrest, many people are questioning how we arrived in this situation and how the nation can change for the better. In his new book, “American Poison: How Racial Hostility Destroyed Our Promise,” New York times economics reporter Eduardo Porter presents a comprehensive examination of how discrimination based on race has hurt not just members of marginalized groups, but the nation as a whole. While the U.S. has gutted education systems, healthcare programs, and assistance for the poor, he writes, the nation instead diverted resources to incarcerating people. Porter, who has previously served as economics columnist and editorial writer for the New York Times, joins us to discuss his new book and how it relates to current debate over dismantling systemic racism.

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California Sues Trump Administration Over New Policy Restricting International Student Visas Jul 13, 2020

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California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state public education leaders announced on Thursday that they’re suing the Trump administration over a new rule requiring foreign college students to leave the U.S. if their classes are online-only when they resume in the fall. California, which is home to the largest population of international students in the country, follows Harvard and M.I.T., who filed a joint suit and asked for an emergency order to stop the new policy. California’s public college systems are now reviewing their ability to offer some in-person classes to protect international students who could be deported or barred from re-entering the country under the new rule, which is raising health and safety concerns. We’ll hear from Attorney General Becerra, as well as from students who could be affected, and discuss the implications of the policy.

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President Trump Commutes Roger Stone’s Sentence Jul 13, 2020

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President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the sentence of his longtime friend and political advisor Roger Stone, who had been convicted of lying to Congress and witness tampering. The next day, former special counsel Robert Mueller defended his investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign and wrote that Stone was "prosecuted and convicted because he committed federal crimes." We'll discuss Trump's move and other national political news with KQED's Marisa Lagos.

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Newsom Orders Release of 8,000 Inmates from State Prisons Jul 13, 2020

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Governor Newsom announced Friday that the state will release 8,000 people incarcerated in the state's prison system, including 700 in high-risk prisons like San Quentin and Folsom. The move came as Bay Area lawmakers and activists called on Governor Newsom to step in to reduce the prison population at San Quentin, where there have been more than 1300 cases of coronavirus and at least seven COVID-related deaths. We’ll get the latest on the situation.

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EDD’s Loree Levy Takes Your Unemployment Benefit Questions Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Close to 2 million unemployment claims filed since the shelter in place orders were issued have not yet been paid out, according to a San Jose Mercury News analysis. And while a new report from the U.S. Labor Department finds first-time jobless claims by Californians have dropped for two consecutive weeks, the continued economic shut-down could cause more workers to lose jobs. The state unemployment agency says it is updating technology and hiring thousands of staff to deal with the deluge of claims. Loree Levy of the California Employment Development Department joins us to answer your questions about the backlog and how to file claims.

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Author Aims for Punk Rock Memoir With “The Undocumented Americans” Jul 10, 2020

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Author Karla Cornejo Villavicencio joins us to discuss her new memoir, “The Undocumented Americans.” Villavicencio arrived in America when she was five and is one of the first undocumented students to graduate from Harvard. After the election of President Trump in 2016, she began writing about her own experience as well as those of other undocumented immigrants in New York, Miami, Cleveland, Michigan and Connecticut through a series of reported essays. Now a doctoral student at Yale, Villavicencio’s work insists on breaking conventional and sanitized narratives of immigrants in her book, which she calls a punk rock memoir.

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School Districts Across the Bay Area and State Grapple with Reopening Plans Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Amid a spike in coronavirus cases and calls by President Trump to reopen schools this fall, school districts across California are contemplating the best course of action for next year. San Jose's Alum Rock Union and East Side Union High school districts already announced that a majority of their schools will continue online learning. And while other options include a staggered or hybrid schedule, most school districts are monitoring the pandemic and county health guidelines before making an official announcement. We'll discuss what schools around the Bay Area and the state are planning to do this fall.

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Activists Call For Better Understanding of History as Statues and Monuments Come Down Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Throughout California, statues of controversial historical figures such as Junipero Serra and Christopher Columbus are being removed. This follows a trend across the nation to demolish what some consider symbols of racism, oppression, and injustice. Indigenous leaders have fought for decades against celebrating Serra and Columbus, who they see as having committed genocide against Native Americans. Others argue that destroying statues and monuments could silence some parts of history instead of expanding our knowledge of it. In this hour, we’ll dive into the debate over toppling statues and monuments as well as who we memorialize and why.

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Stanford Social Psychologist on How White Allies Should Respond To Racism Jul 09, 2020

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Stanford Graduate School of Business professor and social psychologist Brian Lowery studies the psychology of racial privilege. Undergirding his work is the notion that although many people support the ideal of a fair and just society, they sometimes end up unconsciously reinforcing extant inequality. In a Washington Post opinion piece last month, Lowery describes some of the racism he has experienced and calls upon white Americans to engage in a proactive way to address inequality. Lowery joins us to discuss his research and why he thinks “the time for talk has passed”.

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