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Rick Steves Reflects on a Life of Travel Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Rick Steves is one of the most trusted sources for Americans traveling abroad. But he once dreamed of becoming a piano teacher. That was before he backpacked along the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu in 1978, a trip that made him want to help others experience life-altering travel. We talk to him about his new book called “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer” about a life spent away from home. What would you like to ask or tell Rick Steves?

Guests:

Rich Steves, travel writer, TV host

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Star On the Rise: August Lee Stevens Performs Live In Studio Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Hercules native August Lee Stevens dropped her debut album “Better Places” last year earning her a following and praise for her indie soul sound. The 25-year-old singer and songwriter started classical piano when she was in elementary school and continued her study at the Oakland School of the Arts. In her senior year, she picked up singing – a decision that changed her life. She is now part of a wave of emerging musicians from the East Bay. Stevens joins us for a special live performance, and to talk about her musical roots and journey.

Guests:

August Lee Stevens, Bay Area-based musician and singer-songwriter; her debut album “Better Places” came out in 2024

Frankie Maston, vocalist

Ash Stallard, vocalist

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Imani Perry Finds Blue in the Black American Experience Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

Imani Perry says that the color blue tells the story of her people, reflecting both oppression and resilience, sorrow and hope. In her new book “Black in Blues,” Perry explores the significance of the color in Black American history and culture – from the indigo trade to the blues music tradition – and stitches together histories that connect the color to spirituality, community, resistance and the complexities of identity. Perry joins us.

Guests:

Imani Perry,professor in studies of women, gender and sexuality and in African and African American studies, Harvard University; fellowship recipient, MacArthur and Guggenheim; Her previous book ‘South to America’ won the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

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Fake Pharmaceuticals Laced with Fentanyl Are a Global Health Crisis Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

Counterfeit pharmaceutical pills laced with drugs like fentanyl are a new global crisis according to a recent article in the journal Lancet. The fake prescription pills are often the same color and size as the original, making them virtually indistinguishable. In 2023 the DEA found that 70% of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills contained a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl. And while drug overdoses among young people were down last year compared to 2023, the number of young people dying of opioid overdoses is still double what it was before the pandemic. We’ll talk to a parent whose son died of an accidental fentanyl overdose and with addiction experts about the crisis and what can be done to prevent it.

Guests:

Daniel Ciccarone, professor of Family & Community Medicine, UCSF

Ed Ternan, founder, Charlie's Song, a nonprofit focused on fentanyl education and awareness

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine, Stanford University

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Will the LA Fires Make California's Housing Crunch Worse? Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

The Southern California wildfires have decimated neighborhoods and displaced tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles County. The fallout is exacerbating the state’s existing housing crisis, as displaced persons compete for a scarcity of rental units. And Trump Administration actions on federal disaster aid could complicate rebuilding efforts. We’ll talk about how other California communities are still dealing with homelessness and housing shortages caused by wildfire and what their recovery efforts signal for LA. And we’ll hear from LA homelessness and housing advocates about the resources they’ll need — in the short- and long-term.

Guests:

Marisa Kendall, homelessness reporter, CalMatters

Jennielynn Holmes, chief program officer, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa

Carter Hewgley, senior director, LA County Homeless Initiative

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Trump Federal Funding Freeze Order Sows Confusion, Fear Jan 29, 2025

Show notes

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s order to freeze federal grants and loans on Tuesday, as Medicaid and other programs experienced interruptions causing chaos and confusion. The Trump administration’s directive could halt trillions of dollars in federal funds while agencies are directed to ensure financial assistance doesn’t conflict with administration ideology. California’s Attorney General and 22 other states have sued to stop the freeze, saying it is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. We’ll talk about what could be affected by the funding order, which is halted until at least Monday, the legality of Trump’s action, and the efforts to fight it.

Guests:

Samuel R. Bagenstos, professor of law, University of Michigan Law School; former general counsel, White House Office of Management and Budget

Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer, Slate magazine

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED, co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown

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Liz Pelly on Spotify and the ‘Cost of the Perfect Playlist’ Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Spotify was originally marketed as a democratic, anti-establishment music streaming platform. But according to journalist Liz Pelly, it has become a system favoring major labels and its own algorithmic playlists featuring “ghost artists,” all while underpaying independent artists. Pelly draws on interviews with former employees, music industry veterans and artists to pull back the curtain on the music streaming giant in her new book, “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist.”

Guests:

Liz Pelly, writer; contributing editor to The Baffler

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How Can San Francisco Fill Up Empty Offices and Stores? Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

Once bustling San Francisco neighborhoods such as Union Square and the Financial District have been plagued with high retail and office vacancy rates since the pandemic started five years ago. More than a third of all the office space in San Francisco is now vacant and hybrid schedules mean that even buildings that do have tenants don’t fill up with workers each day. Union Square has also lost its luster as a shopping destination with most of its department stores shuttering. San Francisco’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, says he has plans to revive downtown. We talk about what it would take to refill and reuse commercial spaces, and bring people back to downtown.

Guests:

Robert Sammons, senior research director, Cushman & Wakefield

Lauran Waxmann, reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Katie Buchanan, principal, design director and managing director of the San Francisco office, Gensler

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Chris Hayes on Our 'Endangered' Attentions Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

MSNBC host Chris Hayes spends a lot of time thinking about how to grab — and hold — people’s attention. He says the stakes are high because those who can capture attention “command fortunes, win elections and topple regimes.” We’ll talk to Hayes about why it’s become so much harder to command attention, why Donald Trump is exceptionally good at it and how we can reclaim our own attention for the things that matter. Hayes’s new book is “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource.”

Guests:

Chris Hayes, host, "All In with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC; author, "The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource”

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Are We Now a Broligarchy? Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

If Trump’s nominees are confirmed, his administration could include at least 13 billionaires, collectively worth $383 billion. And at the inauguration, billionaire tech leaders like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg sat front and center signaling their proximity to power. Wealthy people joining the government is not new, but the levels of extreme wealth are unprecedented. So much so that in his farewell address, former President Biden warned that “an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy.” Pundits have christened this new era a “broligarchy.” We’ll talk about how billionaires in and out of government are impacting the country.

Guests:

Brooke Harrington, professor of sociology, Dartmouth College; author, "Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism"

Paul Pierson, political science professor, UC Berkeley; co-author, "Let The Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality"

Noah Bookbinder, president, CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)

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