News In Context

In this episode, we explore elections issues that make it harder for us to participate in democracy, the consequences of that, and how we can address these issues and improve our civic health. This includes redistricting, campaign finance, voter suppression, weaponizing the recall, and other issues. My guest is Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause .

In this episode, we discuss California’s redistricting process, and the maps recently certified after the latest round of map drawing in the state. This is only the second time California’s non-partisan redistricting commission has convened. My guest is Sameea Kamal, reporter for CalMatters who covers redistricting.

In this episode, we discuss local journalism, and the important role it continues to play - both in the health of our democracy - and in holding powerful organizations, companies, and government officials to account. We also explore the challenges local journalism faces, and how news audiences can support robust local news in their communities. My guest is Elahe Izadi , media reporter for the Wash...

In this episode, we explore mental health throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic… including the mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic… as well as what all of us can learn to cope from coping methods taught by mental professionals. My guest is Jeff Bell, Bay Area broadcast journalist, and co-founder & president of the Adversity to Advocacy Alliance (A2A). Jeff is also author of two...

In this episode, we explore the power of language, and the importance of using humanizing language in journalism. My guest is Aubrey Nagle, editor of Reframe at Resolve Philly  – “an initiative that aims to help journalists more fairly and accurately report on misrepresented and excluded communities.” In our conversation, we focus on the importance of recognizing the humanity in the sources and st...

In this episode, we explore the journalism industry and approaches to news coverage in the US - including the challenges we face, how young people are thinking about storytelling and information sharing, and what journalism should offer society. My guests are former journalists, turned educators: Yumi Wilson… journalism professor at San Francisco State University, and Grace Provenzano, journalist,...

In this episode, we explore the proliferation of organizations working to engage people across difference, and the urgency this work has taken on in recent years, as people in the US become more and more polarized.   This is Civity Week on News in Context. Civity is a culture of deliberately engaging in relationships of respect and empathy with others who are different - moving people from us-vers...

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Tom Rosenstiel, journalist, press critic, and co-author of the seminal book on Journalism, The Elements of Journalism, which is now in its third edition. Rosenstiel is also the author of ten other books, including four novels. He is currently the Eleanor Merrill visiting professor on the future of journalism at the Phillip Merrill college of journ...

In this episode, we explore the state of journalism in the U.S., including the challenges we face, as well as where we can find hope for a future of robust journalism that holds power to account and helps us understand our world – both near and far. My guest is Tom Rosenstiel - journalist, press critic, and co-author of the seminal book on Journalism, The Elements of Journalism , which is now in i...

In this episode, we explore the debt ceiling - what it is, why it exists, and why it keeps coming up in Congressional negotiations and wrangling. My guest is Barry Eichengreen, professor of economics and political science at UC Berkeley, and co-author of In Defense of Public Debt , and How to Achieve Inclusive Growth .

In this episode, we discuss the disparity in attention in the U.S., when it comes to missing people of color. My guest is Derrica Wilson, co-founder of the Black & Missing Foundation (BAMFI). They work with families of missing loved ones to help them connect with law enforcement, news media, and other resources, in an effort to bring attention to - and find - those who are missing. For more inform...

In this episode, we discuss the state of U-S tax policy, as well as some ideas for how to overhaul the system to make it more equitable, efficient, and coherent. We also discuss some current tax structures… and their practical impacts on the items we buy… the money we make… and who bears an unequal share of the tax burden. My guest is Annette Nellen, Tax Professor and Director of the Graduate Tax...

In this episode, we explore taxes in the US, including how tax policy has evolved and devolved over the course of U-S history, what taxes are meant to be for, and how we can help the general public engage in discussions and decisions involving tax policy. My guest is Annette Nellen - Tax Professor and Director of the Graduate Tax Program at San Jose State University. Professor Nellen also writes t...

In this episode, we explore the First Amendment aspects of voting, elections, and campaigns - in particular how voting and related activities might be considered speech, and how the courts have come to view the First Amendment’s role - or lack thereof - in voting. My guest is Lata Nott, First Amendment Fellow at the Freedom Forum; and deputy policy director for State Voices, a voting rights organi...

In this episode, we explore the importance of making connections across sectors to achieving healthy communities. Our guest is Nang Mo Kham, Eisenhower Fellow & senior health specialist at the World Bank, based in Myanmar. Nang sees herself as someone who can help establish a system that knits together local services, including education, public health, and others, to improve access for everyone,...

In this episode, we explore where we’re at with the COVID-19 pandemic - regionally, nationally, and internationally - and begin to assess where we’ve come from, how we handled the pandemic in the US, what worked, and how we could have done better. We also discuss what we can do moving forward to save lives and truly put this pandemic behind us. My guest is Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease exp...

In this episode, we explore carbon offsets, and how their promise as a way to mitigate carbon emissions - and thus climate change - have not yet panned out. A recent article in ProPublica found that, instead those who broker in carbon offsets appear to be gaming the system, and the calculations of how much carbon is being sequestered in forests are often mis-calculated or erroneous. My guests are...

In this episode, we explore the role of the public health department - from obvious activities, such as educating the public about COVID-19 - to activities that may not be immediately clear, such as being involved in transit planning or declaring racism a public health crisis. To be effective and really reach the publics that they serve, public health departments must figure out how to communicate...

In this episode, we explore the parameters and jurisdiction of the First Amendment, as well as how we can better navigate issues and challenges involving speech in digital spaces. My guest is Lata Nott, First Amendment Fellow at the Freedom Forum, and Deputy Director of Policy at State Voices.

In this episode, we explore the impacts of News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers - parts of the U.S. where there’s either no local paper, or where the local paper has been gutted and can no longer adequately cover the community. My guest is Dan Kennedy, professor in the school of journalism at Northeastern University and a contributor to GBH News in Boston.

In this episode, we explore the importance of precision in language - in particular for journalists and other content creators seeking to inform and contextualize information - and how lack of precision can contribute to polarization, misinformation, and echo-chambers. In particular, we discuss the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and how journalists navigated language and word use to c...

In this episode, we take a deeper look at California’s fire outlook in 2021 and moving forward. Over the past few years, massive wildfires tore across parts of California, wiping out homes, businesses, and entire towns and communities. Our fire season keeps getting longer and longer, meaning firefighters, communities, and the vegetation have less time to recover. In 2020, wildfires burned 4.2 mill...

In this episode, we discuss the current state of California’s climate - how it’s changed in recent years, and what we face in 2021, including a significant drought and warmer temperatures, setting the stage for a potentially severe and lengthy fire season. My guest is Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

In this episode, we explore the role and power of language - words and phrases - in how we discuss the issues that affect us and that drive our news and information cycles. Phrases like “Black Lives Matter” and “Cancel Culture,” and words, such as “socialism,” “communism," and “fascism,” are battled over in our media spaces until their actual meaning seems lost and we assign meanings that serve ou...

In this episode, we explore how the imagery and visuals that are infused into racist and misogynistic tropes today can be traced to classical works of art, including both the intentional messaging of the artist… as well as the cultural context we bring, and how we interpret and use that imagery. We also discuss how the art we think of as canon was actually deliberately and intentionally defined in...