The San Francisco Experience

By every measure, equality and prosperity are transforming countries like India, China, Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria. Yet The New York Times and other influential opinion influencers seem frozen in time, ignoring the rise of global equality by constantly showcasing inequality. The Cato Institute has developed a new global equality index using eight criteria that demonstrates how equality is sprea...

Alfred Hitchcock's horror film classic, "The Birds" was released in March 1963. Filmed on location in San Francisco and Sonoma County - Bodega Bay, Bodega and Valley Ford - it launched the movie career of Tippi Hedren. It is as scary today as it was 60 years ago. But there are also some strong performances by stars Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette and Jessice Tandy.

When Russia privatized the 45,000 state owned companies after the fall of Communism, every man, woman and child in Russia was given a Privatization Voucher. The Siberia Job is a fictionalized account of the efforts of a young American fund manager who participated in the introduction of free market enterprise in the former USSR as an investor.

Chris' recent article in Scientific American highlights the role that the Principle of Entanglement , the research of which earned Physicists Aspect, Clauser and Zeillinger the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2022, in the development of Quantum computers.

Finland has ranked #1 in the World's Happiest Country listing for the sixth year in a row. How did this small Nordic country of 5 million, which 100 years ago was the poorest country in Europe and bullied by Russia for much of the 20th Century, become the happiest place in the world ? Oxford University Professor Danny Dorling breaks down the statistics and the reasons may surprise you.

In this sweeping amalgam of history, politics, philosophy and culture, Professor Hoodbhoy gives us a detailed profile of Pakistan. Perceptive insights about this strategic nation that straddles the Middle East and Central Asia.

Ursula Parrott was a very successful author from 1929 to the late 1940s. A member of the Lost Generation, her body of work consists of 130 novels, short stories and magazine articles that recounted the lives of young women navigating the post WWI world of women's equality. Largely forgotten since the 1950s, Marsha Gordon is re-introducing Parrott's work to the reading public.

What do we celebrate on Memorial Day ?

Del Seymour, the founder of Code Tenderloin, shares his personal journey from addiction to recovery on the streets of the Tenderloin.

San Francisco in the 1970s was dominated by larger than life characters like Jim Jones of the Peoples' Temple, Patty Hearst the heiress turned terrorist, the Zodiac killer, Harvey Milk, George Moscone and Dan White. Author George Albert Brown evokes those heady times with equally colorful characters in "Who killed Jerusalem", in this whodunit with a literary homage to 18th Century En...

Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel Airport was turned into the successful 1970 film Airport. And through the 1970s a series of other Airport films were produced inspired by the popular Disaster genre. Shaun Chang discusses the genre, the cast and the backstory of Airport 1975.

Prevention, Intervention and Harm Reduction in the face of a Fentanyl crisis in San Francisco.

Turkey is headed for an historic presidential runoff election on Sunday May 28, 2023 with incumbent Erdogan facing challenger Kilicdaroglu. Alp Sevimlisoy outlines what is at stake for the Turkish Republic and its people.

ESG investment considerations for the last ten years have had a growing influence on the asset management industry. But of late, they have generated controversy and some states have even enacted anti ESG legislation. What is at play in this debate that impacts every investor and publicly traded company, why is it important and how will your investments and 401K be impacted ?

What goes through the minds of non-combatant civilians when war comes to their doorstep as in Ukraine ? Greta Uehling looks at war from the inside perspective of non-combatants and how they rise to heights of bravery in what she terms the dialectic between violent conflict and the ethics of care.

Professor Madry recounts the rapid integration of AI and Machine Learning into the US Economy and the fundamental impact it will have on our way of life. Every aspect of life - Business, Healthcare, Academia and Government will be profoundly transformed and adoption is already under way.

Dexter Roberts worked as a journalist for Bloomberg Businessweek in their Beijing bureau for over 20 years. He brings a unique perspective and is able to draw back the curtain on the Chinese economy, in particular the growing wealth gap between wealthy urban middle classes and impoverished rural dwellers. The 300 million migrant workers who were drawn to factory jobs in coastal cities are often le...

Professor Harcourt outlines a theory based on cooperative initiatives called Cooperism. This is a political theory grounded in the recognition of our interdependence. It draws on existing cooperative practices common in Western society and is especially timely given the polarization in our political system today.

The Peking to Paris motor race began in 1907 as a long distance endurance motor rally and was revived in 1997. For 36 days covering 8,500 miles, across 11 countries, and 8 time zones, 100 plus competitors raced their classic and collectible cars across Asia and Europe in June 2019. Jim Gately relates his epic journey in his 1937, 4 door, Cadillac convertible.

Turner Classic Movies hosts an annual four day film festival in Hollywood featuring a selection of top classic films as well as panel discussions with stars and industry leaders. Shaun attended the 14th Festival last weekend and shares his first hand impressions of the extravaganza.

Mark Sneed talks about the lack of diversity among popular superheroes and in his latest book The Pawn, he creates one. He explores how the protagonist Ren Armitage begins to recognize that he possesses unusual powers of strength and popularity. It's a tale that draws the reader in, wanting more.

Every adolescent has a right to experiment and make mistakes on the path to adulthood. Unfortunately, our Juvenile Justice System is more likely to treat black kids more harshly than whites and is quicker to criminalize. And Police in schools may have become counter productive. Professor Henning details the disparities but ends on an upbeat note of reforms.

In today's episode Rich Outzen reviews Turkey's support for Ukraine in the first year of its' war with Russia while maintaining a delicate balance of diplomatic and commercial ties with Russia. He also discusses the outlook for Turkey's Ukraine policy in light of the May presidential and parliamentary elections.

Rodrigo Ehecatl Duran Executive Director of Carnaval San Francisco 2023 talks about the 45th two day extravaganza of live music and dance culminating with a parade down Mission Street, May 27 and 28. With headliner bands from Colombia and Cuba, dozens of other performers, artists and culinary experts will appear in a 17 block area of San Francisco's historic Mission District, Saturday and Sunday M...

Bob Smith covered the White House for the New York Times during the Nixon Administration. Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray gave him an early scoop on the Watergate scandal, before Woodward and Bernstein began publishing their revelations in the Washington Post. But inexplicably, the Times failed to publish the story. He also contrasts the NYT coverage of President Nixon and President Trump.