The San Francisco Experience

Ed French was murdered in a senseless act of violence atop Twin Peaks, San Francisco iconic highpoint with its vistas of the city he loved. Yet almost 5 years later, the case has not come to trial, even though the murder was caught on film. Lorrie French, Ed's sister has doggedly pursued justice for her brother but so far no results. Justice delayed is Justice denied.

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco's 29th District Attorney faces an historic recall election on June 7, 2022. It is a first for San Francisco in the 166 year history of the office and a very rare move in a major American city. Rampant crime, deteriorating public safety and failure to enforce the laws on the books prompted 83,000 San Francisco voters to sign a petition to get the recall on the ballot - 5...

Joe Rogan's recent statements about Covid 19 which the BBC fact checked and found to be false or at best misleading, prompted two 1960s pop singers Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to ask Spotify to remove their songs from the Spotify site. Spotify now requires an advisory warning on Covid  related podcasts. But is the Joe Rogan Spotify marriage heading for the rocks ?

At the heart of Colby's treatise on the rise of China is that the United States is no longer the undisputed, sole super power which has been the case since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. There is a new Superpower on the block - China - and it is seeking hegemony in East Asia where 40% of Global GDP is concentrated. Can the United States  work to prevent that hegemony becoming a fai...

A Firsthand/FaceTime account of the eruption on January 15, 2022. Tonga native Sia Akauola, who was in San Francisco,  was on the phone to her sister in Tonga when the volcano erupted. Three loud explosions - heard 500 miles away in Fiji - then silence and no contact with her family for 5 agonizing days. Sia recounts what it was like for her family to live through the eruption and now to begi...

Vice President Kamal Harris' first year in office has been very rock. The two issues the White House assigned to her - Immigration and Voting Rights - proved to be too challenging for her and her staff. A recent poll shows that only 28% of Americans want President Biden to seek re-election. Can Kamala turn around her political fortunes ?

The World Economic Forum (WEF), stages an annual forum for global leaders in Davos, Switzerland every January. This year it has been postponed to May 22 - 26. Peter S. Goodman, Global Economics Correspondent for The New York Times, has published a book critical of Davos attendees "Davos Man: How the billionaires devoured the world." We will briefly discuss it in today's podcast.

As noted American novelist Joe Castleman and his wife Joan set out to Stockholm, we learn about their complex and secret filled marriage. Joe has won the Nobel Prize for Literature but his lifetime's work is not all that it seems. His wife Joan was not only his muse, but some say has written all of Joe's books. A fascinating study of a marriage and the bonds that hold a man and woman together.

Faith. Loss and the Twilight of Christianity in the Land of the Prophets. The ancient Christian communities of Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Egypt which date from the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles,  are under threat through persecution, war, terrorism and emigration. Some observers fear they will be extinct in the next fifty years.  Janine is a war correspondent who brings 35 years of on...

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco's 29th District Attorney is facing an unprecedented recall election on June 7, 2022, the first time in the 166 year history of the office. 83,000 San Franciscan voters signed a petition to put the recall on the ballot - 30,000 more signatures than required. Former Assistant DA Brooke Jenkins resigned from the office last October, in frustration with Boudin's leadership...

Phil, Andrew and Emily authored a wide ranging profile of Oath Keeper members in the San Francisco North Bay Region on January 9th. Many readers were surprised that the right wing, extremist organization had a membership base in the left leaning, liberal Bay Area. They revealed some surprising results with their report which they discuss in today's podcast.

Dr. Hill served as Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council as a foreign policy advisor to President Trump from 2017 to 2019. She was also a witness in November 2019 at the House Hearings on the first impeachment of Donald Trump. Her personal story is inspirational rising from a modest beginning in the North East of England to serving three US Presidents.

Emily Fromm, noted visual artist whose cityscapes of San Francisco are growing in popularity has added classic scenes from  New York and London to her urban art portfolio. She is best known for the massive mosaic, entitled Four Corners, which graces the Harvey Milk Terminal at SFO. Four of San Francisco's famous neighborhoods - the Castro, Chinatown, Embarcadero and the Mission are depicted i...

America and China seem to be moving in very different directions. Why are we seeing so much friction and historic shifts in the relationship ? Helen Raleigh addresses some of the fundamental misunderstandings in US China strategic relations and argues that Washington policymakers must be more clear eyed in their dealings with the Chinese Communist Party leadership.

Zac Green takes us on a journey fighting through the abyss, the crucible and the three pillars of a successful business plan as he transitions from the US Marine Corps, into the fire service and eventually as the founder of a company. And the lessons learned in the USMC - Never Give Up, Mission Accomplishment, Grit, Adaptability sacrifice and morality - that saw him through the tough times of crea...

California politics were especially tumultuous in 2021. And 2022 with the mid-term elections likely to swing control of Congress from Democrat to Republican, will no doubt prove equally seismic in political terms for the Golden State's four leading politicians, Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris, Governor Newsom and Senator Feinstein. Professor David McCuan brings his sharp political insights a...

Her Secret War is Pam Lecky's fifth novel published in the United States. It's a great historical novel set in WWII. A twisty tale of intrigue and deception, Irish author Pam Lecky weaves many different genres into the story, like espionage, suspense, mystery and action, all against the backdrop of wartime Britain and neutral Ireland.

40 % of American adults between the ages of 25 and 54 are single according to the Pew Research Center. That represents a 30% increase since 1990. What implications does this new trend portend for American society ?

Safe spaces, trigger warnings, political correctness - we hear these terms so often in the context of the College experience today. Often we wonder what has happened to the classic college experience. But President Roth gives us reassuring,  pragmatic approach to today's on campus experience. 

Chile faces a hotly contested and polarized runoff election Sunday, December 19, pitting the extreme right and left against each other. The country has not faced such a stark choice since the 1970 election of Marxist Salvador Allende. John Bartlett is covering the election for The Guardian, the UK newspaper and brings an informed and incisive perspective on the race.

California Assembly Bill 1400 comes up for Committee consideration in January. The Legislation would provide universal health care insurance for 40 million Californians on a single payer basis. The single payer would be the State of California. With Democrat super majorities in the State Legislature, a Democrat Governor and a Democrat Administration in Washington, the political stars are aligning....

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star in this Aaron Sorkin written and directed film about the creative genius of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz who created the I love Lucy sitcom. Three crises dominate one week in 1952, Lucy's pregnancy, Desi's philandering and charges of Lucy's membership of the Communist Party. Well acted, written and directed - just released in time for the Academy Award nominatin...

Radio and Podcasting seem to be natural allies. In this episode Radio Futurologist James Cridland discusses the future of these two audio mediums, the Power of Voice and the Power of Listening.

First identified and isolated in South Africa on November 24, 2021, the Omicron Covid variant is highly transmissible and breakthrough infections are more common. The first case in America was identified in San Francisco, December 1, 2021, a vaccinated traveler returning to the Bay Area from South Africa via London. What's next ?

America's student loan iceberg totals $1.7 Trillion, with one in six Americans -46million- carrying some student debt. The median loan amount is $17,000. But 6% have debt in excess of $100,000 as high cost graduate programs, med school, law school and business school expand at a faster rate than undergrad debt. Is loan forgiveness the best way to curtail this drag on the US Economy ?