The San Francisco Experience

The next phase of solar power technology is fast approaching. Our focus in today's podcast will be what lies ahead specifically in the field of photovoltaics embedded in existing infrastructure: sidewalks, driveways, trails, garage roofs and more. It's coming fast.

A.J. began his career as a pro wrestler competing in the ring. His career has included such highs as working with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and getting back in the ring as an announcer for wrestling, boxing and MMA matches. Listen to AJ's unique path to success which brings together announcing, broadcasting and being in the ring.

In today's episode film critic Shaun Chang reviews the most recent Bond film and Daniel Craig's fifth and last one, No Way to Die. We also discuss the development of the franchise over the last 60 years.

Mark Wahlberg's "Unreasonable Ideas" production company has optioned Collateral Damage for a Documentary. Mark Shaw's book connects the dots between the 1962 death of Marilyn Monroe, the 1963 assassination of JFK and the 1965 death of ace investigative journalist and TV personality Dorothy Kilgallen, with Bobby Kennedy playing a lynchpin role. 

The venerable SF Examiner is under new ownership and management. Editor in Chief Carly Schwartz, after stints at The Huffington Post and Google has a 5 prong strategy to reorganize the paper: Findings, Fixes, Faces, Forum and Fanfare. And it will be a crusading force against some of the City's chronic problems. A new broom sweeps clean !

Janet Sternburg is a fine art photographer who walked the streets of Los Angeles during the Covid lockdowns capturing images and scenes of a semi deserted city. Her book features 73 images all of which were taken with her iPhone camera. In this interview she shares with us her process and art. She was Co-Recipient of the Redcat Award in 2016, which is given to individuals who exemplify creativity...

Tommy Lightfoot Garrett is a veteran Hollywood publicist who has worked with the great stars of screen and stage: Bette Davis, Doris Day, Charlton Heston, Glenn Ford, Joan Fontaine, Jane Wyman as well as Julia Roberts and Jude Law, to mention but a few. And over the years, he has amassed the second largest collection of Hollywood photographs, second only to Ted Turner. With 4 celebrity biographies...

Dallas native Tom Keener talks about Dallas as it is today and as he remembers it in 1963. And he shares his personal memoir of Friday, November 22, 1963 when he and his mother went to Love Field to await the arrival of Air Force One, President Kennedy and the First Lady. What a day ! Even 58 years later his memories are fresh and vivid. The episode cover picture features the Keeners in the rope l...

Quentin Tarantino's 9th film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie gives set in 1969 Hollywood, gives a Through the Looking Glass ending to the Sharon Tate/LaBianca murders by the Manson Family.

San Francisco's city government has been described as dysfunctional by the influential news magazine,  The Economist. And other global newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail, regularly highlight our many travails like homelessness, City Hall corruption, rampant crime, inept school governance and stratospheric housing prices. Yet our civ...

Anchorage is the largest city of the 49th state, with a population of 291,000. Close to 5 national parks, 60 glaciers and enjoying the Northern Lights, the great outdoors plays a major role in this diverse city. Tim McGargill is a recent transplant to Alaska, following 19th Century advice to Go West Young Man, he is living life on the Last Frontier. An ultra marathon runner, he is learning to shar...

California legalized involuntary sterilizations in 1909. Between 1919 and 1952, 5500 such procedures were performed, representing 25% of the involuntary sterilizations which occurred in California.

Arson arrests in California were up to 120 in 2020 versus 70 in 2019.  To paraphrase our guest, the wildland arsonist is the most dangerous criminal in the country and can burn down a whole town in one hour. Yet such cases are not considered in the same destructive category as a weapon of mass destruction. Why not ? And what makes an arsonist tick ?

Carol Lynley had a remarkable 40 year career in films, TV and on the stage.  And who could ever forget The Poseidon Adventure ? She was a hardworking actress who graduated from model to teen actress to adult roles during the turbulent 1960s when social and cultural norms were changing. But she adapted to the times.

Three recent arson cases in Northern California's forests, during our dangerous annual wildfire season, have raised the fear that deliberately set fires are on the rise and contributing to the megafires plaguing the Golden State. Cal Fire says that arson arrests jumped from 70 in 2019 to 120 in 2020. How can we stop this trend ?

Liverpool is located 178 miles North West of London. A port and a city of colorful history, it has produced two Premier League Soccer Teams, The Beatles, countless actors and artists and has always been an immigrant melting pot. A key transportation artery during the Industrial Revolution, it played a role in the American Civil War facilitating the cotton trade, hosting a Confederate consulate and...

Measure 2 is on the Minneapolis ballot November 2. It would remove the Police Department and Chief from the city charter. A new Department of Public Safety would be set up driven by public health considerations. Would police officers even be recruited in the future ? And if it passes, will other cities around the country follow suit ? If so, what impact would a national police department revamp ha...

Michael Dobbs was Moscow Bureau Chief for the Washington Post. He has written seven books. King Richard and several others deal with presidential crises. For King Richard he listened to the Nixon tapes at the  presidential library in Yorba Linda for a first hand account of how the coverup that forced the President's resignation unfolded. The book zeroes in on the first 100 days of 1973 after...

Covid 19 fueled a 2.2 year decrease in US white male life expectancy and over 3 years for black and latino men. That was the largest drop in 75 years. While other Western European countries saw a drop also, the US decline was the largest. Why ? In today's podcast we will explore the treasons.

The rise of the Mexican American community in California is notable in many fields. But back in the middle of the 20th Century until the 1970s, The future was littered with struggle, poverty and lack of opportunity. Frank Barajas takes us through that period when giants like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were laying the groundwork for the emergence of Mexican Americans as a political, social and...

Male College enrolment in 2020 was 40.5% male and 59.5% female. Since the mid-1980s women have earned more bachelors degrees than men. The good news is that women have excelled in higher education. But men have become disillusioned with the college experience and fewer are enrolling. So how will our society change if that trend continues for another 10 or 20 years ?

Award winning author J.L. Torres, discusses his critically acclaimed collection of short stories, Migrations. The Puerto Rican journey back and forth between the island and New York is the locus of the strong women and men  he profiles. Inaugural winner of the Tomas Rivera Prize, this is a book which brings us to the heart of being Puerto Rican 

The second Gubernatorial recall in California's 171 years history as a state failed. Governor Gavin Newsom handily saw off the challenge to oust him, 64% to 36%. Does his victory mean a renewed mandate to solve the state's big problems like homelessness, wildfires and healthcare ?  Or  was it a one off victory ? Veteran political opinion columnist for Cal Matters Dan Walters, joins us to...

Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands, with a population of 870,000 is a cosmopolitan city known for its artistic heritage, commerce, 165 canals, and the legacy of its' 17th and 18th Century Golden Age. City resident Marcel shares with us his impressions and insights of his hometown, Amsterdam.

The Evangelical Right has played a prominent role ensuring its agenda is part of the national debate especially during the presidential elections of 2016 and 2020. But is that agenda soundly based in scripture as they would have us believe ? Dr. Obery Hendricks a biblical scholar, social activist and one of the foremost  commentators on the intersection of religion and politics, debunks that...