The San Francisco Experience

Does the Covid 19 pandemic represent an epochal inflection point in American history ?  Will we look back on this time as one of those watershed moments of how things used to be so much better or worse ?  Or will the confinement, shelter in place and the horrific death toll melt away like other national traumas ? These are some of the questions we confront in today's episode.

The 80/20 Rule in business says that 20% of your sales team generates 80% of the company's revenue. In a sense something similar applies to  Covid - 19.  A small number of C-19 victims can infect a huge number of people. And clusters seem to prevail in such circumstances. Why the clusters ? What is unique to the Coronavirus to cause large group infections ? In today's podcast we will look for answ...

Two news stories this past week included the piecemeal re-opening of the American Economy in the wake of Covid-19 and the acquisition of the internet’s most popular podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience. The two stories illustrate old media and new media styles.

The 119 episodes of the TV series were filmed on location in San Francisco. To retain San Francisco authenticity, a sound stage was built in the City to film non-location, indoor scenes. Early 1970s San Francisco comes alive in these episodes. Douglas and Malden are both Oscar winners.

Podcasting has become an important information medium in the last 15 years with Apple, Spotify, Google, Anchor, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio and iHeart Radio investing heavily in distribution. While barriers to entry are low, survival of the 850,000 Podcasts is always a challenge.

On September 22, 1975 would be assassin Sara Jane Moore waited outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square to kill President Gerald Ford. The first shot missed the President's head by 5 inches. Our 38th President literally and figuratively dodged an assassin's bullet on the streets of San Francisco. I was present at the lunch, met the President, shook his hand and chatted with hi...

California began Phase 2 of the Shelter in Place orders which began eight weeks ago. Many of the state's 58 counties entered the early stages of re-opening the California economy - the 7th largest in the world if California were independent - with a series of steps including opening of commerce. But the proposed curbside pick-ups at restaurants, clothing stores and book stores is hardly the jumpst...

Bullitt starring iconic 1960s King of Cool Steve McQueen is set in San Francisco. A Chicago mobster is being guarded by Lt. Frank Bullitt (McQueen) and his team pending his appearance as chief witness before a Senate subcommittee. A heart-stopping car chase down San Francisco’s vertiginous hills still revs up the adrenaline !

California's  total Covid-19 infections have been remarkably low as compared to New York State. There are a host of reasons for the fact California ranks 5th in the Covid-19 stakes, with New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Massachusetts having more cases and fatalities. As California embarks on a limited re-opening next week, we explore what could throw off the Golden State from a successful re-ope...

California’s Covid-19 cases and fatalities is a fraction of New York’s. As the Golden State begins to re-open next week, can we keep the Coronavirus in check ? While our weekly death rate remains about 500, that number has been stubbornly resistant to coming down. Why, after 8 weeks of Shelter in Place ?

A wrap-up of reopening news in California and Western Europe.

In 1847, at the height of the Irish Potato Famine, the Choctaw Nation donated $170 to Irish famine relief. Returning the favor, 173 years later, many Irish are donating to a GoFundMe page for Navajo, Hopi and Choctaw Covid-19 relief.

The dedication ceremony of the worlds tallest high rise at 138 stories in San Francisco, is the setting for this 1974 disaster film. The film unintentionally provides an eerie foreshadowing of the events of 9/11 and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

San Francisco’s 8000 homeless people are crowding into the Tenderloin District, pitching tents on city streets. The neighbors have sued the City to compel City Hall to clean up the streets. The Mayor has committed to rent 8250 hotel rooms to house the homeless, but so far only 1000 homeless have moved in. The Mayor has a comprehensive plan to fix the Tenderloin problems but neighbors are skeptical...

Silicon Valley is beginning to experience a wave of layoffs - a rarity as tech firms considered themselves immune from such cuts in the past. But the Gig Economy with its ride hailing apps and home stay apps will have the biggest challenges to face post pandemic.

Work.com, a creation of Salesforce based in San Francisco, will provide managers the tools to keep employees safe from the Coronavirus in the workplace, as America goes back to work.

As the US moves to the next phase of the pandemic with almost half the country re-opening for business, California is slower off the mark. Why ? And why has Ireland been able to craft such a winning Roadmap to Re-Opening with the apparent full backing of its citizens ?

Robin Williams was an accomplished comedian and dramatic actor who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in “Good Will Hunting.”. A comedic genius, he died in 2014 at the age of 63.

Governor Newsom and Mayor Breed are products of San Francisco politics. Their early and effective Shelter in Place policies and practices have helped to keep Covid-19 cases and fatalities low. But their opponents criticize them for being too slow to re-open California.

Apple and Google roll out their Coronavirus tracking APP to public health authorities Tuesday April 28. Will it infringe our right to privacy ? Should we care ?

New data shows that the Coronavirus was coursing through America’s cities much earlier than believed. Our system’s response initially was flat footed at best. But we are making progress.

Sean Penn’s Oscar winning portrayal of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk is a powerful dramatization of the last 10 days of his life in November 1978. Milk continues to inspire both Americans and global citizens like Leo Varadkar, Prime Minister of Ireland.

Tony Bennett will lead a mass, civic singalong on Saturday April 25 at 12 noon. All 850,000 inhabitants of San Francisco are invited to join in as a thank you to the Covid-19 frontline workers who have taken care of us and kept us safe during the Pandemic.

The Social Distancing and Lockdown practices of the last 5 weeks has seen a slowing in the rate of increase of C-19 infection rates and fatalities. But global and national numbers still increase. What is next and how does C-19 compare to historic pandemics ?

This film noir is set in 1941 San Francisco and stars Humphrey Bogart in the title role of private investigator Sam Spade, Mary Astor as the manipulative fortune seeker Brigid O’Shaugnessey, Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Intrigue, greed, obsession on the streets of San Francisco.