The San Francisco Experience

San Francisco's Community College is facing another threat to its existence for the second time in ten years, due to declining enrolment, board incompetence and political infighting. Ben Kaplan offers a plan to get the College back on track.

Vancouver has tripled its housing stock through upzoning and continues to be the most livable city in North America. But notwithstanding the densification and massive increase in its housing stock, Vancouver has become the least affordable city in Canada. Increased housing supply has seen affordabilty plummet making it the most expensive housing market in Canada. Why ?

The Exploding pagers in Beirut last week neutralized dozens if not hundreds of Hezbollah operatives. This attack was followed by the killing of their leader Hassan Nasrallah. Now without a secure communication method, has Hezbollah been rendered inoperative ?

San Francisco has 30 million square feet of empty office space. If it was converted to apartments, given our average apartment size of 756 sf that would create over 39,000 new dwellings. Is that the solution to our housing shortage ?

Tonight's debate is the last scheduled encounter between the candidates and the only vice presidential debate. Vance seemed polished and self assured while Walz was nervous and missed many opportunities to pursue Vance.

Bail Reform's mixed record of success.

Two new Alzheimer's medications slow cognitive decline in patients by 30% and are being actively prescribed to patients.

Tucson is the site of a massive TCE Superfund site which has caused birth defects, health problems and environmental degradation.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris faced off in the first - perhaps only - debate between the two. Was it a defining moment in the Presidential Campaign ?

A controversial bill sits on Governor Newsom's desk to rein in AI: will he approve it or veto it ? Leading members of Congress like Nancy Pelosi and Ro Khanna oppose it along with many Silicon Valley leaders. State Senator Scott Wiener seems to have misread the political climate for SB 1047.

Nationalism versus Atlanticism: how Nato is balancing rising nationalist movements with its' own unifying vision.

Is California a failing state or are its' best days yet to come ?

This is Jarrett's fourth novel in the Fantasy genre and arguably his best to date.

San Franciscans will elect a new Mayor on November 5th. The five leading candidates include Daniel Lurie, a successful private sector executive, who does not have City Hall experience. He is touting his corporate track record as an example of new leadership San Francisco needs.

The San Francisco Public school system is the oldest one in California, founded 1851. With more than 49,000 students in grades K through 12, it has its' fair share of challenges but opportunities abound. Laurance is running for one of three open seats on the four member board.

Tim Walz Governor of Minnesota, edged out Josh Shapiro for Kamala Harris' VP.

San Francisco will elect a new Mayor November 5th, 2024. There are five leading candidates across a field of 24. We have invited the top five to speak about the issues. Mark Farrell is the first to accept and joins us from the campaign trail.

Our twice weekly podcast began in March 2020 at the start of the Pandemic. Over the last four years we have built a global audience with regular listeners in 60 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland. But the podcast has been listened to and has fans in 144 countries including non English speaking markets like China, Russia, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kazakhstan and...

Karl Dunn relates the story of a bitter divorce after fighting for many years for Marriage Equality. He found that he was on his own, charting new territory with little information available to same sex couples about navigating the treacherous waters of the California divorce system. But in the end, he argues he is a better person because of the divorce.

The California State University System is the largest public university in the United States with 475,000 students, 53,000 faculty and 23 campuses. This book recounts the implementation of Affirmative Action programs from the 1970s until Proposition 209 banned such programs in 1996

Three historic and tumultuous weeks in American politics saw the Democrats reject incumbent Joe Biden for Kamala Harris. At the same time Republican Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, appointed a 39 year old Senator from Ohio as his running mate and closed out the Convention on a note of unity to face the Democrats in November.

Donald Trump chose the 39 year old junior Senator from Ohio as his running mate at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee. Vance is a cultural conservative who will likely play a key role campaigning in MidWest swing states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Will the US Federal Reserve issue a digital currency (CBDC) ? 127 countries are studying or piloting CBDCs for their citizens including economic powerhouses like China, EU, India, the UK among others. But it seems like the benefits to the consumer are limited while government control and surveillance seem to be the principal benefits. Do we really want to surrender our financial independence and p...

Britain's July 4th General Election marked a reset of the political landscape in the UK with the Labour Party winning a landslide victory of 412 seats in the 650 seat Parliament. The Conservative Party lost over 200 seats, But the moderate Liberal Democrat Party surged into third place with 72 seats, And the Reform Party headed by Nigel Farage garnered four seats. Vince Cable, former leader of...

The Snap French elections have resulted in stalemate. But US voters should take heed as we approach our own elections in November in a polarized political environment.