Kcbs In Depth

The Bay Area conundrum; unbeatable weather, stunning geography, world class colleges and culture, and an economy that's on fire. But, we also have a growing divide between rich and poor, six-figure salaries considered low income, a crushing shortage of affordable housing, and productivity-draining commutes. The affordability gap in our region is threatening its sustainability as the thriving place we love, so says former Labor Secretary and Cal Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, Robert Reich. He's Jane McMillan's guest on In Depth.

How do we as individuals, and a society, talk about and address suicide? Especially the tragedy of a young person dying in such a way? And what role does media portrayal play? The NetFlix series 13 Reasons Why, based on the book of the same name, has brought this debate to the forefront. The story of an abused teen who dies by suicide then leaves taped messages as to why has gone viral. It's sparked open coversation about teen suicide, but has also triggered concerns of copycat behavior for vulnerable youth.Jane McMillan hosts a conversation about this with Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, and Taylor Lim, Youth Coordinator with San Francsico Suicide Prevention.  

The Oakland Museum of California houses an incredible array of iconic 20th Century Photoghrapher Dorothea Lange's work, telling the story of her artistry and why she saw her gift as a responsibility to shine a light on those in need. Art, history, activism, American citizenship. It can all be seen in the new exhibition," Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing." Jane McMillan interviews Drew Johnson, the Oakland Museum’s curator of photography and visual culture.

Following incidents of baseball fans in Boston heckling an opposing player using racial slurs, we discuss the intersection of sports and society. As well as breaking social barriers, and sometimes being the victims of backlash, athletes have also been among those to speak out against injustice...and have often been criticized for it. Jane McMillan discusses this with Dr. Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he specializes in the sociology of sport, family, race and ethnic relations. He's the author of four books on the subject and consults for the San Francisco 49ers and other sports organizations.

As the school year winds down, high school juniors...and their parents... might be feeling an extra bit of pressure as they start preparing for college testing, and college applications. It can be a daunting process, and sometimes downright discouraging. KCBS Radio's Jane McMillan talks with the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University, Mike Sexton, to help us slog through the ins and outs and do's and don'ts of getting into an institution of higher education.

Following up on KCBS Radio's three-part series The Opioid Epidemic; The San Francisco Prescription, Jane McMillan looks at how this national crisis began. Her guest is Doctor Anna Lembke, Chief of the Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford, who's written a book on the prescription addiction crisis called “Drug Dealer, M.D.: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It's So Hard To Stop”.

Science in the age of alternative facts and fake news. Jane McMillan hosts the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, Doctor Jonathon Foley, a globally recognized scientist leading a globally recognized scientific and educational institution working to understand and protect life on Earth.The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is home to the Morrison Planetarium, the Kimball Natural History Museum, the Osher Rainforest and the Steinhart Aquarium, with research scientists and projects all over the world.

Among the many policy changes from the Obama administration to the Trump white house has been how the federal non-sexual discrimination law, Title-IX, applies to transgender students. The Obama administration directed schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms according to the gender they identify with, or risk losing federal funding. The Trump administration rescinded those protections and has left Title-IX interpretation to states and individual school districts. Jane McMillan discusses the law, and its impact on transgender students, with Asaf Orr, the Transgender Youth Project Staff Attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Separating fact from rhetoric as we compare the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, with the GOP replacement plan. Jane McMillan looks at the proposed plan with Professor of Medicine Dr. Andrew Bindman. Dr. Bindman has practiced, taught and done research affiliated with San Francisco General, and is currently part of the Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. His expertise on Medicaid policies and access to care was drawn on in the drafting of some of the legislative language in the Affordable Care Act.

In this In Depth discussion, Bloomberg Technology Editor Brad Stone tells Jane McMillan the story of how Uber and Airbnb went from mere ideas to being the 'drivers'...(no pun intended)...of the new sharing economy. Stone's new book is "The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of Silicon Valley Are Changing the World."