KCBS Radio In Depth

What a difference a year makes: One year ago, California’s reservoirs were depleted, its snowpack was down to only 14 percent of average and more than 90 percent of the state faced severe drought. But then came December and a series of storms fueled by atmospheric rivers that have completely changed the state's water outlook, at least in the short term. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we try to get a handle on how this all happened, what it says about California’s water future and what lingering water woes we might still be facing. 

Guests: 

• Jeanine Jones, interstate resources manager, California Department of Water Resources
• Alexander Gershunov, climate scientist, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Heather Cooley, director of research, Pacific Institute

Host: Keith Menconi

Even with all the life hacks and productivity boosts in the world, a lot of us simply feel like we’re falling further and further behind in the race of life. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we speak with Oakland-based artist Jenny O'Dell, who is asking the question, whose idea was it to make this into a race in the first place? And who’s actually profiting from all this rushing around? Her conclusion: That we need to fundamentally rethink our relationship with the clock. 

Guest: Jenny O’Dell, author, "Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock"

Host: Keith Menconi

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we discuss the latest advances in AI technology, including the release of a major update to ChatGPT, an already shockingly advanced AI-powered chatbot. 

With so much changing so fast, we hear from two leading journalists covering artificial intelligence to try to get a better handle on where the AI revolution might be leading us.

Guests: 

• Kevin Roose, tech columnist, The New York Times | author, "Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation" 
• Sigal Samuel, senior reporter, Vox’s Future Perfect | she just wrote an article for the site called “The case for slowing down AI”

Host: Keith Menconi

Environmental advocates, local leaders and the aviation industry itself all say the country's general aviation fleet needs to make the transition to cleaner-burning gas, but how to make that happen? And how fast to go? Those are questions that are sparking heated debate, including here in the Bay Area. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we discuss the leading role that Santa Clara County has taken in this work, and also hear why some within the industry have been critical of the county’s approach, warning that moving too fast could make the skies less safe. 

Guests: 

• Ariel Wittenberg, public health reporter, E&E News
• Mark Baker, president, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association  
• Cindy Chavez, supervisor, Santa Clara County

Host: Keith Menconi 

With the 95th Academy Awards just a week away, we reflect on more than nine decades of Oscars ceremonies and the pivotal Oscars moments that have shaped the course of Hollywood history.

Guest: Michael Schulman, staff writer, The New Yorker | author, “Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears.”

Host: Keith Menconi  

In just a few days, California and a number of Bay Area counties are set to drop their Covid health emergencies. After three years in the pandemic fight, we check in with local health experts to get some perspective on what's gone right, what's gone wrong and what lessons we should take going forward. 

Guests: 

• Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases, UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health
• Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease physician, UC San Francisco 
• Dr. Sara Cody, health officer, Santa Clara County | director, Santa Clara County Public Health Department 

Host: Keith Menconi

About one month from now the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is set to vote on a set of new rules that would aim to phase out gas furnaces and water heaters and replace them with all-electric appliances. 

It’s an effort to stamp out some of the biggest sources of pollution from Bay Area cities, but this transition comes with a price tag and many residents are worried about how they’re going to be able to afford it. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we check in with two local experts about how residents can navigate these changes. 

Guests: 

• Lucas Davis, professor studying energy markets, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
• Panama Bartholomy, executive director, Building Decarbonization Coalition

Host: Keith Menconi 

More resources: 

The Climate Center based out of Santa Rosa is set to hold a webinar on March 15th on how to address the challenges of electrifying California’s homes and buildings. It's called, "Building Electrification – Stories from the Home Front."

Additional information on home electrification available at The Switch Is On: https://switchison.org/

During this time of partisan gridlock, there actually does seem to be one thing both political camps can agree on: big tech needs to make some changes. In fact, when President Biden made a call for wide ranging reforms of the tech sector during this week's State of the Union, he won a rare bipartisan standing ovation for the comments. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we run through some of the proposals that are on the table and consider what this reform push might actually add up to.

Guests: 

• David Greene, civil liberties director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Eric Goldman, law professor, Santa Clara University
• Jim Steyer, CEO, Common Sense Media

Host: Keith Menconi

At the beginning of this year Oakland’s police department seemed to be on track to finally exit two decades of federal court oversight, but then its police chief was placed on leave amid a scandal over officer discipline.

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with independent criminal justice reporter Ali Winston about where the reform process stands now. 

Guest: Ali Winston, investigative journalist | co-author, "The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover-up in Oakland”

Host: Keith Menconi

It has been a week of mourning after a string of mass shootings struck three California communities in the span of just a few days. On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with some of those who are helping to rally the community response to these tragedies. Then in the second half of the program, we also discuss gun control in California, and hear why even as calls for further reform grow louder the legal challenges are also getting steeper.

Guests: 

• Deborah Penrose, mayor, Half Moon Bay 
• Cynthia Choi, co-executive director, Chinese for Affirmative Action | co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate 
• Adam Winkler, constitutional law professor, UCLA
• Dr. Amy Barnhorst, associate director, Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis 

Host: Keith Menconi