KCBS Radio In Depth

Is seems California is rethinking a key piece of its decades-old compact with car culture: minimum parking requirements. Those are zoning requirements that force developers to include a certain number of parking spots in new constructions, and they're facing pushback in a lot of places all at once.

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we consider why so many have soured on parking requirements and what this shift will mean for our changing cityscapes in the decades ahead. 

Guests: 

• Michael Manville, urban planning professor, UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs
• Alex Shoor, co-founder and executive director, Catalyze SV

Host: Keith Menconi

Hoping to improve your sleep habits in 2023? On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we check in with a local sleep scientist to get some advice on how to make that happen.

Host: Aric Prather, professor of psychiatry, UC San Francisco | author, "The Sleep Prescription: Seven Days to Unlocking Your Best Rest”

Guest: Keith Menconi 

2020 and 2021 were two years that upended daily life in the Bay Area as we faced pandemic risks, choking wildfire smoke and a spike in violent crime.

Well, now that we’re closing out 2022 we have the chance on this edition of KCBS In Depth to ask the question: how will this  year be remembered? 

Guest: KCBS Insider Phil Matier 

Hosts: Keith Menconi, Patti Reising 

At this point we’ve been talking about the opioid epidemic and its tragic toll for years now, but more recently the risks from this crisis have begun to take on a new form as fentanyl-laced pills slip into the illicit drug market in greater numbers and make their way into the hands of teens and young adults. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we speak with some of those who are responding to the youth fentanyl overdose crisis in the Bay Area.  

Guests: 

• Geralyn Maul-Vasquez, who lost her son to an accidental fentanyl overdose
• Dr. Veronika Mesheriakova, director, UCSF's Youth Outpatient Substance Use Program
• Mary Ann Dewan, superintendent of schools, Santa Clara County Office of Education 
• Avery Kalafatas, founder, Project 1 Life

Host: Keith Menconi

It’s not every day that you get to witness a genuine scientific breakthrough, but on Tuesday that’s exactly what the scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had to share with the world with their announcement that they had ignited a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create. This milestone, decades in the making, brings us one step closer to harnessing a potentially limitless source of clean energy. So on this edition of KCBS In Depth, we’ll hear from one of the scientists who helped get us here about how he and his colleagues managed to pull it off. 

Guests: 

• Arthur Pak, among the scientists involved in the ignition experiment 
• Umair Irfan, correspondent, Vox

Host: Keith Menconi 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we take a closer look at the science of the immune system to help understand why viral infections like flu and RSV are surging this year after two relatively mild winter seasons.

Guests: 

• Dr. Michael Rose, physician specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Dr. Keren Landman, senior reporter covering public health and infectious diseases, Vox 

Host: Keith Menconi 

The spectacular collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has sent shockwaves through the finance sector, leaving investors scrambling to recover their deposits and sending other crypto firms into chaos with one major lender going bust just this past Monday.

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, as the fallout continues to spread across the crypto world and the calls for greater regulation grow louder, we consider where the industry could be headed next.

Guest: Daniel Roberts, editor-in-chief, Decrypt

Host: Keith Menconi

Now that its first mission has achieved lift off, we take a closer look at the Artemis program, NASA’s effort to bring astronauts back to the lunar surface within the next few years. 

Guests: 

• Tariq Malik, editor in chief, Space.com 
• Andrew Fraknoi, emeritus chair, Foothill College’s Astronomy Department

Host: Keith Menconi 

Twitter’s mass layoff of employees has gotten a lot of headlines, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tech sector job cuts. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we discuss why parts of the industry seems to be struggling, and what this could all mean for the broader economy.

Guests: 

• Patrick Kallerman, vice president of research, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute
• Michael Bernick, employment attorney, Duane Morris | former director, California's Employment Development Department

Host: Keith Menconi 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we get ready for the midterm elections by checking in on a few of the most important races that the KCBS news team will be tracking come election night. And then in the second half of the program, we take a step back from the horse race to discuss why it is that the threat of political violence seems to be growing this election cycle.

Guests: 

• Doug Sovern, political reporter, KCBS Radio
• Robert Pape, professor of political science, University of Chicago | director, Chicago Project on Security and Threats

Host: Keith Menconi