KCBS Radio In Depth

LaDoris Cordell has racked up quite a few firsts in her decades-spanning legal career: In 1982 she became the first black woman judge to serve on any court in Northern California. Then six years later after a successful election bid she became the first black superior court judge in Santa Clara County’s history.

But these firsts are more than mere historical footnotes: As Cordell recounts in her newly released memoir, the background and life experience that she brought to the bench equipped her to spot failings in the criminal justice system that many others had left unaddressed. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we discuss that memoir -- "Her Honor: My Life on the Bench...What Works, What's Broken, and How to Change It" -- and we also consider what reform work is still left to be done. 

Host: Keith Menconi 

It’s a whole new phase in the vaccine rollout with the federal government now poised to approve Covid-19 shots for younger children aged between five and 11 in the coming weeks. But even as the White House prepares to get those shots distributed, vaccine skepticism and resistance to vaccine mandates remains fierce. On this edition of KCBS In Depth we hear a response to the opposition, and also dig into what the science has to say about the Pfizer vaccine’s safety and efficacy when it comes to younger children.

Guest: 

• Dr. Jenna Holmen, pediatric infectious disease specialist, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
• Richard Pan, state senator representing Sacramento 

Host: Keith Menconi 

We’re living through an age of dramatic advancements in medical technology, but as prominent vaccine expert Paul Offit points out, the history of medical innovation is often marked by tragic missteps, the costs of which are measured out in human lives. He joins this edition of KCBS In Depth to discuss his new book unpacking that history, "You Bet Your Life: From Blood Transfusions to Mass Vaccination, the Long and Risky History of Medical Innovation." We discuss the many risks of new medical technology, and also why he believes such innovations are still bets worth taking. 

Guest: Paul Offit, professor of vaccinology and pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine | member, FDA Covid Vaccine Advisory Panel

Host: Keith Menconi 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with David Julius, a professor of physiology at UC San Francisco, who got the news earlier this week that his work, examining the molecular basis of heat and touch, has earned this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The key discoveries he helped uncover more than two decades ago set off a flurry of further research, aiming to find better treatments for pain. But it turns out the story of touch has more than its share of twists and turns. 

Host: Keith Menconi 

Last week on KCBS In Depth, we brought you stories of mental health struggle and resilience from here in the Bay Area. On this edition, we go beyond the stories of these mental health experts and advocates, and ask instead for for their advice.

Guests: 

• Narges Zohoury Dillon, executive director, Crisis Support Services of Alameda County
• Sue Cronin, director of critical incident stress management training and education, Bill Wilson Center 

• Jonathan Horowitz, clinical psychologist, director, San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center

Host: Keith Menconi

On this special edition of KCBS In Depth, as part of the national I’m Listening campaign promoting awareness about suicide prevention and mental health, we bring you stories of crisis and resilience in the Bay Area. 

Guests: 

• Narges Zohoury Dillon, executive director, Crisis Support Services of Alameda County
• John Courtney, president, Amalgamated Transit Union Local #265
• Sue Cronin, director of critical incident stress management training and education, Bill Wilson Center 
• Members of San Francisco's Street Crisis Response Team
• Lt. Jonathan Baxter, spokesman, San Francisco Fire Department
• Martin Lee, creator, The Other Ones 
• Sherry Wang, professor of counseling psychology, Santa Clara University
• Satsuki Ina, psychotherapist specializing in racism trauma, cofounder, Tsuru for Solidarity
• Jonathan Horowitz, clinical psychologist, director, San Francisco Stress and Anxiety Center

Hosts: Keith Menconi, Jenna Lane, Kathy Novak

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, with so many Californians right now asking what exactly that whole recall election added up to, we’re going to take on the case for recall reform.

Guests: 

• Raphael Sonenshein, executive director, Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs, California State University, Los Angeles
• Joshua Spivak, senior fellow, Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform, Wagner College | author, Recall Elections: From Alexander Hamilton to Gavin Newsom

Host: Keith Menconi

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, twenty years on from the September 11th terrorist attacks, we consider what lasting impacts the national tragedy has left behind here in the Bay Area. 

Guests: 

• Lt. Jonathan Baxter, spokesman, San Francisco Fire Department
• Joe Alioto Veronese, executive director, National First Responders Fund
• Shirin Sinnar, professor of law, Stanford Law School 

Host: Keith Menconi 

It’s a recall effort that many political watchers never expected to get much traction, but here we are just over a week away from election day, and Governor Newsom -- while leading in the polls -- still finds himself caught in a pitched battle for his political life. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we check in on the latest developments in California’s recall election and also take a broader look at what this political upheaval will mean for the state going forward.

Guests: 

• Doug Sovern, political reporter, KCBS | host, The State of California
• Dan Schnur, California political strategist | professor, UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies

Host: Keith Menconi

Almost three years after the Camp Fire nearly leveled the town of Paradise, claiming at least 85 lives, we revisit the disaster through the reporting of Lizzie Johnson, an enterprise reporter for the Washington Post. She spent the past several years piecing together the many stories of tragedy and triumph that have emerged from that devastating day, and wrote about what she turned up in her new book, "Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire." 

Host: Keith Menconi