KCBS Radio In Depth

The artificial intelligence revolution is now well underway, but where it's headed remains very uncertain: Will our jobs all get automated away? Will soulless algorithms end up running more and more of our lives? Or, will we find a way to make technology work for us? 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with New York Times Tech Columnist Kevin Roose, who believes the future we do end up getting will depend to a great extent on what choices we humans make today. He lays out some advice for how to make those decisions better in his new book, “Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation.”

Host: Keith Menconi

A new chapter in California politics opened up this week with the news that the backers of a recall effort against Governor Gavin Newsom likely have the signatures they need to qualify for a recall election. On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we discuss the campaign to oust Newsom, and also take a look back at the last time a California governor faced recall. 

Guests: 

• Carla Marinucci, senior writer, Politico’s California Playbook
• Larry Gerston, political science professor emeritus, San Jose State | author, “Recall: California’s Political Earthquake”

Host: Keith Menconi 

It’s been one year now since this pandemic was officially declared by the WHO, and in just a few days we’re going to hit another sobering milestone as well: One year since much of the Bay Area went on lockdown. On this edition of KCBS In Depth we take stock of how the pandemic fight has shaped up over these past twelve months and also consider where we might be headed next.

Guests: 

• Dr. Paul Silka, director of emergency medicine, Regional Medical Center, San Jose 
• Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease expert, UCSF 

Host: Keith Menconi 

The debate over policing has become one of the most polarized topics in all of American politics: Do you back the blue, or do you want to see the police defunded?

Today we speak with someone who’s studied the challenges and shortcomings of police work from both sides of the thin blue line: That's Rosa Brooks, a well-known Georgetown law professor, who, in her 40's, made the unlikely decision to join the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department as a reserve officer. She wrote about that experience in her new book, "Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City." 

Host: Keith Menconi  

Since the pandemic began, state and local officials have been racing against time to get homeless Californians off the streets and into shelter, but after a year of effort, will the progress that's been made last? 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we discuss the hope that the momentum toward permanent housing built up over the past year could continue. We also consider why solutions to California's homelessness crisis have, so far, proven elusive. 

Guests: 

• Andrea Urton, chief executive officer, HomeFirst Services of Santa Clara County
• Margot Kushel, professor of medicine, UCSF | director, UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations

Host: Keith Menconi 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we hear from Professor Avi Loeb of Harvard University about Oumuamua, a mysterious space object that flew through our solar system back in 2017, and why he believes it could actually be a piece of ancient alien technology. Really! 

Guest: Avi Loeb, professor and former chair of Harvard’s astronomy department | author, "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth"

Hosts: Keith Menconi, Jeff Bell 

As families throughout the Bay Area celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday many within the Asian American community are also getting organized in response to a series of recent attacks. On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with a few of the leading advocates about what solutions they’re pushing towards.

Then later in the program we speak with a local healthcare leader in San Francisco's Chinatown about how the neighborhood managed to defy early expectations and keep infection rates among the lowest in the city. 

Guest: 

Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University |  co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate

Cynthia Choi, co-executive director, Chinese for Affirmative Action | co-founder, stop AAPI Hate 

Dr. Jian Zhang, chief executive officer, Chinese Hospital in San Francisco 

Host: Keith Menconi 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we take a break from our regular Covid-19 programming to discuss another health crisis facing the American public: excessive salt consumption. 

Guest: Dr. Michael Jacobson, scientist, longtime consumer advocate and the author of the new book, “Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet”

Host: Keith Menconi 

2020 was bad enough, but with the economy still in shock, much of society still in lockdown and the virus still spreading, the year that seemed like it would never end has left behind a wicked hangover. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we consider the lingering challenges of 2020 and what could be done to meet them. 

Guests: 

• Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator representing California
• John Fensterwald, a writer for EdSource, an online education news outlet based in Oakland
• Vivian Ho, West Coast reporter for the Guardian US

Host: Keith Menconi 

During the four years that President Trump was in office, California found itself at odds with the White House time and time again. So now that President Biden has moved into the oval office, how much is going to change? 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we take stock of the many ways that the Trump era has reshaped California and then consider how the new administration may shake things up once again.

Guest: 

• Joe Garofoli, senior political writer, San Francisco Chronicle | host, It’s All Political podcast
• Bill Hing, professor of law and migration studies, University of San Francisco

Host: Keith Menconi