KCBS Radio In Depth

Here in the Bay Area it’s boom times for the tech sector. In fact, much of the region has added tens of thousands of tech jobs just over the past decade or so. And for the most part all these new jobs have been celebrated, but there’s growing concern that this supercharged tech economy has come along with some serious costs -- from traffic gridlock to spiraling housing prices -- and now, some are raising the question, would the Bay Area be better off if some of those tech jobs went somewhere else? 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we take on a new report out from the Brookings Institution that suggests that the high concentration of tech work here isn’t just causing problems for the Bay Area, it’s also stunting growth in cities throughout the country.

Guests: 

• Mark Muro, a co-author for the report as well as a senior fellow and the policy director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program.
• Jim Wunderman, the president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a San Francisco-based business association and advocacy group. 

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi 

What happens when the criminal justice system and the Bay Area’s homelessness crisis collide? It’s a question that KCBS Radio Anchor Stan Bunger got to examine firsthand when he received a summons to serve on the jury of a homeless man accused of committing lewd acts on the streets of Berkeley.

The trial and ultimate conviction raised even more questions and inspired a reporting journey that we’ve been presenting under the banner of our Broken Systems series, broadcast in fivepartsover the pastweek. 

So today on this special edition of KCBS In Depth we bring together some of the reporters who contributed to the project for a conversation about what they found when they started turning over the rocks of the Bay Area’s broken systems.

Guests: KCBS Radio reporters Holly Quan and Keith Menconi as well as Broken Systems series executive producer Nic Palmer

Host: KCBS Radio anchor Stan Bunger

Production note: This is an abridged version of the conversation. For the complete program, check out KCBS Radio's Deep Dive Bay Area podcast. 

We’re in the thick of the holiday shopping season, and this year shoppers are spending in record numbers. But more and more that shopping is happening online, meaning that for many the holiday shopping frenzy is less elbowing through crowds at the mall and more refreshing browser pages on the desktop. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we dig into what this past week of record breaking online sales numbers means for the holiday season: First, when the whole world moves online, who gets left behind? We discuss how retail is struggling with and adapting to the new online reality. 

Then, amidst all this holiday shopping, online scammers are out in force too. We’ll take a look at how can you keep your digital purchases safe.

Guests: 

• Bill Pearce, assistant dean and chief marketing officer for UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business
• Maryo Mogannam, president of the San Francisco Council of District Merchants Associations, which advocates for local small businesses including retailers 
• Professor Ahmed Banafa, a cybersecurity expert at San Jose State University

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi 

The screech of the BART train, the din of restaurant conversations, the rumble pop of rock concerts: We take all this noise for granted -- it's just the soundtrack to modern life after all -- but whether we notice them or not, all these sounds add up, eventually taking a toll on our hearing and our health. 

In this edition of KCBS In Depth we take a look at what the latest emerging science has to tell us about the risks of our ever-loudening world, and also what can be done to help protect the hearing we still have. 

Guest: New Yorker staff writer David Owen. His new book is “Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World.”

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi

It’s the season of giving in the Bay Area, so whether it means volunteering to hand out food or opening up that wallet to make a cash donation, residents throughout the region are stepping up to help out those in need.

On this edition of KCBS In Depth, we learn more about all the ways to give this holiday season, as well as the tremendous need that is out there in this very expensive region we all call home.

Guests: 

• Lou Reda, the executive director of Hands on Bay Area, which helps organize volunteer work events 
• Pat Gallagher, chief development officer for Catholic Charities, which serves Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties 
• Annette Pizzo, community relations manager for Sacred Heart Community Service based in San Jose

• Gina Schlocker, WIC director for Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley, one of the agencies that oversees the local Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC)

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi