KCBS Radio In Depth

Just ahead of National Suicide Prevention Week, KCBS Radio is joining a national campaign to raise awareness around mental health.

For this edition of KCBS In Depth we bring you stories from right here in the Bay Area of neighbors helping neighbors to overcome mental health challenges and thrive.

We hear from the Peninsula teenagers taking on tragedy in their own communities; the enterprising therapists bringing mental health care to the homeless; and the beauty queen who won her crown on a platform of mental health awareness. Along the way, we also get practical advice for how to start difficult conversations around mental illness and how to navigate the Bay Area's often fragmented mental health care system.

This program is part of the national "I'm Listening" campaign.

Guest:
Eli Merritt, San Francisco-based Psychiatrist, founder of Merritt Mental Health and author of "Suicide Risk in the Bay Area: A Guide for Families, Physicians, Therapists & Other Professionals"

Host:
Keith Menconi

Reporters:
Holly Quan, Margie Shafer, Jim Taylor, Rebecca Corral and Doug Sovern

Special thanks to:
- CMAP TV, a Gilroy-based community media organization
- Parents Helping Parents, San Jose-based nonprofit providing support to parents of children with special needs
- The Steinberg Institute, advocacy group lobbying for stronger mental health support in California

The double murder of Audrey Carey and Steve Carter captivated the Bay Area back in 2015 after it was found that the crimes had been carried out by a trio of transient youth.  

For many around the Bay, it was a catalyzing moment that pushed the problems of homelessness and youth dislocation out of the realm of “social problem to be addressed,” and instead into the realm of “clear and present danger to be protected against.”

But is there something more to be learned from the stories of the three young people responsible for these crimes? And if we did manage to learn those lessons, could we do a better job supporting other young people walking a similar path?

That’s the set of questions raised by former San Francisco Chronicle crime and criminal justice reporter Vivian Ho in her new book, “Those Who Wander: America’s Lost Street Kids.” She joins this edition of KCBS In Depth to discuss. 

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi 

This past week California set a new, higher standard for when police officers are permitted to use deadly force. 

Supporters of the change see this as a watershed moment for policing in the Golden State, and say the new law is an important step in reducing the number of police shootings. But many skeptics -- from both the law enforcement community and those critical of law enforcement -- say they don't expect the just-signed law will change much at all. 

In this episode of KCBS In Depth, we dig into the new legal standard to find out what exactly the governor just signed, and how police and advocates are responding. 

Guest: 

• KCBS Radio political reporter Doug Sovern 
• Greg Woods, a professor at San Jose State University’s Department of Justice Studies

Host: KCBS Radio eporter Keith Menconi 

When you think about the US-China relationship these days, what probably comes to mind first would be things like tariffs, tense trade talks, and perhaps also some high stakes political wrangling. But the great halls of power aren’t the only places where international relations play out: there’s also the smaller venues like the American universities that enroll Chinese students; the real estate projects that receive Chinese investment; and the tech companies sharing talent across the Pacific. And it turns out a lot of the most interesting venues of exchange are actually located right here, in California. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak to journalist and author Matt Sheehan, who points out that while the lion's share of our attention goes toward understanding how a few very important people in Washington and Beijing are getting along, there’s a whole lot more to international relations than that and to understand just what that is, a good place to start is the Golden State.

For more we discuss Sheehan's new book, "The Transpacific Experiment: How China and California Collaborate and Compete for Our Future." 

Host: KCBS Radio Reporter Keith Menconi 

In the not-too-distant future the cut of sirloin steak on your dinner plate may not be meat at all. That's the hope anyway of dedicated scientists and engineers working to create the next generation of meat alternatives. The dream is that using clever blends of plant compounds or perhaps cultured tissue, food companies will be able to create meat-like products that are so convincing, diners will choose them over the real thing. 

On this edition of KCBS In Depth we speak with some of those leading the way in the emerging alternative meat field to find answers to some of the biggest questions about these high tech meat substitutes, including: how are they made? How real do they taste? And why do some consider them a key tool in the fight against global warming? 

Guests:

• Bruce Friedrich, the executive director of the Good Food Institute
• David Lipman, the chief science officer for Impossible Foods
• Dr. Ricardo San Martin, research director for the Alternative Meats Lab at the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi