KCBS Radio In Depth

San Franciscans took time out of their busy schedules Thursday morning to observe the 113th anniversary of the city’s 1906 Earthquake, a disaster that left thousands dead and much of the city in ruins.

In Typical San Francisco fashion it was a boisterous affair with city leaders decked out in period dress and onlookers at one point belting out the song "San Francisco." But the event also has a serious side to it as it serves as a somber reminder that in Earthquake Country, the next big one could be just around the corner. 

On this edition of In Depth, we look at new research that shows there's been an almost eerie lack of major earthquakes over the last century In California. We then consider the possibility that the century ahead may look very different and speak to the head of San Francisco's Department of emergency management to learn how the city is getting prepared. 

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi 

Guests: 

• Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management
• Glenn Biasi, a seismologist and researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena 

This week we present an interview originally recorded for the KCBS Radio podcast "10 Questions With Stan and Susan," hosted by KCBS Radio morning news team Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor. On the program: a talk about technology. Consider this: roughly 15 years ago, Facebook was only an idea. Today, the numbers would indicate three of every ten humans on this planet use Facebook at some time during any given month. But, whatever the early hope for Facebook might have been, there is a new reality today and it's not all rosy. The 10Q and In Depth guest is somebody who had a personal epiphany about Facebook: Roger McNamee, a longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist who actually served as an informal advisor to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg at one point. Now, he's a founding advisor at the Center for Humane Technology, which he describes as "dedicated to helping consumers deal with the dark side of technology."

There are many sources of Bay Area angst -- the high cost of housing, the high cost of living, homelessness, the threat of wildfires -- but traffic stands out as an especially sore spot. There’s just something about it that grinds on our nerves and makes all our other headaches even more difficult to deal with. And like those other challenges the traffic problem isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

On this edition of In Depth we ask the question: What can you do about traffic, when there’s nothing much that can be done?

In the first half, transportation expert John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission explains how the traffic situation got this bad and tells us what to expect in the coming years. Then, we speak with clinical psychologist Jonathan Horowitz, who directs the Stress and Anxiety Center in San Francisco. He helps us understand why fighting traffic can take such a punishing toll on our mental well-being and provides practical advice on how we can do a better job of coping.

Hosts: KCBS Radio Reporters Keith Menconi and Jenna Lane.

Guests:

• John Goodwin, transportation expert and a public information officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Jonathan Horowitz, clinical psychologist and director of the Stress and Anxiety Center in San Francisco

Show Notes: 

This program was adapted from an episode of the How to Bay Area podcast. You can find that program, which includes more insights on the Bay Area's traffic problem, on the How to Bay Area podcast stream. There you'll also find other episodes exploring what it takes to live the good life in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

About 300 students, educators, administrators and parents from Alameda County took time out of their Spring Break holiday this week to hop on buses and make a trip to Sacramento where they rallied in support of increased state funding for education. 

The rally comes amid a moment of heightened activism for public education in California following high profile teachers strikes this year in both Los Angeles and Oakland. Of course, complaints of under funding in California's public school system are nothing new, but could all this organizing be a sign that we've reached a tipping point? 

On this edition of In Depth we go looking for answers by taking a little ride along. We follow the rally goers as the event progresses and bring you interviews with key participants as well as education experts to find out where all this education activism is coming from and what it's building toward. 

Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi 

Guests:

• John Fensterwald, who writes for Ed Source, an online education news outlet based in Oakland
• Parvin Ahmadi, the Superintendent for the Castro Valley Unified School District and a member of the East Bay Coalition for Public Education

We welcome back onto the program Craig Fair, the deputy special agent in charge for the San Francisco Division of the FBI. He shares his perspective on last week's tragic mosque attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, and discusses the work that goes into preventing such attacks in the Bay Area. Then, in the second half of the program we examine the growing threat of economic espionage targeting businesses in Silicon Valley.

Hosts: KCBS Radio reporters Keith Menconi and Holly Quan