Far more than just a link between our heads and torsos, the neck is what biologist Kent Dunlap describes as “the ultimate multitasker.” The neck “flexes, senses, vibrates, transports, and secretes every second of our lives,” all while serving as a locus of beauty, grace and vulnerability. We talk to Dunlap about his new book “The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History.”

Guest:

Kent Dunlap, professor of biology, Trinity College

Bay Area Latin jazz legend John Santos joins us with a full band for a live in-studio performance. The San Francisco native is a Grammy nominated percussionist and composer influenced by classic rhythms and traditions of the Caribbean. He founded his own label, Machete Records, 40 years ago to avoid mainstream platforms and maintain his creative freedom. Santos joins us to talk about his San Francisco roots, the rhythms of his Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean heritage, and his latest album, Horizontes.

Guests:

Saul Sierra, musician, bass, vocals

John Santos, Latin Jazz percussionist, leader of the John Santos Sextet

Marco Diaz, musician, keyboard, trumpet, vocals

John Calloway, musician, flute, keyboard

Charlie Gurke, musician, saxes

Anthony Blea, musician, violin

Germany holds parliamentary elections this weekend, and political watchers there are expecting its nativist Alternative for Deutschland party to make gains, despite long being a political pariah. The pro-Putin, anti-immigrant AfD has neo-Nazi ties and has earned the praise of Elon Musk and a meeting with Vice President JD Vance. We look at Germany’s far right resurgence and what it means for the U.S. and Europe.

Guests:

Jen Kirby, Foreign and National Security Reporter

Sophia Besch, senior fellow, Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Republicans are looking to cut as much as $880 billion from Medicaid, a federal program that provides healthcare for 72 million Americans. Distinct from Medicare, which covers seniors, Medicaid includes coverage for low income people, the disabled, substance abuse programs, nursing home care, and the Affordable Care Act, among other kinds of care. Nearly half of all births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid, and polls show enormous support for the program across political parties. Donald Trump has said that cuts to Medicaid are off the table, but congressional Republicans’ proposed budget to pay for the president’s signature $4.5 trillion dollar tax cut relies on massive cuts to the program. We’ll talk to experts about the future of Medicaid.

Guests:

Larry Levitt, executive vice president, Kaiser Family Foundation

Joanne Kenen, journalist In-residence, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Kristof Stremikis, director of market analysis and insight, California Health Care Foundation, independent nonprofit focused on improving healthcare for Californians

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, former administrator, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services; served as administrator during the Biden administration from 2021-2025

Last week the U.S. Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, as Health and Human Services Secretary. This comes as a measles outbreak in Texas widens to 58 people and as Louisiana’s top health official says the state will no longer promote mass vaccination. We talk to pediatrician and infectious disease specialist Adam Ratner about his concerns about the nation’s vaccination program under Kennedy and Trump, the impact of misinformation on public health, and why measles is a harbinger for other public health crises. Ratner’s new book is “Booster Shots: The History and Future of Measles Vaccines.”

Guests:

Adam Ratner MD, infectious disease specialist and pediatrician

https://www.adamratnermd.com/

Black History Month has been officially celebrated in the U.S. since President Gerald Ford signed a proclamation nearly 50 years ago declaring the month of February as time to recognize the contributions Black people have made to the country. This year, though, the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion have put a chill on the celebrations. We talk about how we arrived at a place where honoring Black history is being questioned just five years after the so-called racial reckoning of 2020.

Guests:

Adam Harris, senior fellow, education policy program of New America; former education reporter, The Atlantic; author, "The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal--and How to Set Them Right"

Michael Harriot, journalist; poet; public historian; author, "Black AF History: The Unwhitewashed Story of America."; co-founder, ContrabandCamp.com, a subscription-based journalism project covering the intersection of race, politics, and culture.

Tiffany Caesar, assistant professor of Africana studies, San Francisco State University

Since taking office, President Trump has issued executive orders rolling back trans Americans’ rights in schools, prisons and the military. The administration is also attempting to pull critical federal funding for transgender health programs and research. Many of these actions are being challenged in court, but they’re still impacting trans Americans’ day-to-day lives — even in California. We’ll talk about the national and statewide landscape for trans rights in Trump’s America.

Guests:

Jo Yurcaba, reporter, NBC Out, the LGBTQ section of NBC News

Jim Mangia, president and CEO, St. John's Community Health in Los Angeles

Dannie Ceseña, director, California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network

Picking up stakes and moving somewhere new was once so common in America that cities had a designated “Moving Day” when thousands of tenants would move house on the same day. Often whole blocks of residents would change addresses, with moving boxes and bags littering the streets. But in the last 50 years, more Americans have stayed in place. Not by choice, but by a lack of social mobility, according to Atlantic writer Yoni Appelbaum. Regions with opportunities lack affordable housing. Cities with abundant cheap housing lack opportunities. In his new book, “Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity,” Appelbaum contends that it is progressive policies that have stood in the way of progress. We talk to Appelbaum.

Guests:

Yoni Appelbaum, deputy executive editor, The Atlantic; he is the author of "Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American"

After his California home burned in a wildfire, acclaimed author and travel writer Pico Iyer retreated to a remote monastery in Big Sur. There, he discovered the power of solitude and stillness to help process loss and cope with uncertainty. In his new book, “Aflame,” Iyer writes about his frequent visits to the monastery over the following three decades, always finding joy and renewal in the “silence and emptiness and light”… and lack of screens. We’ll talk with Iyer about the book, and why his inner journeys mean more to him than his far-flung trips across the globe.

Guests:

Pico Iyer, journalist and author, "Aflame"

A century ago, the United States designated its first wilderness area – a place to be forever preserved and protected from human impact. But what does “wilderness” mean in the era of smartphone technology that keeps us constantly connected and human-fueled climate change? And who gets to enjoy these “untrammeled” spaces? These are the questions posed by environmental journalist Marissa Ortega-Welch in her podcast “How Wild.” We talk with Ortega-Welch, an environmental historian, and an outdoor educator about the complex history and future of our wildest landscapes. And we hear from you: What does wilderness mean for you?

Guests:

Marissa Ortega-Welch, science and environmental journalist, host of the podcast "How Wild"

Phoebe Young, professor of environmental history and chair of the history department, University of Colorado Boulder; author, "Camping Grounds: Public Nature in American Life from the Civil War to the Occupy Movement"

Aparna Rajagopal, founding partner, The Avarna Group