To be a modern consumer is to experience poor customer service at some point in your life. The kind of service that has you in a fever dream of pressing “1” for “representative,” getting your call dropped, calling back again, and then asking to speak to a manager who can’t solve your problem. Experts call this kind of service “sludge,” an administrative morass meant to deter, not help, consumers. And for some businesses, it’s a feature not a bug. We listen back to our conversation with journalist Chris Colin about the practice and hear from you: what’s your sludge story?

Guests:

Chris Colin, journalist, The Atlantic

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The current Trump administration has deported roughly 8,000 people to places most have never even visited, in a process known as third-country removal. Critics say this violates U.S. law, depriving people seeking asylum of their due process rights. We hear from a Russian whistleblower and asylum seeker who was en route to California when he was deported… to Costa Rica. Plus, we’ll hear from lawyers who are seeing the Trump administration expand third-country removals for asylum seekers within California.

Guests:

José "Caya" Cayasso, co-founder of the tech startup Slidebean; YouTuber and journalist who first reported German's story

German, Russian whistleblower who was deported to Costa Rica after attempting to seek asylum in the United States

Dr. Yael Schacher, immigration law historian and director for the Americas and Europe, Refugees International

Nicole Gorney, immigration attorney, Vidas Legal

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After a year of political, economic and societal turmoil, we sit down with KQED’s Arts team to talk about their annual series, One Beautiful Thing. The series gathers reflections on singular experiences and practices from the past year that served as a balm, nourishment or enlightenment. This year’s picks include handwriting letters, supporting a struggling artist and taking a solo trip to follow a band on tour. And, we want to hear from you, what was the One Beautiful Thing in your life that punctuated 2025?

Guests:

Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Pendarvis "Pen" Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Elissa Epel, professor and vice chair, UCSF's Department of Psychiatry; she is the author of "The Stress Prescription"

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Data centers are the server farms that power the internet. California has the third-most data centers of any state: over 320 sites, with more construction slated for next year. But energy experts are sounding alarms about their impacts on electric grids, water and climate; impacts that are worsening with the explosion of AI. We’ll talk about what data center growth means for the environment — and for ratepayers — and how lawmakers and communities are responding.

Guests:

Molly Taft, senior climate reporter, WIRED; their recent piece is "You're Thinking About AI and Water All Wrong"

Aaron Cantú, staff writer, Capital and Main; his latest piece on this is "The Insatiable Energy Demands of Data Centers Could Increase Fossil Fuel Emissions in California"

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The president calling female reporters “piggy”, “stupid” and “ugly.” Claims that liberal feminism has ruined the workplace. The manosphere. Despite the #MeToo movement, protests featuring pussy hats, and political and cultural efforts to call the patriarchy to account, misogyny feels like it’s going strong in 2025. But why? We gather a panel of thinkers and leaders to talk about how misogyny has become mainstream and what can be done about it.

Guests:

Roxane Gay, scholar and author; her books include "Difficult Women," "Hunger" and "Bad Feminist"

Irin Carmon, senior correspondent, New York magazine, She is the author of "Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America" She is also the co-author of "Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg"

Savala Nolan, executive director, Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, Berkeley Law; author, "Don't Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body." Her forthcoming book is titled, "Good Woman: A Reckoning"

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From hotels to fast food restaurants, more companies are luring consumers to sign up for loyalty programs in exchange for points, discounts and other deals. But according to two former FTC officials, loyalty programs have devolved into “data-harvesting machines” that track what we buy and even how much we’re willing to pay. And the financial benefits tend to fall far short of the initial promise. We talk to Sam A.A. Levine and Stephanie Nguyen about how loyalty programs exploit consumers, how California is fighting back and how we can stay alert to the pitfalls. Their recent paper is called “The Loyalty Trap: How Loyalty Programs Hook Us with Deals, Hack Our Brains, and Hike Our Prices.” What consumer loyalty programs do you use, and have you ever felt used… by them?

Guests:

Samuel A.A. Levine, former director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission - senior fellow, Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, UC Berkeley Law School

Stephanie Nguyen, former chief technologist, Federal Trade Commission - senior fellow, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator

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In recent contract negotiations, Kaiser Permanente therapists asked for language to specify that artificial intelligence would not “replace” humans in mental health care, but the employer has so far refused. Kaiser already uses AI technology in mental health care to take notes and create summaries, but Kaiser therapists worry further use of the technology could usurp their jobs. We talk about the ways AI may be entering our mental health care system and how it could affect therapists and their patients.

Guests:

April Dembosky, health correspondent, KQED News

Jodi Halpern, professor of bioethics and chancellor's chair, University of California, Berkeley

Vanessa Coe, secretary–treasurer, National Union of Healthcare Workers

Anna Benassi, therapist, associate professor and executive director of clinics, California Institute of Integral Studies

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From Hollywood to Rockefeller Plaza, news of a potential sale of Warner Bros Discovery has sent shockwaves through the film industry. And the current bidding war between streaming giant Netflix and film studio Paramount has all the hallmarks of an HBO prestige drama – from antitrust lawsuits to a hostile takeover bid – with implications for all of American media. We unpack it all with NPR’s critic-at-large and a legal expert. What are your questions, or concerns, about a potential Warner Bros merger?

Guests:

Eric Deggans, critic-at-large, National Public Radio (NPR)

Rebecca Haw Allensworth, associate dean for research and professor of law, Vanderbilt Law School

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2025 was supposed to be crypto’s year. President Trump began his term by announcing a strategic Bitcoin reserve and promised to back the market for the currencies. But Bitcoin is down nearly 30% from its all time high and crypto companies and investors have been hammered in the market. All this while Trump’s crypto czar, David Sacks, operates under accusations of conflicts of interest, and the Trump family continues to enrich itself with crypto-related enterprises. We talk about the year in crypto.

Guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany, reporter, New York Times - who covers cryptocurrencies and fintech

Vicky Huang, reporter, Wall Street Journal - who covers the cryptocurrency industry

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Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S. for kids aged 10 to 18. And autistic youth are more likely to think about and die from suicide, and at earlier ages, than their neurotypical peers. Conventional mental health interventions are not designed to address the needs of autistic people — and can even worsen their distress, especially among those with elevated cognitive language and daily living abilities. But promising new mental health research could change the tide. We’ll learn more about advances in suicide prevention in autistic and neurodivergent people.

Guests:

Neal and Samara Tricarico, parents of Anthony "Ant" Tricarico; founders, the Endurant Movement: a nonprofit dedicated to autism, youth suicide and mental health

Corinne Purtill, science and health reporter, Los Angeles Times

Jessica Schwartzman, director, Training and Research to Empower NeuroDiversity Lab, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; assistant professor of pediatrics, USC’s Keck School of Medicine

Lisa Morgan, founder of the Autism and Suicide Prevention Workgroup

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