Law professor David Kaye tweeted this recently: “Homework assignment: draft the rule that prohibits doctored Pelosi video but protects satire, political speech, humor etc. not so easy is it?” Kaye’s tweet came amid a flurry of calls for Facebook to take down an altered video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As the UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression, Kaye has been working on this homework assignment for years, reporting on how governments and private companies should moderate social platforms. His new book “Speech Police” explores how transparency and democratic oversight of regulations on speech can help curb harmful content on the internet while protecting free expression.

‘Speech Police’ Navigates Social Media Regulation, Free Speech Concerns

Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints.

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New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill last year found that each day she was picking up her iPhone more than 100 times and looking at it for an average of five hours — roughly “the equivalent of January, February and half of March,” she writes. Even though that discovery filled her with “queasy regret,” she couldn’t nix the habit. So she decided to downgrade to a flip phone for a one-month experiment – one she says rewired her brain. Hill’s dumbphone experiment came as research suggests smartphone users are reaching for their phones every time they feel bored or anxious, which can lead to hours unintentionally spent staring at a 5-inch screen. Are you concerned you’re spending too much time on your smartphone?

Guests:

Kashmir Hill, tech reporter, New York Times; author "Your Face Belongs to Us"; her recent NYT article is "I Was Addicted to My Smartphone, So I Switched to a Flip Phone for a Month"

Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Universityl; author, “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”

are u addicted to ur phone

A chipped skateboard — one where a piece has come off the nose or tail — is the symbol of a boarder who is dedicated to their deck, held together by nothing but grip tape. It’s also a metaphor for lessons learned, observes José Vadi in his new memoir, “Chipped.” “No matter the age, being a skateboarder lends itself to caustic stares from passersby,” he writes. Vadi delves into skate culture, from its music to its videos, and what it means to identify as a skateboarder. We talk to Vadi about how that lens has shaped his views of public space, geography and his life as a writer.

Guests:

José Vadi, author, "Chipped: Writing from a Skateboarder's Lens"; Vadi's previous book is "Inter State: Essays from California"

José Vadi’s “Chipped” Looks at Life from a Skateboarder’s Lens

To USC professor Todd Boyd, hip hop has so permeated American life that what was once a musical subculture now informs entertainment, fashion, sports and politics. In his recent book, “Rapper’s Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made The World,” Professor Boyd – also known as the Notorious PhD – traces the genre over the last 50 years from its humble beginnings in the Bronx, to its west coast ascent in the 1990s and through to the election of President Obama and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. We talk to Boyd and hear from you. What’s a defining moment of hip hop for you?

Guests:

Dr. Todd Boyd, professor of cinema and media studies, USC; author, "Rapper's Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World"

‘The Notorious PhD’ on How Hip Hop Made America

This November San Francisco voters will get to decide whether to give London Breed another four years as mayor. Polls show voters are dissatisfied with how Breed has handled crime and homelessness, and her political weakness has invited several strong challengers into the race, from the political left, right and middle. Board of Supervisors’ President Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Asha Safaí, philanthropist Daniel Lurie and venture capitalist Mark Farrell are all making a run for the job, among others. We’ll talk about the candidates, San Francisco’s shifting politics and how the city’s ranked choice voting system could affect the dynamics of the race.

Guests:

Heather Knight, San Francisco bureau chief, New York Times - formerly a San Francisco Chronicle reporter since 1999.

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter and producer covering politics, KQED News

Former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, California chair, Working Families Party - a progressive advocacy organization

San Francisco Voters Face a Crowded and Contentious Mayor’s Race

Microsoft developer Andres Freund inadvertently discovered one of the largest internet hacks in history while conducting routine maintenance on his computer. Noticing his computer was a bit slow, he discovered a ‘backdoor’ that could have potentially given the hackers access to millions of computers and servers used by banks, hospitals and governments around the world. The hack, which likely took years to plan and execute, has been called a ‘nightmare scenario’ by cyber security experts, who say that evidence points to state actors. We’ll break down what happened and who is likely behind it.

Guests:

Alex Stamos, Chief Trust Officer, SentinelOne; computer science lecturer, Stanford University

Kevin Roose, technology columnist, New York Times; co-host of the podcast Hard Fork

‘Speech Police’ Navigates Social Media Regulation, Free Speech Concerns

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