Talk Policy To Me

Streets littered with bicycles and scooters represent the latest skirmish between Bay Area city administrators and the technology sector. In a region ready to confront carbon emissions and ready to embrace pedestrian-friendly streets, scooters have become the next item in an evergreen local debate on what mode of transport should dominant city streets, who should decide, and how to keep city residents safe.

San Francisco's proximity to the hub of the technology sector makes it a "petri dish" for experimentation, says Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, transportation reporter for the San Francisco Examiner in conversation with UC Berkeley public policy student Reem Rayef about the issues that surround scooters. But -- while Bay Area tech companies seek to be a major player in urban transportation with its disruptive technologies, municipalities often have other goals in mind.

Tune into this lively conversation on how cities are responding to scooters, how companies are trying to get around city regulation, when local residents revolt against new technologies -- and whether scooters really are a better way to get around.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-2-6-talking-dockless-scooters

As rents continue to skyrocket in the Bay Area, housing displacement is disproportionately affecting people of color. A "geography of racialized inequality" has long been set in the region -- but today's segregation is taking a new configuration as new housing market preferences take root. 80 percent of neighborhoods in the East Bay experiencing gentrification were previously redlined, according to a finding from UC Berkeley's Urban Displacement Project (link: http://www.urbandisplacement.org/) is providing research and data tools to characterize the nature of this displacement in the Bay Area. In this episode, UC Berkeley public policy student Spencer Bowen and urban planning alumnus Philip Verma discuss some of the data analysis and what it reveals about the the Bay Area's housing market today. Tune in here.

Are you interested in getting engaged with housing issues in the Bay Area? Here are three suggestions from Philip Verma:

1. Read Evicted by Matthew Desmond
2. Every neighborhood has slightly different challenges. Find out what challenges your neighbors are facing by talking to your local council member.
3. Learn more about Urban Displacement Project's data tool here.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/talking-about-housing-policy

Young voter turnout is lower than overall voter turnout. But, as we approach the 2018 midterm elections, UC Berkeley public policy student Sarah Edwards speaks with Buffy Wicks, Sarah Anzia, and others to find that there are reasons to be optimistic about young voter engagement:

1. Millennials are opinion leaders -- and have helped transform the social, cultural and political landscape in the last decade
2. Young people are a tech-savvy cohort who can and are deploying technology to get out the vote
3. While hot-button issues for young voters have been notably muted or absent, increasing concern around college loan debt and social safety nets are poised to drive interest and engagement higher

Wondering how to get more involved and have better conversations about voter engagement? Here's a few ideas from our team:

1. Vote!
2. Attend community meetings in your local community
3. Join our mailing list at Berkeley Institute for Young Americans

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-2-4-talking-about-young-voters

Food surrounds us -- and yet we can become careless about how food is transformed from the farm to something palatable on our plate. UC Berkeley public policy student, Reem Rayef, interviews Nina Ichikawa at the Berkeley Food Institute about what consumers should be thinking about in their individual consumption choices, but also what the impact the aggregation of those choices means for food overall.

Considering the role of multiple actors in U.S. food policy, they also discuss how coalitions of like-minded groups can mobilize greater and more equitable access to healthy foods. Get some food for thought with this episode all about food.

Wondering how to get more involved and have better conversations about food policy? Here are a few ideas from our team:

1. Form a more mindful cohort of food consumers with a book club, reading The Omnivore's Dilemma or Six seasons.
2. Cook a local meal. Try shopping at the farmer's market and learning about the sources of your food and the farmers who grew them.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-2-3-talking-food-policy-with-nina-ichikawa

Tara Regan Anderson (MPP '10) is the Director of Policy for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. She spoke with Jonathan Stein (MPP/JD '13) about the impact incarceration can have on children and families and why criminal justice reform is not just for advocates.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-2-2-talking-policing-and-criminal-justice-with-tara-regan-anderson

In the aftermath of the shooting death of Botham Shem Jean by an off-duty Dallas police officer, we're posting a conversation Jasmine Jones (MPA '18) had last spring with Professor Jack Glaser, an expert in stereotyping and implicit bias, especially in policing.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-21-talking-implicit-bias-in-policing-with-professor-jack-glaser

Goldman School student Jessie Harney speaks with host Jonathan Stein (MPP/JD '13) about mental health support for people suffering from PTSD, especially victims of sexual assault.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-5-talking-mental-health-policy-with-jessie-harney

Host Jonathan Stein (MPP/JD '11) speaks with Dr. Lonnie Snowden of UC Berkeley about the stigma around mental health, disparities in access to mental health services, the Affordable Care Act's impact impact on mental health services, and more.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-4-talking-mental-health-policy-with-professor-lonnie-snowden

Goldman School student and DACA recipient Vlad Stoicescu Ghica discusses what brought him to the US from Romania, student activism as an undergrad at UCLA, and what it was like engaging then-newly-installed UC President Janet Napolitano on the subject of DACA and immigration.

See show notes and full transcription here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/talking-daca-student-activism-with-vlad-stoicescu-ghica

Jesús Guzmán, immigration activist and Goldman student, shares his personal story, what the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program might be, and why he resists the narrative of a "good" versus "bad" kind of immigrant.

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/talking-immigration-with-jesus-guzman