This episode of the KCBS Radio weekly program “In Depth” aired the weekend of August 28th/29th, 1999. Governor Gray Davis was the guest. He was interviewed by Mike Pulsipher and Ed Cavagnaro.

Davis had been elected Governor the previous November, defeating Dan Lungren. His election ended a 16 year period during which Republicans controlled the Governor’s office. Davis was re-elected Governor in 2002, and nearly immediately, was targeted in a recall election that led to his removal from office. That October 2003 recall election installed Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor.

Among the issues discussed: the Bay Bridge retrofit. Ten years after the Loma Prieta earthquake, decisions still hadn’t been made about how to proceed.  Davis also decried the ability of wealthy candidates to sidestep campaign-finance laws and self-fund their campaigns.

In August, 1964, The Beatles launched their first American tour, and the first stop was San Francisco. In the midst of Beatlemania, an enterprising KCBS Radio journalist named Hilly Rose scored an exclusive: an interview with the Fab Four in their hotel room.  This episode includes the actual interview, held in the collection of the Bay Area Radio Museum, as well as an interview with Rose conducted in 2014 in which he told the story of how he scored his scoop. The typed label on the reel-to-reel tape box was clearly added later as it places the year as "1965" rather than the correct "1964".

This is a complete KCBS Radio aircheck of the 4 PM to 5 PM hour on Sunday, October 22, 2000. Dave Padilla anchors. The major stories of the day relate to a windstorm that caused numerous power outages and helped drive a wildfire in the Oakland Hills, not far from where the October 1991 fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed 25 people.

KCBS Radio reporter Stan Bunger produced this special report, interviewing Nazi death camp survivor (and Bay Area resident) Eddy Wynschenk as well as the commander of the unit that liberated the Birkenau camp, Colonel Bob Clark of the 104th Infantry Division "Timberwolves". Original broadcast date: July 27, 1986.

Al Douglas was well-known to KCBS Radio evening listeners in the 1960’s. He hosted a call-in program called “Viewpoint” as well as an interview program called “The Al Douglas Show”. He was known for his wide-ranging interests, choosing interview subjects from across a wide spectrum. This example from the California Historical Society/Bay Area Radio Museum collection is an interview with legendary photographer Ansel Adams, aired in November 1963.

A power failure inside the Transbay Tube led to massive headaches for BART commuters in 1996.  KCBS Radio reporters on both sides of the Bay swung into action to cover the story. The coverage led to numerous awards for the station.

In May 1989, KCBS Radio reporter Mike Sugerman looked into a controversy surrounding the California Victims Compensation Fund and whether it was properly paying out claims.

On September 22, 1975, President Gerald Ford was the target of an assassination attempt outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square. This audio file is a compendium of KCBS Radio coverage of the event.

In March of 1988, the legendary radio broadcast "The World News Roundup" turned 50.  The weekly CBS Radio program "Newsmark" devoted an episode to honoring the WNR. 

This program, hosted by Hilly Rose, examined the defeat of a bond measure that would have funded the reconstruction of the War Memorial Opera House. Rose’s guests were two legendary names: impresario Sol Hurok, who favored the bond measure, and Louis Lurie, real estate tycoon and theater investor. Lurie had opposed the bond measure. 

It was a spirited exchange, to say the least! At one point, the station breaks for a commercial while the two guests argue in the background. Upon return from the break, they’re still arguing.

Note: there are a number of gaps on the original reel-to-reel recording; they remain in this digitized version. Host Hilly Rose explains he was responsible, having cut the microphones when he felt the conversation had gotten too heated!