City Visions

How bad is the teacher shortage in Bay Area schools?  

On June 11, 2018 City Visions guest host Anne Harper interviews the hilarious and insightful best-selling author, Kelly Corrigan. Kelly talks about her latest book, Tell Me More, a collection of stories about the hardest, yet most important things people can say to one another. The right words at the right moment can change everything.

So much of the political news has been focused on Washington, but tomorrow, California, which has the world's 6th largest economy, with a GDP of 2.5 trillion dollars, opens its polls. All statewide offices are up for grabs, five propositions are on the ballot, and the question many are asking is: As California goes, so will the nation?

And here in San Francisco, much attention has been given to the mayor's race and the role of ranked choice voting. But there are other issues on the ballot and elected offices to be considered. 

May 21, 2018: We hear about it in the news every day - smart, successful people caught up in violent personal relationships. So is it surprising that those most vulnerable are barely old enough to drive? Sixteen to 24-year-olds are three times more likely to find themselves in a relationship with an abusive partner. In its first year in the Bay Area, the One Love Foundation is educating teens to teach teens the early warning signs of a dangerous romance. Host Joseph Pace speaks with members of One Love about their nationwide movement to combat the odds. Can they help break the cycle?

  May 14, 2018:  At the end of March, three electric scooter companies deposited over 2,000 scooters onto San Francisco streets.  While scooters represent a good alternative to private cars or Uber or Lyft to some, to others they are an under-regulated nuisance that will negatively impact our streets and sidewalks and detract from public transportation.

Host Ethan Elkind and guests explore the impact of new technologies on our agricultural industry.

April 30, 2018: Could virtual reality change the way we work, play and interact with other people? Although the technology is still in its infancy, some say it will upend every industry and touch every aspect of our lives, especially our relationships with other people. City Visions host Joseph Pace interviews Peter Rubin, author of Future Presence, and explores how virtual reality could transform how we experience intimacy. 

In the next installment of our ongoing series on sustainable food production, host Ethan Elkind focuses on water.  What does uncertainty around water supplies mean for California farmers?  

Last Wednesday, California's water officials announced water allocations based on snow pack measurements, reviving concerns about the environment, urban vs. agricultural water needs, and the need to prepare for a future with a less reliable water supply. 

Does water scarcity put our agricultural industry at risk?  Is there legislation that can help?

Ethan Elkind and guests discuss the alternative meat industry, the first of our series on sustainable food production.  

April 2, 2018: The San Francisco International Film Festival starts April 4th. Over 200 works will screen over two weeks. In a time when more people are watching movies on their devices than in theatres, what is the future of film? Will the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements change who's making films and whose stories get told?

On March 26, 2018: From walking out of Bay Area classrooms to marching in Washington D.C., millions of young people are protesting gun violence. The world is watching as American students demand that their schools be safe. But how effective can they be when many aren't even old enough to vote? Will marching make a difference to politicians beholden to the NRA? Find out how teenage activists are driving the debate over gun control.

Guests:

CE-LAI FONG, student activist and speaker at the San Francisco March for Our Lives rally.

March 17, 2018:  Do your genes determine your weight?  Will personalized diets lead to a slimmer, healthier population?  

Host Grace Won delves into a Stanford study that provides new answers about the interaction between genes, diet and overall health.  Low-carb diets are more popular than low-fat diets these days, but are they healthier?  Can you eat the same number of calories as someone else but have different outcome? 

Materials of note:

Micia Mosely joins Joseph Pace for a conversation about how to speak with Bay Area youth - and adults - about race.  

 March 5, 2018:  Aging Baby Boomers are an exploding demographic, and by 2060 that population is expected to double in size as people are living longer.  What options and opportunities are available to seniors who wish to age in place?  

February 26, 2018: Is there a dangerous downside to growing up with smartphones and social media? Today's teens are glued to their phones and virtually connected to each other like never before. So why are rates of teen depression and loneliness skyrocketing? Will our kids grow up better able to pick the right emoji over the right facial expression?

Guests:  

Sue Porter, PhD, Dean of Students at The Bay School of San Francisco  

  February 12, 2018: Host Grace Won talks to Nigel Poor and Jody Lewen, both of whom work at San Quentin State Prison, often in active collaboration with inmates, and as such have a unique window into a world most of us never see.

Nigel Poor is the co-host and co-producer of Ear Hustle, a podcast that features prisoners sharing their experience of prison life.  Nigel is also a visual artist and professor of photography.

Host Ethan Elkind and guests discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s December repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules, regulations designed to ensure a free and open internet. 

Host Joseph Pace and his distinguished guests assess the mental health of Donald Trump and the country that elected him. Is he crazy or crazy like a fox? Does his narcissism reflect the narcissism of American culture? And does his volatility pose a real danger to the American public? If so, what can we do about it?  

Guests:

Host Joseph Pace and guests discuss how trolling and “doxing” or, posting someone’s personal information online, are increasingly being used as weapons to intimidate and harass.

Californians are still sorting out what this bill means for them. Has the tax code been simplified, as Republicans contend?  Who will be paying less tax?  

Host Joseph Pace and guests explore how California is addressing the price of prescription medicines. 

  What is the state of organized religion in the Bay Area?  A pair of 2015 surveys found that Americans increasingly identify as "spiritual but not religious" and that San Francisco is the nation's second most religiously unaffiliated metro area.  

  December 4, 2017:  A discussion of the intersection of pro football, politics, and culture, both in the past and in the present.  

On November 27, 2017: Host Ethan Elkind sits down with State Senator Scott Wiener to discuss the housing crisis, homeless youth, LGBT rights and California's efforts to resist President Trump. Want to know what's going on in Sacramento? Tune in.

On November 13, 2017

City Visions with host Ethan Elkind discusses the impact of companies like Uber and Lyft on Bay Area traffic and transit. 

It's been almost a year since Donald Trump was elected president, and on issues from immigration to climate change, California's been putting up a fight. Host Joseph Pace and guests look at how our state has been influencing national law and policy, the limits of resistance, and the future of California's relationship with Washington.

Guests:

-Carla Marinucci, California Playbook reporter, Politico; former senior political writer, San Francisco Chronicle

Host Ethan Elkind and guests discuss rebuilding sustainable, fire-resilient communities in the North Bay.

  San Francisco spends over $275 million a year on homelessness, but is progress being made?  A walk through San Francisco's streets might suggest our homelessness problem is worse than ever.  

Too many young women experience rape or other forms of sexual assault during college. Can universities do more to prevent this from happening? Once there’s an allegation, can both the rights of the victim and the accused be protected? And when everyone wants students to be safe on campus, why is this issue now so political? Join the conversation as host Joseph Pace and guests explore the problem of sexual assault and the politics of how it is handled on the college campus.

Guests: