The San Francisco Experience

When Mt. Lassen erupted in May 1915 it caught the imagination of the American public. Nearby San Francisco was hosting the Panama Pacific Exhibition to celebrate the 1914 opening of the Panama Canal. It was also a statement to the world that San Francisco had fully recovered from the destructive 1906 earthquake. But the massive volcanic eruption reminded San Franciscans of the unpredictable power of Mother Nature. And in 1916 Lassen Volcanic became a National Park.

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a group of about 3000 young, idealistic Americans who volunteered to fight in Spain against the fascists. When they returned in the late 1930s they maintained their social activism with support for the great causes of the 1950s, 60s and beyond. A memorial to their memory is under threat in San Francisco as a park is re-configured.

Fisherman's Wharf is San Francisco's top tourist destination with over 13 million visitors annually - more than one million every month. It is also the City's historic working water front. Set up in 2005, the Community Benefit District (CBD) is overseeing a revitalization of this colorful and iconic San Francisco neighborhood.

Women have played a major role at the National Security Agency as technology innovators, contributing to the Nation's security. Eileen Buckholtz recounts their contributions with a series of 29 profiles of former colleagues, mentors and co-workers. She was one of the first women to graduate with a degree in Computer Science in 1969 and had a 30 year career at the Agency.

Rick Lefkowitz captures 1970s Los Angeles in his debut memoir. Accessing Rock legends was easy as he and his best friend Moxie discovered on their travels around LA. It was an open, more friendly city versus today and one where he could chase his dreams to write songs and make music. Mick Jagger, David Bowie, B.B.King, the Dooby Brothers - he met them all !

New Zealand's Golden Visa program is structured to attract high net worth individuals and families to relocate to this stable, safe and civil South Pacific island nation. The Active Investor Plus Visa has two categories - Growth and Balanced and require an investment of NZ$ 5 million and NZ$ 10 million respectively. And home purchase for properties valued at NZ$ 5 million are also permitted.

Justice Nechtem during her distinguished judicial career has championed innovative approaches to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and families throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and across the nation. She continues to advance the conversation through her podcast " By Her Honor".

Britain's tabloids developed a shorthand argot to cram racy and punchy stories into frontpage headlines. Often suggestive and cheeky, it is a writing style that has withered under the weight of Political Correctness, hypersensitivity and trigger happy offense taking. Christopher Gage shares his thoughts on the demise of Tabloid English from his recent essay in "The Spectator", one of the UK's oldest magazines.

Breanna is a classically trained opera singer and graduate of CalArts Institute and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She was the first trans woman to sing the National Anthem for the Oakland "A"s, the San Francisco Giants and the San Francisco Deltas.

The Castro Theatre sits in the heart of San Francisco's Castro District. The 1400 seat lavish movie house dates from 1922 and is a mix of Beaux Arts meets Spanish Baroque and Art Deco architecturally. But after a $41 million renovation by Another Planet Entertainment, it has re-opened in 2026 to community acclaim. With modernized and updated systems as well as a more flexible floorplan The Castro Theatre retains its' charm of yesteryear.

The Hornblower Group moves over 20 million people annually on a fleet of vessels across North America and the United Kingdom. Two of its' signature ferry services serve the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, and Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay.

Our physical environment - house, office, school, hospital, church, store - can influence our relationships and feelings in many ways. Leidy Klotz walks us up to the intersection of physical buildings and their emotional impact - for good and sometimes ill - on our psyche and well being.

Lloyd Blankfein, who retired as CEO of Goldman Sachs in 2018, relates his path to the C Suite of America"s most fabled investment bank in this insightful and witty memoir. Growing up in public housing in Brooklyn, his determination to succeed is apparent from page one. Author and financial journalist William Cohan interviewed Lloyd when he was CEO and more recently in retirement and brings a keen eye to Lloyd's story.

A Giant Leap is a well researched analysis as to how Artificial Intelligence is being integrated into our healthcare system today. It also discusses the impact of a new technology on the doctor patient relationship . Overall an upbeat and positive outlook for integrating this new technology into our healthcare practices and culture.

President Erdogan hosted the 32 leaders of the NATO Alliance in Ankara on July 7th and 8th for a summit. President Trump attended. Key issues on the agenda were: Defense Investment, Defense Industries in NATO countries and Support for Ukraine. Alp was in attendance and shares his analysis and impressions.

The fifth and final episode chronicling a road odyssey through six South American countries. Transitioning into an active retirement while chalking up a lifetime goal and learning new skills.

The Supreme Court closed out the term handing down two high profile decisions on birthright citizenship and Trans athletes. The former decision went in favor of maintaining it but nevertheless caused some partisan reaction especially toward Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Professor Boso also discusses the historic use of emergency actions from the Trump Administration to the Court, and the Court's willingness to agree to them.

As America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Independence on July 4th, we analyze the original and ongoing inspiration of our foundational document The Declaration of Independence. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Artificial Intelligence was created by modeling human cognition. While AI was built to run on slow and deliberate thinking processes, humans maintained dominance in fast, intuitive, emotion based cognition : until now. This book follows the rise of AI from a background tool to a force that shapes how we think, feel, and experience the world.

Andrew brings an architect, home builder's perspective and empathy to the issue of one man's struggle with being unsheltered on the Streets of San Francisco. Having experienced a brief brush with homelessness himself, he relates the story of Roscoe with credibility and sensitivity.

Euna Solutions is a leading GovTech Software company with clients across the United States and Canada. And AI is increasingly being introduced into their suite of software products. Challenges and opportunities abound for the enterprise, its' software engineers and management as Artificial Intelligence becomes part of the GovTech software offering.

Our guest has published a "How To" manual for the political newbie or lapsed campaigner to translate protest energy and focus to the upcoming MidTerm races for Congress. 80 organizations are included in the book which will engage you and channel energies from protest rallies to Get Out The Vote drives. A practical guide to get involved in the 2026 campaigns and elections.

With Javier Becerra and Steve Hilton being declared as the top two vote winners in the Governor's Primary and Mayor Bass and N. Raman the LA mayoral candidates, we have clarity on that score. But how will those races unfold after such contentious primaries ?

Inspired by Hollywood's Walk of Fame, the Rainbow Honor Walk was 20 years in the making. Founder Emeritus David Perry discusses the mission of this monument which is centered around the world famous Castro District.

Volker continues his South American trek through the Southern Cone of South America.

The Top Two Primary used in California was advanced by our guest and his firm back in 2010. Is it more democratic than closed primaries allowing independents to participate, or does it produce skewed results ?

The June 2nd California primaries are just behind us and Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College, Jack Pitney, gives us his analysis. Set up for the November 2026 midterms.

The third wave of coffee connoisseurship is here, where beans are sourced from farms rather than countries and roasting is about bringing out the unique taste characteristics of each bean. Artisanal roasteries are plentiful in the Bay Area , Seattle and Portland, all of which are historic coffee regions and towns. Brew Bird brings craft coffee making to the office from the cafe.

Danny Sauter was recently elected from District 3, to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. His District covers the North Eastern neighborhoods of the City including historic and iconic names like Chinatown, Telegraph Hill, the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Nob Hill, The Embarcadero and North Beach. A millennial, Danny and his fellow newly elected millennials are bringing a new energy and leadership to City Hall to get San Francisco moving again.

Our guest leads the American Heart Association's initiatives on brain health and brain science, including stroke, aging and dementia, migraine, traumatic brain injury and mental health.

Since Xi Jinping has come to power in 2012 he has purged millions of cadres and senior officials. Of late he has used the term Self Revolution to ensure that the culture of anti bribery and anti corruption takes root in every corner of the CCP and Chinese society as a whole. Is it a viable, long term strategy to root out corruption ?

RLWRLD is a partner with NIVIDIA's physical AI ecosystem . It is developing a robotic hand, RLDX-1 , that can perform contact rich tasks with humanlike dexterity. Physical AI is the intersection of AI software and physical engineering. A robotic hand with humanlike dexterity is often cited as the last mile in the development of humanoid robots.

In the wake of the Korean War (1950-53), intercountry adoptions between South Korea and the United States grew rapidly. More than 120,000 Korean children were adopted by American families from the 1950s to present day. Two evangelical Christians Harry and Bertha Holt, were early leaders and founded the Holt Adoption Agency. A young couple in Iowa , the Sueppels, worked with the agency to adopt four kids from Korea. What began as a storybook tale of family creation through adoption ended in shocking tragedy.

International Investigative journalists are vulnerable to attack but Forbidden Stories is doing something about it. Safebox Network ensures that even if the reporter is killed, their story will be taken up and published be a network of collaborating journalists. The goal of the organization is to prevent reporters being silenced for their beliefs and discoveries.

San Francisco is on the rebound after years of political mismanagement and Covid hangover. 17 of the largest AI companies in the world are located in San Francisco. And the City continues to be a magnet for top talent - this time, AI specialists. Venture capital investment is also fueling a rapid turnaround.

In early January, Volker left on a six month road trip through South America. In March we recorded our first podcast as he wound up a two month visit to Peru. In today's episode, he recounts his travels through Chile from the Atacama Desert in the North to Tierra del Fuego in the South. Deserts, Lakes, Ice fields, Fjords and Tierra del Fuego: a country of dramatically diverse climates and landscapes.

Geling Yan is an acclaimed Chinese American author. Her books were widely circulated in China until the Covid Pandemic in 2020. She criticized the Chinese government for a lack of candor in dealing with the crisis. As a result her books are no longer published in China. Criminal Lu Yan Shi is inspired by her two grandfathers who were both persecuted as intellectuals. The cover art for the book was created by renowned Chinese artist and dissident AiWeiWei.

The US needs to bolster our public diplomacy with Europe and NATO members in particular. With the nation celebrating its' 250 th anniversary of Independence, it is the perfect reason to set out the welcome mat and reset frayed diplomatic ties.