City Visions

What is 'radical empathy' and how do we use it to move past structural racism and inequality? Host Grace Won speaks to Bay Area author and political scientist Terri Givens about her forthcoming book, “Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging the Racial Divides."

Looking to alleviate post-election and stay-at home fatigue? On tonight's City Visions we will explore some great hikes in the Bay Area and learn about a project to document all the outdoor stairways of San Francisco.

Tonight State Senator Scott Wiener will share his harrowing experience being targeted by the far-right conspiracy-theory group QAnon. Senator Wiener received over a thousand death threats from QAnon followers after sponsoring SB 145, a state law that corrects an inequality in sex offender registration requirements. We will also get a COVID update from Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle health reporter. And are you missing live music in the Bay Area? We’ll hear from Pitch Perfect’s music...

Feeling anxious about November 3? You’re not alone. According to the American Psychological Association, more than two-thirds of Americans say the 2020 presidential election is a significant source of stress in their lives. We’ll discuss techniques for managing the emotional toll of this election and share some tips for how to cope with the potential days or weeks of uncertainty ahead.

Ten candidates are vying to fill four seats in November’s election for the San Francisco School Board. We’ll delve into the most pressing issues the school district faces and hear how candidates say they’ll meet the challenges ahead. We’ll also get an update on San Francisco's tightening budget from Mission Local's Joe Eskenazi and find out how darkened theaters have inspired local actors to revive the old-fashioned radio drama. Guests: Segment 1: Joe Eskanazi, Managing Editor and Columnist...

The movement to lower the voting age is spreading across the country, and on this November's ballot, Bay Area voters will decide whether 16- and 17-year olds can vote in various state and local elections.

Is the November ballot a referendum on criminal justice reform in California?

I s the gig economy good for workers...or are they being exploited by it? We hear from both sides of the debate over Proposition 22, which would classify drivers for companies like Uber, Lyft and Postmates as independent contractors.

In two out of the last five Presidential elections, the winner of our country’s popular vote lost the Electoral College and the race for President. Could that happen again? What would Presidential campaigns look like for Californians if Democrats and Republicans had to fight for every vote? Is it time to scrap the Electoral College? Our guest Bill Petrocelli thinks so. Host Joseph Pace will also be talking to law professor Lara Bazelon about Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett and to...

Grace Won speaks with Santa Clara University Law professor Margaret Russell about the life and legacy of U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who died on Friday at age 87. Then, we hear from both a proponent and opponent of proposition 16, which seeks to reinstate affirmative action in California.

Do you understand what Prop 15's proposed 'split roll' is? On our next show, we will dig into this question and examine the arguments for and against Prop 15. Is it an appropriate amendment to Prop 13, as supporters claim, or a deliberate weakening of an important protection for property owners?

Beyond the Presidential ballot, thirty-three Senate races, hundreds of House seats and the control of 86 state legislative chambers hang in the balance this November. Local Bay Area activists are not leaving anything up to chance as they harness local dollars and volunteers to help turn out the vote. On Monday, we'll hear from representatives of Indivisible, Sister District and Airlift about their work. We'll also get an update on breaking news and visit with a musician bringing live music...

As the United States reckons with our history of racism and a pandemic that is disproportionately impacting people of color, race promises to feature front and center in this year's election. But can Democrats talk about race and still win?

On the next City Visions, East Bay Congressman - and former presidential candidate - Eric Swalwell will talk about protecting our elections, providing covid relief, and fighting corruption, among other topics. We will also feature our regular COVID update with Chronicle Health Reporter Erin Allday and UCSF doctor Peter Chin-Hong, as well as the comedy of local favorite, Zahra Noorbakhsh. Guests: Erin Allday - Health Reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle Dr. Peter Chin-Hong - Infectious...

“Is it safe to take the bus?” That’s the question on people’s minds as we enter into the seventh month of the pandemic in the Bay Area. With ridership down, revenue across all Bay Area transit agencies has taken a huge hit that they may never recover from. Host Ethan Elkind talks to Jeff Tumlin, the director of the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, about how MUNI is coping with all of these changes and planning for the future.

According to federal data, African Americans and Latinos are three times as likely as white Americans to become infected with COVID-19 and twice as likely to die from the virus. Similar disparities persist in California. We'll talk about what accounts for the numbers and how to improve the health of local communities of color amid the pandemic, and after.

While protests against police violence are making headlines, less attention has been paid to an issue that affects the lives and livelihoods of black people every day... racism in the workplace. On our next program, we'll hear stories about how racism has persisted for working black Americans and consider ways to address it.

On July 17, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the majority of schools in California will have to revert to distance learning as coronavirus case numbers rise. How have schools prepared over the summer for more online learning? What can families expect and will the state's most vulnerable children fall further behind?

Has the time come for reparations for slavery? Host Ethan Elkind and guests explore the history of the reparations movement in the United States and discuss what can be done to bridge the racial wealth divide.

How are communities in the Bay Area heeding the call to address systemic racism? Tonight on our program, we'll discuss recent initiatives introduced in San Francisco and elsewhere in the Bay Area.