Episodes
June 30, 2025
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. The Exhibition. Talking with Martin Biallis.
Michelangelo the sculptor, famously painted 34 frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in two phases, over 30 years in the 16th Century. These masterpieces are regarded as one of the greatest artworks in European art. The Exhibition allows the public to see them up close, at their own pace and close to hom…
June 27, 2025
The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe. Talking with author Marlene Daut
Haiti 🇭🇹 was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery in 1801. Henry Christophe went to sea aged 12, rose through the ranks of the French Army to become General. He first served as President of the State of Haiti and then King.
June 25, 2025
Nature's Genius: Evolution's lessons for a Changing World. Talking with author David Farrier.
Evolution is meeting the challenges of today’s environment by adaptation as it has done for 4 billion years.
June 20, 2025
10 year Moratorium on State Regulation of Artificial Intelligence. Talking with Justin Hendrix.
Will over regulation of AI by the states hamstring development and hand a first place win in the AI stakes to China ?
June 18, 2025
Accountability in Politics: Is there such a thing ? Talking with Lura Forcum
The Independent Center focuses on the growing segment of voters who are Independents. And demographics indicates that Millennials and Gen Z are more than 50% Independents foreshadowing a tectonic shift in American politics.
June 16, 2025
Los Angeles Anti ICE Riots and the California National Guard. Talking with Professor Jack Pitney.
Anti ICE riots in Sanctuary City Los Angeles prompted the Trump Administration to federalize the California National Guard. The Governor successfully sued to have the Guard reinstated under his command. The Trump Administration has appealed the decision and pending the outcome, the Guard will conti…
June 10, 2025
Why Nothing Works - Who killed progress and how to bring it back, Talking with author Marc J. Dunkelman
By pushing power down to the individual concentrating up to power brokers - Mayors, electeds etc it is harder to get big projects done. We have created a vetocracy where one person can stop a project that might have benefited the society as a whole. Individual over Society.
June 9, 2025
America's Antisemitism Problem. Talking with Dr. Arie Perliger, Professor of Security Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
San Francisco was the site of two Antisemitic incidents in 2024, at UCSF, one of the nation’s leading medical research universities and SF Hillel at San Francisco State University. Antisemitism has spread through America’s universities like a plague.
June 3, 2025
San Francisco's Comeback. Talking with Erica Sandberg.
Mayor Lurie is tackling the problems he inherited from London Breed who was defeated in her re-election bid. So far San Franciscans for the first time in 5 years say that San Francisco is on the right track.
May 30, 2025
Science Cuts will mortgage our Tech Future. Talking with Sean Randolph, Bay Area Council
Science Cuts will hurt the Silicon Valley Tech industry.
May 29, 2025
1925: A Literary Encyclopedia. Talking with author Tom Lutz.
1925 was a major year for American Literature with the publication of Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Hemingway’s “In Our Time” among many other works. This book is a reference guide to the significant works of 1925.
May 21, 2025
Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia's War against the West. Talking with Ambassador John J. Sullivan
Ambassador Sullivan served as the Deputy Secretary of State 2017-2019 and Ambassador to Russia 2019 -2022 in both the Trump and Biden Administrations. He played a pivotal role shaping US policy in the Ukraine War.
May 20, 2025
Ambassador William H. Luers. May 15, 1929 - May 10, 2025. An American Diplomat, Patron of the Arts, Museum Director, Author. In Memoriam.
Today’s episode features a profile of the late Ambassador Bill Luers and his book “Uncommon Company”. Bill was a proponent of showcasing American artists and writers to promote our foreign policy goals.
May 14, 2025
Inside the Reagan White House. A front row seat to Presidential Leadership with lessons for today. Talking with author Frank Lavin, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
A memoir that tracks Frank’s professional development in the White House and shares his personal impressions of the President and First Lady.
May 13, 2025
Russia and US relations: the role of a Citizen Diplomat. Talking with Bill Boerum former Chairman Sister Cities International.
Citizen diplomats try to keep US Russian contacts alive.
May 12, 2025
Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House. Talking with co-author Amie Parnes
The tumultuous 2024 presidential campaign based on 150 well informed sources, written as the history unfolded.
May 9, 2025
The Stahl House - a Case Study House. Talking with Shaun Chang of the Hill Place Movie and TV Blog.
Mid Century Modern residential design in Los Angeles is exemplified by the Stahl House Case House Study #22. The optimism, exuberance and prosperity of the 1950s and 60s is evident in the design and still attractive in 2025.
May 7, 2025
Sailing Around the World with Parkinson's Disease. Talking with Ethan Henderson of The Michael J Fox Fdn and Amy Bridge of the Neptune Project.
Working to find a cure for Parkinson’s by fundraising for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Sailing as a physical therapy for people living with Parkinson’s.
May 1, 2025
Spark SF Public Schools. Talking with President Ginny Fang.
SFUSD has over 50,000 students, a budget of $1.2 billion but still struggles to fund key programs. SparkSF, a non profit, was created 10 years ago to mobilize philanthropic and community donations to support our students.
April 30, 2025
US Coercive Diplomacy and the Global Order. Talking with author Dr. Rich Outzen
Is Coercive Diplomacy as efficacious today as it once was ? Or have targets - like Russia - learned to hedge the risks from US economic, military and diplomatic sanctions.
April 28, 2025
TCM Classic Film Festival 2025. Talking with Shaun Chang of The Hill Place TV and Movie Blog.
The annual TCM film festival took place in Los Angeles April 24 - 27. A celebration of classic films and their fans.
April 25, 2025
Canada's Historic Election. Talking with Marci Surkes.
Canada 🇨🇦 holds national elections on Monday April 28. Dominating the campaign and top of mind for every voter are the impact of tariffs on the Canadian economy. Resilience is central to the debate as well as President Trump featuring prominently in the discourse. The Liberals led by Mark Carney wh…
April 22, 2025
The Return of the Strong Gods. Nationalism, Populism and the Future of the West. Talking with author Rusty Reno.
The Postwar consensus, based on Karl Popper’s Open Society and Hayek’s Road to Serfdom is based on secularity, individualism and internationalism, has served to keep the Peace for 80 years since 1945. But it’s coming to an end. What will replace it ?
April 18, 2025
The Sisterhood of Ravensbruck. How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler's all Female Concentration Camp. Talking with author Lynne Olson.
How four young French women who were in the Resistance made a huge impact on the all female concentration camp in Germany.