Perspectives (KQED)
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California Poppies
Naturalist Michael Ellis pays tribute to the state flower.
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Worker Bees
Charles Dennis says agribusiness practices are killing the bees so critical to our food chain.
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I'm Dying to Live
Before her recent death, Barbara Brenner looked for life-affirming language. This is a re-airing, in memoriam, of her last Perspective, originally aired January 6, 2012.
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Recipe for Health
Jennifer Tyler Lee says a family that cooks together gets healthy together.
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No Rights, No Hope
A visit to an appalling foreign garment factory awoke Kate Constantin's conscience.
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Mother's Day
Peipei Zhou's mother made huge sacrifices for her daughter. But to her mother, it was never enough.
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Mother's Day
Peipei Zhou's mother made huge sacrifices for her daughter. But to her mother, it was never enough.
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It's a Big Deal
Busy high schooler Gabriel Gangoso is missing out on being a kid.
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Why, God?
After a tragic loss, Paul Wolber searches for an answer to The Question.
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Pretty Lights
Monica Stoffal learned as a child that everything looks better from distance.
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Something Fishy
You don't get more endangered than the Devil's Hole Pupfish. Carol Arnold looks at the plucky creature.
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Unkindest Cuts
Diane Luther says if Congress can spare air travelers from budget cuts, it can save the homeless from the street.
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Bodies in Rebellion
Mike Newland bears witness to the perseverance of those with chronic pain.
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Old San Francisco
Richard Swerdlow gets a tour of a neighborhood that used to support people with regular paychecks.
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The Health Coast
New Yorkers and left-coasters, says Tarja Parssinen, just have different notions about health and exercise.
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Groovin' in Retirement
In retirement, Pat Torello learns that something old can still be new.
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Parlez-Vous Programming?
Forget French. Youth Radio's Christina So says the language to learn is computer programming.
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Mind Killer
An anxiety disorder has taught Eric Wilinski how to deal with fear, from agoraphobia to terrorism.
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Illegal
Guillermo Mayer applauds the AP Stylebook's kibosh on "illegal immigrant."
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Ridiculously Horrible
Teacher Alison Liberatore has felt the sting of anonymous online postings.
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Wily Coyote
Michael Ellis discusses the clever creature thriving on suburban environments.
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Blowing Smoke
Carol Denney says the latest smoking fad — e-cigarettes — is the same old story.
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Palm Oil
In Borneo, Ian Austin sees the devastation wrought by a common food product.
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Frankenstein
Paul Staley looks at what we've wrought. It isn't pretty.
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Three Perspectives
High schooler Raba Sbeih-Rosales is a Palestinian, a Latina and an American.
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Pen, Paper and Me
When young Jake Newell is drawing, he creates his own world.
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Crazy Yard Lady?
Is Louise Rafkin becoming the crazy old lady of her fears?
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New World Order
Lewis Heathcote sweats SF's tech-driven obsession with new ideas.
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Climate Shame
Mike Newland studies climate change. He has a young family. He's deeply worried.
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Online Advertising
Craig Smith says online advertising is essential and not as intrusive as you think.
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How Not to Raise a Jackass
Les Bloch has tried to raise his kids to be confident yet modest.
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Frances, Francis
Francie Low has a lifetime of name-oriented experience to share with the new Pope.
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Maddening
Amanda Hopping-Winn bristles at the idea that kids of same-sex couples are at-risk.
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The Torture's All Mine
A's fan Dana Varinsky says Giant fans should retire the 'torture' talk.
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Fierce
Want to see some truly fierce basketball, asks Debbie Duncan? Watch the women's collegiate tournament.
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Stuck
Without a high school diploma Youth Radio's Joshua Clayton's got nothing but bad choices.
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Do The Math
Sam Rubin's disability made it hard for him to pass math tests, except the ones that really counted.
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Family Leave
Cate Claus argues that even in progressive California family leave laws are short-sighted and out-of-date.
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DOGMA
It isn't gay marriage that should trouble the Supreme Court, says Kevin Fisher-Paulson. It's straight marriage.
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Fire Fighter
Shorey Myers hopes a big change will correct an old law governing flaming furniture.
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Carnival Earth
Cruise ship horrors remind Richard Swerdlow we're all passengers on an earthly voyage.
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Flower Power
Susan Dix Lyons sets an example for her daughter to admire.
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What Me Worry?
Pat Torello finds a way to manage her chronic worrying.
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I'm Just Fine
Rachel Gibson asks how much kinder we would be if we knew the burdens others carry.
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Blinking Lights
The lives of Al Gilbert's family and friends come together, briefly, then drift apart.
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Stay Awake
For feminists like Holly Brady, past gains can always be lost to indifference.
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Transformation
An encounter with a long lost acquaintance is God's way of telling Steven Moss something important.
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Strawberries
Michael Ellis charts the exotic journey of the common strawberry.
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The Weight of a Word
Bob Engel considers the difference between a marriage and a domestic partnership.
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Home Work
Bonnie Thomas looks at Yahoo's decision to pull the plug on working from home.
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Gun Spotting
Carol Denney looks at who's most likely to carry a gun and who's most likely to be killed with it.
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Gun Spotting
Carol Denney looks at who's most likely to carry a gun and who's most likely to be killed with it.
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Footloose
Karen Hester explores the Southern Hemisphere blissfully alone.
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The Face of Rampage
Tim Tosta believes mass murderers share a "narrative failure."
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For Giving
Bailey Malone works in philanthropy, but she had to give herself an education in giving.
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What's My Name?
Many names are mispronounced. But Youth Radio's Sheila Blandon wasn't sure how to pronounce her own name.
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Moonlight Sonata
Bhaskar Sompalli is stunned by a desperate man playing the Moonlight Sonata on a campus piano.
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Etch-a-Sketch
Every year Richard Swerdlow's young students ask him what was his favorite toy as a kid.
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A Change of Habit
Forget about breaking bad habits. Kevin Fisher-Paulson says practice some good habits instead.
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Mind Reader
Therapist Jamie Matter knows too well the difficulty of identifying violent patients' intent on harm.
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Mind Reader
Therapist Jamie Matter knows too well the difficulty of identifying violent patients' intent on harm.
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Disconnected
A dead battery and no phone charger send Amrutha Badrinarayan into digital panic.
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Facts Would Help
Wendy Sinek deplores a missing element in the gun debate: fact-based research.
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Facts Would Help
Wendy Sinek deplores a missing element in the gun debate: fact-based research.
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The Great American Exchange
Michael Ellis looks at one California critter among the very few that migrated north in the Great American Exchange.
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Zombied
When Steven Moss marinates himself in zombie lit, the effects on his mind are creepy.
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Reason to Stay
Affording San Francisco is a problem for Darya Mead, but the Alemany farmer's market is the cure.
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Reason to Stay
Affording San Francisco is a problem for Darya Mead, but the Alemany farmer's market is the cure.
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Papal Resignation
At 67, Stan Goldberg shares the pope's acceptance of what they just can't do anymore.
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Good School, Bad School
Teacher Alison Liberatore challenges assumptions about the difference between a "good" and "bad" school.
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LOL
Jessica Malone Latham drinks the tonic of laughter.
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Happy New Year
Ricky Choi rings in the lunar New Year, Korean style.
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Message From Beyond
Stephanie Rapp gets an email from a beloved sister who died three years ago.
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What If?
Angela Estrella became a teacher because kids just like her weren't inspired to learn.
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Forest Bathing
Stressed out? Carol Arnold recommends a walk in the woods.
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Counting on Compromise
Paul Wolber believes some simple statistics make the case for a compromise on guns.
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Learning History
For Richard Swerdlow to teach black history, he needed to learn a thing or two.
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Chess Mate
Chess may be a game, but a mentor taught Youth Radio's Chris Alsobrook that it's really a way of thinking.
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Time Traveller
Cataract surgery leaves Evan Sagerman with two eyes that each see the world differently.
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I'll Lay Down My Arms
Mac Clayton grew up with a beloved shotgun — but he won't be passing it on to his son.
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We Missed You
Alfonso Orsini was headed to jail or the grave until a teacher praised and challenged him.
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Erase the Stigma
As a parent of a mentally ill child, Dorothy O'Donnell knows the challenges of treatment.
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Old School
Before the digital age, a key business tool of Toby Costello's grandfather was shoe leather.
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Can We Talk?
Paul Staley asks: When did politics become a conflict between rights instead of interests?
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Abortion Rights
On the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, Lorrie Goldin looks at the narrowing status of abortion rights.
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MLK: Labor Leader
Dick Meister observes that Martin Luther King was an advocate for labor, not just a civil rights leader.
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Completely Insane
Mike Newland sees 100,000 years of evolution down the drain in supermarkets and restaurants.
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Dear Mr. LaPierre
Jane Zimmerman addresses the NRA proposal for armed guards in schools.
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Newtown. New Dialogue.
Alyssa Brennan and her mother couldn't talk politics. At all. Ever. Until Newtown.
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Martin Luther King's Way
Andrea Cumbo Dowdy notes that Martin Luther King's pacifism didn't stop at the nation's shores.
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How to Waste Your Breath
People seem clueless how to resolve their conflicts. Just ask a mediator like Richard Friedlander.
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Pileated Woodpeckers
Michael Ellis considers North America's largest woodpecker.
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A Rose by Any Other Hyphen
Kevin Fisher-Paulson put the hyphen in his name. He wishes he hadn't.
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Collateral Damage
Gun violence is more than a body count. Elizabeth Schiffrin sees its victims daily in Oakland schools.
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A Rose by Any Other Hyphen
Kevin Fisher-Paulson put the hyphen in his name. He wishes he hadn't.
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A Rose by Any Other Hyphen
Kevin Fisher-Paulson put the hyphen in his name. He wishes he hadn't.
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You're Fat
No one ever said that to Paul Dalmas. He wishes they had.
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Teacher Got a Gun
Veteran educator Debora Gordon shudders at the thought of arming teachers.
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Generation Job
Aaron McDaniel says it's time for millennials to realize the working world is not like home.
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Online Privacy
Youth Radio's Malachi Segers wants to limit the personal information he shares online.
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Gratitude
A dying friend leaves Richard Swerdlow a generous gift.
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The Commute
The passing landscape makes Bhaskar Sompalli's commute more than a ride to work.
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Nocturne
For Peggy Hansen, night is an experience.
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Slaughterhouse
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau believes exposure to animal slaughter encourages violent crime.
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Christmas Carols
Michael Ellis celebrates the music that makes this season bright.
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Wonder
The holidays give Jeremy Sherman a special reason to wonder about "wonder."
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The Last Perspective
In case you hadn't noticed, the world ends today. Paul Staley looks at calendars and time.
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Feast
Mike Newland finds that when ancient peoples had a feast, it was to connect themselves to a complicated world.
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The Perfect Eggroll
Jill Selvaggio recalls her mother's lifelong search for a second perfect eggroll.
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Heightened Scrutiny
Do gays and lesbians have political power? Clyde Wadsworth says the Supreme Court's gay marriage decision could depend on the answer.
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Bay Bridge Blemish
Karen Hester objects to garish billboards that will grace the landing of the swank new Bay Bridge.
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Rock Bottom
Michael Ellis finds the answer to a personal crisis in the Bay Bridge left lane.
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Blinking Lights
The lives of Al Gilbert's family and friends come together, briefly, then drift apart.
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Happy Flawed Holiday
Christmas never lives up to its image. Kevin Fisher-Paulson celebrates its imperfection.
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Balancing Act
Peter Asmus is a living version of the Pt. Reyes oysters vs. wilderness debate.
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Tribute to the First Gravedigger
Alex Giardino discovers very San Francisco history beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.
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Searching for Dad
Youth Radio's Sayre Quevedo never knew his father — and at 20 the object of his search has changed direction.
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It Is Written
Typewriters couldn't doom handwriting — and now Barbara Simmons hopes it survives the digital age, too.
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Self-Destruction
Sofie Kleppner considers what a wasp, a caterpillar and people have in common.
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Self-Destruction
Sofie Kleppner considers what a wasp, a caterpillar and people have in common.
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First World Problem
Vinita Nelson discovers her problems aren't worth the stress and anxiety.
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Muscle Memory
Ray Pestrong is at an age where his body can't do what his mind says it should.
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How to Peel a Banana
Luke Pease discovers that even peeling a banana comes with a dose of cultural relativity.
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Season of the Cliff
Paul Staley says the "fiscal cliff" is marketing genius.
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Era of the Obamas
The president's re-election gives African-Americans like Jamila Chambers new belief that America includes them, too.
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Era of the Obamas
The president's re-election gives African-Americans like Jamila Chambers new belief that America includes them, too.
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A New Generation
Daniel Zingale argues that high turnout of youth voters presages a new generation of engaged problem solvers.
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A San Francisco Thanksgiving
Jonah Raskin's Thanksgiving of food, family and friends reflects the diversity of greater San Francisco.
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Twinkie Defense
The manufacturer of Twinkies is filing for bankruptcy, and Michael Collins declares a national emergency.
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Twinkie Defense
The manufacturer of Twinkies is filing for bankruptcy, and Michael Collins declares a national emergency.
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The Greatest Perspective Ever
Paul Staley marks the 149th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address to ponder the power of language.
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Undecided
What it takes to reach Ohio's last undecided voter isn't in Andrew Lewis' script.
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Flowers in Your Hair
Richard Swerdlow remembers Scott McKenzie and the 1967 version of San Francisco.
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Flowers in Your Hair
Richard Swerdlow remembers Scott McKenzie and the 1967 version of San Francisco.
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I'm Just Fine
Rachel Gibson asks how much kinder we would be if we knew the burdens others carry.
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What's In Here?
Mike Newland's young daughter becomes curious about the contents of a family urn.
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The Art of Listening
Tim Tosta's work with hospice patients teaches him the art, and power, of listening.
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Bioluminescence
Michael Ellis finds a Bay Area version of fireflies shimmering on Tomales Bay.
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Who's Fat and Who's Not?
Youth Radio's Bria Bryant finds the link between body image and health isn't a simple formula.
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Celebration
Raised in communist Romania, Gabriela Pasat revels in her first vote as an American citizen.
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Mailing It In
Absentee ballots are fine, but Debbie Broeker finds something special about Election Day voting.
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Foucault's Pendulum
Bhaskar Sompalli, and small children, are fascinated by a giant pendulum that knocks over small pins like clockwork.
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Optimal Illusion
Politicians lie, says Jeremy Sherman, because they have to.
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You Like Me, You Really Do
Mac Clayton 'connects' on Facebook. Well, sort of.
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Flaming Pumpkins
Cameron Walker's father feared fire, flaming pumpkins included.
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One of Those
Three decades ago Sophie Abitbol was a child of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
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Surrounded by Walls
After a stay in Brazil, Evan Sagerman knows the difference government can make.
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The Biggest Leaf
Peggy Hansen goes hunting for the biggest leaf in the forest.
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Good Enough
Like everyone else, Christine Canty worries that she's not good enough.
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It Has to Stop
Richard Swerdlow has seen the ugliness of bullying in his own school.
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Pooling Resources
As a kid, Hal Stemmler wanted a basketball he couldn't afford. What he got was a civics lesson.
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Pooling Resources
As a kid, Hal Stemmler wanted a basketball he couldn't afford. What he got was a civics lesson.
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Sweet and Sour
Manel Kappagoda limits her daughter's soda intake, but could use some help.
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The End of Death
Bob Finlayson says death may be the next victim of technology's march.
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The End of Death
Bob Finlayson says death may be the next victim of technology's march.
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Hybrid
Paul Staley looks for the balance between dependence on government and the anarchy of individualism.
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My New Hero
The struggle of an elderly woman to get dressed teaches Hanna Clements-Hart a lesson in guts.
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Wynken, Blynken and Nod
When Jolie Kanat looks at government she doesn't see "them." She sees "us."
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Weeds
What makes a weed a weed? Michael Ellis has the answer.
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Branch and Root
Youth Radio's Bianca Brooks discovers that her family tree has unexpected branches and roots.
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We Built This City
It was bad music then, and its bad music now. But Fred Etheridge has a new attitude about it.
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Loving Betta
Helen Smolinski's severely disabled child isn't the gift she'd hoped for, but her gifts are profound still.
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Saved by the Safety Net
Bhaskar Sompalli's life is testimony to the good the education and a social safety net can do.
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Stats That Matter
Teacher Matt Mitchell is fine with test-score-based evaluations, but not all statistics are born equal.
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I Already Gave
A credit card reader asks Wichita Sims to "donate to breast cancer."
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Three Perspectives
High schooler Raba Sbeih-Rosales is a Palestinian, a Latina and an American.
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Animal Nation
Paul Staley says it isn't just elephants and donkeys going to the polls on election day.
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Threads of Change
Les Bloch looks at how our view of the flag and the republic for which it stands changes over time.
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The GOP and Science
Clyde Wadsworth looks at the GOP's use of a flawed study to argue against same-sex marriage.
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Standing Up
Ben Daniel fails to confront racism in a barbershop. But what about online?
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Business Friendly
A business friendly government is fine, but Alan Bernstein says not all businesses are equal.
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Strength and Hope
At a Yom Kippur service, Richard Swerdlow senses the power of religion.
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Life Is
A visit to a cemetery brings Akeem Mostamandy closer to the living.
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Counterfeit Teacher
Yoon Choi considers just what skills her SAT prep students are learning from her.
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Actually, I Am Disabled
Lia Seth learns what can happen to the disabled when they don't fit stereotypes.
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The Value of Flaws
A missing letter in a wedding document reminds Daniel Kohn of the value of flaws.
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Berkeley Myth
Carol Denney says Berkeley doesn't deserve its self-image as friend to the homeless.
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Ayn Rand and The Crowd
Bonnie Thomas wonders what Ayn Rand would have made of crowdsourcing.
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Ayn Rand and The Crowd
Bonnie Thomas wonders what Ayn Rand would have made of crowdsourcing.
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Rocks
Geology is complicated, says Michael Ellis, but there are only three kinds of rock.
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One Man's Education
Youth Radio's Carlyn Bynes wants to change the image of poor, black Oakland youth.
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Catholic, Married, Gay
Kevin Fisher-Paulson answers the question: "Who has been influenced by your marriage?"
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Urban Jungle
A hawk pounces on a pigeon and Fred Etheridge is reminded that even a city is part for nature.
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Restorative Practices
Amy Merickel learns a better way for adults to help kids resolve disputes.
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Gunsmoke
Neal Fishman has always owned a gun, but he's fed up with firearm fanatics.
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Unconditional Love
Not even Guadalupe Martinez' atrocious behavior could extinguish her mother's love for her.
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Not in Oakland
The gun violence in Oakland has hit much too close to home for high schooler Medardo Gaytan.
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Not in Oakland
The gun violence in Oakland has hit much too close to home for high schooler Medardo Gaytan.
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Dream Home
Natasha Mader and her family lost their home but found a new American dream.
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I Held My Ground
Young Ashley Hunter didn't let bullies stop her from becoming a powerful young lady.
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The Table
Her kitchen table was family history, but Lorrie Goldin learned the value of letting go of old things.
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Three Perspectives
High schooler Raba Sbeih-Rosales is a Palestinian, a Latina and an American.
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Climbers
Over 34 years, Paul Staley has seen San Francisco's hills endure while the people who climb them change.
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Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
Youth Radio's Venus Morris finds that changing teen eating habits is about much more than food.
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Ravenous Bambi
Peggy Hansen knows that when it comes to deer and gardens, good fences make good neighbors.
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Band-Aid
In a world where solutions are hard to come by, Richard Friedlander praises the humble band-aid.
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Look at America
For immigrants like Jasmin Darznik, airport reunions are part of becoming an American.
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Drop Out
Richard Swerdlow laments the loss of a brilliant student teacher to the high cost of higher education.
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Echoes
Many sounds of Alex Giardino's past are lost, but she's managed to find those that matter most — voices.
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Crown Jewel
Michael Ellis got lost in Point Reyes decades ago and found a world of wonder to last a lifetime.
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- Public Radio, Analysis and Commentary
- KQED
- English
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