UpFront – August 7, 2015
An hour-long news magazine with a strong focus on state and local issues. Hosted by Brian Edwards-Tiekert and produced by the KPFA News Department.
UpFront
7:00 AM PACIFIC TIME: Mondays - Fridays
UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. UpFront PM is the afternoon edition of UpFront. Pitch us at [email protected].
Theme Music: Turn It Up by Digital Primitives, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Seventy years ago, the United States became the first and only country to use a nuclear weapon in warfare. We’ll chronicle the mobilization of scientists, money, and industry that made the bomb possible; how that created a political juggernaut that secured more and more money for military research, even in peacetime—and how it all started … Continued
Front groups, hidden videos, stolen identities – we’ll talk to an investigative journalist who’s been digging into the shadowy operation behind the effort to bring down Planned Parenthood. Plus: George Khoury wanted to visit the place he grew up – but upon his arrival to Ben Gurion Airport he wound up harassed, detained, and deported. We’ll … Continued
We’ll discuss the lessons from five decades of struggle over displacement, development, and cultural preservation in San Francisco’s Chinatown. But first: unusual wildfires in Northern California have forced over 12,000 people to evacuate . . . we’ll get an update. Also: The EPA finalizes regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. It took environmental … Continued
We look at the single largest water user in California – and why farmers are growing so much of a thirsty crop that doesn’t make much money. Plus: atmospheric scientists say what could be a record El Nino is forming in the Pacific – which could mean anything from heavy rains to catastrophic floods. So: … Continued
Uber Drivers Do you find errors in your paycheck? Are are the rules at your workplace enforced arbitrarily? Could you be fired with no recourse? If you work for Uber, there’s an app for that. The California App-Based Drivers Association, an organization of Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar drivers, officially launched Squared Fare this week. The … Continued
In El Cerrito, low-income residents are getting pushed out of an RV park to make way for townhouses. We bring you a special report, then speak with the mayor. Plus: San Francisco Sherriff Ross Mirkarimi on why he’s still not sharing information with immigration authorities. Plus: a history of the movement that won the Americans … Continued
Two animal rights activists from Oakland are now facing up to 10 years in federal prison for vandalizing fur businesses and releasing captive mink. Their charge? “Conspiracy to Violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act”. We host a debate on that law, and how it’s being used. Plus: the backlash over Kate Steinle’s killing has some … Continued
Where do you draw the line at too much treatment? Many of us think we don’t want heroic measures to drag out our deaths. But everything from the way we fund medical research to the way most doctors practice medicine pushes us in the opposite direction. We’ll spend the hour probing the intersection of industry, … Continued
Lafayette, Louisiana, has just witnessed America’s latest shooting spree: less than five weeks after the massacre in Charleston, John Russell Houser shot 11 and killed 2 in a movie theater showing Amy Shumer’s “Trainwreck.” We look at the right-wing and white supremacist forums he frequented online, and the rise of “lone wolf” attacks. Plus: President … Continued