Ken Turan talks Oscars, Hollywood and Netflix

Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times film critic for almost 30 years and the regular film critic for NPR’s “Morning Edition,” looks at the state of Hollywood on the eve of the Oscars. He describes a business edgier than some of this year’s movies, one…

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Sen. Scott Wiener argues for SB 50

State Sen. Scott Wiener makes his case for SB 50 by first reminding us that almost one-third of the nation’s housing shortage is in California. In homes per capita, California ranks 49th among U.S. states. Wiener argues that the California tradition…

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Thomas Wolf’s Tenderloin resurrection

Thomas Wolf wants to use his experience with and recovery from drugs and homelessness on the streets of the Tenderloin as an opportunity to help others, thank the police officer who rescued him, and reinvent San Francisco’s response to the drug crisis.

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Sam Liccardo on San Jose and PG&E

Sam Liccardo, the 65th mayor of San Jose, shares his view of the city as facing unique challenges and only now coming into its own. Liccardo also discusses his effort to get elected leaders around the state behind a proposal to turn PG&E into a…

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David Ulin explains Joan Didion

David Ulin, the former L.A. Times book editor, interprets Joan Didion, just as she interpreted California. As the editor of the new multi-volume edition of her collected works, Ulin shares insights about Didion as a writer and cultural figure and…

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Soleil Ho: Every restaurant tells a story

Soleil Ho, the newly minted restaurant critic at the S.F. Chronicle, shares her modern approach to food criticism, the politics of food, and the responsibility of being our culinary cartographer at a time when food is inseparable from who we are.

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Is traffic heading the wrong Waze?

Jonathan Littman, an author and innovation consultant, discusses his recent that pries open how the traffic app Waze is hacking our city streets and adversely impacting neighborhoods — all with the artificial hope that we might get somewhere a few…

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