On Shifting Ground

Sep 02 2024 2.3k
On Shifting Ground Podcast artwork

Do you ever feel like reality is shifting beneath your feet? Veteran journalist Ray Suarez spent forty years covering elections, civil wars, and pandemics that shaped the way we live. He’s seen entire countries flipped upside down and right side up… and now he’s here to bring a sensible voice to our endless doom-scrolling. Each week, Ray hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts that explore how people from New Hampshire to New Guinea are navigating our rapidly changing world. A co-production of Commonwealth Club - World Affairs and KQED.

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In AI We Trust? A 2024 Election Special

Sep 02 2024 54 mins  
In May, Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, presented a sprawling “road map” for regulating artificial intelligence. But tech experts have called the plan “pathetic”, and many critics believe Washington is out of touch. And California’s legislature will soon vote on a plan that would put guardrails on the biggest AI players. This week, we're airing our special election

The Healthy Amount of Hooch

Aug 29 2024 28 mins  
Earlier this century, reports indicated a little alcohol might even improve health. Moderation was the watchword. Those reports have been overtaken by a new generation of research which indicates the healthy amount of alcohol is no alcohol. But alcoholic beverages are deeply embedded in the brain. So if it’s so bad for us, why can’t we quit drinking? Ray speaks with New York Ti

New Habits in Our Old Age

Aug 26 2024 26 mins  
For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking habits. And this increased consumption trend is especially high for older Americans. In 2020, alcohol accounted for more than 11,000 deaths among those 65 and up – that’s an 18 percent increase from the previous yea

Stuart Stevens: The Lincoln Project is Taunting Trump… And So is Kamala Harris

Aug 19 2024 55 mins  
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21, and in the few weeks since, Vice President Kamala Harris has garnered enough delegates to become the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Biden had trailed Trump in virtually every poll, but Harris has rallied the hopes of her party, as her momentum continues to upend the race. This week, in our late

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Aug 15 2024 29 mins  
Ecuadorian journalist Jorge Imbaquingo says that his country used to be, “an island of peace.” But now it’s caught in the middle of Latin America’s bloodiest drug war. In our last episode, we heard about Ecuador’s historic vote to stop oil extraction in the Amazon. Today, we’ll hear about why its President, Daniel Noboa, nixed those plans to fund his war against the cou

Can Ecuador Keep its Oil in the Ground?

Aug 11 2024 24 mins  
Last August, Ecuador passed a historic referendum that was more than a decade in the making. Oil accounts for roughly a third of the country’s exports, but Ecuadorians voted to stop extraction at a major production site deep in the Amazon. Since the vote, Ecuador’s “Keep It in the Ground” movement has hit some speed bumps. In collaboration with our sister program, Climate O

Biden's Foreign Policy Legacy

Aug 07 2024 27 mins  
Ray Suarez sits down with Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA, to examine Biden’s foreign policy legacy… and how country's around the world are preparing for a new US President in 2025. Guest: Dr. Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA Host: Ray Suarez If you appreciate this episode and want to support t

Netanyahu's Gambling on Trump

Aug 04 2024 26 mins  
A few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before the US Congress, and he showed no signal that his government is open to a ceasefire with Hamas. President Biden had hoped to broker an Israeli-Hamas peace deal before leaving office, but an attack from Hezbollah in the Golan Heights—and Israel's military response—could dash any remaining hope for a deal in

The Elites vs… the Elites?

Jul 31 2024 31 mins  
Donald Trump’s anti-establishment message has galvanized tech leaders across the US, including in former Democratic Party stronghold, Silicon Valley. In the second half of our election special, we’ll hear from This American Life’s Zoe Chace about what happened when Michigan Republicans took his advice and actually tried to buck the system. Then, WIRED’s Steven Levy joins Ra

Biden is Out, Harris is In: How DNC Donors Reset the Race

Jul 29 2024 32 mins  
Since Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Vice President Kamala Harris raised hundreds of millions in small dollar donations. Harris has received endorsements from virtually every major Democratic Party leader, and her path to nomination – and command of the dnc campaign war chest – appears inevitable. But was it the big money DNC donors who really made this possible? The New Yo