S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition on today's show. A behind the scenes listen at the best segments of 2025. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Have you ever wondered what it's like to produce a show for Midday Edition ? Well , today , producers Juliana Domingo and Ashley Rush joined me in studio to share their behind the scenes role in putting the show together. That's ahead on Midday Edition. First the news. Could.
S2: Could.
S1: Before we close out the year , we're looking back at some of our favorite conversations thus far. We're calling it midday wrapped , and you might even get a behind the scenes look at how we put on our show. So up first to talk about her picks is Midday Edition producer Giuliana Domingo. Hey , Giuliana.
S3: Hey , Jade. How's it going ? Going good.
S1: Going good. I can't wait to hear about your favorite picks for the year.
S3: You know now that we're live we really it's really important that we make sure we get out on time. So that's also a really big component of my job as well. Um , and usually when I describe my job to , you know , anyone who asks who might not be as familiar with , you know , how producing works or how radio works , I describe it or liken it to putting the puzzle pieces together , and I feel like that's kind of the job every day is trying to make sure the puzzle piece is fit. Sometimes they do , sometimes they don't , and you just kind of make do with that. So I'm sure my fellow producers can also speak to that as well.
S1: Oh yeah. But listen , you all do such a great job at piecing everything together. So I'm always so happy and proud of you all for that. Oh.
S3: Oh. Thank you. We'll make it easy.
S1: So thank you very much. Well , I can't wait to hear more about your favorite. So moving into our midday wrapped , what conversation did you want to highlight ? Yeah.
S3: So , you know , one of the most powerful conversations that I produced this year was an interview between two Palestinian American students. Their names are Ali , Al Fatah and Dania. And so Ali is currently a third year at UCSD , while Dana graduated a few years ago. And they were both part of this panel. Back in October , it was called We Are Tritons from Gaza to UCSD. So we spoke to them ahead of that event. And Ali and Dania , they both grew up in San Diego , in Oceanside , actually , and their families are from Gaza. So they visited a few times when they were younger , and they each have vivid memories of the region before the war. So they joined us on the show to talk about , you know , their close roots in Gaza and in Palestine and how the war had impacted them and their families. So in this next clip , you'll hear Ali is talking about his reaction to news of a cease fire back in October.
S4: Throughout the entire war , it's just been a lack of hope to see actual change , actual , lasting , an actual , lasting end to the war. Because we have been begging , we have been going out. We have been like , I guess , screaming at the top of our lungs for a cease fire , for a end to this war , and we have never been able to reach it. And honestly , when I saw the news about the cease fire , I was actually worried because I was worried that global support for a Uh , humanity would actually cease itself as well. Why is that ? Yeah , because I feel like the the , the attention would no longer be directed towards what's going on there. And like , behind closed doors , you'll still see atrocities going on and it's not as well documented. And so I think that's why we need to keep speaking up about injustices , and we need to keep going and to where we can have a sustainable cease fire and peace.
S1: Danya , how are you feeling ? Yeah.
S5: Um , you know , like what we said , how our families have endured war after war in Gaza. So the main thing is that we want the ceasefire to actually last and for the conditions to not return to how it was before. I mean , um , you know , the one positive thing I could maybe say about everything that's happened is that it has brought more awareness to the issue , and it has , um , you know , people who didn't know what Palestine was before now know and now know how. What our country has contributed to this , this war and the weapons that have been provided for years , you know , years before this current chapter has started. Um , so , you know , it took all this devastation for for people to become aware , but at least that's. You know , now we are in a place where we should be able to , um , create conditions where this never has to happen again. And our families don't have to keep suffering over and over and over again. Mm.
S1: You know , you've both , um , mentioned visiting the region before all of this started. How would you describe Gaza ? Uh , back then , what are some of your fondest memories ? Yeah.
S4: So because , you know , it's it's human. It's a place of humans , you know ? I mean , I went there as a kid. I played on the streets with kids. We'd play soccer. We'd go on our bikes. We'd go out and eat. As a family. To a beautiful restaurant on the beach. And we'd have the best food. We would go to the beaches. We would swim. I mean , it was. It's beautiful. The nature there is beautiful. The beach is beautiful. And I mean the people , the way they live life. It's as if they just. They want to be like any other human around the world. They just want to have the right to live. And so , I mean , it really resonated with me when , um , my younger cousin , the same one who , um , he's the son of my aunt whose husband tragically died through the airstrike on his way to see his father. Um , recently , over the summer , he was playing on his iPhone , just playing like a regular game like any other kid would do. And , um , the he he asked for a milk and he wanted to drink some warm milk with his , with his mom. And so they both go to the kitchen and all of a sudden , out of nowhere , an Israeli shell hits their house and his mother is blown across the kitchen , hits the wall and suffers. Almost like , luckily , not a traumatic brain injury , but I mean a concussion. She was concussed. She was very hurt. I mean , you could see all the debris all over them. It went viral all over Instagram. Like you could literally see the video of him searching his house to look for his phone , because after he realized that his mom is okay , he's like , where's my entertainment now ? Like , I want to , I want to. It's his one resort from , you know , chaos. Yeah. And so he's he's heartbroken. I mean , his whole house has gone. All of his possessions are gone , and you can just see him going throughout the rubble , looking for his things for him and his little sister's things.
S6: The trauma of that is is unimaginable.
S1: Dana , what do you remember about the region ? Yeah.
S5: So I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Raza in 2022 , a year exactly before the war , and this was the first time we visited in 18 years. I had visited a few times when I was under five years old , but in 2022 , this was a huge reunion. We had a huge like a family celebration. We arrived at the border and we took this very this photo that has now been spread everywhere when we used when we shared our GoFundMe page. Um , and this was the first time my mother got to see her mother in 18 years. It was the first time I got to see my grandma , my aunts and my cousins in 18 years , and that was due to the Israeli blockade. No one could leave and no one could enter. A very , very limited it was very , very difficult. And even when we went in 2022 , it was super difficult to get in. But we it was as if like , I don't know , my mom had said that year that I'm not going to go another year without seeing my mother. I need to go. So we did everything we could and we made it. And then once we entered , I mean , I was pleasantly surprised. I was I , I didn't know that Gaza. I mean , you know , you see Gaza in the news and we see Gaza just as something that's war after war , devastation , destruction. I've never I never got to see it , like with my own eyes like that. And of course , nothing is like in reality. So I got to see the beautiful restaurants like Ali mentioned on the beach , the , the hotels , the , the , um , you know , the enormous , the creativity that goes behind being under such extreme restrictions. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. And what you don't hear in that excerpt , who is Donna's experience fundraising to get her relatives out of Gaza ? They're now in Egypt , and she'd also visited them that same month when we spoke with them. So I just really appreciated the time they took to share their stories and experiences with us. Um , you know , it just listening back. It's it's heavy. And this is a history that they , you know , carry with them. But ultimately it was a really powerful conversation. And so that's one that has really stuck with me throughout this year. And , you know , one that I still continue to to think about. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely. I mean , it's so important to hear , you know , firsthand perspective , people's lived experience. And it's also important to hear this just real , uncensored , um , perspective of war , Oftentimes , uh , you know , in the US it's boiled down to how much is a conflict costing ? It's boiled down to dollars and cents. The real cost of war and conflict are your lives. These are people. They are human beings. And in this case , the cost is generations of people. Um , so I was so appreciative of them for coming on the show and sharing their perspective. Um , it's one that we don't often get to hear , and so I'm very grateful for that. Still to come , we continue our midday rapt with producer Juliana Domingo and her favorite segments from 2025. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. We're looking back on our favorite episodes from the year. And in order to do that , I'm sitting down with a bright mind to help me put the show together every single day. I'm joined again by Midday Edition producer Juliana Domingo. So , Juliana , you're usually in charge of the arts and culture show each week. Talk a bit about that.
S3: Yeah , so as someone who really loves and appreciates all things arts and culture , I feel very lucky to be able to , you know , do coverage on San Diego's arts scene. We've done some really cool conversations with authors , chefs , artists , musicians and filmmakers even. And , you know , I just feel like San Diego's art scene , as diverse and broad as it is , it's also pretty underrated. You know , I feel like there are a lot of really cool arts niches that , you know , we get to explore through our show. A couple of examples that come to mind. Last year and last year's midday wrapped , um , we talked about San Diego's drag scene and had a couple of drag performers on to talk about the craft and art behind that. So , I don't know. I just feel like through our arts and culture show , we've been able to explore a lot of really cool niches that , you know , you normally wouldn't be able to. Yeah , yeah , yeah.
S1: No , absolutely. It was interesting. Just the other day I was on social media and , um , someone had a post where they were just loathing the , the , um , sort of creative community that doesn't exist in San Diego. And I was like , wait a minute , we talk about this every Thursday on our show. The comments thread was a mile long with people weighing and saying , oh no , this exists and that exists , and join us for this event in that event. And so it was it was interesting to see , and it really shows how big our arts community is here in San Diego.
S3: Oh , absolutely. And I mean , considering all these different federal funding cuts , that's also been a big point of conversation throughout the year with a lot a lot of the creatives that we've spoken to on the show. We did one segment with a dance arts organization , with two with the San Diego Ballet and with Disco Riot , and they talked about , you know , navigating those challenges. And that just speaks to how how much of the creative community and how much of a presence they have here in San Diego. So you should send me that post. I would love to check that out and see. Yeah.
S1: Yeah , yeah. But and they also have to like , really come together as a village to support each other. The organizations do. So that's another thing that's interesting , But , um , all of this takes me to another one of your favorite shows this year , which was Comic-Con. Yes.
S3: Yes. I joke every year that it is my Super Bowl , but I. It is. It really is. Um , so I've been working on our Comic-Con coverage for three years now on midday. And so basically that means you and I will go down to the convention center itself. Um , you know , sometimes a little bit before the crowds and the chaos ensue. But , um , this has really meant a lot to me personally , just because I grew up going to the convention. Um , first as an attendee , then a volunteer , and then now is press. And I just realized that it's I think next year will mark the 10th year I've been going to Comic-Con , which is wild to think of. But , um , anyway , in terms of what made this year stand out to me , um , it was actually our first live on location show. So this was actually before midday went fully live. So we did a live show interspersed with some pre-recorded segments in studio , and we also spoke with some creatives who are really paving the way for cultural representation and their different niches and spaces. So here's a little taste of that first segment where we went live from the convention center , and you can really hear the crowds are abuzz.
S7: Welcome to Comic-Con. Whether you're a long time attendee , a newbie , or just a spectator , you've probably had an encounter with the con one way or another. Each year , celebrities , creators , and fans from all across the world come to America's finest city. This year , we want to talk about connectedness and how Comic-Con is connected to San Diego. And also we want to hear from some some of the creatives who are making space for representation inside the con and beyond. But first , here to talk about some of the festivities is our very own Beth Accomando. Beth , so great to be with you here again this year.
S8: Yes , thank you for letting me talk to you from my happy place.
S7:
S8: I think I started coming right after Star Wars , like 77 , 78.
S7: You've been coming for more than half a century.
S8: Oh , yeah. I'm old.
S7: Listen , you know you're an expert. That's what this is , huh ? Well , we're here live in the convention center itself , right outside exhibit hall. Uh , gee , it looks like. And it's really buzzing. This is the first official day of the convention.
S8: And you do have to take into account that you can't get anywhere fast. So , you know , you gotta clock in an extra ten , 20 minutes to get from point A to point B.
S7: That is very true. And also wear your sneakers because , you know , we've got we've got broken escalators. We've got crowds being redirected. But still a fun time. Uh , we're also outside of Artist Alley. And for those who might not know what that is , what is Artist Alley and is it a place you frequent a lot ? Yes.
S8: I love going to Artist Alley. It's very congested and the artists tend to have small tables. But this is a diverse array of artists working in a diverse array of styles. Some work on comic books , some are just artists who create art in other ways. But people will come because they're fans. But I also suggest just walk up and down the aisles. This is what I love to do and you'll discover things , and it's a great place to go and support the artists. Buy something , a sticker or a poster or whatever , but that's part of what you're there for. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So you just heard from our resident Comic-Con expert , Beth Accomando. And , you know , you can really tell in that clip that the halls are alive and there's just so much energy kind of buzzing through. And I think being live from the convention center really helped us capture that. So actually , before we even did that show , just the day prior on Wednesday , we did another few segments about offsite events like in Digital Con and Afrofuturism Lounge , which are both local events that highlight indigenous and black artists and creators , respectively. So I think it really made for , you know , a really full , rounded Comic-Con show in coverage overall. And I was pretty proud of it.
S1: I mean , I really did love the the Indigenous and Black Artists segment that we did. Um , that was really great. And it's a , it's a perspective that you don't often get to hear about. So that was great for the show. I loved being live down there because , you know , for me , I just kind of feed off of the energy that's in the room. And so there was so much energy , so many people in their costumes. I love that , but also just talking to Beth , you know , who is an expert on this and a true Comic-Con fan ? Uh , she she brings so much to the show whenever we talk to her about Comic-Con , and that's really what makes it. Well , before I let you go. Any honorable mentions ? Yes.
S3: So I'd be remiss to to not mention the first segment that I ever hosted for midday. Um , and everyone has been really kind about it. Um , it was great. Thank you so much , Jade. I appreciate it. Um , but I did an interview with the author R.F. Kwong about her most recent book , catalysis. I was really nervous. Um , but , you know , everyone , again , as I said , has been really nice about it. But it was also really nice to just talk to an author about , you know , kind of the culmination of her work. Um , and so we also do a lot of segments on local history , so I won't go down the entire list. But as I was reflecting back on the year , one of the segments that stood out to me was a conversation about Japanese American history in San Diego that we did , and that was back in May for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We sat down with ATI Furuya , who is a fourth generation Japanese American who's also a member of the Japanese American Historical Society. So they also talked about their family's experience being incarcerated during World War Two under Executive Order 966. So he talked with us about what really compelled them to dive into that history. And I think we've just had a lot of conversations like that where , you know , our guests are reflecting on how history has not only impacted them personally , but also has impacted their understanding of their family and also of their identity and of their community. You know , those are just a couple of , you know , honorable mentions for me , but kind of a through line that I saw between all those different segments.
S1: Those were absolutely wonderful segments.
S3: I think to a lot of the immigration coverage we've done this past year , and we did an art segment about this Know Your Rights improv workshop , kind of amid intensifying violent ice raids. And in that particular segment , we we spoke with the two organizers about , you know , like , what do you do when you see your community being targeted or impacted in this way ? And then how do you respond ? And I feel like that's something that we've seen a lot of throughout the year and has come up in a lot of the conversations that we've had. So , um , and kind of speaking to those segments to I think there's also sometimes this sense of healing and togetherness amid turbulent time. So I just feel really lucky to be able to produce these really powerful and resonant conversations. And I hope that also comes across to our listeners as well. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely. Juliana , I've been speaking with KPBS Midday Edition producer Juliana Domingo. Juliana. Thank you.
S3: Thank you so much , Jade.
S1: Well , now I want to bring in Ashley Rush. She's a producer on Midday Edition as well. And she also produces roundtable with Andrew Bracken. Ashley. Hello. Hi , Jade. Um , so one of my favorite shows , uh , from this year was one that you actually produced. It was the interfaith conversation we had about immigrant justice and religion. Um , Father Scott Santa Rosa , Imam Tahar Hassan , and Rabbi Alexis Pierce , all of them came together to talk about what their religious text says about immigration , and essentially all of their text tell them to welcome and help the stranger. It says pretty much the same thing , and it was profound to hear in the face of our current immigration policy. And they also shared how their congregants have had to change how they lived to avoid being harassed by Ice because of the way that they look or sound. Some were were scared to even leave their homes to go to worship. That's just some of the reasons they said they were fighting for immigrant justice.
S9: It was an idea that , you know , I wanted to put three faith leaders in a room and just hear them talk about immigration. And this was a really great example of us , you know , taking advantage of the talk show format that we have here on Midday Edition. I was just really appreciative that , you know , we could use the full 45 minutes to foster this , you know , real dialogue between these faith leaders and , you know , as the producer , you said on the other side of the glass from the studio where Jade sits with our guests. And I just remember , you know , looking up at the three of them through the glass , and they were all just nodding profusely. You know , as the others were talking and kind of raising their hands , you know , asking Jade to call him the next. And that's just always a great feeling. You know , knowing that our guests are also walking away with some new knowledge , not just imparting it on us. So I just really enjoyed both the outcome of that segment , but also the process of the interview and watching it happen.
S1: Yeah , that was a great conversation. Okay. So we're going to play an excerpt of that conversation for you. This is actually towards the end of the episode. So take a listen. So Father Santa Rosa Rabbi Pierce brought up religious nationalism. And I want to talk more about the relationship between religion and politics in this country. Trump's second term has really empowered the white Christian nationalist movement. He won the support of about 8 in 10 white evangelical voters in November.
S10: I mean , and there is a right answer , right ? As opposed to shades of gray. Um , I think that's really what has happened for people is , you know , people will say that he's a God fearing person. So therefore I'm going to vote for him as opposed to looking at where does he stand on the issues that are going to most affect you and your life ? I mean , Latinos voted strongly for Donald Trump much more than last time. So , um , I think it's , uh , there isn't one way to be Catholic or to be Christian. I think , in truth , all of us and I think the US around the table will admit that we're all always have to be open to growth , to being humbled , to learning and to to conversion , really. And we always , we always we all of us have idols that we put up and we bow to until those idols are destroyed. And I think our lives are a constant process of destroying false idols and getting to the one true God , which I think we're all about all the time. And I think right now , though , this the , this government and the the Trump administration does have a lot of false gods , but I think it's obvious to a lot of people that they are false gods. And , you know , there's no one right way to be an American. And I think that more and more what you have is , are saying with regards to , you know , arresting those people that don't agree with the Trump administration policy of how you ought to be in this world witch. More and more , this administration is is putting forth. There's one way to be and , um , our challenge is to purify that and purify out the , uh , the false gods. Hmm.
S11: Uh , if I may add something to this. Um , just recently , a few weeks ago , during the National Day of Prayer , I was invited to join an interfaith , um , group of leaders at uh , Methodist Church in San Carlos to , uh , do a prayer , a multi-faith prayer. And the messages from , from all faith leaders were , were great and actually advocating for the human dignity and praying for our nation and praying for the whole world and peace and justice and all that stuff. On my way back after that prayer , um , I played a video that came on my YouTube about a prayer from a pastor that I didn't know. Maybe he's , you know , a known pastor , but his prayer was totally different than the prayers that I have heard that I have witnessed. It's as if two different Christianity's. You see , his prayer was , you know , inciting that that the Christianity in America is a unique and , you know , so I was so confused , and I'm sure that a lot of people are confused when they see politics harming religion and dividing the religious people. So this is something that I have noticed and talking about politics and religion. This is what people are experiencing. Mhm.
S1: Well , and I want to dig into that a bit more because Rabbi , the value of interfaith dialogue through conversations like this and coalition building in general.
S12: When I left pulpit work to go into health care chaplaincy and began to work with people from all kinds of religious backgrounds and people who didn't consider themselves religious. It became so apparent to me , it's something I'd known before , but it became so apparent that if you're dying , your grief process is just the same if you're using Catholic tools or Muslim tools or the tools of some other faith. If your father is ill , you're having the same sorrow and anxiety. No matter what you look like. All of us have to breathe and drink water and make a living , and shelter our families and make friendships and have a life that feels like it has purpose. We have so much more in common than we have separate. And and I make this point partly out of my exposure to Native American culture and and values. By the way , the one community that are not immigrants in this country and the bears mentioned. Um , I remember you were saying there's so much more holy than we are. I remember working in the hospital. This is years ago now , maybe around 2008 , when it was Border Patrol rather than Ice , and a patient had been brought in who had fallen from the border wall and broken his back. And here's this man , skinny , older , chained to the bed with handcuffs. Accompanied by two big , strong border patrol men at all times. Like he's going to get up. He can't even walk. Um. They were reluctant , but finally let me come in and try to minister to him a little bit in my very broken Spanish and his very broken English. I don't know what became of him , but it opened my eyes to the the way that the , um , immigration system was destroying excellent people who are stuck in desperate circumstances , who want only the same things that I want.
S1:
S9: You know , I just appreciate the pacing of that episode. Even just now , I feel a little bit more calm and grounded , hearing them all speak and imparting that wisdom on us. You know , so often with breaking daily news , we only get to hear these short snippets of conversations. And sometimes that's really appropriate , you know , because you're trying to fit a lot of information , a lot of dense information into a short radio package and make it digestible for people. But it was refreshing to hear this conversation and work on the show , because it went to all these natural places. That only really happened when you put people in a room together , and especially with an issue like immigration. You know , I just felt really privileged that we had the format and the freedom to go beyond some of those headlines and , you know , really get to know our guests what they're feeling , what they're fearing.
S1: Hear more when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. 2025 is coming to a close. So we're listening back to some of our favorite segments from the year. Producer Ashley Rush is here with me in studio. And you know , Ashley , we get the opportunity to interview some incredible voices here on Midday Edition. One of those voices is Stacey Abrams. She served as minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives , and she was the first black woman in U.S. history to become a gubernatorial nominee for a major party. She's also a bestselling author and host of the podcast. Assembly required , and I had the honor of interviewing Stacy Beck in August. And also later that month , I facilitated a conversation with her at the San Diego Book Festival. And there were so many golden nuggets in that conversation about her book , Coded Justice Our Democracy and the need to organize around everything from voting rights to AI legislation. It seemed there was nothing she didn't have insight on.
S9: I was really excited to jump on the opportunity to have her on the show. I think I reached out to her booking agent , like almost immediately after the San Diego Book Festival headliners were announced , and I was really excited when I got word that she was interested and able to join us. But what I love most about that conversation was that we got to talk to her about her book , Coded Justice. As you mentioned , what you can just tell is really near and dear to her heart. She just kind of lights up when she talks about it , and it's deeply inspired by her political career. But also it's really a creative venture into the world of fiction , too. It's the third thriller in her Avery Keen series , so in this book , her main character , Avery , explores questions around AI and the medical industry as an investigator for a tech company. And it was so fun to hear her talk about all of that in detail , and also connect to those bigger issues around AI and ethics and the future of technology. All topics that , you know , we hear about all the time and we're all terrified of. But it was just really fun to listen in to the natural rapport you built with Stacy , kind of immediately , even over zoom. So we're going to play a bit of that conversation now. Take a listen.
S1: How much of Avery's life here is inspired by real world events in your own political career ? Absolutely.
S13: All of it. I mean , I've never actually been chased through the streets. Uh , but but but what I do with Avery , what Avery allows me to do is to one be curious to investigate topics I want to know more about , either because of the work that I was doing in the legislature and politics , or simply because it's a policy issue that's out there , too. I try to make certain that I'm exploring policy topics that other people want to know about , but don't always feel that they're entitled to or capable of delving into , and you don't want it to feel like you're reading a textbook. And then three. I like grappling with the the shades of gray. Avery's not always right. And you've got these heroes sometimes who are perfect at what they do. She's flawed and she's young , and she's navigating this responsibility that she has over and over again without the authority to necessarily solve the problems. And so I try to write stories where when I was a lawyer or when I was in the legislature or even today , what are the policy implications of decisions that we're making ? What are the real world results that can come about ? And then how do we make sense of the places we are with what we know ? Yeah.
S1:
S13: We have fed it all of this data about ourselves , intentionally or not. And so you've got questions of data surveillance. You have issues of privacy , you have questions of copyright. And all of this is fed into what they call large language models. This technology can be used to discriminate. It can make information vanish. It can make up information. And these are powerful tools that are now in every facet of our lives , from our institutions to our companies to our televisions and our phones. And so what I want us to think about with AI is that it's an extraordinarily powerful technology that is controlled by people , and that means people have to understand what's happening , and that means other people have to question where it comes from , what it does , and what impact it will have on us. And so I deal with a lot of the conversations about the legality , the morality , but also the long term implications. If we don't ask the tough questions Now it sounds.
S1: Listen , it sounds both fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
S3: Well , I.
S13: Want I want it to be. Yes , I wanted to terrify. It's a thriller. So you should be scared. And I do my level best to create a technology or a set of technologies , AI technologies in the book that are actually based in real technologies , real things that happen right now. If you go to your doctor's office , there's some form of AI that's operating , whether it's the AI that's being used by your insurance company to decide whether they're going to cover your medication or not , or when you get checked in , the information that's gathered , all of that is artificial intelligence , but it also decides the kind of medical care that you get. And if we're not asking questions about what the AI knows , then how do we know that it can know us ? And that's really why the Dai conversation is so important to me. As someone who is a legal background working in healthcare and is someone who , as a legislator grappled with issues of health care and who had access. If we are using these tools to save our lives , but they do not respect our lives and the people who created it don't think that our lives should be part of the training. Then how can we trust that it's going to be there for us when we need it ? That is a very real and present conversation. And we just had , you know , the president of the United States issue an executive order demanding that AI companies not consider those issues. And if you're a woman to be told that AI can't think about the specific needs of women that differ from men. If you're a person of color , we know that there are certain diseases that are more prevalent among certain communities. If those things aren't permitted to be studied , how then can they be solved ? And that's why I wanted this book to come out. I didn't know the president was going to do what he was doing , and I could not predict we would be in the place we are. But if you look at the history of how technology develops in this country. It's slow until it's fast , and then it's everywhere. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. You know , there's so much to take from your writing.
S13: I did very deep dives into how algorithms are designed. I studied the difference between a large language model and a reasoning model. I know about alignment. What happens when you don't properly code how AI takes information ? I learned that AI hallucinates when when they can't come up with an answer. It will not only make up an answer , it will make up its theory for the answer. It will create its own sources to justify the answer. We know that there have been AI models that , in response to testing , essentially tried to blackmail their coders. So AI is incredibly advanced , but I'm not worried about how from , uh , you know , 2001 A Space Odyssey , I'm worried about when the AI chat bot gives us a bad answer because we were searching for it on the internet and we no longer think. Let me check and see if that's right. I'm concerned about the deepfake that gets permitted to share political information and undermines not just a candidate , but how people see themselves. And so what surprised me is just how weak not only our laws are , but how weak our questions are. We need to be asking harder questions. What I realized is that we have to be cautious , but we also get to be excited. This is an amazing technology , but it's a technology controlled by people , by the coders , by the companies , and by the politicians who decide whether or not we're going to let it run amok , or whether we're going to hold it accountable for being part of the society we inhabit today.
S1: And I just love that she is asking these tough questions. And then she puts it in a book and with her character , Avery Kane , and puts it in such a way that's accessible to so many people. Um , you know , one of the big questions there that I took away was , you know , what happens if you don't have policy around AI , specifically around including diversity , equity and inclusion in training those AI models ? You know , I mean , AI can be a powerful tool that helps us all , or it can just be yet another tool that upholds systemic problems and , and perpetuates more biases. So , you know , I just I admire the story and her technique there. That's what that is. That's technique. Mhm. Yeah.
S9: Yeah. Yeah. Using fiction as an avenue to talk about real world issues.
S1: Yeah absolutely. And looking ahead to do it.
S9: That was just such a joy to work on this year. And that was an episode I produced for Jazz Appreciation Month. That was back in April. It was just really fun to dive into the jazz scene in our region , and the show was filled with so much great music. We started off with legendary local singer Leonard Patton , who runs the Jazz Lounge , and Rolando , and at the end of the interview , we asked him if he would scat for us. Here's what happened.
S14: Softly ends in the morning sunrise. The life love comes stealing into a newborn baby. Blue , blue , blue dude flaming with all the glow of sunrise. A burning kiss is sealing the vow. That all betrays you. But you can do little it , little do.
S9: So I was just really excited about that moment. And you can just hear the warmth in his voice. There is warmth , warmth in the room when that happened. And , you know , in the pre-interview , I had asked Leonard if he would sing for us during the interview , and he said he'd think about it , depending on how he felt in the actual moment. So major props to you , Jade , for making him feel comfortable enough to perform for us. Um , and you know , at the end of that show , I have to give a big shout out to the saxophonist Reva , who came in and closed out the show with an in-studio performance , and it sounded great thanks to our technical producers , Ben Red Lusk and Brandon Tufa. Let's listen to some of that now. Hey.
S15: Hey.
S1: All right. And now to play us out. You're listening to the studio version of These Days by Riva , and that'll do it for today's episode of midday. Rapt. Ashley , thank you so much for sharing your favorite stories with us.
S16: Thanks , Jade.
S1: And thank you for joining us today. If you missed anything , you can download KPBS Midday Edition on all podcast apps. Don't forget to watch Evening Edition tonight at five for in-depth reporting on San Diego issues. Also , you can always share your feedback or segment ideas at midday at KPBS or call us. The number is (619) 452-0228 I'm Jade Hindman. Happy holidays and make it a great day on purpose , everyone.
