The San Francisco Experience

Every year the Chamber sponsors a poll of San Franciscans regarding the health and vitality of our economy and well being of the City by the Bay. The results were unveiled last week at the City Beat breakfast. Mayor Lurie gave the Keynote address and CEO Rodney Fong presided. In today's podcast, Rodney discusses the poll results.

A majority of young adults believe that they will not be as well off as their parents. In other words, they are falling behind. And the economic data bears it out. The average age of first time homebuyers is 40. But in the 1980s it was 30. What can the average young man or woman do to build wealth ?

Venezuela went from being one of Latin America's wealthiest countries to an economic disaster. More than 7 million Venezuelans have fled the country . And despite having the largest proven oil reserves in the world, daily oil production stands at a measly 500,000 barrels per day. Meanwhile, Ex President Maduro sits in a NY jail awaiting trial as a narco terrorist.

The Great San Francisco Comeback is in full swing. And nowhere is the energy, drive and vision of The City that Knows How on display, than iconic Union Square. It's the heart and soul at the center of our Reimagining San Francisco, led by the Union Square Alliance.

Sir Keir Starmer's 18 month Premiership has been thrown into crisis as a result of Peter Mandelson's past associations with Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer appointed Mandelson UK Ambassador to Washington and then sacked him in September 2025. Can Starmer survive calls for his resignation ?

Author, essayist and literary critic, Bill Deresiewicz assembled a collection of forty essays written over a 30 year period. The themes include, Individuality vs. Networks, The Purpose of Education, Culture and Technology, Art and Criticism and Social Trends. The former Professor of English Literature at Yale University shares his opinions.

January 2026 saw a series of strategic foreign policy moves in Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, the Board of Peace which will continue to reverberate throughout 2026 and beyond.

As American Universities opened campuses in China and the Middle East in the early 2000s the wish was that our values of free speech and freedom would take root there. But increasingly their standards of censorship and authoritarianism seem to be pressuring our universities. How did this expansion go wrong ?

Set in South Africa, this thriller is the latest novel by acclaimed author Deon Meyer. He writes about life in post Apartheid South Africa featuring the detective team of Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido. Inspired by a high profile case of graft and corruption, a team of former South African Special Forces soldiers scheme to pull of a high stakes heist with Benny and Vaughn in hot pursuit.

The decline of America's middle class stems from stagnant wages, rising costs for essentials like housing, education and healthcare, technology shifts, globalization, increased income inequality and greater financial vulnerability. A New Deal to shore up the foundations of the Middle Class is long overdue.

Alex Bastian, the CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, has overseen a steady recovery of this sector from the depths of Covid shutdowns to robust financial performance. With the Super Bowl coming to the City and the Region next month and a surge in conventions and conferences coming to Moscone Center, demand for hotel rooms in 2026 is surging.

Aileen Teague is Assistant Professor at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, Department of International Affairs. She reviews the recent action by the Trump Administration to end Nicolas Maduro's presidency of Venezuela. What happens next ?

A six month voyage of discovery for a recently retired College Professor driving the PanAmerican Highway from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego. Discovering the fauna, flora and rich cultural tapestry of South America. But also a personal journey of self knowledge to lay the groundwork for the next chapter of life.

New economic cooperation plans take shape between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Trump Administration proposes an international roadway through southern Armenia linking Azerbaijan to its Western Exclave, bordering Turkey.

Saddleback Leather Co. manufactures high quality leather goods ranging from travel bags to belts and shoes. Located outside Fort Worth, Texas it is a family owned company with a unique mission and commitment to the highest quality.

Chris is Managing Partner with KPMG with responsibility for the Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest. In the interview Chris references two KPMG studies that are available to listeners :

KPMG's CEO Outlook Survey

KPMG's American Worker Survey

GPS was created 51years ago. It's ubiquity is due to a constellation of Geostationary Positioning Satellites (GPS). But any satellite signal can be jammed. Skyline's technology is not dependent on satellites and therefore cannot be jammed - a game changing technology.