California Insider

“I’ve never seen a more insidious, inane, exploitive, and cruel plan put forth to the American public. You’re asking non-slave owners to pay people who were never slaves $5 million per black guy in S…

“Residents are seeing homeless in the alleys, [there’s] dumpster fires, they’re cooking drugs, cooking meth … Individuals are defecating, shooting up heroin … It’s a matter of will from the city.”

Siy…

“I’ve never believed in my wildest dreams that we would see it get this bad. These aren’t just people stealing property, it’s now getting very serious and escalating to violence.”

Siyamak sits down wi…

“The city has always been known for its progressive politics. But I liked that. I lived there until 2021—over 30 years. It’s become a place of such aggressive conformity. And if you don’t uphold what…

“It’s easy to ignore it when the numbers are small. But not only are the numbers getting bigger, but this cumulative effect is becoming more significant as well.”

Siyamak sits down with Jim Doti, an e…

“We’re not leading the way—we’re starting the way. And we’re letting other states lead the way. I consider Louisiana and Georgia to be our main competitors.”

Siyamak sits down with David Graves, Polit…

“During the eviction moratorium, to ask a tenant to pay rent could be viewed as harassment to the tenant.”

Siyamak sits down with Chris Moore, board member of the Bay Rental Housing Association. He sh…

“And now they’re boxed into a corner, because now they can’t quite get out of it. Because if they do, if they change how they’re dealing with these issues, they have to admit that they were wrong.”

Si…

“Most of us when we use these platforms, we don’t really think we could be the product. It was consciously designed that way. The end funnel isn’t funneling you just something to buy, but funneling y…

“I’ve been doing TV and radio for 40 years, mostly criticizing politicians. I know how brutal it is, I know how your enemies will dissect things that you’ve said and put the worst spin on it, or will…

“You think prison is bad—no … prison’s got structure … the streets. There’s what they call ‘rules of engagement.’ And if you don’t abide by the rules of engagement, you die.”

Siyamak sits down with La…

“Prisons are a breeding ground, to become institutionalized and to learn, basically, how to do more crime and become worse.”

Siyamak sits down with former California inmate, Alfred Lopez. Incarcerated…

“Gavin Newsom … has really pushed this notion that the big oil operators are gouging the consumers. People don’t know why things are happening, they’re just told they need to be angry.”

Siyamak Khorra…

“I was fired for what I believe, not what I did. This was absolutely not something I could have ever imagined … 13 allegations made against me.”

Siyamak sits down with Jessica Tapia, a former high sch…

“One of my clients, first-generation immigrants from Mexico, came here to have an experience of the American dream. And they find themselves living in an American nightmare, just because a tenant ref…

"When I came back to San Francisco, I started seeing things through a different lens, I started seeing it for what it really was. And I, it was really, like jarring to me." Siyamak sits down with Ric…

Siyamak sits down with Anthony Kaveh an anesthesiologist in the San Francisco Bay area.

"But the body opens up in ways that give us a privileged look into the life of the patient. And things come up …

“It was so nice before. It’s really all those things that you pictured in the movies and pictures. It’s not that now, it’s nothing like that. It’s the complete actually opposite of that. And it’s ver…

“If you see somebody sleeping during the day, it might not be because they’re lazy. It might be because they feel like they had to be up all night for their own safety.”

Siyamak sits down with Brett F…