For Inauguration week, Carmen Balber and Jamie Court discuss what consumers can expect from the new Biden administration on climate change including a just transition off fossil fuels, healthcare reforms like a public option and drug pricing reform, and stronger regulation of abuses by Big Banks and Big Tech.

Consumer Watchdog Podcast

What Can Consumers Expect From Biden?

Carmen Balber and Jamie Court discuss why Gov Newsom should withdraw his nomination of an opponent of patient safety reforms and former head of the doctors’ lobby to the Medical Board charged with overseeing patient safety, and the use of his pandemic emergency powers to delay public scrutiny of the appointment.

Newsom Uses Emergency Powers To Protect Politically Connected Doctors In Watchdog Role

As the pandemic reaches crisis levels and health care rationing becomes a real possibility in California hospitals, Consumer Watchdog’s Carmen Balber and Jerry Flanagan remind us of our right to care and laws that prevent discrimination in treatment based on age, race, disability, or pre-existing condition.

For Overstretched Hospitals, Civil Rights Laws Still Apply

Consumer Watchdog’s Carmen Balber and Harvey Rosenfield ring in the New Year with a conversation about big victories to protect homeowners’ access to insurance in 2020, new rules in 2021 to reward homeowners who take steps to protect their homes from wildfires, and the fight to protect Californians from insurers’ use of Big Data to impose arbitrary rate hikes.

Protecting Access to Home Insurance in 2021

2020 Brought a lot of changes to everyone, not all of them bad. Consumer Watchdog looks back at some of the big consumer victories in the past year….

This Year's Good News

Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court talks with an anonymous technologist and whistle blower about the dangers of Internet connected cars and what can be done to protect your car from hacking.

Insider Talks About Protecting Your Connected Car From Hacks

Carmen Balber sits down with Consumer Watchdog Attorney Ben Powell to discuss a win this week at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in a case enforcing protections under the Affordable Care Act. People with HIV can pursue a discrimination claim against CVS Caremark for requiring them to obtain their HIV medications by mail.

Mail Order RX is not for everyone

The shadow of the AIDS epidemic persists in 2020, even in medical care. Carmen Balber talks with Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Danny Sternberg about a lawsuit filed on World AIDS Day on behalf of an HIV positive patient who was denied medical care illegally because of his HIV status.

HIV AIDS Discrimination In 2020

Carmen Balber sits down with Kyle Ferrar of FracTracker Alliance who shot guerilla video footage at oil and gas sites in neighborhoods across California. See those visualizations of otherwise invisible toxic air emissions from leaking wells, and find out where they are in your neighborhood, at NewsomWellWatch.com

See the toxic oil emissions in your backyard

Carmen Balber and guest Charles Johnson, whose wife died in childbirth from medical negligence, air California Governor Gavin Newsom’s laundry over his un-masked, un-distanced, dinner party at the exclusive French Laundry with head lobbyists for the California Medical Association. All year families harmed by medical negligence have sought, but been denied, a meeting with the governor to discuss California’s 45-year-old limits on recovery in malpractice cases.

Gov Newsom: Give patients a seat at the table

What would you do if your car suddenly tells you it has been hacked? Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court talks with Evan King about Consumer Watchdog’s hack of a Tesla, as recorded on this video https://youtu.be/RgpmJ6OhPns . The group demonstrated that it could take over the screen of a Tesla with a box it built for $30 in order to show the dangers of wireless connections to the safety critical systems of cars.

Your Tesla Has Been Hacked!

California has passed the most consumer oriented privacy Iniative in America. Jamie Court talks with Prop 24 author Alistair McTaggart to discuss how California is shaping privacy protections for the country.

California Votes YES on Privacy

Roger McNamee, Activist, Musician and Author of Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe talks with Carmen Balber about how social media’s manipulative algorithms are imperiling free will and democracy, and how Prop 24 will rein them in

How Prop 24 helps vanquish data voodoo dolls

Carmen Balber is joined by Alex Nagy, California Director for Food & Water Watch, on the 5-year anniversary of the largest natural gas blowout in US history at SoCalGas’s Aliso Canyon storage facility. They discuss a week of action calling on Governor Newsom to meet his promise to members of the community and shut down the facility that is a clear and present danger to public health and California’s climate. Take action at http://fwaction.us/commemorate and www.alisostories.com

Governor Newsom: Shut Aliso Canyon Down!

Consumer Watchdog’s Jamie Court and Mike Mattoch discuss what Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the legislature can do to protect people from wildfires and being left without homeowners insurance to cover it.

What Can California Do To Ease the Pain From Wildfires?

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Consumer Watchdog Podcast

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