Public Insight Network: Share your story

New medical guidelines recommend women over 50 get mammogram screening for breast cancer every two years, reducing the annual screening that had been recommended for women over 40. The new guidelines are billed as reducing the risk of many screenings and the anxiety from false positive results. How will you change your screening schedule?

What is the one dish that signals that you're home for the holidays? When you're away from home for the holidays, what's the food you make to recreate the feeling and taste of home?

You served your country by joining the military, now you're a civilian. What story do you have about the ease or difficulty of veteran life? What could your country do better? What do we get right in the way we treat veterans?

There's a new chief in town -- Deputy Chief Charlie Beck is the choice to lead the Los Angeles Police Department into the next decade. Help KPCC cover this story by sharing what you know about Beck, the good, the bad and the in-between. Responses are confidential, but if you give permission, we'll post your comments on our website.

If you use medical marijuana, KPCC would like to hear about your experience getting a doctor's recommendation and going to a dispensary. Did you have an unexpected legal or health issue using medical marijuana? Responses are confidential, nothing shared here is aired or published without permission.

In advance of the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, KPCC is gathering personal stories and photos about life on both sides of the divided city during the Cold War. We're also interested in how the fall of the wall has affected you and your family.

Do you live in an area where mud and debris flows are a post-fire threat? You can help KPCC stay on top of this story by sharing your experience. How are you preparing your home or business? What are officials telling you about potential danger? What lessons have you learned from past mud flows or floods?

Some states are outlawing bans on outdoor clotheslines imposed by some private communities. How do you dry your clothes? Are clotheslines permitted where you live?

With nearly 300,000 people living behind bars in California, it's likely you know someone who has been an inmate, prison worker, or someone who does business with the local, county, state and federal lockups in our state.

Tell KPCC what you've experienced. What works, what doesn't and what needs changing? It's confidential, and our reporters may use your insights to shape future coverage of our jails and prisons.

What does gardening do for you and your neighborhood? What space have you found to cultivate veggies, herbs and better relationships in your community? Tell your garden stories and share photos, too. We'll add some to our special garden page.

A broken century-old water main is only the latest public structure to fail. And with the recession causing state and local tax revenues to fall, some planned fixes may be further delayed. What's crumbling in your part of California? Help KPCC build a map of the streets, bridges, water and sewer lines, and other taxpayer-supported assets that you see deteriorating. Send your photos, too.

Can school safety collide with individual rights? Are you subject to a daytime curfew? Ever gotten a truancy ticket or fine? How well do the school police protect your kids versus your campus? Responses are confidential.

Help KPCC tell the story of the financial crisis as it happened here in Southern California. Tell us how you've been helped or hurt, and what signs of recovery you see.

What blogs are part of your local media diet? Which are indipsensible, which clue you in to neighborhood news? If you're blogging, what's your topic and why do you blog?

There has been a sharp growth in the amount of money students are borrowing to pay for college, according to the U.S. Department of Education. What's your story? Are you borrowing more than you can afford to repay?

What are student loans doing to your future financial security? How do you decide if the degree you are buying with borrowed money is worth what it will cost to repay?

Fires are burning around Southern California. This is the place to share your photos or a story about how you and your family are responding.

The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into "shovel ready" projects to stimulate the economy. But will the money be wisely spent? What have you seen go right or wrong?

The Cash for Clunkers program is ending. Did you get a new car in this program? What was your experience?

What are you doing to keep from getting the H1N1 Influenza virus? What about your school or workplace?

When gas prices went sky high last year, more people turned to bicycles to cut the cost of commuting. In what ways is your bicycle helping or hurting your bottom line?

California is holding talks to decide how to protect ocean fish, mammals, birds and plants. What experiences shape your views on what to protect and what restrictions go too far?

If an authority figure stops and questions you solely because of your race, that's racial profiling. There are other types of profiling -- gender, religious, even class profiling. What experiences have you had that made you feel profiled?

Some workplaces are embracing social media, but others like the Department of Defense are putting a lid on how employees may use Facebook, Twitter and other sites. What's going on at your workplace?

Economic troubles can deeply stress our relationships, but they can also lead to greater teamwork and togetherness. Is the recession helping or hurting your love life or family ties?

Help KPCC sink its teeth into the topic of dental health care. Do you have dental insurance but find yourself still paying out-of-pocket? Are you addicted to teeth-whitening strips but refuse to floss? What about some of those cutting-edge new dental care techniques?

America is a land of immigrants, and some find it easier than others to assimilate. What's your assimilation story? If your family has been in the U.S. for a long time, what culture clash or assimilation stories have been handed down to you?

Have you ever been hit by a car, truck, bus or bike while walking in Southern California? Have you ever hit a pedestrian with your vehicle? What happened? What, if anything changed at the site of your collision to improve safety there?

Economists are saying the recession is ending, but what are you feeling at home, at work and in your neighborhood? Are you seeing signs of recovery? What will it take for you to regain confidence in the local economy?

The more you tell us about yourself, the better we can find you when a story or talk show needs your expertise, and the better we can match our future questions to your interests. What kind of work do you do? Where do you live? What are your hobbies and passions? Share it here.

The recession has caused the state to cut what it spends on public schools. At the same time, the number of charter schools is growing. What does all this mean to parents, students and those who teach and work in schools?

The U.S. role in Iraq is winding down but expanding in Afghanistan. How do those far-away wars make you richer or poorer? What's the economic impact of war on our lives here?

Buy, sell, hold or walk away? In an age of falling home values and underwater mortgages, what's your real estate strategy?

Are you a recent immigrant? Descended from immigrants? How does your own immigration saga, or that of your forebears influence how you view today's immigration debate?

Was yours one of the more than 6 million jobs that have disappeared from the U.S. economy since the recession began in late 2007? How are layoffs changing you, your family or your worklife?

What news would you like to hear on KPCC?

What are you doing, buying, learning or changing to get through this recession? What signs of recovery do you see?

California's new budget puts state employees on furloughs and enacts deep cuts in education, health care, and other important government services. How are you feeling these cuts in your own life?

Share your experiences with health insurance, good and bad, to help inform our reporting on this issue as Congress debates an overhaul in health care policy.