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Forum is a live public affairs program broadcast in the San Francisco Bay Area, throughout Northern California, and nationally on Sirius satellite radio. This award-winning program presents balanced discussions of local, state, national, and international issues as well as in-depth interviews with leading figures in politics, science, entertainment, and the arts.

31/08/2024

When Ann Powers began to draft her expansive new biography of Laurel Canyon music legend Joni Mitchell, she says that “certain subjects emerged: childhood as an imaginary terrain where singer-songwriters could express their ideals and idiosyncrasies; sadness as a complicated form of women’s liberation; side roads and retreats as the secret sources of an artist’s strengths. And traveling, always traveling.”

Powers’ book charts Mitchell’s influences, collaborators and milieu, weaving in reflections on the broader politics and trends of each decade during Mitchell’s career. It grapples with the sexism of Laurel Canyon’s heyday and Mitchell being labeled a “confessional” artist, as well as Mitchell’s own complicated relationship with feminism and with being the only woman at the table.

We listen back to our conversation with Powers about Joni Mitchell’s life and art and hear how Mitchell has affected you. Powers’ new book is “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.”

📸: Photo courtesy of Ann Powers

31/08/2024

Michael Andor Broudeur is a classical music critic for the Washington Post and he’s also a self-described “meathead” with an relentless desire to make his body bigger.

In his book “Swole: The Making of Man and the Meaning of Muscle” Broudeur grapples with the contradictions and complexities of male body image and masculinity. He embraces the gay male gym culture he’s a part of but writes that it would be silly “to try and distance the symbol of the buff male bod from its long and wide lineage of unsavory cultural signifiers.

As a mascot for classical beauty, the meathead must also embody white supremacy, hetero-patriarchy, and a vast panoply of nationalisms.” We listen back to our June conversation with Brodeur about how weight training has shifted his perspective on what it means to be a man.

📸: Photos courtesy of Michael Andor Brodeur

30/08/2024

The Darién Gap, the perilous mountain region connecting Central and South America, was thought for centuries to be all but impossible to cross. But now, hundreds of thousands of migrants are doing just that to reach the U.S.

Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration reporter Caitlin Dickerson took three trips to the Darién Gap over five months, following groups of migrants on their 70-mile trek from northern Colombia into southern Panama. They risked hunger, thirst, drowning, disease, violence, sexual assault and death.

We talk to Dickerson about what she witnessed and what she calls the “flawed logic” of U.S. immigration policy – “that by making migration harder, we can limit the number of people who attempt it.” Her new article in the Atlantic is “Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.”

📸: Lynsey Addario for The Atlantic

29/08/2024

The son who traveled 2,500 miles to save his parents’ dog. The stranger who picked up the tab for a girl who was trying to buy a prom dress at Goodwill. The airport janitor who stopped to feed and comfort a stranded passenger.

These are some of the small and big acts of kindness website Upworthy compiled into a new book, “Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity.”

We’ll talk to the editors and hear from you: What is a memorable act of kindness you have received or given? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 415-553-3300.

📸: Courtesy of Lucia Knell & Gabriel Reilich

29/08/2024

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi says that she’s won nearly all the legislative battles that she started — and she characterizes those she hasn’t won simply as “not yet achieved.”

Pelosi has exerted her powers of persuasion and negotiation for 37 years as San Francisco’s congressional representative, pushing forward the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act and leveraging behind-the-scenes influence in both Congress and the White House.

We talk to Pelosi about the people and principles that motivate her and why she says managing differences in her caucus is like being “a weaver at the loom.” Pelosi’s new memoir is “The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House.”

❓What would you like to ask Nancy Pelosi?

📸: Martin do Nascimento

29/08/2024

California lawmakers approved a landmark bill regulating artificial intelligence on Wednesday. SB 1047, co-authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), aims to curb potential dangers of AI such as misinformation, cyberattacks and the creation of novel biological weapons.

It would mandate safety testing for advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million dollars, allow a kill switch for ones that go awry, and add protections for whistleblowers.

We’ll talk about how the bill, if signed into law by Governor Newsom, could impact the future of AI in California and across the nation.

❓How should AI be regulated?

📸: Dragon Claws via Getty Images

28/08/2024

The smell of ink on paper. The handwritten staff recommendations. The plan to only buy one book, and the inevitable exit with five. Visiting a brick-and-mortar bookstore is not just a serotonin-releasing individual experience.

Bookstores build community among the aspiring writer employee, the bookworm regular and everyone else who has “an attachment to the store and the store to them.” That’s according to Evan Friss, author of “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore.”

We’ll talk with Friss and with some California bookshop owners about the communities they serve, and we’ll hear from you: What’s your favorite bookstore? Why?

📸: Beth LaBerge

28/08/2024

As a new school year kicks off, San Francisco Unified School District faces several big challenges including pending school closures set to be announced later this month. The district, with a budget of $1.3 billion for this fiscal year, has been overspending for years as enrollment has declined.

With its financial reserves running dry, district leaders and school board members have to wrangle in spending to close a $420 million deficit or confront a state takeover.

We’ll talk to SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne and other experts about the district’s financial problems, what could happen next, and take your questions.

❓What are your thoughts on SFUSD’s plans to close schools to help balance their budget?

📸: Beth LaBerge

26/08/2024

Tech companies often portray their AI products as self-sufficient systems that learn from large datasets. However, AI development in reality relies heavily on a global workforce of undervalued workers, including data annotators, content moderators and machine learning engineers, who endure long hours for low pay while performing repetitive tasks.

A new book, “Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labor Powering A.I.”, exposes the harsh conditions these workers face and the human labor essential to AI’s growth.

We talk with one of the book’s authors, James Muldoon, to learn more and how we can better protect the rights of low-wage AI workers.

❓What are your questions about the human labor behind A.I.?

📸: Moor Studio via Getty Images

26/08/2024

The crisis in Sudan, now in its second year, has been called the “Forgotten War.” While in the early 2000s, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, a region of Sudan, attracted the attention of politicians, journalists and celebrities, the current conflict – which pits two military factions against each other and the civilian population – rarely makes the front page.

But the crisis in Sudan is acute: Since the war began, 150,000 people have been killed, 10 million more displaced,women and girls have been subjected to systemic sexual violence rooted in ethnic cleansing, and now, the nation is on the brink of a manmade famine that threatens to cause a “catastrophic level of hunger.”

We’ll talk to experts about the war and efforts to stem the humanitarian crisis.

❓What are your questions about Sudan’s civil war?

📸: Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

24/08/2024

Ketamine is perhaps best known as a party drug, and it has long been used in hospitals as an anesthetic. In recent years, it has also been touted as a promising, experimental psychiatric treatment.

But when Friends actor Matthew Perry overdosed on ketamine last year, it exposed a network of unregulated clinics and unscrupulous doctors distributing the drug for off-label uses.

In this hour, we’ll talk with experts about what we know — so far — about ketamine’s efficacy and safety.

❓Have you had an experience with ketamine? Tell us about it.

📸: Sai Aung Main/AFP via Getty Images

23/08/2024

California’s neighbors, Arizona and Nevada, stand out as pivotal swing states in this year’s presidential election, each with a large bloc of independent voters.

Arizona’s shifting demographics and growing urban centers like Phoenix and Tucson, and Nevada’s blend of urban and rural populations, particularly in Clark County, make both states critical battlegrounds for both parties.

We take a look at the key issues influencing voters in each state and examine the factors that might determine who secures those crucial electoral votes.

❓Which battleground state do you think will have the biggest impact on this year’s election? Why?

📸: Andrii Yalanskyi via iStock

23/08/2024

Ukraine has brought the war to Russia. Its incursion on Aug. 6 into the Kursk region marks the largest invasion of Russia since World War II. It also marks a shift in strategy for Ukraine and carries significant risks.

We’ll talk about what Ukraine’s incursion signals at this point in the war - and how Moscow and the US are responding - two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

❓Has your outlook on the war changed after this invasion?

📸: Kirill Chubotin/Ukrinform Future Publishing via Getty Images

22/08/2024

Novelist and Atlantic staff writer Xochitl Gonzalez joins us to talk about her recent essay, a personal history about growing up with a mother who was largely absent from her life.

Her mother, Andrea Gonzalez, joined the Socialist Workers Party as a young woman from Brooklyn, and devoted decades of her life to the cause and running for various political offices including vice president of the United States. As a child Gonzalez admired her mother, “My mother hadn’t ditched me; she was working to save the world from the ravages of capitalism,” she writes in her piece.

We’ll talk with Gonzalez about coming to terms with her absent mother and what happens when a parent chooses political activism over their child.

❓If your parent was an activist, how did that impact your upbringing?

📸: Mark Sagliocco/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

21/08/2024

California set an ambitious goal of making transitional kindergarten universal by fall of 2025.

TK was originally created for kids born in the fall who were too young to enroll in kindergarten. Now, state leaders want to make it accessible to any 4-year-old. That means adding a whole new grade to all of the state’s elementary schools within a five year period that started in 2021.

The rollout has come with a plethora of challenges from a shortage of classroom space to a lack of qualified teachers to logistical headaches for parents. We’ll look at how California’s $2.7 billion expansion of TK is going.

❓What has your experience been like enrolling your child in TK?

📸: Beth LaBerge/KQED

21/08/2024

On Thursday night the Bay Area’s own Kamala Harris will accept the nomination as the Democratic party’s presidential candidate after days of full throated embraces of her candidacy at the Democratic National Convention.

KQED’s politics team joins us from the convention in Chicago to analyze notable moments from the week and whether the party will be embracing, or distancing itself, from Harris’ California roots and legacy.

❓What stood out to you about this year’s DNC?

📸: Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

21/08/2024

The Paralympic Games open in Paris next week, showcasing the talent of elite athletes in 22 adaptive sports. Some, like Boccia and Goalball, are unique to the Paralympics while others, like sitting volleyball and wheelchair fencing, parallel Olympic events - with a twist.

We’ll check in with members of Team USA, learn more about the athletes and events to watch, and hear about efforts to expand adaptive sports in California as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 games.

And we hear from you: Are you a para-athlete? Tell us what you love about your sport.

📸: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

20/08/2024

What can we learn from professional risk-takers-poker players, hedge fund managers, crypto true believers and blue-chip art collectors- about how to navigate the uncertainty of the twenty-first century?

Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight, seeks to answer that question in his new book “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.” In Silver’s world view, risk takers are adept with details and planning, they are not motivated by money, they practice conscientious contrarianism, and they are all around us.

We talk to Silver about his book, his poker playing and what the polls tell us about the November elections.

❓What do you want to ask Nate Silver about the November election?

📸: Zach Weinersmith

20/08/2024

Stand-up comic and mathematician Matt Parker loves triangles, and he wants everyone to appreciate them. Triangles help us calculate distance, the arc of an NBA 3-pointer and a winning billiards shot. They help us plan cities, cut sandwiches optimally and tell us the angle of impact of the asteroid that wiped out Earth’s dinosaurs.

“Triangles are everything,” writes Parker, “and everything is triangles.”

We talk to Parker about the function - and beauty - of the triangle and his new book “Love Triangle: How Trigonometry Shapes the World.”

❓Do you live the three-sided shape? Why?

📸: Photos courtesy of Matt Parker

19/08/2024

Vice President Kamala Harris has released a set of proposals she says will make housing more affordable if she’s elected president in November. Her ideas include tax incentives to encourage more home construction, down payment assistance for homebuyers, and rules to make it harder for corporate investors to buy up single family houses.

We’ll examine the plan and how much of a role the country’s housing crisis could play in this fall’s election.

❓How is the high cost of housing influencing your voting decision this fall?

📸: Beth LaBerge/KQED

17/08/2024

The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday, capping a warp speed nomination process for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz.

We’ll preview the four-day event in Chicago, where democrats are expected to try to build on momentum that’s brought record contributions and favorable poll numbers.

❓What do you want to hear from the democratic party?

📸: Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

16/08/2024

The US Department of Justice is considering breaking up tech giant Google, according to media reports. That news comes after a court ruling earlier this month that the company, which controls 90 percent of the search engine market, violated antitrust laws.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his decision. But some experts think a breakup is unlikely, and Google says it will appeal.

We’ll talk about what the case could mean for consumers, the company, and the future of the internet.

❓Should the government break up Google?

📸: Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

16/08/2024

A squirrel in the street. Actors running in movies. A misplaced cup of tea. Naps. These topics are but a few that Atlantic staff writer James Parker has honored with an ode.

To Parker, an ode isn’t just untempered praise - a healthy dose of complaining is essential. We talk to Parker about his favorite odes and why he thinks composing them can help us appreciate our everyday surroundings, from the annoying to the mundane to the beautiful.

His new book is “Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes: Odes to Being Alive.” We want to hear from you: Have you ever written an ode? To whom or what?

📸: Photos courtesy of James Parker

15/08/2024

You are walking down a dark dungeon hallway lit by torches and covered in cobwebs. You hear ominous squelching sounds. Wait! It’s the GIBBERING MOUTHER. Do you pull out a sword or cast a spell?

If this is a scenario you have faced, it’s likely you have been playing Dungeons & Dragons, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

The goal of the tabletop game is not to win, but for players to immerse themselves in a fantasy world and go on a heroic adventure. In a time when video games and screen time have proliferated, D&D offers the opportunity to gather with friends in real life to play an immersive and collaborative game that is always changing.

We talk about D&D with expert dungeon masters and fans and hear from you: what draws you to D&D?

📸: Firn vi Getty Images

15/08/2024

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities can dismantle homeless encampments on sidewalks and other public places and make people move without running afoul of the constitution.

The ruling by the Republican-appointed majority was cheered by many Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom who issued an executive order calling on cities to remove the tents and the people living in them quickly.

Some have been eager to do so, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed - who is facing tough competition in her run for reelection. Other cities have taken a slower approach.

We’ll discuss the impact the Supreme Court ruling is having in California, and why top Democrats disagree over the best course of

❓How do you think California cities should be approaching homelessness?

📸: Jason Armond via Getty Images

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14/08/2024

Amid the Bay Area’s dire need for more housing, California Forever has set out a bold vision for a new city in east Solano County on 17,500 acres of mostly farmland. But the company, backed by various Silicon Valley billionaires, has so far struggled to garner enough local support.

In July, California Forever scrapped plans to ask for voter approval for the project on this November’s ballot, but said it plans to try again in 2026. Many county officials and nearby residents oppose the project, while others want more information about how it would impact their communities.

We’ll talk about the state of California Forever’s plans and what could happen next.

❓What are your questions about the California Forever proposal?

📸: Charles Harker via Getty Images

14/08/2024

If you are a fan of kimchee like your grandmother made or are looking for the freshest curry leaf, you’re probably well-acquainted with stores like H Mart, Patel Brothers, and 99 Ranch. These outlets go beyond the international food sections that you’ll find in conventional chains like Safeway and Whole Foods.

Instead they offer aisle upon aisle of products that signify home to the Asian diaspora in the United States. And as these stores expand in size and volume, they are redefining American palates.

We’ll explore what chains like these these mean to their customers, the impact they are having on mom and pop stores, and how they are changing how we eat and cook.

📸: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

12/08/2024

More adults are now relying on their parents for financial support, career advice and emotional regulation well into their 30s - challenging the notion that a parent is only responsible for their child until age 18.

One poll found that about 45% of adults under 30 are living with their parents - “the most common living arrangement for that age group for the first time since just after the Great Depression,” writes Atlantic staff writer Faith Hill. In the past this may have been considered a “failure to launch,” but as families reckon with changing economic realities and delayed maturity milestones, they report benefits from their increased closeness compared with prior generations.”

Is your relationship with your adult child, or children, different from the one you had with your parents?

📸: Drazen Zigic via iStock

12/08/2024

As the A’s wrap up their final season in Oakland, the future of the Coliseum - the team’s home for 56 years- may finally be coming into focus.

The African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), a local Black-led development company, is set to purchase the site from the A’s and the City of Oakland for over two hundred million dollars. The final signing of those deals, supporters say, will help Oakland balance a tight budget and provide economic opportunities for East Oakland. AASEG plans to fill the complex with housing, sports, entertainment, and retail projects.

We’ll talk with one of the developers and others about what’s next for the site.

❓What are your questions about the future of the Coliseum?

📸: Kirby Lee via Getty Images

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A ✨highlight✨ of last week: Arlene in Berkeley’s crow management technique. —————————————— To listen to our full show on the city of Sunnyvale’s war with the thousands of crows that invaded its downtown, click the link in our bio or stream the episode wherever you get your podcasts. 🐦

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