KQED's Forum

Americans are snacking more than ever before, a recent report found 95 percent of American adults eat at least a snack a day. It wasn’t always that way. Atlantic writer Ellen Cushing writes that until recently, “There were no elaborate treats after soccer practice, or snack trays on strollers, or tubes of yogurt. Energy bars were for athletes, not accountants. National parks did not have vending machines.” Snacks have become so ubiquitous and easy that some have abandoned main, sit-down meals all together. We’ll talk to experts about the dominance of snacking and how these in between meals impact our health. And we want to hear from you, how much do you snack? Guests: Ellen Cushing, staff writer, The Atlantic; author of recent article "Snacks Took Over American Life" Maya Feller, registered dietitian nutritionist; author of "Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World"; host of Slate's Well, Now Podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inspectors general have been called the most powerful public officials you’ve never heard of. They work inside federal agencies, exposing corruption and ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse. But they’re also vulnerable to removal at the whim of the president. Glenn Fine was the inspector general of the Department of Justice in the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations. He was also the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense from 2016 until 2020, when he was replaced by former President Trump as part of a series of firings that the Washington Post called a “slow-motion Friday night massacre.” We talk to Fine about the role inspectors general play in holding the federal government to account and why he thinks they need more protection. Fine’s new book is “Watchdogs.” Guests: Glenn Fine, inspector general, Department of Justice (2000-2011); acting inspector general, Department of Defense (2016-2020) - author, "Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayor London Breed is a lifelong resident of San Francisco, and her tenure as mayor has tracked the boom/bust cycle of the city. When she came to office in 2018, the city was enjoying a robust economy. In 2020, the pandemic emptied out downtown and put San Francisco on shaky footing from which it is still recovering. In her run for re-election, Breed contends that with another term she can lead San Francisco back to firmer ground. In the first of our interviews with the five major candidates in the San Francisco mayor’s race, we talk to Breed about her record, her campaign, and her hopes for the city. Guests: London Breed, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Latino voters in the U.S. overwhelmingly support Democratic causes and candidates. But in recent years, polls show that Latinos have been shifting to the right — and some even to the far right. In her new book “Defectors,” journalist Paola Ramos reveals the “quiet radicalization of Latinos [that] is taking place across the nation in plain sight.” Ramos traveled the country to talk to a range of right-leaning Latinos, including white supremacists and border vigilantes. She joins us to talk about the book, the importance of not viewing any community as a monolith, and what her reporting portends for the future of American politics. Guests: Paola Ramos, journalist and author. Her new book is "Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America." She is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The day many Bay Area baseball fans have dreaded for years is finally upon us: Thursday will be the final A’s game at the Oakland Coliseum. The team has had a historic 57-season run at the stadium leaving fans with decades of memories along with buckets of tears and rage. Next spring, they plan to play in a temporary home in Sacramento and eventually end up in Las Vegas. Team owners have talked about moving the A’s for nearly two decades and have disinvested in players and yet, many A’s fans stayed loyal. So, how are they feeling as the final goodbye looms? What will they miss most? Who will stick with the team after they move? We talk about the future of the A’s and what they have meant to Oakland and to you. Guests: Melissa Lockard, senior editor and staff writer, The Athletic; founder, the Oakland Clubhouse; a lifelong A's fan Pendarvis "Pen" Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts & Culture Andy Dolich, sports consultant for the Oakland A's from 1980 to 1994; co-author, "Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival" Kendrick Thompson, beer vendor at the Oakland Coliseum also known as "Ice Cold Kenny Bo" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We take a deep dive into Proposition 36 on California’s November ballot. The measure would impose harsher penalties on some theft and drug possession offenses by rolling back Proposition 47, approved by voters in 2014. More than 70% of likely voters say they support Prop 36, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California. We’ll look at why and hear from both sides of the campaign. Guests: Darrell Steinberg, mayor, Sacramento Jeff Reisig, district attorney of Yolo County Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 elections brought in a wave of progressive politicians from mayors to district attorneys. But many of those leaders were subjected to recalls or even ousted from office. In a piece for the New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof, who recently ran for governor of Oregon, offered this rejoinder to critics of liberals running cities struggling with rising crime and homelessness: “[T]he problem isn’t with liberalism. It’s with West Coast liberalism.” According to Kristof, in governance, progressives were valuing intentions over outcomes. As San Francisco prepares to elect its next mayor, and as Oakland decides whether to recall theirs, we launch a new Forum series examining progressive politics in our region. To kick off this series, we talk to experts about the state of progressive politics and hear from you: How do you feel about progressivism? What has it done right? What has it done wrong? Guests: Alicia John-Baptiste, president and CEO, SPUR Jessica Trounstine, centennial chair and professor of political science, Vanderbilt University; author, "Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities" and "Political Monopolies in American Cities: The Rise and Fall of Bosses and Reformers." Nithya Raman, urban planner, member of LA City Council, representing district 4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of movies are filmed in Los Angeles, but only a relative few give a leading role to the city itself. Yet a new series at Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive “considers a selection of films that foreground the history, architecture, and neighborhoods of Los Angeles.” The series includes mainstream picks like “Chinatown” and “La La Land”, but also under the radar gems like “Killer of Sheep,” a milestone in Black indie film, and the landmark Asian Pacific American feature “Hito Hata: Raise the Banner.” We’ll talk with film critics about those movies and more…and we want to hear from you…what’s your most essential LA movie? Guests: Elvis Mitchell, culture critic and historian; host of KCRW's The Treatment, an inside look at the creators of popular culture; director of the 2022 Netflix documentary "Is That Black Enough for You?!? Amy Nicholson, LA-based film critic; host of the podcast "Unspooled" May Hong HaDuong, director, UCLA Film & Television Archive; Film and Television Archive - which collaborated with BAMPFA on the "Cities and Cinema: Los Angeles series. The series runs through October 3 at BAMPFA in Berkeley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the surface, a ritual is simply an act that carries a special meaning. It can be as ordinary as saying a blessing before a meal or as elaborate as a three-day Indian wedding. Underneath the surface, rituals can be very powerful and add deep meaning to our lives. They may or may not be rooted in spirituality, but they have to be special. But our increasingly secular modern world is full of distractions that often pull people away from traditions and rites. We’ll talk about how rituals add meaning to our lives, how to practice them and we’ll hear from you, what are the rituals you have stuck with? Guests: Dr. Vanessa Calderón, physician, professional coach and resiliency expert. She also hosts "The Empowered Brain" podcast Ezra Bookman, a ritual designer, artist; facilitator and founder of Ritualist, a creative studio specializing in secular rituals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Americans in 2024 are taking on a ‘no-buy challenge,’ according to the Associated Press. They’re pledging for at least a year to purchase only essential items to curb impulse spending, reduce credit card debt or become more environmentally conscious. We hear from someone who’s taken on the challenge and the impact it’s had on her, and we explore why we’re tempted to overspend in the first place. Have you attempted a ‘no buy challenge?’ Guests: Adriana Morga, reporter covering financial literacy and personal finance, Associated Press Aparna Labroo, professor of marketing and consumer psychologist, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; co-editor of the Journal of Consumer Psychology Elysia Berman, creative director and content creator, @elysiaberman on TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s public schools will be required to restrict cell phone use on campuses by 2026, under a bill awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature. Many Bay Area schools have already banned, or limited, the use of phones during the school day. We’ll check in with teachers, administrators and students about what’s working, what’s not and whether limiting phones has helped kids concentrate in class. Guests: Diego Ochoa, superintendent, San Mateo-Foster City School District Maximus Simmons, junior at Oakland High School and a student director on the Oakland Unified School Board, Oakland High School Hasmig Minassian, 9th grade ethnic studies teacher, Berkeley High School Nico Fischer, junior, Santa Clara High School Yvonne Shiu, principal, San Mateo High School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to cooler weather, firefighters are making progress this week on three major Southern California wildfires. But the Airport, Line and Bridge fires have already burned through more than 100,000 acres, destroyed dozens of homes, and forced thousands to evacuate. And experts say California’s fire season could get worse before it gets better. We’ll get updates on the fires and hear about the latest research on the health effects of wildfire smoke, and what you can do to protect yourself. Guests: Madison Aument, reporter, KVCR Nick Shuler, Deputy Director, CALFIRE Amy MacPherson, Information Officer, California Air Resources Board Joan Casey, Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After California made it illegal for pet stores to sell puppies in 2019, a vast underground market developed supplied by breeders in the Midwest that ship truckloads of puppies here. A new Los Angeles Times investigation found that often those puppies had been born in mass breeding facilities where they were neglected and not given adequate medical care. Families, who paid thousands of dollars for pets they were told were bred locally, often ended up with sick animals. Over the course of 14 months, the Times investigated how these unscrupulous puppy supply chains operate, the lack of protections for dogs, and why abusive breeders and brokers face few consequences. We’ll talk with the reporters about their investigation and how you can avoid getting duped by unscrupulous sellers. Guests: Melody Gutierrez, investigative reporter, Los Angeles Times Alene Tchekmedyian, investigative reporter, Los Angeles Times Melanie Sadek, president, Valley Humane Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A tight race is on for control of the House of Representatives this fall, and California voters could play a pivotal role in the outcome. Republicans are seeking to defend seats in highly competitive races in the Central Valley and the Inland Empire while Democrats are focusing on protecting the seat held by Representative Katie Porter in Orange County. We preview the congressional races and hear what contests you’re keeping an eye on. Guests: Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political Breakdown Catie Edmondson, congressional correspondent, The New York Times Laura J Nelson, staff writer covering politics and campaign finances, LA Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marine biologist and climate activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, like the rest of us, has heard plenty of terrifying warnings about the dangers of failing to act on climate change. What she’s heard less is a question she says is not asked enough about our climate crisis: What if we get it right? That question is the title of her new book of interviews with innovators in the climate movement about what the world could be “if we charge ahead with the array of climate solutions we have at our fingertips.” We talk with Johnson about that future world and how we can get there. Guests: Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist, co-founder of think tank Urban Ocean Lab, author, What if we Get it Right? Visions of Climate Futures - co creator of the Blue New Deal, a road map for including the ocean in climate policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have a TV show you hate-watch? As streaming platforms and their algorithms collect more data on the types of shows we like to watch, they feed us shows that are so close to something we’ve loved in the past, but something about them is off. What starts as an earnest TV show tune-in becomes a show you can’t stop complaining about at happy hour. As New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson writes, “you can only hate-watch a show that you theoretically should have loved.” We’ll talk with Wilkinson about how a hate-watch is different from a guilty pleasure, why we participate in this weird cultural phenomenon, and we hear from you: What are you hate-watching? Guests: Alissa Wilkinson, movie critic, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most Americans are now acutely aware that we have a housing crisis, but Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas says that we have much less clarity about what’s causing it. “All too often,” she writes, “explanations center around identifying a villain: greedy developers, or private equity companies, or racist neighbors, or gentrifiers, or corrupt politicians.” All which may be true, she says, but they fail to identify the root cause, that housing decisions are made at the hyper local level, in a tangle of zoning boards, historical preservation committees and sparsely attended meetings, “where no one is watching and no one is accountable.” We talk to Demsas about her new collection of essays, “On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy” and why she thinks local governments are to blame for the housing shortage. Guests: Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer, Atlantic Magazine; author, On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voice actors and motion-capture artists in SAG-AFTRA have been striking against major video game companies since July to secure protections against the use of "digital replicas" created by artificial intelligence. The union is demanding greater transparency, consent requirements, and fair compensation for A.I. use. We'll talk to video game performers on how the strike is impacting them and what it means for the industry. Guests: Mandalit del Barco, correspondent, NPR Alberto Menache, motion capture specialist, co-founder of NPCx Sarah Elmaleh , voice artist, director, chair of SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Andi Norris, actor, stunt and movement performer, member of SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area is home to a surprising number of symphonies and philharmonic orchestras. They’re found not just in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, but Walnut Creek, Santa Rosa Berkeley and other smaller cities also manage to support orchestras. September ushers in the start of a new season for many of these groups. But sustaining local performing arts organizations and introducing new audiences to classical music remains a huge challenge. We check in with local orchestras about their upcoming performances and how you can support the arts. Guests: Donato Cabrera, music and artistic director, California Symphony Jessica Bejarano, founder and music director, San Francisco Philharmonic Kedrick Armstrong, music director and conductor, Oakland Symphony Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & Culture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans love big cars. But a new data analysis by the Economist finds the bigger the cars, the deadlier they are for pedestrians, for people driving smaller cars and for our roads and infrastructure. As the Economist’s Daniel Knowles writes, “for every life the heaviest 1% of SUVs or trucks saves in America, more than a dozen lives are lost in smaller vehicles.” Regulators are starting to consider ways car design could be safer for pedestrians and other drivers. But advocates say more needs to be done. As part of our In Transit series, we’ll take a closer look at the impact of big cars and hear from you: Do you love your big car? Why? Guests: Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; host of the podcast, Climate Break Daniel Knowles, Midwest correspondent, the Economist Angie Schmitt, journalist, author of "RIGHT OF WAY: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America", founder at 3MPH Planning and Consulting, focused on pedestrian safety Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, people felt good drinking a glass or two of red wine for the supposed health benefits, but last year the World Health Organization declared that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.” The debate over alcohol and health is happening as the federal government prepares to release new dietary and nutrition guidelines next year. We’ll talk to experts about whether light drinking is harmful and what we can expect from the new guidelines. And we want to hear from you, how much alcohol do you deem safe? Guests: Esther Mobley, senior wine critic, San Francisco Chronicle Dr. Gregory Marcus, cardiologist, electrophysiologist and professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco Adam Sherk, scientist, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria - He is also a researcher for the World Health Organization's Collaborating Centre for Alcohol and Public Health Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump take the stage Tuesday night for their first Presidential debate. The only debate on the books before November’s election, it’s being held in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Political analysts are watching for how the two challenge each other on the key issues of immigration, health care and the economy – as well as for the pair’s cadence and debate strategies. Mics will only be turned on for the candidate speaking; there will be no in-room audience. Thirty percent of Americans say the debate will inform their vote, according to a NPR-Marist poll released Tuesday morning. We’ll recap the major takeaways with KQED’s politics team and hear your reactions. Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political Breakdown Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Blecker spent three years as an infantryman in Vietnam, and the last four decades fighting for veterans as the executive director of the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares. In that role, Blecker has spearheaded efforts to help vets suffering from the psychic and physical wounds of war. He’s concentrated his work on issues that have plagued veterans including poverty, illnesses like Agent Orange or Gulf War Syndromes, homelessness and despair. Along the way, Blecker has earned praise as one of the country’s leading and most effective advocates for veterans. Nancy Pelosi, calls him an “American hero.” Blecker retires this year, and we talk to him about his life in service. Guests: Michael Blecker, Executive Director, Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit based in San Francisco and focused on supporting veterans Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During her first major interview since becoming the Democratic party nominee, Kamala Harris was asked by CNN if she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet. She replied, “I would,” and added, “I think it’s important to have people at the table and when some of the most important decisions are being made that have different views, different experiences.” In response, vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance told Fox News that former President Trump would appoint a Democrat to his cabinet if elected. While the U.S. hasn’t had an opposite-party cabinet member since the Obama Administration, there’s significant precedent for the practice. We’ll look at the history of presidents, from Lincoln to Obama, appointing cabinet members not from their party, what impact those appointments had and what’s possible in today’s politically polarized environment. Guests: Lindsay Chervinsky, presidential historian; executive director, George Washington Presidential Library - author, “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a difference a few months makes. June’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump made history, as Biden’s poor performance led to his withdrawal from the race. On Tuesday, his replacement, Kamala Harris, will debate Trump for the first, and perhaps only time. With polls showing a tightening race (the closest in 60 years, according to CNN), both campaigns are hoping this debate moves the needle. Harris is trying to define herself for the many voters who say they don’t know enough about who she is and where she stands. For his part, Trump has been claiming without evidence that the debate is “rigged” on Harris’ behalf. We’ll preview the debate and get the latest on the race, with less than two months before Election Day. Guests: James Fallows, contributing writer, The Atlantic - and author of the newsletter Breaking the News. He was chief White House speechwriter for Jimmy Carter Sabrina Siddiqui , White House Reporter, Wall Street Journal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve been hearing about women mobilizing to protect reproductive rights but so are an increasing number of men. In 2019 fewer than one in ten men said that abortion rights are a top voting issue; now the figure is 1 in 5, according to new polling. The group Men4Choice says it’s mobilizing men who were once “passively pro-choice” as many have come to witness their partners’ struggles to access reproductive care. Are you a man who’s concerned about abortion rights this election? Guests: Amanda Becker, Washington Correspondent, The 19th Oren Jacobson, co-founder and executive director, Men4Choice Carter Sherman, reproductive health and justice reporter, The Guardian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A truly landmark Supreme Court decision in 2020 resulted in the largest restoration of Native American tribal land in American history. More than half of the state of Oklahoma is now declared “Indian Country” after the court decision. In her book “By the Fire We Carry” journalist Rebecca Nagel, a member of the Cherokee Nation, traces the generations-long fight for sovereignty and the brutal history of tribal land removal that underpinned the decision. We’ll talk to Nagle about her own family’s complicated legacy in the struggle for justice and the implications of the Supreme Court decision. Guests: Rebecca Nagle, author, By the Fire We Carry, The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land, host of the podcast "This Land" - She's also an activist, writer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Juan Gabriel, one of Mexico’s most beloved composers and musicians, managed to achieve superstar status beginning in the 1970s and emerge as a queer icon at a time when homosexuality was taboo in Mexican society. In her new podcast, “My Divo” journalist Maria Garcia, creator of the popular “Anything for Selena” podcast, explores the legacy of Juan Gabriel and its connection to her own queer Mexican identity and family history. We’ll talk with Garcia about her podcast, uncovering a previously unknown chapter of JuanGa’s life and how his story helped her to come to terms with her own sexuality. Guests: Maria Garcia, executive editor, Futuro Studios; creator and host of the podcast series, “My Divo” about Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. She previously created and hosted the podcast "Anything for Selena." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A landmark Stanford Law School study of women incarcerated in California prisons finds the vast majority of those convicted of killing their partner experienced domestic abuse. We’ll talk with journalist and author Rachel Louise Snyder — who partnered with Stanford for the study — about the stories she heard, and why laws governing self-defense fail victims of intimate partner violence. Snyder’s new opinion piece in the New York Times is “When Do Women Have the Right to Kill in Self-Defense?” Guests: Rachel Louise Snyder, professor of literature and journalism, American University - contributing Opinion writer, The New York Times; author, “No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us" and “Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir" Debbie Mukamal, executive director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Stanford Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you go to a medical appointment or get admitted into the hospital, your doctor may be using ChatGPT to save time. Artificial intelligence is already helping medical professionals organize treatment plans, diagnose diseases, and discover new drugs. In the future, it could do even more. We’ll talk to doctors and experts about how AI is being used and its potential and pitfalls in healthcare. Guests: Dr. Bryant Lin, physician and professor, Stanford School of Medicine - He is also a primary care doctor with Stanford Internal Medicine<br /> Ilana Yurkiewicz, physician and professor at Stanford, author of "Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care" Dr. Jonathan Chen, physician and professor, Stanford School of Medicine Adam Yala, professor of Computational Precision Health, UC Berkeley and UCSF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump continues to cast doubt, without basis, on the fairness of the 2024 presidential election and has so far refused to say whether he will accept the certified results. Meanwhile, in Georgia, the Republican-controlled Elections Commission recently approved new rules allowing counties to delay certification of election results. All that’s had election integrity watchers warning that Trump and his allies are laying the groundwork to challenge the presidential election results if he loses. We look at efforts underway in key swing states to protect the electoral process from attempts to undermine it. Guests: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona-based Democracy reporter, The Washington Post Jessica Marsden, director of impact programs and counsel [leading teams focused on protecting free and fair elections], Protect Democracy Adrian Fontes, Secretary of State, Arizona Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris used “the Bay” when talking about where she grew up, rather than name-check Berkeley and its counterculture reputation. And she doesn’t always jump at the chance to call-out progressive San Francisco, where she first made her name in politics. But those omissions don’t seem to be dimming the local pride and excitement over the Oakland-born candidate’s historic nomination. We’ll look back at Harris’ Bay Area background and how it shaped her career, ideas and political identity. Guests: Lateefah Simon, BART Board member, Longtime friend and mentee of Kamala Harris Debbie Mesloh, former advisor and communications director, for Kamala Harris Carole Porter, childhood friend of Kamala Harris Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Stacey Johnson-Batiste, childhood friend of Kamala Harris, and author of "Friends from the Beginning: The Berkeley Village That Raised Kamala and Me" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are nearly 100,000 fewer private sector tech jobs in California than two years ago, according to a July report from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. We talk about what’s behind the trend and who’s been most affected by layoffs. And we’ll hear from you: whether you’re a veteran software engineer or new to the field, are you struggling to find a job in tech? Guests: Aki Ito, chief correspondent, Business Insider Sarah Bohn, Vice President and Director of the Economic Policy Center, Public Policy Institute of California Vivek Agarwal, Executive Coach, Coachieve - lecturer at San Jose State University Kyle Elliott, Tech Career and Interview coach, CaffeinatedKyle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The donut shop. The local diner. The vacant lot where kids gather to play. These are the kinds of unassuming places that can foster a sense of belonging, according to author, scholar and visual artist Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, In her new book, “The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places,” she argues that these often overlooked places do the essential work of forming communities. She spotlights residents making acute observations about the ordinary wonders in places such as Oakland’s Mosswood neighborhood. We talk about the book, and hear from you: Where would you take someone on a guided tour of your neighborhood? Email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at 415-553-3300. Guests: Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, author, "The Cities We Need:Essential Stories of Everyday Places", Bendiner-Viani is the co-founder of Buscada, an interdisciplinary art, design and social research studio. She is also the author of "Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York's Seward Park Urban Renewal Area." Marty Price, longtime resident of Oakland. Born and raised in Oakland and served as vice principal of Oakland Technical High School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 talk to 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.” Guests: Ann Powers, music critic and correspondent, NPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Michael Andor Brodeur, author, "Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle"; classical music critic, The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.” Guest: Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic; Dickerson won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on immigration; her new article is "“Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Guests: Lucia Knell, co-author, "Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity "; Knell is the vice president of the media company Upworthy. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Glamour and Vogue, among other publications. Gabriel Reilich, co-author, "Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity"; Reilich is the head of content and innovation at the media companies Good and Upworthy. He developed the Upworthy Instagram account which now has five million+ followers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.” Guests: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the House and U.S. Representative for California's 11th District (San Francisco); author, "The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman House Speaker" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk, KQED Cecilia Kang, tech reporter, The New York Times Shirin Ghaffary, AI reporter, Bloomberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Guests: Evan Friss, professor of history, James Madison University; author, "The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstores Brad Johnson, owner of East Bay Booksellers in Oakland Jhoanna Belfer, owner and head booknerd, Bel Canto Books in Long Beach Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Jill Tucker, K-12 Education Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Mark Sanchez, commissioner, San Francisco School Board of Education - San Francisco Unified School District Matt Wayne, superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: James Muldoon, Associate Professor, University of Essex - Research Associate at University of Oxford’s Internet Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Khalid Mustafa Medani, associate professor, McGill University - Medani is director of the Institute of Islamic Studies and Chair of the African Studies Program; his most recent article is "The Struggle for Sudan" Gabriele Steinhauser, Africa Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal - Steinhauser is based in Johannesburg, and reported from Sudan in June. Her most recent piece is titled "War Tears Apart Sudan's Capital City" Akshaya Kumar, director of crisis advocacy, Human Rights Watch Alaa Suliman, human and professional development officer, Sudanese Association of Northern California, which is based in Hayward, California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Smita Das, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Medicine; vice president of complex care and psychiatry, Lyra Health Gerard Sanacora, professor of psychiatry and director, Yale Depression Research Program at the Yale School of Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Andy Crosby, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, UC Riverside Thom Reilly, professor, Arizona State University; co-director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy Jessica Hill, reporter, Las Vegas Review Journal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Illia Ponomarenko, journalist and author, "I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv”; former defense and security reporter, The Kyiv Post; co-founder, The Kyiv Independent. He has covered the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict's beginning, as well as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022 Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University - and former U.S ambassador to Russia Greg Myre, national security correspondent, NPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guest: Xochitl Gonzalez, staff writer, The Atlantic; novelist, “To Save The World, My Mother Abandoned Me” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Guests: Elly Yu, senior reporter, LAist Daisy Nguyen, early childhood education and care reporter, KQED Hanna Melnick, senior policy advisor and director of early learning policy, Learning Policy Institute Blanca Torres, producer and reporter, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 convention and whether the party is embracing, or distancing itself, from Harris’ California roots and legacy. Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political Breakdown Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices