KQED's Forum

For as long as rock climbing has existed, women have been pushing the limits on the wall. And they’ve done so without being properly recognized. But in the last decades, female climbing spaces have become more commonplace, helping climbers reach their full potential and demonstrating that climbing, unlike most popular sports, allows both women and men to perform at the same levels. Forum talks with female climbers about the gender neutrality of the sport, its physical and mental demands, and how more female climbers are closing the gender gap. Guests: Cloe Coscoy, climber, USA National Team Jessie Conrad, lead route setter, Bridges Climbing Gym Emily Taylor, founder and director, TayloredFit Solutions and Brown Girls Climbing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 16 million Americans – or about 1 in 20 U.S. adults – own at least one AR-15, making it the best-selling rifle in the United States. It’s also among the most lethal: ten of the 17 deadliest U.S. mass shootings in the last decade have involved AR-15s, according to “American Icon,” a new investigation by the Washington Post. We talk about why the AR-15, originally designed as a lightweight combat weapon, has risen to mass market dominance over the last two decades and why it’s remained free from congressional scrutiny. Guests: Mark Follman, national affairs editor, Mother Jones; author, "Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America" Peter Wallsten, senior national investigations editor, Washington Post Silvia Foster-Frau, multiculturalism reporter, Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With rising inflation, downtowns that are yet to fully reopen and regional bank failures, it may seem that there is not a lot of good economic news to report right now. But according to Katherine S. Newman and Elisabeth S. Jacobs, the authors of a new book, “Moving the Needle,” there is a major economic success story in the tight labor markets of recent years which helped bring the truly disadvantaged out of poverty. Newman and Jacobs say that low unemployment has not only increased wages, it has also changed employers’ minds about hiring the formerly incarcerated, the value of a minimum wage, and the importance of flexible schedules. We’ll talk about how the policies applied during periods of low unemployment can make a difference when economic times get tough. Guests: Katherine S. Newman, provost and executive vice president, Academic Affairs, University of California; co-author, "Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor" Elisabeth S. Jacobs, senior fellow, Urban Institute Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population; co-author, " Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, spanning what is now Kings, Tulare and Kern Counties before it was drained a century ago, Tulare Lake is on the verge of returning. Swelled by recent storms, it has inundated farmland, threatened cities, forced evacuations, disrupted livelihoods and reignited long-standing water wars. With record snow in the Sierra Nevada yet to run off, there’s more water coming. We’ll talk about what the re-emergence of Tulare Lake means for the region and the state. Guests: Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water Resources Lois Henry, editor and CEO, SJV Water - an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley Doug Verboon, district 3 supervisor, Kings County Board of Supervisors Kayode Kadara, community leader, Allensworth - in southwest Tulare County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Residents of Martinez woke up the morning after Thanksgiving last year to find a white powder coating their neighborhoods. About a week later, county health officials announced it was a toxic release from Martinez Refining Co. and, after another several weeks, residents were told not to eat any food grown in their soil. Now, on Wednesday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will present the Martinez City council with its report on where the two tons of “spent catalyst” landed. Forum talks with residents and officials about their quest to get answers and accountability, and the uneasy relationship between the area’s refineries and the neighbors who share their air. Guests: Heidi Taylor, resident of Martinez Charles Davidson, Sunflower Alliance Matt Kaufmann, deputy director, Contra Costa Health Services Ori Tzvieli, health officer, Contra Costa County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“In Indian Country, everybody seems to know somebody who’s gone missing or been murdered,” begins LA Times reporter Hannah Wiley’s reporting on the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in California. The Sovereign Bodies Institute reports that at least 183 indigenous women and girls have disappeared or were murdered in California, a figure it says could be many times higher owing to incomplete data. Their disappearances are part of the legacy of anti-Indigenous violence, experts say, and perpetuate cycles of generational trauma. We hear how Northern California’s Yurok Tribe is addressing the crisis and trying to achieve justice for those who have disappeared in their own community and nationwide. Guests: Hannah Wiley, politics reporter, Los Angeles Times Honorable Abby Abinanti, chief judge, the Yurok Tribal Court Blythe K. George, associate professor of sociology, UC Merced; member of the Yurok Tribe Chief Greg O'Rourke, chief of police, Yurok Tribal Police Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When he was named San Francisco Poet Laureate in 2021, Tongo Eisen Martin said, “I want to push even further into places where poetry has not yet permeated.” He’s taken poetry to youth in homeless shelters, group homes and psych wards. Using poetry as a means to bring power, beauty and truth to more people is a goal that unites several poets and poet laureates joining Forum to mark the beginning of National Poetry Month. Forum wants to celebrate your favorite contemporary poets and find out how poetry shows up in your life. Join us for a conversation with poets about poetry. Guests: Tongo Eisen-Martin , San Francisco Poet Laureate Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Artistic Director, The Lower Bottom Playaz - artist, activist and Poet Laureate of Oakland Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, poet and author of the poetry collection, "Cenzontle" and the memoir, "Children of the Land" Leticia del Toro, poet and educator - recently released the collection of poems, “All We Are Told Not to Touch” Lee Herrick , Poet Laureate of California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America gradually becomes a cashless society, credit card rewards programs have become increasingly popular, offering to give consumers back a portion of what they spend in the form of points to be used on flights or hotel stays, or cash back. To pay for these rewards, credit card companies have raised the fees they charge merchants for every credit card transaction, and merchants in turn pass that increased cost onto customers by raising prices. These higher prices impact all consumers, but only those with credit cards, on average wealthier than those without, enjoy the resulting benefits. We talk about this system where those without credit cards foot the bill for the rest. Guests: Chenzi Xu, assistant professor of finance, Stanford Graduate School of Business Aaron Klein, chair and senior fellow in economic studies, Brookings Institution; former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy, the Department of Treasury (2009-2012) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Quentin is the oldest and most notorious prison in California. It’s home to the largest death row in the nation, housing infamous criminals including Charles Manson. But Governor Gavin Newsom has a new vision for the institution, renamed the “San Quentin Rehabilitation Center”. Under his plan the nearly 550 condemned inmates would move to other maximum security facilities in the state. With a proposed initial infusion of $20 million San Quentin would aim to increase its rehabilitation programming 10 fold and incorporate methods used in Scandinavian countries to normalize life, emphasize support over punishment and prepare inmates for their eventual return to society. Forum talks about the governor’s transformative vision and the challenges in making it happen. Guests: Anita Chabria, columnist, Los Angeles Times Tinisch Hollins, executive director, Californians for Safety and Justice; co-founder, SF Black Wall Street; Vice Chair, SF African-Americans Reparations Advisory Committee Thanh Tran, policy associate, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Manhattan grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump on charges believed to be related to illegal payments his team made to porn star Stormy Daniels to stay silent about her alleged affair with the then-president. This is the first time in U.S. history a former president has been charged with a crime. We'll analyze the latest and hear your reactions. Guests: Josh Meyer, domestic security correspondent, USA Today Mike Madrid, co-founder, The Lincoln Project - a group of Republicans seeking to prevent the re-election of President Donald Trump; political consultant and partner, GrassrootsLab Congressman Adam Schiff, Democratic Congressman, representing California's 28th District, in Los Angeles County; former chair, House Intelligence Committee and member of the select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection; author, "Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Laurel Braitman’s father died, after more than a decade at battle with a rare bone cancer, she was a teenager, just finishing up high school. It wasn’t until about two decades later, when she was 36, that she found herself asking if could join a grief group for kids. She ended up volunteering as one of the grief counselors, launching a wide and varied quest to understand, and heal, from the trauma of her father’s death that she chronicles in her memoir, “What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love”. Guests: Laurel Braitman, author, "What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love," and NYT bestseller, "Animal Madness;" director of writing and storytelling, Stanford School of Medicine's Medicine and the Muse Program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.S. lawmakers are debating a series of proposals that would ban the deeply popular video app TikTok or otherwise curtail its reach, a week after a House panel grilled TikTok CEO Shou Chew about the platform’s perceived threat to national security and ties to the Chinese government. An outright ban would represent “uncharted territory” for the U.S. government, according to former national security official and cybersecurity expert Timothy Edgar. We talk to Edgar and New York Times reporter Sapna Maheshwari about whether Congress can legally – or practically – outlaw TikTok and how the platform's defenders are responding. Guests: Sapna Maheshwari, business reporter covering TikTok and emerging media, New York Times Timothy Edgar, senior fellow in international and public affairs and professor of the practice of computer science, Brown University. He's also a former national security official under President Obama and author of "Beyond Snowden: Privacy, Mass Surveillance and the Struggle to Reform the NSA" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has laid out ambitious goals of becoming carbon neutral by 2045. That means not just limiting emissions, but also removing about 100 million tons of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. It’s not easy to extract and contain carbon once it’s emitted, but a small crop of Bay Area startups are working on technologies to do just that. Some companies use giant machines to pull carbon out of the air while others sequester it into a liquid that can be buried deep beneath the earth’s surface. There are many approaches to carbon removal, but also many questions: who will pay for it, how will the carbon be stored, how can companies scale up? For this next installment of Climate Fix, our monthly series on climate change solutions, we’ll talk about the promises – and challenges – of the burgeoning carbon removal industry. Guests: Josh Santos, co-founder/CEO, Noya. Noya focuses on direct air capture to pull excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere Dan Ress, staff attorney, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. CRPE is a national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical assistance to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color. Danny Cullenward, climate economist and lawyer focused on the design and implementation of scientifically grounded climate policy Laura Klivans, news and science reporter, KQED Noah McQueen, co-founder and head of research, Heirloom. Heirloom is a carbon capture technology company Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In San Francisco, self-driving taxis with no human operator are accelerating around city streets day and night. Google-owned Waymo expanded to L.A. last month, and General Motors’s Cruise has applied to widen its testing to cities across California. There’s a magic to seeing a steering wheel turn on its own, and many in the transit world are excited about the benefits autonomous vehicles could bring. But truck and taxi drivers have concerns. We’ll learn about the latest self-driving technology, how it’s being legislated and what will drive its future. Guests: Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; podcast host, Climate Break Christopher Beale, studio engineer, producer and reporter, KQED - reported for Bay Curious a piece, "You're Not Imagining It: There Are More Driverless Cars in SF Now" Trish Blinstrub, political director, Teamsters Joint Council 7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During Ramadan, observant Muslims who are able to fast from sunrise to sunset, eating and drinking nothing. It is not a surprise then that food takes on a special, and often celebratory, meaning during this month-long spiritual reset. And in the Bay Area, the food prepared during Ramadan, whether it’s suhoor, the pre-sunrise meal before the fast begins or iftar, the meal eaten to break the fast, reflects the diversity of the Muslim diaspora itself. On the next “All You Can Eat,” our series on Bay Area food cultures, we’ll talk with restaurateurs about how they mark this time, how they break fast, and what it’s like to keep your restaurant open until the early morning hours for a meal that goes from dusk to dawn. What is your Ramadan tradition and how does the holiday change your relationship with food? Guests: Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & Culture Reem Assil, chef, Reem's California; author, "Arabiyya: Recipes From the Life of An Arab in Diaspora" Hisham Abdelfattah, founder and owner, El Halal Amigos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The egg, writes Lizzie Stark, is a "universe in a shell." It’s an ingenious piece of tech that contains everything a developing embryo needs, and it’s a symbol of the cosmos in creation myths across cultures. It’s been a tool of political protests, the target of wildlife poachers and the center of a Gold Rush-era territorial war on the Farallon Islands. It’s also inspired painters, conceptual artists and countless cooks. We talk to Stark about her new ode to the ovoid “Egg: A Dozen Ovatures.” Guests: Lizzie Stark, author, "Egg: A Dozen Ovatures" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, workers at the Starbucks at Embarcadero Cove in Oakland were among the latest in the Bay Area to try forming a union at their store. They join workers at close to 300 Starbucks locations nationwide who have petitioned or voted to form unions since December of 2021 when a store in Buffalo New York successfully formed Starbucks Workers United. Workers in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley and Oakland Starbucks have attempted to form unions with varying degrees of success. Starbucks, with more than 3,000 stores nationwide, has refused to negotiate contracts with unionized stores and has closed some of the branches where workers voted to unionize. The organizing efforts are part of a wave of unionization in various industries across the country. We’ll talk about what Starbucks workers are hoping to achieve and how the company has reacted to unionization. Guests: Harley Shaiken, professor specializing in labor issues, UC Berkeley Renata Geraldo, journalist covering Starbucks, The Seattle Times Naomi Martinez, works at a Starbucks in Phoenix that voted to unionize in May of 2022 Greg Zajac, works at the Starbucks store at 18th and Castro, San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ari Shapiro has been the host of NPR's "All Things Considered" since 2015 and has reported from all over the world, including Iraq, Ukraine and Israel. His journalism has won him many accolades, including two Edward R. Murrow awards – one for his reporting on Breonna Taylor and another for his coverage of asylum policies on the US-Mexico border. On top of that, he’s a singer and member of the band Pink Martini. We’ll talk to Shapiro about how his life and work intertwine and explore his new memoir "The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening." Guests: Ari Shapiro, host, NPR's All Things Considered; author, "The Best Strangers in the World: Stories From a Life Spent Listening" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The statistics on poverty in the U.S. are shocking and shameful: one in 9 Americans lives in poverty and one in 18 lives in “deep” poverty, defined in 2020 as annual income below roughly $13,000 for a family of four. More than a million public schoolchildren are homeless; more than 2 million Americans live in homes without running water or toilets. In his new book, "Poverty, by America", Matthew Desmond, who won a Pulitzer for his searing book on eviction, strives to figure out why there is so much poverty in the richest nation in the world — and what can be done to eliminate it. The responsibility, he writes, is all of ours: beyond policies and political movements, “it will also require that each of us, in our own way, become poverty abolitionists, unwinding ourselves from our neighbors’ deprivation and refusing to live as unwitting enemies of the poor.” Desmond joins Forum to tell us how. Related link: The Eviction Lab Guests: Matthew Desmond, professor of sociology and director of The Eviction Lab, Princeton University; author, "Poverty, by America," and Pulitzer Prize winner "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meditation apps, expensive spa retreats and other staples of the self-care industry claim to offer relief from the ongoing stress of work and family obligations so many of us feel. But they fall short, according to psychiatrist and women’s mental health specialist Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, because they do nothing to address underlying causes. In her new book “Real Self Care,” Lakshmin says that authentic self-care lies in agency, which she says means setting boundaries and choosing our paths forward — so we can help others have the agency to choose theirs. We’ll talk about what meaningful self-care actually looks like, how to take actionable steps and how to challenge systemic barriers to wellness. Guests: Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, psychiatrist; author, "Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included)" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When people refer to “the one that got away,” they are usually talking about a romantic partner. For Alisha Fernandez Miranda, that phrase applied to a list of jobs and dreams she never pursued. As she reached her late 30s she found herself feeling stuck, burnt out and unhappy even though she seemingly had it all –a thriving family, CEO position, and lots of activities she loved. She gave herself a year to put her existing life on hold and try out new careers through a series of internships. She chronicled her experience in her new book, "My What If Year." She joins us to talk about giving yourself permission to explore and what happens when you risk blowing up your life. Guests: Alisha Fernandez Miranda, author, "My What If Year" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Saturday a 10-year partnership with nonprofit drug company Civica Rx to manufacture the state’s own supply of insulin. Part of the state’s new CalRx program, the move is only the first step in California’s ambitious plan to produce more affordable generic prescription drugs — like overdose reversal medication naloxone — and make them available on the national market. We’ll talk about CalRx and how it could help address the nation’s drug affordability crisis. Guests: Angela Hart, senior correspondent covering health care politics and policy in California and the West, Kaiser Health News and California Healthline Kevin Wren, patient advocate and volunteer, California #insulin4all Robin Feldman, professor of law and Director of the Center for Innovation, UC Law; author of “Drugs, Money, and Secret Handshakes: The Unstoppable Growth of Prescription Drug Prices” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might be hard to visualize at the moment, but not long ago we were in a severe water emergency. Marin county asked for 40% cuts in usage and planned for an emergency pipeline to bring in water from the East Bay over the Richmond bridge. Now, many reservoirs are overflowing and water managers are releasing water to avoid floods when the massive Sierra snowpack melts. Forum talks with water managers from three Bay Area districts about how their systems are handling the whiplash. How much of this water are they able to store? How does moving from too dry to too wet change the way they manage their systems? And what are they asking of customers? As we look toward a future of more extreme weather, we talk about how the Bay Area’s waterworks will have to adjust. Guests: Aaron Baker, chief operating officer, Water Utility Division, Valley Water Ben Horenstein, general manager, Marin Municipal Water District Mike Tognolini, director of water and natural resources, East Bay Municipal Utility District Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 5 million Californians use the state program CalFresh to pay for their groceries. But come April, CalFresh users will see a drop of at least $95 each month with the end of CalFresh’s pandemic fund program. Recipients of these funds report that the extra money gave them the cushion to stop choosing from between going hungry and paying bills. Indeed, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, over 1.1 million Californians were kept out of poverty in 2021 because of these pandemic benefits. Now that they are coming to an end, participants in the program and advocates worry about how people will cope. We’ll talk about what the change in CalFresh funding means for hunger and poverty in the state and where to find additional food support and benefits. Related link: CalFresh resource guide Guests: Becky Silva, director of government relations, California Association of Food Banks Carly Severn, senior engagement editor, KQED News Caroline Danielson, senior research fellow, Public Policy Institute of CA - co-author of the yearly California Poverty Measure Report Jeanne Kuang, reporter, CalMatters Tom McSpedden, 69-year-old Citrus Heights resident with Type II diabetes who receives CalFresh benefits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Each year in the United States, roughly 100,000 young adults experience a psychotic episode including hearing voices or hallucinations. Treating those episodes early on can prevent some of the worst outcomes of mental illness such as homelessness or not being able to hold down a job. The National Institute of Mental Health has outlined what experts call a “gold standard” for early treatment of psychosis, but access to that care is often unavailable or not covered by insurance. We talk about why it’s so hard for psychosis patients to receive the care they need and what we can do about it. Guests: Adriana Furuzawa, early psychosis division director, Felton Institute Tara Niendam, vice chair for research and executive director, UC Davis Early Psychosis Programs Mike Krechevsky, family support specialist, Felton Institute Early Psychosis - Mike's son had psychosis and went through an early intervention program. April Dembosky, health correspondent, KQED News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you felt like your house might blow away yesterday, you aren't alone. The storm that battered the Bay Area Tuesday was stronger and more destructive than weather services forecasted. Blisteringly high winds toppled trees and tore down power lines. Rain, which was also heavier than anticipated, soaked waterlogged soil, causing floods that have closed down roads. Thousands remain without power. We'll talk with meteorologist Gerry Diaz about where this latest storm came from and why it was so ferocious. Guests: Gerry Díaz, newsroom meteorologist, San Francisco Chronicle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there a case for ignoring the news sometimes—or even most of the time? That’s the question Shadi Hamid urges us to consider in his recent essay for The Atlantic "You’re Better Off Not Knowing." Hamid explores research suggesting a negative correlation between personal well-being and political awareness and argues that unless you need to follow politics for a living, "it’s unclear what the news—good or bad—actually does for you, beyond making you aware of things you have no real control over." We talk to Hamid about the downsides of information addiction and hear how you engage in current events and avoid overwhelm. Guests: Shadi Hamid, senior fellow, Brookings - His recent essay for the Atlantic is called "You’re Better Off Not Knowing." His latest book is "The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new PBS Frontline documentary, “Age of Easy Money” traces how the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented monetary experiment has both helped and hurt the American economy. Beginning in 2008, the Federal Reserve stepped in to prop up a banking system on the verge of collapse. In the decade that followed, with low interest rates and massive infusions of cash into the system, the Fed enabled a bull stock market and bubbles in the housing, financial and technology markets. But now, three years after its efforts to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic, it seems the party may be over. Inflation and rising interest rates have rattled the market, and experts believe a historic course correction may be imminent. We’ll talk about the documentary, the consequences of Federal Reserve policy, and take your questions. Guests: James Jacoby, director, producer, correspondent; Frontline - Jacoby's latest film is "Age of Easy Money." Jacoby has won an Emmy award for his previous film "Amazon Empire," and a Peabody award for his film "The Facebook Dilemma" Anya Bourg, producer, Frontline - Bourg is a producer and writer on the new Frontline documentary "Age of Easy Money." She has previously worked on "The Facebook Dilemma" and prior to joining Frontline, spent a decade at "60 Minutes" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden approved on Monday ConocoPhillips’ controversial Willow project in Alaska, one of the largest oil developments ever proposed on federal land. The White House says it lacked legal latitude to cancel the project and simultaneously proposed rules that would limit other oil and gas leases in the region. But indigenous groups and climate activists say the project’s environmental and public health toll will be immense and irreversible and have sued to stop it. We’ll talk about the controversy and where the Biden administration’s environmental and energy goals stand. Guests: Tim Puko, climate correspondent covering politics and policy, The Washington Post Jennifer Layke, global director of energy, World Resources Institute John Leshy, professor of law, UC College of the Law, San Francisco; Interior Department’s solicitor under President Bill Clinton Yessenia Funes, climate director, Atmos - a climate and culture magazine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During last week’s atmospheric river storm, a levee broke on the Pajaro River, turning the town of Pajaro - inhabited mostly by Latino farmworkers - into a lake. As the LA Times reported, officials knew for decades that the levee was unstable, but delayed fixing it because of “benefit-cost ratios.” We’ll talk with community representatives and water management experts about what Pajaro residents are facing now, and how decisions are made that determine which communities are protected. As climate change brings more extreme weather events and flooding, we discuss what changes need to be made to protect vulnerable communities through the coming decades. Related link(s): For more on how you can help those affected by flooding in Pajaro Guests: Luis Alejo, Monterey County Supervisor Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director, Restore the Delta Mark Strudley, executive director, Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hackers who could install brain spyware into the apps and devices we’re using. Advertisers that could interface with our minds to know the products we crave, even before we do. It won’t all happen tomorrow, but Duke law professor Nita Farahany says we’re rapidly heading toward a world in which scientists, governments and corporations can peer into our brains and minds. We learn about the neurotechnology that calls to mind scenes from the “Minority Report” and hear why Farahany thinks we need to establish and protect our cognitive liberty. Her new book is “The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology.” Guests: Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy, Duke University; author, "The Battle For Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 2 million Californians identified as more than one race in the 2020 Census. KQED’s California Report Magazine has launched a series to capture the varied experiences of those straddling multiple races. KQED’s Sasha Khokha and Marisa Lagos join Forum to talk about their series, Mixed! Stories of Mixed Race Californians, and both of their experiences growing up in mixed-race families and now raising children in their own multi-racial marriages. Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown show Sasha Khokha, host, The California Report Magazine on KQED Dr. Jennifer Noble, psychologist, educator and coach for families with mixed-race kids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the campaign trail, President Joe Biden promised a more compassionate approach to immigration that would roll back Trump administration policies. But the situation at the border, with swelling numbers of migrants fleeing authoritarian regimes and dire economic conditions, has forced the administration to consider more restrictive measures. Those include possibly reviving the policy of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally. We’ll talk about Biden’s new policies and look at the situation at the border. Guests: Tyche Hendricks, senior editor covering immigration, KQED Deep Gulasekaram, professor of law, Santa Clara University. He teaches constitutional and immigration law and is co-author of the leading immigration law textbook used in U.S. law schools. Kate Morrissey, immigration reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s once-redhot office market has waned since the pandemic. Less than half of the workers who used to fill downtown office towers are working in person most days. That has led to high office building vacancies, lower revenue from property and sales taxes, and fewer workers riding transit and supporting local businesses. Now that working from home continues to be the norm, city leaders, landlords and merchants are wondering what to do next. We’ll dig into what this massive shift in the office market means for our region’s urban centers, economy and workers. Guests: Ted Egan, chief economist, San Francisco Controller's Office Karen Chapple, professor of city and regional planning, University of California, Berkeley Kevin Truong, staff writer, The San Francisco Standard Colin Yasukochi, executive director, CBRE Tech Insights Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Black Film Canon, published in 2016 by Slate, accumulated the 50 best films by Black filmmakers, including movies like “Do The Right Thing” and the 1920 silent film “Within Our Gates.” Thanks to films like “Moonlight” and “Get Out,” a 2023 update was due, and in collaboration with NPR The New Black Film Canon was born. The collection now includes 75 films, where they’re streaming and what made them groundbreaking. Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Aisha Harris and Slate’s Dan Kois join us to celebrate, look back and examine how “we’re now living in a different world for Black film.” Related Link(s): The New Black Film Canon Guests: Aisha Harris, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Dan Kois, writer, Slate W. Kamau Bell, comedian; host, CNN's United Shades of America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area has a storied hip hop legacy. We’ve also got a legendary food scene. Maybe it’s natural that these two core components of the Bay Area would find each other. In our latest edition of All You Can Eat, our series on Bay Area food cultures with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk about Bay Area rappers in the food world. E-40 is selling ice cream and pre-packaged burritos, Larry June has a boba company and Don Toriano is lining up customers at his Vegan Mob barbecue spots. We talk Bay Area Hip Hop Food Hustles. Guests: Alan Chazaro, food reporter, KQED - He is also a rapper and educator Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts and Culture Droop E, rapper and record producer; represents Goon With The Spoon; son of E-40 Clyde Carson, Oakland rapper, co-owner of Hyphy Juice Don Toriano, rapper; owner, Vegan Mob Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Qualified immunity, writes UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz, "has come to represent all that is wrong with police accountability." It’s the Supreme Court-created doctrine that protects police officers from civil liability for excessive force and other misconduct unless there is a prior court case where an officer violated another person’s rights in exactly the same way – a standard that she says is virtually impossible to meet. And, Schwartz explains, it’s just one of multiple barriers that the Court and states like California have erected to make justice through civil rights lawsuits “profoundly elusive.” We’ll talk to Schwartz about how qualified immunity plays out in California and hear about efforts to reform it. Schwartz’s new book is “Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable.” Guests: Joanna Schwartz, professor of law, University of California, Los Angeles - Her new book is "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After experiencing a classic bank run with depositors withdrawing $42 billion in one day, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by federal regulators on Friday. For many startups, SVB was the bank of choice, and its closure has roiled the tech industry. While federal regulators announced on Monday that 100% of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits would be repaid, that has not stopped turmoil in the market. Shares in San Francisco-based First Republic Bank dropped over 60% on Monday with other bank stocks following suit. Added to this are last week’s failures of both Signature Bank, a regional bank in New York closed by regulators this weekend, and Silvergate, a banking concern favored by cryptocurrency investors. We’ll talk about how these banking issues are impacting the Bay Area and what it means for customers and the tech industry. Guests: Natasha Mascarenhas, senior reporter, TechCrunch Mark Calvey, senior reporter covering banking and finance, San Francisco Business Times Margaret O'Mara, historian of the modern United States, University of Washington - She writes and teaches about the growth of the high-tech economy, the history of American politics, and the connections between the two. Lizette Chapman, reporter, Bloomberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soy, almond, oat and other plant-based milk alternatives have skyrocketed in popularity over the last few decades. And now new draft guidance from the FDA would allow these drinks officially to be marketed as “milks,” putting to rest arguments by the dairy industry and others that only animal products can be called milk. We’ll look at what makes milk “milk” and how plant-based options measure up against milk from cows. And we’ll hear from you: have you converted to plant-based milks? Guests: Charlotte Biltekoff, associate professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology, UC Davis Yasmin Tayag, staff writer, The Atlantic Dave Ritterbush, CEO, Califia Farms Priera Panescu, senior scientist, The Good Food Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Judith Heumann, known as the mother of the disability rights movement, died this month at the age of 75. Heumann’s activism and leadership in Berkeley’s pioneering disability rights movement included the “504 sit-in,” a 26-day occupation of San Francisco’s federal building that eventually led to the passage of the Americans with Disability Act. Heumann used a wheelchair following a childhood case of polio, and when she tried to attend school, the administration denied her as “a fire hazard.” Heumann went on to work with the Clinton and Obama administrations as well as the World Bank on issues of accessibility. We’ll talk with disability rights advocates who knew her about her legacy, and where the movement is headed going forward. Guests: Sandy Ho, philanthropist; founder, Disability and Intersectionality Summit; director, the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy Yomi Sachiko Wrong, Oakland-based disability justice activist, dreamer Jim LeBrecht, filmmaker and co-director with Nicole Newnham, "Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution" Arlene Mayerson, directing attorney, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Communities throughout California are bracing for another round of severe storms this week. An atmospheric river is poised to dump several inches of rain, which could melt snow reserves in mountains and cause flooding. Mountainous areas of the state are already dealing with power outages, road closures, and collapsed roofs after a series of heavy rain and snow during the past couple of months. We’ll talk about how Californians are managing severe weather and what to expect in the days to come. Guests: Gerry Díaz, newsroom meteorologist, San Francisco Chronicle Katie Kay Mead, resident, Lake Arrowhead, California Bob Thurman, resident near Nevada City, California Mike Scrivano, contractor, North Lake Home Services in Truckee Hanna Lykke, reporter, San Bernardino Sun, Southern California News Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if time isn’t money? What if time is actually rocks and beans? And what if time is not running out? Jenny Odell, author of “How to Do Nothing,” ponders these questions as she takes us on a road trip through the Bay Area in her new book, “Saving Time.” Pausing at the Port of Oakland, reflecting in Pescadero and Pacifica, and nodding at the Interstate 880 minion, Odell questions who benefits when we see time as hours or minutes, rather than the changes in place, space and ourselves. She joins us to explain how advocating for a better future begins with looking beyond the clock. Guests: Jenny Odell, author, "Saving Time: Discovering A Life Beyond the Clock." Odell is also the author of "How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch did not believe that Dominion Voting Systems stole the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump, according to testimony released Tuesday. The evidence is part of the record in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, set for trial in April, arguing that Fox executives and hosts deliberately spread the falsehood that Dominion's electronic machines manipulated the vote count. We’ll talk about the case and look at the impact Fox News has had on our culture — and democracy. And we’ll hear from you: How has Fox News affected you, your views and your relationships? Guests: Jeremy W. Peters, reporter covering the media and its intersection with politics, culture and law, The New York Times; author, "Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted" Sarah Ellison, reporter covering media and its intersection with politics and technology, The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After two decades of trying, the United Nations has finalized a treaty to protect the high seas – that part of the ocean which covers nearly half the earth’s surface and falls outside of the jurisdiction of individual nations. There beneath the lens of blue water is an ecosystem with more species than exist on land. There are seamounts in the Pacific covered in golden corals that are the oldest living animals on the planet, having existed since the time of the pyramids. There is an underwater fertile crescent off South America where the interplay of plants, fish, and predators create a world unto its own. There are Yosemites and Everests beneath the surface of the ocean that we are only just learning about. And all of this is endangered by pollution, overfishing, and even deepsea mining. We’ll talk about what it means to protect the high seas and the impact the treaty will have on California’s coastal waters and ocean life. Guests: Kristina Gjerde, lawyer and Senior High Seas Advisor, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Global Marine and Polar Programme. Gjerde is also an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Douglas McCauley, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, UC Santa Barbara. McCauley also heads the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California Santa Barbara Christopher Chin, executive director, Center for Oceanic Awareness Research and Education based in the Bay Area Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meg Zucker was born with one finger on each hand, shortened arms and one toe on each foot, a result of a hereditary condition called ectrodactyly. With the support of her parents who championed her abilities, Zucker learned to ignore how others perceived her and went on to become a successful attorney. But when she passed the same condition to her sons, Zucker says her “old innate pangs of shame” returned, and she had to start the learning process all over again. Zucker joins us to talk about her new book “Born Extraordinary” and the wisdom she’s gained about how to empower kids to talk about – and flaunt – what makes them different. Guests: Meg Zucker, author, “Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities;" president and founder, "Don't Hide It, Flaunt It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland based writer Carvell Wallace has written searchingly and compassionately about Mr. Rogers, Michael B Jordan, abortion rights, race, parenting, bicycling, basketball and so much more. Running through all of his work is the question of how to be a good person in a deeply flawed world. “I’ve long thought that the only thing that really matters is how we treat each other,” he said. “It’s why I focus my writing on our shared humanity, and the struggles we go through to find love and liberation.” Carvell Wallace has just won the American Mosaic Journalism prize and its 100,000 dollar award. He joins us in studio to talk about his work. Guests: Carvell Wallace, writer; 2023 recipient of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize - he's working on a memoir about childhood trauma Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Atlantic staff writer Jennifer Senior is 53 in real life, but she says that in her head she’s "suspended at 36." That was the age she was secure professionally but still full of potential, paired up with her husband “but not yet lost in the marshes of a long marriage." In "The Age in Your Head," which appears in the April issue of the magazine, Senior explores the discrepancy many of us feel between our real age and our "subjective age" and why experiences like a pandemic or trauma can freeze us in time. Guests: Jennifer Senior, staff writer, The Atlantic - author of the article "The Age in Your Head." Her forthcoming book is "On Grief." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UC Berkeley plans to keep fighting to build a dorm for more than 1,000 students on People’s Park, a university-owned site that is known as a haven for unhoused people and social justice movements. A state appellate court stopped the project and called for the university to revise its environmental impact report, looking more closely at noise impacts from students. The legal saga over the dorm illustrates a predicament many of the state’s colleges and universities face: a dire need to house a growing number of students amid community opposition to new housing. We’ll talk about why it’s so hard to build student housing in California. Guests: Su Jin Jez, CEO, California Competes - a nonpartisan policy and research organization focused on the intersection of higher education, equity, and the economy. Bill Fulton, urban planner, William Fulton Group; author, "Place and Prosperity: How Cities Help Us to Connect and Innovate" Ryan Loyola, student, UC Santa Cruz Katie Lauer, Berkeley news reporter, The Mercury News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans love to talk about our generational differences. Gen Xers complain about Millennials, Millennials can’t relate to Gen Z and on and on. But those defining distinctions are mostly contrived, their boundaries mushy. Except for one generation: Baby Boomers. The postwar population explosion dramatically changed the country and the boomers have dominated culture, politics and the economy since coming of age. But things are changing. Last year those who were born in the peak of the boom turned 65. “We are living through a historic disruption of the American empire,” writes Philip Bump, in his new book, “The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America”. We’ll talk to Bump, a Washington Post columnist focused on the numbers behind politics, about the new demographic changes and what a future without America’s most powerful, influential generation might look like. Guests: Philip Bump, national columnist, Washington Post; author, "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seventy-five years ago, a plane crashed outside of Coalinga in California’s Central Valley. Twenty-eight of the 32 passengers killed were migrant workers in the Bracero Program, being deported back to Mexico. Unlike the flight’s white passengers and crew, whose bodies were sent home to their families, the Mexican citizens were buried unceremoniously in a mass grave, their names omitted from the headstone. Tim Hernandez is working to identify their names, families and stories and he joins us to talk about the importance of remembering. Related link(s): 'All They Will Call You Will Be Deportee': 75 Years Later, Uncovering the Lives of the Braceros Who Died in a Fiery California Plane Crash, The California Report Magazine Guests: Tim Z. Hernandez, author, "All They Will Call You" Mireya Loza, associate professor of history, Georgetown University; author, "Defiant Braceros: How Migrant Workers Fought for Racial, Sexual, and Political Freedom" Michael Rodríguez III, ethnic studies teacher in Santa Ana and great-nephew of María Rodríguez Santana, victim of the plane crash Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices