KQED's Forum

The Supreme Court this week held oral arguments in a pair of cases that have tech companies, First Amendment advocates and digital rights-watchers on edge. On Tuesday it heard arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that could redefine a decades-old law that protects online platforms from liability for third-party content they host. And on Wednesday it debated Twitter v. Taamneh, which asks whether the social media company violated an anti-terrorism law based on videos its algorithm promoted. We'll talk about how the justices appeared to be leaning and how they might rule. Guests: Sophia Cope, senior staff attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation Daphne Keller, director, Program on Platform Regulation at the Cyber Policy Center at Stanford Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relaxing might not seem like a radical act, but it is for Black women, according to the curators of “Resting Our Eyes,” a new exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Francisco. Pulling together artists from a variety of mediums, the exhibit celebrates how Black women find liberation through rest, leisure, and adornment. Photographs, video, and mixed media works create a visual vocabulary for how Black women have used these forms of self-expression to combat oppression for generations. We’ll talk with the curators as well as contributing artists about the art in the exhibition and why rest is not a luxury, but a necessity. What does rest mean to you? Guests: Tahirah Rasheed, artist and co-curator, "Resting Our Eyes"; founder, “Fresh Made Productions” and “See Black Women” Autumn Breon, artist and co-curator, "Resting Our Eyes" Leila Weefur, writer; curator; featured artist, "Resting Our Eyes"; lecturer, Stanford's Department of Art and Art History. Traci Bartlow, featured artist, "Resting Our Eyes"; entrepreneur; dancer and hip-hop dance scholar; 90's hip-hop photojournalist; Oakland native Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 24, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, setting in motion a brutal, bloody war that has left tens of thousands of people dead and millions forcibly displaced. A year later, Ukraine is still standing, defying expectations that it would quickly fall to a more powerful Russian military and reclaiming key portions of territory it lost at the outset of the invasion. But as the war wears on, resolution remains elusive, and a negotiated peace is all but off the table. We’ll look back on the conflict and hear reflections from experts and Ukrainian nationals who joined us on Forum when the war began. Guests: Steven Pifer, affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University; former ambassador to Ukraine and a senior director at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration Oleh Kuzo, trustee, Ukrainian Heritage Club of Northern California Alina Polyakova, President and CEO, Center for European Policy Analysis; adjunct professor of European Studies, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Luke Harding, foreign correspondent, The Guardian - His recent book is "Invasion: The inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists have warned for decades that due to climate change water levels are rising throughout the Bay Area. The first place excess water will show up is underground. As we saw from recent storms, shallow groundwater can cause flooding in streets and low-lying areas and can overwhelm wastewater systems. Local planners and policy makers are analyzing how the region should adapt to the problem of a rising water table and how to design buildings, freeways and sewer infrastructure in response. In our next installment of “Climate Fix: Rethinking Solutions for California,” a collaboration between the KQED’s Forum and Science teams, we’ll discuss what’s happening with groundwater levels as the Bay Area prepares for sea level rise in the next several decades. Have you experienced flooding in your home and how did you handle it? Guests: Ezra David Romero, climate reporter, KQED Dana Brechwald, assistant planning director for climate adaptation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Dr. Kris May, CEO and founding principal, Pathways Climate Institute LLC; Engineering Criteria Review Board member, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission; lead author for the Coasts chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trucks are by far the largest source of air pollution from vehicles in California, generating about 80% of carcinogenic diesel soot and 70% of smog-causing pollution, according to the Air Resources Board. And their impacts are unequal: communities of color and low-income communities situated near ports, distribution centers and warehouses -- particularly in the Inland Empire -- are more likely to bear the health costs. As part of Forum's "In Transit" series, we look at the scope of the problem and new efforts by the state to decarbonize its trucking industry. 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 Rachel Uranga, reporter covering transportation and mobility, Los Angeles Times Amparo Muñoz, former policy director, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) - and co-author of the letter urging Gov. Newsom to "Declare a Public Health State of Emergency in the Inland Empire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1970s, two female professors at Oberlin College coined the phrase “imposter phenomenon” to capture that feeling of intense self doubt and fear of being discovered as a fraud in the workplace. Their published paper on the topic has since spawned an industry of seminars, self-help, and empowerment. And while today, it feels like everyone suffers from “imposter syndrome,” some experts argue that people should not be saddled with a deficit model that labels them as “imposters.” We’ll talk about imposter syndrome and hear from you: Have you ever felt like a fraud? Guests: Jodi-Ann Burey, writer and speaker - Burey is the co-author, of the Harvard Business Review article "Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome" Leslie Jamison, author and essayist - Jamison wrote the recent New Yorker article "Not Fooling Anyone" about imposter syndrome. She is also the author of "The Empathy Exams" and an essay collection, "Make It Scream, Make It Burn," among other books. Dr. Lisa Orbe-Austin, psychologist - Orbe-Austin is the co-author of "Own Your Greatness: Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed in Life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate, has announced she's not seeking re-election in 2024. Many Californians hail her accomplishments in gun safety, environmental protection and her trailblazing role for women in public office. Yet at a time when her approval rating has hit an all-time low, some say the announcement is coming far too late. We'll hear your reflections on Feinstein's political career. Guests: Scott Shafer, senior editor for KQED’s California Politics and Government desk and co-host of Political Breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before the pandemic, hospitals and their services were under strain. But throughout the state, some hospitals are now at risk of closing for good, which would leave thousands of Californians without basic access to healthcare. In many rural counties, local community hospitals are the only option for both primary care and life-saving emergency services. The abrupt closure of Madera County’s only such hospital is the first in what could become a string of hospital closures, requiring remaining facilities to pick up more patients at a time when staff and resources are stretched thin. We’ll talk about this vulnerability in California’s healthcare system and what is being done to remedy it. Guests: Kristof Stremikis, director of market analysis and insight, California Health Care Foundation Carmela Coyle, President & CEO, California Hospital Association - CHA represents the interests of more than 400 hospitals and health systems in California. Glenn Melnick, health economist, professor and director, Center for Health Financing, Policy and Management, Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California Luis Abrishamian, attending physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Providence Torrance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 2020, Atlantic senior editor John Hendrickson wrote an article about Joe Biden’s stutter. Like Biden, Hendrickson has a stutter. And while stuttering wasn’t something that Hendrickson hid, it wasn’t something he liked to talk about either. But the viral response to his piece led Hendrickson to reconsider how to talk and think about his stutter. His relationship with stuttering and its impacts, both good and bad, on his life, are the focus of his new book, “Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter.” We talk to Hendrickson, and hear from you: Has your life been affected by a stutter, yours or someone else’s? This segment originally aired Jan. 17, 2023. Guests: John Hendrickson , Author, "Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter" - Hendrickson is a senior editor with Atlantic magazine. Courtney Byrd, Professor, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin - Byrd is also the founder and executive director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer and songwriter Valerie June defies genre – she can be a little country and a little rock and roll and there’s also folk, blues, soul, Appalachian and a sound that’s downright ethereal. But her music is all her own, she’s called it, "organic moonshine roots music," and it’s beautiful. She joins us to play a few songs on her banjolele and to talk about her latest album "The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers," her West Tennessee roots, her poems and her new children’s book, "Somebody to Love." This segment originally aired Dec. 7, 2022. Guests: Valerie June, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist; author of the new children's book "Somebody to Love" - and a recent book of poetry, "Maps for the Modern World" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every Californian knows that the Big One, that catastrophic magnitude earthquake, is coming. Earthquakes like those in Turkey and Syria, and Mexico City before that, and Haiti even before that, have all offered experts lessons in how to build better. But have we taken those lessons to heart? What more could we be doing in California to strengthen our infrastructure, and if we haven’t done it yet, why not? We’ll talk to experts and a member of the Los Angeles County fire department search and rescue team on the ground in Turkey, and we’ll hear from you: What have you done to prepare your home and yourself for earthquakes? Guests: Dr. Lucy Jones, author, "The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them);" founder, the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society; research associate, the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech Frank Infante, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department. Infante is stationed with the USAID Search & Rescue team in Adiyaman, Turkey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many of life’s very biggest decisions – should I quit my job? Should we move in together? Is it time to get pregnant? Divorce? Retire? – are at the crossroads of money and love. We don’t learn how to navigate either in school. Unless you happened to take labor economist Myra Strober’s class on work and family at Stanford. Now she and one of her former students, Abby Davisson, have written a book about how to approach life’s biggest quandaries. We talk with Strober and Davisson about “Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life’s Biggest Decisions”. Guests: Myra Strober, coauthor, "Money and Love;" labor economist and Professor Emerita at the School of Education and Professor Emerita of Economics, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University Abby Davisson, coauthor, "Money and Love;" a social innovation leader and career development expert Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Black history,” writes award-winning artist and graphic designer George McCalman, “tends to mean the ten people who are lauded every Black History Month of every Black History Year.” McCalman upends that constricted notion in his most recent book, “Illustrated Black History,” a tribute to 140 pioneering – but sometimes unseen – Black artists, advocates and thinkers who have “sacrificed their lives and livelihoods or forfeited their homes and sanctuaries” in the course of defining American history. We talk to McCalman about those he chose to profile, paint and celebrate. Guests: George McCalman, artist, graphic designer and creative director; His most recent book is "Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Empty storefronts have peppered neighborhoods across San Francisco and the Bay for decades. One stretch of Mission Street, from 19th to 30th streets, has more than 70 commercial vacancies. In the last few years, the pandemic exacerbated the problem as hundreds of small businesses have closed up shop for good. Cities and business owners are grappling with how to bring back foot traffic to support small businesses, but they face a multitude of challenges. We’ll talk about why so many retail spaces remain vacant and whether blight has seeped into your neighborhood. Guests: Heather Knight, columnist, San Francisco Chronicle Sharky Laguana, former president, San Francisco Small Business Commission; founder and CEO, Bandago; founder and CEO, Campago Ilana Preuss, founder and CEO, Recast City LLC; author, "Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing" Alice Kim, owner, Joe’s Ice Cream Ryen Motzek, president, Mission Merchants Association Michael Gaines, membership secretary, Lower Haight Merchants and Neighbors Association Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is one of only 10 states that don’t require public elementary schools to screen for dyslexia. But research shows that detection of dylexia's early warning signs can lessen reading challenges for kids down the line. We’ll hear why California has been an outlier and about the renewed push for legislation to mandate early screening. And, with a collective $28.7 million of the past two annual state budgets allocated to UCSF’s Dyslexia Center for research on dyslexia and the development of a new, multilingual and free screening tool, we’ll hear about how the tool works and the latest neuroscientific research. Guests: Joe Hong, reporter covering the students, teachers and lawmakers who shape California's public schools, CalMatters - recent article is "Why California still doesn’t mandate dyslexia screening" Dr. Marilu Gorno Tempini, professor of neurology and psychiatry, UCSF - and co-director of the UCSF Dyslexia Center and the UCSF-UCB Schwab Dyslexia and Cognitive Diversity Center. https://albalab.ucsf.edu; https://dyslexia.ucsf.edu/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Soleil Ho started at the San Francisco Chronicle as restaurant critic in 2019, they were widely hailed as exemplifying the “next generation” of criticism. Ho 86'd the star system, shifted away from breathless coverage of the glitziest restaurants and brought a social justice lens to their reviews. But a year into Ho’s ambitious overhaul, the COVID pandemic hit and the future of the entire restaurant industry was in question. “The moment marked an abrupt transition in what I thought, to be honest, was going to be a pretty straightforward job of eating stuff and writing fun things about it,” Ho wrote last week in an article announcing that they were stepping away from the position. "All of sudden, dining out became literally a matter of life and death.” As part of our All You Can Eat series with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we talk with Soleil Ho about food criticism, the changing role of the critic and the state of the Bay Area’s pandemic shaken food scene. Guests: Soleil Ho, opinion columnist, The San Francisco Chronicle Luke Tsai , food editor, KQED Arts and Culture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China's foreign ministry accused the U.S. on Monday of flying at least 10 high-altitude surveillance balloons in its airspace during the past year. The charge, which the White House denies, comes a little more than a week after the U.S. shot down a large balloon it says China was using to spy on American military sites. We'll look at what the mutual reprisals say about the state of U.S.-China relations and whether and to what extent ties between the nations can be stabilized. Guests: Neysun Mahboubi, research scholar at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, University of Pennsylvania, where he also hosts a podcast on Chinese politics, economics, law and society Edward Wong, diplomatic correspondent, The New York Times Mary Gallagher, professor of political science and director of the International Institute, University of Michigan - Her most recent book is "Authoritarian Legality in China: Law, Workers and the State" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new class of weight loss drugs is changing the way doctors, researchers and patients think about obesity. Medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro dampen appetite and their effectiveness has challenged the perception that people who are obese simply lack willpower to make better choices. It’s also raising questions among those who have worked hard to embrace their bodies at any weight. In a recent piece in Vox, journalist Julia Belluz writes, “the medicines have become a lightning rod in an obesity conversation that is increasingly binary — swinging between fat acceptance and fatphobia.” We discuss what these recent drugs reveal about weight gain, willpower and the science behind eating habits. Guests: Julia Belluz, freelance health reporter, author of the recent New York Times guest essay: "What New Weight Loss Drugs Teach Us About Fat and Free Will." Peminda Cabandugama, endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist, Cleveland Clinic - He is also spokesperson for The Obesity Society and vice president of the Midwest Obesity Society Diana Thiara, medical director, UCSF Weight Loss Management Program - She specializes in caring for patients who are overweight or obese, and has a particular interest in helping them focus on nutrition and lifestyle adjustments to optimize their health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With its still-vibrant animation and unforgettable earworms, “SchoolHouse Rock!” turned 50 this year, having taught Generation X and subsequent youth math, history and grammar. Today, the series’ 1973 debut also serves as a lesson in nostalgia, “a reminder of a time when network TV gave us a common culture, language and lyrics,” writes The New York Times’ chief television critic James Poniewozik. Poniewozik joins us to talk about the groundbreaking TV show’s role in a shared civic education. And we’re inviting you to join us on our train ride to conjunction junction: Sing a few bars of your favorite “SchoolHouse Rock!” song and tell us what the show means to you on our voicemail line: 415-553-3300. Guests: James Poniewozik, chief television critic, The New York Times Haydee Rodriguez , History and English teacher at Central Union High School, Imperial County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annalee Newitz’s new book “The Terraformers” is a multigenerational science fiction drama set thousands of years in a future where corporations own entire planets and moose can fly. But even in a time when humans have speciated and trains have gained sentience, the urgent ethical and societal issues, like gentrification and water rights, persist. We’ll talk with Newitz about “The Terraformers,” who or what counts as a person, and what it’ll actually take to manage ecosystems. Guests: Annalee Newitz, science journalist and author of the books "The Terraformers," "The Future of Another Timeline," "Autonomous" and "Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020 many Americans were at a breaking point, writes journalist and author Wesley Lowery, ready for a radical re-ordering – or at least a re-imagination – of policing. But as most painfully evident after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police last month, there has been no great reckoning, and in fact in many cases backlash has outpaced reform. We talk to the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter about his new piece for the Atlantic “Why There Was No Racial Reckoning.” Guests: Wesley Lowery, journalist and author. His new piece for the Atlantic is "Why There Was No Racial Reckoning." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The humble copy machine was meant to revolutionize office work. But when the Xerox 6500 color copier was introduced in 1973, its ability to print in saturated colors on plain paper jump started an avant garde Bay Area art movement. Copy machines offered artists a chance to play with color, form and image as copies were made of copies and the piece changed form. The copier also democratized art by making prints cheap and easily available. We’ll talk with the curators and artists featured in “Positively Charged,” a new art exhibit that looks at the evolution of copy art and zines in the Bay Area. Have you ever created art on a copy machine? Guests: Maymanah Farhat, writer; editor; curator, "Positively Charged: Copier Art in the Bay Area Since the 1960s" Jennie Hinchcliff, curator, "Positively Charged: Copier Art in the Bay Area Since the 1960s"; exhibitions and events manager, San Francisco Center for the Book Enrique Chagoya, professor of art practice, Stanford University. Chagoya's work is featured in the exhibit "Positively Charged." Sally Wassink, artist. Wassink's work is featured in the exhibit "Positively Charged." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When New York Times Magazine staff writer Susan Dominus began reporting her cover story on menopause, she was surprised by the number of women she met who had resigned themselves to a life of hot flashes, poor sleep, brain fog and depression, all of which are common symptoms of menopause. There was a near universal acceptance that this was their new reality. But in fact, there are medically accepted therapies, like hormone treatment, to address these symptoms. Yet few women seem to be offered this relief. Why is menopause, a normal biological condition that over a million women in the U.S. will enter each year, so misunderstood? And are women conditioned to tolerate suffering such that they don’t seek help for menopausal symptoms? We’ll talk to Dominus and experts about menopause and hear from you: What have you been told about menopause that you have come to question? Guests: Susan Dominus, staff writer, New York Times Magazine - Dominus wrote the recent New York Times Magazine article "Women Have Been Misled About Menopause" Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director, North American Menopause Society; director of the Center for Women's Health, Mayo Clinic Omisade Burney-Scott, creator of the "Black Girls Guide to Surviving Menopause" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the United States, descendants of immigrants often lose their heritage languages. But now many of them, especially those with roots in Latin America, are working to reclaim Spanish, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. The process can be fraught since many weren’t exposed to the language as children and struggle to learn it as adults. Some have been shamed for not being fluent in their heritage language while the American education system and society has historically pushed English fluency over multilingualism. We’ll discuss why more people are diving into their heritage languages and hear about your experiences with trying to learn your mother, or grandmother’s tongue. Guests: Karen Garcia, reporter on the Utility Journalism team, Los Angeles Times; author of the recent article, "How second- and third-generation Latinos are reclaiming the Spanish language" Veronica Benavides, founder and CEO, The Language Preservation Project - a movement to reverse the trend of language loss across the generations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 7,000 people are dead and countless more injured after earthquakes devastated communities in southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday. Rescue workers are still trying to free people from the rubble as cold weather sweeps the region, which lacks electricity and adequate food, water and medical supplies. The earthquakes compound a years-long humanitarian crisis underway in Syria, wracked by a war waged on its people by Russia-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. We’ll talk about the latest developments. Related articles: How to Help Syria and Turkey Earthquake Relief Efforts Guests: Charles Lister, senior fellow, Middle East Institute - where he directs the Syria and Countering Terrorism programs Peri Holden, volunteer, Payda - an education charity serving families in southeast Turkey Nalan Güngör Özışık, president, Turkish American Association of California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s trees are starting to bloom and it’s beautiful. Magnificent magnolia, plum and even, in some areas, cherry blossoms. With global warming, some plants have been leafing and blooming earlier. We’ll talk to experts on seasonal change and the local flora about the whys, hows and whens of blooms and what it all means for pollination, insects and birds. And we’ll want to hear from you. What are you seeing on your walks and in your backyards? Guests: Ryan Guillou, director of collections and conservation, Gardens of Golden Gate Park, includes the botanical gardens, conservatory of flowers and Japanese tea garden Libby Ellwood, ecologist and director of education, outreach, diversity, & inclusion and global collaborations, iDigBio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever been told that if you lower your voice or avoid vocal fry or stop saying “like” so much you’ll sound more authoritative? It’s that kind of advice, no matter how well-intentioned, that speech coach Samara Bay wants us to stop heeding. Generations of Americans have associated power with the slow, booming speech of male politicians and news anchors, writes Bay in her new book “Permission to Speak.” But in fact, if we stopped trying to approximate the traditional voice standards of powerful men we’d sound “richer, more relaxed, more expansive, expressive, unlimited by social norms and alive with possibility.” We’ll talk to Bay about why we should change our assumptions about what power and authority sound like. Guests: Samara Bay, speech coach and author, "Permission to Speak:" How to Change What Power Sounds Like, Starting with You" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent mass shootings in Half Moon Bay put a spotlight on the decades long plight of farmworkers in California who often earn low wages and live in substandard housing. The shootings are only the latest in a particularly hard year for farmworkers. Severe storms damaged crops and livelihoods up and down the state as climate change continues to worsen conditions such as wildfires, extreme heat and flooding that threaten California’s agricultural industry. Meanwhile, many laws aimed at protecting farmworkers are not enforced. We’ll talk about the various challenges farmworkers face and efforts to help them when disasters hit. Guests: Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute; former senior advisor on immigration and labor to the California Attorney General Vanessa Rancaño, housing reporter, KQED News Marisa Kendall, covers housing, the Bay Area News Group Michael Méndez, assistant professor, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine; author, “Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement” Farida Jhabvala Romero, reporter, KQED Javier Zamora, owner, JSM Organics farm in Royal Oaks, CA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Colorado River, which supplies water to much of the western United States, continues to diminish under historic drought conditions. And California is under pressure to reduce the amount of water it takes. The agricultural industry in California’s Imperial Valley alone gets more water than Arizona and Nevada combined – but that’s because under law, those farmers have some of the Colorado River’s oldest water rights. Citing those rights, California rejected a proposal last week from the six other Colorado River-dependent states on how to divide the water and instead put forward its own plan. We’ll take a closer look at the impasse and the impact of the shrinking Colorado River on the Imperial Valley and beyond. Guests: Sammy Roth, energy reporter, Los Angeles Times Janet Wilson, senior environment reporter, The Desert Sun - and Stanford Western Media Fellow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently elected San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is now at the helm of the largest city in the Bay Area and the 10th largest city in the United States. San Jose faces a lack of affordable housing, struggling local businesses and resident concerns over public safety. Mahan said he plans to use a results-oriented and data-driven approach focused on getting back to basics. But time is not on the mayor’s side: a recent change to San Jose’s election calendar means the mayoral seat will be up for grabs again in 2024. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan joins us to answer our questions and yours. Guests: Matt Mahan, mayor, San Jose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1954, the Comics Code Authority was formed to censor newsstand comic books by banning depictions of violence, negative portrayals of law enforcement and any mention of homosexuality. The ban created the flourishing world of so-called ‘underground comix,’ which approached banned items as a checklist and inspired a generation of LGBTQ cartoonists to draw themselves and their community on the page. A new PBS documentary, “No Straight Lines,” maps the history of LGBTQ comics frame by frame, from Rupert Kinnard’s “Brown Bomber,” to Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For,” to their influence on the next generation of queer comic artists today. We’ll talk about that history and hear from next generation artists Lawrence Lindell and Maia Kobabe, whose graphic memoir “Gender Queer” is now one of the most-banned books in the U.S. Guests: Maia Kobabe, cartoonist; author, “Gender Queer” Lawrence Lindell, cartoonist; author, “Blackward” and “From Truth with Truth” Vivian Kleiman, director, “No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics” Rupert Kinnard, activist; cartoonist; author, “B.B. and the Diva,” and “Cathartic Comics” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s outsized contribution to hip-hop has often been overlooked. But this week KQED launched a yearlong project called That’s My Word, an exploration into the history and influence of Bay Area hip-hop. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the genre that started in New York and moved west. The Bay has played a crucial role as a haven for artists including Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Kamaiyah, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, Too Short and E-40 among many others. We’ll listen to some notable tracks and talk with the project creators about how the Bay Area’s music, vibe and culture gave rise to a distinct blend of hip-hop. Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, associate editor, KQED Arts Pendarvis Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts; host, KQED's "Rightnowish" podcast Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & Culture Eric Arnold, veteran hip-hop journalist; contributor editor for KQED’s That’s My Word series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is set to end its Covid-19 state of emergency on February 28. But the virus is still very much a part of our lives, driving ongoing concerns about emerging variants, long covid and the vulnerabilities of the immunocompromised. That’s what KQED’s Digital News team discovered when it asked its online audiences to share what they most wanted to know about Covid in 2023. We’ll answer those questions and take yours. Guests: Carly Severn, senior engagement editor, KQED News Dr. Peter Chin-Hong M.D., infectious disease specialist, UCSF Medical Center Dr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist and deputy director for the Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing seems to unite people more than their hate for TicketMaster. At a recent Senate Judiciary committee hearing convened in response to the ticket selling debacle around Taylor Swift’s latest stadium tour, Republicans and Democrats alike castigated the company for its practices. Fans and artists complain that Live Nation Entertainment, the conglomerate created when Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, keeps ticket prices sky high by tacking on fees that it keeps for itself. Some legal scholars contend that the company is a monopoly which must be broken up. But is the company all to blame? We’ll talk about why concerts are so expensive and hear from you: Are you finding yourself priced out of attending live concerts? Guests: August Brown, staff writer, Los Angeles Times - Brown covers pop music, the music industry, and nightlife policy. He wrote the recent article, "Everyone Hates Ticketmaster. Is Everyone Wrong?" Diana Moss, President, American Antitrust Institute Greg Saunier, musician, producer and composer; drummer, Deerhoof Clyde Lawrence, film score composer and songwriter; co-founder, the band Lawrence - He recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Ticketmaster. Jordan Cohen, tenor saxophonist and tour manager, the band Lawrence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Internet culture has spawned a new offspring: “Nepo babies”... the children of celebrities who have joined the family business whether that be movies, modeling, music, or sports. But nepotism isn’t limited to celebrities. We see it in small businesses, in college admissions, and political families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Trumps. Nepotism has been around forever, but lately it seems to be bugging everyone. We’ll talk about why, and hear from you: how has nepotism affected your life? Guests: Nate Jones, Senior writer, Vulture - Jones wrote the anchor story "How a Nepo Baby Is Born" for New York Magazine's issue on nepotism in celebrity culture Alison Schrager, economist and senior fellow, Manhattan Institute - Schrager is also an opinion columnist for Bloomberg and wrote the recent piece "Open Your Mind to the Benefits of Nepotism" Professor Keith Harrison, professor, DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program, University of Central Florida - Harrison is the research leader of the NFL's annual diversity and inclusion report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of years ago, penned in by the pandemic, writer Peggy Orenstein “felt an inexplicable, unquenchable urge to confront a large animal while wielding a razor-sharp, juddering clipper; shear off its fleece; and figure out how to make it into a sweater.” Her new memoir, “Unraveling,” tells the story of that journey – from shearing a sheep named Martha and spinning and dyeing her wool, to designing and knitting that sweater. Woven through, Orenstein reckons with the environmental and cultural toll of the textile industry, the history of women’s work, the evolution of fairy tales and her own midlife change and loss. Guests: Peggy Orenstein, author, "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater," "Boys and Sex," "Girls and Sex" and "Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation: it bans assault-type weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandates background checks and waiting periods for firearm purchases and empowers citizens to ask a court to temporarily remove a gun from someone likely to harm themselves or others. Its firearm violence death rate is also significantly lower than the rest of the country's. Still, laws alone were not enough to prevent the deadly mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We'll learn why and hear about the obstacles California agencies face as they try to enforce the state's gun laws and contend with lax rules in neighboring states. Guests: Garen Wintemute , director, violence prevention research program at UC Davis - He also practices and teaches emergency medicine at the UC-Davis School of Medicine. Steve Lindley, program manager, Brady Campaign - former chief of the Bureau of Firearms, California Department of Justice Alana Mathews, assistant district attorney, Contra Costa County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dungeness crab season is a big deal in the bay area. Whether caught from a boat or off a pier, served with crusty bread and butter or over garlic noodles, it seems like everyone has a favorite dungeness crab dish and story. As part of our regular All You Can Eat series, featuring food cultures of the Bay Area, we’ll talk with people who catch, cook and love crabs about the grip the iconic crustacean has on the bay. Guests: Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & Culture Rocky Rivera, emcee and writer, part of KQED's "Frisco Foodies" series Edward Wooley, chef and owner, Chef Smelly's Charlie Chang, chef and owner, PPQ Dungeness Island Matt Juanes, commercial fisherman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles Congressmember Adam Schiff announced Thursday that he’s running to be California’s next Senator in 2024, joining Orange County Representative Katie Porter and setting up a rare battle for Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Feinstein, who has served as Senator since 1992, has yet to announce whether she’ll run for re-election. We’ll talk about what the race signals for the Democratic party, who else is likely to run and the downstream effects on elections for the House of Representatives and local positions. We want to hear from you: Who do you want to be California’s next senator? What kind of senator do you think our state needs? Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown show Jeremy White, covers California politics, Politico Melanie Mason, national political correspondent, Los Angeles Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Major Bay Area employers including Salesforce, Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and Facebook parent company Meta have all cut thousands of workers in the last few months. The headlines are startling, but economists say the job market remains in relatively good shape. Unemployment in California hovers near 4 percent down from 16 percent in April 2020, and many industries are still experiencing a worker shortage. Forum talks about layoffs, the job market and what could happen next. Guests: Jennie Brand, professor of sociology and statistics, director of the California Center for Population Research and co-director of the Center for Social Statistics, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles Kathryn Minshew, CEO and founder, The Muse, a career platform, and Fairygodboss, a career community for women Sinem Buber, lead economist, ZipRecruiter - online employment marketplace Parul Koul, software engineer, Google; executive chair, Alphabet Workers Union Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a girl growing up in Canyon Country, California, Lauren Fleshman could run fast. Really fast. As a high school student and recruited athlete at Stanford, Fleshman won races, set records, and her talent allowed her to go pro. But throughout her career, Fleshman saw many teammates leave the sport or develop physical or mental health problems. So little was known then, and even now, about how young female athletes develop physically and often training regimens were made for men with women being afterthoughts. Today, as a coach, she’s bringing a new eye to how to build a successful career as a woman runner. We’ll talk about her new book, 'Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World,' which challenges the way the sports world treats its female athletes. Guests: Lauren Fleshman, author, "Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World;" distance runner, won five NCAA championships and two national championships as a professional runner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The buoyant protagonist of San Francisco writer Kathryn Ma’s new novel, The Chinese Groove, migrates from China, where he’s part of the outcast branch of his family, to San Francisco, where he is sure his distant relatives will welcome and nurture him and shepherd him along his path. Forum talks to Ma about the comedy of errors that follow, San Francisco through a new immigrant’s eyes and her character’s faith in the “groove,” the kindness and generosity expected from fellow countrymen. Guests: Kathryn Ma, author, "The Chinese Groove," "The Year She Left Us" and "All That Work and Still No Boys" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aviation is responsible for over two percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and for technological reasons it’s one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. But California – an early adopter of sustainable aviation fuel and home to 12 international airports – is positioned to guide the nation toward greener air travel, according to UC Berkeley climate and energy expert Ethan Elkind. As part of Forum's new series "In Transit," we’ll talk about the hope and limitations of green aviation technology and how we can reduce our carbon footprint when we fly. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her first weeks in office, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has placed the police chief on administrative leave, dealt with a mass shooting and coped with the departure of the city’s homelessness czar. The problems facing Oakland, like other cities in the state, are not for the faint-hearted. Thao, the youngest person to serve as mayor of Oakland, ran on her credentials and her compelling life story as a daughter of Hmong refugees and a formerly unhoused single mother who went from community college to Cal. We’ll talk to Thao about what she hopes to accomplish and take your questions for the mayor. Guests: Sheng Thao, Mayor, Oakland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Described as “a love letter to Korean pop sensation BTS and an ode to fandom,” the new book "On BTS” by Atlantic senior editor Lenika Cruz compiles and expands upon Cruz’s coverage of the band for the Atlantic since 2019. “To cover BTS seriously over time is to engage with many complex issues and phenomena,” she writes, “fandom, authenticity, social media, and taste, as well as artistic ownership, South Korean society, mainstream music’s institutional biases, tensions between commercialism and creativity, and so much more.” We’ll talk with Cruz about the surprising depth of the group’s work and the joys of being a fan, and we’ll play some of your favorite songs by BTS. Guests: Lenika Cruz, senior editor covering culture, The Atlantic - and author, "On BTS: Pop Music, Fandom, Sincerity" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After seven farm workers were killed Monday in a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, the city’s vice-mayor Joaquin Jimenez said in a press conference, “Many of you come to our community for the pumpkins, and ignore the farm workers. Not today.” Forum discusses the work, lives and struggles of farmworkers on California's central coast, and we get the latest on the investigation and fallout from the massacre. Related article: ALAS: Ayudando Latinos a Soñar Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent and co-host of Political Breakdown show, KQED Madi Bolanos, co-host of The California Report, KQED Antonio De Loera-Brus, Director of Communications, United Farm Workers Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, executive director and founder, ALAS, a community group in Half Ayudando Latinos A Soñar in Half Moon Bay and licensed clinical social worker Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR; former food and agriculture policy reporter, Politico covering immigration, labor and equity issues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday night it was Monterey Park, where 11 people died and nine more were injured after a gunman opened fire in a popular ballroom, on the eve of the Lunar New Year. On Monday it was Half Moon Bay, where a gunman claimed the lives of at least seven in the vicinity of a mushroom farm. We'll talk about how the impacts of the shootings are being felt in communities across California. Guests: Cynthia Choi, co-executive director, Chinese for Affirmative Action; co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate Josie Huang, Asian American communities correspondent, KPCC Rep. Judy Chu, U.S. congresswoman representing Monterey Park Sherry Wang, associate professor of counseling psychology, Santa Clara University Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's politics and government desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s fascination with technology didn’t start with Silicon Valley. In the late 19th century, San Franciscan Eadweard Muybridge, an eccentric, misanthropic murderer became the first person to capture motion on film. At the time, Muybridge was a well-known photographer whose moody images of Yosemite Valley stood out from the conventional landscape photographs of the time. Because Muybridge was known as an inventor and innovator, Leland Stanford approached him about trying to photograph his horse in motion. Those images of a horse galloping at speed revolutionized photography. We’ll talk about Muybridge and how his inventiveness with camera and film laid the groundwork for how we see and record the world today. Guests: Rebecca Solnit, author & essayist - Solnit is the author of "River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West" as well as "Orwell's Roses," "Recollection of My Nonexistence," "Whose Story is This: Old Conflicts, New Chapters," and "Drowned River: The Death and Rebirth of Glen Canyon on the Colorado," among other works. Marc A. Shaffer, Director, "Exposing Muybridge" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After enjoying a few booze-infused holiday weeks last month, many of us are drying out in January, reducing or completely eliminating alcohol from our diets. Have you been cutting back? Or maybe you’ve developed a mindful practice with alcohol or a casual way of telling friends you’re opting out when going out? We’ll hear how your dry January is going and learn about emerging research finding that — buzzkill — even moderate amounts of alcohol are not good for our health. Guests: Dana G. Smith, reporter on the Well Desk, New York Times Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford School of Medicine; author of the forthcoming book, “Addiction: A Very Short Introduction" Dr. Tauheed Zaman, associate professor of psychiatry and leads the addiction psychiatry training program, UCSF; director of Addiction Consult and Opioid Safety, San Francisco VA Medical Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, the Biden Administration began allowing migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to seek “parole” to enter the United States and stay temporarily. The move is seen as a way to alleviate the numbers of people showing up at the nation’s southern border hoping to seek asylum. Immigration rights advocates have been disappointed by Biden’s lack of sweeping reforms or policy changes, and for leaving policies from the Trump administration in place. We check in on the situation along the border and Biden’s efforts on immigration policy. Guests: Hamed Aleaziz, immigration policy reporter, L.A. Times Tyche Hendricks, senior editor covering immigration, KQED Salvador Rivera, correspondent based in San Diego, BorderReport.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices