KQED's Forum

The new film “The Many Saints of Newark” brings Sopranos fans a prequel to the revered HBO series about mobsters in New Jersey. Director Alan Taylor, who won an Emmy for his work on the show, joins us to talk about the movie set during Tony Soprano’s adolescence against a backdrop of the 1967 Newark race riots. The series, which ran for six seasons between 1999 and 2007 followed the story of Tony Soprano, a mafia boss who sought help for anxiety and mental health issues. We discuss the new film, which comes out Friday in theaters and on HBO, and the legacy of “The Sopranos.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal lawsuit from Texas is challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act, the landmark 1978 law designed to keep Native American children within Native American families in state child custody proceedings. The case, Brackeen v. Haaland, is the subject of the second season of the award-winning podcast “This Land” which explores the threats the case poses to the legal structure that defends Native American rights. We’ll talk with writer, activist and “This Land” host Rebecca Nagle about the political interests driving the court challenge and the children and families affected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last time Congress re-negotiated who is eligible for asylum in the United States, it came in the aftermath of the fall of Saigon, when an influx of southeast Asian refugees forced changes to how Americans provided sanctuary. Now, as Afghan refugees continue to arrive after the fall of Kabul and amidst the continuing stream of people fleeing violence in the Americas, could this be a moment when our system changes again? And if so, how might we create a better system? In the final show of our series on asylum we talk about how to build a better system for providing humanitarian relief at our borders and inside our country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forum Book Club returns with "How Much of These Hills Is Gold," the debut novel from C. Pam Zhang. Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, the book has been praised for its "arresting," "lyrical," and "ravishingly written" style. It follows the quest of two Chinese-American orphans, Sam and Lucy, to bury their father, a failed gold prospector. In this tender coming-of-age story, Zhang asks "what makes a home a home?" and in placing a Chinese family at its center, a group that history has not just forgotten, but in some instances, erased, the novel reshapes the American western. We'll talk to Zhang and a panel of fellow writers about the book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest installment of Forum's series on asylum seeking in the U.S., we'll take a look at what challenges Central American refugee communities in the Bay Area face. Many struggle to have their cases and stories heard. We'll also check in on the Central American Minors initiative allowing Central American migrant children to enter the country legally, which the Biden administration revived earlier this month. Community advocates Esmeralda Mendoza of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant and Vanessa Velasco of CARECEN SF join us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marin County officials are considering desalination plants to help weather a drought that is expected to deplete water resources as early as next summer. Newark has desalinated brackish water from the groundwater basin beneath Alameda Creek since 2003. And Antioch is launching its own desalination project. But critics say the environmental and economic costs of the technology are too high. We’ll hear which Bay Area counties are looking to desalination for drought mitigation and discuss the pros and cons of the technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday that they submitted data to the FDA showing that their COVID vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 5 -11 We'll talk about when we can expect the agency to act -- and best practices for parents of young kids in the meantime -- with Paul Offit, a pediatrician and member of the FDA Covid Vaccine Advisory Panel. We'll also talk to Offit about his new book "You Bet Your Life," a history of medical innovations from the earliest antibiotics to the first blood transfusions, and the profound risks that accompanied them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area has been home to a vibrant Afghan community for decades. California lawmakers have been showing unified support in welcoming Afghan asylum seekers to the Bay Area, proposing legislation and holding a string of town halls in support of resettlement efforts. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, KQED reports that local service provider Jewish Family & Community Services resettled 77 Afghans in the East Bay -- which is typically the number of people they resettle over six months. But a warm welcome doesn't solve a major issue at hand: the Bay Area's and California's housing affordability crisis. We'll speak with Harris Mojadedi, a local community organizer and member of the Afghan Coalition, about the status of resettlement efforts here in the Bay Area and what Bay Area residents can do to help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palo Alto officials next month plan to reopen University Avenue and some other streets that had been closed to car traffic during the pandemic. Some retailers say turning streets into outdoor dining areas has hurt their businesses by reducing parking spaces and covering up storefronts. Meanwhile many restaurant owners, especially those who invested in furniture and parklets, want to keep streets closed to continue serving customers outside. Various cities are facing similar dilemmas about whether to reopen streets and effective ways to support businesses. We’ll talk about how cities and residents are rethinking uses for public roadways and spaces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's conditional release program, known as CONREP, is supposed to enable patients leaving state psychiatric hospitals to transition to an independent life and avoid violent relapses. But a new investigation by The Marshall Project and the Los Angeles Times found that CONREP can put former patients in a decades-long legal limbo during which the state dictates where they live, whether they can work and whom they can see -- even requiring permission for activities like creative writing or joining a book group. Those in CONREP are disproportionately people of color. We'll talk to Marshall Project staff writer Christie Thompson about what she uncovered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ESPN 30 for 30 podcast, “The King of Crenshaw,” examines the life and legacy of hip hop artist, entrepreneur and son of South Los Angeles Nipsey Hussle told through the lens of his close relationships with professional basketball players. Hosted by Justin Tinsley, a senior writer for ESPN’s The Undefeated, the four-part series explores black male friendship, grief, resilience -- and the responsibility that comes with “making it out” of a poor neighborhood and giving back. Hussle was not only famous for his music, but also for the way he used his fame to contribute to his South L.A. neighborhood, mapping out a vision for land ownership and community empowerment before he was tragically murdered in 2019 at 33 years old. It was that spirit and dedication that influenced fellow entertainers and NBA athletes who come from similar backgrounds. Tinsley joins us to discuss “The King of Crenshaw.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Images of border patrol agents on horses forcibly beating back Haitian asylum seekers at the Mexican border have been igniting outrage. It’s just the latest refugee crisis that critics say the U.S. has handled poorly. This week on Forum we’ll talk with members of the Bay Area’s Haitian, Afghan, and Central American communities to discuss conditions in their countries and the struggle to gain refugee status. First, to launch the series, we look at the origins of international asylum policy, which was established after the US rejected Jews fleeing the Holocaust. We’ll discuss how the U.S asylum rules have morphed over the decades and how we’ve made decisions about who should be let in and why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Haiti is grappling with an unprecedented environmental crisis after a recent hurricane and earthquake. A political crisis following the assassination of the Haitian president has left the Haitian people with a crashing economy, and violence. After the U.S. began deporting some of the approximately 13,000 Haitian migrants to have arrived at the Mexican border, the U.S. special envoy for Haiti resigned in protest, citing the “inhumane” treatment of Haitian migrants at the border as well as the decision to deport them as they flee political and environmental devastation. We speak with Bay Area resident Claude-Alix Bertrand, Haiti’s ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to get his thoughts on the Haitian migration crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything has a story — including that street couch in your neighborhood. As USC professor and creator of streetcouch.com Keith Plocek puts it: “Just think of all the sitting. All the conversations. All the silences. Life. Death. Butts. Pets.” And then one day, that piece of furniture ends up on the street and a new story begins — a lucky find for someone, a new canvas for a graffiti artist or an addition to the landfill. In a recent story for the Los Angeles Times, reporter Julissa James explored the range of experiences with street furniture, from the joy of a good find and refurbishing job to the queasy questioning of what’s in those cushions, especially in the age of COVID-19. We’ll talk about the culture of street furniture and hear your street furniture stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recently-surfaced memo written by conservative lawyer John Eastman revealed a detailed plan for the Trump administration to overturn President Joe Biden’s election. The document included a six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election in early 2021, including throwing out legal ballots in seven states. The explicit nature of these strategies from President Trump’s legal team shows the stopgaps and weaknesses in our nation’s election laws. We talk to Washington Post reporter Philip Bump and Politico reporter Nicholas Wu about how we might address the loopholes that President Trump sought to exploit, and discuss whether formerly-establishment figures like Eastman may face any fallout or punishment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Berkeley’s influential Chez Panisse restaurant has turned 50. The restaurant transformed food culture in the Bay Area and put California, and farm to table cuisine, on the global culinary map. We talk with founder Alice Waters, and chefs and food producers who got their start at the restaurant, about the history and legacy of Chez Panisse and the future of the ecosystem of farms, food and restaurants it inspired. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of the 70,000 survivors of wildfires sparked by PG&E equipment between 2015 and 2018, have yet to see any of the promised $13.5 billion settlement with the utility. Now, attorneys in a burgeoning wildfire litigation arena are working fast to hang their shingles in towns like Quincy and Susanville, where many wildfire evacuees -- trapped in motels or staying with friends-- try to figure out their next steps. The lawyers promise big settlements out of PG&E. But many families who once turned to these same lawyers after losing homes and loved ones to previous wildfires, still sleep in cars and trailers and are warning recent wildfire survivors to beware of unkept promises from the legal profession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last December, Forum spoke to four nurses and doctors on the frontlines of COVID care in California. At the time, cases were surging statewide, and no vaccines were available. They described heartbreaking patient deaths, overflowing ICUs and the heavy emotional toll of their work. The same healthcare workers join us again, nine months later, to share what has improved and the profound challenges that remain for those caring for the sickest patients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The word freedom can be used in so many ways, sometimes at cross purposes. There are those who defend the freedom to remain unvaccinated, others the freedom to move in the world without excess risk. “Can you think of a more depleted, imprecise, or weaponized word?” writes author and Bay Area native Maggie Nelson in her new essay collection, “On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint”. Nelson probes the idea of freedom in the context of some of the most charged disagreements of our age, including around climate change, sexuality, addiction and more. She joins us to share what freedom means to her and why she sees it as “an unending present practice, something already going on.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Life is something we need to stop correcting." That's what Theo, the single astrobiologist father who narrates Richard Powers's latest novel, thinks when doctors try to prescribe medication for Robin, his passionately curious and emotionally volatile young son. But as Robin continues to lash out, Theo enrolls him in an experimental brain therapy that expands his empathic abilities and sharpens his scientific gifts. The novel, informed in part by the classic story "Flowers for Algernon," explores what Powers calls the bafflement of empathy -- whether we would have to give up being ourselves in order to understand someone who isn't us." We talk with Powers about "Bewilderment." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the KNP Complex fire, which has burned about 40 square miles in the Western Sierra, began spreading through Sequoia National Park, firefighters mobilized to preserve the park's groves of ancient sequoia trees. Among the trees imperiled by the still uncontained fire, was General Sherman, the world's largest tree. We’ll hear about firefighters’ extraordinary efforts to save the giants, including wrapping them in aluminum blankets. And we’ll also talk about what a future of climate-intensified fires means for the iconic sequoias. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 2020 Census, the number of Latinos who selected “white” as their race dropped to 20% from 53% in 2010, at the same time more Latinos selected “two or more races” or “other” as their racial category. Experts say this indicates an evolution in Latinos' complicated relationship with race. The terms Latino and Hispanic emerged as categories in the U.S. Census decades ago, but the way the categories are presented on forms has been a source of controversy and confusion for just as long. Latinos come from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds, so the concept of a diverse group under one umbrella can be just as problematic as it can be empowering. We dive into the nuances of racial identity and how perceptions of race are shifting among Latinx people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, top officials at Facebook have been aware of the platform's adverse impacts on users, and they've turned a blind eye to company employees who've tried to push for change. That's according to a new Wall Street Journal investigation that uncovered internal documents suggesting the company willfully disregarded reports that it's harming teens' mental health and failing to stop the spread of misinformation. In a blog post, Facebook said the investigation deliberately mischaracterized the company's actions and "conferred egregiously false motives" on its leadership. We'll talk to the reporters behind the investigation about what they learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a set of housing bills last week that aim to increase the state’s housing inventory and return attention to his ambitious goals to build more housing. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, Newsom called for California to build roughly 500,000 new homes per year to reach a goal of 3.5 million new housing units by 2025. Meanwhile, California has on average added less than 100,000 units of housing per year for the past decade, according to CalMatters. Experts say some of the new housing laws, SB 8, SB 9, SB 10 could usher in hundreds of thousands of new homes over time by making it easier to build more units on lots previously designated solely for single-family homes. We talk about whether these laws will increase housing supply, how they could influence housing prices, and how they could change the look and feel of neighborhoods across the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a new cover story for The Atlantic, writer Hannah Giorgis looks critically at Hollywood’s writers’ rooms and how most of them look nothing like America. Documenting the history of Black writers who have navigated predominantly white writers’ rooms -- often confronting implicit and explicit biases -- Giorgis reveals the renaissance of onscreen representation they helped bring to television. Still, Hollywood remains an industry dominated by white men, and that continues to impact the hiring of offscreen Black talent and who’s at the table. We’ll talk to Giorgis about whether the tide is really turning in Hollywood when it comes to diverse representation -- not only in the stories we tell, but who’s telling them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It may come as a surprise to some of the region’s urban dwellers that more than 1000 miles of trails outline the San Francisco Bay. Running along the water’s edge through nine counties, the Bay trail passes by museums, bars, and parks ready for kite flying. And the Ridge trail circumnavigates the Bay at a higher elevation, offering 365 degree views across the region. We’ll hear about the provenance and evolution of these two different but precious hiking and biking resources, and what they mean to the region. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden stopped construction on Trump’s signature wall along the southern border, but he’s asking for more than a billion dollars in his proposed budget for border infrastructure including modern security technology to bolster a “smart wall” increasingly reliant on surveillance tech that backers in Congress have called an effective and humane approach. But critics say the use of facial recognition software, license plate readers, ground sensors and mobile surveillance towers that send alerts to border agents are part of an increasingly militarized border that drives migrants to deadlier paths and imperils the privacy rights of residents near the border. We’ll talk about the new approach to border security and the private defense surveillance tech industry that benefits from it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the key action scenes in the new Marvel Studios film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” involves a city bus losing control on California Street in San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. Other scenes are filmed in the city’s Richmond District -- not a typical locale for a major Hollywood production. The film, released Sept. 3, celebrates San Francisco and Asian Americans in other ways as well. We’ll talk about San Francisco’s role in the movie, which is already one of the year’s biggest hits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom beat the attempt to recall him this week handily, with over 60% of the vote, so far. But the results haven’t seemed to phase failed Republican challenger Larry Elder, who’s proclaimed he’s not leaving California’s political stage. Elder’s rise prompted Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith to ponder if he could usher in a new era of Black conservatism in California, even while he embraces Trump and denies the existence of systemic racism. As we wind down from this week’s recall, we’ll talk to Smith about her latest columns and hear from Black conservative Corrin Rankin, who vice-chairs the Central Valley GOP, about what she thinks Elder means for California’s Black Republican voters and hopeful leaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, SF Weekly, the free alternative newspaper, announced that it would cease publication for the foreseeable future. The loss of the paper, which won numerous accolades, including a George K. Polk Award for investigative reporting on the U.S. Navy's handling of nuclear waste at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, has been called incalculable. Its closure echoes the 2014 demise of the Weeklys bitter rival, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and it leaves the city with no alt-weeklies. Yet, there was a time when alt-weeklies, their issues fat with pages of copy and advertising, were a vibrant part of the Bay Area's zeitgeist. We'll talk about the golden age of alt-weeklies and whether newer, online models of local journalism can fill that void. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the various bills sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk is AB 701, which would require companies that operate warehouses in California to disclose productivity quotas and tracking information to employees and government agencies. The bill takes aim at Amazon Inc., a global retailer that employs more than 150,000 workers and maintains more than 60 warehouses in California. Workers nationwide have complained about grueling conditions at the company’s distribution centers, which demand repetitive tasks and long hours that can lead to injury. We’ll talk about the legislation and efforts to ensure worker safety in Amazon warehouses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his new book “Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy,” historian Adam Tooze analyzes the different ways governments around the world responded to the pandemic and what their responses say about the way power works in the modern world. Synthesizing information from dozens of countries, Tooze traces various levels of economic interaction and their impacts “from main streets to central banks, from families to factories, from favelas to traders.” Tooze joins us to discuss “Shutdown” and share his thoughts on what we can learn from the pandemic when it comes to preparing for future global “polycrises.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California's recall process has been called undemocratic, confusing and inordinately expensive. We look at proposals both to change it, such as increasing the number of signatures required to put a recall on the ballot, and to eliminate it altogether. And we continue to bring you live analysis of Tuesday's vote and hear your reactions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The petition to recall Governor Gavin Newsom began in February of last year. Now, more than a year and a half later, California voters decided against the effort. On the day after the final ballots were cast, we analyze the election results and discuss what they tell us about the future of Gavin Newsom, the state’s Republican party, California’s pandemic response and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bears who break and enter, elephants who commit manslaughter and deer who jaywalk: they’re all the subject of science writer Mary Roach’s latest book “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law.” Roach spent two years immersed in the quirky, complex world of human-wildlife conflict prevention -- embedding with elephant attack specialists, bear forensics investigators and professional bird scarers. We talk to Roach about why wild animals encroach on human spaces and how we can coexist more peacefully with our animal neighbors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lake Powell, a 190-mile long reservoir in Utah that holds back the Colorado River, and which can hold 24 million acres of water, has dropped 140 feet since 2000 and 50 feet in the last year. But as the lake's surface recedes, leaving a bathtub-like ring marking its evaporation, Glen Canyon, a natural wonder which was partially flooded by the dam, has reemerged. As Elizabeth Kolbert writes, in that canyon, we are seeing the Colorado River restore itself in real time. Well talk to Kolbert about what it's like to celebrate "the effects of what, by most standards counts as a disaster" and the confounding feelings of finding silver linings in climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The special election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom is Tuesday. As of Sept. 9, a third of mailed ballots have been returned, according to Political Data, Inc. Current polls show Gov. Newsom in position to survive the recall effort. Still, get out the vote efforts remain strong with President Biden visiting California on Monday to help campaign for Newsom. Conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder continues to lead polling for the candidate to replace Newsom, should he be recalled. One critical voting bloc campaigns are vying for is Latinos, who have propelled Democrats to a complete lock on the Legislature and every statewide office from the Governor’s office on down. We’ll hear reporting on how Latinos are reacting to campaign messages targeting them both for and against the recall, and get the latest voter turnout news on the eve of the election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the past year, state legislatures across the country have implemented restrictive voting laws that experts say will stop some voters from casting ballots. Voter suppression is not a new phenomenon in the United States, but lawmakers are coming up with new ways to restrict voting access. In Texas for example, a recently passed state law limits the use of ballot drop boxes and impedes election officials from promoting vote-by-mail, according to the New York Times. Efforts to protect voting rights and access at the federal level have stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, California finds itself in the middle of a gubernatorial recall election in which a small minority of voters could decide the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who overwhelmingly won his office in 2018. We talk about laws and policies limiting voting access and their threat to democracy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s eviction moratorium expires on Sept. 30. Renters can still apply for state assistance and receive limited protections through March of next year, but tenants and advocates say the protections offer a patchwork solution and that the rental relief program rollout has been slow and tedious. In fact, only about 18 percent of renters who applied for state rental relief have received money. Meanwhile, more than 750,000 households in California are behind on rent owing an estimated $2.8 billion, according to the National Equity Atlas, a database focused on racial and economic equity. We’ll hear from tenants who have struggled to pay rent during the pandemic and how they are coping with limited state assistance and possible eviction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking back at the news headlines in the Bay Area on September 10, 2001 gives us a snapshot of what consumed us that day. There was violence: a mass shooting in Sacramento, the murder of a family in Bernal Heights. Barry Bonds reached 63 home runs the day before. Democrats were hitting President George W. Bush on the sluggish economy. The Dow Industrial Average neared 10,000. It wouldn’t reach that level again until 2009. We look back at life, politics and culture on 9/10/01 to take measure of what changed after that next day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Texas anti-abortion law which the Supreme Court declined to block, took many by surprise. The law prohibits abortions after six weeks, even in the case of rape and incest, and includes a novel civil enforcement provision that would allow private citizens to sue anyone who provides or aids and abets an abortion procedure. In remarks defending the law, Texas Governor Greg Abbott claimed a rape victim could obtain an abortion in the six-week period. Critics, like the Planned Parenthood PAC, responded forcefully tweeting: If you don't understand many people don't even know they're pregnant until after 6 weeks, then you shouldn't be restricting their options. Well talk about the impact the Texas law has had in the state and throughout the nation and how it is resetting the debate on abortion rights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifty years ago this week, people incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility in New York rebelled, taking hostages after their requests for reform were denied by prison administrators. Attica State Prison was overpopulated at the time and the majority Black and Latino prisoners lived in dehumanizing conditions, including physical and mental abuse and allowances of only one shower a week. In taking over the prison, one of the voices of the rebellion, Elliot “L.D.” Barkley declared: “We are men! We are not beasts and we do not intend to be driven or beaten as such!” When New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller ordered state police to retake the prison after four days of failed negotiations, 39 people were killed in what the subsequent McKay Commission called “the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War.” On this anniversary, we’ll reflect on the Attica Prison Rebellion of 1971, its legacy and ties to numerous prison rebellions at the time — including in California — and what it has meant for today’s reform efforts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California faces a shortfall of more than 40,000 full-time equivalent registered nurses, a gap that's expected to last until 2026, according to a new UCSF report. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced experienced nurses to quit the field owing to exhaustion and burnout, and hospitals are struggling to fill positions. We'll talk about the toll the staffing shortage is taking on nurses, patients and hospitals and how to mitigate it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rewarding someone for not abusing drugs might sound counterintuitive, but in fact, its a highly effective form of treatment. Called "contingency management," the treatment focuses on positive reinforcement, and the VA has been using it successfully for the last ten years. A bill on California Governor Gavin Newsom's desk would help fund this program statewide. We'll talk to experts about how and why contingency management works and how it could improve treatment outcomes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First Fridays, a popular monthly art walk and street fair in Oakland, will restart in October -- months after event organizers originally planned to resume after pandemic closures. They said they couldn’t afford a $24,000 per event fee the Oakland police charged for security. Other events have also been delayed or canceled because of prohibitively expensive security fees, which event organizers say seem arbitrary and often surface at the last minute. Oakland’s city council approved a resolution last year to change the public events permitting process, but hasn’t been implemented. We talk about the cost of putting on events in Oakland and what the city could do to address the problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic might feel endless, but for scientists COVID-19 is still relatively new and research is evolving quickly. We'll talk with an infectious disease specialist about major studies that have come out recently. There are new findings on masks, the effectiveness of vaccines, and how much immunity we get from prior COVID infections. We'll talk about the newest research and treatments and we'll take your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Skies darkened by smoke. Streets flooded by rain. Temperatures so hot, sea animals boiled in the ocean. Given this year of extreme weather, fire and heat, it is no wonder that “eco-anxiety” or “climate dread” have entered our vernacular. But they are more than catchphrases. Climate-induced anxiety is a real set of emotions that can require attention and treatment and for some, those emotions are a call to action. We’ll talk about climate anxiety and the climate solutions it’s helping to foster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior over extending the lease of parkland by dairy and beef cattle ranchers in Point Reyes National Seashore is due by September 13th. It would be the first update to the park's general management plan since 1980, and includes a proposal to kill some of the park's tule elk. We'll hear what's at stake in the upcoming decision, and get the history behind the battle over whether ranching should continue at Point Reyes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has represented the northwestern portion of Alameda County for more than 20 years, was the sole vote against war in Afghanistan in 2001. This moment is central to the new documentary from director Abby Ginzberg, Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth To Power. The film depicts Rep. Lee's decades-long career, tracing her early political awareness as a student at Mills College and UC Berkeley through her work on civil rights, AIDS funding and anti-poverty work. We'll talk with the Congresswoman and the documentary's director about her career and her recent statement that, there has never, and will never, be a U.S. military solution in Afghanistan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscription-based website OnlyFans, popularly used by sex workers, announced last month it would ban sexually explicit content, blaming the decision on payment providers. Less than one week later, the company said it would suspend the ban, amid backlash from sex workers and advocates. Online sex work and platforms like OnlyFans boomed in popularity during the pandemic, and many online sex workers report increased autonomy and safety compared with in-person work. Yet the industry is volatile and dependent on payment providers, which have longstanding histories of financial discrimination against sex workers. We’ll talk about the online sex work industry and hear from those who work in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices