Whether you’re looking for an outdoor excursion, a quiet art gallery to wander through or a rousing show for an evening’s entertainment, KQED’s Arts & Culture team has got you covered. From festival dates to soccer schedules, the 2024 Summer Guide has recommendations in the Bay Area covering every interest and price point. We’ll get a temperature check on how the region’s arts and culture ecosystem is faring and hear from reporters about what they’re looking forward to this season.

Guests:

Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & Culture

Nastia Voynovskaya, editor and reporter, KQED Arts

David John Chávez, theatre critic; author of the theater portion of KQED’s summer arts preview

Alan Chazaro, arts and food reporter, KQED; also a poet and educator

Here’s What to Do in the Bay Area This Summer

Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints.

Want to call/submit your comments during our live Forum program Mon-Fri, 9am-11am? We'd love to hear from you! Please dial 866.SF.FORUM or (866) 733-6786 or email forum@kqed.org, tweet, or post on Facebook.

News

Politics

News Commentary

A New York state jury on Thursday found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Those falsified records were to cover up a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. After being the first former U.S. president to stand trial for felony charges, Trump is now the first president to be found guilty in criminal court. His sentencing date is set for July 11 — days before the Republican National Convention. We’ll talk about the verdict, the sentencing and the expected appeals ahead. And we’ll break down the political repercussions within California and the nation.

Guests:

Shanlon Wu, criminal defense attorney; CNN legal analyst; former federal prosecutor who also served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno

Melissa Murray, professor of law, NYU School of Law - co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast

Andrea Bernstein, covered five Trump trials in New York for NPR, and the author of "American Oligarchs: the Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power." She is also the co-host of the podcasts "We Don't Talk About Leonard," "Will Be Wild," and "Trump, Inc."

Former President Donald Trump Convicted in Hush Money Case

A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first current or former president in US history to become a convicted felon. It’s earth shaking news and still, the presidential race, with Trump in it, continues on. We’ll talk about what happens next, how the politics might shake out and we’ll hear from listeners and process all of our reactions.

Guests:

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - Co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown show

Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government desk; co-host, Political Breakdown

David Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic

Former President Trump is a Convicted Felon. Now What?

A recent New York Times investigation reveals how violent radical elements in Israel’s settler movement in the West Bank have been allowed to operate with impunity for decades. The report, based in part on accounts by Israeli officials, examines a two-tier system of justice where the authorities systematically ignored or enabled settler violence against Palestinians. Today, leaders of this extremist fringe have gained powerful positions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. We’ll talk with the report’s co-author, Mark Mazzetti, about the rise of Israeli extremism and what it means for the current war and U.S.-Israel relations.

Guests:

Mark Mazzetti, investigative reporter focusing on national security, New York Times; co-author, the May 16 cover story "The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel"

Mark Mazzetti on ‘How Extremists Took Over Israel’

Australian standup comedian Hannah Gadsby took the world by storm with their 2018 show Nanette, which paired punchlines with personal revelations about sexuality, art and gender-based violence. Since then, Gadsby has married, been diagnosed as autistic, and grappled with fame – all subjects of their subsequent standup performances. In June, Gadsby brings their latest show, Woof!, to the Bay Area. We talk with them about their unique brand of feel-good comedy, the searing social commentary that made them famous, and why “woof!” is the only sane reaction to our present reality.

Guests:

Hannah Gadsby, comedian

Woof! Comedian Hannah Gadsby Punchlines Grief, The Apocalypse in New Show

When OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, schools and universities were quick to ban the use of the generative artificial intelligence chatbot. Teachers have reported students using the service to cheat and turn in plagiarized and inaccurate essays. But Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, says generative AI can be a force for good in education. Khan Academy now has an educational AI chatbot, Khanmigo, which can guide students while still promoting critical thinking. Khan says developments like these could allow for every student to have a personal AI tutor and every teacher an AI teaching assistant. And Khan thinks incorporating AI in the classroom can allow for exciting new learning opportunities — with the right programming and guardrails. His new book is “Brave New Words.”

Guests:

Sal Khan, founder and CEO, Khan Academy - an education non-profit

Here’s What to Do in the Bay Area This Summer

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