Air pollution prematurely kills seven million people around the world and more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to environmental journalist Beth Gardiner. In her new book, "Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution," Gardiner travels the world, from China to the San Joaquin Valley, to understand how political and economic forces impact our air quality. Gardiner joins Forum to discuss the current state of air pollution, the legacy of the 1970 U.S. Clean Air Act, and what needs to happen next to ensure a cleaner future.

Beth Gardiner Spotlights the Serious Health Effects of Air Pollution in “Choked”

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.

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Politics

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Opening arguments could take place as soon as next week in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, where he stands accused of covering up hush money payments he made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The trial, which is expected to last for more than a month, is one of four criminal prosecutions the former president faces. Delay has beset some of those cases, as courts consider a host of pre-trial motions and interim appeals filed by Trump’s defense team. We’ll take stock of where the criminal cases against the former president stand and their impact on November’s election.

Guests:

Alan Feuer, reporter covering extremism and political violence, New York Times

First Trump Criminal Trial Underway in New York

About ten years ago, two of journalist Lissa Soep’s closest friends died around the same time. In her grieving, she found consolation in the philosophy of a 20th century Russian literary theorist, Mikhail Bakhtin, and his theory of “double voicing” – the idea that our speech is “filled to overflowing with other people’s words”. Her friends had not disappeared, instead, they’d slipped into her own language, and that of the people around her. We talk to Soep about great friendships, the mysterious power of language to sustain conversations even with those who have died and her book, “Other People’s Words.”

Guests:

Lissa Soep, author, "Other People's Words: Friendship, Loss and the Conversations that Never End." She is also senior editor for audio at Vox Media

The Beauty in Finding ‘Other People’s Words’ in Your Own

Dollar stores – the bargain chains prevalent in rural areas that sell miscellaneous merchandise at steeply discounted prices – have been blamed for contributing to food deserts and pushing out smaller mom and pop grocers. But the 99 Cents Only chain stood for something different to its fans, according to LA Times reporter Andrea Chang, who says that people relied on the bright and well-organized spaces for good quality merchandise. The California-based company announced that it will be closing all 371 of its stores just as another prominent chain, Family Dollar, plans to shutter 1000 stores. We’ll talk about the history of dollar stores, the impact they have on communities across the country and what happens to the people reliant on them when they leave.

Guests:
Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, senior reporter, Bloomberg
Andrea Chang, wealth reporter, Los Angeles Times
Sara Portnoy, professor of Latinx food studies and food justice, USC; creator and executive producer of "Abuelitas on the Borderlands" film series

What the 99 Cents Only Stores Closure Means to Californians

India’s general election will begin on Friday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third straight term in power. The election is set to be the biggest in history, with nearly a billion Indians eligible to cast ballots. Modi remains popular in India but has been criticized for his human rights record and attacks on the media and judiciary. We’ll preview the election, which runs through June, and hear from members of the Bay Area’s Indian communities.

Guests:
Anita Manwani, president, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Silicon Valley
Nikhil Inamdar, Indian business correspondent, BBC
Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow and director, South Asia Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; host, Grand Tamasha podcast
Raju Rajagopal, co-founder, Hindus for Human Rights

Bay Area Diaspora Closely Watching India’s Upcoming Election

New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill last year found that each day she was picking up her iPhone more than 100 times and looking at it for an average of five hours — roughly “the equivalent of January, February and half of March,” she writes. Even though that discovery filled her with “queasy regret,” she couldn’t nix the habit. So she decided to downgrade to a flip phone for a one-month experiment – one she says rewired her brain. Hill’s dumbphone experiment came as research suggests smartphone users are reaching for their phones every time they feel bored or anxious, which can lead to hours unintentionally spent staring at a 5-inch screen. Are you concerned you’re spending too much time on your smartphone?

Guests:

Kashmir Hill, tech reporter, New York Times; author "Your Face Belongs to Us"; her recent NYT article is "I Was Addicted to My Smartphone, So I Switched to a Flip Phone for a Month"

Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Universityl; author, “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”

Beth Gardiner Spotlights the Serious Health Effects of Air Pollution in “Choked”

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