KQED's Forum

Historian Miriam Pawel says the University of California system is unique in its commitment to being “an engine of social, intellectual, and economic mobility.” But even with record-high applications this year, it’s facing profound challenges, like federal funding cuts and fierce debates over whether it should reinstate the SAT. We’ll talk with Pawel about how the history of the UC is the history of California – and how the futures of both are intertwined. Her new book is “California Dreams: The Making and Remaking of the University of California.”

Guest:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AGI or “artificial general intelligence” has been both the holy grail of machine learning researchers, and also the source of their biggest fears. Whereas AI refers to task-specific responses like finding a recipe, summarizing a contract, or explaining how a car works, AGI can write its own recipe, draft a contract autonomously, and drive the car.  In his new book, “The AGI Chronicles,” journalist Kevin Roose goes inside the race to create super intelligent machines, detailing the feuds, defections and breakthroughs fueling the trillion-dollar effort. He also highlights the exhilarating and troubling questions its creators are grappling with: Does the tech have a conscience? And might it obliterate humanity?

Guest:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican candidate for governor Steve Hilton says California needs a dramatic break from years of Democratic party rule. He wants to slash income taxes, build new cities, overhaul homelessness policy, expand energy production and rethink California’s approach to immigration and regulation. Polls show him well behind Democrat Xavier Becerra, but is he shifting the boundaries of political debate in the state? We talk with Steve Hilton about his case for a California reset.

Guests:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Aliksandria Prout was released from the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla in 2022, she set out to bring the correctional officer who abused her to justice. Her story — along with many other survivors of prison abuse — is detailed in a new series from KQED’s Snap Studios called “We Are Jane Doe.” The three-part series chronicles a two-year investigation by reporters Madi Bolaños and Anna Sussman into sexual abuse and retaliation at one of the largest women’s prisons on earth. We’ll talk with Prout about her experience as “Jane Doe Number One” in the high profile case against Gregory Rodriguez — and hear from Bolaños and Sussman about how the prison system has enabled this kind of abuse to go unchecked.

Guests:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his second term, President Trump has aggressively targeted immigrant communities away from the border, and tens of thousands of immigrant parents are being detained and deported without their children. More than 200,000 children—most of them American citizens—have been separated from their parents, and many have been left behind with temporary caregivers. Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Caitlin Dickerson’s latest investigation for The Atlantic, “The Babies Left Behind in America,” documents the policy changes that have allowed ICE to prioritize deportation quotas over child welfare. We speak with Dickerson about the hidden toll of this domestic separation crisis and what it means for families across the country.

Guests:

Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic, 2023 Pulitzer Prize recipient for her reporting on immigration, author of new article “The Babies Left Behind in America.”

Kelly Kribs, co-director, Technical Assistance Program, The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 23 years, the Oakland Police Department has been released from federal oversight. The federal monitoring, the longest in U.S. history, traces back to the “Riders” scandal: In 2003, a group of Oakland police officers were accused of planting evidence, falsifying reports and beating suspects. Civil rights attorneys sued the city on behalf of 119 plaintiffs and Oakland settled that lawsuit by agreeing to a list of 51 reforms designed to prevent future police abuses of power. Over two decades, more scandals emerged that prevented the end of the monitoring but now OPD says that this past is well behind them. We’ll talk about the impact of the federal oversight on policing in Oakland and the outlook for police accountability, public safety and the OPD as the department regains its independence

Guests:

Darwin BondGraham, news editor, Oaklandside, co-author of “The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption and Cover-up in Oakland”

John Burris, civil rights attorney

Barbara Lee, mayor of Oakland, served as U.S. congressmember representing parts of the East Bay from 1998-2025

Christy Lopez, law professor and former deputy chief, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, Georgetown University, served as a federal court monitor of the Oakland Police Department

Rocky Lucia, law partner and attorney, Rains, Lucia, Stern, St. Phalle & Silver, PC

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What we choose to post (or not post) to social media — the moments we highlight, the wording of our captions — tells a story about who we are. Those stories, says author Kathryn Jezer-Morton, then shape key parts of our offline lives, like the milestones we value and who we maintain relationships with. Jezer-Morton joins us to talk about her new book: “The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opposition to data centers could play a role in who gets elected in November, especially in local races. Hundreds of new data centers have been popping up across the country, sparking backlash from residents who are worried about everything from water usage to machines destroying the economy. We’ll talk about the intensifying opposition to data centers and AI and how the issue could play out in the upcoming election.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the race to be California’s next governor, Democrat and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has maintained a sizable lead despite keeping a low public profile. Meanwhile, Republican Steve Hilton has been pressing his case as an outsider who will cut taxes and support the working class. Ahead of their debate on CNN on Wednesday evening, we’ll look at why enthusiasm for the Democratic front-runner is lagging.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the crowd in Ballhalla roared, the Golden State Valkyries crushed the Dallas Wings in game 1 of their playoff series Sunday night. Led by coach Natalie Nakase, the team features veteran stars like forwards Gabby Williams and Kayla Thornton but it might be the passionate fan base that sets the team apart.  Though only in their second year in the WNBA, the Valkyries have drawn sellout crowds ready to “put their V’s up.” But as the playoffs unfold, the WNBA’s record growth collides with old problems: pay disputes, online harassment and the misogyny that still shadows women’s sports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices