When New York Times critic Amanda Hess was told her baby had a rare genetic condition, her first instinct was to “Google [her] way out of it.” But instead of comfort, she found anxiety – a feeling that would come to define her journey into parenthood. We talk to Hess about how technology, including fertility apps and high-end gadgets, are reshaping parenthood. Her new book is “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.”

Guests:

Amanda Hess, culture critic covering the internet and pop culture, New York Times

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A jazz festival in June. A California quilt show in July. A languorous lighthouse lunch in August. The best music, museums and memorable meals are just a few of the recommendations our KQED culture team has compiled in their annual Summer Events guide. They have advice for myriad tastes and budgets because nothing beats the Bay in the summer. Listen in and share your plans— what’s on your summer bucket list?

Guests:

Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Sarah Hotchkiss, senior associate editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts and Culture

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For several decades, Black residents of East Oakland have watched their once-thriving middle-class community wither in numbers as the rising cost of living pushed out their neighbors leaving the area blighted with empty storefronts, crime and poverty. Now, a plan called Rise East will inject $100 million of privately raised funds into a 40-square-block section of East Oakland over a 10-year period. The plan, led by local nonprofits aims to invest in education, community safety, health care, affordable housing and boost the local economy. For this special edition of Forum, we’ll broadcast live from East Oakland to talk to community leaders about the groundbreaking initiative and how it can serve as a model for community revitalization and reparations.

Guests:

Gregory Hodge, CEO, Brotherhood of Elders Network

Carolyn "CJ" Johnson, CEO, Black Cultural Zone

Selena Wilson, CEO, East Oakland Youth Development Center

Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO, Roots Community Clinic

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next waypoint

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The biggest owners of the Trump memecoin $Trump will dine with the president Thursday night at the Trump National Golf Club. The cryptocurrency directly enriches the Trump family and has alarmed public corruption experts on both sides of the aisle – as has the administration’s acceptance Wednesday of a luxury jet from Qatar. We take a closer look at Trump’s efforts to use his office for personal gain, the dangers it poses and how far voters are willing to let him go.

Guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany, reporter covering cryptocurrencies and fintech, New York Times

Abdallah Fayyad, policy correspondent, Vox; His recent piece is "How corrupt is Trump’s plan to accept a Qatari plane?".

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Vladimir Putin has removed tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of his full scale invasion in February 2022. The deportations, often carried out under the pretense of “humanitarian evacuation,” have targeted vulnerable Ukrainian children including orphans, children with disabilities and children with parents in the military. Children who have escaped describe having been sent to re-education camps, prohibited from speaking Ukrainian and denied contact with their relatives at home. The International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, defines the unlawful transfer of children to Russia as a war crime. We’ll talk to Kyiv-based child advocates about the status of efforts to bring the children back, and we’ll meet a U.S. congressman from California who wants to hold Russia accountable.

The reporting for this episode was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine’s Unseen Frontlines Initiative in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Guests:

Jimmy Panetta, member, U.S. House of Representatives (CA-19)

Mykola Kulebra, founder, Save Ukraine; former Commissioner for Children’s Rights for the President of Ukraine (2014-2021)

Lena Rozvadoska, co-founder, Voices of Children

Azad Safarov, journalist, documentarian and producer; co-founder of Voices of Children

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When a scrappy San Francisco literary journal launched in 1985 to champion West Coast writers, the dream was to make a lasting imprint. Now, 40 years later, we celebrate Zyzzyza’s anniversary with editor Oscar Villalón and writers Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and Ingrid Rojas Contreras. We’ll talk about the literary journal’s vision, its stellar roster of writers and poets, and what makes the West Coast literary scene special.

Guests:

Oscar Villalon, editor, Zyzzyva Magazine - San Francisco based literary journal

Daniel Handler, author of the children's book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" under the pen name "Lemony Snicket" - contributor, "The End of the Golden Gate"

Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Bay Area-based writer, author of the novel “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” and the memoir “The Man Who Could Move Clouds”

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New research from UC San Francisco’s Memory and Aging Center suggests that a decline in one region of the brain can cause other regions to “step in to help” – unlocking surprising capacities like deeper empathy or creativity. We talk to two UCSF doctors about why this has implications for any neurodegenerative disorder, including dementia. They join us to share their dementia-related discoveries. Their new book is “Mysteries of the Social Brain.”

Guests:

Dr. Bruce Miller, A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor in Neurology, UCSF; Director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center; founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute

Dr. Virginia Sturm, professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF

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What makes a family tick? While parents spend lots of time and energy trying to shape their kids’ lives, studies show that siblings play as significant a role in who their brothers and sisters become. We talk to New York Times Magazine staff writer Susan Dominus about her new book, “Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success,” and we hear from you: how did a sibling shape who you are?

Guests:

Susan Dominus, author, "The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success;" staff writer, New York Times Magazine

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Do your seasonal allergies feel worse this spring? You might not be imagining it: climate change is hastening the end of winter, pushing up pollen production and intensifying winds that spread allergens around. We’ll talk to doctors about the science of seasonal allergies, learn why some of us are more vulnerable to them than others and hear how to get relief from all the sniffing, scratching and sneezing.

Guests:

Dr. Sayantani (Tina) Sindher, Clinical Associate Professor of Allergy and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine

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The Trump administration has announced plans to end temporary protected status for people from countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Venezuela, and Ukraine as part of a broader strategy to limit immigration. The administration also put a halt on refugee resettlement programs, but made an exception for white South Africans who officials said were facing persecution in their home country. Critics have denounced Trump’s decision to welcome South Africans while leaving close to 8,000 Afghans, many of whom assisted the United States during the war there, vulnerable to deportation and death if they return home. We talk about our nation’s immigration policies and what it means for the Bay Area’s Afghan community.

Guests:

Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR; formerly food and agriculture policy reporter at Politico covering immigration, labor and equity issues

Pedro Noguera, dean and professor, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education; he was student body president of UC Berkeley in 1985 and one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement

Joseph Azam, Board chair, Afghan-American Foundation - non-partisan non-profit focused on advocating on behalf of Afghan American community

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