KQED's Forum

Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax”, opined that sea level rise caused by melting glaciers “could create more oceanfront property,” and has said “nuclear warming” is just as concerning as a hotter planet. During his first administration, Trump made a point of dismantling Obama-era climate rules, and in his second, he has vowed to double down on production of fossil fuels. We talk to experts about what climate efforts may look like during a Trump Administration, and how California will respond.

Guests:

Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; host of the podcast, Climate Break

Lisa Friedman, reporter on the climate desk, New York Times

Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor, engineering, Princeton University

Aru Shiney-Ajay, Executive Director, Sunrise movement, a grassroots organization of students and young people focused on climate change

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Political strategist Mike Madrid says that democrats are in for a “long overdue reckoning” following an election where Trump support among self-identifying Hispanic voters was up some 14 percentage points compared to 2020, according to an Edison Research exit poll. We talk to Madrid about why he says the democratic party is less ethnically diverse than it was and what it needs to do to regain working class and Latino voters.

Guests:

Mike Madrid, political strategist, his new book is "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy" ; co-founder, The Lincoln Project

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On the face of it, California and Florida – the homestates of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – are polar opposites. The divisions between the states came to symbolize the nation’s red/blue divide in the starkly different responses to the pandemic and the rivalry between their ambitious and politically powerful governors. But we also share a lot of the same concerns, including a housing affordability crisis and disasters caused by extreme weather. In this hour we team up with South Florida public radio station WLRN for a post-election conversation about where the country is headed and what unites and divides us.

Guests:

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown

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Donald Trump has long had it in for California. He’s threatened to withhold federal aid for wildfire recovery, tried to revoke the state’s Clean Air Act waiver and referred to Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff as examples of the “enemy from within.” Now that Trump has secured another term, California officials are preparing for what CalMatters reporter Alexei Koseff calls the “return of the resistance state.” How would you like California to respond to a second Trump Administration?

Guests:

Melanie Mason, senior political correspondent, Politico

Alexei Koseff, reporter, CalMatters

Eleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor for the state of California, chairs the California Advisory Council for International Trade and Investment

Anita Chabria, columnist, Los Angeles Times

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In a recent post on Substack, writer and longtime political observer James Fallows wrote, “By the standards of any presidential race in modern times, Kamala Harris ran a very ‘good’ campaign… By those same standards, Trump ran a very bad campaign… And none of it mattered.” So, what did matter on election day? And, how does the Bay Area make sense of an election where the country voted overwhelmingly against one of our region’s most prominent politicians, Kamala Harris? Fallows joins Forum to help us understand what happened in the election and to discuss his recent Wired article, “After the Election, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward No Matter What.”

Guests:

James Fallows, journalist; former national correspondent for The Atlantic and author of the newsletter Breaking the News. His new article in Wired titled “After the Election, California (Yes, That Hellscape) Will Keep Moving the World Forward No Matter What.”

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On the day after the election, we’ll bring you the latest results in the presidential race and the battle for Congress as well as key California contests and ballot measures. Politics reporters Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos of KQED and Andrew Prokop of Vox join us to analyze what we know so far, and where votes are still being tallied.

Guests:

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

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

Andrew Prokop, senior politics reporter, Vox

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Bay Area voters were faced with pivotal decisions in Tuesday’s election that could have major impacts on our region. KQED reporters join us to talk about results from local and regional races and ballot measures. We’ll discuss the ranked choice results from San Francisco’s mayoral race and the recalls of Oakland’s mayor and Alameda County’s District Attorney. Voters also weighed in on controversial propositions such as Sonoma’s Measure J, an attempt to ban large-scale animal farms, and Measure K, deciding the future of San Francisco’s Great Highway. And we’ll hear from you, what Bay Area races were you watching?

Guests:

Alex Hall, enterprise and accountability reporter, KQED

Annelise Finney, reporter, KQED

Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Sydney Johnson, reporter, KQED News

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For many Americans, the 2024 election has caused rifts between family members, created animosity among friends and made civil political debate all but impossible. We share tips on navigating political differences and repairing relationships, especially when an election outcome doesn’t go your way. How are you handling political conflict in your family or social circle?

Guests:

A Martinez, host of Morning Edition and Up First, NPR

Dr. Tania Israel, Professor of Counseling Psychology, UC Santa Barbara - author of her newest book, "Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation"

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After a grueling campaign season, Election Day has arrived. Here at Forum, we asked ourselves what we would want to hear on an anxiety-inducing day. To that end, we’ve brought together a panel of thinkers including Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate, Jenny Odell, an artist and author who has thought deeply about nature and time, and Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor, who has written about awe and wonder. We’ll talk with them about how they find beauty, discovery and meaning in the face of worrying times, and hear from you: What is keeping you grounded today?

Guests:

Jenny Odell, author of "Saving Time: Discovering A Life Beyond the Clock". Odell is also the author of "How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy"

Tracy K. Smith, poet; professor of English and of African and African American Studies, Harvard University - She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for her book, "Life on Mars." She is the author of five poetry collections, including "Such Color," "Wade in Water," among other volumes

Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology and faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley -Keltner is the author of "Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life." He served as a consultant on the Pixar films, "Inside Out" and "Inside Out 2".

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Donald Trump on Thursday called former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney a “radical war hawk” who should have guns “trained on her face.” This has become increasingly typical of the rhetoric coming from the Trump campaign — a campaign Atlantic staff writer David Graham says is “premised around violence, disregard for the rule of law, and retribution for anyone who might disagree with him.” We’ll talk with Graham and experts on extremism and extremist rhetoric about the impacts of Trump’s threatening messaging.

Guests:

David Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic

Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security and Security and Global Health Projects

Jennifer Mercieca, professor, Department of Communication & Journalism, Texas A&M University; author, “Demagogue For President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump”

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