KQED's Forum

In the first mayoral recall vote in Oakland in more than a century, voters will decide in the November election whether mayor Sheng Thao should be removed from office. After two years as mayor, Thao is contending with a historic budget deficit, widespread public safety concerns, large homeless encampments and the loss of the city’s last major professional sports team. All this in the shadow of an FBI raid on her home earlier this year. Mayor Thao joins us to talk about her approach to the city’s challenges and why voters should let her finish out her term.

Guests:

Sheng Thao, mayor of Oakland

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When ChatGPT launched advanced voice mode last month – inserting accents and ‘umms’, even taking breaths – some users called it surreal. Humans have been trying to make synthesized voices sound more natural for nearly a century. We talk about why and look at the history and evolution of synthesized voices, from robots of film like HAL and C3PO to digital assistants like Alexa.

Guests:

Kyle Orland, senior gaming editor, Ars Technica

Sarah A Bell, associate professor of digital media, Michigan Technological University; author, “Vox ex Machina: A Cultural History of Talking Machines"

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Parks are meant for everyone, but they don’t always feel that way. A lack of transportation, paths that are not easily navigated, or elements that are not responsive to a community’s wants or needs can make a park unwelcoming. But park planners today are trying to change that by bringing residents, neighbors, and stakeholders into the planning process. Case in point: San Francisco’s newest park India Basin, located in Bayview-Hunters Point. The park, which opens this Saturday, relied heavily on a community input process that resulted in designs responsive to the people it serves. We’ll talk to park experts about efforts to make urban landscapes more inclusive and rooted in the history of their communities.

Guests:

Philip Ginsburg, general manager, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department

Jacqueline Bryant, executive director, A. Randolph Institute San Francisco, nonprofit based in Bayview-Hunters Point, advocating for underserved communities

Mr. Michael Boland, former chief park officer, The Presidio Trust

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Thirty percent of all employees working in the professional services industries with an active PTO policy took sick leave in the first 10 months of 2023 — up 42% from 2019. That’s according to new research from the HR platform Gusto, which also found that workers aged 25 to 34 are the most likely of all groups to take sick days. We’ll look at why Gen Z and young millennials are less likely to work while under the weather and more likely to take mental health days – and whether older generations might have something to learn from them.

Guests:

Emily Stewart, senior correspondent, Business Insider

Malissa Clark, associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology, University of Georgia

Adam Leibow, editor, Calling in Sick Magazine

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The economy is the top issue influencing voters’ choice for president in this election, according to a recent Gallup poll. But “the economy” can mean many things to voters. In his campaign, Donald Trump has promised to lower taxes, remove regulations and raise tariffs while Kamala Harris wants to make housing more affordable, increase the corporate tax rate, and regulate grocery prices. We’ll talk about how Americans are experiencing our economy and analyze the candidates’ economic policy proposals.

Guests:

Peter Coy, economics writer, opinion, The New York Times

Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist, independent policy consultant, and contributor, Bloomberg Opinion

Casey Mulligan, economics professor, University of Chicago

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Vice President Kamala Harris is in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin this week as part of a battleground state campaign blitz to turn out the vote and to marshal support from independent and undecided voters. KQED’s Marisa Lagos was embedded with the Harris campaign on a recent stop in Arizona. We talk to her and other political reporters about the strategies informing the candidates’ ground game as this consequential presidential race enters its final stretch.

Guests:

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

Theodoric Meyer, national political reporter and co-author, Early Brief newsletter, Washington Post

Mara Liasson, national political correspondent, NPR

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The Oakland school district is looking for ways to fund lead contamination cleanup, after tests earlier this year revealed that at least 30 schools have dangerous lead levels in the drinking water. The district has been under fire from students, teachers and parents for taking months to release the results of its testing. We’ll talk about why Oakland, in the schools and beyond, has such high rates of lead poisoning, how the school district has handled it and what needs to be done to fix it.

Guests:

Alex Bledsoe, activist filmmaker producing OAKLEAD, a documentary about the history of lead poisoning in Oakland

Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research, Children Now, a California-based org focused on improving child well-being

Mike Hutchinson, vice president, Oakland School Board

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Starting next fall, public and private universities in California will no longer be allowed to consider an applicant’s relationship to alumni or donors in admissions decisions. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill last month banning the practice, known as legacy admissions. “The California Dream shouldn’t be accessible to just a lucky few, which is why we’re opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, fairly,” Newsom said in a statement. We’ll examine what the California ban on legacy admissions could mean for students and for colleges across the country.

Guests:

Nanette Asimov , Higher Education Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Jessie Ryan, President, The Campaign for College Opportunity, a non-profit policy and research organization that advocates for Californians to attend and succeed in college.

Phil Ting, Assembly member representing California's 19th district encompassing parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties

Catharine Hill, managing director of the nonprofit Ithaka S+R and a former president of Vassar College

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As the new Supreme Court term begins, the decisions and conduct of its last term have put a cloud over the judicial institution. Opinions extending the boundaries of presidential immunity and upending administrative law startled court watchers. And ethics questions about Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito helped push public opinion about the court to an all-time low. We’ll talk to legal experts about the state of the court, the cases it will take up this year and what role the justices might play in deciding the 2024 presidential election.

Guests:

Vikram Amar, professor of law, UC Davis School of Law - He clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court.

Rory Little, professor of constitutional law, UC School of Law, San Francisco - former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney

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

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The National Labor Relations Board is facing legal challenges from SpaceX, Amazon, Starbucks and other companies that argue that the nearly 90-year old agency is unconstitutional. The NLRB investigates labor disputes and protects employees’ right to organize, but if these companies have their way in court, it could result in the dissolution of the agency and the statute it enforces. We look at the cases and their implications for both employers and labor organizers.

Guests:

Samuel Estreicher, professor of public law; director, the Center for Labor and Employment Law; director, the Institute of Judicial Administration at NYU School of Law

William G. Gould IV, professor emeritus specializing in labor law and employment discrimination law, Stanford Law School; former chairman, the National Labor Relations Board in the Clinton administration

Farida Jhabvala Romero, labor correspondent, KQED

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