KQED's Forum

At the San Francisco Zoo, the kangaroo pen lacks running water, the gorilla habitat area floods during heavy rainfall and the jaguars are depressed and live in an old concrete chain-link box. That’s according to a new report by the San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission, which describes the 95-year-old facility as “extremely outdated” and “unsafe for visitors and animals.” The commission is now urging the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to require a performance audit of the zoo. We’ll discuss the report and talk to experts about what makes a zoo safe and humane for animals, zookeepers and visitors.

Guests:

Tara Duggan, reporter, SF Chronicle

Justin Barker, local animal rights activist who contributed to the city’s report

Joel Parrott, former director, Oakland Zoo

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At least 12 people are dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night. The death toll is expected to rise as local officials assess the damage which has caused widespread flooding, left millions of people without power and compounded hardships for those recovering from Hurricane Helene, which hit two weeks ago. We get the latest and learn why so-called “supercharged hurricanes” are becoming more common.

Guests:

Porter Fox, author, “Category Five: Superstorms and the Warming Oceans That Feed Them”

Gabriella Paul, reporter, WUSF (NPR affiliate in the greater Tampa Bay area)

Gerard Albert III, Western North Carolina rural communities reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio

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When a female clownfish dies, a male clownfish can switch sexes and reproduce with other females. Some morpho butterflies have one male wing, and one female. In some populations of giraffes, about 95% of sexual activity is homosexual. In his book, “A Little Queer Natural History,” science writer Josh Davis gives a sampling of the enormous variety of gender and sexual behaviors in the plant, fungal and animal world and the ways some scientists have twisted themselves into knots to find non-sexual explanations for gay sex in animals. We talk to Davis about the gender fluid, intersex, asexual, gay, gender changeable, multi-sexual, rainbow splendor of the natural world.

Guests:

Josh Luke Davis, science writer, Natural History Museum, London; author, "A Little Queer Natural History"

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When Saturday Night Live asked Dana Carvey to play Joe Biden for this season, few anticipated that the president would drop out of the race over concerns about age. SNL itself turns 50 this year, ancient by TV standards, and doesn’t appear to be close to dropping out. The water cooler buzz over Carvey’s Biden and Maya Rudolph’s spot-on Kamala Harris impression suggests that the show still has legs. But can it maintain its relevance amid declining ratings and politics that sometimes seem beyond parody? We mark the show’s anniversary by looking back at its cultural influence and some of the most iconic sketches, from Weekend Update to Wayne’s World.

Guests:

Eric Deggans, tv critic, National Public Radio (NPR)

Joanna Robinson, senior staff writer, The Ringer; author, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios

Stephen Tropiano, professor of screen studies, Ithaca College Los Angeles Program; author, The newly revised and updated book "The SNL Companion: An Unofficial Guide to the Seasons, Sketches, and Stars of Saturday Night Live"

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Daniel Lurie founded and was the CEO of the antipoverty nonprofit, Tipping Point. He’s also heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and has put more than six million dollars of his own money into his San Francisco mayoral campaign. In the last of our interviews with the major candidates, we talk with Lurie about how he’d solve San Francisco’s most entrenched problems, and why he thinks it’s time for the city to be run by an outsider candidate who hasn’t held elected office.

Guests:

Daniel Lurie, founder and former CEO, Tipping Point Community - a nonprofit grant-making organization that fights poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Much has been written about Ronald Reagan, but historian Max Boot’s new biography, which draws on new archival sources and interviews with nearly a hundred people who knew Reagan best, is being hailed as definitive. Boot says Reagan was possessed of “myriad contradictions and inconsistencies:” a skeptic of government who presided over vast spending increases; a gun rights advocate who supported tough gun laws; a man of strong convictions but little intellectual depth. We talk to Boot about why he did not want to write either a “hagiography or a hit job” of the former president and California governor, and both the contrasts and connections he sees between Reagan and Donald Trump. Boot’s new book is “Reagan: His Life and Legend.” What policy, event or moment do you most associate with Ronald Reagan?

Guests:

Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies, Council on Foreign Relations - columnist, Washington Post; author, "Reagan: His Life and Legend"

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When Ahsha Safaí applied to MIT for his masters degree in urban planning, he wrote that one day he hoped to be a city mayor. Since getting his degree, he’s moved to San Francisco, worked as a labor organizer, as well as at the Housing Authority and at Public Works, and served as a two-term board supervisor for District 11, on the south side of the city. Now he’s running to make his mayoral dream a reality. Competing in a crowded field, Safaí recently announced a ranked choice voting alliance with fellow candidate Mark Farrell – a move that he hopes will boost his chances. In the latest of our series of interviews with the major candidates in the San Francisco mayor’s race, we talk to Safaí about his campaign, his career and his hopes for San Francisco.

Guests:

Ahsha Safai, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors - represents District 11, which includes the Excelsior and Ingleside neighborhoods.

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We take a look at Propositions 33 and 34 on California’s November ballot and how they’re connected. Prop 33 would remove limits on cities’ ability to enact rent control laws, and is heavily backed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Prop 34 would restrict how specific health care providers can spend their money. Opponents of 34 claim that it’s designed to kneecap one organization: the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. We learn more and take your questions.

Guests:

Vanessa Rancaño, housing affordability reporter, KQED

Emily Schultheis, California reporter, Politico

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Sheryl Sandberg released her bestselling book, “Lean In,” ten years ago sparking a movement among professional women to pursue leadership roles at work. A new study by consulting firm McKinsey found that while women now hold more of the top jobs than ever before, they still lag far behind men, and Black and Latina women have an even harder time moving up the ranks. Despite some progress, women still face bias in the workplace and more caregiving responsibilities at home than men, among other challenges. We’ll talk about the barriers keeping women out of management, what makes a difference in helping women advance and the impact the Lean In movement has had on you.

Guests:

Minda Harts, author, workplace expert, and associate professor, New York University - Her books include "The Memo: What Women of Color Need To Know to Secure a Seat at the Table" and "Right Within."

Tracy Clark-Flory, Journalist. Essayist. Author of "Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire." Her newsletter can be found at tracyclarkflory.substack.com

Alexis Krivkovich, McKinsey senior partner and co-author of the report, "2024 Women in the Workplace"

Anna Dapelo Garcia, founder and president, Lean in Latinas

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One year after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Atlantic’s Franklin Foer joins us for a look back at the U.S. role in the region since that day. His new piece “The War That Would Not End” examines the Biden administration’s efforts to release the hostages and prevent a wider war, and why they failed. We’ll also get the latest on the rapidly escalating conflict from Wall Street Journal Middle East Correspondent Jared Malsin.

Guests:

Franklin Foer, staff writer, The Atlantic; author of the recent piece "The War That Would Not End." His books include "The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future."

Jared Malsin, Middle East correspondent, The Wall Street Journal

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