KQED's Forum

Born in Berkeley and the son of academics, Aaron Peskin was in the same elementary school class as Vice President Kamala Harris. But while Harris might be viewed as a moderate, Peskin proudly points to his progressive politics as a reason he should be the next mayor of San Francisco. A 30-year resident of Telegraph Hill, Peskin has been elected as a supervisor five times and currently serves as president of the Board. On the campaign trail, he highlights his detailed knowledge of how city government runs which he says makes him the best candidate for the job of mayor. As part of our series of interviews with the major candidates in San Francisco’s mayor race, we talk to Peskin about his campaign and his hopes for the city’s future.

Guests:

Aaron Peskin, president, San Francisco Board of Supervisors

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More Americans – especially Gen-Z and millennials – say they value dining alone at restaurants, according to new data from Open Table. And research shows that doing solo activities is good for us – it recharges us and improves our creativity. With concern about loneliness and isolation on the rise, we talk about healthy alone-ness. What are some of your favorite activities to do alone?

Guests:

Rebecca Ratner, dean's professor of marketing, University of Maryland

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & Culture

Thuy-Vy Nguyen, associate professor in psychology, Durham University; founder of the Solitude Lab; co-author of “Solitude: The Science and Power of Being Alone”

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South Korea is living in the future. It has the fastest internet on the planet. Nearly 100% of its population owns a smartphone. And for the last decade it has become a center of global pop culture. The popularity of Korean drama, cinema, beauty and pop music has given Korea a soft power that has allowed it to emerge as a cultural and economic leader among Asian nations. A new exhibit at the Asian Art Museum “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” picks up on this theme, exploring all things K-culture. We’ll talk to its curator, experts, and you: are you a K-fan?

Guests:

Yoon-Jee Choi, assistant curator for Korean art, Asian Art Museum. Choi is overseeing the "Hallyu: The Korean Wave" exhibition.

Todd Inoue, freelance music journalist

Kyung Hyun Kim, professor and chair, East Asian Studies, UC Irvine; author, "Virtual Hallyu: Korean Cinema of the Global Age" and "Hegemonic Mimicry: Korean Popular Culture of the 21st Century"

Chesca Rueda, co-founder and co-owner of Sarang Hello, a retail shop that focuses on K-pop

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Most of us have been there: Frantically Googling health information late at night, worried about a mysterious ache or rash. But when does health anxiety cross the line and become a problem on its own? Journalist Caroline Crampton tackles that question in her book, “A Body Made of Glass,” which looks at the cultural history of hypochondria, from ancient Egypt to TikTok. She joins Forum to talk about her research and her own experience with chronic health anxiety after recovering from a rare form of cancer.

Guests:

Caroline Crampton, writer and podcaster, Her new book is "A Body Made of Glass: A Cultural History of Hypochondria."

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Americans are snacking more than ever before, a recent report found 95 percent of American adults eat at least a snack a day. It wasn’t always that way. Atlantic writer Ellen Cushing writes that until recently, “There were no elaborate treats after soccer practice, or snack trays on strollers, or tubes of yogurt. Energy bars were for athletes, not accountants. National parks did not have vending machines.” Snacks have become so ubiquitous and easy that some have abandoned main, sit-down meals all together. We’ll talk to experts about the dominance of snacking and how these in between meals impact our health. And we want to hear from you, how much do you snack?

Guests:

Ellen Cushing, staff writer, The Atlantic; author of recent article "Snacks Took Over American Life"

Maya Feller, registered dietitian nutritionist; author of "Eating from Our Roots: 80+ Healthy Home-Cooked Favorites from Cultures Around the World"; host of Slate's Well, Now Podcast

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Inspectors general have been called the most powerful public officials you’ve never heard of. They work inside federal agencies, exposing corruption and ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse. But they’re also vulnerable to removal at the whim of the president. Glenn Fine was the inspector general of the Department of Justice in the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations. He was also the acting inspector general of the Department of Defense from 2016 until 2020, when he was replaced by former President Trump as part of a series of firings that the Washington Post called a “slow-motion Friday night massacre.” We talk to Fine about the role inspectors general play in holding the federal government to account and why he thinks they need more protection. Fine’s new book is “Watchdogs.”

Guests:

Glenn Fine, inspector general, Department of Justice (2000-2011); acting inspector general, Department of Defense (2016-2020) - author, "Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government"

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Mayor London Breed is a lifelong resident of San Francisco, and her tenure as mayor has tracked the boom/bust cycle of the city. When she came to office in 2018, the city was enjoying a robust economy. In 2020, the pandemic emptied out downtown and put San Francisco on shaky footing from which it is still recovering. In her run for re-election, Breed contends that with another term she can lead San Francisco back to firmer ground. In the first of our interviews with the five major candidates in the San Francisco mayor’s race, we talk to Breed about her record, her campaign, and her hopes for the city.

Guests:

London Breed, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco

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Latino voters in the U.S. overwhelmingly support Democratic causes and candidates. But in recent years, polls show that Latinos have been shifting to the right — and some even to the far right. In her new book “Defectors,” journalist Paola Ramos reveals the “quiet radicalization of Latinos [that] is taking place across the nation in plain sight.” Ramos traveled the country to talk to a range of right-leaning Latinos, including white supremacists and border vigilantes. She joins us to talk about the book, the importance of not viewing any community as a monolith, and what her reporting portends for the future of American politics.

Guests:

Paola Ramos, journalist and author. Her new book is "Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America." She is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report.”

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The day many Bay Area baseball fans have dreaded for years is finally upon us: Thursday will be the final A’s game at the Oakland Coliseum. The team has had a historic 57-season run at the stadium leaving fans with decades of memories along with buckets of tears and rage. Next spring, they plan to play in a temporary home in Sacramento and eventually end up in Las Vegas. Team owners have talked about moving the A’s for nearly two decades and have disinvested in players and yet, many A’s fans stayed loyal. So, how are they feeling as the final goodbye looms? What will they miss most? Who will stick with the team after they move? We talk about the future of the A’s and what they have meant to Oakland and to you.

Guests:

Melissa Lockard, senior editor and staff writer, The Athletic; founder, the Oakland Clubhouse; a lifelong A's fan

Pendarvis "Pen" Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts & Culture

Andy Dolich, sports consultant for the Oakland A's from 1980 to 1994; co-author, "Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival"

Kendrick Thompson, beer vendor at the Oakland Coliseum also known as "Ice Cold Kenny Bo"

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We take a deep dive into Proposition 36 on California’s November ballot. The measure would impose harsher penalties on some theft and drug possession offenses by rolling back Proposition 47, approved by voters in 2014. More than 70% of likely voters say they support Prop 36, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California. We’ll look at why and hear from both sides of the campaign.

Guests:

Darrell Steinberg, mayor, Sacramento

Jeff Reisig, district attorney of Yolo County

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

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