KQED's Forum

A truly landmark Supreme Court decision in 2020 resulted in the largest restoration of Native American tribal land in American history. More than half of the state of Oklahoma is now declared “Indian Country” after the court decision. In her book “By the Fire We Carry” journalist Rebecca Nagel, a member of the Cherokee Nation, traces the generations-long fight for sovereignty and the brutal history of tribal land removal that underpinned the decision. We’ll talk to Nagle about her own family’s complicated legacy in the struggle for justice and the implications of the Supreme Court decision.

Guests:

Rebecca Nagle, author, By the Fire We Carry, The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land, host of the podcast "This Land" - She's also an activist, writer and citizen of the Cherokee Nation

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the death of a beloved colleague known for his optimism, Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki began reflecting on his own cynicism. He discovered that cultural stereotypes casting cynics as smarter and more worldly are wrong. Instead, cynicism undermines relationships and confines our vision of the future. We’ll talk to Zaki about how to quiet our inner cynic to appreciate a humanity he says is “far more beautiful and complex than a cynic imagines.” His new book is “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.”

Guests:

Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology, Stanford University; director, Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory; author of “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Juan Gabriel, one of Mexico’s most beloved composers and musicians, managed to achieve superstar status beginning in the 1970s and emerge as a queer icon at a time when homosexuality was taboo in Mexican society. In her new podcast, “My Divo” journalist Maria Garcia, creator of the popular “Anything for Selena” podcast, explores the legacy of Juan Gabriel and its connection to her own queer Mexican identity and family history. We’ll talk with Garcia about her podcast, uncovering a previously unknown chapter of JuanGa’s life and how his story helped her to come to terms with her own sexuality.

Guests:

Maria Garcia, executive editor, Futuro Studios; creator and host of the podcast series, “My Divo” about Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. She previously created and hosted the podcast "Anything for Selena."

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A landmark Stanford Law School study of women incarcerated in California prisons finds the vast majority of those convicted of killing their partner experienced domestic abuse. We’ll talk with journalist and author Rachel Louise Snyder — who partnered with Stanford for the study — about the stories she heard, and why laws governing self-defense fail victims of intimate partner violence. Snyder’s new opinion piece in the New York Times is “When Do Women Have the Right to Kill in Self-Defense?”

Guests:

Rachel Louise Snyder, professor of literature and journalism, American University - contributing Opinion writer, The New York Times; author, “No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us" and “Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir"

Debbie Mukamal, executive director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Stanford Law School

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you go to a medical appointment or get admitted into the hospital, your doctor may be using ChatGPT to save time. Artificial intelligence is already helping medical professionals organize treatment plans, diagnose diseases, and discover new drugs. In the future, it could do even more. We’ll talk to doctors and experts about how AI is being used and its potential and pitfalls in healthcare.

Guests:

Dr. Bryant Lin, physician and professor, Stanford School of Medicine - He is also a primary care doctor with Stanford Internal Medicine

Ilana Yurkiewicz, physician and professor at Stanford, author of "Fragmented: A Doctor's Quest to Piece Together American Health Care"

Dr. Jonathan Chen, physician and professor, Stanford School of Medicine

Adam Yala, professor of Computational Precision Health, UC Berkeley and UCSF

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump continues to cast doubt, without basis, on the fairness of the 2024 presidential election and has so far refused to say whether he will accept the certified results. Meanwhile, in Georgia, the Republican-controlled Elections Commission recently approved new rules allowing counties to delay certification of election results. All that’s had election integrity watchers warning that Trump and his allies are laying the groundwork to challenge the presidential election results if he loses. We look at efforts underway in key swing states to protect the electoral process from attempts to undermine it.

Guests:

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona-based Democracy reporter, The Washington Post

Jessica Marsden, director of impact programs and counsel [leading teams focused on protecting free and fair elections], Protect Democracy

Adrian Fontes, Secretary of State, Arizona

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris used “the Bay” when talking about where she grew up, rather than name-check Berkeley and its counterculture reputation. And she doesn’t always jump at the chance to call-out progressive San Francisco, where she first made her name in politics. But those omissions don’t seem to be dimming the local pride and excitement over the Oakland-born candidate’s historic nomination. We’ll look back at Harris’ Bay Area background and how it shaped her career, ideas and political identity.

Guests:

Lateefah Simon, BART Board member, Longtime friend and mentee of Kamala Harris

Debbie Mesloh, former advisor and communications director, for Kamala Harris

Carole Porter, childhood friend of Kamala Harris

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

Stacey Johnson-Batiste, childhood friend of Kamala Harris, and author of "Friends from the Beginning: The Berkeley Village That Raised Kamala and Me"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are nearly 100,000 fewer private sector tech jobs in California than two years ago, according to a July report from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office. We talk about what’s behind the trend and who’s been most affected by layoffs. And we’ll hear from you: whether you’re a veteran software engineer or new to the field, are you struggling to find a job in tech?

Guests:

Aki Ito, chief correspondent, Business Insider

Sarah Bohn, Vice President and Director of the Economic Policy Center, Public Policy Institute of California

Vivek Agarwal, Executive Coach, Coachieve - lecturer at San Jose State University

Kyle Elliott, Tech Career and Interview coach, CaffeinatedKyle.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The donut shop. The local diner. The vacant lot where kids gather to play. These are the kinds of unassuming places that can foster a sense of belonging, according to author, scholar and visual artist Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, In her new book, “The Cities We Need: Essential Stories of Everyday Places,” she argues that these often overlooked places do the essential work of forming communities. She spotlights residents making acute observations about the ordinary wonders in places such as Oakland’s Mosswood neighborhood. We talk about the book, and hear from you: Where would you take someone on a guided tour of your neighborhood? Email us at [email protected]  or leave a voicemail at 415-553-3300. 

Guests:

Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani, author, "The Cities We Need:Essential Stories of Everyday Places", Bendiner-Viani is the co-founder of Buscada, an interdisciplinary art, design and social research studio. She is also the author of "Contested City: Art and Public History as Mediation at New York's Seward Park Urban Renewal Area."

Marty Price, longtime resident of Oakland. Born and raised in Oakland and served as vice principal of Oakland Technical High School.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ann Powers began to draft her expansive new biography of Laurel Canyon music legend Joni Mitchell, she says that “certain subjects emerged: childhood as an imaginary terrain where singer-songwriters could express their ideals and idiosyncrasies; sadness as a complicated form of women’s liberation; side roads and retreats as the secret sources of an artist’s strengths. And traveling, always traveling.” Powers’ book charts Mitchell’s influences, collaborators and milieu, weaving in reflections on the broader politics and trends of each decade during Mitchell’s career. It grapples with the sexism of Laurel Canyon’s heyday and Mitchell being labeled a “confessional” artist, as well as Mitchell’s own complicated relationship with feminism and with being the only woman at the table. We talk to Powers about Joni Mitchell’s life and art and hear how Mitchell has affected you. Powers’ new book is “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell.”

Guests:

Ann Powers, music critic and correspondent, NPR

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices