KQED's Forum

President Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race put a spotlight on a vexing question: when is the right time to call it quits and retire? Whether or not you’re president of the United States, stepping away from a job you love – or just sort of like – can be a terrifying decision. The transition can be filled with unknowns and unexpected struggles including a lack of daily structure, a different social network, and adapting to new views of self-worth and purpose. We’ll talk about the reasons some delay retirement, how you can prepare to make the transition and how to find fulfillment in your next chapter.

Guests:

Charley Locke, freelance journalist focusing on kids and elders. Her latest story for the Atlantic is "Retirement Gets Harder the Longer You Wait."

Ashwin Kotwal, assistant professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics, UCSF

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When we imagine an autocracy, writes Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, we tend to conjure a cartoon image: a malevolent dictator at the top who controls the police and army, evil collaborators and a few brave dissidents. But 21st century autocracies are not that. They’re run instead by “sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, a complex of security services… and technological experts who provide surveillance, propaganda and disinformation.” We talk to Applebaum about how modern autocracies work and how liberal democracies can disrupt them. Her new book is “Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.”

Guest:

Anne Applebaum, author, "Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World"; staff writer, The Atlantic; Pulitzer-prize winning historian; senior fellow, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute

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Who gets to compete in women’s sports? Since the very conception of elite athletics, there has been controversy over who qualifies for the women’s category. Rose Eveleth is the host of “Tested,” a new podcast from NPR’s Embedded and CBC radio that explores the practice and history of sex testing in women’s sports. Eveleth follows the stories of a handful of world-class runners who have been told they can’t race as women because of natural variations in their biology. In their quest to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, these women face hard choices: take drugs to alter their naturally-occurring hormones, abandon the sport that they excel at, or fight the rules made by World Athletics. We speak with Eveleth about the 100-year history of sex testing, the evolution and flaws of modern biology, and try to understand how we arrived at this convoluted moment in women’s sports.

Guest:

Rose Eveleth, podcast host, Tested

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Who do you think Vice President Kamala Harris should pick as her running mate? The VP has a strong bench to choose from, including Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and Arizona senator Mark Kelly — all of whom are reportedly being vetted. Each potentially could bring strengths — or swing state voters — to Harris’ campaign. We’ll talk about the considerations at play for the Democratic presidential candidate who knows well what the role requires.

Guests:

Shira Stein Zoom, Washington correspondent, San Francisco Chronicle

Amanda Becker, Washington correspondent, The 19th

Ken Thomas, White House reporter, The Wall Street Journal

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In an executive order Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered California officials to dismantle homeless encampments across the state today. It will be the biggest action nationwide, expected to affect tens of thousands of people, since the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case has made it easier for cities to clear out homeless encampments without first offering shelter options. Homeless advocates say the court’s decision will usher in more policing and criminalization of unhoused people and shift away resources from moving people into permanent housing. We’ll talk about Newsom’s action and Bay Area cities’ plans for responding to homeless encampments in the wake of the Grants Pass ruling.

Guests:

Kevin Fagan, reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Harold Duffey, interim city administrator, city of Oakland. Duffey is also Oakland's acting homeless administrator.

Andrew Sullivan, president, San Francisco Board Sailing Association

Nisha Kashyap, program director, racial justice division, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights

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John Vaillant’s book “Fire Weather” chronicles a devastating wildfire that struck Fort McMurray, Alberta in May 2016. It forced more than 85,000 people to flee their homes, inflicted billions of dollars in damage to the Canadian oil industry and continues to serve as a warning in our increasingly flammable world. Vaillant lays out the linked histories of North America’s fossil fuel industry and its rapidly changing climate – with sidebars that explain the science behind petroleum products, recap two centuries of industrial development and explore the economic and environmental tensions in modern oil boom towns. We’ll speak with Vaillant about the lessons that fire-prone regions, including California, can learn from the devastation of Fort McMurray. And we’ll hear from you: Has your sense of fire awareness changed over time? How so?

Guests:

John Vaillant, journalist; author, "Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World," which was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist. His other books include "The Tiger" and "The Golden Spruce."

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The Kamala Harris campaign announced that in the 36 hours since President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, it had raised a record-breaking $100 million dollars. Republicans have numbers to match: after his conviction in May on fraud charges, Donald Trump’s campaign hauled in $141 million. But how will this money be used by the campaigns? As part of our Doing Democracy series examining how our political system works, we talk to experts and operatives about what the 2024 presidential election ground game might look like this cycle – is targeting voters the same game it used to be? And we’ll hear from you: How will you participate in November? Vote? Volunteer? Donate? All of the above?

Guests:

Yasmin Radjy, Executive Director, Swing Left and Vote Forward

Mindy Romero, founder and director, Center for Inclusive Democracy, formerly the California Civic Engagement Project

Teddy Goff, co-founder and managing partner, Precision Strategies. Goff was the digital director for the 2012 Obama campaign; in 2008, Goff managed the Obama campaign state digital efforts.

Tim Miller, host, The Bulwark. Miller was previously senior advisor to the Our Principles PAC. He served as the 2016 communications director for Jeb Bush, and is a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He is the author of “Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell.”

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New York Times diplomatic correspondent Edward Wong says that he is the “son of two empires.” He grew up outside of Washington, D.C. during the Cold War when the containment of communism

undergirded all of U.S. foreign policy. But his parents grew up in rural China, where his father became a follower of Mao Zedong and joined soldiers, workers and students who believed Mao’s China could stand up to what they saw as U.S. imperialism. Wong traces and reflects on his father’s journey and the evolution of modern China in his new book “At the Edge of Empire.” He joins us.

Guests:

Edward Wong , diplomatic correspondent, The New York Times; author, "At the Edge of Empire: A Family's Reckoning with China"

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The selection of former venture capitalist J.D. Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee is a sign that Silicon Valley is no longer the liberal stronghold it once was. A cadre of powerful venture capitalists and tech elites are pouring tens of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump this November – a stance that would have been shocking back in 2016. Experts say tech executives want less regulation, lower taxes, and more government contracts. But with President Joe Biden out of the race, other Silicon Valley donors may turn up to support Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to win the presidency. We’ll talk about the key players shifting Silicon Valley to the right, who they are supporting, and why.

Guests:

Max Chafkin, tech reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek; author, "The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power"

Makena Kelly, politics reporter, Wired

Teddy Schleifer, reporter covering campaign finance and billionaires, New York Times

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In a historic move on Sunday, President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. In a tweet, he offered his “full support and endorsement” to Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. We’ll spend both hours of Forum talking with KQED’s politics team and checking in with others about what’s next for the democratic party and the presidential race.

Guests:

Rusty Hicks, chairman, California Democratic Party

Eleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor for the state of California

Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative for California's 2nd congressional district

John Garamendi, U.S. Representative for California's 8th congressional district; former California Lt Governor

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

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

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