KQED's Forum

When Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he envisioned remaking the company into what he thought should be a “free speech platform.” What ensued was chaos, mass firings and a steep decline in advertising revenue for the already financially struggling company. In her new book “Extremely Hardcore,” Zoe Schiffer tracks Musk’s takeover of the platform, now known as X, and its effects on those who worked for him. We talk to her about the history and future of Elon Musk’s Twitter and hear about your recent experiences on the platform.

Guests:

Zoe Schiffer, managing editor, Platformer - author, "Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter"

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According to relationship experts, Drs. Julie and John Gottman, it is perfectly OK to go to bed angry. Sometimes a couple needs time to calm down and reset. As they note, “Fights can get intense and messy…We get hijacked by our emotions, our pasts, our old hurts. But if you can get at what’s underneath, there’s so much compassion and understanding.” In their latest book, “Fight Right,” the Gottmans explode misconceptions about fighting and share ways to get through conflict and find connection. We talk to the Gottmans and hear from you: how do you handle conflict in your relationship?

Guests:

Julie Schwartz Gottman, co-author "Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict into Connection" - Schwartz Gottman is a clinical psychologist, therapist and researcher and with her husband Dr. John Gottman, is the co-founder and president of the Gottman Institute.

John Gottman, co-author "Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict into Connection" - Gottman is a psychologist, researcher, therapist, and with his wife Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, he is the co-founder, The Gottman Institute.

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Grass-roots groups like Moms for Liberty have turned school boards into battlegrounds in California and nationwide, fighting for control over kids’ classroom discussions and reading materials – often at the expense of marginalized communities. But is this a new battle, or the latest in a line of conservative parenting movements? We talk with journalists and historians about previous education showdowns – from the “red scare” of the 1950s to sex education – and examine the lasting role that Republican women have played in shaping school and state politics.

Guests:

Kathleen Quillian, producer of "Bedrock, USA" podcast; co-host and producer of podcast mini-series "The School Board Queen"

Michelle Nickerson, professor of history at Loyola University Chicago; author of "Mothers of Conservatism: Women and the Postwar Right" and "Spiritual Criminals: How the Camden 28 Put the Vietnam War on Trial"

Ishani Desai, breaking news reporter, The Sacramento Bee

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San Jose, the Bay Area’s largest city, grew at the peak of car-heavy, sprawling urban planning. Most of its nearly one million residents live in single-family homes. These days, many California cities are looking for ways to concentrate more residents near transit to reduce carbon emissions, improve livability and address the Bay Area’s housing crisis. But even with the best intentions and a new mentality, can cities reinvent sprawl into dense, walkable neighborhoods? We’ll talk about San Jose’s attempt to shift toward density and what other cities can learn from it.

Guests:

Adhiti Bandlamudi, housing reporter, KQED

Chris Elmendorf, housing professor, University of California, Davis, School of Law

Michael Brilliot, deputy director of planning, city of San Jose

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Cold water therapy has been around for a long time, as part of spiritual traditions and physical recovery programs for athletes. But a commercialized version known as “cold plunging” has become the latest wellness craze. Enthusiasts who embrace it as a daily practice say it has benefits ranging from boosting immunity to combating depression and improving sleep. But are these claims backed by science? We talk about what’s driving the urge to plunge and how to do it safely, and we’ll hear from you: Have you tried cold water therapy? Has it worked for you?

Guests:

Charlie Warzel, staff writer, The Atlantic; author, "Galaxy Brain" a newsletter about the internet and big ideas.

Dr. Mark Harper, anesthesiologist; researcher; author, "Chill: The Cold Water Swim Cure"; co-creator, Chill UK - a nonprofit committed to providing courses in cold-water swimming to improve mental health

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According to a recent report from GoFundMe, the site has raised $30 billion, since 2010, for fundraising campaigns around the world. Crowdfunding, as a concept, is not new. One of the first crowdfunders was an 1885 appeal to pay for the base of the Statue of Liberty, resulting in thousands of donations, some just mere pennies. Today, donors can help pay for disaster relief, medical treatments, classroom supplies, and more with a click of a button. But are these donations going to those who need the most help? And what does it say about our society that people need to create campaigns to pay for basic needs? We’ll talk to experts about crowdfunding, and hear from you: Have you run a crowdfunding campaign or benefitted from one?

Guests:

Tony Cookson, professor of finance, Leeds School of Business at University of Colorado Boulder

Jeremy Snyder, professor of health sciences, Simon Fraser University; author, "Appealing to the Crowd: The Ethical, Political, and Practical Dimensions of Donation-Based Crowdfunding"

Una Osili, associate dean, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University

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“A little more than 10 years ago, I began looking back at the diaries I had kept over the previous decade. I wondered if I’d changed. So I loaded all 500,000 words of my journals into Excel to order the sentences alphabetically.” That’s how author Sheila Heti describes the origins of the decade-long project that would become her latest book, “Alphabetical Diaries.” When she reviewed those sentences sorted on a spreadsheet, Heti says she found a constant self — one preoccupied across time with the same worries about writing, money and love. We talk to her about what revisiting and reorganizing her diary entries revealed about her own consistencies and contradictions. And we’ll hear from you: What have you learned from re-reading your diaries?

Guests:

Sheila Heti, author, “Alphabetical Diaries,” “Motherhood,” “Pure Colour” and “How Should A Person Be?”

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Oakland’s Brontez Purnell is so many things. As he writes in “Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt,” his new memoir in verse, “I am a troubled Negro youth in his 40s neglecting self care.” He’s also the frontman for the punk band the Younger Lovers, a dancer, a performance artist, a queer zine-maker, the author of the critically acclaimed “100 Boyfriends,” as well as a raconteur and truth seeker. He joins us to talk about his life and his art.

Guests:

Brontez Purnell, author, "Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse" and "100 Boyfriends"; musician

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The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether Colorado can keep former President Trump off of the state primary ballot for his actions on January 6. Meanwhile, Trump faces 91 felony counts across multiple jurisdictions in cases involving election subversion, hush money payments and the illegal handling of classified documents. We’ll talk about the legal and political implications of it all for Trump, who by a wide margin remains the GOP primary frontrunner.

Guests:

Shanlon Wu, criminal defense attorney; legal analyst, CNN; former federal prosecutor who also served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno

David Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic

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Sonoma County’s airport, jail, and social services office, among other county services, are suffering from severe understaffing. According to a six-month investigative report by Sonoma’s Press-Democrat, vacancy rates for key county positions range from 25% to 41%. Burnout, turnover and early retirements are contributing to the crisis. Meanwhile, frustrated county residents seeking assistance face long lines, interminable hold times, and busy phone signals. We’ll talk about how Sonoma is trying to address these problems, which are common to many Bay Area counties.

Guests:

Emma Murphy, Sonoma County government and politics reporter, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat - Murphy co-authored the newspaper's investigative series on understaffing across Sonoma County departments

Martin Espinoza, senior reporter of investigations team, Press Democrat - Espinoza co-authored the paper's investigation of understaffing across Sonoma County departments

Janell Crane, director of human resources, Sonoma County

Travis Balzarini, president, SEIU Local 1021 Sonoma County Chapter

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