KQED's Forum

Last year, more than 20 states considered or approved legislation to limit or ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education. These efforts, supported by a network of activists, political groups and Republican operatives, are centered at the Claremont Institute, a conservative California-based think tank with ties to the Trump movement. New York Times investigative reporter Nicholas Confessore gained access to thousands of documents and emails shedding light on the national anti-D.E.I. campaign orchestrated by the Claremont Institute’s leaders. We’ll hear what he learned…

Guests:

Nicholas Confessore, political and investigative reporter, New York Times

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The 49ers faithful are gearing up for another Super Bowl appearance facing the Kansas City Chiefs – a rematch from 2019 when the Chiefs won. The stakes are high for San Francisco which hasn’t claimed a Super Bowl win in 29 years. Meanwhile, Kansas City wants to clinch dynasty status with a third victory in five years. And, somehow amid all the usual talk of strategy and quarterbacks, pop princess Taylor Swift has become a central player in this game off the field. We’ll talk about what this game means for the Bay and how the faithful plan to show up for their team. And, we want to hear from Niner fans: what does this Super Bowl mean to you?

Guests:

Ann Killion, sports columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

Joel Anderson, staff writer, Slate - where he also hosts the Slow Burn and Hang Up and Listen podcasts. Former reporter on sports, culture, and politics for ESPN and BuzzFeed News.

Paul Nyakatura, announcer, KCUR - lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan

Nisa Khan, Audience Engagement Reporter, KQED

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There’s only one proposition on California’s March 2024 ballot, but it deals with some of the state’s biggest challenges: homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health. Proposition 1, backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, is a two-part measure: It asks voters to approve nearly $6.4 billion to increase mental health and substance abuse services and build supportive housing. It also makes big changes to how existing funds are spent under the 2004 Mental Health Services Act, which imposed a 1% tax on personal incomes above $1 million. But critics say Prop. 1 would actually hurt the mentally ill by forcing people into treatment and diverting funding for local services. We’ll break down the measure, and take your questions.

Guests:

Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Kristen Hwang, health reporter, CalMatters

Clare Cortright, policy director, CalVoices

Darrell Steinberg, mayor, city of Sacramento

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The human longing for connection – to be heard and understood – is what Rabbi Sharon Brous calls the “amen effect.” It’s the idea that we can awaken our shared humanity when we learn to talk across differences with curiosity and empathy. Rabbi Brous has for decades been ministering to members of IKAR, shepherding the Los Angeles Jewish community she co-founded as they navigate celebration and sorrow, both personal and collective. We talk to Rabbi Brous about spirituality, community and how she is grappling with the war between Israel and Hamas. Her new book is “The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World.”

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In many Asian families, the highest compliment you can offer a dessert is, “it’s not too sweet!” Bringing in flavor profiles from Asian cultures like pandan leaves, black sesame, and ube, bakers around the Bay are reimagining Asian- American dessert offerings. There’s choux pastry covered in almond crunch and filled with durian cream or a thumbprint cookie with an umeboshi plum center. On the next edition of All You Can Eat with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk to bakers and cookbook authors about Asian-American desserts and the role they play in Lunar New Year celebrations.

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The United States is in the middle of a massive modernization effort of its nuclear weapons, as tensions rise globally, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to expanding arsenals in China and North Korea. Journalist Sarah Scoles set out to understand the U.S.’s biggest reinvestment in its atomic infrastructure in decades by talking with the people who work on them daily, scientists at nuclear labs. In the process, as she documents in her new book “Countdown,” she interrogates our need for these weapons and their impact on war — and peace. She joins us to share more about the science, technology and philosophy of nuclear weaponry.

Guests:

Sarah Scoles, journalist; author, "Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons" and "Making Contact: Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence."

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Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was elected into office in 2022 on a reform platform to root out racial and socioeconomic disparities in the county justice system and end mass incarceration. But as Oakland contends with a surge in crime and as brazen robberies and assaults shake residents, Price has become the target of a well-funded recall campaign from those who say criminals are emboldened by a lack of consequences. We talk with Price about her vision for the office and the recall campaign against her.

Guests:

Pamela Price, district attorney, Alameda County, California; civil rights attorney.

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“The vibes around the return to office are not good,” says the New York Times’ Emma Goldberg, a business reporter covering workplace culture. Tens of millions of Americans — one-fourth of the workforce — are in hybrid work limbo four years after the pandemic’s onset. Across white-collar sectors, the expectations around how often workers are in-office vary workplace by workplace and even team by team. While many are grateful for the flexibility and routines they’ve formed working from home, managers are feeling the strain of near-empty offices on innovation and team morale. And when workers do go in, they navigate the uncertainty of commutes, which co-workers will be there and whether they’ll find a quiet place to work. We’ll talk about the strife between workers and managers and how different workplaces are addressing this. And we’ll hear from you: Are you a hybrid worker? What’s your experience been?

Guests:

Emma Goldberg, business reporter covering workplace culture, The New York Times

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Hundreds of thousands of people lost power in the Bay Area, streets were flooded and trees were uprooted, crushing houses and cars as winds gusts reached as high as over 100 mph in Sunday’s storm. But some of the most feared impacts, such as flooding from the Guadalupe River in San Jose, didn’t happen. We check in on how the Bay Area fared in the storm.

Guests:

Ezra David Romero, climate reporter, KQED

The nation’s largest grower of stone fruit, Prima Wawona, is shutting down leaving 5,400 workers out of a job. Four years ago, a private equity firm bought up two major stone fruit growers in Fresno to create the peach power house, which claimed it produced five times more peaches than the entire state of Georgia. Last fall, Prima Wawona shocked the Fresno community by declaring bankruptcy, blaming too much debt, bad weather, and rising costs among other factors. The former CEO has since sued the company claiming the failure was caused by poor management and unnecessary spending on consultants. We’ll talk about what the company’s stunning demise means for Fresno and what the increased interest from private equity in agriculture means for the future of farming in California.

Guests:

Antonio De Loera-Brust, director of communications, United Farm Workers

Daniel Gligich, senior reporter, The San Joaquin Valley Sun

Rod James, reporter covering private equity, The Wall Street Journal

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More and more TV households are cutting the cord and moving to streaming. In 2023 alone, pay-TV providers lost more than 5 million subscribers. But now that streaming companies have a robust subscriber base, rates are rising and commercials are making their way back into programming. Historian Kathryn Cramer Brownell says that when cable companies tried similar tactics in the 1980s, the government stepped in to protect consumers. So why hasn’t that happened with streaming? We’ll take a look at the history of cable with Brownell to understand how the cable tv model set the foundation for our current media landscape and what consumers can do about it.

Guest:

Kathryn Cramer Brownell, associate professor, Purdue University - author of “24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News”

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