KQED's Forum

Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed Democratic strategist Laphonza Butler to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Dianne Feinstein, who died on Thursday. Butler is the president of Emily’s List, a political action committee that helps elect women who support abortion rights. She’s also a former labor leader, advisor to vice-president Kamala Harris, and University of California regent. When she is sworn in, Newsom will have fulfilled his promise to appoint a Black woman, and Butler will be the first openly LGBT senator from the state. We’ll learn more about Butler – who tweeted Monday that she is “ready to serve” – and what her appointment means for the U.S. Senate race currently underway.

Guests:

Aimee Allison, founder and president, She the People - A national organization dedicated to building the political power of women of color

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

Melanie Mason, senior political correspondent covering California politics, Politico

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The Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences turned 100 this fall. It’s just eight years older than Methusaleh, the 92-year-old lungfish that arrived in 1938. The aquarium is home to 60,000 animals representing 1,000 species. Steinhart was the first public aquarium to display flashlight fish and coconut octopuses and found innovative ways to showcase the ocean’s mysterious “twilight zone.” As the Steinhart celebrates its century mark, questions remain about the role aquariums play in wildlife research, conservation, and education. We’ll talk to the aquarium’s director about its history and future. And we hear from you: what’s your favorite aquarium memory?

Guests:

Bart Shepherd, senior director, Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences

Rebekah Kim, head librarian, California Academy of Sciences

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The new book “The History of Sketch Comedy,” based on Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key’s award-winning podcast of the same name, explains how sketch comedy works and how we arrived at the sketch comedy landscape we enjoy on our phone, laptop and TV screens today. Weaving in the authors’ own history — from watching sketches to scripting jokes themselves — the book analyzes why we love the Monty Python and late-night sketches we do, where the greats drew inspiration and why unexpected escalations can make us laugh so hard we need to leave the room. We’ll talk about the sketches that make us giggle days, months, years and decades after watching them — and why and how they work.

Guests:

Elle Key, author, producer, writer co-creator of "The History of Sketch Comedy" podcast and book

Keegan-Michael Key, actor, producer, writer and co-creator of "The History of Sketch Comedy" podcast and book

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In Daniel Gumbiner’s latest novel, “Fire in the Canyon,” wildfire acts as a plot catalyst and a character. The story follows Ben Hecht, a former pot farmer turned grape grower in California’s Gold Country, who is just getting by when wildfire sweeps through. Both the Hecht family and the land they live on exist in a “state of fragile equilibrium,” in which security is both hard-earned and precarious. We’ll talk to Gumbiner about the emotional costs of climate change and wildfire in California.

Guests:

Daniel Gumbiner, author, "Fire in the Canyon"

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Senator Dianne Feinstein died Thursday night. Her death was confirmed by family members Friday morning. The Senate’s oldest serving member, and California’s first female senator, Feinstein had announced that she would retire at the end of her term. Her long and storied political career began in San Francisco. She came to national prominence in the midst of tragedy: as the president of the Board of Supervisors, it was Feinstein who announced to the world that Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk had been assassinated. Feinstein served as mayor of San Francisco for 9 years.

Feinstein was elected to the Senate in 1992. During her tenure she championed the 1994 assault weapons ban and in 2014, as chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a damning report on the use of torture by the CIA post 9/11.

We’ll talk about Feinstein and her legacy.

Guests:

Jim Lazarus, longtime aide to Senator Feinstein

Jackie Speier, former Democratic Congresswoman who represented California's 14th Congressional District (parts of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County) and served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Oversight committee

Jerry Roberts, author of "Dianne Feinstein: Never Let Them See You Cry" and former managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle

Barbara Boxer, former Democratic Congresswoman who represented California's 6th Congressional District and also served as California Senator

Willie Brown, former San Francisco Mayor

Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government desk and co-host of Political Breakdown

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

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School is back in session and that means a daily struggle for many parents to figure out what to pack their kids for lunch. As palates have evolved so have school lunches. Nowadays, bento boxes are all the rage, largely replacing paper sacks as the container of choice. Kids are as likely to dine on sandwiches as they are wraps, musubi, and salads. We’ll dish on healthy and tasty options that kids will want to eat and hear your tips on how parents can manage the load.

Guests:

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & Culture

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, a cookbook author, children’s book author, New York Times columnist, and restaurateur. He's also host of "Kenji's Cooking Show" on YouTube. His books include "The Food Lab," "The Wok: Recipes & Techniques" and "Every Night is Pizza Night."

Namiko Hirasawa Chen, founder and CEO, Just One Cookbook, a web site and video series focused on Japanese cooking

Monique Lopez Feybesse, chef and owner, Tarts de Feybesse

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Seven candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination take the stage on Wednesday in Simi Valley for the second debate of the 2024 campaign. They’re expected to take questions on the looming government shutdown, the economy and the war in Ukraine – and make the case to donors and supporters that they can take on Donald Trump. The former president, who’s under four indictments and leads the primary field by a wide margin, will again skip the debate and plans instead to speak to an audience of current and former autoworkers in Detroit. We’ll recap the debate and hear your reactions.

Guests:

Phillip M. Bailey, national political correspondent, USA Today

Lanhee Chen, GOP policy advisor; research fellow, the Hoover Institution; former candidate, CA State Controller; former policy director, Mitt Romney’s 2012

Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government desk; co-host, Political Breakdown

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“If Steve Earle weren’t a living, breathing person, he’d be a character in a blues song,” observed a reviewer. Earle is foremost a musician, one who started out in Nashville as a songwriter. Along the way, this self-proclaimed “hardcore troubadour,” has been married seven times, conquered drug addiction, did a stint in jail, and lost nearly everything as he fed that addiction. But in the end, the power of music won through. Today, Earle is known for his accomplished musicianship, his way with lyrics, and his outspoken politics. He’s won buckets of awards, including three Grammys, recorded 22 albums, and his song, “Copperhead Road,” has become the official state song of Tennessee. Earle is in town for the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival which he will be headlining. We’ll talk to Earle about his songwriting, his music, and hear him sing some tunes.

Guests:

Steve Earle, singer, songwriter. Earle has received three Grammy awards for his folk albums. He will be appearing that Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco.

Mick Hellman, drummer for the Go to Hell Man Band, the Wreckless Strangers and Marco & the Polos; founder and managing partner, HMI Capital. Hellman's father, Warren Hellman, founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival.

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Barbara Kingsolver says that she’s “drawn to characters who don’t feel they have a place at the table. They’ve heard too many conversations that begin: You poor backward soul, living in the middle of nowhere.” It’s that impulse that animates her 2022 episodic novel “Demon Copperhead,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year. It’s the story of Demon, an orphan in Appalachia who’s beset by crushing poverty and neglect but whose hardships are structural, introduced to his community by the mining and pain pill industries and made worse by urban prejudice and disdain. We talk to Kingsolver about how she brought “Demon Copperhead” to life and the power of art – both her protagonist’s and her own – to give voice and change minds.

Guests:

Barbara Kingsolver, author, "Demon Copperhead," which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Her other books include "Unsheltered," "The Poisonwood Bible," and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."

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Celebrated cartoonist Daniel Clowes is best known for his acclaimed 1997 graphic novel Ghost World— and the Oscar-nominated movie version that he co-wrote. For his latest work Monica, Clowes employs a mash-up of cartooning styles and genres, from war to romance to horror, to tell the story of the title character…and the mother who abandoned her. The Oakland-based author has said the book is in part an effort to understand and accept his own mother, who he lost while working on it. He’ll join us to talk about the book, and his career.

Guests:

Daniel Clowes, cartoonist; screenwriter - His latest graphic novel is "Monica"

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