KQED's Forum

The Bay Area has a storied hip hop legacy. We’ve also got a legendary food scene. Maybe it’s natural that these two core components of the Bay Area would find each other. In our latest edition of All You Can Eat, our series on Bay Area food cultures with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk about Bay Area rappers in the food world. E-40 is selling ice cream and pre-packaged burritos, Larry June has a boba company and Don Toriano is lining up customers at his Vegan Mob barbecue spots. We talk Bay Area Hip Hop Food Hustles.

Guests:

Alan Chazaro, food reporter, KQED - He is also a rapper and educator

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Droop E, rapper and record producer; represents Goon With The Spoon; son of E-40

Clyde Carson, Oakland rapper, co-owner of Hyphy Juice

Don Toriano, rapper; owner, Vegan Mob

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Qualified immunity, writes UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz, "has come to represent all that is wrong with police accountability." It’s the Supreme Court-created doctrine that protects police officers from civil liability for excessive force and other misconduct unless there is a prior court case where an officer violated another person’s rights in exactly the same way – a standard that she says is virtually impossible to meet. And, Schwartz explains, it’s just one of multiple barriers that the Court and states like California have erected to make justice through civil rights lawsuits “profoundly elusive.” We’ll talk to Schwartz about how qualified immunity plays out in California and hear about efforts to reform it. Schwartz’s new book is “Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable.”

Guests:

Joanna Schwartz, professor of law, University of California, Los Angeles - Her new book is "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable"

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After experiencing a classic bank run with depositors withdrawing $42 billion in one day, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by federal regulators on Friday. For many startups, SVB was the bank of choice, and its closure has roiled the tech industry. While federal regulators announced on Monday that 100% of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits would be repaid, that has not stopped turmoil in the market. Shares in San Francisco-based First Republic Bank dropped over 60% on Monday with other bank stocks following suit. Added to this are last week’s failures of both Signature Bank, a regional bank in New York closed by regulators this weekend, and Silvergate, a banking concern favored by cryptocurrency investors. We’ll talk about how these banking issues are impacting the Bay Area and what it means for customers and the tech industry.

Guests:

Natasha Mascarenhas, senior reporter, TechCrunch

Mark Calvey, senior reporter covering banking and finance, San Francisco Business Times

Margaret O'Mara, historian of the modern United States, University of Washington - She writes and teaches about the growth of the high-tech economy, the history of American politics, and the connections between the two.

Lizette Chapman, reporter, Bloomberg

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Soy, almond, oat and other plant-based milk alternatives have skyrocketed in popularity over the last few decades. And now new draft guidance from the FDA would allow these drinks officially to be marketed as “milks,” putting to rest arguments by the dairy industry and others that only animal products can be called milk. We’ll look at what makes milk “milk” and how plant-based options measure up against milk from cows. And we’ll hear from you: have you converted to plant-based milks?

Guests:

Charlotte Biltekoff, associate professor of American Studies and Food Science and Technology, UC Davis

Yasmin Tayag, staff writer, The Atlantic

Dave Ritterbush, CEO, Califia Farms

Priera Panescu, senior scientist, The Good Food Institute

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Judith Heumann, known as the mother of the disability rights movement, died this month at the age of 75. Heumann’s activism and leadership in Berkeley’s pioneering disability rights movement included the “504 sit-in,” a 26-day occupation of San Francisco’s federal building that eventually led to the passage of the Americans with Disability Act. Heumann used a wheelchair following a childhood case of polio, and when she tried to attend school, the administration denied her as “a fire hazard.” Heumann went on to work with the Clinton and Obama administrations as well as the World Bank on issues of accessibility. We’ll talk with disability rights advocates who knew her about her legacy, and where the movement is headed going forward.

Guests:

Sandy Ho, philanthropist; founder, Disability and Intersectionality Summit; director, the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy

Yomi Sachiko Wrong, Oakland-based disability justice activist, dreamer

Jim LeBrecht, filmmaker and co-director with Nicole Newnham, "Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution"

Arlene Mayerson, directing attorney, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

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Communities throughout California are bracing for another round of severe storms this week. An atmospheric river is poised to dump several inches of rain, which could melt snow reserves in mountains and cause flooding. Mountainous areas of the state are already dealing with power outages, road closures, and collapsed roofs after a series of heavy rain and snow during the past couple of months. We’ll talk about how Californians are managing severe weather and what to expect in the days to come.

Guests:

Gerry Díaz, newsroom meteorologist, San Francisco Chronicle

Katie Kay Mead, resident, Lake Arrowhead, California

Bob Thurman, resident near Nevada City, California

Mike Scrivano, contractor, North Lake Home Services in Truckee

Hanna Lykke, reporter, San Bernardino Sun, Southern California News Group

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What if time isn’t money? What if time is actually rocks and beans? And what if time is not running out? Jenny Odell, author of “How to Do Nothing,” ponders these questions as she takes us on a road trip through the Bay Area in her new book, “Saving Time.” Pausing at the Port of Oakland, reflecting in Pescadero and Pacifica, and nodding at the Interstate 880 minion, Odell questions who benefits when we see time as hours or minutes, rather than the changes in place, space and ourselves. She joins us to explain how advocating for a better future begins with looking beyond the clock.

Guests:

Jenny Odell, author, "Saving Time: Discovering A Life Beyond the Clock." Odell is also the author of "How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy."

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Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch did not believe that Dominion Voting Systems stole the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump, according to testimony released Tuesday. The evidence is part of the record in Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit, set for trial in April, arguing that Fox executives and hosts deliberately spread the falsehood that Dominion's electronic machines manipulated the vote count. We’ll talk about the case and look at the impact Fox News has had on our culture — and democracy. And we’ll hear from you: How has Fox News affected you, your views and your relationships?

Guests:

Jeremy W. Peters, reporter covering the media and its intersection with politics, culture and law, The New York Times; author, "Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted"

Sarah Ellison, reporter covering media and its intersection with politics and technology, The Washington Post

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After two decades of trying, the United Nations has finalized a treaty to protect the high seas – that part of the ocean which covers nearly half the earth’s surface and falls outside of the jurisdiction of individual nations. There beneath the lens of blue water is an ecosystem with more species than exist on land. There are seamounts in the Pacific covered in golden corals that are the oldest living animals on the planet, having existed since the time of the pyramids. There is an underwater fertile crescent off South America where the interplay of plants, fish, and predators create a world unto its own. There are Yosemites and Everests beneath the surface of the ocean that we are only just learning about. And all of this is endangered by pollution, overfishing, and even deepsea mining. We’ll talk about what it means to protect the high seas and the impact the treaty will have on California’s coastal waters and ocean life.

Guests:

Kristina Gjerde, lawyer and Senior High Seas Advisor, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Global Marine and Polar Programme. Gjerde is also an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

Douglas McCauley, associate professor, Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, UC Santa Barbara. McCauley also heads the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at the University of California Santa Barbara

Christopher Chin, executive director, Center for Oceanic Awareness Research and Education based in the Bay Area

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Meg Zucker was born with one finger on each hand, shortened arms and one toe on each foot, a result of a hereditary condition called ectrodactyly. With the support of her parents who championed her abilities, Zucker learned to ignore how others perceived her and went on to become a successful attorney. But when she passed the same condition to her sons, Zucker says her “old innate pangs of shame” returned, and she had to start the learning process all over again. Zucker joins us to talk about her new book “Born Extraordinary” and the wisdom she’s gained about how to empower kids to talk about – and flaunt – what makes them different.

Guests:

Meg Zucker, author, “Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities;" president and founder, "Don't Hide It, Flaunt It"

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