KQED's Forum

Soccer can unite a country, but in Iran women cannot even enter the national stadium. For decades they’ve been banned from attending games, and by extension, says podcast host Shima Oliaee, they’ve been banned from standing side by side as equal Iranians. We talk to Oliaee about her new podcast “Pink Card,” all about the women who’ve fought to take their stadiums back and the profound connections between soccer, feminism and freedom.

Guests:

Shima Oliaee, host and creator, the podcasts "Pink Card," "Dolly Parton’s America," and "The Vanishing of Harry Pace."

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Back when there was no TikTok, Instagram or social media, there was a concept known as “polite conversation” that defined what you could or should say in public. Now, many people feel freer to share stories about their lives. But has it gone too far? Where is the line between bringing our authentic selves into a conversation and “trauma dumping?” We’ll talk about why and how norms surrounding what’s okay to share have shifted and how to manage them.

Guests:

Thea Monyee, licensed marriage and family therapist; founder, MarleyAyo, a creative wellness consulting company.

Michael Waters, freelance journalist, recent Atlantic article "The Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of 'Boundaries.'"

Lizzie Post, a great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post; co-author, "Emily Post's Etiquette: The Centennial Edition"; co-president, The Emily Post Institute (Vermont).

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The 117th Congress concludes on January 3, and for lawmakers the race is on to broker deals and send bills to President Biden’s desk. This year, eyes are on the spending and defense bills, including proposals to reform the Electoral Count Act and streamline permitting for green energy projects. We’ll get the latest and analyze Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s run for House Speaker and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s party change, and we’ll hear what you think Congress should prioritize in this lame duck session.

Guests:

Catie Edmondson, congressional correspondent, The New York Times.

Claudia Grisales, congressional correspondent, NPR.

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President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act this week in a flashy White House Ceremony that included performances by pop stars Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper. The president called deciding who to marry “one of the most profound decisions a person can make.” But marriage equality has had a relatively short history in America. Gay marriage was legalized less than a decade ago and has come under attack this year with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas indicating that it could be ruled unconstitutional in the future. We talk about the state of marriage equality in America and other rights the LGBTQ+ community continues to strive for.

Guests:

Andreana Clay, professor and chair, Department of Sociology and Sexuality Studies, San Francisco State University.

Katherine Franke, professor of law and director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, Columbia University.

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Are you an AFOL who builds MOCs? If that sentence made sense to you, chances are you are an Adult Fan of LEGO who likes to build My Own Creations. About 80 million children around the world receive a LEGO set each year, but among LEGO fans, adults can be the most passionate. And it is adult consumers who propelled LEGO from near bankruptcy in the early 2000s to become the most profitable toy company in the world. We’ll talk to LEGO experts and artists and hear from you: whether it's car, a rainbow or a 4,103-piece Star Wars Death Star, what’s your best LEGO creation?

Guests:

Christine "Tacos" Blandino, founder, Powered by Tacos, which offers Lego engineering classes for students K-8 - Blandino was also a contestant on Season 3 of LEGO Masters, a competition show that airs on Fox and Hulu.

Nathan Sawaya, artist, Sawaya uses LEGO in his contemporary art pieces, which can be seen in the Art of the Brick exhibit traveling across the country

Daryl Austin, freelance journalist, Austin wrote the recent Wall Street Journal article "Companies are Building Camaraderie with Legos"

Annemarie Conte, editor of Wirecutter, New York Times

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It’s the holiday season and, for some of us, it’s best spent lightly dusted in flour and sprinkles. We’re talking about holiday baking: gingerbread, buche de noel, rugelach, stollen, buñuelos, and piles and piles of sugar cookies. What’s your favorite holiday dessert to make, eat or give as a gift?

Guests:

Anna Voloshyna, chef, blogger and culinary instructor, author of "Budmo! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen"

Jessica Battilana, staff editor, King Arthur Baking Company, author of the cookbook "Repertoire: All The Recipes You Need"

Esteban Castillo, foodblogger and author of the cookbook "Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts"

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The newest artificial intelligence sensation, OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT, can teach physics, write in verse and even compose a convincing letter from Santa Claus. Trained on billions of written words ranging from online message boards to classic literature, ChatGPT can also hold respectably intelligent – even witty– conversations, all the while refining its accuracy and style with constant user feedback. But critics say the technology can enable cheating and amplify falsehoods. We’ll talk about the potential uses and abuses of ChatGPT.

Guests:

Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter, Washington Post

Kevin Roose, technology columnist, New York Times

Daniel Herman, high-school teacher and author of the Atlantic article, "The End of High-School English"

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The end of the year invariably means lists upon lists of best-ofs.. “Best music” could mean songs you kept on repeat, those best-selling tracks you couldn’t avoid, or the tunes that touched your heart in ways nothing else could. For some, it was the mega-hits such as Bad Bunny’s “Titi Me Pregunto,” Harry Styles’ “As it Was” or Beyonce’s “Break My Soul.” For other listeners, it was local stars like Zyah Belle, Mistah F.A.B. or Brijean. We’ll take a beat to appreciate the music that tickled our eardrums in 2022.

Guests:

Nastia Voynovskaya, associate editor, KQED Arts

Suzy Exposito, music reporter, Los Angeles Times

Adrian Spinelli, new music columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; staff writer, Uproxx

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Parasites: they’re seen as blood suckers, freeloaders and the worst kind of groupies, writes parasitologist Scott Gardner. And though they can be dangerous, they’re also "unseen influencers," essential to food webs and in some cases even beneficial to human health. We learn about the surprising world of parasites with Gardner, whose new book is “Parasites: The Inside Story.”

Guests:

Scott Gardner, professor of biological sciences and Curator of Parasites, H.W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska; author, "Parasites: The Inside Story"

Henry M. Wu, associate professor of medicine and infectious diseases specialist, Emory University School of Medicine; director, the Emory TravelWell Center

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After Paul Austin and Tenisha Tate-Austin got an appraisal on their Marin City house that seemed unusually low, they took down art and photos that identified them as Black and asked a white friend to pose as the homeowner with a new appraiser. That appraisal came back nearly half-million dollars higher. Stories like this led ABC7 race and culture reporter Julian Glover to investigate bias in home appraisals. His one and a half year investigation found widespread undervaluing of Black and Latino people’s homes nationwide. We’ll talk to Julian Glover about his documentary, Lowballed.

Guests:

Julian Glover, ABC7 news anchor and race & social justice reporter, executive producer of “Our America: Lowballed"

Paul Austin, Marin City homeowner featured in documentary, "Lowballed"

Julia Howard-Gibson, Supervising Attorney with the Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California

Dominique Curtis, licensed residential appraiser and realtor

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