KQED's Forum

The award-winning documentary by Bay Area director Yoav Potash, “Among Neighbors,” sheds light on the history of antisemitism in Poland, where both during and after the Holocaust, Jews were murdered not only by Nazis, but also by their Polish neighbors. Spanning seven decades of history, the film includes eyewitness testimony and asks what true reckoning and repair look like during today’s reemergence of nationalism and authoritarianism. Government officials in Poland have called for the film to be banned under a 2018 law in Poland forbidding speech that condemns the nation’s role in the Holocaust. We talk with Potash about his film and how he “worked to navigate the ethics of being a filmmaker, a Jew, and a participant in the story.”

Guests:

Yoav Potash, writer, producer, and director of the documentary “Among Neighbors”

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Two teenage gunmen killed three people, and later themselves, in an attack Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city’s largest mosque. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a hate crime, and it comes as anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise across the United States. We get the latest updates from the investigation, hear how San Diego’s Muslim community is responding and talk to experts about growing threats posed by rising Islamophobia.

Guests:

Tazheen Nizam, executive director, Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego

Andrew Dyer, reporter covering extremism, the military and veterans affairs, KPBS

Maha Elgenaidi, executive director, Intercultural Networks Group

Raqib Naik, executive director, Center for the Study of Organized Hate

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Since it was created back in 2012, DACA has allowed unauthorized immigrants who arrived in the US during childhood to go to school and work without fear of deportation. Now, many recipients are reporting extra long delays for renewing their status, which is required every two years, leading some to lose their jobs, health insurance, and stability and causing many to worry that they will be deported. President Trump tried to shut the program down during his first term and is expected to try again during his second. We talk with DACA recipients, advocates and legal experts about the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken DACA.

Guests:

Leo Rodriguez, union organizer; Oakland resident; DACA recipient

Sarah Souza, DACA recipient and immigrant rights and economic justice activist; serves on the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission; legislative aide for San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin

Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator

Bill Ong Hing, professor of law and migration studies, University of San Francisco; author of several books on immigration policy and race relations including "Humanizing Immigration: How to Transform Our Racist and Unjust System; helps run the USF Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic

Xochilt Cruz Lopez, Richmond resident; DACA recipient who experienced a long delay for her renewal

Jupiter Peraza, San Francisco resident and DACA recipient

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The recent hantavirus outbreak, which killed three people and sickened close to a dozen more, is largely under control, with many passengers now quarantining back in their home countries. But the response, led by a World Health Organization significantly weakened by funding cuts, exposed the obstacles that come with a decentralized approach to global health. It’s a challenge that will play out next in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where an outbreak of Ebola has been labeled an international health emergency.

Guests:

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong M.D., infectious disease specialist, UCSF Medical Center

Josh Michaud, associate director for Global Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation

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Even as a young child, Zayd Ayers Dohrn knew that the FBI was after his family. His parents Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers had been living as fugitives for years, wanted for their leadership of the Weather Underground Organization, a communist revolutionary group known for their bombings of American institutions like the Pentagon and US Capitol. In his new book, “Dangerous, Dirty, Violent & Young” Dohrn recounts his childhood on the run and grapples with the complicated legacy he inherits from revolutionary parents, who to some are seen as heroic outlaws and to others as terrorists.

Guests:

Zayd Ayers Dohrn, author, "Dangerous, Dirty, Violent & Young;"professor, Northwestern University; playwright

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On May 13th, Cuba ran out of oil, crippling public services for nearly 10 million people. It’s a result of a months-long oil blockade initiated by the Trump administration. We’ll talk with Ada Ferrer, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of US-Cuba relations, about this latest development in the long-tumultuous relationship between these two nations. She’s the author of the new book, “Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter” She weaves together Cuba’s history with her own family’s story, and she shares what – and who – they left behind to come to America.

Guests:

Ada Ferrer, professor of history, Princeton University; author of "Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter"

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The Federal Reserve Board begins this week with a new chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh. The Fed is a nonpartisan government body tasked with setting interest rates and controlling inflation, but since the start of Trump’s second term, former Fed chair Jerome Powell endured enormous pressure from the president, including a federal investigation against him, which has since been dropped. Can we trust our central bank to retain the independence that has made the U.S. the center of the globe’s financial system? We talk with the makers of a new Frontline documentary, “The President vs. The Fed.”

Guests:

James Jacoby, director, "The President vs. The Fed;" Jacoby has won an Emmy award for his previous film "Amazon Empire," and a Peabody award for his film "The Facebook Dilemma"

Anya Bourg, producer, "The President vs. The Fed;" previous films include "The Facebook Dilemma"

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Though our lives are filled with uncertainty, we’re less tolerant of it than ever, says journalist Simone Stolzoff, author of the new book “How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers.” Surrounded by prediction markets, statistics and the world’s knowledge on our phones, we think we should always be certain – in who we are, what we believe and what the “right” choice is. But Stolzoff says that accepting and even appreciating uncertainty can help us be more tolerant, humble and ready to take on life’s curveballs.

Guests:

Simone Stolzoff, journalist and author, "How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World that Demands Answers" and "The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work"

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Singer, songwriter and San Francisco native Cecilia Peña-Govea – better known as La Doña – joins us in studio with her band for a special live performance on the heels of the release of her new album, Corrientes. It’s her most ambitious and comprehensive project yet. She traveled to five countries and worked with 40 musicians to compose the 16-track  album which spans a variety of genres including cumbia, reggaeton, ranchera, electronic, merengue, and son jarocho, a folk music style that originated in the Mexican state of Veracruz.  La Doña joins us to perform, talk about her new album and her Bay Area roots.

Guests:

Cecilia Peña-Govea, singer who performs as La Doña

Amanda Magaña, vocals and congas

Naomi Pasmanick, sax and vocals

Miguel Govea, accordion, vocals and guitar

Camilo Landau, guitar and vocals

Ayla Davila, bass and vocals

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An El Niño is starting to form in the tropical Pacific Ocean, and some forecasters say it could be a “monster,” the most powerful in 150 years. The weather system could trigger potentially catastrophic heat waves, flooding and drought, with effects we could start to feel as early as this summer. We talk to science journalists about how this brewing El Niño could test our readiness for the chaos of a warmer climate, and answer your questions about its potential impacts here in California and beyond.

Guests:

David Wallace-Wells, science writer and essayist, The New York Times Opinion

Bill McKibben, co-founder, climate activism group Third Act; author of more than 20 books, including "The End of Nature"

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