KQED's Forum

A new investigation by the Los Angeles Times looks at the cases of California doctors who were barred from practice for sexually abusing patients. And it uncovers an alarming pattern: more than half of those who sought to get their licenses back since 2013 were reinstated by the state Medical Board. That’s a higher rate than for doctors who lost their licenses for all other reasons, the Times found. We’ll talk with Times reporters about their investigation, the lack of repercussions for abusers, and hear the stories of abuse victims.

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The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry set a new NBA record for career three-pointers on Tuesday. His career total is now 2,977, surpassing Ray Allen’s record set in 2014. "I never wanted to call myself the greatest shooter until I got this record,” Curry said in a post-game press conference, “So I'm comfortable saying that now." We'll talk about Curry’s historic achievement, his legacy and how he’s changed the way basketball is played with The Athletic columnist Marcus Thompson, author of "Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry."

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Cutting up fruit and delivering it to you without asking if you want it. Sending Google alerts about murders in your area. Sitting with you while you do hours of Kumon homework. These are a few of the ways immigrant parents show their love according to comedian Meghana Indurti, who has a recent New Yorker humor piece on the topic. Her TikToks featuring her stoic father, who didn’t say the words “I love you” until she was 22, have gone viral. We’ll talk to Indurti and we want to hear from you. How have your immigrant parents expressed their affection?

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According to a recent Pew study, a rising percentage of adults in the U.S. are living without a spouse or partner. But U.S. social policy still tends to value families over individuals – reflected in the structure of everything from our tax codes to social security and workplace benefits. As a result, according to the same Pew study, unpartnered adults generally have worse economic and social status outcomes than those who are married or cohabiting. In a story for The Goods by Vox, culture writer and author Anne Helen Petersen asks “what would it look like to create small systems of care for one another that go beyond one other individual?” Petersen joins us to consider that question and talk about the escalating costs of being single in the U.S.

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Laurie Ann Steves drove from Seattle to San Francisco last May to try to reconnect with her daughter, Jessica, who is addicted to fentanyl and lives on and off the streets of San Francisco. Steves joins us to share how she tried to intervene in her daughter’s life, just months after losing her son to addiction, and we’ll hear from the San Francisco Chronicle journalists who documented her efforts. As we enter the holiday season, which can be a particularly painful time for those wanting to connect with a loved one struggling with mental health problems, homelessness or drug addiction, we get advice from UCSF psychiatrist Dr. Fumi Mitsuishi.

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"These text messages leave no doubt, the White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol," said Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Monday night at a meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol. Cheney, the ranking Republican on the committee, read a series of text messages former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows received on Jan. 6. The committee voted unanimously to refer Meadows for criminal contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. We'll talk about new evidence made public last night about his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News on Sunday that Omicron's apparent ability to evade some protection from COVID vaccines is "sobering". But the good news, he said, is that boosters can dramatically increase the level of defense. We'll get the latest on the new variant from Fauci, including why he thinks we may not need Omicron-specific vaccines. Then, the Atlantic's Sarah Zhang joins us to take your questions on COVID and talk about her latest article "Omicron’s Explosive Growth Is a Warning Sign"

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An outsourcing loophole in the H-1B visa program has allowed tech companies to get away with underpaying their migrant workers by millions of dollars, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. While the report focuses on the workers under the IT staffing firm HCL Technologies, the tactic of outsourcing labor to migrant workers and paying them less compared to their U.S. born counterparts to save money is all too common, the report claims. We’ll talk with the study’s co-author.

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Following the Supreme Court’s decision last week not to block SB 8, the Texas law that bans abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy and that also gives private citizens a right to sue anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion, an outraged California governor Gavin Newsom responded by stating he would use that law’s framework to address gun violence. “If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits, we should do just that,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will use that authority to protect people’s lives,” declared the governor, “where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way.” We’ll discuss whether Newsom’s plan is legally viable and politically astute.

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In a not-so-distant past, kids played with toys like Clackers that could shatter into sharp pieces, or lawn darts that caused serious injuries and deaths, or Suzy Homemaker dolls that reinforced gender stereotypes. “Dangerous Games: Treacherous Toys We Loved As Kids,” an exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, celebrates vintage toys and explores the physical and psychological harms some of them posed. We talk about the exhibit, why kids are drawn to dangerous toys and why they rouse so much nostalgia.

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