KQED's Forum

A century ago, nearly one million Black farmers worked the land across the United States. Today, there are around 45,000 Black farmers. Investigations into the United States Department of Agriculture found that starting in the 1950s, illegal and discriminatory loan programs resulted in enormous wealth transfers from Black to white farmers, and are at the root of this decline. In her new book "We Are Each Other's Harvest," Natalie Baszile, author of novel "Queen Sugar," looks at what happened. Through essays, poems, photographs and personal stories, she documents the rich agricultural history of African Americans. We'll talk with Bay Area based Baszile about the book, some of the farmers she's met and what's in the American Rescue Plan to help reverse the trend.

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During the pandemic, California home buyers gobbled up single-family homes in exurbs and suburbs while low-income earners struggled to make rent. The median home price in California rose roughly 20 percent during the past year to about $700,000, according to the California Association of Realtors. At the same time, rents plummeted in many of the state’s biggest cities — especially in high-end luxury towers. But those drops do little to help millions of renters in California barely managing to keep roofs over their heads. Part of the problem is that, based on some estimates, California faces a shortage of roughly 3 million homes. We examine how these trends could make California’s long-time housing shortage worse and what policies are on the horizon to address the problem. 

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Therapists have been in high demand during the pandemic, after shifting services online. But with no licensed psychologists in 33 percent of counties nationwide, the demand can be bigger than the supply.   That has set the stage for growing interest in services offering mental-health care on a smartphone. Startups offering digital behavioral health were able to raise $1.8 billion in funding in 2020, compared to $609 million the year before.  We’ll hear about therapy apps, and whether they can live up to their promises.

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Can self-deception be beneficial? That’s one of the questions animating Shankar Vedantam’s new book “Useful Delusions,” which argues that holding false beliefs is not necessarily a sign of pathology or ignorance. We’ll talk to the Hidden Brain podcast host about the lies we tell ourselves — and each other — and the role some forms of deception play in sustaining relationships and advancing mental well-being.

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Recording artists protested outside Spotify offices around the world last month as part of an ongoing movement to demand better pay. The streaming site’s payout rates have been decreasing over time, with artists today making approximately .0038 cents per stream. The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) wants the Swedish streaming company to pay one cent per stream. We break down how artists can make money today using online platforms and hear from some artists about why they say it’s not a living wage.

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Under pressure from lawmakers and public health officials, Facebook has recently ramped up efforts to combat Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on its site by banning anti-vaxxers and marking misleading posts as false. But according to Bloomberg tech reporter Sarah Frier, those measures are doomed to fall short because the company's platform by design favors sensationalism over scientific nuance. We'll talk about the impact of covid vaccine misinformation on social media sites and what more can be done to control it.

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At least 5,796 people presently detained in California county jails have waited more than one year for a conviction or sentence. At least 1,300 of these inmates have been incarcerated for three or more years, with more than 300 waiting for more than five years. And the backlog has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 44,241 people in total mostly people of color currently awaiting convictions or sentences in California county jails. That's all according to a new report from CalMatters, which spoke with incarcerated persons, crime victims and impacted family members. We'll speak with CalMatters' Robert Lewis about his report.

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As the pandemic creeps into its second year and as fires, droughts and floods continually remind us that the climate is changing, writer Anne Lamott notes that existential exhaustion is everywhere we look these days. In her new book, Dusk, Night, Dawn Lamott asks, where on earth do we start to get our world and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back? Lamott's approach is both spiritual and funny, embracing darkness and light and our worst flaws to move toward human connection, kindness. And we'll want to hear from you: What has been bringing you hope and joy?

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President Joe Biden unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan on Wednesday. Called the “American Jobs Plan,” the massive measure would rebuild aging roads, bridges and airports, while addressing climate change and racial inequities. It also includes funds to expand high-speed broadband internet across the country. California is poised to receive the biggest portion of federal funds if passed. Scott Shafer discusses what’s in the plan, how California would benefit and its prospects for passage in Congress with Vox reporter Ella Nilsen and Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Assemblymember Rob Bonta last week to be the next state attorney general. If confirmed, Bonta will finish the term of newly confirmed U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Bonta would be the first attorney general of Filipino descent in California. He currently represents California’s 18th district, which includes Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro. Scott Shafer talks with him about his nomination and what his priorities would be as attorney general.

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