KQED's Forum

When the Supreme Court invalidated a tranche of Trump’s tariffs last month, businesses around the country and world began clamoring for a refund. To date, 2,000 lawsuits from businesses seeking refunds have been filed, and reports estimate that the administration may owe $175 billion in refunds to the 300,000 entities that were slapped with the now-illegal tax. We talk about how local businesses are responding, the impact on consumers, and how despite this court ruling, tariffs are here to stay.

Guests:

Zoe Tillman, senior reporter covering law and politics, Bloomberg News

Alfred Mai, owner, ASM Games; co-inventor of the card games "Do You Really Know Your Family?" and "These Cards Will Get You Drunk"

Daniel Desrochers, international trade reporter, Politico

Lauren Crabbe, co-founder and co-owner, Andytown Coffee

Deborah Baldini, owner, Biordi - retailer based in North Beach that sells imported Italian decor and art

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Since President Trump’s return to office, his net worth has nearly doubled to an estimated $7 billion. He’s used his office to promote his family’s cryptocurrency businesses, pardoned investors and allies, accepted lavish personal gifts and tipped off oil executives before raiding Venezuela. “The Trump family’s staggering indifference to blurring the lines between politics and corporate interest once again demonstrates how Trump’s presidency is being used to enrich himself and his family rather than serving the needs of the American people,” reports the nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). We talk with CREW president Donald Sherman and investigative journalist Andrea Bernstein about the many ways corruption appears to be occurring in the second Trump Administration.

Guests:

Andrea Bernstein, Peabody and duPont-Columbia award-winning investigative journalist; author, “American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power"; co-host of four podcasts, including “Trump, Inc.”

Donald K. Sherman, president and CEO, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

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Last month’s Super Bowl in Santa Clara drew thousands of visitors to the Bay Area, including some looking to pay for sex. Police set up an operation to stop sex trafficking and found 10 victims who were minors as young as 12 years old. The incident was one of many spotlighting the ongoing problem of child sex trafficking throughout the Bay Area. Survivors and advocates say more needs to be done to protect kids from exploitation, from building awareness to providing resources like therapy and housing. We talk about the prevalence of this crime, efforts to stop it, and the organizations helping survivors.

Guests:

Sharan Dhanoa, director, South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking

Josh Singleton, lieutenant and commander, Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office Human Trafficking Task Force

Aisha Mays, CEO and Founder, Dream Youth Clinics: a nonprofit that provides free health services to young people and survivors of sex trafficking

Elizabeth Quiroz, co-founder, Redemption House Bay Area: a nonprofit that assists survivors of human trafficking; Quiroz survived child sex trafficking

Viviana Nance, youth leader, Dream Youth Clinics: a nonprofit that provides free health services to young people and survivors of sex trafficking

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Anthropic sued the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday over its decision to designate the San Francisco AI company a “supply-chain risk to America’s national security.” That’s after the firm refused to let its systems be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. Meanwhile, OpenAI has struck a deal with the Pentagon to deploy its own AI tools – a move that has triggered backlash inside the tech world. We take a close look at the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon and the ethics and effectiveness of using AI in war.

Guests:

Paul Scharre, executive vice president, Center for the New American Security; author, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," and "Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War"

Ro Khanna, U.S. Congressman for California's 17th Congressional District (Silicon Valley)

Sheera Frenkel, technology reporter, The New York Times; co-athor, "An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination"

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On Monday, President Trump declared the war in Iran “very complete” as missile and drone strikes continue. Trump’s comments belie the situation on the ground. In its second week, the war in Iran that began with Israeli and US airstrikes has embroiled the Middle East. Iran has hit targets in Oman, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, among other Middle Eastern states. Oil prices have skyrocketed to over $100 a barrel and Iran has appointed a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently killed supreme leader, who many expect to continue his father’s hardline tendencies. We’ll talk about the war, its impact on international alliances, and what might come next.

Guests:

Mona Yacoubian, director and senior advisor, Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)

Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow, UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations; author, "Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy"

Nabih Bulos, Middle East bureau chief, Los Angeles Times

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Journalist Scott Eden’s new book, “A Killing in Cannabis,” tells the story of a tech industry veteran who set out to make his mark in the newly legal marijuana industry — and how that dream ended with his murder in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We’ll talk with Eden about the crime and what it tells us about the continuing dominance of the cannabis black market. What do you think it would take to fix California’s cannabis marketplace?

Guests:

Scott Eden, investigative reporter; author, "A Killing in Cannabis: A True Story of Love, Murder and California Weed"

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Betty Reid Soskin was a civil rights pioneer, musician, and the nation’s oldest park ranger when, at the age of 100, she retired from Richmond’s Rosie the Riveter museum where she was dedicated to keeping experiences of Black Americans and women in the forefront of the historical narrative. She worked in the segregated homefront during World War II, was among the first Black families to integrate Walnut Creek, and she ran one of the first Black-owned record stores in the Bay Area. She died in December at 104 years old and as part of our Bay Area Legends series, we’ll listen back to Forum’s interviews with Soskin over the years and talk with those who loved her and worked with her.

Guests:

Bob Reid, musician activist and Betty Reid Soskin's son

Kelli English, program manager, National Park Service, was Betty Reid Soskin's supervisor at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park

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As we near one week since the start of Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on Iran, which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we take stock of where the war stands. We’ll look at what comes next for Iran’s government and what we know about the U.S. and Israel’s strategy. And we’ll hear reactions from Iranians in the U.S. Do you have a connection to Iran? How are you processing this week of developments? Join us.

Guests:

Arash Azizi, contributing writer, The Atlantic; author, "What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom"

Sina Toossi, senior nonresident fellow, Center for International Policy; his latest article for The Nation is "The Iranian Voices America Isn’t Hearing”

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First-time YA novelists René Peña-Govea and Susie Nadler are both school librarians living in the Bay Area. Thus, it is no surprise that in their publishing debuts, San Francisco serves as both a setting and a character. Peña-Govea’s book, “Estela, Undrowning” follows the novel’s namesake as she navigates the pressures of an elite public high school, college admissions, and her family’s pending eviction. And in “Lies We Tell About the Stars,” Nadler tells the story of a young woman living in the aftermath of a major earthquake and the loss of her best friend. We talk to the authors about writing for young adults, how the Bay Area influences their work and how to keep young people reading.

Guests:

René Peña-Govea, teacher librarian; author, "Estela, Undrowning"

Susie Nadler, school librarian; author, "Lies We Tell About the Stars"

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After a century-long absence, gray wolves are returning to California. Biologists estimate some 70 wolves are living in the state, and recently, a female wolf traveled into Los Angeles County, the first such sighting. But their comeback is not without controversy. Ranchers in rural counties say they’re losing livestock to predation, while conservationists say the wolves bring ecological benefits as they reclaim part of their historic range. How do you think the state should manage our wolves?

Guests:

Kaggie Orrick, director, California Wolf Project, UC Berkeley

Paul Roen, Sierra County supervisor; manager, Sierra Valley Ranch

Beth Pratt, executive director for the California region, National Wildlife Federation

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