KQED's Forum

Early on in the pandemic, Southern California drew praise for its aggressive social distancing policies that helped contain the spread of the coronavirus. But now the region is the American epicenter for COVID-19 and what Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano calls a cautionary tale for the dangers of lifting restrictions too quickly. He says the reasons for the backslide are in large part structural: the disease is "tailor-made" for Latino and other tight-knit communities who tend to work on the front lines and live in multigenerational households. But Arellano also blames those he calls "pandejos" -- who, like "covidiots," willfully ignore public health advice. We'll talk to Arellano about his recent story for The Atlantic, called "The Pandejo Movement Destroyed California’s Pandemic Progress."

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The Republican-led effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom is gaining traction as some members of Newsom's base are starting to question his leadership. Newsom was the first governor to issue a statewide stay-at-home order at the start of the pandemic, but the progress from that head start was lost following the state's summer reopening, which many say happened too fast. Now as California's vaccine distribution lags -- 5.8% of Californians have received the first dose of a vaccine compared to 6.8% nationally -- the spotlight on Newsom is intensifying. We'll discuss the latest developments in the effort to recall Gov. Newsom.

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The pandemic has been tough on Oakland. Just one month into the new year the city has seen 13 homicides and a recent spate of car-jackings and robberies. The city has also made deep budget cuts to offset a $62 million shortfall from declines in tax revenue and police overtime pay. We'll talk with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf about housing, homelessness, the economy, and what the city can do to help its citizens in these hard times. 

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The California Department of Public Health announced an updated COVID-19 vaccine delivery plan this week as the state faces growing criticism over a slow coronavirus vaccine rollout. But the plan, which prioritizes age over risk of infection, is receiving backlash from people with disabilities who may be immunocompromised and don’t yet meet the current age requirement. Currently, those 65 and older are eligible to be vaccinated, in addition to select groups of essential workers. Even eligible seniors, though, report long waits in the cold and trouble navigating appointment systems. Meanwhile, another coronavirus variant, different from the one originating in the U.K., is spreading across California. We'll talk about the latest coronavirus news impacting Californians.

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In a report released Thursday, the California state auditor finds the Employment Development Department (EDD) has failed to fix a fraud problem that the agency itself admitted could reach $30 billion. And another audit earlier this week found that inefficiency at the EDD continues to result in delays to benefits, and that the department has failed to correct the ongoing issues. We talk with EDD spokesperson Loree Levy about the agency’s fraud problem and its delays and missteps in processing legitimate claims. And we’ll take your unemployment benefits questions.

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After the deadly insurrection of January 6, Twitter and other social media companies permanently banned Donald Trump from their platforms for inciting the violent mob that overran the U.S. Capitol. Facebook indefinitely suspended the ex-President’s account, and its oversight board is considering whether to make that suspension permanent. But the bans raise complicated questions about whether powerful tech companies should have the unchecked ability to remove people from their platforms, and under what circumstances. We’ll talk about the law and politics of deplatforming.

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Songwriter Michael Koppy says we’ve all been happily singing along to abysmal lyrics without noticing. In his book “Words and Music Into the Future” -- which he calls a treatise and a manifesto -- he excoriates the lyrics of even our most beloved songwriters, like Bob Dylan and John Lennon. How much attention do you pay to the lyrics of your favorite songs? We want to hear from you. What are the worst -- and the best -- song lyrics in popular music?

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On Wednesday, a Californian died from COVID-19 every two minutes. The level of loss is taking a toll on families and larger communities collectively grieving the more than 38,000 deaths -- many of which were preventable. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, however, of families waiting weeks to bury or cremate loved ones. Or households in which multiple family members died from COVID-19. Or communities afraid of losing their culture when elders pass away. We talk about how some are coping with the grief and trauma of losing loved ones to the coronavirus pandemic.  

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President Joe Biden on Wednesday is set to sign a group of executive actions to fight climate change, on issues ranging from fracking to green jobs. But will they go far enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld and Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot join us to share their reaction to Biden’s plan.  They’ll also discuss how California--as it struggles with wildfire, drought and other challenges-- can serve as a model for national action on climate change.  And we’ll hear what California itself is doing to meet clean energy targets.

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What happens to a society that tells generation after generation of white men that they deserve power? That's the question author Ijeoma Oluo poses in her new book, "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America." A follow-up to her bestselling book "So You Want to Talk About Race," Oluo continues her examination of race in America with a wide-ranging cultural history of white male identity and power that she argues has devastating consequences on women, people of color and white men themselves. We talk to Oluo about the book and what’s needed to dismantle the constructs that perpetuate white male supremacy.

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