KQED's Forum

People who ski in the Sierra Nevada backcountry say there’s no better way to experience the wonder of the mountains in winter. But the avalanche that killed nine backcountry skiers near Lake Tahoe last month has highlighted the dangers inherent in the sport. Those hazards include masses of snow racing down steep slopes — and a human tendency to sometimes underestimate risk. We talk about what can be done to address the dangers and heighten awareness for the growing number of people looking to explore the wilderness in winter.

Guests:

Sarah Wright, outdoors engagement reporter, KQED

Sara Boilen, clinical psychologist; backcountry skier; co-host, "The Avalanche Hour" podcast

Ethan Greene, director, Colorado Avalanche Information Center

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As recent court decisions make more people vulnerable to ICE detention, the Trump administration is purchasing massive warehouses that could detain upward of 5,000 people per site. Lawmakers and detainees describe existing ICE detention centers as grossly inadequate, with accounts of denied medical care, cruelty from guards and limited access to sunlight. Most immigrants detained by ICE have not committed a crime yet can be held for months or years. Now, resistance to these detention centers is growing nationwide – including in deeply red counties – and California activists and lawmakers are trying to prohibit ICE’s expansion here. We hear about the legal landscape and answer your questions.

Guests:

Ahilan Arulanantham, law professor and faculty co-director, Center for Immigration Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law; former legal director, ACLU of Southern California

Matt Haney, District 17 representative, California State Assembly

Wendy Fry, reporter covering poverty and inequality for the California Divide team, CalMatters

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“How We Get By,” a new series from KQED News, looks at how people in the Bay Area make due with the sky-high cost of living. Prices for necessities from housing and food to childcare and gas have shot up in the past decade and somehow, millions of people have managed to keep up – but how? For some people, it’s putting multiple generations under one roof, taking on a side hustle or cutting back on extras. What strategies help you afford to stay here? At what point do the costs outweigh the benefits? We examine the price of living in the Bay Area, how it has shaped us and hear your experience.

Guests:

Erin Baldassari, senior editor of housing affordability, KQED

Neale Mahoney, professor of economics, Stanford University; former special policy advisor for economic policy, White House National Economic Council

Abigail Lucia Sanchez, predoctoral researcher, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is your kid a fussy eater? A lot of us have come to accept that there’s a period where children can only stomach dino nuggets, buttered noodles and PB&J’s. But American kids used to be “fabulous” eaters, writes historian Helen Zoe Veit. They ate “spicy relishes, vinegary pickles… raw oysters and looked forward to their daily coffee.” We talk to Veit about what happened, and what we can learn from the past to expand kids’ palates — and help parents feel less overwhelmed at dinner time. Veit’s new book is “Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History.”

Guests:

Helen Zoe Veit, associate professor of history, Michigan State University; author, "Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History"

Dr. Erik Fernandez y Garcia, pediatrician and professor of pediatrics, UC Davis

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“All my life I have tried to be a good woman,” writes Savala Nolan. Being “good” meant not rocking the boat. It meant following the rules and fitting herself into the mold of duty, excellence, sacrifice, and hard work. But as a Black woman and mother navigating a world built for men, Nolan learned that the lessons of being good no longer fit her life. In her new book of essays “Good Woman: A Reckoning,” Nolan, an attorney who heads UC Berkeley Law’s Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, blends history and memoir as she examines the confining expectations of womanhood. We talk to Nolan.

Guests:

Savala Nolan, executive director, Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, Berkeley Law; author, "Good Woman: A Reckoning," "Don't Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weeks after the Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, new questions are emerging about evidence that may implicate President Trump in assaulting a teenage trafficking victim. This comes as Bill and Hillary Clinton testify before the House Oversight Committee about their relationship to the disgraced financier. We’ll talk about the latest disclosures and what Epstein’s ties to political, academic and business elites reveal about the structure of power and influence in our society.

Guests:

Stephen Fowler, political reporter, NPR

Maegan Vazquez, reporter, Washington Post

Virginia Heffernan, journalist and critic; columnist, The New Republic; publisher of "Magic and Loss" newsletter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States and Israel’s strikes against Iran continued throughout the weekend, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, top officials and civilians. Iran has retaliated with strikes on Israel, Gulf countries and U.S. bases. We talk with experts on Iran about what the attacks mean for the future of the Islamic Republic and the region, and what might happen next.

Guests:

Robin Wright, contributing writer, New Yorker; her most recent piece for the magazine is "What Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Meant to Iran, and What Comes Next" Wright is also the author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East"

Sahar Razavi, associate professor, Department of Political Science; director, Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center, California State University, Sacramento

Nate Swanson, director, Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fan fiction, where fans reimagine their favorite characters in new – often steamy – stories, is reshaping mainstream literature, television and film. This year alone, three novels spun from fan-written romances between Harry Potter characters have hit national bestseller lists. And on the popular fanfic site Archive of Our Own, you’ll find everything from Star Wars-inspired romances to a zombie apocalypse featuring the Car Talk guys. We’re tracing how communities of queer, female, and frequently thirsty fans became a force too big for publishers and Hollywood executives to ignore.

Guests:

E. Alex Jung, features writer, Vulture and New York Magazine

Candice Lim, writer, producer and former co-host, Slate's ICYMI podcast

Domee Shi, film director and creative vice president, Pixar; her films include "Turning Red," "Elio" and the animated short film "Bao"

Disclaimer:

Suicide and suicidal ideation comes up in conversation during this podcast episode.

If you are in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK  to 741741.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arthur Miller’s classic play “All My Sons” tells the story of a father who attains the American Dream, but at a high cost to himself and everyone around him. Nearly 80 years after the original, Berkeley Rep’s new production reimagines the play with a Puerto Rican family at the center.  The main characters, Joe and Kate Keller, are played by real life couple Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús. We’ll talk with the actors and director David Mendizábal about what the production has to say about the American Dream today.

Guests:

David Mendizábal, associate artistic director and director of "All My Sons," Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Wanda De Jesús, actor starring as Kate Keller, Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of "All My Sons"

Jimmy Smits, actor starring as Joe Keller, Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of "All My Sons"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commercial surrogacy has long been life-changing for LGBTQ+ and infertile couples wishing to have children. Even though the practice is banned or highly restricted in much of the rest of the world, the U.S. has no federal laws overseeing the practice. In a new investigation, New Yorker staff writer Ava Kofman exposes one Los Angeles couple that enlisted surrogate mothers for at least 25 children, all of whom are currently in foster care. California is considered a surrogacy stronghold within the $42 billion global fertility industry. We unpack why, and the reforms advocates want to see to improve the informed consent of both surrogates and intended parents — and to keep their children safe.

Guests:

Deborah Wald, certified family law specialist based in San Francisco

Ava Kofman, staff writer, The New Yorker - her recent piece is “The Babies Kept in a Mysterious Los Angeles Mansion”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices