KQED's Forum

As protests against federal immigration agents’ use of deadly force in Minneapolis spread nationwide, privacy experts are raising alarms. Immigration agencies are using facial-recognition and other tools to identify immigrants – and to track American citizens who observe or protest ICE operations. The surveillance technology allows agents to scan people’s faces and link them to government databases. It’s a practice that those targeted say amounts to intimidation and retaliation. We talk about how the technologies work and what they mean for enforcement and civil liberties.

Guests:

Rachel Levinson-Waldman, director of Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice

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

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Over the weekend, San Francisco’s public school teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The dispute is centered on pay, health benefits, and support for special education, all at a time when the district has been facing financial headwinds so dire that the state has contemplated stepping in to run the district. We get the latest on the labor negotiations and talk about what a potential strike, which could begin as early as February 9, means for teachers, the district, students and their families.

Guests:

Maria Su, superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District

Cassondra Curiel, president, United Educators of San Francisco

Jill Tucker, K-12 education reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Katie DeBenedetti, reporter, KQED

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New York Times cooking writer and columnist Yewande Komolafe has long loved the solitary, meditative act of crafting intricate meals and comfort foods in the kitchen. But after multiple amputations profoundly altered her body, Komolafe had to learn to cook in a new way: with adaptive tools, learning “how to whisk a bowl of cream to milky soft peaks with prosthetic hands,” and with other chefs’ assistance. That collaboration helped Komolafe better understand the curative effects of a good meal, both “physiologically and psychologically.” We talk with Komolafe about the restorative powers of cooking a hot dish of fried calamari or shrimp scampi and her journey of self-rediscovery. Her new article for the Times is “How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook.”

Guests:

Yewande Komolafe, cooking writer and columnist, The New York Times

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George Saunders is one of America’s most celebrated writers. His worlds and characters often live in a reality just beyond or behind our own, and his latest novel “Vigil,” is no exception. The novel opens with an angel falling to earth with the task of comforting an unrepentant oil tycoon in his final hours alive. What spills forth from this zany setup is a comic novel about climate change, personal responsibility, and the kind of honesty that matters most.

Guests:

George Saunders, author, "Vigil"; MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow; his previous books include "Lincoln in the Bardo," "Tenth of December" and "Liberation Day; English professor, Syracuse University

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This February marks 100 years of celebrating Black History month, which began as just a week in 1926. Now, as political efforts to scrub Black history from American classrooms intensify, historian and California native Jarvis Givens joins us to talk about his new book, “I’ll Make Me a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month.” Givens says the act of preserving Black stories has always been political, always been about power, and always been a tool for liberation. Has learning Black history shaped the way you see America?

Guests:

Jarvis Givens, professor of African and African American studies, Harvard University. His new book is "I’ll Make a World: The 100-Year Journey of Black History Month."

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Stigma. Discomfort. High pitched feedback. These are some reasons that people opt out of wearing hearing aids. Yet, hearing loss has been linked to dementia and social isolation, and one-third of Americans aged 70 and older suffer from the condition. Even young people are not immune: 20% of Gen Z suffers from noise-induced hearing problems. We talk about innovations in treating hearing loss. Have you resisted wearing a hearing aid?

Guests:

Nicholas S. Reed, adjunct associate professor, otolaryngology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Reed is an audiologist and epidemiologist who has studied the links between hearing loss and dementia

Christopher Null, technology journalist, He covers hearing aids for WIRED

Dr. Konstantina Stankovic, ear and skull base surgeon and auditory neuroscientist, Stanford Medical School.

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“Friction-maxxing,” a term coined by The Cut columnist Kathryn Jezer-Morton, is the art of adding more inconvenience to our lives —as technology pushes us to eliminate it. That might look like taking the bus to the grocery store instead of DoorDashing meals. Or asking a stranger for directions rather than checking Google Maps. It means putting ourselves in contact with the world, with all of the vulnerability and unpredictability that entails. We’ll talk with Jezer-Morton and tech journalists about how doing things the hard way can bring us more joy, serendipity and human connection. How do you friction-maxx?

Guests:

Morgan Sung, host, "Close All Tabs" podcast - available on KQED's "Political Breakdown" feed

Stephen Council, tech reporter, SFGATE

Kathryn Jezer-Morton, columnist, The Cut, New York Magazine; author, "The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything"

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For years, experts, educators and parents have sounded alarms about the dangers of kids spending too much time on screens and now, artificial intelligence could make some apps even more addicting. A trial started this week in a Los Angeles court on a lawsuit against Meta and YouTube that claims social media companies are responsible for the harmful effects of screen addiction on minors. Nearly a thousand similar cases are expected to go to trial this year nationwide. We’ll talk about the lawsuits, consequences of social media addiction in the age of AI and efforts to hold companies accountable.

Guests:

Cecilia Kang, tech reporter, The New York Times; author, "An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook's Battle for Domination"

Catherine Price, health and science journalist; author, "How to Break Up With Your Phone"

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The 2026 midterm elections may be in November, but they’re top of mind for California voters who will elect a new governor this year and who passed Proposition 50 last fall – redrawing congressional districts to favor Democrats in their bid to retake the House. We look at how redistricting is shaking out in races across the state. And we examine whether Democrats have gained an edge nationally as new polling shows voters souring on Trump’s immigration and economic agenda, but concerns about election interference mount. What races are you watching?

Guests:

Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Erin Covey, editor, U.S. House of Representatives coverage for The Cook Political Report

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There is near consensus on one facet of American life these days: parenting is hard. In surveys, most parents report being exhausted. Parenting is central to our identities and we do what academics describe as “intensive parenting.” We’re giving it all to our children, and broadly expected to do so. And yet… in new book, Overinvested, sociologist Nina Bandejl argues that the data shows that how we’re doing child-rearing in this country has led to worsening outcomes for parents, kids, and society at large.

Guests:

Nina Bandelj, chancellor's professor in the department of sociology, UC Irvine; author, "Overinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting"

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