KQED's Forum

As shelter-in-place orders put campaigning on ice, and as economic uncertainty slashes political donations, the coronavirus pandemic is setting up to reshape the 2020 election. We'll talk about the effect the pandemic is having on national and state races.

Thousands of incarcerated people in California will be released early to avoid the spread of coronavirus, but some prisoner advocates say more inmates should be sent home and at a faster rate. Advocates fear that overcrowded state prisons and local jails could be the sites of the next major COVID 19 outbreak. Nonetheless, letting inmates go home -- if they have a home to go home to -- is not so simple, justice system officials say. We examine the challenges facing inmates and correctional facilities during the coronavirus pandemic.

As scientists rush to come up with more accurate data and science to explain the mysterious and sudden Covid-19 pandemic, some of those touched by the HIV epidemic are seeing parallels with events of 40 years ago.  We reflect on lessons from the early days of the HIV epidemic and how they might apply with the novel coronavirus.

The $2 trillion stimulus bill signed by President Trump last month authorizes direct payments to individuals and sweeping benefits for businesses, but it provides no relief for the country's millions of undocumented workers whose livelihoods the pandemic has upended. On Tuesday, California Governor Newsom announced he's working with the legislature on an aid package for the undocumented, as cities around the Bay Area set up relief funds. We'll talk about the impact of the pandemic on the undocumented and the efforts underway to assist them.

California this week secured a deal to get 200 million new masks a month to health providers who have been struggling for scarce supplies. The state has also dramatically increased its testing in recent weeks though it still lags far behind that national average. Forum checks in on  California's coronavirus response with Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. And we'll talk about her efforts to repatriate Californians abroad during the pandemic, the impact of the health and economic crisis on the state's universities and colleges and her role overseeing international affairs and trade for the state.

Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday that he would suspend his presidential campaign, paving the way for Joe Biden to become the Democratic nominee.  The Washington Post columnist and author E.J. Dionne joins us to talk about Sanders’ decision and the challenges facing presumptive nominee Joe Biden as he tries to unite the party. And we'll hear about Dionne's new book "Code Red", about divisions within the political left and how that conflict is affecting the presidential election.

As of Wednesday, New York -- a state with about half California’s population -- has nearly nine times as many cases of coronavirus. Many attribute that difference to California’s early and aggressive response to the outbreak. A main driver of that response was Santa Clara Health Officer Sarah Cody. Cody has been at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus since Santa Clara became the first county in the Bay Area with a positive test. On March 16th, Cody led her peers to enact a seven-county “shelter-in-place” order, the first of its kind in the country. We’ll speak with Cody about what drove her to act first, and what she thinks still needs to be done.

The health effects of the coronavirus pandemic go far beyond infection with the disease, according to California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris. She says that stress brought on by economic insecurity, loss of personal relationships and school closures can trigger a range of secondary health problems, especially for people who have previously experienced trauma. We'll talk to Dr. Burke Harris about how to ease stress and stay mentally healthy during the pandemic.

California’s public K-12 schools are likely to stay closed for the remainder of the academic year due to the shelter in place order.  California State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond joins us to share how kids --and teachers--are coping with distance learning, and how the largest k-12 school system in the nation can do better.

For many faithful, this year’s Easter, Passover, and Ramadan celebration will be a completely different experience now that large gatherings are prohibited. Since shelter-in-place guidelines went into effect last month, most religious groups have shifted services and meetings online. Larger questions remain about how to serve congregants’ spiritual needs and carry out charitable works during a time of crisis, as well as how to maintain operations long term. We talk with religious leaders about how they are adapting to the coronavirus pandemic.