KQED's Forum

As Northern California enters day three of PG&E power shut-offs, Forum gets the latest developments and takes your questions about the outages. We'll address why areas not at risk of wildfire still lost power and whether there is a better way for PG&E to organize the power grid. In our coverage this week, we also heard lots of questions from listeners about the feasibility of alternative, small-scale energy systems and many wondering what's keeping California from putting electrical lines underground. This hour, we'll continue to hear from you and look at the way California is powered.

Fallout continues from White House lawyer Pat Cipollone's defiant letter Tuesday informing democratic lawmakers that the White House won't cooperate in their impeachment inquiry. A Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found that half of Americans support removing President Trump from office, the latest in a string of national surveys showing that most Americans support the inquiry. We'll discuss the latest news and hear from Bay Area congressman Ro Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee.

On Wednesday, Turkey launched a major cross-border assault on Kurdish-led militia in northeastern Syria. This offensive comes days after President Trump announced U.S. troops would leave the area. Kurdish forces have been a key ally to the U.S. in the war against ISIS, prompting Democrats and Republicans in Congress to condemn both the president's decision and Turkey's military operation.

The second phase of PG&E power shut-offs are expected Wednesday evening, affecting around 240,000 PG&E customers in 10 California counties. This follows the approximately 500,000 customers whose power was shut off Wednesday morning. PG&E expects to begin restoring power Thursday, though it says the process could take days. The shut-offs have caused school closures, traffic backups and depleted supplies at grocery and hardware stores. We'll get the latest news on the shut-offs, and we want to hear how your life has been affected.

Before the sentencing of Brock Turner, the Stanford University swimmer found guilty of sexual assault in the widely covered 2016 trial, the woman he attacked wrote a raw, searing victim impact statement that went viral and was read on the floor of Congress. At the time, she was known only as "Emily Doe." But now, Chanel Miller has come forward with her identity — and her story, chronicled in her memoir, "Know My Name." Forum talks to Miller about how she reclaimed her identity and voice after a punishing trial and how the legal system can improve its handling of sexual assault survivors.

Grammy Award winning vocalist Lila Downs joins Forum to talk about her latest production, "Día de los Muertos: Al Chile." The production, which features an all-female mariachi ensemble, visual storytelling and dance, explores the layered traditions that form the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. It also incorporates her newest album "Al Chile," which draws inspiration from her Mixtec roots, traditional Oaxcan music and social justice issues like immigration and border policy.

PG&E announced Tuesday that it expected to cut power in 34 California counties after midnight on Wednesday. The preemptive shut-offs aim to lessen the wildfire risk posed by the dry winds that were expected Tuesday night. The outages could impact almost 800,000 PG&E customers, including those in every Bay Area county except San Francisco. We'll get the latest on the impact of the shut-offs and how the Bay Area is coping.

Cynthia Li was a successful doctor in her 30s when an auto-immune disease torpedoed her health. She and her doctors were baffled. Her test results were normal, but mysterious symptoms wracked her body. Li's memoir, "Brave New Medicine: A Doctor's Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness," follows her long journey to understanding her condition, rethinking the way medicine is practiced, and finding her way back to health.

PG&E says potential power shut-offs in Northern and Central California could begin Wednesday. The plan comes in response to dry and windy conditions which increase the risk of wildfire ignition. The power could cuts are set to last through Thursday and could impact more than 600,000 PG&E customers, including those in seven of the nine Bay Area counties.

President Trump announced on Sunday his plan to remove U.S. troops from Syria's shared border with Turkey, ahead of Turkey's planned invasion. Experts fear Turkey plans to clear the region of the Kurdish militia, a long-standing U.S. ally. Prominent Republican lawmakers -- including Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham -- publicly condemned the decision Monday. We'll discuss the latest developments.