KQED's Forum

On Wednesday, the California State legislature passed a vaccine bill designed to close a loophole that allowed parents to skirt the state's mandatory immunization for school children. SB 276, which passed with large margins, requires state oversight of medical vaccine exemptions given to children by doctors. It's unclear, however, if Governor Newsom will sign it into law. His request for a companion bill that could weaken the bill's provisions has many critics accusing him of pandering to vaccine skeptics. Forum discusses the latest developments and what's next for the controversial vaccine legislation.

More than 50 years after the civil rights movement, Northern California has become racially segregated in new ways, argues urbanist, planner and geographer Alex Schafran. Even while communities of color continue to suffer the effects of decades-old postwar housing discrimination, Schafran says there are new factors that have driven people of color out of cities, into the farther reaches of the Bay Area, resulting in long commutes, unstable finances and rising poverty. In his book, "The Road to Resegregation: Northern California and the Failure of Politics," Schafran strives to answer how an area with so much wealth and progressive politics has such great inequality.

Brandon Lee, a human rights activist and San Francisco native, is in critical condition after he was shot last month outside his home in the Philippines. Watchdog groups say the Philippine government carried out the attack as retribution for Lee's environmental and indigenous rights advocacy within the country. On Tuesday, following a week-long fact finding mission in the Philippines, San Francisco Supervisors Matt Haney and Gordon Mar introduced a resolution calling for Lee's evacuation and urging Congress to investigate.

In stunning defiance of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UK lawmakers voted Tuesday to take control of the parliamentary agenda to debate legislation that would block a no-deal Brexit. In response, Johnson introduced a bill to hold a general election next month. We’ll discuss the latest developments and their political and economic implications.

Rescue crews recovered the bodies of 20 people who died when a fire erupted on the diving boat Conception near an island off the Southern California coast early Monday morning. At least 14 people are still missing of the 39 people who were aboard the 75-foot boat, operated by Santa Barbara-based company Truth Aquatics. Forum gets the latest updates about the search and recovery efforts.

The Condé Nast of today publishes Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, The New Yorker, Bon Appétit, Wired and more. But in 1909, Condé Nast Publications was just starting, and Vogue had just been purchased by Condé Montrose Nast himself. In her new biography "Condé Nast: The Man and His Empire," Susan Ronald profiles the man behind the brand. She details his vision and belief that talent should always come first — before race, gender or sexual orientation. We'll talk with Ronald about Nast's influence on European and American cultures, from the 20th century to today.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new deal on Friday that seeks to protect millions of California renters against rent-gouging and evictions. If approved by the state Legislature, the agreement would limit rent increases to 5 percent plus inflation, with a 10 percent maximum increase. Forum discusses what this rent cap might mean for California.

Forum reviews, analyzes and answers your questions about the latest news from Washington, D.C.

Poet and literary critic Stephanie Burt likes to imagine a world where discovering an enticing new poem would happen as readily as, say, enjoying a new song from a band. In her book "Don't Read Poetry," Burt introduces readers to poetry as "a living art form" and looks to demystify it from its stereotype as a more exclusive or high-brow craft. Burt joins us to discuss the diverse world of poetry, why it matters, and the pleasure of finding a poem that speaks to you.

Faced with income inequality, gender pay inequity and declining social mobility, American workers have been experiencing a decades-long depletion of their power, according to long-time labor reporter, Steven Greenhouse. Drawing from his 19-year tenure at the New York Times, Greenhouse's new book "Beaten Down, Worked Up" chronicles the history and current state of labor organizing and effectiveness of unions in the U.S. Greenhouse joins Forum to discuss his new book and the future of U.S. labor.