KQED's Forum

From gallery crawls to canine happy hours to ice cream giveaways, the Bay Area abounds with free and low-cost events this summer. We'll hear from Johnny Hayes, publisher of funcheap.com, about his picks for adults and kids alike.

President Trump's racist tweets last Sunday telling four progressive congresswomen of color to "go back" to their home countries appear to have galvanized Trump's base, and sparked a larger conversation on racism in America. At a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night, crowds chanted "send her back!" about Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2000. Forum discusses the resurgence of this racist trope, and the state of American identity and race with Atlantic staff writer, Adam Serwer, author of the article, "What Americans Do Now Will Define Us Forever."

From the grind of the gig economy to the hustle for "likes" on social media, there is always something to do, and a constant pressure to do it. The best way to resist these productivity pressures of capitalism? Do nothing, says Bay Area artist and writer Jenny Odell. In her book "How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy," Odell champions resisting the lure of online commerce and social media, and taking more time to experience our immediate environments. Odell joins us to discuss the book and what's possible when we shift our attention and actually stop to smell the roses.

In a rally in North Carolina yesterday, President Trump doubled down on his attacks on four Democratic Congresswomen. As the crowd chanted "Send her back! Send her back!" Trump railed against "hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down." Forum talks about the rally and what it portends for the upcoming 2020 Presidential election.

Berkeley's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to phase out natural gas hookups in new residential constructions, beginning January 1, 2020. The first-in-the-nation ordinance encompasses single-family homes, town homes and low-rise apartment buildings. The ban will extend to commercial buildings, including restaurants and hotels, once the California Energy Commission issues approvals. We'll talk about what the rule means for homeowners, developers, utilities and the environment.

"Rape - more than murder, more than robbery or assault - is by far the easiest violent crime to get away with." So writes Barbara Bradley Hagerty in a new article for The Atlantic in which she explores why the assailant goes free in 49 out of 50 rape cases. We'll talk to Hagerty about her reporting and new information about sexual predators, including that serial rapists are far more common than previously thought.

Retired Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens died Tuesday at the age of 99. Appointed in 1975 by Republican President Gerald Ford, Justice Stevens came to side with the Court’s liberal wing. He was known for his forceful dissent in the Heller case, which recognized an individual’s constitutional right to possess a firearm; his call to abolish the death penalty; and his scathing indictment of the Court’s opinion in Citizens United, writing that it “threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation.” Justice Stevens retired from the bench in 2010 at the age of 90. We’ll discuss his judicial legacy.

Two San Francisco supervisors have proposed creating a designated parking site for people who live in their cars. Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Vallie Brown have suggested a site close to Balboa Park Bart station that would accommodate up to 33 vehicles for stays of up to 90 days. The site would offer bathrooms, security, and access to social services.

Members of the Senate Banking Committee expressed skepticism Tuesday about Facebook's plan to launch a digital currency called Libra. David Marcus, who heads Facebook's blockchain subsidiary called Calibra, said the currency will build a "more inclusive financial infrastructure" and enable people to move money cheaply and safely. But lawmakers voiced concerns about consumer security, given the social media site's past data breaches.

A plan by the Trump administration that goes into effect today says that migrants who want to be eligible for immigration to the U.S. must apply for asylum in the first country they pass through en route to the U.S. We'll discuss the so-called "3rd country rule" and how it will affect immigrants from Central America.