KQED's Forum

According to a new KQED investigation, only 17 percent of properties in territory where Cal Fire is responsible for monitoring defensible space were actually checked by their inspectors in 2018. State law requires at least 100 feet of defensible space around a property, which limits the amount of vegetation close the home. With one in four residents living in places that are at a high risk for wildfire, many Californians are wondering how to save their homes. In this hour, Forum takes questions about how to better protect property through defensible space and fire safe homes.

A House panel heard testimony Wednesday on legislation to study proposals for reparations for descendants of enslaved Americans. Supporters of H.R. 40, which was first introduced more than 30 years ago by former Congressman John Conyers, called reparations a moral and economic imperative. The hearing came one day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he opposed restitution for slavery, arguing that no one currently living was responsible for it. We'll discuss the history and future of the reparations movement.

YouTube is no stranger to backlash, but in recent months the video-streaming giant seems to be increasingly under fire. The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into the San Bruno-based company for allegedly violating children's privacy laws. In response, The Wall Street Journal reports that YouTube is considering moving all kid's content to the YouTube Kids app. The existing app would include a new feature that disables the auto-play feature, with the hopes of shielding minors from disturbing content. We'll get the latest on YouTube's woes and possible changes to the site.

The Supreme Court ruled today that a 40-foot cross can remain on public land. The decision was a victory for religious groups who argued that the World War One Memorial Cross, located at an intersection in Maryland, did not violate the First Amendment-based separation of church and state.

Sacramento police officer Tara O'Sullivan was shot to death Wednesday evening after a call about a domestic disturbance between a man and a woman turned violent. KQED reporter Katie Orr joins us for the latest.

In "The Dreamt Land" author Mark Arax describes "the most dramatic alteration of the earth's surface in human history": California's Central Valley. Arax details how the promise of unprecedented harvests and profits led to policy and infrastructure that altered -- and in some cases reversed -- the flow of water in the state. We'll talk to Arax about California's water history and its current groundwater crises. What's your question for him?

After the death of Kim Jong Il, many experts thought the reign of his untried and inexperienced son would be short-lived. Washington Post Beijing bureau chief Anna Fifield says that almost eight years into Kim Jong Un's tenure as North Korea's "Supreme Leader," it is clear that he knows how to maintain power. Fifield's new book, "The Great Successor," details Kim's rise from a mediocre grade school student in Switzerland to a calculating dictator adept at removing rivals. Fifield joins Forum to talk about the book, and how life is changing for North Koreans.

In a series of tweets Monday, Parkland High School graduate Kyle Kashuv announced that Harvard rescinded his offer of admission over newly discovered racist texts and comments Kashuv made when he was 16. Kashuv, a pro-gun conservative, says he made the comments before the deadly Parkland shootings and now disavows them. We'll talk about Harvard's decision.

When NPR reporter Frank Langfitt returned to China in 2011, he says he struggled with how "to penetrate an authoritarian nation where people are leery of talking with foreign journalists." His solution: offer free taxi rides to locals in exchange for conversation. Langfitt joins Forum to talk about his new book, "The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China," and what he learned from his passengers about Chinese censorship, the impact of the election of Donald Trump on the country, John Denver, prostitution and more.

For years, American consumers believed that when they were putting out their recyclables on the curb, they were doing their part to help the environment. Much of this waste ended up in China, but after the country said last year that it would no longer accept plastic and other incoming waste, cities have scrambled to find a new way to dispose of the materials. How are Bay Area cities dealing with the problem of plastic and what legislation is in the works to address the problems?