KQED's Forum

On Wednesday evening, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges debuts in the title role of Georges Bizet's "Carmen" at the San Francisco Opera. Bridges, who was once on track to become an elite basketball player, calls the role the "Beyoncé of opera" for its formidable physical and vocal demands. Bridges has performed in numerous national and international productions, taking on a range of repertoire, from modern opera to spirituals and standards. She joins us to talk about her career and her star turn as Carmen.

A controversy is brewing over the future of the Stanford University Press, which has published research in the humanities and social sciences since 1892. Earlier this year, Stanford University turned down a subsidy request from the press, with some in the administration arguing the press should be self-sustaining. But some faculty members say the press is central to Stanford’s academic mission to produce original scholarship, regardless of profitability. We’ll get an update on the controversy. What do you think? Should university presses think about profit in what they choose to publish?

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will close the city's juvenile hall by the end of 2021. In a nearly unanimous vote for closure, supervisors criticized the jail-like conditions juveniles are confined in, and cited the high cost of maintaining a facility at less than one third capacity because of a statewide drop in youth crime. The measure requires for the city to form a task force to create home-like rehabilitative centers to house youth offenders, but critics of the closure, including Mayor London Breed, say it is irresponsible to close the facility without knowing what the exact alternatives will be. Forum discusses the city's next steps for closing, and developing an alternative to, juvenile hall.

It's time to finalize summer plans and for many of us that means deciding what books to read as much as it means deciding where to go. So tell us: What is the best book you've read so far this year? What should fellow listeners pack in their carry-on? We'll also hear from Bay Area booksellers about what's popular at their stores and what new releases they're excited about.

President Trump announced Tuesday that the White House is sticking with its plan to impose a five percent tariff on all Mexican imports by next week, unless Mexico halts the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate republicans came out in force against the proposal, and some vowed they'd vote with democrats to block the duties. We'll discuss the politics and economics of the Mexico tariffs.

When a major earthquake hits the Bay Area, experts say big cities may be out of commission for months. That likely won’t be the case in Japan, where they’re constructing buildings that not only can survive quakes but also remain functional. It’s thanks to advances in technology that allow the ground to shake but keep the building still. The technique, called base isolation, is used in thousands of buildings in Japan and in several other countries vulnerable to earthquakes, but not here. New York Times reporter Thomas Fuller joins Forum to discuss what he learned about the reasons why.

Oakland will pick it's new youth poet laureate on June 7th. But before the new honoree is named, Forum talks with 16-year-old Leila Mottley, the city's current youth poet laureate, who spent the past year promoting poetry across the city. We'll also talk to Mottley about her self-published poetry collection, which grapples with the complexities of a rapidly changing Oakland.

Amor Towles' 2016 novel, "A Gentleman in Moscow," is about a Russia aristocrat confined for decades to a luxury hotel while the world changes outside its doors. Towles' first novel, "The Rules of Civility," brought 1930s and 40s New York City to life. Towles joins us in a special broadcast from the Oakland Public Library's 81st Avenue branch to talk about his writing, the connective power of books and what fiction can achieve that nonfiction writing cannot.

The 81st Avenue branch of the Oakland Public Library serves as a joint library for two elementary schools and their surrounding East Oakland neighborhood. Depending on when you drop in, the branch also serves as a bike repair shop, a support group for fathers and a drop in center for legal advice. That range of services speaks to a theory posited by historian Wayne Wiegand: that libraries have always been as much about the places they're in and the communities serve, as the books they hold. In this special broadcast from the Oakland Public Library’s 81st Avenue branch in East Oakland, Forum discusses libraries in the age of big tech and online meetups.

The last play that Tony Taccone will oversee as artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre opened recently. Taccone is stepping down after 33 years with the company. During his tenure, Berkeley Rep has consistently earned a reputation for excellence, in the Bay Area and nationally. It sent several works to Broadway, including Green Day’s “American Idiot,” — which won two Tony Awards and a Grammy — Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking” and the musical “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations,” which is up for 12 Tony Awards this year. We’ll talk with Taccone about his long career with Berkeley Rep, his plans for the future and his final show, “Kiss My Aztec!”