KQED's Forum

Marin native John Walker Lindh, who became known as the "American Taliban" after he was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, is set for release after nearly two decades in federal prison for providing support to the Taliban. Lindh, 21 at the time, was present at a prison uprising that claimed the first U.S. casualty of the war, 32-year-old CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann. Forum discusses Lindh’s release, and the upcoming challenge of how to deal with hundreds of people convicted of jihadist-related terrorism crimes since 2001 who are ending their prison terms.

A 100-foot photo collage will be unveiled at the SFMOMA this Thursday. The collage is the work of French photographer JR and depicts the more than 1,200 people that he photographed at 22 locations across San Francisco in early 2018. JR's larger-than-life projects have taken place everywhere from Kenya to the Louvre to the U.S.-Mexico border. JR, who strictly adheres to using that pseudonym, joins Forum to discuss the new collage and how global immigration has affected his art.

Comedian Dave Chappelle told a crowd gathered at City Hall Tuesday that moving the Punch Line comedy club would be like “burning down the Louvre.” The comedy institution faces displacement when its lease expires in August. The club has nurtured the careers of comics for over 40 years, including Robin Williams, Margaret Cho, W. Kamau Bell and others. District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin announced plans for a measure that would prevent any non-nightclub use of the building. Forum talks with comedians about why so many people are fighting to keep the Punch Line alive.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block the Federal Railroad Administration from withdrawing a $929 million federal grant for the state's high speed rail project. The lawsuit alleges that the decision to pull the funding violated agency procedure and was “precipitated by President Trump’s overt hostility to California." We’ll talk about the lawsuit and the future of California’s high speed rail.

We've come a long way since the mandatory water restrictions of 2015: atmospheric rivers have delivered almost two inches of rain to the Bay Area so far this month, Northern California reservoirs are near capacity and Sierra snowpack is close to double the average for this time of year. But should the state still be saving water in case of a drought? We'll check in on the health of the state's water supply and how the wet winter and spring may affect the upcoming fire season.

Chances are a dentist has told you to floss more. But studies from the Cochrane Institute and the American Dental Association have found that many common oral health recommendations such as biannual cleanings, yearly x-rays and flossing have not been verified through scientific research. Forum discusses efforts to steer dentistry toward more evidence-based practices and we'll talk about challenges facing the field, including charges that many dentists overtreat their patients.

With multiple states recently passing strict restrictions on abortions, the Supreme Court's stance on the issue could soon be put to the test. In this hour of Forum, we take a look at the state of the high court and what its transformation under the Trump Administration means for contentious national issues. We'll also hear about a new PBS Frontline documentary that dives deep into how the current conservative majority on the court came to be.

"Bright though they are in color, blossoms fall. Which of us escapes the world of change?" Travel writer Pico Iyer hears Japanese schoolchildren reciting these words as Americans might recite the Pledge of Allegiance, an anecdote shared in his latest book, "Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells." The book explores the Japanese culture of impermanence in light of his father-in-law's sudden death. Pico Iyer joins Forum to talk about his experience confronting change and life's fragility.

The Japanese Americans interned during World War II included San Jose-born Norman Mineta, then 10 years old. Now 87, Mineta went on to become the mayor of San Jose, a member of Congress, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Transportation. Mineta joins us in studio to discuss his legacy, including his role in passing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which gave reparations to interned Japanese Americans. We'll also hear Mineta's thoughts about the potential for a bipartisan infrastructure deal.

A combined 25,000 people are homeless in San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara counties, according to preliminary federal data released Thursday. Since 2017, when officials last conducted a census, homeless populations have risen by 17 percent in San Francisco and 43 percent in Alameda counties. The city of San Jose has seen a 42 percent increase. We'll discuss what's behind the region's intensifying homelessness crisis.