KQED's Forum

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.

After 20 years leading the World Affairs Council, which convenes nonpartisan conversations around issues such as environmental policy and international affairs, Jane Wales is stepping down. She joins Forum to discuss the council's accomplishments, including the Global Philanthropy Forum and the relaunch of the weekly radio program "WorldAffairs." And we'll talk with Wales about the U.S.-China trade conflict, Brexit and more in international news.

The highly-anticipated series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones airs Sunday and disgruntled fans are already calling for a do-over. A petition calling for the network to redo the final season has surpassed 500,000 signatures, with many fans asserting that writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have compromised a number of the show's beloved, previously well-developed characters. What TV shows disappointed you at the end? Which shows "stuck the landing"? We'll unpack the praise and criticism of GoT's last season and talk about what happens when a popular TV series falters at the end.

"Is it OK to feel joy when the world is burning?" That's the question posed in the first episode of Truth Be Told, KQED's new advice podcast, which is "made by and for people of color." In each episode, host Tonya Mosley seeks counsel and answers to listener questions from "wise ones." We'll talk with Mosley about why she and other people of color feel mainstream sources of advice often don't speak to their experience. And we want to hear from you: Who do you turn to for advice?

One in four Americans who take prescription drugs have a difficult time affording their medicine. That's according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which also found that U.S. spending on prescription medication has increased more than a hundredfold since 1960. As lawmakers on both sides of the aisle work to address skyrocketing drug costs, we'll speak to UC Hastings Law Professor Robin Feldman about what she calls the systemic and perverse incentives that lead to high prices. Feldman’s new book is "Drugs, Money and Secret Handshakes: The Unstoppable Growth of Prescription Drug Prices."

You may have seen Andy Warhol's paintings of Campbell's Soup cans or a handful of his silk-screened images, but beginning Sunday, SFMOMA offers the chance to explore Warhol's life "From A to B and Back Again." The exhibit contains more than 300 works from the duration of Warhol's four-decade career. We'll talk about the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 2, with Donna De Salvo, who curated the exhibit for New York's Whitney Museum of American Art, and Gary Garrels, the senior curator of paintings and sculpture for SFMOMA.

CalFire investigators concluded Wednesday that PG&E's transmission lines caused last November's Camp Fire, which claimed 85 lives, burned more than 150,000 acres and leveled the Butte County town of Paradise. The wildfire was the deadliest and most destructive in California history. We'll discuss the findings and their implications.