KQED's Forum

On Friday morning, ten San Francisco police officers used a sledgehammer to raid the home of Brian Carmody, the freelance journalist who published previously undisclosed and salacious details about Adachi's death. Carmody is vowing to protect his source, as free speech advocates call the raid outrageous and possibly politically motivated.

"Face the past. Heal the future" is the tagline of Van Jones's new CNN series "The Redemption Project," which puts victims of life-altering crimes face to face with their perpetrator. The CNN political commentator and prison reform activist joins us to discuss the project, which explores punishment, forgiveness and restorative justice from the victim's perspective.

On this Friday before Mother's Day weekend, we'll talk with filmmaker and LGBTQ activist Dustin Lance Black about his memoir "Mama's Boy" a story that celebrates both his mom's love and her resilience. Black, who is best known for his Oscar-winning original screenplay for "Milk," was also instrumental in overturning Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage. But before Black was front and center in the fight for marriage equality, he was a shy kid growing up in East Texas. "Mama's Boy" digs into Black's relationship with his devout Mormon mother as much as it honors her ability to survive polio and poverty. Tell us: What do you realize about your mom as an adult, that you didn't realize about when you were a kid? What did your mom's life teach you?

Mark Zuckerberg's power is unchecked, unprecedented, and un-American. That's according to Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, who in a New York Times op-ed Thursday called on the federal government to break up the company. We'll talk about whether Facebook should be split into separate entities and whether a breakup would address ongoing concerns about the company's failure to protect its users' privacy and security.

We’ll talk about the constitutional showdown unfolding in Washington, one day after the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress.

When Helen receives a phone call from her former college roommate Charlie in "Lost and Wanted," the event is unexpected not only because the two had lost touch, but because Charlie had died the night before. So begins Nell Freudenberger’s latest novel, which follows Helen, a theoretical physics professor at MIT, as she wraps her scientific mind around Charlie’s calls and texts from beyond the grave. Nell Freudenberger joins us in the studio to discuss science, human relationships and the laws of the universe that unite the two.

Online language-learning programs like Duolingo, Babbel, and Rosetta Stone all claim to teach you a new language in record time. But do they deliver what they promise? We’ll get tips from linguists on how best to pick up a foreign tongue. And we want to hear from you: how has language fluency affected your world view?

Last November, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history scorched over 150,000 acres in Butte County and killed 85 people. The Camp Fire burned almost the entire town of Paradise, displacing thousands of its residents, contaminating its drinking water and leaving millions of tons of toxic debris behind. But six months later, the community is beginning to rebuild. We'll reflect on the tragedy and talk about the progress made so far.

The prison population in the United States has quintupled since the 1980s, with nearly 2.2 million people imprisoned. Journalist Emily Bazelon argues that a major driver of mass incarceration is the "breathtaking power" of prosecutors whose discretion in setting bail, determining charges and offering plea deals often gives them more influence than judges in criminal cases. Bazelon joins Forum to discuss her new book, "Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration" and how, without changing any laws, prosecutors can use their power to create a more just and less-damaging justice system.

Uber and Lyft drivers across the country plan to strike on Wednesday ahead of Uber's long-anticipated IPO, which is expected to raise about $9 billion. But drivers complain that they are not getting their fair share of the money, with many citing pay cuts and what they say are unlivable wages. Participating drivers are turning off their apps for the day and encouraging riders to do the same. Will you participate in the strike?