KQED's Forum

Imagine approaching a wildfire with nothing but a bandana to protect you. That’s how U.S. Forest Service firefighters typically battle blazes – with no masks or other respiratory protection. New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier recently headed into the field to find out why. We’ll talk to Dreier and a California firefighter about why it’s been so hard to change the culture and policy around protective gear and how firefighters are dealing with the life-threatening effects.

Guests:

Hannah Dreier, investigative reporter, The New York Times

Joe Perez, firefighter based in Northern California

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California now has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.5%. While the Bay Area’s rate is a bit lower than the state’s, it is still higher than the national average, and continued tech company layoffs and threats to jobs from AI, have workers worried. We look at the shifting Bay Area labor market. Where are jobs disappearing and what could replace them? Will AI be a net boom or loss for local employment? If you’re in the market we want to hear about it. How is the Bay Area labor landscape looking to you?

Guests:

Jeff Bellisario, executive director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute

Aki Ito, chief correspondent, Business Insider coverings the tech industry and workplace issues

Enrico Moretti, professor of economics, UC Berkeley; author, "The New Geography of Jobs"

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Remember owning your movies and music on tape, CD or DVD? Physical media is having a moment again as frustration mounts with streaming platforms that can remove beloved shows at a moment’s notice while charging endless subscription fees. More people report feeling nostalgic for a time when we could truly hold onto the media that we love. We’ll look into what’s driving this analog resurgence. What’s a piece of physical media you’re holding on to?

Guests:

Joe Pickett, co-founder, co-host and curator, Found Footage Festival

Jeff Rauseo, content creator and writer covering movies, home entertainment and physical media; author, "Lost in the Stream: How Algorithms Redefined the Way Movies Are Made and Watched"

Jacob Gaboury, associate professor of film and media, UC Berkeley

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This weekend kicks off the start of the college football season and for the first time ever, players coming on the field can expect a payment from their schools. While college sports is a multibillion business in the United States, schools were barred from giving direct compensation until a landmark court ruling in June changed the rules. Still, it’s unclear how much students will earn and how money will be doled out across different teams. Sports such as football and basketball tend to bring in the lion’s share of revenue. We’ll talk about how this massive shift in college sports is playing out and what it means for student athletes, fans and schools.

Guests:

Daniel Rascher, professor and director of academic programs, sport management master's program at University of San Francisco

Rachel Bachman, senior sports reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Henry Organ, co-founder and agent, Disruptive

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is breaking with the CDC for the first time in decades by continuing to recommend Covid-19 shots for infants and young children. By contrast the CDC, under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is no longer recommending the vaccine for healthy kids. Infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm joins us to help make sense of the conflicting messages. We’ll also get his thoughts on federal cuts to vaccine research funding, and our readiness for future pandemics.

Guests:

Dr. Michael Osterholm, epidemiologist; director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota

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The notes app on your phone can be a repository of the quotidian aspects of life – a grocery list or reminder about a doctor’s appointment. But these notes can also be revealing, intimate and beautiful. It might contain a cache of private thoughts and feelings – the fragmented summary of a bad dream, the first line of a poem, or ideas for how to propose to your partner. This juxtaposition of the mundane with the meaningful is one reason artist Rel Robinson felt compelled to put together the new collection, “iPhone Notes,” which gathers the ephemera captured in the notes app of local artists and writers. We talk about how the notes app can be a reflection of self, and we invite you to share your notes.

Guests:

Brontez Purnell, author, "Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse" and "100 Boyfriends"

Rel Robinson, writer and artist; editor of "iPhone Notes," created as part of Conventional Projects

Rita Bullwinkel, author, "Belly Up" and "Headshot"

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“Democracy is doomed unless you give $15 RIGHT NOW.” Sound familiar? Those alarmist texts flooding your phone are part of a Democratic fundraising machine Stanford political science professor Adam Bonica says is more scam than strategy — sending millions to consultants while actual campaigns see a small fraction. We’ll talk about how the system works, who profits and why changes could be on the horizon.

Guests:

Adam Bonica, associate professor of political science, Stanford University - his Substack is called "On Data and Democracy"

Brian X. Chen, lead consumer technology writer, The New York Times

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As both a science journalist and a sci-fi writer, Annalee Newitz thinks a lot about what our technology-saturated future might hold for us. Newitz’s new novella, “Automatic Noodle,” is set in 2060’s postwar San Francisco after California has seceded from the U.S. In the midst of an exploitative dystopia, a crew of robots opens a noodle shop with a sweet and resilient commitment to community, excellent food and rebuilding. We talk about what Newitz sees in our AI future, and how the values and community bonds that have long made San Francisco great may fare then, and now.

Guests:

Annalee Newitz, science journalist, science fiction writer and co-host of the podcast 'Our Opinions are Correct' - their previous book is 'Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind'

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Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, California has aspired to be a national haven for abortion rights. But the reality is more complicated. Catholic hospitals in the state are refusing emergency care for miscarriages, major retailers have refused to stock abortion medications and federal lawsuits are targeting California doctors and pharmacies. We’ll talk about the cases reshaping reproductive healthcare and their potential impacts on both Californians and the nation.

Guests:

Mary Ziegler, professor of law, UC Davis School of Law

Shefali Luthra, reproductive health reporter, The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy

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California is the most expensive state in the country to buy a house for a host of reasons, including a lack of inventory and high costs of building. One oft-blamed culprit is the California Environmental Quality Act. Developers say CEQA, enacted in 1970, made housing more expensive by piling on environmental regulations and making it too easy for individuals to file lawsuits against projects in their communities. This summer, the state legislature amended the law with the goal of making it faster and less expensive to build housing in California. We’ll talk about how much of a difference CEQA reform could make in addressing the Bay Area’s housing shortage and where – and when – we might see new developments.

Guests:

Adhiti Bandlamudi, housing reporter, KQED

Sarah Karlinsky, director of research and policy, Terner Center for Housing Innovation, University of California, Berkeley

Buffy Wicks, member, California State Assembly - she represents California’s 15th Assembly District, which includes all or portions of the cities of Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Pinole, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, and Piedmont

Patrick Kennedy, owner, Panoramic Interests - a development firm that has been building in the Bay Area since 1990

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