KQED's Forum

For decades, multi-level marketing (or MLM) companies like Amway and Mary Kay have made the promise that people could become their own bosses, earn extra income and work flexible hours under the umbrella of a globally recognized brand. But in reality, the success rates for people working in multi-level marketing “are closer to those of gamblers in a casino.” That’s according to Bridget Read, author of the new book “Little Bosses Everywhere.” We talk to Read about the rise of the MLM model and why she says it helped fuel the modern conservative movement.

Guests:

Bridget Read, features writer, New York Magazine - author of the book “Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America

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When new apartment and office buildings are built, Bay Area cities often require developers to include retail space on the ground floor. The goal s to create vibrant neighborhoods by encouraging foot traffic and what urban planners call street “activation.” And yet, many of these spaces are vacant all over the region from downtown San Francisco to Concord. We’ll talk about the challenges of filling up ground-floor retail, and if we should be changing the way we design buildings and neighborhoods.

Guests:

Sujata Srivastava, chief policy officer, SPUR - a nonprofit public policy organization in the San Francisco Bay Area

Alex Sagues, commercial real estate broker specializing in retail; senior vice president, CRBE

Dr. Daniel G. Chatman, professor and chair of the department of city and regional planning in the college of environmental design, UC Berkeley

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President Trump’s  budget bill rolls back clean energy initiatives, reduces Medicaid benefits, alters student loan rules, and extends tax cuts to the wealthiest, among other initiatives. It passed in the House by a bare margin, but Republican senator Ron Johnson has called the bill “divorced from reality,” indicating that it may face headwinds in the Senate. We talk with reporters about what’s in the 1000-plus page bill and its political implications.

Guests:

Russell Berman, staff writer, The Atlantic

Claudia Grisales, congressional correspondent, NPR

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Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” has generated massive coverage – and pushback – since its release in May. Some Democrats say it’s not time to focus on the past, amid the turmoil of the current administration. But Tapper and Thompson say that, “journalism about Biden does not excuse or normalize any actions and statements by anyone else, including the forty-fifth and now forty-seventh president.” We’ll talk with the authors about the controversy, the alleged “cover-up” of Biden’s decline and why they say a reckoning is needed for the future of the Democratic party.

Guests:

Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, CNN; co-author, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again"

Alex Thompson, national political correspondent, Axios; co-author, "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again"

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We remember George Floyd, five years after his murder by a Minneapolis police officer. In the days and months after Floyd’s death, millions of Americans took to the streets to protest racism and police violence, ushering in a new era of racial reckoning. Robert Samuels, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “His Name is George Floyd,” wonders however if “the backlash feels more enduring that the reckoning itself.”  We’ll talk about who George Floyd was and where the struggle for racial justice is headed.

Guests:

Robert Samuels, national political enterprise reporter, The Washington Post - co-author, "His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and them Struggle for Racial Justice"

Clyde McGrady, national correspondent covering race, The New York Times

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New York has the pizza slice, Philly has its cheesesteak, and Chicago its hot dog. In the Bay Area, our iconic and passionately argued-over staple has long been the Mission-style burrito. Its origins are obscure, but one thing agreed on is that those enormous, foil-wrapped burritos are a culinary anchor that were perfected in San Francisco decades ago. But, just because it’s a classic doesn’t mean Bay Area burritos haven’t evolved or are not pushing into new frontiers. We’ll talk about the legacy of Mission-style burritos and the people putting a new spin on them. And we want to hear from you: What is your burrito spot and what do you order?

Guests:

Cesar Hernandez, associate restaurant critic, The San Francisco Chronicle

Dominica Rice-Cisneros, chef and owner, Bombera - Mexican restaurant in Oakland

Ricardo Lopez, owner, La Vaca Birria - Mexican restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District

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The Trump administration’s budget and staffing cuts to national parks could mean longer lines, closed visitor centers and fewer search and rescue workers this summer, according to former parks staff and advocates. The cuts are also compromising scientific research and environmental protection, creating what the National Parks Conservation Association calls “a façade of a national park experience.” In California, Yosemite scientists have had to pick up bathroom cleaning shifts; decades-long endangered species studies in the Channel Islands are at risk. Are you planning a visit? We’ll share what you should know before you go.

Guests:

Russell Galipeau, executive council member, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks; former superintendent, Channel Islands National Park

Ashley Harrell, National Parks Bureau Chief, SFGATE

Neal Desai, Pacific Region director, National Parks Conservation Association

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Chinese American literary pioneer Maxine Hong Kingston revolutionized storytelling with her groundbreaking 1976 book ‘The Woman Warrior,’ which blended reality and myth to capture the immigrant experience. As part of our Bay Area Legends series, we talk with Kingston – who grew up working in her parent’s Stockton laundry business and was an integral part of Berkeley’s counterculture movement – about her genre-defying work. And we check in with contemporary authors about Kingston’s lasting influence on their craft and the evolution of immigrant narratives in American literature.

Guests:

Vanessa Hua, author, Forbidden City; Hua's previous books include “A River of Stars”; former columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

Aimee Phan, author, "The Reeducation of Cherry Truong"; associate professor of writing and literature, California College of the Arts in San Francisco.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, novelist, short story writer and poet; Her most recent novel "Independence" won the American Book Award in 2024.

Maxine Hong-Kingston, author

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More than half of Californians think Gov. Gavin Newsom is more focused on winning the presidency than governing the state, according to a poll this month from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. The results come as Newsom proposes controversial healthcare cuts to close a projected $12 billion budget shortfall and navigates a hostile Trump administration. We get your thoughts on how Newsom is leading California.

Guests:

Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown

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Retailers are now facing a lot of headwinds, including tariffs and a drop in consumer confidence. But for Target, once affectionately known by customers as Tar-jay, a consumer boycott in response to the company’s decision to drop some DEI initiatives has been an added drag. In its most recent earnings call, the retailer reported a 3.8% drop in sales and lowered its earnings targets for the year. Consumers have long channeled their buying power to express political beliefs, whether it’s selling their Teslas, avoiding a certain retailer, or goods from a particular country. We look at the power of the consumer boycott, and why this one seems to be working.

Guests:

Amanda Mull, columnist, Bloomberg; Wrote the column “Buying Power” on American consumerism.

Alex Ossola, host/producer, Wall Street Journal; Ossola's most recent podcast is called "Boycotting Target".

Americus Reed II, professor of marketing, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

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