KQED's Forum

It has been a tough month for Bay Area transit. BART had two major meltdowns this month, stranding and frustrating commuters, all while the agency plans to raise fares. System wide, Bay Area transit agencies continue to struggle with funding challenges and luring back riders after the pandemic fundamentally altered our region’s commute patterns. And now, major cuts in state and federal funding are on the horizon. We’ll talk about how different transit agencies are bracing for cuts, the federal government’s check on California’s shift toward electric vehicles, and the critical ways our transportation system has changed.

Guests:

Dan Brekke, editor and reporter, KQED News

Ted Lamm, associate director for the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley Law School

Laura Tolkoff, transportation policy director, SPUR

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Perhaps you’ve been following Alison Bechdel’s work since her comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” which invented the now ubiquitous Bechdel test (does a movie have two women who speak to each other about something other than a man?). Maybe you came to know her through her graphic memoir “Fun Home,” which was adapted into a Tony-award winning musical. Her latest comic novel, “Spent,” is a work of autofiction that grapples with and parodies Bechdel’s own popularity. We’ll talk with Bechdel about being famous in a world on fire— and the funny side of it, too.

Guests:

Alison Bechdel, graphic novelist and cartoonist, author of "Spent: A Comic Novel." Her previous books include "The Secret to Superhuman Strength" and "Fun Home," which was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical.

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In his popular podcast “Dear Franklin Jones,” radio producer Jonathan Hirsch  tried to make sense of a childhood dominated by his parents’ spiritual guru.  In a new memoir he more deeply explores his relationship with his father and the complexity  of providing care for a parent who didn’t take care of him.  We talk to him about his audio memoir, “The Mind is Burning: Losing My Father to a Cult and Dementia.”

Guests:

Jonathan Hirsch, podcast producer; author of the audiobook memoir, "The Mind Is Burning: Losing my Father to a Cult and Dementia"

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In 1889, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the now infamous Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the country. Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen J. Field characterized Chinese migrants as “strangers in the land.” New Yorker editor Michael Luo says that label persists today, even as more than 22 million people of Asian descent now reside in the U.S. In a new history book, Luo tells the stories of 19th and 20th century Chinese migrants and analyzes the long tail of contemporary anti-Asian racism and violence while championing those who fought against it. We listen back.

Guests:

Michael Luo, executive editor, The New Yorker; author, “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America”

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When New York Times critic Amanda Hess was told her baby had a rare genetic condition, her first instinct was to “Google [her] way out of it.” But instead of comfort, she found anxiety – a feeling that would come to define her journey into parenthood. We talk to Hess about how technology, including fertility apps and high-end gadgets, are reshaping parenthood. Her new book is “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.”

Guests:

Amanda Hess, culture critic covering the internet and pop culture, New York Times

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A jazz festival in June. A California quilt show in July. A languorous lighthouse lunch in August. The best music, museums and memorable meals are just a few of the recommendations our KQED culture team has compiled in their annual Summer Events guide. They have advice for myriad tastes and budgets because nothing beats the Bay in the summer. Listen in and share your plans— what’s on your summer bucket list?

Guests:

Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Sarah Hotchkiss, senior associate editor, KQED Arts and Culture

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts and Culture

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The biggest owners of the Trump memecoin $Trump will dine with the president Thursday night at the Trump National Golf Club. The cryptocurrency directly enriches the Trump family and has alarmed public corruption experts on both sides of the aisle – as has the administration’s acceptance Wednesday of a luxury jet from Qatar. We take a closer look at Trump’s efforts to use his office for personal gain, the dangers it poses and how far voters are willing to let him go.

Guests:

David Yaffe-Bellany, reporter covering cryptocurrencies and fintech, New York Times

Abdallah Fayyad, policy correspondent, Vox; His recent piece is "How corrupt is Trump’s plan to accept a Qatari plane?".

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For several decades, Black residents of East Oakland have watched their once-thriving middle-class community wither in numbers as the rising cost of living pushed out their neighbors leaving the area blighted with empty storefronts, crime and poverty. Now, a plan called Rise East will inject $100 million of privately raised funds into a 40-square-block section of East Oakland over a 10-year period. The plan, led by local nonprofits aims to invest in education, community safety, health care, affordable housing and boost the local economy. For this special edition of Forum, we’ll broadcast live from East Oakland to talk to community leaders about the groundbreaking initiative and how it can serve as a model for community revitalization and reparations.

Guests:

Gregory Hodge, CEO, Brotherhood of Elders Network

Carolyn "CJ" Johnson, CEO, Black Cultural Zone

Selena Wilson, CEO, East Oakland Youth Development Center

Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO, Roots Community Clinic

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Vladimir Putin has removed tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia since the start of his full scale invasion in February 2022. The deportations, often carried out under the pretense of “humanitarian evacuation,” have targeted vulnerable Ukrainian children including orphans, children with disabilities and children with parents in the military. Children who have escaped describe having been sent to re-education camps, prohibited from speaking Ukrainian and denied contact with their relatives at home. The International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, defines the unlawful transfer of children to Russia as a war crime. We’ll talk to Kyiv-based child advocates about the status of efforts to bring the children back, and we’ll meet a U.S. congressman from California who wants to hold Russia accountable.

The reporting for this episode was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine’s Unseen Frontlines Initiative in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Guests:

Jimmy Panetta, member, U.S. House of Representatives (CA-19)

Mykola Kulebra, founder, Save Ukraine; former Commissioner for Children’s Rights for the President of Ukraine (2014-2021)

Lena Rozvadoska, co-founder, Voices of Children

Azad Safarov, journalist, documentarian and producer; co-founder of Voices of Children

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When a scrappy San Francisco literary journal launched in 1985 to champion West Coast writers, the dream was to make a lasting imprint. Now, 40 years later, we celebrate Zyzzyza’s anniversary with editor Oscar Villalón and writers Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and Ingrid Rojas Contreras. We’ll talk about the literary journal’s vision, its stellar roster of writers and poets, and what makes the West Coast literary scene special.

Guests:

Oscar Villalon, editor, Zyzzyva Magazine - San Francisco based literary journal

Daniel Handler, author of the children's book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" under the pen name "Lemony Snicket" - contributor, "The End of the Golden Gate"

Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Bay Area-based writer, author of the novel “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” and the memoir “The Man Who Could Move Clouds”

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