KQED's Forum

New research from UC San Francisco’s Memory and Aging Center suggests that a decline in one region of the brain can cause other regions to “step in to help” – unlocking surprising capacities like deeper empathy or creativity. We talk to two UCSF doctors about why this has implications for any neurodegenerative disorder, including dementia. They join us to share their dementia-related discoveries. Their new book is “Mysteries of the Social Brain.”

Guests:

Dr. Bruce Miller, A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor in Neurology, UCSF; Director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center; founding director of the Global Brain Health Institute

Dr. Virginia Sturm, professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes a family tick? While parents spend lots of time and energy trying to shape their kids’ lives, studies show that siblings play as significant a role in who their brothers and sisters become. We talk to New York Times Magazine staff writer Susan Dominus about her new book, “Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success,” and we hear from you: how did a sibling shape who you are?

Guests:

Susan Dominus, author, "The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success;" staff writer, New York Times Magazine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do your seasonal allergies feel worse this spring? You might not be imagining it: climate change is hastening the end of winter, pushing up pollen production and intensifying winds that spread allergens around. We’ll talk to doctors about the science of seasonal allergies, learn why some of us are more vulnerable to them than others and hear how to get relief from all the sniffing, scratching and sneezing.

Guests:

Dr. Sayantani (Tina) Sindher, Clinical Associate Professor of Allergy and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has announced plans to end temporary protected status for people from countries including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Venezuela, and Ukraine as part of a broader strategy to limit immigration. The administration also put a halt on refugee resettlement programs, but made an exception for white South Africans who officials said were facing persecution in their home country. Critics have denounced Trump’s decision to welcome South Africans while leaving close to 8,000 Afghans, many of whom assisted the United States during the war there, vulnerable to deportation and death if they return home. We talk about our nation’s immigration policies and what it means for the Bay Area’s Afghan community.

Guests:

Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR; formerly food and agriculture policy reporter at Politico covering immigration, labor and equity issues

Pedro Noguera, dean and professor, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education; he was student body president of UC Berkeley in 1985 and one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement

Joseph Azam, Board chair, Afghan-American Foundation - non-partisan non-profit focused on advocating on behalf of Afghan American community

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek Guy – known online as “the menswear guy” – runs the popular social media account “Dieworkwear.” Guy’s recent piece for Bloomberg Businessweek looks at what he calls a new wave of hypercurated masculinity appropriated by MAGA influencers that’s “a backlash against a cultural landscape shaped by gender fluidity and body positivity.” We talk to Guy about how men’s fashion can tell a different story and why it’s so challenging for men to figure out how to dress.

Guests:

Derek Guy, menswear writer, creator of the blog "Dieworkwear" - editor for the website Put This On

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think about Bay Area sports, the Ballers, the Unicorns, or the Fire and Iron are not names that might first come to mind. But these new Bay Area sports teams are bringing the game on the baseball diamond, cricket field, and soccer pitch this summer. What these teams have going for them is not only high level play, but passionate followers who are helping redefine the fan experience. We’ll talk to the people behind these teams, and hear about the city’s newest WNBA franchise, the Valkyries. What’s an under the radar Bay Area sports team you are rooting for?

Guests:

Bryan Carmel, co-founder, Oakland Ballers

Marisa Ingemi, women's sports reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Jack Lowery, play-by-play commentator, San Francisco City Football Club

Venky Harinarayan, co-founder and co-owner, San Francisco Unicorns

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 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. His new history is “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America.”

Guests:

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his popular podcast “Dear Franklin Jones,” radio producer Jonathan Hirsch tried to make sense of a Northern California 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, author of the audiobook memoir, "The Mind Is Burning: Losing my Father to a Cult and Dementia"; podcast producer, "Dear Franklin Jones"; founder, Neon Hum Media, a partner company with Sony Music Entertainment; creator, original series "Smoke Screen"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has struck down the constitutional right to abortion, delivered a blow to the administrative state and ended affirmative action at universities. To Michigan law professor Leah Litman, it’s not just conservative legal theory that’s driving the Court’s decisions. “The Supreme Court is running on conservative grievance, fringe theories and bad vibes,” Litman writes in her new book “Lawless.” We talk to Litman about the political and personal dynamics dictating judicial outcomes and review key cases before the Court.

Guests:

Leah Litman, professor of law, University of Michigan Law School; co-host Strict Scrutiny podcast; author, "Lawless:How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes"

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his second term in office, Donald Trump has revived his fight against sanctuary jurisdictions. For decades, local government agencies across the country have restricted law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement. Trump’s efforts to withhold federal funding have so far been blocked in court, as they were during his first term. Still some cities are downplaying their sanctuary status as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigrants and pledges to deport millions of people. We’ll talk about what “sanctuary” means in 2025, what Trump is trying to do, and how communities across California are responding.

Guests:

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

Sergio Olmos, investigative reporter, CalMatters

Nick Miroff, staff writer covering immigration, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S.-Mexico border, The Atlantic

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices