Republican political strategist Rick Wilson has spent his career working to defeat Democrats in elections across the country. Now, the self-described "old school conservative" says he has the formula for a successful Democratic campaign against President Trump. His new book "Running Against the Devil" gives a chilling warning against a second term for Trump and provides a strategy to "save" the Democratic Party by encouraging a focus on winning rather than progressive ideology. Wilson joins Forum to talk about the book and his blueprint for a Democratic presidential victory in 2020.

Republican Strategist Rick Wilson’s ‘Plot to Save America from Trump’

Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints.

Want to call/submit your comments during our live Forum program Mon-Fri, 9am-11am? We'd love to hear from you! Please dial 866.SF.FORUM or (866) 733-6786 or email forum@kqed.org, tweet, or post on Facebook.

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The United Nations on Friday warned of a “dramatic escalation of tensions” among warring parties near El Fasher, North Darfur. The area is already on the brink of famine, according to the UN, and an attack on the city could have devastating consequences for civilians. The crisis in El Fasher comes as Sudan’s calamitous war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces enters its second year. The war has left more than 15,000 people dead and more than 8 million displaced, according to relief agencies. We look at conditions on the ground, the forces that are driving the conflict and how the global community is responding.

Guests:

Beverly Ochieng, senior journalist and Africa analyst, BBC Monitoring

Ali Ali-Dinar, Sudanese scholar and senior lecturer in the department of Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Amb. Susan Page, professor of practice in international diplomacy, University of Michigan; former US ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan (2011-2014)

Susan Stigant, director of Africa programs, United States Institute of Peace

Violence Escalates in Sudan as Civil War Enters Second Year

When you walk into the historic, beloved City Lights in San Francisco’s North Beach, it’s easy to get lost in the winding shelves packed with thousands of titles from classic literature, poetry and philosophy to contemporary fiction. There’s a legendary man behind the careful curation. Chief book buyer Paul Yamazaki has worked at City Lights since the 1970’s and has dedicated his career to filling the shelves with titles that spark conversations between books and readers. “Any single book has a constellation of conversations, consequences, and causes,” Yamazaki says in his new book “Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale.” We’ll talk to Yamazaki about independent bookstores and what he sees for the future of books.

Guests:

Paul Yamazaki, chief book buyer, City Lights Bookstore - In 2023, Paul won the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community

Melinda Powers, head book buyer, Book Shop Santa Cruz; president, California Independent Booksellers Alliance

Stephen Sparks, owner, Point Reyes Books and Wayfinder Bookshop

Hannah Oliver Depp, owner, Loyalty bookstore

City Lights Chief Book Buyer Paul Yamazaki on a Half Century Spent “Reading the Room”

While covering Trump’s 2016 campaign, NPR political correspondent Sarah McCammon understood the white evangelical movement behind his political rise, because she grew up in that world. McCammon left the church troubled by the misogyny, homophobia and racism she witnessed. That experience is at the center of her book “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.” We speak to McCammon and hear from you: Have you left organized religion? Why?

Guests:

Sarah McCammon, National Political Correspondent, NPR; co-host, NPR Politics Podcast; author, "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church"

NPR's Sarah McCammon on Leaving the Evangelical Church

The WNBA is coming to the Bay Area! Fans will have a new women’s team to cheer for, at a moment when female superstars like Caitlin Clark have captivated basketball lovers of all ages. As part of KQED’s Youth Takeover week, high school athletes Mahi Jariwala, Jessie Lin and Olivia Ma bring together a sports journalist, a basketball coach and a Title IX attorney to talk about the impact of women’s basketball in the Bay Area – and the arrival of a new professional team.

Guests:

Mahi Jariwala, senior, Monte Vista High School

Jessie Lin, senior, Woodside High School

Olivia Ma, junior, BASIS Independent Fremont

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

Kim Turner, co-CEO of the nonprofit Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative; Title IX attorney

Jeff Addiego, vice president, Warriors Basketball Academy

KQED Youth Takeover: We’re Getting a WNBA Team

You’d be forgiven for associating Rainn Wilson primarily with Dwight Schrute, the overbearing, mansplaining geek on “The Office.” And in his bestselling book “Soul Boom” the three-time Emmy Award-nominated actor acknowledges the connection: “Why is the beet-farming, paper-selling, tangentially Amish man-baby with the giant forehead and short-sleeved mustard shirts writing about the meaning of life?” But then again, why wouldn’t he be curious? Wilson joins us to talk about his own journey with faith, why big philosophical questions make life worth living and why we need what he calls a “spiritual revolution.” And we’ll also hear why he thinks “The Office” is such a cultural mainstay, informing TV mockumentary trends, cringe humor and Gen Z artists like Billie Eilish.

Guests:

Rainn Wilson, actor who played Dwight Schrute on the TV show, "The Office." His most recent book is "Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution."

Republican Strategist Rick Wilson’s ‘Plot to Save America from Trump’

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