Explore every episode of the podcast KQED's Forum

Nearly a decade after the end of China’s one-child policy, families are still reeling from its traumas. In multiple cases, officials in China forcibly took children away from their families and placed them up for adoption, fulfilling a lucrative overseas demand for baby girls. In her new book “Daughters of the Bamboo Grove,” journalist Barbara Demick tells the story of one girl named Fangfang, rechristened Esther, who was taken away from her twin sister and family and adopted by a white Christian couple in Texas. We talk to Demick about Fangfang’s story and how it illuminates the one-child policy’s lasting impacts on adoptees and their families in China and abroad. Guests: Barbara Demick, author, "Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins" - former Beijing Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump announced on Thursday that in the next two weeks, he would make a decision about the role the U.S. will take in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. As Israel and Iran traded fire for a seventh day, fissures emerged among Republicans about whether military action is warranted, while some Democrats are urging passage of a bill that would require Trump to get congressional approval before committing American troops and resources. We’ll talk to experts about the escalating conflict. Guests: Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; former president of the National Iranian American Council - his books include "Treacherous Alliance - the Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the US" and two other books on US-Iran-Israel relations Robin Wright, contributing writer, New Yorker - her most recent piece for the magazine is "What is Israel's Endgame with Iran?" Wright is also the author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East," among other books Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years after the state’s landmark report on reparations for Black residents, where does the effort stand? The California Legislative Black Caucus has put forth bills to address equity issues like unjust property seizures or to help obtain professional licenses, but few bills have cleared the legislature or made it past Governor Newsom’s desk. We look at what progress has been made since the report’s release, and if lawmakers still have the political will to act. Guests: Marcus Anthony Hunter, professor of sociology & African American Studies, UCLA Isaac G. Bryan, member, California State Assembly, 55th District; vice chair, California Legislative Black Caucus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law on Wednesday that bans gender-affirming medical care for minors. For many transgender people, the ruling is yet another setback in a long line of attacks on their rights that stretches back through most of human history. And yet, transgender people have created a rich legacy throughout, especially in the Bay Area. Two new projects highlight their stories. One is a KQED series profiling important trans artists and activists from the 1890s-2000s. Another is a new book, “So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color”. We’ll talk to their creators and an expert in gender law about the court’s decision and what lessons we can take from trans history. Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, editor and reporter, KQED Arts Caro De Robertis, author, "So Many Stars: an Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two Spirit People of Color"; They are also the author of the novels "The Palace of Eros," "The President and the Frog," "Cantoras," "The Gods of Tango," "Perla" and "The Invisible Mountain." Donna Personna, San Francisco resident and trans rights activist Suzanne Goldberg, professor and director of the Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic, Columbia Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working-class voters don’t just vote for their policy preferences — they vote for the party that feels like “their people.” Increasingly, that’s not the left. In “Outclassed,” UC Law professor emerita Joan Williams argues that America’s widening “diploma divide” is fueling the far right — and that liberals often play into the dynamic without realizing it. To protect democracy and build a durable, multi-racial coalition, Williams says, the left must bridge this cultural and class divide. We’ll talk to her about what’s driving the rift — and how to start closing it. Guests: Joan C. Williams, distinguished professor of law (emerita) and founding director of the Equality Action Center, UC Law San Francisco; author, "Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class" and "White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her new book of essays, “No Straight Road Takes You There,” writer and activist Rebecca Solnit urges us to not give in to feelings of doom and complacency in threatening political times, but instead to imagine a radically better future. “The most important territory to take is in the imagination,” she writes. “Once you create a new idea of what is possible and acceptable, the seeds are planted; once it becomes what the majority believes, you’ve created the conditions in which winning happens.” We talk to Solnit about her essays and the importance of persevering, even when it doesn’t feel good. Guests: Rebecca Solnit, writer, historian and activist; author, "No Straight Road Takes You There" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For California firefighters battling wildland flames, the work is up close, unrelenting and fueled by a climate growing hotter and drier by the year. Anthropologist and former Los Padres Hotshot Jordan Thomas pulls readers straight into this world in his new book “When it All Burns,” chronicling six months on the frontlines of California’s megafires. We talk with Thomas about what it is like to battle uncontainable destruction and the deeper roots of the crisis. Guests: Jordan Thomas, anthropologist and former wildland firefighter; author, “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scratch at a problem for San Francisco, and you’ll find an issue that underlies almost all of them: the city’s intractable housing crisis. A new documentary “Fault Lines,” on Apple TV follows three storylines connected to the lack of housing. There is a homeless family’s attempts to get into a permanent home, a Sunset neighborhood’s fight over an affordable housing project and the ugly competing campaigns for a ballot measure. We talk with the film’s director and an expert in the city’s housing troubles about how San Francisco got into the crisis, what we might be able do about it, and what the rest of the country can learn from our troubles. Guests: Nate Houghteling, executive producer, "Fault Lines" documentary, available on Apple TV. Co-founder of Portal A production company Annie Fryman, director of special projects, SPUR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named multiple vaccine skeptics to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last week, after purging the original members of the panel. The move comes after HHS released a report on children’s health questioning the safety of vaccines, while also taking aim at processed food and environmental toxins. We’ll take stock of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and its public health implications. Guests: Katherine Wu, staff writer, The Atlantic Lauren Weber, Health and Science Accountability Reporter, The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of sparring over tariffs, the Trump Administration says it has reached a deal with China on  trade negotiations, but many businesses and consumers are still feeling uncertain about the economy. The deal imposes 55% tariffs on most Chinese imports, down from President Trump’s earlier 145% tariffs that would have made it prohibitively expensive for many U.S. businesses to import goods from China, our second-largest trading partner. The back-and-forth trade policies have left businesses ranging from souvenir shop owners in Chinatown to big box stores unsure how to plan for the future. We’ll talk about what the current tariff deals look like and what they could mean for jobs, prices and inflation. Guests: Kevin Truong, business editor, The San Francisco Standard Sid Malladi, CEO and founder, Nuvo David Goldman, executive editor, CNN Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re joined in studio for a live performance by the Jahari Stampley Family Trio. Stampley, an award-winning jazz pianist who is known for melding genres like funk, gospel and rock, calls his forthcoming album “What A Time” a sonic reflection of “the quiet stillness of late-night thoughts, the joy of a spontaneous jam, the fire of resistance, and the calm of resolution.” We talk to Stampley about his work, his influences and what it’s like to be in musical conversation with his mom ahead of their appearance at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Guests: Jahari Stampley, piano D-Erania Stampley, bass, saxophone, synthesizer Ofri Nahemya, drums Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a food writer and cook himself, John Birdsall often wondered whether there was such a thing as “queer food.” Was it rainbow cupcakes? Quiche? Unicorn frappucinos? In his new book, “What is Queer Food?: How We Served a Revolution” Birdsall examines the complex story of how, through times of fear and persecution, queer people used food to express joy and build community. Guests: John Birdsall, author "What is Queer Food?: How We Started a Revolution" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ostensibly to quell anti-ICE protests, President Trump this week mobilized 700 Marines and another 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. That’s on top of the 2,000 troops he sent over the weekend. The Atlantic’s David Graham calls the deployment a “gesture of authoritarianism.” We’ll talk to Graham and former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Juliette Kayyem about Trump’s intensifying efforts to assert executive power, the strategies at play and what the implications could be for our democracy. Guests: Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project, Harvard Kennedy School; senior national security analyst, CNN David Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the days since President Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles, demonstrations against ICE raids have been held across the Bay Area and nationwide. This weekend’s “No Kings” protests, timed to the day of President Trump’s military parade, are expected to draw large crowds across the country. We take this moment to look back at times when protests have been successful instigators of change, and times when protests may have hurt a movement. What does it mean to have a successful protest? Who is the audience and how are they persuaded? And what should demonstrators know in this modern age of surveillance about the risks of hitting the streets and safeguards that can be taken. Guests: Omar Wasow, assistant professor of political science, UC Berkeley Andrew Couts, senior editor overseeing cybersecurity, privacy, policy, national security and surveillance coverage, WIRED Valeria Ochoa, community organizer, Faith in Action East Bay - one of the organizers of Oakland's Tuesday night interfaith vigil to protest ICE raids Liliana Soroceanu, organizer, Indivisible SF - one of the organizers of San Francisco's No Kings protest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal “Take It Down Act,” signed into law last month, has been hailed as a major step in protecting victims of revenge porn and deepfakes. It passed both chambers of Congress nearly unanimously, but First Amendment watchers have concerns. We take a closer look at the new statute, along with new California laws that also criminalize sexually explicit deepfakes. And we’ll hear how you can protect yourself if you’ve been victimized online. Related Links: https://www.wired.com/story/take-it-down-act-law-passes/ https://19thnews.org/2025/05/take-it-down-act-signing-explicit-images/ Guests: Paresh Dave, Senior Writer, Wired Jasmine Mithani, Data and Technology Reporter, the 19th Aisha Wahab, California State Senator, representing the 10th district which includes the cities of Hayward, Union City, Newark, Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Santa Clara Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco Parks Alliance has shut down after revelations that it misspent at least $3.8 million. The organization raised money for the city’s parks and open spaces as well as serving as an umbrella organization for about 80 community groups that managed public parks and projects. Now the Parks Alliance has gone broke and many of those organizations are left stranded with their cash reserves wiped out. Public officials are calling for investigations into where millions of dollars went that should have been spent on parks. We’ll talk about what went wrong, what’s at stake for the city’s outdoor areas, and what could happen next. Guests: Joe Eskenazi, managing editor and columnist, Mission Local Michael Barba, reporter covering government accountability and public safety, San Francisco Chronicle Ildiko Polony, executive director, Sutro Stewards Nicola Miner, donor, San Francisco Parks Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Old jeans. Worn shirts. Scraps from flour sacks and homemade dresses. Nothing is too humble for a quilt. In BAMPFA’s new exhibit “Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California,” quilts tell the story of resilience, family, and cultural continuity. The exhibit highlights the quiltmaking skills that many migrants brought with them in the Second Great Migration from 1940-1970—and passed on to their children and other kin, spurring the creation of a new wave of African American quiltmaking. We’ll talk to the curator and a contemporary quiltmaker in Oakland about the exhibit. Guests: Ora Clay, member, African American Quilt Guild of Oakland Elaine Yau, associate curator and academic liaison, BAMPFA – Yau curated the exhibit "Routed West: Twentieth Century African American Quilts in California" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The South Bay in San Diego County is the site of one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons of untreated sewage and industrial chemicals flow daily into the Tijuana River and out of Imperial Beach. New research connects the waste to worsening air quality, which has been linked with headaches, skin infections and gastrointestinal problems in the local population. We’ll talk about why solutions could be years away. Guests: Soumya Karlamangla, national correspondent, The New York Times Paula Stigler Granados, associate professor in the School of Public Health and head of the Environmental Health Division, San Diego State University Paloma Aguirre, mayor, Imperial Beach Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday as part of the Trump administration’s response to clashes between federal immigration officials and protesters following ICE raids of local businesses. Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the deployment, posting on social media Sunday that “Trump is trying to manufacture a crisis in LA County — deploying troops not for order, but to create chaos.” We’ll check in with local reporters and a legal expert about what’s happening on the ground in LA and how ICE sweeps are affecting immigrant communities in California. Guests: Saul Gonzalez, co-host, The California Report, KQED Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law - former Legal Director ACLU of Southern California Gustavo Solis, investigative border reporter, KPBS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has been a leader in rooftop solar adoption for years thanks to incentives and compensation programs. But  policies from utilities and state lawmakers are removing incentives and making it more expensive for residents to have  solar on their homes. Supporters of the changes say the new policies will reduce everyone’s electric bills, but solar advocates say cutting back on rooftop solar will make it harder for California to meet its renewable energy goals. We talk with experts about the future of rooftop solar in California and what this moment means for renewable energy. Guests: Sammy Roth, climate columnist, LA Times Mohit Chha, senior analyst, NRDC Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president for California, Environmental Working Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The prevailing narrative about Apple in China over the last two decades is that the Cupertino company took advantage of low wages and weak labor laws to ship out close to half a billion devices per year. Journalist Patrick McGee says that narrative isn’t wrong, but it misses “the biggest piece of the puzzle: that Beijing allowed Apple’s activities so that China could exploit Apple and become a tech powerhouse in its own right.” We talk to McGee about his new book “Apple in China” and the threats the company faces from AI and the Trump administration. Guests: Patrick McGee, San Francisco correspondent, Financial Times - author, "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oakland based art-pop band Tune-Yards is widely loved for their complex and funky rhythms, layers of sound, thrillingly dynamic vocals, and thought provoking lyrics. The duo, Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, have just released a new album, “Better Dreaming,” praised by critics as highly danceable and jubilant while, as always, grappling with the state of the world. Merrill Garbus joins us in the studio for a new album listening party and to demonstrate how she creates her powerhouse sound. Guests: Merrill Garbus, singer, musician, Tune-Yards - newest album is "Better Dreaming" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NPR’s Rhaina Cohen has taken a close look at friend-powered parenting, joining shared households to see how neighbor-and-friend alliances can break the isolation of modern parenthood. We’ll talk about the challenges of communal living and what parents gain—emotionally, practically, even financially—when they raise their kids with their friends. Cohen’s recent piece for the Atlantic is “A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship.” Would you raise your kids with your best pals? Guests: Rhaina Cohen, producer and editor for the NPR Documentary podcast Embedded; author of the Atlantic piece, "A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship" Phil Levin, founder, Live Near Friends Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the first AIDS LifeCycle ride rolled down the California coastline in 1994, AIDS was the leading cause of death for people aged 25 to 44. Today, HIV is no longer a death sentence and can be treated, though not cured. This weekend, the ride, which has raised $300 million for research, crosses the finish line for the last time. We take this moment to look back on the strides made in AIDS/HIV research and advocacy and explore the impact federal funding cuts to healthcare will have on stopping the spread of AIDS in the U.S. and around the world. Guests: Jeff Sheehy, long-time AIDS activist and first openly HIV+ member of SF Board of Supervisors; former board member, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine Monica Gandhi, infectious disease expert; professor of medicine, UCSF Jennifer Kates, senior vice president and director of Global Health & HIV Policy, KFF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We’re in a protein craze, and it’s hard to ignore,” writes New York Times health reporter Alice Callahan. Social media feeds are inundated with claims about protein – encouraging protein-maxxing diets that contain many times the federal recommendations, and pushing supplements, artificial protein sources and lots of red meat. We’ll talk with Callahan and nutritionists about how to evaluate your own protein needs — and the risks of the online protein obsession. Guests: Alice Callahan, nutrition reporter, The New York Times Christopher Gardner, nutrition scientist and professor of medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center Stuart Phillips, professor of kinesiology and nutrition researcher, McMaster University in Ontario, Canada Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrated nature writer Robert Macfarlane has written about mountains, trails, and the old ways of humans on Earth. His new book lays out its premise in the title: “Is a River Alive?” He seeks answers to the question in a cloud forest in Ecuador, a dying ecosystem in Chennai, and a powerful river in Canada. We talk to Macfarlane about what rights nature should have and we hear from you. Do you feel a living presence in wild spaces? Guests: Robert Macfarlane, nature writer; author, "Is a River Alive?"; Previous books include "Underland: A Deep Time Journey" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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