KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Food Assistance Programs Struggle As Demand Soars Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Food banks and meal delivery programs are straining to meet the needs of Bay Area residents as costs rise and support dwindles. In Alameda County, an estimated one in four residents deal with food insecurity compared with 1 in five before the pandemic. We’ll talk about hunger in the Bay Area and the challenges faced by food assistance programs.

Guests:

Regi Young, executive director, Alameda County Community Food Bank

Dana Cronin, freelance reporter - Cronin wrote the recent piece "‘It’s Not Enough.’ SNAP Recipients Struggle Amid High Food Prices" for Civil Eats

Jim Oswald, director of marketing and communications, Meals on Wheels San Francisco

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FDA Poised to Approve New Alzheimer's Drug Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the experimental dementia drug Lecanemab as soon as this week, a move embraced by Alzheimer's disease researchers after trials showed it slowed the progression of the disease in some patients with mild cognitive impairment. The new potential therapy is also raising hopes that it could help those who are symptom-free but have brain changes -- detected by new blood tests -- that signal Alzheimer's. We'll talk about the latest advances in Alzheimer's research.

Guests:

Dr. Adam Boxer, endowed professor in memory and aging and professor of neurology, UCSF - He directs UCSF’s Neurosciences Clinical Research Unit and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Degeneration Clinical Trials Program at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.

Dr. Kristine Yaffe, professor of psychiatry, neurology and epidemiology, UCSF - She also directs UCSF's Center for Population Brain Health.

Dr. Michael Weiner, professor of radiology, UCSF - principal investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

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Another Massive Rain Storm Poised to Drench the Bay Area Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

Last week’s record setting rains downed trees, flooded streets, and damaged numerous homes and businesses. Now our region is bracing for another massive storm that promises to re-drench the state’s coastal areas and dump even more heaps of snow on the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued a warning on Monday that this is “truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously.” We’ll talk about what you can do to get ready and what all this precipitation means for California’s ongoing drought.

Guests:

Daniel Swain, climate scientist, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA and The Nature Conservancy of California

Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist, National Weather Service SF Bay Area/Monterey

Gerry Diaz, newsroom meteorologist, SF Chronicle

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Inequality Researcher Richard Reeves on the Problems 'Of Boys and Men' Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

Gender inequality discussions tend to center the disadvantages women face. But as women make gains in education and in the workplace, policymakers need to pay attention to a gender gap that’s widening in the opposite direction, writes Brookings senior fellow Richard Reeves. Boys and men are struggling in school, the labor market and at home, with little guidance on what it means to be a good man in our current age. We’ll talk with Reeves about his new book “Of Boys and Men,” his own experience raising three sons and what a positive vision of masculinity encompasses.

Guests:

Richard Reeves, senior fellow, Brookings Institution - where he directs the Future of the Middle Class Initiative; author, "Of Boys and Men"

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'Data Driven' Looks at Surveillance in Trucking Industry Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

On a stretch of lonely highway, the only people you might see are the long haul truckers whose 18-wheel semis form the backbone of the American economy. In trucking, the hours are long, but it’s a profession that has long offered those with a hankering for the open road a chance at independence and autonomy. But according to author Karen Levy, today, more truckers find themselves subject to data surveillance in the name of highway safety. Those rules have opened the door to invasive technologies that allow companies to exert more control on their employees who are never far from a watchful eye. We’ll talk to Levy about her book “Data Driven” and what she’s uncovered.

Guests:

Karen Levy, author, "Data Driven: Truckers, Technology, and the New Workplace Surveillance;" associate professor in the Department of Information Science, Cornell University

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Forum From the Archives: What’s Your Podcast of the Year? Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

True crime. Gossip. Niche sports. Deep-dive history. The podcasts that have critics and podcasters hooked in 2022 vary. But what makes a good podcast in today’s saturated and corporate-shaped landscape? We’ll hear from a panel of podcast lovers about the shows that made them turn on episode notifications. And we want to hear from you: Whether your Spotify Wrapped called it your top podcast of 2022 or it’s what you play when you can’t sleep, we hear about your favorite podcasts this year.

This segment originally aired Dec. 2

Guests:

Wil Williams, CEO, Hughouse Productions.

Ronald Young Jr. , audio producer and storyteller, Senior Producer/Owner, ohitsBigRon studios; host, "Leaving the Theater" podcast.

Skye Pillsbury, author, The Squeeze newsletter which reports on the podcast industry

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Forum From the Archives: Jonathan Escoffery’s ‘If I Survive You’ Takes Readers On A Journey Through Identity, Blackness and Miami Dec 30, 2022

Show notes

Jonathan Escoffery’s debut book, “If I Survive You,” presents a series of connected stories about an immigrant family from Jamaica trying to acclimate to life in America. The characters tackle racism, belonging, natural disasters and generational divides. A native of Miami now based in Oakland, Escoffery joins us to talk about storytelling and his decades-long journey to publishing a book.

This segment originally aired Sept. 30

Guests:

Jonathan Escoffery, author, his debut short story collection, "If I Survive You," was released in September of 2022.

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Forum From the Archives: What Incites Joy? Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

What in our lives sets us up to experience joy? And how does joy make us act and feel? Those are the the central questions poet and essayist Ross Gay explores in his new book, “Inciting Joy,” an ode to skateboarding, gardening, pick-up basketball and other practices and rituals that can make joy more available to us. We talk to Gay about the connections between joy and sorrow -- and joy and solidarity -- and why he says that joy, which gets us to love, is a practice of survival.

This segment originally aired Nov. 14

Guests:

Ross Gay, poet and essayist, "Inciting Joy," "Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude" and "The Book of Delights"

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Forum From the Archives: Erika L. Sanchez’s Memoir Takes On Mental Illness, Motherhood, and “Crying in the Bathroom” Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

Acclaimed poet and novelist Erika L. Sanchez’s memoir, “Crying in the Bathroom,” presents a series of poignant essays about growing up in Chicago in a working-class Mexican neighborhood, her rise to literary fame and her struggles with mental illness. Her book details many moments when she was successfully achieving her dreams and, simultaneously, considering ending her life. Sanchez is also author of the poetry collection, “Lessons on Expulsion,” and the young adult novel, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” that is being adapted into a movie. She joins us to talk about making it as a Mexican-American writer, sex and shame, Buddhism, and crying in the bathroom.

This segment originally aired Jul. 19

Guests:

Erika L. Sanchez, poet, novelist, essayist and professor at DePaul University. Her new memoir is "Crying the Bathroom." Her other books include the poetry collection, "Lessons on Expulsion," the young adult novel, "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter."

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Forum From the Archives: Would You Consider Becoming Compost? Dec 28, 2022

Show notes

Come 2027, Californians will have a new post-death option: to become human compost. A law signed by Governor Newsom this month made California the fifth state to legalize “natural organic reduction,” which lets human bodies decompose into a cubic yard of soil. While green burials — the process of wrapping the deceased in a shroud and placing them in the ground — are already legal, composting doesn’t require a dedicated portion of land. And though it’s more expensive than cremation, it’s also less carbon-intensive. We’ll talk about the new law and hear whether you’d want to become human compost.

This segment originally aired Sept. 27

Guests:

Courtney Applewhite, doctoral candidate studying environmental disposition ("eco-funerals"), UC Santa Barbara

Cristina Garcia, assembly member, representing California's 58th Assembly District

Katrina Spade, founder and CEO, Recompose

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