KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet. Here’s What We Can Do. Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Plastic is designed to last. And last it does. Often composed of “forever chemicals” which take thousands of years to break down, it flakes throughout its life into microplastics — fragments, fibers and films less than 5 millimeters long. Microplastics are everywhere: they’re in our air, our water and our food, and they’re in our own bodies. And their effect on human health is still largely unknown, writes Wired science journalist Matt Simon in his new book “A Poison Like No Other.” Simon joins us to discuss the extent of the microplastic threat and what we can do.

Guests:

Matt Simon, science journalist, WIRED; author, “A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies”, "Plight of the Living Dead: What Real-Life Zombies Reveal About Our World—and Ourselves" and "The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems."

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Ten Candidates Vying to Be Oakland’s Next Mayor as City Grapples with Violence, Homelessness Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Crime in Oakland is up. The problem of homelessness seems intractable. And the A’s may or may not be leaving for Las Vegas. These are only some of the issues facing Oakland’s next mayor. Ten candidates are vying for the spot, and ranked choice voting will play a role in who comes out ahead. We’ll talk to reporters about who is running, the candidates’ positions, and we’ll hear from you: What do you want the next mayor to focus on?

Guests:

Darwin BondGraham, News editor, Oaklandside

Maria Fernanda Bernal, reporter, KQED

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Antisemitism on the Rise as Midterm Elections Near Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

Rants by rap artist Kanye West put antisemitism front and center over the weekend as a hate group amplified West’s remarks on banners hung from a Southern California freeway overpass. According to the Anti-Defamation League, a record number of antisemitic incidents were reported from 2019 to 2020. Corporations from Adidas to Facebook plus celebrities and politicians have come out strongly against antisemitism. We’ll talk about the roots of antisemitism and why some Jewish Americans struggle to speak out against antisemitism in the context of the country’s current tensions.

Guests:

Dov Waxman, professor of Political Science, UCLA; director, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair of Israel Studies at UCLA

Emily Tamkin, author, "Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities;" senior US editor, The New Statesmen

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It’s a Public Radio Music Day Dance Party Oct 26, 2022

Show notes

Wednesday, by actual Congressional decree, is Public Radio Music Day. We’re celebrating by listening to some of our favorite live music performances from Forum and from the KQED Live series, which hosts performances, discussions, food experiences and live storytelling in our beautiful KQED building. We’ll listen back to Mexican musician Silvana Estrada – who was in town earlier this year for the San Jose Jazz Festival – and local musicians Fantastic Negrito, Salami Rose Joe Louis and La Doña.

Guests:

Fantastic Negrito, Grammy Award winning Oakland-based musician

Silvana Estrada, Mexican musician, singer and songwriter

Salami Rose Joe Louis, Bay Area based musician, composer, producer and planetary scientist

La Doña, San Francisco native musician, activist and educator

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‘Artivista’ and MacArthur Winner Martha Gonzalez on Achieving Social Justice Through Music Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

2022 MacArthur fellow Martha Gonzalez describes herself as an ‘artivista’ – at once an artist and an activist. The frontwoman of the East Los Angeles band Quetzal, Gonzalez focuses on the ways communities of color use music and creative expression as political tools toward social justice. From community fandango workshops to recording projects between women in L.A. and Veracruz, Mexico, Gonzalez makes music a conduit for conversation centering communities and their challenges. We’ll talk with Gonzalez about how her music practice and her activism influence each other.

Guests:

Martha Gonzalez, Associate Professor in the Intercollegiate Department of Chicana/o Latina/o Studies, Scripps/Claremont College; 2022 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipient; singer/songwriter/percussionist, the East Los Angeles band Quetzal.

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Finding Amazing Food in Unlikely Places Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

In 2021, Khristian Rabut bought a gas station along Interstate 205 in Tracy. Instead of just offering customers the usual gas station fare, he and his wife Marie added a Filipino-themed ice cream shop and bakery. “It’s an unexpected but deliciously welcome surprise,” wrote KQED food writer Alan Chazaro about the gas station-creamery-bakery. He and KQED food editor Luke Tsai share a love of unusual places that serve up amazing dishes. In our next installment of All You Can Eat, our regular segment about Bay Area food cultures, we’ll discuss hidden food treasures. And we want to hear from you, what are some unlikely places where you found exceptional food?

Guests:

Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED

Alan Chazaro, food reporter, KQED; poet and educator

Susana Guerrero, food reporter, SFGATE

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UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter Takes Your Covid Questions Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

Citing dramatically reduced Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths, Governor Gavin Newsom announced this week that he's lifting California's Covid-19 state of emergency at the end of February. But as uptake of the new bivalent booster remains low, there may be reason for caution as winter approaches. That's according to UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter, who joins us to answer your questions about case rates, subvariants, vaccines and more.

Guests:

Dr. Robert "Bob" Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.

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MacArthur Winner Priti Krishtel Wants to Reform the Patent System and Create Health Equity Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

You’ve heard the stories and seen the headlines – life-saving drugs can be so expensive, people have to choose between them and buying food or paying rent. Oakland’s Priti Krishtel is working on a solution to this terrifying problem – she wants to reform the patent system. Pharmaceutical companies hold patents on their products, creating an ongoing monopoly that prevents competitors from bringing cheaper medications to the market to drive prices down. We’ll talk with Krishtel, who was recently awarded a MacArthur grant, about how she got into health justice and how she plans to update the patent system to bring equity to the medical system and save lives.

Guests:

Priti Krishtel, health justice lawyer and co-founder and co-executive director

Organization: I-MAK. - a non-profit building a more just and equitable medicines system. She is also a 2022 MacArthur fellow.

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Criminal Trial of Trump Organization Set to Begin Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

Remember former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to running a years-long tax evasion scheme? He’s set to testify in the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization that begins in New York on Monday, the first time Trump’s businesses have faced criminal proceedings. That’s just one in an array of civil and criminal cases and investigations involving the former president and his associates and businesses. We’ll take stock of Trump’s legal liabilities and look at what we can expect next from prosecutors.

Guests:

Jennifer Taub, professor of law, Western New England School of Law; author, "Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime."

Luke Broadwater, congressional reporter, New York Times.

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It’s OK to Be Mediocre Oct 21, 2022

Show notes

If you browse the self-help aisles or click on a TED Talk, you will rarely be given the advice that “it’s OK to be mediocre.” You’re more likely to be told how to achieve excellence, how to rise above the fray to distinguish yourself and how, if you get good enough at your hobby, you can make it a side hustle. But maybe it’s best if we embrace the joy of being average in our pursuits, and just do what we like even if we are not good at it. We’ll talk about the freedom of stinking at things, and finding pleasure in the process, rather than obsessing over the product and result. And we’ll hear from you: What’s something that you’re perfectly happy to be bad at?

Guests:

Rachel Feintzeig, columnist, Wall Street Journal - She wrote the article "Go Ahead. Let Yourself Be Bad at Something."

Brigid Schulte, author, "Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time"; director, Better Life Lab at New America, a public policy nonprofit.

Thea Monyee, licensed marriage and family therapist, Founder - MarleyAyo, a creative wellness consulting company.

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