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Russia Invades Ukraine. The World Responds. Feb 25, 2022

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On Thursday morning, Russian forces unleashed an air and land assault on Ukraine, and by day’s end, troops were closing in on the country’s capital Kyiv and had taken control of Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 57 citizens have been killed and 169 wounded. Meanwhile, civilians attempted to flee cities under missile assault. In a televised statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky committed to the fight saying that “a new iron curtain” is closing around Eastern Europe and his job is to keep Ukraine in the west. President Joe Biden and leaders around the world condemned the Russian invasion, and Biden also announced sanctions against Russia and its leaders. We’ll talk about the latest developments and what lies ahead.

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New Book Chronicles the 'Sickening' Influence of Big Pharma on Healthcare Feb 25, 2022

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As a longtime family physician, John Abramson became alarmed by the growing influence of drug makers over how doctors do their jobs. Abramson, who also teaches at Harvard Medical School, later became an expert witness in pharmaceutical lawsuits, which gave him a front row seat to the industry’s abuses. In his new book “Sickening,” Abramson shares troubling cases of drug companies interfering in medical research – often at the expense of patients. Abramson joins Forum to talk about the book and how to reform the American healthcare system.

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New HBO Series ‘Winning Time’ Features Former Cal Basketball Star Solomon Hughes Feb 24, 2022

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One day in the summer of 2019, Solomon Hughes, a former Cal basketball star then working in academia, got a message from a former college teammate-turned actor: an untitled TV series was searching for someone to play the great basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Based on the 2014 book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers” by Jeff Pearlman, the series now has a name, “Winning Time,” and premieres Mar. 6 on HBO. And Hughes, who landed the role, now has his first turn as an actor. We’ll talk to Hughes about the series, becoming an actor and the legacy of the Showtime Lakers dynasty that ruled the court in the 1980s.

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Beekeepers Confront Hive Thefts in California Almond Orchards Feb 24, 2022

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Every year, thousands of bees are transported from other regions of the country to pollinate California’s highly profitable almond crops. But the valuable hives belonging to those migrant worker bees have now become targets for thieves: so far this year, beekeepers have reported more than 1,000 beehives stolen from orchards across the state. We discuss the growing problem of beehive thefts and the sophisticated tools and tactics beekeepers are using to protect their bees.

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The Impact of California’s Former Testimony Exclusion Laws Feb 24, 2022

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During the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd, many remember the emotional testimony of Darnella Frazier, the Black teen who filmed the murder. Her testimony and that of other eyewitnesses, many of whom were Black, were a central part of the prosecution’s case. Black people didn’t always have the right to testify in court in the U.S., though – and not just in the Jim Crow South, but in California as well, which had a Black testimony exclusion law on the books from 1850 to 1863. That lesser known law, and the consequences of it, is the subject of a new episode of the podcast “Gold Chains,” produced by the ACLU of Northern California. We talk to the podcast’s creator, Tammerlin Drummond, about this history and why Black testimony mattered then – and still matters today.

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States Are Rolling Back Abortion Rights. What Happens Next? Feb 23, 2022

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State efforts to curtail reproductive rights are on the rise as Florida, Arizona and West Virginia all consider bills that would ban abortions after 15 weeks. Meanwhile, lawmakers in South Dakota, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas have introduced bills that copy SB 8, the Texas law that bans all abortions, even in the case of rape and incest, after six weeks and lets private citizens enforce the ban by suing anyone who “aids and abets” in an abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, in the last year 108 laws rolling back reproductive rights have been introduced in state legislatures across the country. As the Supreme Court weighs whether Roe v. Wade will stand, we’ll examine the politics behind these latest measures and where they will lead.

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Exploring Richmond's 'Taco Corridor' and More With Luke Tsai Feb 23, 2022

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Few places in the Bay Area have seen more demographic change than Richmond, California. From the white and Black southern migrants who decamped to the shipyards to the Mexican, Central American, and Laotian immigrants who have come in successive waves, new arrivals to the city have for years brought a remarkable mix of food cultures. We’ll talk with KQED food editor Luke Tsai about Richmond’s rich and evolving culinary scene.

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UC Berkeley Warns of Enrollment Freeze After Court Ruling Alexis Madrigal Feb 23, 2022

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UC Berkeley is one of the world’s greatest public universities, and a prized piece of an American higher education system that remains the envy of the world. But it’s also beset by the larger problems of the Bay Area, namely ongoing and bitter disputes over housing development. The university says it may be forced to cut its incoming class by thousands of seats and freeze enrollment in the wake of a court ruling over its expansion plans. Neighborhood groups had sued to block the plans over environmental concerns, and in August a court ruled in their favor. On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom weighed in on behalf of the university, asking the state supreme court to overturn the ruling. We’ll get the latest on the case.

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Pandemic Crime Rates at the Center of District Attorney Recall Efforts Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

On June 7, San Francisco voters will decide whether to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin, and in Los Angeles, the effort to recall District Attorney George Gascón is collecting signatures to meet a July deadline. Supporters of both recalls claim the DAs are responsible for an uptick in property and violent crime and too lenient on offenders. But have San Francisco and Los Angeles actually become less safe, and what impact have the district attorneys’ policies had on their respective cities? We’ll discuss the recall efforts and pandemic crime rates in both metropolises.

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New Season of 'SOLD OUT' Housing Podcast Spotlights Eviction Crisis Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

“Evictions do not affect everyone equally,” says housing affordability reporter Molly Solomon in the second episode of KQED's podcast "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America." Black renters are more likely to be evicted than white renters, with Black women being evicted at higher rates than others. These disparities, among other troubling eviction patterns that emerged during the pandemic, are examined in the second season of “SOLD OUT,” co-hosted by Solomon and fellow KQED housing affordability reporter Erin Baldassari. Solomon and Baldassari join us to talk about their reporting and the history behind the Bay Area’s ongoing eviction disparities.

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