KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

As Childcare Crisis Intensifies, Governor Announces Blueprint for Early Childhood Care and Education Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

Against the backdrop of 6,000 licensed childcare facilities closing during the pandemic and a projected loss of up to 85,000 childcare spaces, Governor Newsom earlier this month unveiled a sweeping masterplan to improve early childhood care and learning. The 107-page document presents a 10-year blueprint for expanding access to child care and improving the quality of California’s early childhood programs for low income students under the age of 6. Advocates say Covid has made the need for childhood care and learning even more urgent. We'll hear about the plan and check in with a childcare provider about how it's going.

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

ICU Capacity in the Bay Area Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

Kaiser Permanente announced this week that it will postpone elective procedures into January over concerns that COVID-19 hospitalizations may continue to grow over the holidays. The news comes as San Mateo County’s ICU beds fill and the county works to secure more beds for the sick. We get an update on Bay Area hospital capacity and hear why reported numbers can be confusing.

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

The Music That Got Us Through 2020 Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

Whether it was streaming our favorite songs, tuning into a live DJ set online or picking up an instrument, music helped many of us navigate this difficult year. In August, we asked listeners to share the songs getting you through 2020 and we've been playing some of them on air each week. This hour, as the year comes to a close, we'll play more of the songs you said kept you going in 2020 and talk with NPR's music correspondent Ann Powers about the meaning of music in a year like this one.

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

How to Reform the Presidency After Trump Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

The power of the president is typically kept in check by other branches of government and historical political norms, but the past four years have revealed alarming fissures in the system. In the book, "After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency," law professors Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith argue that the presidency of Donald Trump has revealed the executive branch's vulnerability to abuse by a president and a lack of accountability that necessitate further reform of presidential powers. In this hour, we'll hear from Bauer and Goldsmith about how Trump and previous presidents have overstepped their powers and what reforms could be viable during the next administration.

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

Your Year in Pandemic Parenting Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

It’s been a tumultuous year for parents. Some of us wrestle with remote learning, others with how to spend all day, every day, with their kids. Some scramble to find childcare while away at work, others hustle to keep kids fed after losing jobs to the pandemic. Through it all are the everyday challenges, and joys, of raising kids. What has parenting during the pandemic looked like for you? We want to hear your parenting wins and flops and how you've coped through it all.

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

A Look at National Politics as Trump Presidency Nears End Dec 28, 2020

Show notes

The one-term presidency of Donald Trump is less than two weeks away from wrapping up. In his last few weeks in office, he has vetoed a defense spending bill, delayed finalizing a contentious stimulus bill, and still won’t concede last November’s election. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic continues spreading at alarming high rates and taking the lives of Americans. We talk with Washington, D.C. journalists Ron Elving of NPR and Kimberly Atkins of The Boston Globe on the latest national political news.

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

The Latest on California's Coronavirus Surge and Vaccine Rollout Dec 28, 2020

Show notes

Following the winter holidays, California could see a coronavirus surge on top of a surge. Projections vary wildly. It all depends on whether we heed the travel warnings and stay-at-home orders. The state passed 2 million cases on Wednesday. Now hospitals and their employees are bracing for the worst. Meanwhile, we place our hopes in the vaccines. We’ll start by hearing from a registered nurse and researcher who participated in one of the vaccine trials.

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

REBROADCAST: Erik Larson’s ‘The Splendid and the Vile’ Mixes Myth and Reality to Portray Churchill and the Blitz Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

In his most recent book, "The Splendid and the Vile," author Erik Larson portrays Winston Churchill — and the family members and advisors around him — during his first year as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Larson, a bestselling nonfiction writer and author of "Devil in the White City," joins us to talk about Churchill’s leadership, from his taking office on the day Germany invaded Holland and Belgium to the way he’s remembered today.

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

REBROADCAST: A Quest to Understand Suffering in Yaa Gyasi’s Novel 'Transcendent Kingdom' Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

Following her critically-acclaimed debut novel "Homegoing," novelist Yaa Gyasi returns with “Transcendent Kingdom.” The story follows Gifty, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience at Stanford University. After losing her brother to a heroin overdose and while caring for her suicidal mother, she is determined to find a scientific reason for suffering. But even as Gifty embarks on her scientific quest, she finds herself longing for the faith of her childhood to help reckon with her family’s pain. Like Gyasi, the character Gifty comes from an immigrant family from Ghana and grew up in an evangelical household in Alabama. We'll talk to Gyasi, who spent time in California as an undergraduate at Stanford, about the book and the desire to understand human pain and suffering. (Originally broadcast 9/18/20)

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

REBROADCAST: Lysley Tenorio’s Latest Book Tells of Coming of Age in Colma Dec 25, 2020

Show notes

Author Lysley Tenorio’s new novel “The Son of Good Fortune,” depicts the coming-of-age story of Excel, a young undocumented person living in the United States who was born during a flight between the Philippines and San Francisco. The novel explores Excel’s life “in hiding” and his struggle to avoid calling attention to himself even as he forms relationships, leaves home for the first time and attempts to survive on his own. The book is a follow up to Tenorio’s 2012 story collection, “Monstress.” Tenorio, who lives in San Francisco, was born in the Philippines and teaches at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga. Tenorio joins us to discuss his writing and latest book. (Originally broadcast Sept. 1, 2020)

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