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What Does California Smell Like to You? Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

Sequoia trees. Ojai tangerines. Jasmine. Ocean spray. Weed. “Our sense of smell is often overlooked, but it’s the one thing that can bring back memories of a place faster than anything else,” writes Los Angeles Times assistant editor and olfactory artist Maxwell Williams. LA Times readers shared with Williams their most memorable L.A. smells, including the La Brea tar pits, In-N-Out fries and —of course— the beach. And we want to hear from you, wherever you are in the state: What smell reminds you of California? We’ll talk about the unique scents that surround us in the Golden State.

Guests:

Maxwell Williams, assistant editor of West Coast Experiences, Los Angeles Times

Aashish Manglik, associate professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, UCSF

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Mac Barnett on Why Picture Books Are Real Literature Mar 21, 2025

Show notes

As the Library of Congress’s new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Bay Area children’s author Mac Barnett wants to reframe how we think about picture books. With his platform, “Behold the Picture Book,” he’s championing the vital role picture books play in engaging readers of all ages and why we love them. What’s the picture book you love reading over and over and over?

Guests:

Mac Barnett, author of the children's books "Circle," "Square" and "Triangle" which have been made into a new animated series "Shape Island" on AppleTV+. Barnett is also the author of the "Mac B. Kid Spy" and the "Jack" series. His books have won Caldecott honors and E.B. White Read Aloud Awards.

Aida Salazar, children's book author. Her picture books include "Jovita Wore Pants" and "In the Spirit of a Dream."

Laura G. Lee, children's book author and illustrator. Her picture books are "Soy Sauce!" and "Cat Eyes."

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Edward Fishman On the Age of Economic Warfare Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

Edward Fishman, a former top sanctions official in the U.S. Department of State, says that “the world economy has become a battlefield,” with sanctions, tariffs, and embargoes as the U.S.’s primary tools for engagement. But after years of U.S. sanctions against Russia and a Ukraine truce still out of reach, are they effective? In his new book “Chokepoints,” Fishman examines the history of economic warfare and when it has helped the U.S. achieve its strategic goals and when it has fallen short. He joins us.

Guests:

Edward Fishman, senior research scholar, the Center on Global Energy Policy; adjunct professor of international and public affairs, Columbia University

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In “Smother” Poet Rachel Richardson Balances Parenting Amidst Upheaval Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

How should we raise children in a world that is burning? This is the question that Berkeley poet Rachel Richardson contemplates in her new collection, “Smother.” As wildfires beset California, Richardson worried about the impact it would have on the land, communities and her own family. “The smoke is not cruel, only truthful,” she writes. And throughout the collection, fire, smoke and air flecked with ash become metaphors and characters as Richardson searches for resilience, defiance, and ultimately, hope.

Guests:

Rachel Richardson, poet, "Copperhead, Hundred-Year Wave," and, most recently, "Smother"; co-founder, Left Margin LIT in Berkeley; recipient of the Stegner and NEA Fellowships.

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Sarah Vowell and Dave Eggers Celebrate Public Servants in ‘Who is Government’ Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

Who is the Government? Dave Eggers and Sarah Vowell attempt to answer that question in essays about the scientists who discover new planets at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and the archivists who safeguard the nation’s historical record. They’re both featured in the new anthology, “Who is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service.” We talk to Vowell and Eggers about the civil servants who make up what their editor Michael Lewis calls “the vast, complex system Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss and celebrate.” And we’ll get an update on the legal challenges to the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce. What public servant in your life would you like to celebrate?

Guests:

Dave Eggers, founder, McSweeney's; co-founder, 826 Valencia; author, many books including “The Eyes and the Impossible” and “The Circle”

Sarah Vowell, author, seven nonfiction books including “Lafayette in the Somewhat United States”, “Unfamiliar Fishes" and “Assassination Vacation"

Stephen Fowler, political reporter covering the restructuring of the federal government, NPR

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Trump Calls For Judge’s Impeachment as Courtroom Battles Over Deportations Escalate Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

President Donald Trump has called for the impeachment of the federal judge who ordered a halt on the administration’s deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law. The administration went ahead with the deportations over the weekend despite the judge’s order. The clash comes a few weeks after the controversial arrest of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who is facing possible deportation for his role in Gaza protests. We’ll get the latest on Trump’s recent immigration actions and the legal battles surrounding them.

Guests:

Ted Hasson, immigration reporter, Reuters

Deep Gulasekaram, professor of law and director of Byron White Center for the Study of Constitutional Law, University of Colorado Boulder Law School; co author, the leading immigration law textbook used in U.S. law schools

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Journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson on Why the Left is Bad at Governing Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

California in 2023 experienced a net loss of nearly 270,000 residents. The main reason given by those surveyed? The state’s cost of living is too high for working families. According to journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, much of the blame for that lies with Democrats, who they say have “failed at the work of governing” by pushing policies that make it too hard to build homes, mass transit and clean energy infrastructure. We talk to Klein and Thompson about how they think the left can govern better and smarter. Their new book is “Abundance.”

Guests:

Ezra Klein, columnist, The New York Times; co-author of "Abundance" and "Why We're Polarized;" his podcast is "The Ezra Klein Show"

Derek Thompson, staff writer and author of the Work in Progress newsletter; The Atlantic; co-author of "Abundance"

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Paul Hawken on Reimagining Our Relationship to Carbon Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

In his new book “Carbon: The Book of Life,” Paul Hawken guides readers through the integral role of carbon in our world and daily lives. Carbon is a miracle element that is the basis of life on earth, and yet, it has become maligned as the culprit of our climate change crisis. Hawken, a Bay Area native and longtime environmentalist and entrepreneur, offers a hopeful re-consideration of carbon, as a way to embrace our connection to the planet and guide us to climate solutions. We talk to Hawken about his new book, his work on environmental sustainability and how to reimagine our complex relationship with carbon and the planet as a whole.

Guests:

Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur and author; his latest book is "Carbon: The Book of Life." His other books include "Regeneration," "Drawdown," "Blessed Unrest" and "The Ecology of Commerce."

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Carol Leifer Teaches Us 'How to Write a Funny Speech' Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

Emmy award winning Comedian Carol Leifer has sat through countless bad speeches. Fed up, she set out to create the ultimate guide to speech writing with co-author Rick Mitchell. It’s called “How to Write a Funny Speech for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation, and Every Other Event You Didn’t Want to Go to in the First Place.” Leifer offers thoughtful writing tips honed during her time working on television shows like “Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “Hacks.” She joins us.

Guests:

Carol Leifer, comedian

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Alexis Madrigal on Globalization and the Battle for Oakland’s Soul Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

The Pacific Circuit comprises the vast system of trade routes, cargo ships and relationships connecting Asian manufacturing and American consumers. And it all starts at the Port of Oakland. In his new book “The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City,” Forum co-host Alexis Madrigal charts how the port shaped Oakland’s history and how, in turn, the global commerce it enabled helped create the problems plaguing Oakland and every other U.S. city today. As he writes, “Oakland has a way of concentrating the power and problems of our country.” In this special hour of Forum, co-host Mina Kim talks to Alexis Madrigal about how the port and global trade have affected the city and its longtime residents.

Guests:

Alexis Madrigal, co-host of Forum, KQED; author, “The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City” ; Also a contributing writer at The Atlantic, where he co-founded the COVID Tracking Project

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