Kqeds Forum

Could biologists be America’s next generation of farmers? By now, we are all familiar with plant-based burgers, but dozens of Silicon Valley start-ups are hoping to transform what we eat by using ingredients like algae, mycelium and pea protein to create a wide range of foods. Tech-driven food has been lauded as good for the environment, but what exactly are we eating? Is lab food like fake eggs and seafood from a petri dish healthy and sustainable? We’ll talk to author and investigative reporter, Larissa Zimberoff, about her new book - “Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What We Eat.”

More than a year into a pandemic that's left millions of Californians jobless, it's harder than ever to reach the state’s Employment Development Department. That's according to a new San Francisco Chronicle analysis which found that in May, nearly a third of callers couldn’t get through to EDD, and each caller averaged more than 10 tries. The frustrating situation has led some to hire intermediaries, like Autodial and Claimr, to help them break through jammed lines. We’ll talk about how those services work and hear about your experiences dealing with EDD.

In her new book “Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment,” author and sustainability advocate Maxine Bédat explores the complex world of how clothes end up on our bodies. While clothing has become cheaper and more plentiful overall, the clothing industry’s productivity comes at a great cost to garment workers and the environment, Bédat argues. By chronicling the life cycle of a garment, from cotton seed to a finished pair of jeans, Bédat demonstrates the need to rethink our obsession with “fast fashion,” low prices and overstuffed closets.

When four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday, her decision set off a flurry of reaction well beyond the world of tennis. Before the tournament began, Osaka announced she would not be doing any post-match press conferences, a decision that cost her $15,000 in fines and resulted in threats from other Grand Slams of future punishment and possible expulsion for failure to talk to the media. In response, Osaka issued a statement withdrawing from the tournament, saying she has been suffering from “long bouts of depression.” Her sponsors and athletes like NBA star Steph Curry have lauded her candid response. Critics have argued that press is part of the game. What obligations do professional athletes have to the press, and what responsibility does the press have to them?

As the vaccinated shed their masks and rejoin the world, they may be required to prove their vaccination status to enter events or to travel. But while many countries are developing a federal vaccine passport, the Biden administration says the U.S will not. That’s left private companies and some cities and states to develop systems for digital proof of vaccination. We’ll check in on the progress of vaccination passports and when and where you may need one.

Researchers estimate that some 20 to 40 percent of food in America goes to waste at some point in the span from farm to kitchen. Strategies for reducing food waste — such as upcycling, artificial intelligence and expanded cooking education — are gaining traction among producers and consumers alike. Americans throw out roughly a quarter of the food they buy. At the same time, the number of people struggling to afford food on a regular basis increased during the pandemic. We talk about methods to reduce food waste, climate change and food insecurity.

Even amid a global pandemic, weight stayed center stage in the national consciousness as many bemoaned their lockdown weight gain, commonly called the “Covid 15.” That’s no surprise to critics who say that the cult of thinness and the pervasive message that being skinny equals wellness have long been part of American culture. While society has become more size inclusive, some argue that the damage to self image, particularly for millennial women, has been done. We’ll talk about body image, diet culture, and what it means to equate health with thinness.   To get help with an eating disorder, the National Eating Disorders Association has toll-free warm line at 1-800-931-2237 and for 24/7 crisis support, you can text 'NEDA' to 741741. 

English and Spanish are the most commonly spoken languages in the U.S., and some people see Spanglish -- a hybrid of the two -- as the future. Latinx youth are embracing Spanglish in ways previous generations were told was unacceptable, freely using un poquito de eso and a little bit of that in conversation. We talk about the origins of Spanglish, how people are using it today and why it’s growing.

Over the past year of on and off shelter in place restrictions, so many of us discovered--and in some cases, rediscovered--places that helped us get through those times. A park we had never known about. A room in our home that was rarely used. A path we had walked passed many times before but never traveled upon. What was your pandemic place? We talk with journalists Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley, co-authors of the forthcoming book, Until Proven Safe which examines quarantines from medieval Venice to outer space to reveal new ideas about quarantine.

Media conversations about the origin of COVID-19 intensified this week, after President Biden ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to "redouble" efforts to determine whether the virus emerged through cross-species transmission or escaped from a research lab in Wuhan, China. In a highly publicized joint report in February, the World Health Organization and the Chinese government dismissed the lab-leak theory as "extremely unlikely." But since then, more scientists are calling for new investigations, as a consensus forms that both scenarios are still viable. We'll talk about the politics -- and geopolitics--complicating the inquiry into the pandemic's origins.

In his new memoir, “Punch Me Up to the Gods,” writer Brian Broome describes growing up gay and Black in small town Ohio. Broome learned to hide his sexuality in a family, and a community, where masculinity was everything. His memoir traces his journey surviving an abusive father, poverty, racism, violence and addiction to finally embrace his sexuality and value as a man. Brian Broome joins Forum to discuss his new memoir which he has described as, “a kind of love letter to Black boys,” to tell them that you don’t have to be this thing that the world keeps telling you that you are.

Have you watched a throwback TV show or movie recently that — upon viewing now — made you cringe because of scenes or jokes that are so obviously, well, cringeworthy? The expansive library of old TV shows and films made available for nostalgia viewing on streaming services prompted some rude awakenings about content we thought we loved. We’ll reflect on the ways our awareness as viewers may have shifted and consider the TV shows and films that don’t quite stack up to today’s social norms. We’ll also discuss the movies and shows that have stood the test of time and why. Is there an old TV show or film that lost its charm for you upon re-watching?

Memories of last summer’s rolling blackouts and predictions for a hot, dry summer have Californians wondering whether there is enough energy to keep the lights as air conditioners and other energy demands tax the grid. And more supply concerns loom. In three years the state is planning to decommission the Diablo Nuclear Energy plant, which supplies 6% of the state’s electricity, and is still in the process of identifying how it will replace the supply. We’ll talk this hour about the electrical grid, whether it's ready for the summer, and plans for the future.

Early Wednesday morning, an employee of the Valley Transit Authority opened fire at the rail yard in San Jose, killing 9 co-workers before he shot and killed himself. We’ll talk with local officials about the victims, the VTA employee who gunned them down and what is known so far about the circumstances of the horrific mass shooting.

California courts approved more than 1,200 gun violence restraining orders last year under the state’s “red flag” law, according to data from the state attorney general. The law allows local authorities — at the request of family, teachers or co-workers — to temporarily remove firearms from those deemed a threat to themselves or others. Red flag laws made headlines earlier this year in the wake of the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, when it emerged that the perpetrator’s mother attempted to invoke Indiana’s red flag law months prior. We’ll talk about how red flag laws work and they're used in California.

One of the Bay Area’s largest hospitals counted zero COVID patients last week, the CDC is advising the vaccinated to remove their masks, and more than 40% of Californians are now fully vaccinated. After a year with so much loss and isolation, many of us are feeling the joy of newfound freedom and reconnection. We’ll talk about overdue reunions with loved ones and other post-vaccination freedoms and we’ll want to hear from you. What is bringing you joy?

The 980 freeway, a two-mile span that bisects Oakland, has been called a “freeway without a future.” Its critics want to see the highway replaced and turned into a multi-lane boulevard with open spaces so that historically black West Oakland can be reconnected to downtown. With an infrastructure bill on the table in Washington, advocates say now is the time for this project. We’ll talk about the plan, its cost and what it will take to make a reality.

Following the murder of her father George Floyd at the hands of police, Floyd's youngest daughter, Gianna, then six, observed, "My daddy changed the world." On this one-year anniversary of Floyd's death, we hear reflections from historian Elizabeth Hinton, whose new book "America on Fire" traces the brutal police practices that engendered Black community protests from the 1960s to the present. We also talk to writer Zak Cheney-Rice, who observes that as major police reforms stall, the nation is "reckoning with a reckoning."

Climate change is here. From stifling heat to that eerie day last September when our skies were painted orange, the symptoms of the Bay Area’s changing climate are hard to escape. We’ll look at three of the major ways climate change is affecting the Bay Area -- heat, wildfire smoke and rising seas -- and what we can expect in the near future. We’ll take your questions on the Bay Area’s changing environment, and what policy makers, and individuals, can do to address the crisis.

Tens of thousands of people who contracted COVID-19 report ongoing symptoms of chronic coughing, lung damage and cognitive decline. Researchers are in the early stages of analyzing these conditions known as “long haul COVID” or “long COVID.” Still, many people have struggled to receive treatment for their symptoms or even recognition of their illness from their doctors. We talk with doctors and patients who are now organizing to seek more research, medical care, and support.