Kqeds Forum

“The past has its own terrible inevitability. But it is never too late to change the future.” That’s according to historian Heather Cox Richardson, who observes that the political, racial and economic divisions in the country evoke the crises faced by the nation on the brink of the Civil War. And now as we prepare for a transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden and the nation’s first female vice-president, Kamala Harris, what can history tell us about the tumultuous moment we are living in? 

Throughout the presidency of Donald Trump, many media outlets across the United States were reluctant to label him a liar or a racist, even when his actions merited those terms, or to cover White supremacy as more than a fringe movement. Now, in the wake of the deadly pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, news organizations are grappling with the consequences of their whitewashed political coverage and failure to call out the president’s lies more aggressively. We’ll talk about how journalists are reckoning with how they shape and deliver the news, and what should change moving forward.

Preparations and security measures continue in Washington, D.C., for Wednesday’s inauguration, and the investigation into the insurrection at the Capitol continues. And as the nation looks to a transition in leadership, on Thursday, President elect Biden introduced an almost $2 trillion economic relief package. We'll discuss the latest political developments.

Our news this month is flooded with images of white supremacists storming the U.S. Capitol and of a confederate flag being hoisted through its halls. This after months of reporting on police killings of people of color, and the racial disparities in COVID deaths. And adults are not the only ones seeing these images and hearing these stories; they're seeping through to our kids too. Should we be shielding them from stories of racial violence? How much should we protect them? How much should we expose them? We know we should be having hard conversations with our kids. But how? On this Martin Luther King Day we'll discuss how to talk to kids about race.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." But what would he say about this particular bend – four years of President Trump culminating in a violent insurrection? Emory University professor Audra Gillespie, who has written about the legacy of the civil rights movement in American politics, joins us to reflect on how Dr. King might respond to the current political moment and the pandemic, which have exposed glaring inequities in our society.

Faced with one of the slowest vaccination rollouts in the nation, California Governor Newsom announced Wednesday that Covid-19 vaccines would be available to seniors 65 years and older. While many welcomed news of an expanded eligibility group, local governments and health officials struggled to keep up with demand, and across the state, Californians are asking why it is so hard to get information about how to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, as the Bay Area remains in lockdown, hopeful signs of a turnaround emerged on Wednesday as Sacramento and its surrounding counties entered the purple tier with outdoor dining, hair salons and hotels reopening. Will the next few months of the pandemic be as bumpy as the first few weeks of 2021 have been? When can people expect to be vaccinated? We’ll talk about what lies ahead as California pushes to accelerate immunizations.

Several Capitol police officers have been suspended, and at least a dozen are under investigation for possible complicity in the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol last week. The actions of the officers -- including one who posed for a selfie with insurrectionists and another who appeared to direct the mob around the building -- have exposed anew the force's troubled history of discrimination against Black officers, who've lodged hundreds civil rights lawsuits against the force in the last two decades. We'll talk about the role of racism in igniting, and sustaining, the insurrection. And we'll also get an update on how state and federal authorities are responding to threats of extremist violence ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week.

Rancor and division were on full display Wednesday as the U.S. House of Representatives debated and then voted to impeach President Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the nation’s Capitol last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has excluded the possibility of an impeachment trial before the inauguration. We get the latest on the historic impeachment and what happens next.

A majority in the House impeached President Trump on Wednesday for inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol last week, while many Republican lawmakers continued to say they oppose impeachment in the name of "unity." And on Monday, President-elect Joe Biden's team announced that the theme for Inauguration Day will be "America United," echoing his campaign and post-election messaging calling for unity and healing. What does the idea of “unity” mean, though, amid such long-standing, deep divisions and continued threats of more insurrections? We’ll take a critical look at these calls for unity and hear from listeners about what you think is necessary, at this point, to unify the country.

The day before last week’s assault on the U.S. Capitol by violent insurrectionists, an angry, pro-Trump, anti-mask crowd threatened violence at a Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting. West Coast states voted solidly for Joe Biden, but California, Oregon and Washington have plenty of extremist groups promoting anti government rhetoric and ideas. We'll examine the history and ideology of those groups and the role they played in last week’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment Monday charging President Trump with "incitement of insurrection" for his role in last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol. The insurrection "was a direct attack on our democracy," wrote Congresswoman Katie Porter, who represents California's 45th district in Orange County and is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the House Oversight and Reform Committee. She amassed a national profile over the past year by directing tough questions to Trump administration officials and corporate executives in congressional hearings. We'll talk with Rep. Porter about the impeachment effort as well as her fight for equity in COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

Support for the second impeachment of President Donald Trump grew among House Democrats Friday, following Wednesday's violent pro-Trump insurrection that left five people dead at the U.S. Capitol. We'll discuss the latest developments. 

California announced plans last week to administer the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to a million people in the course of only ten days. The decision came as the state continues to see a surge in cases, and as it faces criticism over a slow vaccine rollout for health care workers and nursing home residents. We'll get the details on the vaccination push.

QAnon conspiracists, white nationalists, business professionals and Proud Boys militants. Those are some of the perpetrators of the deadly pro-Trump insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week that law enforcement officials have identified and begun to charge with federal crimes. We’ll talk about what we know about the insurrectionists, what they were planning and why some investigators say the violence could have been far worse. And we’ll look at some of the raid’s historical antecedents, and its racist roots.

The siege of the U.S Capitol by Pro-Trump extremists on Wednesday has many grappling with questions of accountability and justice. Democratic leaders Thursday demanded that President Trump be removed from office. Several White House officials have resigned, but what will be the punishment for members of Congress who supported Trump’s attempt to steal the election? Lawmakers are also calling for congressional hearings on the failure of law enforcement to protect what should have been one of America’s most secure buildings. We’ll discuss the aftermath of Wednesday's violence and who should be held accountable. 

More than one million California state unemployment claims--approximately 1 in 7-- were suspended this week in an attempt to avoid more fraudulent payouts. The California Employment Development Department has lost up to $4 billion on fraudulent claims since the pandemic started. We break down the latest problems besetting the state’s EDD, as a record number of Californians await much-needed financial relief.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to use the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Pelosi said if not, the Democrats could seek to impeach the president a second time. This comes after the president tried to tamper with election results in Georgia and incited a riot at the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. Experts say taking either path would be challenging for Democrats. We explain the various scenarios for forcing a president out of office and what it means for Trump’s limited time in the White House. 

On Thursday, Facebook announced it banned President Donald Trump from posting on its platform and on Instagram for at least the next two weeks. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the risks of allowing Trump to post "are simply too great" after the president posted a video calling violent insurrectionists "very special" as they rioted on Capitol Hill. Many see the bans as too little, too late, after years of allowing Trump to spread lies, conspiracy theories and disinformation online that fueled a base of extremist supporters. In her piece “Trump’s Internet is Celebrating” for The Atlantic, Kaitlyn Tiffany writes that the insurrectionists, known as the #StopTheSteal movement online, did exactly what they’d promised to do for months and are gleeful over yesterday’s riots. We’ll talk to Tiffany about how Trump’s attempted coup was born online and where social media companies go from here.

Violent extremists loyal to President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol Wednesday in an attempt to prevent Congress from confirming electoral votes for president-elect Joe Biden. The mob smashed windows, clashed with police and four people are dead. In response, Trump called on the rioters to go home but at the same time reiterated false claims that the election was stolen. Many across the country are reeling in the aftermath of a stunning attack on this country's democratic process. We get the latest on the riots.

After violent supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, many Americans are dismayed at the chaos and lawlessness that has unfolded. Some observers questioned the lax response from police, as well as galling discrepancies between the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters and the pro-Trump mob. And the incident is sparking calls for a second impeachment of Trump, who invited the rioters to Washington D.C. In this statewide call-in special, we'll talk about the political and legal fallout from Wednesday's violence.