Kqeds Forum

The Darién Gap, the perilous mountain region connecting Central and South America, was thought for centuries to be all but impossible to cross. But now, hundreds of thousands of migrants are doing just that to reach the U.S. Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration reporter Caitlin Dickerson took three trips to the Darién Gap over five months, following groups of migrants on their 70-mile trek from northern Colombia into southern Panama. They risked hunger, thirst, drowning, disease, violence, sexual assault and death. We talk to Dickerson about what she witnessed and what she calls the “flawed logic” of U.S. immigration policy – “that by making migration harder, we can limit the number of people who attempt it.” Her new article in the Atlantic is “Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.” Guest: Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic; Dickerson won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on immigration; her new article is "“Seventy Miles in the Darién Gap.”

The son who traveled 2,500 miles to save his parents’ dog. The stranger who picked up the tab for a girl who was trying to buy a prom dress at Goodwill. The airport janitor who stopped to feed and comfort a stranded passenger. These are some of the small and big acts of kindness website Upworthy compiled into a new book, “Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity.” We’ll talk to the editors and hear from you: What is a memorable act of kindness you have received or given? Guests: Lucia Knell, co-author, "Good People: Stories From the Best of Humanity "; Knell is the vice president of the media company Upworthy. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Glamour and Vogue, among other publications. Gabriel Reilich, co-author, "Good People: Stories from the Best of Humanity"; Reilich is the head of content and innovation at the media companies Good and Upworthy. He developed the Upworthy Instagram account which now has five million+ followers.

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi says that she’s won nearly all the legislative battles that she started — and she characterizes those she hasn’t won simply as “not yet achieved.” Pelosi has exerted her powers of persuasion and negotiation for 37 years as San Francisco’s congressional representative, pushing forward the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act and leveraging behind-the-scenes influence in both Congress and the White House. We talk to Pelosi about the people and principles that motivate her and why she says managing differences in her caucus is like being “a weaver at the loom.” Pelosi’s new memoir is “The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House.” Guests: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the House and U.S. Representative for California's 11th District (San Francisco); author, "The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman House Speaker"

California lawmakers approved a landmark bill regulating artificial intelligence on Wednesday. SB 1047, co-authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), aims to curb potential dangers of AI such as misinformation, cyberattacks and the creation of novel biological weapons. It would mandate safety testing for advanced AI models that cost more than $100 million dollars, allow a kill switch for ones that go awry, and add protections for whistleblowers. We’ll talk about how the bill, if signed into law by Governor Newsom, could impact the future of AI in California and across the nation. Guests: Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk, KQED Cecilia Kang, tech reporter, The New York Times Shirin Ghaffary, AI reporter, Bloomberg

The smell of ink on paper. The handwritten staff recommendations. The plan to only buy one book, and the inevitable exit with five. Visiting a brick-and-mortar bookstore is not just a serotonin-releasing individual experience. Bookstores build community among the aspiring writer employee, the bookworm regular and everyone else who has “an attachment to the store and the store to them.” That’s according to Evan Friss, author of “The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore.” We’ll talk with Friss and with some California bookshop owners about the communities they serve, and we’ll hear from you: What’s your favorite bookstore? Why? Guests: Evan Friss, professor of history, James Madison University; author, "The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstores Brad Johnson, owner of East Bay Booksellers in Oakland Jhoanna Belfer, owner and head booknerd, Bel Canto Books in Long Beach

As a new school year kicks off, San Francisco Unified School District faces several big challenges including pending school closures set to be announced later this month. The district, with a budget of $1.3 billion for this fiscal year, has been overspending for years as enrollment has declined. With its financial reserves running dry, district leaders and school board members have to wrangle in spending to close a $420 million deficit or confront a state takeover. We’ll talk to SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne and other experts about the district’s financial problems, what could happen next, and take your questions. Guests: Jill Tucker, K-12 Education Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Mark Sanchez, commissioner, San Francisco School Board of Education - San Francisco Unified School District Matt Wayne, superintendent, San Francisco Unified School District

Tech companies often portray their AI products as self-sufficient systems that learn from large datasets. However, AI development in reality relies heavily on a global workforce of undervalued workers, including data annotators, content moderators and machine learning engineers, who endure long hours for low pay while performing repetitive tasks. A new book, “Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labor Powering A.I.”, exposes the harsh conditions these workers face and the human labor essential to AI’s growth. We talk with one of the book’s authors, James Muldoon, to learn more and how we can better protect the rights of low-wage AI workers. Guests: James Muldoon, Associate Professor, University of Essex - Research Associate at University of Oxford’s Internet Institute

The crisis in Sudan, now in its second year, has been called the “Forgotten War.” While in the early 2000s, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, a region of Sudan, attracted the attention of politicians, journalists and celebrities, the current conflict – which pits two military factions against each other and the civilian population –rarely makes the front page. But the crisis in Sudan is acute: Since the war began, 150,000 people have been killed, 10 million more displaced, women and girls have been subjected to systemic sexual violence rooted in ethnic cleansing, and now, the nation is on the brink of a manmade famine that threatens to cause a “catastrophic level of hunger.” We’ll talk to experts about the war and efforts to stem the humanitarian crisis. Guests: Khalid Mustafa Medani, associate professor, McGill University - Medani is director of the Institute of Islamic Studies and Chair of the African Studies Program; his most recent article is "The Struggle for Sudan" Gabriele Steinhauser, Africa Bureau Chief, W

Ketamine is perhaps best known as a party drug, and it has long been used in hospitals as an anesthetic. In recent years, it has also been touted as a promising, experimental psychiatric treatment. But when Friends actor Matthew Perry overdosed on ketamine last year, it exposed a network of unregulated clinics and unscrupulous doctors distributing the drug for off-label uses. In this hour, we’ll talk with experts about what we know — so far — about ketamine’s efficacy and safety. Guests: Smita Das, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Medicine; vice president of complex care and psychiatry, Lyra Health Gerard Sanacora, professor of psychiatry and director, Yale Depression Research Program at the Yale School of Medicine

California’s neighbors, Arizona and Nevada, stand out as pivotal swing states in this year’s presidential election, each with a large bloc of independent voters. Arizona’s shifting demographics and growing urban centers like Phoenix and Tucson, and Nevada’s blend of urban and rural populations, particularly in Clark County, make both states critical battlegrounds for both parties. We take a look at the key issues influencing voters in each state and examine the factors that might determine who secures those crucial electoral votes. Guests: Andy Crosby, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, UC Riverside Thom Reilly, professor, Arizona State University; co-director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy Jessica Hill, reporter, Las Vegas Review Journal

Ukraine has brought the war to Russia. Its incursion on Aug. 6 into the Kursk region marks the largest invasion of Russia since World War II. It also marks a shift in strategy for Ukraine and carries significant risks. We’ll talk about what Ukraine’s incursion signals at this point in the war – and how Moscow and the US are responding – two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Guests: Illia Ponomarenko, journalist and author, "I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv”; former defense and security reporter, The Kyiv Post; co-founder, The Kyiv Independent. He has covered the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict's beginning, as well as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022 Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University - and former U.S ambassador to Russia Greg Myre, national security correspondent, NPR

Novelist and Atlantic staff writer Xochitl Gonzalez joins us to talk about her recent essay, a personal history about growing up with a mother who was largely absent from her life. Her mother, Andrea Gonzalez, joined the Socialist Workers Party as a young woman from Brooklyn, and devoted decades of her life to the cause and running for various political offices including vice president of the United States. As a child Gonzalez admired her mother, “My mother hadn’t ditched me; she was working to save the world from the ravages of capitalism,” she writes in her piece. We’ll talk with Gonzalez about coming to terms with her absent mother and what happens when a parent chooses political activism over their child. Guest: Xochitl Gonzalez, staff writer, The Atlantic; novelist, “To Save The World, My Mother Abandoned Me”

California set an ambitious goal of making transitional kindergarten universal by fall of 2025. TK was originally created for kids born in the fall who were too young to enroll in kindergarten. Now, state leaders want to make it accessible to any 4-year-old. That means adding a whole new grade to all of the state’s elementary schools within a five year period that started in 2021. The rollout has come with a plethora of challenges from a shortage of classroom space to a lack of qualified teachers to logistical headaches for parents. We’ll look at how California’s $2.7 billion expansion of TK is going. Guests: Elly Yu, senior reporter, LAist Daisy Nguyen, early childhood education and care reporter, KQED Hanna Melnick, senior policy advisor and director of early learning policy, Learning Policy Institute Blanca Torres, producer and reporter, KQED

On Thursday night the Bay Area’s own Kamala Harris will accept the nomination as the Democratic party’s presidential candidate after days of full throated embraces of her candidacy at the Democratic National Convention. KQED’s politics team joins us from the convention in Chicago to analyze notable moments from the convention and whether the party is embracing, or distancing itself, from Harris’ California roots and legacy. Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Scott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political Breakdown Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk

The Paralympic Games open in Paris next week, showcasing the talent of elite athletes in 22 adaptive sports. Some, like Boccia and Goalball, are unique to the Paralympics while others, like sitting volleyball and wheelchair fencing, parallel Olympic events – with a twist. We’ll check in with members of Team USA, learn more about the athletes and events to watch, and hear about efforts to expand adaptive sports in California as Los Angeles prepares to host the 2028 games. And we hear from you: Are you a para-athlete? Tell us what you love about your sport. Guests: David Wharton, sports reporter, Los Angeles Times - Covering 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris for The Los Angeles Times Kelly Crowley, former Paralympic athlete and medalist, She won gold medals in the women's swimming freestyle and medley relays in Greece in 2004, and bronze medals in cycling in 2012. She has coached swimming for nearly two decades and has also worked for tech companies on digital accessibility projects. Michael Garafola,

What can we learn from professional risk-takers—poker players, hedge fund managers, crypto true believers and blue-chip art collectors— about how to navigate the uncertainty of the twenty first century? Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight, seeks to answer that question in his new book “On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything.” In Silver’s world view, risk takers are adept with details and planning, they are not motivated by money, they practice conscientious contrarianism, and they are all around us. We talk to Silver about his book, his poker playing and what the polls tell us about the November elections. Guests: Nate Silver, author, "On the Edge:" The Art of Risking Everything", Silver founded the website FiveThirtyEight, and is also the author of the bestselling book, "The Signal and the Noise." His newsletter is titled "Silver Bulletin"

Stand-up comic and mathematician Matt Parker loves triangles, and he wants everyone to appreciate them. Triangles help us calculate distances, the angle of an NBA 3-pointer and a winning billiards shot. They help us plan cities, cut sandwiches optimally and tell us the angle of impact of the asteroid that wiped out Earth’s dinosaurs. “Triangles are everything,” writes Parker, “and everything is triangles.” We talk to Parker about the function –and beauty – of the triangle and his new book “Love Triangle: How Trigonometry Shapes the World.” Guests: Matt Parker, stand-up comedian, mathematician and YouTuber; author, "Love Triangle: How Trigonometry Shapes the World"

Vice President Kamala Harris has released a set of proposals she says will make housing more affordable if she’s elected president in November. Her ideas include tax incentives to encourage more home construction, down payment assistance for homebuyers, and rules to make it harder for corporate investors to buy up single family houses. We’ll examine the plan and how much of a role the country’s housing crisis could play in this fall’s election. Guests: Mike Madrid, Republican strategist; co-founder, The Lincoln Project. His new book is "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy." Erin Baldassari, senior editor of housing affordability, KQED Yonah Freemark, principal research associate, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute

The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday, capping a warp speed nomination process for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz. We’ll preview the four-day event in Chicago, where democrats are expected to try to build on momentum that’s brought record contributions and favorable poll numbers. What do you want to hear from the democratic party? Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor and legal correspondent, Slate; host, Amicus podcast; author, "Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America"

The US Department of Justice is considering breaking up tech giant Google, according to media reports. That news comes after a court ruling earlier this month that the company, which controls 90 percent of the search engine market, violated antitrust laws. “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his decision. But some experts think a breakup is unlikely, and Google says it will appeal. We’ll talk about what the case could mean for consumers, the company, and the future of the internet. Guests: Rebecca Haw Allensworth, associate dean for research and professor of law, Vanderbilt Law School Leah Nylen, antitrust reporter, Bloomberg News Kamyl Bazbaz, senior vice president for public affairs, DuckDuckGo