Kqeds Forum

According to a recent survey by Pew Research, the majority of Americans favor abortion rights. But in the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel A. Alito writes “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work.” Public reaction, however, has been swift. Demonstrators decrying the opinion have gathered outside the Supreme Court, the homes of Supreme Court justices and in demonstrations across the country. In response to the draft opinion, some states have indicated they intend to introduce laws to ban and even criminalize abortion, while other states have begun drafting legislation to create safe havens for reproductive rights. Given the divide between the majority of the Court who voted in favor of this draft and the public’s support of abortion rights, has the Supreme Court lost its legitimacy as a branch of government that is blind to politics? We’ll talk to Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick about the future of the

Last Thursday, we spoke with San Francisco Chronicle reporters about their yearlong investigation into the city-funded single-room-occupancy buildings that are supposed to provide supportive housing for the homeless. In this show, we’ll get an inside look from staff that run SROs and the nonprofit operators that oversee them. Some operators say the city hasn’t given them adequate resources and funding to serve their tenants, who often struggle with drug and behavioral issues. Meanwhile, staff say they are underpaid and under-supported in jobs that often involve dealing with violence and verbal abuse from residents. Still, there is evidence that SROs are a proven model to move people off the streets and create community among residents and staff. We’ll talk about what it's like to run an SRO and what supportive housing projects need to succeed.

What does it mean for a generation of young people to come of age seeing other young Black people routinely endangered, attacked or killed? In her new book of essays titled “The Trayvon Generation,” poet, scholar and educator Elizabeth Alexander explores that question and meditates on the persistence of racism in the American experience. She writes that “the race work of the generations of my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents, and myself is the work of our children’s generation” – a reality Alexander says she both laments and feels enraged by. The book, which includes poetry as well as visual art, expands on her viral 2020 New Yorker essay that reflected on the young people who have always known stories like Trayvon’s – and George Floyd’s and Breonna Taylor’s and Philando Castile’s and…. We’ll talk to Alexander about “The Trayvon Generation” and her hopes for its future.

On June 7, San Francisco voters will decide whether to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It’s a ballot fight that pits the former public defender’s progressive ideas on criminal justice reform against claims that he’s soft on criminals and has made San Francisco’s streets more dangerous. Boudin joins us to talk about his record and what he thinks his opponents get wrong, crime in San Francisco and why he thinks he should stay in office.

When a classmate in junior high school told Julissa Arce, an immigrant from Mexico, that she sounded like a white girl, she took it as a compliment. “Sounding like a white girl gave me a false sense of security. Having an accent said I was from someplace else; sounding like a white girl fooled me into thinking I could belong in the United States,” she writes in her new book, “You Sound Like A White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation.” Writer, speaker, and immigration rights advocate, Arce became well known after publishing her first book, “My (Underground) American Dream,” about her experience working for Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs even though she was undocumented. In her latest release, she eviscerates the idea that through assimilation, anyone can be successful and accepted in America. In reality, she argues, assimilation functions as a tool of white supremacy. We talk with Arce about what it means to reject assimilation and how Latinos and other people of color are reclaiming their identities.

Robert McNamara was president of the Ford Motor Company, head of the World Bank, U.S. Secretary of Defense and widely considered to be the architect of the Vietnam War. He was also a father. His son, Craig McNamara, depicts their strained, yet love-filled, relationship in his new book, “Because Our Fathers Lied,” which explores the wall that existed between them as a result of Craig’s deep opposition to the Vietnam War. We’ll talk with McNamara about what it means to carve out his own legacy and how he contends with his father’s actions today.

The decision to terminate a pregnancy is rarely easy, and the reasons women choose abortions are varied. Some are already parents who don’t want another child. Some feel too young to become a parent. Some can’t bear to birth a child conceived in sexual violence. Some are afraid of the risks of pregnancy. And some, simply, don’t want to be pregnant. As Americans' nearly 50-year old constitutional right to an abortion approaches its probable end, we hear from women across the state who have chosen to terminate their pregnancies and what concerns them most about life in a post-Roe world.

Various economic factors don’t seem to add up these days. Consumer spending is up year over year, but the country’s gross domestic product fell during the first quarter. Home values are higher than ever in many cities across, but 401k balances are taking a hit from stock market declines. Wages are finally inching up for some workers, but inflation is taking a bite out of purchasing power. Employers continue adding jobs, but worker participation in the workforce hasn’t bounced back. We dive into the contradictions in the economy and what it means for you.

“Mommy, I don’t know what red looks like to you.” That’s the first philosophical puzzle that Scott Hershovitz says he remembers putting to his befuddled parents. And it’s children’s observations like those that Hershovitz, now a full-grown philosophy professor, says that parents need to nurture and take seriously. We’ll talk to Hershovitz about why young kids, unencumbered by received wisdom about the universe, make excellent philosophers and how childlike thinking can teach all of us to better grapple with the mysteries of human existence. Hershovitz’s new book is "Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids."

The Italian food many Americans grew up with — often called “red sauce” cuisine — is influenced by Italian traditions, “but it is not Italian food,” writes Ian MacAllen, author of “Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American.” This distinction between Italian and Italian American food evolved from the story of Italian immigration to America — one where pizza and pasta ended up becoming synonymous with American food itself. The Bay Area’s own wine, tomato sauce and cioppino stems from the legacies of the Italian American immigrants who brought their old-world tastes to California’s vineyards and tomato fields. We’ll talk about the legacy and culture of Italian Americans in the Bay Area today, from North Beach to Temescal’s Colombo Club to San Jose’s Chiaramonte's Deli.

The leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade has sent shock waves across the country, particularly for those who assumed their 50-year old constitutional right to abortion was safe. But court watchers long have predicted this outcome, brought on by the decades-long efforts of Christian fundamentalists and other far-right actors to remake the Republican party. We'll talk about the political forces that brought us to this moment and the other core privacy rights -- from contraception to gay marriage -- that may be imperiled.

A year-long San Francisco Chronicle investigation found that a San Francisco program that leases residential hotels as a transitional solution for unhoused residents has failed drastically. According to the investigation, many residents reported living in squalid rooms infested with bugs, rats, and black mold. Reporters found that, of 515 people tracked by the government, 21% returned to the streets and a quarter died in the program. They also found that violence toward residents and staff, robbery, and drug overdose deaths were common occurrences in some decrepit buildings. We’ll talk about the investigation’s findings, who should be held accountable and what can be done to provide decent transitional housing for people getting off the streets.

Danica Roem stunned the world of Virginia politics in 2017 when she became the first openly trans person to win a seat in a state legislature. She defeated a Republican who held the seat for more than a quarter century -- a lawmaker who called himself the state’s "chief homophobe." Roem, who's also a former journalist and thrash metal band front woman, joins us to talk about her new memoir "Burn the Page," all about her unlikely rise in politics and the importance of being your authentic self.

Congressman Adam Schiff returned recently from a surprise trip to Ukraine with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats where they observed the toll of the Russian invasion and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the U.S.'s military and humanitarian commitment to the country. We’ll talk to Schiff about the trip and the status of President Biden's proposed $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, now awaiting congressional approval.

While Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade sparked outrage and protests across the country, in California advocates for abortion access have long been preparing for the decision. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed a Future of Abortion Council whose December policy recommendations are now a set of proposed state laws that would provide funds for abortion access for those in states with restrictive laws and protect doctors who provide services, among other policy changes designed to make California a sanctuary for reproductive rights. From providing tele-health and abortion pills across state lines to ensuring childcare and travel for those seeking services, Forum looks at the role of California in a post Roe country.

A leaked Supreme Court draft opinion published by Politico on Monday night indicates the majority of the Court would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. In the document written by Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and joined by the majority of the Court, Alito called Roe wrongly decided and suggested that the issue of abortion should be left to politicians, not courts. If the final opinion follows the logic of the draft, it would represent a fundamental shift in the law and politics around reproductive rights. And while draft opinions are commonly circulated by the justices, the leak of a draft is unprecedented in modern Supreme Court history and raises questions about the operation of the Court itself. We’ll talk about the leak, the draft opinion, and what lies ahead.

In his latest play, "The Incrementalist," Oakland playwright Cleavon Smith explores the tension between those who advocate immediate, radical reform to address injustices and those who believe in an incremental approach to changing systems and policies over time. Playing at Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company through May 15, "The Incrementalist" follows a public intellectual who is brought to UC Berkeley’s campus in 2022 to help facilitate conversations concerning police violence after campus police attack and injure a Black Student Union leader during a protest. The play also includes scenes from student life in 1992, highlighting both the ongoing issues of racism and police violence and the ongoing debate over how best to address them. Smith joins Forum in studio to talk about the play, as well as his personal journey from Mississippian to Californian and from naval officer to playwright.

Since the 1990s, lawmakers and advocates have justified harsh anti-crime policies, like California’s Three Strikes Law, as a way to bring justice to the victims of violent crimes. But a new movement is emerging that centers crime survivors, especially women of color, who are often overlooked by a system that’s supposed to help them with services and support – and who don’t always agree with the tough-on-crime agenda. We’ll talk about how the conversation about justice for crime survivors is shifting in California.

Two large oil refineries in the Bay Area want to switch from processing crude oil and instead turn vegetable oil and animal fats into biofuels. Phillips 66 in Rodeo and Marathon in Martinez say their plans to convert the refineries to create renewable diesel advances California’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel reliance. But some environmental groups and communities close to the refineries oppose the plan, saying a reliance on biofuels contributes to deforestation and other environmental problems that actually accelerate climate change. As the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors considers an appeal to the plans next week, Forum looks at the local, state and global ramifications of California’s push toward biofuels.

“I basically went from living in a fishbowl, which is the prison yard, to swimming in a whole ocean.” That’s how Travielle Pope describes what it was like to reintegrate into a profoundly changed society after serving 26 years of a life sentence in a California prison. Pope is one of eight formerly incarcerated people KQED’s Pendarvis Harshaw and his co-producer Brandon Tauszik profile for their new multimedia project “Facing Life.” It explores the everyday challenges – from operating smartphones to finding jobs and shelter – the formerly incarcerated face. We’ll talk about the project and why Harshaw and Tauszik say it’s time to “prepare for a society where mass incarceration is no longer a thing—but mass integration is.”