KQED's Forum

In the introduction to a new anthology of the work of Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde, Roxane Gay writes that Lorde "is an exemplar of public intellectualism who is as relevant in this century as she was in the last.” Gay, an author whose best-selling books include "Bad Feminist" and "Hunger," edited the new anthology titled, "The Selected Works of Audre Lorde." The book features a m...

Wildfires seem to be getting bigger, more frequent and more dangerous. Experts say that won't change this season or next, unless the state and federal governments spend billions of dollars more on thinning forests and making California communities more resilient to fire. That would mean a big shift for foresters and firefighters who've spent the past century working to preserve timber and beating...

Recent data from LinkedIn show a surge in companies recruiting and hiring for positions such as “chief of diversity." As employees feel more emboldened to speak out about their work environments amid ongoing calls to end racism, companies are intensifying efforts focused on diversity and inclusion. We'll learn more about the trend and hear from experts on what it means for inclusion and equity in...

After months of sheltering in place -- and as health experts characterize air travel as relatively low-risk -- more Americans are contemplating taking to the skies again. We'll talk about how to stay safe on an airplane and how to evaluate and manage risks associated with renting a car, using a ride-hailing service or staying in a motel. And we want to hear from you: what are your thoughts on pand...

The Bay Area has been suffering some of the worst air quality in the world in recent days. We'll get the latest on the air, how to protect yourself, and when the region might get some relief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the new Frontline documentary “Policing the Police 2020,” historian and journalist Jelani Cobb returns as a correspondent, taking viewers inside a U.S. police department. The current wave of protests against police brutality and calls to defund the police prompted the update to Frontline’s 2016 documentary, “Policing the Police,” which focused on reform efforts at the Newark, N.J. police depart...

Since California first issued safety guidelines for schools back in August, health officials have given the green light to dozens of Bay Area elementary schools  to reopen classrooms. But the approvals don’t necessarily mean kids will be learning in person immediately. Debate over safety protocols, feedback from teachers and parents and possible lawsuits all have the potential to slow reopening. W...

“These phrases— white fragility, white defensiveness, white appropriation— have a habit of standing in for the complicated mess of a true conversation." That's according to poet, playwright and MacArthur "genius" grant recipient Claudia Rankine in her new book, "Just Us: An American Conversation." Recounting conversations with strangers, friends and herself about race and privilege in the U.S., Ra...

Across California, wildfires continue ravaging the landscape, filling skies with smoke and prompting thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Cal Fire is battling at least a dozen blazes including the Creek Fire near Fresno that has burned more than 163,138 acres and is 0% contained. The Bear Fire flared to more than 254,000 acres from Tuesday to Wednesday just east of Paradise, a small city t...

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins told Congress Wednesday that no safety standards will be compromised as the government evaluates the three COVID-19 vaccines that have advanced to Phase 3 clinical trials. His remarks came a day after a group of pharmaceutical companies made a similar safety pledge and after Astra-Zeneca halted its vaccine study when a participant became serio...

President Donald Trump told journalist Bob Woodward that he knew early on that the coronavirus was “deadly stuff” but did not share that information with the public, saying he did not want to cause panic. Woodward recorded the interviews for his upcoming book “Rage”.  “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward. We’ll talk about the president’s remarks and other revelations from Woodwar...

Bay Area residents woke to ominous orange skies Wednesday, brought on by multiple wildfires across Northern California.  As a layer of heavy smoke all but blocked the sun, and as ash covered sidewalks, cars and houses, many are raising concerns about the health effects of going outside. We talk with a meteorologist and air quality expert about how long the darkened skies will last and the status o...

While there is a perception that Latinos tend to vote for Democrats, a significant percentage, especially in places such as California's Central Valley, Texas and Florida, side with the Republican Party. In a time when President Donald Trump has demonized and targeted Latinos, he nonetheless has garnered support of some Latino voters. In his latest book, “The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an...

Among the Bay Area workers who have the luxury of working from home, some are eyeing an exit from a region known for its excessive cost of living and susceptibility to wildfires and earthquakes. And they’re contemplating an exodus even as rents have fallen throughout much of the Bay Area since the start of the pandemic. A recent survey from e-commerce site Fast found that of those Californians who...

In a New York Times piece, "Breonna Taylor's Life Was Changing. Then the Police Came to Her Door," correspondent Rukmini Callimachi uncovers details about the story of Breonna Taylor, the young woman in Kentucky who was killed by police during a drug raid on her home earlier this year. Drawing from various interviews, documents and recordings, Callimachi weaves together how an ex-boyfriend’s run-i...

Wildfires have now burned a record 2 million acres in California this year. Meanwhile, as the extreme heat continues, PG&E is starting power shutoffs for many of its customers. We'll get the latest on the fires burning across the state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, President Trump’s ongoing, mutually-reinforcing alliance with Fox News gained permanent traction in January 2017. That was when Trump, enraged over CNN’s coverage of his sparse inauguration crowd, found refuge in sympathetic reporting from Fox News. Stelter says from that point on, the network became Trump’s “humiliation-free zone” and his chief sour...

A close friendship can be one of the most fulfilling, and most challenging, relationships of our lives. In their book “Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close,” writers and longtime friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman share their honest and humorous account of what it really takes to maintain a meaningful bond -- from moments of being totally in sync to painful disagreements and everything...

After a spate of bad luck led her to question the nature of chance, journalist Maria Konnikova began learning about poker. Konnikova -- who holds a doctorate in psychology--was curious about how the game hones players’ ability to distinguish between what is within and outside of our control.  Under the tutelage of an expert, she became a professional player and entered the World Series of Poker, a...

In his latest column for the New York Times, opinion writer Farhad Manjoo delves into his fears of a second term for President Donald Trump. But even if Trump loses, he asks, have the president and the Republican Party  damaged American democracy beyond repair? Trump has repeatedly lied throughout his presidency, but, Manjoo writes, “It’s not the lies themselves that worry me most, but the fact th...

The Oakland Athletics, who stand at the top of their division, will take the field for the first time on Friday after a positive coronavirus case caused the team to postpone a series in Seattle. Off the field, the team has also been making news. They sat out a game last week in protest of institutional racism and have joined other Bay Area sports teams in supporting Prop 16, which would repeal a b...

At the outset of his new memoir "Unforgetting," San Francisco-based journalist and author Roberto Lovato says that epic history is best understood as a "stitching together of intimate histories." It was the search for his own family's intimate history that took Lovato from his native California to El Salvador, where his parents were born and where war, gang violence and mass migration have laid si...

Facing strong opposition from law enforcement groups, a measure that would have allowed California to remove police officers who commit serious misconduct failed to pass the state legislature earlier this week. It was just one of several major police accountability measures that failed to gather enough votes by the last day of the legislative session. We'll hear why the bills failed, and what that...

In his new book, “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity,” author Robert P. Jones examines how Christian religious organizations have promoted and enabled racism in America. While Christians proclaim a message of love and salvation, Jones argues that Christian denominations have historically rationalized anti-black policies and beliefs such as slavery and Jim Crow l...

The Russian group that interfered in the 2016 election is again targeting Americans with misinformation online. That's according to Facebook and Twitter, who say the FBI warned both companies that the Kremlin-backed Internet Research Agency set up fake user accounts and a website made to look like a left-wing news site. The disinformation campaign, which Facebook and Twitter have taken down, was a...