KQED's Forum

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has long been one of the world’s largest providers of contraceptives and disaster relief. But recent funding cuts and orders from the Trump administration have dismantled programs, stranded millions of dollars’ worth of contraceptives, and left partner nations scrambling. We look at the unraveling of USAID’s work, the human impact on the ground and what America’s retreat means for the future of global health and humanitarian aid. Guests: Elissa Miolene, global development reporter, Devex, an independent news organization covering international development Hana Kiros, assistant editor, The Atlantic - Her recent article is “Inside the USAID Fire Sale.” Carson Christiano, executive director, Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mega-wealthy Silicon Valley group, California Forever, has announced a plan to build a manufacturing town in Solano County. Their intention to build the largest site for advanced manufacturing in North America comes at a moment where there is a lot of debate about whether we should reverse the decline of U.S. manufacturing and how to do it. We’ll talk about how the manufacturing industry has changed from the American factory of the past, the role the industry currently plays in the Bay Area Area economy, and the future of manufacturing in our region. Guests: Kate Gordon, CEO, California Forward Adhiti Bandlamudi, housing reporter, KQED Mathew Bogoshian, Executive Director, American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California synth-pop duo PRXZM joins us in studio for a live musical performance. Classically trained musicians Nick Ortega and Emma Maidenberg host a weekly livestream where fans can watch them compose in real-time and offer feedback. PRXZM’s latest project? Remixing our Forum theme song! We’ll talk to them about the process of remixing and what it’s like to collaborate so closely with their fans. Guests: Nick Ortega, synth, PRXZM Emma Maidenberg, vocals, PRXZM Daniel Reiter, guitar, PRXZM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been as full-throated in his support for President Trump’s aggressive immigration policies as California Governor Gavin Newsom has been in his opposition. We team up with South Florida Public Radio station WLRN to talk about how our states’ different approaches on immigration enforcement are playing out on the ground, and the impact on our communities, economy and voters. Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED Tom Hudson, president of news, WLRN; an anchor of "The Florida Roundup" Jasmine Garsd, immigration correspondent, NPR; host of the podcast "The Last Cup," about soccer and the immigrant experience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California’s prisons were so packed fifteen years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they violated the Constitution. Today, the state’s prison population has decreased dramatically and California is closing prison facilities. Governor Newsom has closed five during his tenure, with the latest – the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, California – slated to shut down next fall. We’ll take a closer look at what’s driving the turnaround, and the impact of prison closures on communities and the state’s criminal justice system. Guests: Heather Harris, research fellow specializing in criminal justice, Public Policy Institute of California Caitlin O'Neil, principal fiscal and policy analyst, Legislative Analyst's Office - the California Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor Nigel Duara, justice reporter, CalMatters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Locals don’t always like to go where the tourists flock in their own town, and as a result there is a lot that they might be missing. A new program, Doors Open California hopes to change that by welcoming Californians to historic sites, movie locations, museums and more all in their backyard. We’ll talk to plugged-in locals about the cool sites and situations that are just around the corner, and hear from you about the Bay Area spots that you think are worth a visit. Guests: Peter Hartlaub, culture critic, The San Francisco Chronicle Pendarvis "Pen" Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts Kara Newport, president and CEO, Filoli Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Immigrant rights advocates are warning of increased racial profiling and more aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily lift a federal judge’s order that barred the agency from detaining people without probable cause. Concerns intensified after the Department of Homeland Security announced on social media that law enforcement would “flood the zone” in Los Angeles. We look at what’s happening on the ground and where the law stands. Guests: Ahilan Arulanantham, law professor and faculty co-director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law - former Legal Director ACLU of Southern California Andrea Castillo, staff writer covering immigration, LA Times Marissa Montes, professor of law and director, Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, Loyola Law School Rob Bonta, California Attorney General Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Jeff Chang contends that Bruce Lee, the famed actor and martial arts specialist, is the “most famous person in the world about whom so little is known.” In his new biography of Lee, “Water Mirror Echo,” Chang charts Lee’s rise as an action star and his impact on the creation of Asian American culture. We’ll talk to Chang about his book and about Bruce Lee’s special history in the Bay Area. Guests: Jeff Chang, "Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America" - Chang is also the author of "We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation," "Who We Be: The Colorization of America" and "Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when prosecutors take on sitting U.S. presidents? That’s the subject of CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig’s new book, which traces the successes and failures of the Department of Justice’s efforts to hold presidents from Nixon to Trump to account. We’ll also get Honig’s take on the latest DOJ controversies, including the firings of veteran prosecutors and the department’s shrinking independence from the Oval Office. Honig’s new book is “When You Come at the King.” Guests: Elie Honig, senior legal analyst, CNN - author, "When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ’s Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re launching a new series, “In Search of Home: Solutions for the Homelessness Crisis” to explore how homelessness happens and what it takes to move people into permanent homes. Our first show takes a look into the many reasons that people end up becoming homeless and how it can be prevented. Research shows that keeping someone housed is far more cost-effective, not to mention less traumatic, than trying to help someone once they lose their home. We’ll hear the experiences of people who have, with help, narrowly avoided losing their housing and talk about proven ways to prevent homelessness. Guests: Jennifer Loving, CEO, Destination: Home - a public-private partnership focused on ending homelessness in Santa Clara County Rob Collinson, assistant professor, Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do frog skin, polyester hair and gene-edited pig kidneys have in common? They’re all part of humanity’s long quest to swap out ailing parts of our bodies, according to science writer Mary Roach. From prosthetic limbs to printable organs, Roach joins to talk about the history and complexities of human body replacement and where the science is today. Her new book is “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy.” Guests: Mary Roach, author, "Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy"; her earlier books include "Grunt," "Stiff," "Bonk" and "Fuzz" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nuclear capabilities have increased dramatically over the past decade and continue to grow, with the U.S. Department of Defense spending $1.5 trillion on nuclear weapons and infrastructure upgrades. But the conversation around nuclear war has only gotten quieter. The anti-nuclear movement of the 1960s-80s was one of the largest protest movements of its time, with a million protesters marching in New York to demand an end to nuclear weapons. Yet the threat is rarely mentioned today. We’ll talk about the anti-nuclear movement, the normalization of nuclear warfare, and what some experts hope to change about that. Guests: Rivka Galchen, contributor, The New Yorker; her most recent article in The New Yorker is "Why Don't We Take Nuclear Weapons Seriously?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crises unfold around us daily: gun violence, devastating foreign wars and U.S. democratic norms shattering. And still, we cook dinner and go to work. For those directly affected, the harms are inescapable. But for others, the contrast between catastrophic headlines and ordinary routines creates a dizzying dissonance: life moving as normal, against a backdrop of unsettling change. We’ll talk about this strange tension and what it does to us, and we’ll hear how you are navigating it. Guests: Kate Woodsome, journalist and founder, Invisible Threads (katewoodsome.substack.com), a media and leadership lab exploring the link between mental health and democracy Adrienne Matei, writer, The Guardian US; her recent piece is "Systems are crumbling – but daily life continues. The dissonance is real" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Yorker magazine poetry editor Kevin Young has called poetry “the most efficient mode of time travel.” In his new volume of poems “Night Watch,” Young, a literary hyphenate who edits, writes and teaches, takes readers on a journey of loss and re-emergence. From his cycle of poems about a conjoined pair of twins born into slavery and kidnapped to a carnival freak show to his meditations on grief set to the phases of the moon, Young’s spare and incisive language provides the reader passage through history and memory. We talk to Young about his collection and what it means to be a poet today. Guests: Kevin Young, poet and author; poetry editor, The New Yorker; former director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climatologist Michael Mann and vaccine expert Peter Hotez say we’re in an “antiscience superstorm.” It’s a movement that has upended federal health agencies, defunded research and weaponized social media and AI to advance its agenda. And now, some of the nation’s most vocal antiscience figures are in major positions of power. We talk to Hotez and Mann about their daily battles against disinformation, their personal toll and what we can all do to counter the antiscience threat. Their new book is “Science Under Siege.” Guests: Peter J. Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development, Texas Children's Hospital Michael E. Mann, professor of earth and environmental science, University of Pennsylvania; director, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the second time in just four months, BART had a systemwide outage on Friday, stranding morning commuters for hours and bringing Bay Bridge traffic to a standstill. The maddening meltdown is but one of the BART’s major woes. A promised $750 million dollar loan to shore up struggling Bay Area transit agencies has been tied up in back-room wrangling in Sacramento. We talk with KQED transit reporter Dan Brekke about how the financial crisis is testing the Bay Area’s historic support for public transportation. Guests: Dan Brekke, editor and reporter, KQED News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a whale struck Maurice and Maralyn Bailey’s boat in 1972, the British couple found themselves stranded on a tiny rubber raft in the Pacific Ocean. In a new book, journalist Sophie Elmhirst looks at how the shipwrecked couple survived together for months – starving and pushed to their emotional limits. We’ll talk to Elmhirst about relationships under extreme conditions and why we’re so drawn to survival stories. And we want to hear from you: How do you think your own relationship would fare under similar circumstances? Guests: Sophie Elmhirst, author of "A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every month, 5.5 million Californians rely on Cal Fresh, the state’s version of food stamps. But Trump’s $186 billion in cuts to SNAP, the nation’s primary anti-hunger program, means that California will lose billions of dollars in funding. Experts note that these changes to SNAP, which began rolling out this month, constitute a drastic overhaul of the social safety net program and threaten to increase hunger in the country just as the economy is showing signs of slowing down. We’ll talk about the impacts of Trump’s budget decision on those in need as well as the grocers and food banks that help provide food to SNAP recipients. Guests: Leslie Bacho, CEO, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, a food bank that serves Santa Clara and San Mateo counties Lauren Bauer, fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institute; associate director of the Hamilton Project - her research focuses on social safety net policies Lupe Lopez, co-founder and owner, Arteagas Food Center, a chain of local grocery stores with outlets in San Jose, Hayward, and Gilroy among other locations Rebecca Piazza, executive director, safety net strategy, Code for America - Piazza served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief of Staff at the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, modernizing delivery of SNAP, WIC, and other nutrition programs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of people are having deeply personal conversations with AI chatbots, but how safe are these interactions? We’re joined by two technology reporters who have been investigating troubling cases, including a California teenager whose months-long chats with ChatGPT took a tragic turn and a vulnerable man who was convinced by one of Meta’s AI female personas to “meet” in person. We look at how these tools can manipulate – or be manipulated – to cause harm, and what we’re learning about the psychological impact of AI companions. Guests: Kashmir Hill, features writer covering technology and privacy for the New York Times; author of "Your Face Belongs to Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest to End Privacy as We Know It" Jeff Horwitz, reporter covering tech, Reuter's Enterprise Team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political economist, educator, author, and former labor secretary, Robert Reich, has spent decades examining inequality as a way to make sense of the world. His career has focused on economic justice, the impacts of globalization and our shifting economy. We’ll talk with Reich, who recently retired from teaching at UC Berkeley, about the lessons he’s learned and taught, the influence of corporate power in America, and the ways in which wealth, poverty, and the widening income gap threaten our very democracy. Guests: Robert Reich, formerly the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley; he has served in three national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices