KQED's Forum

With a predicted anemic turnout, what lessons can be gleaned from voters in this March primary? Issues that crowd the headlines like public safety and homelessness appear in various state and regional ballot measures. Will these concerns tilt the otherwise progressive-leaning Bay Area towards a more conservative path? With the help of the KQED Politics team, we’ll analyze the election results and trends in this primary, and we’ll hear from you: What brought you to or kept you from the polls?Guests:Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government DeskMarisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political BreakdownAnnelise Finney, reporter, KQEDJoe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter and producer covering politics, KQED News Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 96th Academy Awards are in less than a week, and a lot of ink has been spilled comparing contenders for best actor, best director and best picture. But what about less-discussed “craft categories” that reward creativity behind the scenes — like editing, costume design, cinematography and production design? We’ll talk to artists in each of those fields about what their work entails and how to recognize and appreciate a bold edit or a brilliant visual aesthetic. And we’ll hear from you: what’s an Oscars category you’d love to know more about?Guests:Sam Restivo, editor; credits include "Napoleon," "House of Gucci," and "The Last Duel"Allison Pearce, costume designer; credits include "Paint," "Black Bear," and "Clerks 3"Olivia Peebles, production designer and set decorator; credits include “Miss Juneteenth,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “Oppenheimer”Elisha Christian, cinematographer; credits include "The Night House" and "The Voyeurs" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Caroline Paul discusses the importance of outdoor adventures for women as they age, challenging societal norms and embracing bravery. The podcast covers awe, novelty, loss, and empowerment in the context of aging and outdoor pursuits. From mountain climbing to skydiving, the conversation highlights personal growth, vitality, and the transformative power of nature.

More than a year after a very bad breakup, LA Times journalist Todd Martens struggled to understand why he was still so stuck on his ex. He doodled her name whenever he held pen and paper; he couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stop stewing. So he turned to science to understand why his mind and body continued to hurt so much and shared what he learned in his recent article “Science can explain a broken heart. Could science help heal mine?” We’ll talk to Martens and turn to experts in neuroscience and psychology for strategies to heal broken hearts. And we’ll hear from you: what’s helped you get through a bad breakup?Guests:Todd Martens, columnist, Los Angeles Times - Martens covers theme parks, games and interactive entertainment for the LA Times. He is a self-professed Disneyland addict who wrote the piece, "This Is Your Brain on Disneyland"Mary-Frances O’Connor, neuroscientist; psychologist; author, 2022 book “The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn From Love and Loss"David Sbarra, professor of psychology, University of Arizona Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tuesday is the final day to cast ballots in this year’s primary election. Voters across the Bay Area will decide on key races for county supervisor seats, state offices, and a slew of measures aimed at addressing mental health, public safety and the region’s homelessness crisis. Some of the races garnering attention include a rare recall election for two San Francisco judges who have been portrayed as soft on crime. In the East Bay, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín is competing with five other candidates for a seat in the state senate. In Napa, voters will decide on three of five supervisor seats. We’ll talk about the races you’re watching and what you need to know going into the primary.Guests:Guy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government DeskJoe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter and producer covering politics, KQED NewsKim Alexander, president and founder, California Voter FoundationAnnelise Finney, reporter, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By early January 2021, 61 courts and the U.S. Justice Department under Donald Trump had rejected the former president’s claims that he’d lost the 2020 election because of fraud. Nevertheless, fed by Trump and those who believed the election disinformation he spread, the Stop the Steal movement flourished and culminated in the January 6 Capitol insurrection. University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade has dissected the manipulative messaging tactics disinformers use to promulgate conspiracies like Stop the Steal. We learn how to identify those tactics and what we can do to combat them legally and politically. McQuade’s new book is “Attack from Within.”Guests:Barbara McQuade, professor, University of Michigan Law School - former U.S attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan; author, "Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Macy’s announced this week it would be closing its flagship Union Square store, among 150 other underperforming stores across the country. The news is just the latest blow to the city’s beleaguered shopping district. We’ll talk about the store’s iconic history and imagine other futures for downtown and Union Square. And we want to hear from you. What are your Macy’s memories? And what would you like to see happen in that building and in Union Square?Guests:Amy Campbell, building transformation and adaptive reuse leader, GenslerPeter Hartlaub, culture critic, San Francisco ChronicleAnnie Appleby, her parents met while working at Macy's Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers in Alabama this week are scrambling to limit the effects of a Feb. 16 state Supreme Court decision holding that frozen embryos are human and that anyone who destroys them can be held liable for wrongful death. Since the decision, major IVF providers across the state have suspended their services, leaving an industry in chaos and families going through IVF in limbo. Meanwhile, Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a bill Wednesday that would have created national protections for fertility treatment. We’ll talk about the ongoing fallout in Alabama and where the broader movement for fetal personhood stands nationally.Guests:Mary Ziegler, professor of law, UC DavisAmy Yurkanin, senior reporter, AL.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco is in the midst of a devastating drug crisis with a record number of overdose deaths last year. In an attempt to address the problem, Mayor London Breed has put a measure on the March 5th ballot that would deny cash assistance benefits to people who use drugs and refuse treatment. Breed has said Proposition F would usher more people into getting help as well as stopping taxpayer dollars from contributing to overdose deaths. Opponents say the measure would do more harm than good by penalizing vulnerable residents who need public assistance to survive. We’ll examine Prop F and hear from voters.Guests:London Breed, mayor, City and County of San FranciscoTrent Rhorer, executive director, San Francisco Human Services AgencyAaron Peskin, president, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 2020, Lebanon was trying to contain both a global pandemic and an internal economic crisis when, on August 4th, a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate at the port of Beirut caught fire and exploded in one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history. The blast killed at least 220 people, injured more than 6000 residents and caused $8 billion in damages. Journalist Dalal Mawad was living in Beirut at the time, and her new book “All She Lost,” examines the event, told through stories of women who lost children, husbands and family members in the explosion and struggled through the financial and political collapse in Lebanon that ensued. We talk to Mawad about what their stories reveal about the treatment of women in Lebanon and how the blast’s survivors are seeking justice for those they lost.Guests:Dalal Mawad, journalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices