KQED's Forum

What do you notice out the window from your seat on BART, or Muni, or the Golden Gate Ferry? When you ride public transit, you’re free to look around, and looking around can tell you a lot about where you live. We talk about the breathtaking vistas and hidden histories revealed to us through the windows of public transit, and how what we see – or don’t see – shapes our connection to the Bay Area.Guests:Vincent Woo, filmmaker, Woo is the creator and director of "Tunnel Vision: An Unauthorized BART Ride"Liam O'Donoghue, host and producer, East Bay YesterdayMey Lee , co-curator, "Muni Raised Me" exhibit featured at SOMA Arts earlier this year. Working on another "Muni Raised Me" exhibition for later this year.Sarah Katz-Hyman, editor, Muni Diaries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pop-up whose Instagram you DM the moment orders reopen. The chef who makes the best dish you’ve ever tasted on a compostable plate. The baker whose vegan desserts have the perfect level of sweetness. California’s pop-up scene flourished in the pandemic, and a new state law eases restrictions for chefs who operate out of their home kitchens. We’ll talk to pop-up entrepreneurs across the state about their culinary creations — and about the challenges of running a pop-up itself, from finding venues to marketing and permitting. And we’ll hear about your favorite pop-up bakers, chefs and coffee-makers — and what you recommend ordering from them.Guests:Adhiti Bandlamudi, Silicon Valley reporter, KQED; runs the new popup Badam BabeAnand Upender, creator, Bay Area pop-up York Street Coffee and the pop-up dinner series "Just Some Folks"Rashida Holmes, chef-owner, Bridgetown Roti, a Caribbean American food pop-up based in LAVandor Hill, owner, Whack Donuts, a vegan donut pop-up in the Bay Area Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Savanah Leaf’s debut feature-length film “Earth Mama” follows Gia, a pregnant 24-year-old single mother of two who is struggling to get her kids back from the foster care system and weighing whether to keep her baby. Set and filmed in Oakland, the film explores Black motherhood, community, and the challenges of escaping cycles of trauma and poverty. Leaf based the film on her short documentary, “The Heart Still Hums,” which also focuses on the stories of young mothers trying to keep their children. We talk with Leaf about capturing the Bay Area’s essence in the film and the personal experiences that inspired it.Guests:Savanah Leaf, director, "Earth Mama." Leaf is also the director of the documentary short, "The Heart Still Hums." She was nominated for a Grammy for her music video "This Land" for Gary Clark, Jr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apps like Duolingo offer the tantalizing promise that learning a language will be easy. And fun! And fast! The playfulness of the apps turns language learning into a game to be mastered; on social media, you will find people flexing their streaks on the app. But do these apps work, and if not, what do we get out of it? We talk about learning a language with an app and hear whether an app has helped you gain some new words, phrases or conversation skills in a new language.Guests:Maria Carreira, executive director, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese - Carreira was formerly a professor of Spanish at CSU Long Beach and the co-founder and co-director of the National Heritage Language Resource Center at UCLA.Joshua Hartshorne, assistant professor, psychology, Boston College - Hartshorne directs the Language Learning Lab at Boston CollegeAndrew Moseman, writer, Moseman's latest piece for Slate is titled "What Do We Even Want from Duolingo?" Moseman is a former editor of "Popular Mechanics" and has written for The Atlantic, Fortune, Scientific American and Esquire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on four counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. We check in with KQED senior politics editor Scott Shafer about the importance of Trump’s third indictment, what it means for the 2024 election and how California’s Republican party is responding.Then, we talk to Lydia Kiesling, a former resident of the Bay Area, about her new book, “Mobility." Bunny Glenn, the protagonist in Kiesling’s novel, voted for Barack Obama, believes in the science of climate change and, as the daughter of a diplomat was steeped in the effects of environmental devastation and resource wars. She also works in the oil industry. And it’s this ethical compromise, and all the little compromises people make every day, that center Kiesling’s novel. Inspired by the oil power grabs in former Soviet states, and drawn from her own childhood as the daughter of a Foreign Service officer, “Mobility” captures the rootlessness of a young woman struggling to find her place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last year, Americans in mental health crisis have been able to call or text the number 988 to receive immediate counseling, emotional support and community resources. The formerly 10-digit hotline re-launched with the idea that more lives could be saved with a number that’s easier to remember. And in its first year, 988 saw a 35% jump in service, receiving more than 5 million calls, chats and texts. Advocates say there’s still room to grow: according to the latest federal data, more than 12.3 million adults in the U.S. seriously considered suicide in 2021. We’ll talk about the successes and challenges of 988, one year in.Related link(s):Answering the Call: A Special Series On America’s New Mental Health Crisis Line (Tradeoffs)Guests:Dan Gorenstein, host and executive editor, “Tradeoffs,” a nonprofit health policy news organizationKeris Jän Myrick, California mental health advocate based in L.A.; vice president of partnerships, Inseparable [a mental health advocacy organization]; podcast host, "Unapologetically Black Unicorns"Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Driverless vehicles from autonomous ride services Cruise and Waymo can already be found all over San Francisco, and they may soon become much more common if a state commission grants them permission to expand operations. Some local officials argue the technology isn’t ready, pointing to recent examples of automated cars that stopped on roads, obstructing traffic or emergency responders. Others say the whole idea of self-driving cars is flawed. We’ll talk about the upcoming vote and where the robotaxi industry is headed.Guests:Annabel Chang, head of state policy and government relations, WaymoDan Chatman, associate professor and chair, Department of City and Regional Planning, UC BerkeleyDylan Fabris, community and policy manager, San Francisco Transit RidersKevin Truong, staff writer, The San Francisco Standard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal prosecutors added new charges against Donald Trump stemming from his willful mishandling of classified documents, alleging in a superseding indictment on Thursday that the former president sought to delete incriminating surveillance video at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Meanwhile, the country remains on “indictment watch,” as USA Today’s Josh Meyer reports, while Special Counsel Jack Smith weighs charges against Trump for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election. We examine the current and potential charges against Trump and their political impact.Guests:Josh Meyer, domestic security correspondent, USA TodayRory Little, professor of constitutional law, UC School of Law, San Francisco; former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The month of July is on track to be the hottest month on record for planet Earth. Three continents are blistering under heat domes. In parts of California, temperatures have gone well above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Los Angeles Times reporter Hayley Smith experienced this firsthand during a reporting trip to Death Valley, where in one day she experienced 128 degrees — which only cooled to 116 degrees at night. California Governor Newsom set up efforts to educate the public about heat events; President Biden announced plans to help communities adapt. But will this be enough? As part of our “Climate Fix” series with the KQED Science team, we’ll talk about how our future is heating up and what can be done to cool our planet.Guests:Danielle Venton, science reporter, KQED NewsJeff Goodell, author, "The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on A Scorched Planet," "Big Coal," and "The Water Will Come;" Guggenheim Fellow; regular commentator on energy and climate issues, CNN, MSNBC, and other outletsHayley Smith, reporter focusing on extreme weather, Los Angeles TimesKaren A. McKinnon, assistant professor, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Department of Statistics - McKinnon studies large-scale climate variability and change, with a particular focus on connections to high-impact weather events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since Mattel launched Barbie into the world in 1959, the doll has been adored for her ability to show girls they can do anything and loathed for her abnormal body proportions. Now, in the first live action film featuring Barbie, she’s on center stage. In the film Barbie is forced to leave her home of ‘Barbieland’—prompting an adventure in the real world and discovering along the way that perfection is found within. Materialism, gender norms, beauty ideals, race, feminism and the patriarchy are all themes in director Greta Gerwig’s $145 million film. Are we all good with Barbie now? What’s the impact and legacy of Barbie on culture today?Guests:Rae Alexandra, staff writer, KQED Arts & Culture; creator and author, "Rebel Girls from Bay Area History" seriesNadra Nittle, education reporter, The 19thAntonia Cereijido, executive producer, LAist Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices