KQED's Forum

A new exhibit at the Bedford gallery in Walnut Creek challenges our assumptions about what it means to see. “Sight Unseen” features the work of 13 blind photographers from around the world who use photography in very different ways. In describing his process Pete Eckert of Sacramento writes, “vision is so strong that it masks other senses, other abilities… I feel light so strongly that it allows me to see the bones of my skeleton as pulsating energy.” Scottish artist Rosita McKenzie said, “I sense the light on my face. I hear the rustle of the wind in the trees or smell the fragrance of the flowers in the air, and I think: I’ve really got to take this.” We’ll talk with the curator and featured artists from “Sight Unseen” about how sight-impaired people reveal the world as they see it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than a decade ago, historian Jean Pfaelzer was shown a photograph of a young Chinese woman, displayed for sale in a caged brothel in San Francisco in the 1870s. The image made Pfaelzer question her own assumptions about California’s claim to have entered the union as a free state and about the force and effect of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery at the end of the Civil War. Pfaelzer traveled the state for seven years excavating accounts of Black, Indigenous, Asian and immigrant enslavement, concluding that “the story of California is a history of 250 years of uninterrupted human bondage.” We’ll talk to Pfaelzer about her new book “California, A Slate State” and how we might reckon with a history that’s far darker than many Californians realize.Guests:Jean Pfaelzer, historian; author, "California, a Slave State" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic took a big toll on movie theaters nationwide, and the Bay Area continues to see closures of beloved theaters, like the Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco and the Regal UA Berkeley 7. But there have also been success stories, with many local cinemas fighting to keep their doors open and the movies rolling. We’ll check in with some of the people running those theaters about how their audiences have changed since the pandemic, the new things theaters are doing to bring people in and the role local theaters play in our communities.Guests:Adam Bergeron, co-owner, Cinema SF, which operates The Balboa, The Vogue, and the 4 Star theaters in San FranciscoLex Sloan, executive director, Roxie Theater in San FranciscoJ. Moses Ceaser, general manager, The New Parkway Theater in OaklandEllie Mednick, executive director, the Lark Theater in Larkspur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does it matter if life exists on another planet? To UC Irvine astrobiologist Aomawa Shields it matters in the same way that a mountain matters and screams to be climbed: not knowing is unbearable. Shields has devoted her career to studying the climate and habitability of exoplanets to further the search for extraterrestrial life. She’s also one of very few Black women in a field dominated by white men and a classically trained actor. We talk to her about her journey as a scientist and an artist and her new book “Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe.”Guests:Dr. Aomawa Shields, Clare Boothe Luce associate professor of physics and astronomy, UC Irvine; author, "Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a common belief about homeless people in California: they move here from other places because of the state’s tolerance, mild weather, and generous services. But according to a recent UCSF study, at least ninety percent of those experiencing homelessness lived in California before losing their housing and 75% are in the same county they used to live in. In the largest study of its kind in nearly three decades, researchers talked to thousands of participants about their experiences to find out what factors pushed them over the edge into homelessness. The real story, researchers found, has more to do with the state’s poverty, inequality, and high housing costs. As part of our ongoing series about homelessness in the Bay Area we’ll dig into the findings with the study’s author and formerly homeless Californians who advised on the project.Guests:Margot Kushel, director, UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, and principal investigator of the study; professor of medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital the Director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable PopulationsJesica Gianola, Lived Expertise Advisory Board representative, UCSF Benioff Homeless and Housing InitiativeRobynne Rose-Haymer, Lived Expertise Advisory Board representative, UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being laid off is brutal. It can knock people off career trajectories, destabilize people’s sense of their worth, and cause problems in their personal relationships. This year, the Bay Area has seen more than 15,000 layoffs in tech alone. So, our team here at KQED has gone out to collect the best advice on what to do when you’re laid off. How do you protect your mental health? What’s your next step in getting new work? Should you stay in your field or do something else? How do you talk to your partner or family about what’s happened? We’ll hear your stories and share the best advice that we’ve been able to find.Guests:Horst Govin, career coach, Job Hunt BootcampCarly Severn, senior editor of audience news, KQEDCarlos Cabrera-Lomeli, community engagement reporter, KQEDIoanna Angelakis, marriage and family therapist based in San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 70 percent of Californians say they’re happy living in the Golden State, but four in 10 are considering leaving. That’s according to a new survey called the California Community Poll, which found that economic anxiety and dissatisfaction with the state’s legislative priorities are among the top reasons people set their sights on moving. We’ll talk about what the poll says about our state’s varied, competing ideologies and how they map onto age, race and income. And we’ll hear from you: Why you stay, why you’d go, and what you want to see changed to make it easier for you to stick around.Guests:Dan Schnur, professor, Annenberg School of Communications at USC and UC Berkeley; helped direct the June 2023 California Community PollHelen Torres, CEO, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)Nancy Yap, executive director, Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (CAUSE) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bill banning caste-based discrimination in California workplaces is moving through the state legislature after the emergence of several high profile discrimination claims in Silicon Valley’s South Asian community. The claims were brought by Dalits, the most oppressed class in the social hierarchy determined by birth, who say they faced blatant prejudice from coworkers, and were punished when they tried to speak out. Opponents of the bill question the prevalence of caste discrimination in the United States and say the legal focus fuels negative stereotypes of South Asians and Hindus. We’ll talk to the lawmaker who wrote the bill and members of the South Asian community fighting for and against the law.Guests:Aisha Wahab, State Senator, from Hayward, CASonia Paul, independent journalist covering caste in the United States; producer, audio documentary for BBC, "The Hidden Caste Codes of Silicon Valley"Prem Pariyar, human relations commissioner, Alameda CountySuhag Shukla, executive director and co-founder, Hindu American Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action last month, its ruling was focused on college admissions. But some legal experts say that, in practice, the ruling could also discourage diversity efforts by employers. Many workplaces instituted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. But three years later, those policies are facing scrutiny from conservative legal groups — whom experts say may now be emboldened by the court’s ruling. We’ll talk about the role of DEI practices in the workplace, pushback these efforts may face and how it could all affect diversity where you work.Guests:Noam Scheiber, reporter covering workers and the workplace, The New York TimesNicole Sanchez, founder & CEO, Vaya Consulting - which advises tech and media companies on issues related to diversity and cultureRichard Thompson Ford, professor of Law, Stanford Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California native Ada Limón is the new poet laureate of the United States. She plans on, “elevating and promoting the expansiveness of poetry.” Limón, who has published six volumes of poetry, grew up in Sonoma and now lives in Kentucky. She says that poetry lived and breathed in her community growing up and has been key to her solitude as well as her sense of connection. She steps into her new role when America needs healing and unifying from art and artists. Limón joins us to talk about her work, her love of poetry, and how she’s reimagining America’s relationship to poetry.This segment originally aired Aug. 26.Related link(s): The Contract Says: We'd Like the Conversation to be Bilingual A New National Anthem National Poetry Month 2022: Ada Limón Reads “A Good Story” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices