KQED's Forum

Owls have long fascinated humans. They appear in cave art dating back 30,000 years. They are an integral part of the Harry Potter universe. Why are we so enthralled by these creatures, who contrary to popular belief cannot turn their heads 360 degrees? In her new book, “What An Owl Knows,” science writer Jennifer Ackerman tackles this question. Thanks to new technology and decades of research, we know more about owls than we ever have, including why their eyes are so big, how they can fly without making noise, and whether they are truly monogamous. Ackerman joins us and we hear from you: What’s your favorite owl story or sighting?Guests:Jennifer Ackerman, science writer; author, "What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World's Most Enigmatic Birds" and also "The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think" and "The Genius of Birds" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Until recently Wood Street in West Oakland was the site of the largest homeless encampment in Northern California. To launch our new series on homelessness in the Bay Area, Forum broadcasts live from Wood Street. We’ll talk with people who lived in the encampment before it was cleared by the city in April, and with city and county officials, about alternatives to encampments for unhoused people and Oakland’s strategy for addressing the homelessness crisis.Guests:Erin Baldassari, housing affordability reporter, KQEDLaTonda Simmons, interim homeless administrator, city of OaklandLucy Kasdin, director, Alameda County Health Care for the HomelessMoose, former resident, Wood Street encampment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends tracking friends. Parents tracking kids. Spouses tracking each other. Location sharing has become all the rage in our over-connected world. The feature can be especially handy during an emergency, and can foster a sense of safety, community, and connection. But location sharing can also be misused, leading to privacy concerns and risks such as stalking or harassment. And teens report a “fear of missing out” feeling when they see friends gathering without them. Should we know where our friends and family are at all times? Is this helpful? Healthy? We’ll talk about the pros and cons of sharing coordinates and hear from you: do you love it? Or does it make you uncomfortable?Guests:Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent covering social platforms and creator economy, Vox - Jennings wrote the recent piece is "Should We Know Where Our Friends Are at All Times?"Julie Jargon, family and tech columnist, Wall Street Journal - Her recent pieces include "Is It OK to Track Your Spouse's Location?" and "Why Teens Say Location Sharing Is the Greatest -- and the Worst."Mahi Jariwala, junior, Monte Vista High School; member, KQED's Youth Advisory BoardJoshua Bote, assistant news editor, SFGATE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watery eyes, a runny nose, quick, desperate breaths: all signs of you may have shaken out, purposefully or not, a few too many dashes of hot sauce. Despite the pain that may come, people can’t seem to get enough of fiery sauces. This is particularly true in the Bay Area, where spice is integral to many of our favorite cuisines. In our latest All You Can Eat segment, we’re talking about how hot sauces bring food to life with KQED’s food editor Luke Tsai and several hot sauce connoisseurs including restaurateurs who have made their own concoctions, or who carry on the recipes created by their ancestors.Guests:Luke Tsai, food editor, KQEDTim Herod, co-owner, Wood Goods and Hot SauceVictor Escobedo, owner of Papalote and self appointed culinary sociologistSarah Kirnon, chef, former owner of Miss Ollie’sAzalina Eusope, owner of Azalina’s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From low Earth orbit projects to potential moon landings, a 21st century space race is heating up. Following the lead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a multitude of private companies are now competing to commercialize space and transform the industry, which up until now has largely been dominated by NASA and government contracts. Technology journalist Ashlee Vance follows the trajectories of four of those companies in his new book “When The Heavens Went On Sale,” and he joins us to talk about this new era of satellites, rockets and for-profit re-envisionings of our relationship with space.Guests:Ashlee Vance, technology writer, Bloomberg Businessweek; author, "When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach," and "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aisha Harris has long been an observer of pop culture. Today she serves as critic and co-host of NPR’s hit podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, but in the 1990s she was growing up in suburban Connecticut, watching The Powerpuff Girls, and listening to her parents play (and often sing) Stevie Wonder. In her new book “Wannabe,” Harris takes a close look at the pop culture that has shaped who she is today. We talk to her about the book, her thoughts on modern fandom, the evolution of the Black Best Friend trope, and why every show or movie of yesteryear is being remade today.Guests:Aisha Harris, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump will be arraigned in a Florida courtroom on charges that he mishandled classified documents and attempted to obstruct justice. According to the 37-count indictment, Trump corralled top secret documents in closets, storage rooms and even a bathroom in Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence. Included in the documents were information about the country’s nuclear program as well as top-secret military information. We’ll discuss the criminal case against Trump, which includes 31 claims that Trump violated the Espionage Act, as well as its implications for national security and the election.Guests:Shanlon Wu, former federal prosecutor and defense attorneyMike Madrid, co-founder, The Lincoln Project - a group of Republicans seeking to prevent the re-election of President Donald Trump, and political consultant and Partner, GrassrootsLabSarah Wire, Justice Department, National Security and government accountability reporter, Los Angeles Times focusing on Jan. 6 and domestic extremism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss the Ukraine military’s long-awaited counter-offensive, signaling a new phase in its war with Russia. The push comes as the country reels from the catastrophic Nova Kakhovka dam collapse. We’ll get the latest from Ukraine and talk with the director of a new documentary on the war, “20 Days in Mariupol”.Guests:Steven Pifer, affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University; former ambassador to Ukraine; senior director, the National Security Council in the Clinton administrationIgor Markov, member of the Board of Directors, Nova Ukraine; research scientist, MetaMstyslav Chernov, video journalist, Associated Press; director, the documentary, "20 Days in Mariupol"Melinda Haring, nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diet culture permeates our society. And that’s impacting our kids. Children as young as 3 learn to associate being fat with negative traits, and anti-fat bias can be found in the doctor’s office, in the classroom and on the sports field. In her new book “Fat Talk,” author Virginia Sole-Smith argues we need to take a new approach to how we navigate and discuss fatness and anti-fat bias with our children. Because the current stigmatization isn’t making our kids any healthier. We talk with Sole-Smith about why the word “fat” is OK to use, how to talk about body size and why diets — even those masked as lifestyle changes — can backfire with children and adults.Guests:Virginia Sole-Smith, journalist and author, "Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture," and "Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America;" she also publishes the newsletter "Burnt Toast" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Singer Sid Sriram was born in southern India, but his family moved to Fremont when he was just a year old. His voice and his sound are the product of his family’s legacy as carnatic traditional signers and of a childhood in the Bay Area suburbs, listening to jazz and hip hop. Sriram has already achieved fame in India, his career expanded globally after singing for Grammy-Award winning composer A.R. Rahm, and he was recently featured in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. He joins us in our studio to sing from his new album and talk about growing up Indian-American in the Fremont and what it’s like to be more famous halfway across the world than where you went to high school.Guests:Sid Sriram, musician, his forthcoming album is Sidharth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices