KQED's Forum

Summer months bring longer hours to enjoy everything our region has to offer from music festivals, movie nights in a park, and picturesque hikes. What are you most excited about doing this summer in the Bay? Is there a free concert series in a city park, a bike ride through wine country, a favorite swap meet or beach that you’re looking forward to? We’ll talk about some of the great concerts, festivals and events coming up in the Bay Area this summer. And, we want to hear from you. What is your favorite Bay Area summer tradition?Guests:Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & CultureJohnny Hayes, founder, AKA Johnny Funcheap; co-founder, RushTixAzucena Rasilla, arts and community reporter, OaklandsidePete Crooks, senior writer and editor, Diablo MagazineLance Gardner, events producer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last nine years, five nonprofits with names like American Veterans Honor Fund and American Police Officers Alliance — which purport to raise funds to build political support for police, firefighters and veterans — have become some of the nation’s biggest sources of robocalls. That’s according to a new New York Times investigation which found that of the $89 million the nonprofits received, virtually all went back to fundraising and paying the groups’ operatives. We’ll hear about the scheme and how lax oversight and gaps in the federal campaign finance system may have enabled it.Guests:David Fahrenthold, investigative reporter, New York Times. Fahrenthold focuses on nonprofits, and his most recent New York Times piece is titled "How to Raise $89 Million in Small Donations, and Make It Disappear." He previously reported for the Washington Post where he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his political campaign coverage and investigative reporting on Donald Trump's claims of donations to charities.Ellen Aprill, law professor emerita, Loyola Law School. Aprill is an expert in nonprofit and tax-exempt organization law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month the Oakland City Council unanimously voted to rename a section of MacArthur Avenue, Tupac Shakur Way, as a reminder, the resolution reads, of rap icon’s contributions “as an awakening tool towards changes in society.” But the Shakur family’s radical legacy far predates Tupac. In his new book, “Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created” Santi Elijah Holley’s details the history of the Black liberation movement through generations of the Shakur family. We talk with Holley about the Shakur family, the evolution of the Black liberation movement and its lasting impact on the country.Guests:Santi Elijah Holley, journalist and essayist writing on the intersection of culture, music, race, religion, and politics; author, "AN AMERIKAN FAMILY: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only two Black women have ever been elected to the U.S. Senate. The most recent, Kamala Harris, left to become Vice President and the Senate now has no Black women again. Oakland’s Barbara Lee, who is running for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat, could be the third in American history. But she faces the same obstacles as the other Black female candidates before her, including fundraising and being taken seriously by political insiders and the media. This hour we’ll explore the barriers they face, and the quandary surrounding Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pledge to name a Black woman to the Senate should Feinstein leave before her term ends.Guests:Shira Stein, Washington DC correspondent for the San Francisco ChronicleAimee Allison, founder and president, She the People - a national organization dedicated to building the political power of women of colorKimberly Ellis, director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women - former executive director of Emerge California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s just about summer and time to dig out the red-and-white checkered blanket for a picnic. From banh mi sandwiches at the beach or pork buns at a city park, the Bay Area has no shortage of picnic spots and foods. As part of our All You Can East series, we’ll talk with chef and picnic enthusiast Samin Nosrat and KQED food editor Luke Tsai about how to plan the perfect picnic. Whether you’re headed to the waterfront or Washington Square Park, tell us: what’s your favorite place for a picnic, and what food are you bringing?Guests:Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & CultureSamin Nosrat, chef and author of "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat," host of the Netflix special with the same name. Her new podcast is "Home Cooking." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“A multi-billion-dollar debacle three years in the making” is how CalMatters investigative reporter Lauren Hepler describes the current state of California’s unemployment benefit system. During the Covid pandemic, the already fraying system reached a backlog that affected more than 5 million workers while up to $31 billion was paid to scammers, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. At the same time, watchdogs claim the EDD wrongly denied up to a million cases and mistakenly flagged more than half of those as fraudulent. More than 150,000 Californians are currently involved in the appellate process for their unemployment benefits, many accumulating debt and stress in the interim. We’ll learn more and hear what’s being proposed to fix the system.Guests:Lauren Hepler, investigative reporter, CalMattersNicolas Allen, graphic designer based in FresnoMadeline Maye, video editor based in BurbankJenna Gerry, senior staff attorney, National Employment Law Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In its nearly 35 years in operation, San Francisco’s Homeless Prenatal Program, has worked with the aim of breaking the cycle of extreme poverty by helping pregnant women with health care, housing, parenting classes and other needed services for themselves and their children. It’s a testament to that mission that the non-profit’s new executive director, Shellena Eskridge, is the child of a woman helped by the program. We’ll talk with Eskridge and Martha Ryan, the founder and former executive director of the Homeless Prenatal Program, about homeless families and the unique challenges they face.Guests:Shellena Eskridge, executive director, Homeless Prenatal Program; licensed clinical social workerMartha Ryan, founder and former executive director, Homeless Prenatal Program Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Supreme Court is known for its public docket of consequential cases, with scheduled oral arguments and lengthy decisions often released in the month of June. But the Court’s conservative majority has been making more use of the so-called “shadow docket” for controversial cases, issuing perfunctory unsigned orders with little to no legal analysis. University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck argues it’s urgent that Supreme Court curtail its growing use of the shadow docket, and he joins us to explain why. His new book is “The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.”Guests:Stephen Vladeck, professor, University of Texas School of Law; author, "The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic"; co-host, the National Security Law podcast; Supreme Court analyst, CNN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco’s Union Square is known for a lot of things: department stores and high-end boutiques, a massive and ornate Christmas tree and a Cheesecake Factory with an amazing view of the city. It’s now also known for swaths of empty storefronts. Close to a quarter of the neighborhood’s 3.2 million square feet of retail space is available for lease, according to brokerage firm Avison Young. Foot traffic in the area has yet to recover from the pandemic, but vacancy was already creeping up for years as more shopping shifted online and rental rates shot up. We’ll talk about how the iconic retail district is doing, how the pandemic shook up brick and mortar retail and what could happen next.Guests:J.K. Dineen, Bay Area real estate reporter, San Francisco ChronicleAmanda Mull, staff writer, The AtlanticMarisa Rodriguez, CEO, Union Square Alliance - a business improvement district that provides security, maintenance, marketing, and capital improvements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The children’s classic Frog & Toad has been made into a new animated series for AppleTV+. The gentle and enduring friendship between those two characters allowed its author, Arnold Lobel, to, according to his daughter, explore and embrace his own sexuality as a gay man. Characters in children’s books allow readers to imagine a different world for themselves. Whether it is the Lorax, Iggy Peck (Architect), or Harriet the Spy, the characters in children’s books can make you feel seen or help you identify emotions that you didn’t know you had. We’ll talk to an author and a bookseller about the characters who bring books to life, and we’ll hear from you: Who is a character in a kids’ book that remains important to you or the children in your life?Guests:Michelle H. Martin, Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services, MLIS Program Chair, University of Washington's School of InformationMac Barnett, author of the children's books "Circle," "Square" and "Triangle," which have been made into a new animated series "Shape Island" on AppleTV+. Barnett is the author of the "Mac B. Kid Spy" and the "Jack" series. His books have won Caldecott honors and E.B. White Read Aloud Awards.Thu Doan, children's book buyer, East Bay Booksellers, a bookstore located in Oakland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices