KQED's Forum

California has been pummeled by storms in recent months, but the benefit of that never-ending rain cloud is all the makings for a beautiful Bay Area spring. Rivers are gushing, wildflowers are blooming, mushrooms are sprouting and waterfalls are tumbling in places they haven’t been seen in years, We’ll talk to a panel of nature-lovers about what to look for and the best places to see the glories of spring.Guests:Radhika Thekkath, president, Santa Clara Valley chapter of the California Native Plant SocietyTracy Salcedo, outdoor guide author, has written multiple books about hiking in California, including “Hiking Waterfalls Northern California: A Guide to the Region's Best Waterfall Hikes.”Brad Day, publisher, Weekendsherpa.com - A free weekly e-mail about accessible outdoor adventures in the Bay Area.J.R. Blair, amateur mycologist and retired lecturer in Biology at San Francisco State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2024 presidential election is more than 18 months away. Yet it started months ago: not with Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s running again, but behind the scenes with the leaderships of the Republican and Democratic National Committees fighting it out amongst themselves for power and primacy. That’s the focus of the newest season of the New York Times’ podcast, “The Run-Up.” Host Astead Herndon joins to talk about how party leadership is gearing up for the next election and what’s at stake. And we’ll hear from you: Does your political party and its leadership represent your views?Guests:Astead Herndon, national political reporter, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For as long as rock climbing has existed, women have been pushing the limits on the wall. And they’ve done so without being properly recognized. But in the last decades, female climbing spaces have become more commonplace, helping climbers reach their full potential and demonstrating that climbing, unlike most popular sports, allows both women and men to perform at the same levels. Forum talks with female climbers about the gender neutrality of the sport, its physical and mental demands, and how more female climbers are closing the gender gap.Guests:Cloe Coscoy, climber, USA National TeamJessie Conrad, lead route setter, Bridges Climbing GymEmily Taylor, founder and director, TayloredFit Solutions and Brown Girls Climbing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About 16 million Americans – or about 1 in 20 U.S. adults – own at least one AR-15, making it the best-selling rifle in the United States. It’s also among the most lethal: ten of the 17 deadliest U.S. mass shootings in the last decade have involved AR-15s, according to “American Icon,” a new investigation by the Washington Post. We talk about why the AR-15, originally designed as a lightweight combat weapon, has risen to mass market dominance over the last two decades and why it’s remained free from congressional scrutiny.Guests:Mark Follman, national affairs editor, Mother Jones; author, "Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America"Peter Wallsten, senior national investigations editor, Washington PostSilvia Foster-Frau, multiculturalism reporter, Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With rising inflation, downtowns that are yet to fully reopen and regional bank failures, it may seem that there is not a lot of good economic news to report right now. But according to Katherine S. Newman and Elisabeth S. Jacobs, the authors of a new book, “Moving the Needle,” there is a major economic success story in the tight labor markets of recent years which helped bring the truly disadvantaged out of poverty. Newman and Jacobs say that low unemployment has not only increased wages, it has also changed employers’ minds about hiring the formerly incarcerated, the value of a minimum wage, and the importance of flexible schedules. We’ll talk about how the policies applied during periods of low unemployment can make a difference when economic times get tough.Guests:Katherine S. Newman, provost and executive vice president, Academic Affairs, University of California; co-author, "Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor"Elisabeth S. Jacobs, senior fellow, Urban Institute Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population; co-author, " Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, spanning what is now Kings, Tulare and Kern Counties before it was drained a century ago, Tulare Lake is on the verge of returning. Swelled by recent storms, it has inundated farmland, threatened cities, forced evacuations, disrupted livelihoods and reignited long-standing water wars. With record snow in the Sierra Nevada yet to run off, there’s more water coming. We’ll talk about what the re-emergence of Tulare Lake means for the region and the state.Guests:Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water ResourcesLois Henry, editor and CEO, SJV Water - an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin ValleyDoug Verboon, district 3 supervisor, Kings County Board of SupervisorsKayode Kadara, community leader, Allensworth - in southwest Tulare County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Residents of Martinez woke up the morning after Thanksgiving last year to find a white powder coating their neighborhoods. About a week later, county health officials announced it was a toxic release from Martinez Refining Co. and, after another several weeks, residents were told not to eat any food grown in their soil. Now, on Wednesday, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will present the Martinez City council with its report on where the two tons of “spent catalyst” landed. Forum talks with residents and officials about their quest to get answers and accountability, and the uneasy relationship between the area’s refineries and the neighbors who share their air.Guests:Heidi Taylor, resident of MartinezCharles Davidson, Sunflower AllianceMatt Kaufmann, deputy director, Contra Costa Health ServicesOri Tzvieli, health officer, Contra Costa County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“In Indian Country, everybody seems to know somebody who’s gone missing or been murdered,” begins LA Times reporter Hannah Wiley’s reporting on the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in California. The Sovereign Bodies Institute reports that at least 183 indigenous women and girls have disappeared or were murdered in California, a figure it says could be many times higher owing to incomplete data. Their disappearances are part of the legacy of anti-Indigenous violence, experts say, and perpetuate cycles of generational trauma. We hear how Northern California’s Yurok Tribe is addressing the crisis and trying to achieve justice for those who have disappeared in their own community and nationwide.Guests:Hannah Wiley, politics reporter, Los Angeles TimesHonorable Abby Abinanti, chief judge, the Yurok Tribal CourtBlythe K. George, associate professor of sociology, UC Merced; member of the Yurok TribeChief Greg O'Rourke, chief of police, Yurok Tribal Police Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When he was named San Francisco Poet Laureate in 2021, Tongo Eisen Martin said, “I want to push even further into places where poetry has not yet permeated.” He’s taken poetry to youth in homeless shelters, group homes and psych wards. Using poetry as a means to bring power, beauty and truth to more people is a goal that unites several poets and poet laureates joining Forum to mark the beginning of National Poetry Month. Forum wants to celebrate your favorite contemporary poets and find out how poetry shows up in your life. Join us for a conversation with poets about poetry.Guests:Tongo Eisen-Martin , San Francisco Poet LaureateDr. Ayodele Nzinga, Artistic Director, The Lower Bottom Playaz - artist, activist and Poet Laureate of OaklandMarcelo Hernandez Castillo, poet and author of the poetry collection, "Cenzontle" and the memoir, "Children of the Land"Leticia del Toro, poet and educator - recently released the collection of poems, “All We Are Told Not to Touch”Lee Herrick , Poet Laureate of California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America gradually becomes a cashless society, credit card rewards programs have become increasingly popular, offering to give consumers back a portion of what they spend in the form of points to be used on flights or hotel stays, or cash back. To pay for these rewards, credit card companies have raised the fees they charge merchants for every credit card transaction, and merchants in turn pass that increased cost onto customers by raising prices. These higher prices impact all consumers, but only those with credit cards, on average wealthier than those without, enjoy the resulting benefits. We talk about this system where those without credit cards foot the bill for the rest.Guests:Chenzi Xu, assistant professor of finance, Stanford Graduate School of BusinessAaron Klein, chair and senior fellow in economic studies, Brookings Institution; former deputy assistant secretary for economic policy, the Department of Treasury (2009-2012) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices