KQED's Forum

Brittney Griner, the WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, remains detained in Russia after a court there sentenced her earlier this month to nine years in prison for carrying a small amount of hashish oil into the country. Her conviction and sentence came after a month-long trial widely denounced as a sham designed to give Russia political leverage over the United States. Griner’s case, painful in its injustice, is not unique: foreign governments are unlawfully holding dozens of Americans, and government hostage-taking is on the rise. We’ll talk about the impacts on families of political prisoners and what it may take to bring Griner and other Americans home.Guests:Jason Rezaian, global opinions writer, The Washington Post; author, "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison–Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out"Danielle Gilbert, Rosenwald fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy & International Security, Dartmouth CollegeKierra Johnson, executive director, National LGBTQ Task Force Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the first coffee shop or food truck rolls into a neighborhood, many locals have come to fear what might be coming next: rising housing prices and displacement. Restaurants, farmers markets and coffee shops are often a harbinger of gentrification. Some restaurateurs, and the food critics that send customers their way, have been grappling with the role they play in disrupting longstanding communities, and what they can do to create a positive presence in a community. As part of our regular series, All You Can Eat, with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk with food critics and food professionals about gentrification, food and community.Guests:Cesar Hernandez, associate restaurant critic, San Francisco ChronicleLuke Tsai, food editor, KQEDMona Holmes, reporter, Eater Los AngelesReem Assil, chef, Reem's California; author, "Arabiyya: Recipes From the Life of An Arab in Diaspora"Jay Foster, chef, restauranteur and marketplace general manager, La Cocina - non profit that helps immigrant women formalize their food businesses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who guided the U.S. through the AIDS and Covid-19 pandemics, announced on Monday that he’s stepping down in December as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as chief medical advisor to President Biden. Meanwhile, CDC chief Rochelle Walensky has announced plans to overhaul the agency, telling staff in an internal video last week that it's "responsible for some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes" in its handling of Covid-19. We talk to UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter about both events and hear your reflections.Guests:Dr. Robert "Bob" Wachter, professor and chair of the Department of Medicine, University of California, San FranciscoMichael Specter, staff writer, The New Yorker; author of "Fauci" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill on Monday that would have allowed San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles to test out supervised drug use centers. New York City is home to two such centers that are operated and funded by nonprofits. Advocates say those centers have saved dozens of lives of people who otherwise may have overdosed on city streets while critics say they encourage drug addiction. We’ll discuss whether advocates will keep pushing for safe injection sites in California and how effectively those centers have functioned in other places.Guests:Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown showHeather Knight, columnist, San Francisco ChronicleCaroline Lewis, health reporter, WNYC/New York Public RadioStephanie Nolen, global health reporter, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It may seem a bit strange to be talking about [the] rising risk of a California megaflood amidst severe drought. But it’s not as paradoxical as it might seem,” tweeted Daniel Swain, co-lead author of the recently published study in the journal Science Advances, “Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood.” Megastorms fueled by atmospheric rivers could bring more than 16 inches of rainfall across the state in one month. More rain than snow could fall in the Sierra Nevada, leading to extreme runoff. That’s according to the study’s climate models, which estimate that California’s current annual risk of a megaflood is 1 in 50 — with human-caused climate change projected to increase that risk over time. We’ll talk to the scientists behind the report about their findings and how California should respond.Related link(s):“The Coming California Megastorm,” The New York TimesGuests:Daniel Swain, climate scientist, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA and The Nature Conservancy of California.Xingying Huang, project scientist, Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.Michael Mierzwa, manager, Floodplain Management Branch, California Department of Water Resources (DWR). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a queer young poet in San Francisco’s underground literary scene, Michelle Tea writes that she thought of pregnancy “the same way I thought of any STD, but with a dose of the movie Alien." But soon after turning 40 she decided to give it a go, seeking a “less traditional, queer, and community-centric mode of making a family” In her new memoir "Knocking Myself Up," the acclaimed author writes about the ups and downs of that journey. She joins us to talk about the book and and the world of LGBTQ pregnancy and parenting.Guests:Michelle Tea, author and poet, her latest book is "Knocking Myself Up: A Memoir of My (In)Fertility." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Separating children was not just a side effect, but the intent,” writes The Atlantic’s Caitlin Dickerson in her recent investigation of the Trump Administration’s Zero Tolerance policy. Border agents separated more than 5000 migrant children from their families under Zero Tolerance, even as policymakers had no plans in place to adequately shelter, care for or even keep track of the surge in children they knew would fall into U.S. custody. We talk to Dickerson about her 18-month look at the origins of the U.S.’s forced separation policy and the bureaucratic machinery that enabled it.Guests:Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic - author of the investigation "The Secret History of Family Separation." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kaiser Permanente mental health workers across Northern California went on strike this week, calling for an increase in staffing. They say that crushing workloads are causing delays in care and endangering patients. Kaiser says it is the strike that is hurting patients, and points to a nationwide shortage of clinicians. In this hour of Forum we’ll get the latest on the negotiations and the growing demand for mental health services.(If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the 988 suicide hotline. For Kaiser members seeking help accessing care, the California Department of Managed Care Help Center is available at 1-888-466-2219 or www.HealthHelp.ca.gov. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, dial 9-1-1 or go to the nearest hospital.) Guests:Jocelyn Wiener, Health and Mental Health reporter, CalMattersIlana Marcucci-Morris, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, KaiserNaomi Johnson, Associate Clinical Social Worker, KaiserScott Wiener, California state senator, representing San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The mall is personal,” writes design critic Alexandra Lange in her latest book “Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall.” For denizens of the suburbs, the mall is the place where people got their first jobs, got their first taste of independence goofing around with middle school friends, or bought their first hot dog on a stick. And while often derided by design critics, the mall in its heyday has been immortalized in movies like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Clueless,” “Mean Girls,” and more recently “Stranger Things.” With the rise in the online economy, many have heralded the demise of these temples of commerce but malls continue to reinvent themselves. We’ll talk about the cultural and design history of malls and hear from you about your favorite mall memory.Guests:Alexandra Lange, author, “Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall”; design critic; columnist, Bloomberg CityLab Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has hit the East Bay’s Latino immigrant community disproportionately hard. And to make matters worse, many were unable to access services that were available - things like rent relief, food aid, and help with utility bills. A recent El Tímpano report, produced in collaboration with Latino USA, looks at the consequences of these obstacles as well as community solutions. We’ll discuss the report, the role of language barriers and touch on some of the unique challenges faced by Maya Guatemalans in the East Bay who speak an indigenous language called Mam.Guests:Tania Quintana, program coordinator, Education Super Highway; community organizer, researcher and writer.Madeleine Bair, journalist and founder of El Tímpano.Linda Roman, program specialist, Tech Exchange. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices