KQED's Forum

California’s mask mandate for its K-12 schools ends after Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last month. The state now strongly recommends, but does not require, masks in K-12 school settings: that decision is now up to school districts. We want to hear your thoughts and questions about California’s lifting of its mask mandate for K-12 schools, especially if you’re a parent, educator or student. Leave us a voicemail: 415-553-3300.Guests:Grace Lee, associate chief medical officer for Practice Innovation and pediatric infectious diseases physician, Stanford Children’s HealthDr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist and deputy director for the Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public HealthHilaria Bauer, superintendent, Alum Rock Unified School District Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the outset of the war in Ukraine, many expected the Russian army would quickly capture the country. But images of trucks mired in mud and reports that Russian troops are running out of food suggest that Russia’s invasion has suffered from poor planning. It is the small, but important details of waging war – spare tires for blow outs, adequate fuel, sufficient food supplies for troops, the right kind of screws to repair a tank – that seem to have stalled the Russian invasion in Ukraine, to the surprise of analysts. We’ll look at how the everyday details of waging war, which has killed hundreds of Ukrainian men, women and children, have slowed the Russians down.Guests:Marc Champion, senior reporter covering Europe and Middle East, Bloomberg NewsDr. Cynthia Cook, director, Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group; senior fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)J.D. Williams, senior international and defense policy researcher, Rand Corporation; has served on the National Intelligence Council; retired Marine colonel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I like to think of cooking as a map,” writes J. Kenji López-Alt, the award-winning chef, cooking show host and author. But, he says, to learn the science and techniques that underlie a recipe is “like being given an atlas.” López-Alt’s newest book, “The Wok,” explains how to stir-fry, deep-fry, steam, simmer and braise in what he calls “the most versatile pan in your kitchen.” It also features more than 200 recipes. We’ll talk to López-Alt about what draws him to wok cooking, get his recipe tips and hear his reflections on his career so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a tax rebate to lessen the impact of rising gas prices in his State of the State address Tuesday, reiterating that California stands in solidarity with Ukraine, even as domestic energy prices increase because of the Russian invasion. We’ll look at the rebate proposal and analyze the address. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Picture an oyster and your imagination might autofill in a flute of champagne and an ocean view. But an oyster feast in the Bay Area may more often be a big, multiethnic family oyster barbecue or a binge on Taiwanese oyster omelets. As part of our series on the food cultures of the Bay Area with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk about the way we eat and celebrate oysters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New state data reveal that California workers face years-long waits to resolve cases of wage theft through California’s Labor Commissioner’s Office. Last year the average wait time for a worker to get a hearing on a claim that their employer didn’t pay owed wages was more than three years in Oakland – the worst in the state. San Francisco’s wait time was a little over two and a half years. According to advocates, the delays discourage workers from reporting wage thefts, in turn reinforcing systems of worker exploitation. The Labor Commissioner’s Office cites staffing shortages as a key problem in hearing cases efficiently, compounded by the pandemic. We’ll learn more about the causes and effects of California’s wage theft claims backlog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veterinarians are nearly three times more likely than the general public to die by suicide, and one in six has contemplated taking their life, according to recent studies. The industry has never been under more stress: during the pandemic, one in five households adopted a new pet, and the demand for veterinary assistance has risen exponentially. But many veterinarians are leaving the profession because of intense workloads, crushing student debt, hostile pet owners, and the trauma of euthanizing animals they’ve cared for from cradle to grave. We’ll talk about the mental health challenges veterinarians and vet techs are facing, and what can be done.In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 and in Spanish at 1-888-628-9454. They offer Tele-Interpreter services in over 150 additional languages.Guests:Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, president, San Francisco SPCA; veterinarianDr. Susan Cohen, social worker; VIN Foundation Vets4Vets programDr. Cherese Sullivan, president, Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association; Dr. Sullivan is a practicing veterinarian.Dr. Melanie Goble, founding board member, Not One More Vet; Dr. Goble is a practicing veterinarian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has long embraced a philosophy of harm reduction in its drug treatment programs. The goal is to prevent deaths and disease by providing clean syringes, medications that help curb addiction, and other judgment-free treatment support. Studies show that this approach does save lives. But now the city is in the midst of a fentanyl-fueled overdose crisis, with more than 1300 deaths over two years. In response, some officials are questioning the effectiveness of the harm reduction model, calling for other options like abstinence-only treatment programs. We’ll discuss the history, science and politics of drug treatment in San Francisco.Guests:Keith Humphreys, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford School of MedicineVitka Eisen, president and CEO, HealthRIGHT 360Ahsha Safai, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 11Jen Jeffries , former IV drug user currently on methadone. Medication assisted treatment coordinator, San Francisco AIDS Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Friday U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the "world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe" after Russia shelled a nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine overnight. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack "nuclear terror" and continued to press for a no-fly zone over the country, a request NATO has so far denied. As the Russian invasion extends into its second week, we'll hear the latest developments from the ground and talk about how the global community is responding, and realigning, in support of Ukraine.Guests:Steven Pifer, William Perry fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University; former ambassador to UkraineRichard Ensor, Ukraine correspondent, The Economist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to increase inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday. Inflation was already on the rise in the U.S.: prices rose 7.5 percent in January compared to last year, the highest inflation rate since the early 1980s. The word inflation often invokes the specter of the 1970s, a time of economic crisis, energy shocks, and the fracturing of the post-war social contract. The historical analogy also suggests some courses of action — like cutting government spending and raising interest rates. But are the 2020s, with our pandemic related supply shortages and Great Resignation, so similar to the 1970s? And if not, how should we be thinking about our inflation? We'll be joined by a historian and an economist who will help us think through what rising prices have meant and what they mean today.Guests:Meg Jacobs , senior research scholar in History and Public Affairs, Princeton UniversityJ.W. Mason, economist, Roosevelt Institute; professor of economics, John Jay College at the City University of New York Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices