KQED's Forum

Many young women depend on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system as their primary mode of transportation... But young women and girls riding BART say they have experienced harassment from catcalling to stalking and unwelcome sexual advances… forcing many to spend large amounts of money on ridesharing options like Uber and Lyft. In 2018, the violent murder of Nia Wilson on the MacArthur station in Oakland brought awareness to racially charged attacks on public transit. We hear about a new community led partnership to combat gender-based violence and harassment on BART. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans are the least worried about contracting COVID-19 than they have ever been since the start of the pandemic, according to a new Gallup poll. Factors contributing to the optimism include the drop in cases in most states and improvements in vaccine rollout. Now, California Governor Newsom has promised a full reopening by mid-June if the state can keep hospitalizations low. We want to hear from listeners:  How are you adjusting mentally or changing your behavior as re-opening becomes imminent?   How has your vaccination status affected your outlook?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In her book of essays, “White Space,” writer Jennifer De Leon explores how she became a writer — a journey inextricably linked to her parents’ migration from Guatemala to the United States. Throughout her life, De Leon carved a place for herself in spaces that felt unfamiliar: in the private college where she didn’t feel wealthy or white enough; in Guatemala where she immersed herself in a culture and language locals expected her to already know. This is De Leon’s second book release during the pandemic — her young adult novel, “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From,” came out last May. De Leon joins to talk about her Central American roots, her parents’ reservations about her career and writing in mostly white spaces.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that almost all businesses in the state may reopen on June 15 at or near full capacity, provided vaccine supplies are stable, hospitalization rates remain low and certain large-scale indoor events implement vaccine or testing requirements. The statewide mask mandate will also stay in place. We'll discuss the public health implications of the reopening plan, and we'll also talk about the status of vaccine rollout efforts globally as new coronavirus variants raise alarms among public health officials worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century ago, nearly one million Black farmers worked the land across the United States. Today, there are around 45,000 Black farmers. Investigations into the United States Department of Agriculture found that starting in the 1950s, illegal and discriminatory loan programs resulted in enormous wealth transfers from Black to white farmers, and are at the root of this decline. In her new book "We Are Each Other's Harvest," Natalie Baszile, author of novel "Queen Sugar," looks at what happened. Through essays, poems, photographs and personal stories, she documents the rich agricultural history of African Americans. We'll talk with Bay Area based Baszile about the book, some of the farmers she's met and what's in the American Rescue Plan to help reverse the trend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the pandemic, California home buyers gobbled up single-family homes in exurbs and suburbs while low-income earners struggled to make rent. The median home price in California rose roughly 20 percent during the past year to about $700,000, according to the California Association of Realtors. At the same time, rents plummeted in many of the state’s biggest cities — especially in high-end luxury towers. But those drops do little to help millions of renters in California barely managing to keep roofs over their heads. Part of the problem is that, based on some estimates, California faces a shortage of roughly 3 million homes. We examine how these trends could make California’s long-time housing shortage worse and what policies are on the horizon to address the problem.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Therapists have been in high demand during the pandemic, after shifting services online. But with no licensed psychologists in 33 percent of counties nationwide, the demand can be bigger than the supply.   That has set the stage for growing interest in services offering mental-health care on a smartphone. Startups offering digital behavioral health were able to raise $1.8 billion in funding in 2020, compared to $609 million the year before.  We’ll hear about therapy apps, and whether they can live up to their promises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can self-deception be beneficial? That’s one of the questions animating Shankar Vedantam’s new book “Useful Delusions,” which argues that holding false beliefs is not necessarily a sign of pathology or ignorance. We’ll talk to the Hidden Brain podcast host about the lies we tell ourselves — and each other — and the role some forms of deception play in sustaining relationships and advancing mental well-being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recording artists protested outside Spotify offices around the world last month as part of an ongoing movement to demand better pay. The streaming site’s payout rates have been decreasing over time, with artists today making approximately .0038 cents per stream. The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) wants the Swedish streaming company to pay one cent per stream. We break down how artists can make money today using online platforms and hear from some artists about why they say it’s not a living wage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Under pressure from lawmakers and public health officials, Facebook has recently ramped up efforts to combat Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on its site by banning anti-vaxxers and marking misleading posts as false. But according to Bloomberg tech reporter Sarah Frier, those measures are doomed to fall short because the company's platform by design favors sensationalism over scientific nuance. We'll talk about the impact of covid vaccine misinformation on social media sites and what more can be done to control it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices