KQED's Forum

The one-term presidency of Donald Trump is less than two weeks away from wrapping up. In his last few weeks in office, he has vetoed a defense spending bill, delayed finalizing a contentious stimulus bill, and still won’t concede last November’s election. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic continues spreading at alarming high rates and taking the lives of Americans. We talk with Washington, D.C. journalists Ron Elving of NPR and Kimberly Atkins of The Boston Globe on the latest national political news.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following the winter holidays, California could see a coronavirus surge on top of a surge. Projections vary wildly. It all depends on whether we heed the travel warnings and stay-at-home orders. The state passed 2 million cases on Wednesday. Now hospitals and their employees are bracing for the worst. Meanwhile, we place our hopes in the vaccines. We’ll start by hearing from a registered nurse and researcher who participated in one of the vaccine trials.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his most recent book, "The Splendid and the Vile," author Erik Larson portrays Winston Churchill — and the family members and advisors around him — during his first year as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Larson, a bestselling nonfiction writer and author of "Devil in the White City," joins us to talk about Churchill’s leadership, from his taking office on the day Germany invaded Holland and Belgium to the way he’s remembered today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following her critically-acclaimed debut novel "Homegoing," novelist Yaa Gyasi returns with “Transcendent Kingdom.” The story follows Gifty, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience at Stanford University. After losing her brother to a heroin overdose and while caring for her suicidal mother, she is determined to find a scientific reason for suffering. But even as Gifty embarks on her scientific quest, she finds herself longing for the faith of her childhood to help reckon with her family’s pain. Like Gyasi, the character Gifty comes from an immigrant family from Ghana and grew up in an evangelical household in Alabama. We'll talk to Gyasi, who spent time in California as an undergraduate at Stanford, about the book and the desire to understand human pain and suffering. (Originally broadcast 9/18/20) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Lysley Tenorio’s new novel “The Son of Good Fortune,” depicts the coming-of-age story of Excel, a young undocumented person living in the United States who was born during a flight between the Philippines and San Francisco. The novel explores Excel’s life “in hiding” and his struggle to avoid calling attention to himself even as he forms relationships, leaves home for the first time and attempts to survive on his own. The book is a follow up to Tenorio’s 2012 story collection, “Monstress.” Tenorio, who lives in San Francisco, was born in the Philippines and teaches at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga. Tenorio joins us to discuss his writing and latest book. (Originally broadcast Sept. 1, 2020) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to Dr. Larry Brilliant, CEO of Pandefense and an epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox, we are living through "the best of times and the worst of times." While the vaccine, which was discovered, developed and produced within a year’s time, gives hope that the pandemic will end, experts predict the U.S. death toll will continue to rise through the winter unless more steps are taken to put in public health policies on a nationwide basis. We listen back to Michael Krasny's recent interview with Larry Brilliant about the vaccine, its rollout and what we can expect in the months ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The coronavirus-induced recession has exacerbated income inequality in California and will only worsen unless political leaders take action, according to a new report from the Public Policy Institute of California. The pandemic is essentially pushing millions of Californians who were already living in poverty or paycheck to paycheck to the brink of financial disaster. We’ll listen back to Mina Kim's Dec. 9 interview with PPIC's Sarah Bohn about the report and the economic consequences of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered about those colorful squiggly lines you see painted on California's city sidewalks? They’re actually color-coded utility markings that represent an underground world of sewer pipes, electric cables and telecommunication lines. They're also an example of what Roman Mars calls the “boring stuff” of urban design -- the unnoticed elements that he says are just as essential as skyscrapers, bridges and parks. Mars is the host of the design and architecture podcast 99% Invisible and the author of the new book “The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design." He joins us to talk about why we should celebrate the overlooked and ordinary parts of our built urban environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Padilla joins us to discuss his new appointment as the first Latino to serve as California U.S. Senator. California Gov. Gavin Newsom selected Padilla, who serves as Secretary of State, to take over the seat vacated by Kamala Harris, vice president-elect of the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So far this month, two Bay Area tech heavyweights, Oracle Corp. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, said they would move their headquarters to Texas. The news set off fears that the Bay Area and California are losing their allure to big employers and could spell future economic distress. While companies have routinely moved out of the Bay Area, some experts say this time is different -- in a troubling way. Other experts say that while the moves are noteworthy, they won’t derail the Bay Area’s economy or tech industry in the long term. We discuss the state of the Bay Area exodus and the region’s economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices