KQED's Forum

Journalist and author Maria Hinojosa was, as she put, “the first Latina in every newsroom I ever worked in." In her new memoir, “Once I Was You,” the longtime host of NPR’s Latino USA tells the story of her life as an immigrant, storyteller and advocate, as well as her challenging rise in broadcast journalism. Hinojosa details her struggles with anxiety, managing family and career, and becoming a media entrepreneur. She also provides a window into the historical events that shaped her life and stories she reported on such as the Salvadoran refugees she befriended in college who were displaced by U.S. interventions in Central America. For decades, she has covered immigrants, the immigration system and the policies behind how America treats its most vulnerable residents. We’ll talk to Hinojosa about the book and the latest news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the United States marked a grim milestone: more than 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. Against this backdrop, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar moved to bar the national health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, from signing off on any new rules without his consent. Azar's sweeping declaration, called by some as a "power grab," would affect regulation of the nation’s foods, medicines, medical devices and other products, including vaccines. That’s according to a September 15th memo, obtained by the New York Times. We'll talk about the federal response to the pandemic and how the nation is faring in its fight against COVID-19. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Protesters across the Bay Area and nationwide continue to hold rallies today after a Kentucky grand jury declined yesterday to charge Louisville police in the murder of Breonna Taylor, who was shot in her home six months ago during a botched drug raid on a neighboring apartment. The grand jury brought criminal charges against only one of the three police officers involved in the raid for recklessing firing into the other apartment. We’ll talk about why the police avoided homicide charges and what’s next as advocates continue to fight for justice for Breonna Taylor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The climate crisis isn’t just an environmental one — it is also a crisis of leadership. That's according to Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson, co-editors of the new anthology “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis.” Johnson, a marine biologist and policy expert, and Wilkinson, author of "Drawdown," add that "we need feminine and feminist climate leadership, which is wide open to people of any gender." They feature examples of such leadership in their book, which presents the insights and expertise of diverse women leading on climate in the U.S. Johnson and Wilkinson join us to talk about the climate crisis, its multiplying threats and the women leaders addressing them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are 330 million people in the United States. Vox co-founder and economics journalist Matt Yglesias makes the case for adding 670 million more in his new book, "One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger." With an increased population size, the U.S. could maintain its status as a world superpower, increase its wealth and improve its population’s standards of living, Yglesias argues. We'll talk about how his argument relates to current domestic policies on climate change, immigration and family benefits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is prison necessary? That’s a central question in the work of longtime prison abolitionist and well-known prison scholar, Ruth Wilson Gilmore. A co-founder of activist organization Critical Resistance, Gilmore’s seminal book “Golden Gulag” analyzed California’s role in propelling both the prison building boom and tough-on-crime sentencing in the U.S. Today, criminal justice reform is under a brighter spotlight, as calls to defund the police have increased and as jails and prisons became hotspots for COVID-19 with effects rippling through surrounding communities. Gilmore joins us to share her thoughts on the movement to defund police and the case for abolishing prisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, San Francisco-based artist George McCalman says that just as he was processing his own grief and anger, he found himself deluged with calls and emails from white acquaintances. Some of the messages expressed concern, but too many were clueless and empty, reflecting what he calls "an echo chamber of fragility." For his latest project, McCalman collected the phases that triggered him the most -- such as "Here if you ever want to talk" or "For your selfcare" -- and created paintings to reveal the "garish truth" that underlay them. We’ll talk to McCalman about his show, called “Tell Me Three Things I Can Do/Return To Sender.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facing a massive backlog of 600,000 cases, California’s Employment Development Department says it will not accept new unemployment claims until October 5 as it works to restructure its website to process claims more efficiently. The temporary “pause” comes after a state government report called on EDD to address a number of problems with its claims processing, such as outdated technology and inefficient fraud detection. We’ll discuss the report and how EDD plans to tackle these issues.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a nation already sharply divided along partisan lines, the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Republican plans to quickly confirm her successor has ignited new political fires. In this hour of Forum, we'll look at how this epic confirmation battle could shape the outcome of an election already upended by the pandemic and concerns about the U.S. Postal Service’s integrity with a political appointee of President Trump in charge. We’ll discuss the political landmines for both Republicans and Democrats so close to a pivotal election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of people gathered in San Francisco and at vigils across the country over the weekend in honor of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday at age 87. “I think a lot of us felt like, ‘Well, as long as RBG is there, we’re gonna be good, we’re gonna be good’,” San Francisco resident Shawn Rosenmoss told KQED News at the vigil. “Now I’m a little lost, which is why I’m here.” In this hour of Forum, we'll look back at the life and legal legacy of Ginsburg, a champion of gender equality and the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices