KQED's Forum

The Kamala Harris campaign announced that in the 36 hours since President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, it had raised a record-breaking $100 million dollars. Republicans have numbers to match: after his conviction in May on fraud charges, Donald Trump’s campaign hauled in $141 million. But how will this money be used by the campaigns? As part of our Doing Democracy series examining how our political system works, we talk to experts and operatives about what the 2024 presidential election ground game might look like this cycle – is targeting voters the same game it used to be? And we’ll hear from you: How will you participate in November? Vote? Volunteer? Donate? All of the above?Guests:Yasmin Radjy, Executive Director, Swing Left and Vote ForwardMindy Romero, founder and director, Center for Inclusive Democracy, formerly the California Civic Engagement ProjectTeddy Goff, co-founder and managing partner, Precision Strategies. Goff was the digital director for the 2012 Obama campaign; in 2008, Goff managed the Obama campaign state digital efforts.Tim Miller, host, The Bulwark. Miller was previously senior advisor to the Our Principles PAC. He served as the 2016 communications director for Jeb Bush, and is a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee. He is the author of “Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Times diplomatic correspondent Edward Wong says that he is the “son of two empires.” He grew up outside of Washington, D.C. during the Cold War when the containment of communismundergirded all of U.S. foreign policy. But his parents grew up in rural China, where his father became a follower of Mao Zedong and joined soldiers, workers and students who believed Mao’s China could stand up to what they saw as U.S. imperialism. Wong traces and reflects on his father’s journey and the evolution of modern China in his new book “At the Edge of Empire.” He joins us.Guests:Edward Wong , diplomatic correspondent, The New York Times; author, "At the Edge of Empire: A Family's Reckoning with China" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The selection of former venture capitalist J.D. Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee is a sign that Silicon Valley is no longer the liberal stronghold it once was. A cadre of powerful venture capitalists and tech elites are pouring tens of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump this November – a stance that would have been shocking back in 2016. Experts say tech executives want less regulation, lower taxes, and more government contracts. But with President Joe Biden out of the race, other Silicon Valley donors may turn up to support Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to win the presidency. We’ll talk about the key players shifting Silicon Valley to the right, who they are supporting, and why.Guests:Max Chafkin, tech reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek; author, "The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power"Makena Kelly, politics reporter, WiredTeddy Schleifer, reporter covering campaign finance and billionaires, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a historic move on Sunday, President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. In a tweet, he offered his “full support and endorsement” to Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. We’ll spend both hours of Forum talking with KQED’s politics team and checking in with others about what’s next for the democratic party and the presidential race.Guests:Rusty Hicks, chairman, California Democratic PartyEleni Kounalakis, lieutenant governor for the state of CaliforniaJared Huffman, U.S. Representative for California's 2nd congressional districtJohn Garamendi, U.S. Representative for California's 8th congressional district; former California Lt GovernorMarisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political BreakdownGuy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a historic move on Sunday, President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. In a tweet, he offered his “full support and endorsement” to Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. We’ll spend both hours of Forum talking with KQED’s politics team and checking in with others about what’s next for the democratic party and the presidential race.Guests:Willie Brown, former mayor of San FranciscoAimee Allison, founder and president, She the PeopleMark Buell, major Democratic party donor and philanthropistScott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political BreakdownMarisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host of KQED's Political BreakdownGuy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government Desk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Avocados, a favorite in many dishes, have grown into a $3 billion industry for Mexico. Michoacán, one of the few places in the world where avocados can grow year round, produces over 70% of the country’s exports. But as the global appetite for this green fruit expands, the industry has attracted cartels vying for control. This surge in demand has led to violence against local farmers, who also face environmental challenges like deforestation and shrinking water supplies. We learn more.Guests:Stephania Corpi Arnaud, journalist; podcast host, Caliber 60David Shortell, reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Potato juice instead of antibiotics. Using beer in lieu of sunscreen. Shoving a garlic clove up your nose for sinus trouble. These are some of the remedies you might find on TikTok. The internet and quackery are not new concepts, but health advice – both good and bad – is a hot ticket item on social media platforms, especially for Gen Z. In fact, according to a recent study, a third of Gen Z-aged TikTok users trust that app more than their doctors. We look at what happens when TikTok is your doctor, and hear from you: have you used social media to diagnose an ailment or get medical advice? How did it go?Guests:Keren Landman, senior reporter covering public health, emerging infectious diseases, the health workforce, and health justice, VoxJessica Malaty Rivera, science communicator and infectious disease epidemiologist; science communication lead, The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic; her social media feed came to prominence during the pandemicDr. Jen Gunter, OB/GYN and pain medicine physician; author, "The Vagina Bible" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

80 years ago, 320 men, mostly African American, died at Port Chicago, an ammunition depot in what is now Concord. It was the deadliest incident on U.S. soil during World War II. After the explosion the Navy charged more than 250 Black sailors with mutiny for refusing to return to work in dangerous conditions. On Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the explosion, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro exonerated the sailors, calling the charges, “an enormous wrong.” We’ll talk about the Port Chicago explosion and how the subsequent legal proceedings laid the foundation for the civil rights movement and the desegregation of the navy.Guests:Yulie Padmore, executive director, Port Chicago AllianceRev. Diana McDaniel, president, Friends of Port Chicago National MemorialDaryl Meeks, His father, Freddie Meeks, was imprisoned for 18 months for refusing to work under dangerous conditions after the Port Chicago explosion. He was pardoned by President Clinton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The GOP is expressing confidence that the presidential election will break in its favor as the Republican National Convention draws to a close on Thursday. The event has been organized around MAGA themes, including “Make America Safe Again” and “Make America Strong Again,” with speakers taking aim at familiar targets like President Biden, crime and border security. Meanwhile, Democrats remain deeply divided over whether President Biden should end his candidacy, after Los Angeles Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday publicly called on Biden to leave the race. We’ll get the latest with KQED’s politics team, which is on the scene in Milwaukee.Guests:Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political BreakdownGuy Marzorati, correspondent, KQED's California Politics and Government DeskScott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government; co-host, Political Breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Rosen’s memoir “The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions” was a 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist and named a Top 10 Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic and Slate. It tells the story of Rosen’s childhood friendship with Michael Laudor, their teenage competition and years spent together at Yale, where Laudor stands out as a genius and academic superstar. After Laudor is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he seems poised to be “exceptional” in this way as well — successfully navigating his illness while transitioning from a locked psychiatric ward to Yale Law School. But his path with schizophrenia isn’t linear, and a violent crime he commits thrusts dominant narratives about mental health and the gaps in our healthcare system into the limelight. We’ll talk with Rosen about those gaps, how “good intentions” failed to provide a meaningful replacement for deinstitutionalization and the evolution of how we talk about schizophrenia.Guests:Jonathan Rosen, author, "The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions" - which was a 2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Memoir or Autobiography and named a Top 10 Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic and Slate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices