KQED’s Forum

More than 600 California stoneworkers have contracted silicosis, a deadly and incurable lung disease resulting from exposure to the silica in engineered stone. The material, a go-to choice for home countertops, has been found to be toxic to the workers who cut, grind and polish it. Now, doctors, stoneworkers and activists are pressuring California lawmakers to ban the material and embrace available alternatives. At the same time, stone manufacturers and lawmakers are pushing federal legislation to protect manufacturers from worker lawsuits. Join us as we unpack the danger of artificial stone containing silica and the state of efforts to protect workers. Guests: Farida Jhabvala Romero, labor correspondent, KQED Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, pulmonologist and assistant professor, UC San Francisco; director, the Center for Silicosis Support and Research Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The public library is our country's last truly democratic institution,” writes celebrated librarian and public historian Dorothy Lazard. In her 40-year career, half at Oakland's main branch, Lazard was on the front lines of libraries' mission to provide free access to all and to serve as a hub of civic life. She was also witness to book bans, financial crises and the many challenges that threaten the institution. Her new book, “Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian's Memoir,” offers a personal portrait of how libraries work and the people that keep them functioning, and a rousing call to protect them. Guest: Dorothy Lazard, author, Behind the Desk at the Main: A Librarian's Memoir; former head librarian, Oakland History Center; author, What You Don't Know Will Make a Whole New World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's your favorite thriller novel? That's a question the New York Times posed this summer to renowned authors and critics, and now the Times is out with a list of the top 50 thrillers released so far this century. We'll talk to the list's editors about how it came together, what makes a great thriller, and why these books — including the number one pick, Gillian Flynn's “Gone Girl” — are so irresistible to readers. Guests: Gilbert Cruz, Canon editor, The New York Times Tina Jordan, Book Review deputy editor, The New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Social isolation has been declared a public health crisis by the U.S. Surgeon General. And you've likely heard about the male loneliness epidemic or how people are turning to AI bots forcompanionship. But across the Bay Area, shared hobbies are transforming strangers into close knit communities. We'll talk about KQED's Finding Your People series and hear from local subcultures – from mermaids to rock climbers – about the activities that have brought them together. How have you found your people? Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, editor and reporter, KQED Arts Beth LaBerge, photographer and visual journalist, KQED The Mermaid Atlantis, part of the Northern California mermaid scene Phillip Lang, rock climber and rapper, organizes meetups for the Black Rock Collective, a group of Black climbers in Oakland Simrill Smith, skates under the name Creech with the roller derby team San Francisco Rolling Dead, Bay Area Derby league Hannah Phamvu, a regular at meetups for romance novel fans at A Novel Affair bookstore in Los Altos Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, rightwing commentator Alex Jones peddled bogus conspiracy theories about the tragedy. The Sandy Hook families sued Jones for defamation and emotional distress, and in 2025 a court ordered Jones to pay them nearly $1.5 billion. Jones filed for bankruptcy, and as a court began to sort through his assets, the new owners of parody newspaper The Onion stepped in to take over his far-right platform, Infowars. We'll talk to Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, about the acquisition and what he plans to do with a “new” Infowars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has pulled millions of dollars of funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs nationwide as part of its push for abstinence-only sex ed. Many states, including California, have embraced comprehensive sex ed requiring students to learn about reproduction as well as topics such as consent and contraception. Experts have credited such programs for helping cause the teen pregnancy rate to plummet and say federal policies and loss of funding could prove harmful in the long term and may be part of a larger agenda to encourage childbirth. We'll talk about the Trump administration's policies, defunding of programs, and best practices for educating teens about a loaded topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration's push to execute the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history is unfolding in “a fog of fake numbers and statistical subterfuge.” That's according to The Atlantic's Nick Miroff, who covers immigration and the Department of Homeland Security. We talk to Miroff about the political pressures shaping the deportation push, the unintended consequences of blue state backlash to ICE detention facilities and how Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin is responding to attacks from far-right critics who say he's not aggressive enough on immigration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cyberattack on Suisun City over the weekend forced the city to shut down its network infrastructure and declare a state of emergency. City hall services remain closed. In March, Foster City also declared a state of emergency after a similar attack. And two weeks ago, seven states across the country reported tampering with local water systems, a cyberattack attributed to Iran. How vulnerable are American cities and critical infrastructure like electrical grids, sewage treatment plants, and communications to cyber warfare? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The burgers are so good that they're causing traffic jams. At least that's what's happening in Culver City, where the line of cars at spots like In-N-Out Burger spills beyond the parking lot and into the street. Now officials there are trying to ban new drive-thrus outright. These bans are not an entirely new phenomenon — San Luis Obispo banned drive-thrus back in 1982 — but they're getting newfound attention as recent pushes gain national attention. We'll look at California's role in the rise of fast food drive-thrus and examine whether the current moment could be the beginning of the end for a fast food staple. Guests: Shawn Hubler, Los Angeles bureau chief, The New York Times Adam Chandler, food columnist, The Wall Street Journal; author of “Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey Through the Heart of America's Fast-Food Kingdom” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related death for Americans under 50. And, for people in their 20s and 30s, the rate of incidences is expected to increase 90% by 2030. We explore what's causing this alarming trend, the warning symptoms everyone should know, and what's being done to improve treatment, advance research, and advocate for patients nationwide. Guests: Dr. Chloe Atreya, medical oncologist, UCSF; co-director, UCSF Young Onset Colorectal Cancer Center Molly Roberts, vice president of advocacy, Fight Colorectal Cancer! Amanda Webb, colorectal cancer survivor and advocate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would happen if a top-secret Russian lab released a deadly, weaponized, pathogen? That's the nightmare possibility that author Annie Jacobsen presents in her new book, “Biological War: A Scenario.” Drawing on hundreds of interviews with former defense secretaries, CIA and FEMA officials, scientists and counterterrorism experts, Jacobsen shows how we might respond hour-by-hour, and the outlook is grim. We'll talk to Jacobsen about why we can't ignore the existence of biological weaponry. Guest: Annie Jacobsen, author of “Biological War: A Scenario” and other books including “Nuclear War” and “The Pentagon's Brain” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“I've not gone back to any of the old places,” reflects the protagonist in the new novel “A Tender Age.” But that is just what the author Chang-rae Lee does, in this, his most personal book yet. Set in the 70s, the story follows an eleven-year-old Korean American boy caught between his doting immigrant parents and a roving pack of neighborhood kids — until one summer changes everything. Lee, a Stanford professor and Pulitzer Prize finalist joins us. Guest:Chang-rae Lee, author, “A Tender Age,” He is also the author of the award-winning novel “Native Speaker” and the Pulitzer Prize-nominated “The Surrendered,” among other works. He is a professor of creative writing at Stanford University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We all need to act more childish,” says professional child interviewer Julian Shapiro-Barnum, the YouTuber behind the viral series Recess Therapy. He's interviewed thousands of young kids to get their takes on love, family, adulthood — and corn. And he says he's learned from kids about how adults can better listen to their emotions, instincts and imaginations. Shapiro-Barnum's new book is “How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up.” He joins us and we hear from you: What has a kid taught you? Guests: Julian Shapiro-Barnum, comedian; interviewer for online shows “Recess Therapy,” “Celebrity Substitute,” and “Outside Tonight;” author, “How to Grow Up Without Becoming a Grown-Up: Big Lessons from Little Kids” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bosnian Muslim funeral practices, Togolese views on mental illness, traditional Chinese medicine and postpartum depression among African American women are some of the topics addressed by Oakland High students in their publication, “Cross-Cultural Medicine, Volume 8.” It's the latest installment of an annual capstone project for juniors in Oakland High's public health academy, the essays in which – written by students, drawing from interviews they conducted and research they analyzed – both celebrate their own cultures' approaches to medicine and examine mistrust of Western medical institutions. And it's taught annually at the health sciences-focused Samuel Merritt University as part of its culturally competent care curriculum. We'll hear from the students about the work they published and from the project's creator, Jessica Forbes, who teaches at Oakland High School. Guests: Skili Richardson, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “How to Care for a Woman Who Has Postpartum Depression;” illustrator, “Cross-Cultural Medicine, Volume 8″ front and back covers Charlene Kwan, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “Warmth from the Root” Nzubechukwu Ugo Egeonu, incoming senior, Oakland High School; author, “African Distrust of Western Medicine and Practices” Jessica Forbes, teacher, Oakland High School Sarah Koster, family nurse practitioner; professor, Samuel Merritt University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor and screenwriter Danny McBride has built his career portraying immature men. From “Eastbound and Down” to “The Righteous Gemstones,” McBride weaves satire and profanity to comment on American culture. In his new book, “Thrilling Tales of Modern Men,” McBride offers a collection of short stories about complicated men, and asks whether we can empathize with deeply unlikeable characters. He joins us to talk about what his new book has to say about modern American masculinity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area's homelessness crisis is one of the most acute in the nation, and it has concentrated in the region's biggest cities, like San Jose. Many communities have adopted new policies aimed at mitigating the crisis – from checks aimed at stabilizing vulnerable renters to making it illegal to refuse shelter beds. We examine the causes and potential solutions being implemented around the Bay Area, with a special look at a series of controversial new policies being implemented in the South Bay, including an effort to redirect funding from permanent housing projects to build more forms of temporary shelter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With domestic demand down and retaliatory tariffs from Canada hurting international sales, California's wine industry is struggling. But beyond this year's challenges, grape growers and winemakers are confronting the broader threat of climate change, which is already transforming places like Napa and Sonoma and could ultimately threaten the entire industry. We'll talk to researchers and winemakers about the looming threats and what changes are necessary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is racing toward the ambitious goal of a 100% clean energy grid by 2045. But trading fossil fuels for zero-carbon power isn't as simple as flipping a switch—it means overhauling the appliances, vehicles, and energy systems we've relied on for decades. We'll talk with state and local leaders about where we're making real progress and where we're falling short. And we'll hear from you: how is California's green energy transition impacting your daily choices and utility bills? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From woodworking to ceramics to baking, people are increasingly stepping away from their devices and embracing manual arts. This desire to work with our hands may speak to an anxiety with modern technology, but professor Joshua Habgood-Coote argues that the preoccupation with ancient crafts dates back thousands of years. Habgood-Coote calls this trend “skill nostalgia,” and he joins us to discuss what happens when we long for the past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, grassroots activists have led the way in pushing the government to regulate toxins that harm our health and wellbeing. The MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, movement has taken up some of that activism to fight the growing prevalence of environmental toxins such as pesticides, PFAS and microplastics. Though MAHA has lobbied U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and President Trump to reduce the pollutants, many have been disappointed by the administration's inaction. We'll talk about efforts to regulate environmental toxins and the Trump administration's approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A trusted press is essential to a thriving democracy, but recent studies show that Americans' confidence in news media has hit record lows — regardless of factors like geography and political affiliation. To blame are growing perceptions of bias and a sense that news reporting that doesn't feel applicable to everyday life. We look at why so few people trust the media — and what could be done to change that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Claire Stapleton started working at Google in 2007 she was a true believer, becoming known as the “Bard of Google,” by spinning positive narratives of the company. But by 2018, she was so disillusioned by the company culture that she helped organize the company's largest walkout to protest how Google handled sexual harassment cases.  We talk to Stapleton about her takes on the myths and the reality of Google  and her new book “Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and my Escape from Big Tech.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

E-bike crashes and injuries in California are increasing, a new study out of UC San Diego finds. And those injuries are not only more severe compared with conventional bikes, they'redisproportionately involving kids age 14 and younger. We'll hear how doctors, lawmakers andbiking advocates are responding to the risks posed by e-bikes – and by what some call emotorcycles – and we'll hear your takes about how we can make our roads safer for all. Guests: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, reporter, KQED Asha Weinstein Agrawal, professor and researcher, Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University John Maa, governor and former president, American College of Surgeons; former trauma surgeon, MarinHealth Medical Center; co-author of the new study from UCSD, “An exponential increase in e-bike injuries in California” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer reading season is here. What belongs in your beach bag — or on your nightstand? We talk with Bay Area booksellers and authors about the books that they recommend, from light, breezy reads to delicious mysteries to the doorstopper you've been putting off. And we hear from you: what are you reading? Guests: Vanessa Hua, author, “Coyoteland,” “Forbidden City” and “A River of Stars” Brad Johnson, owner, East Bay Booksellers in Oakland Kit Fitzgerald, co-founder, bookseller, Noe Valley Books Hannah deBree, founder, Tender Buttons Books, an online indie book site Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can ordinary people stand up to authoritarianism? For a new book called “On Courage,” investigative journalist Julia Angwin and political strategist Ami Fields-Meyer interviewed more than 100 dissidents from around the world about how they overcome fear, protect themselves against intimidation and persuade others to join their cause. We'll talk to the authors about the practical lessons they uncovered—and why they think courage is not innate, but learned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Luis Valdez has spent his life unapologetically telling Chicano stories. Born in Delano, he found his footing in the Bay Area and went on to produce “Zoot Suit,” the first Chicano play to make it to Broadway, direct “La Bamba,” one of the most successful Latine films ever. In a new documentary, “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” director David Alvarado put the camera in front of Valdez to tell his story. Valdez and Alvarado join us to talk about the documentary, the importance of capturing the Chicano experience and the stories they still want to tell.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 1.3 million people work as security guards in the United States, making the job one of the most commonly-held in the country and one that outnumbers police and sheriff's patrol officers. Yet new research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds security guards tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained, and more likely to be hurt or injured on the job — factors that lead to a high turnover rate. A bill before the California legislature would raise pay and training standards; it has the backing of labor groups but the firms that employ many of the state's security guards are opposed. We'll explore the research and potential legislation, and answer your questions about working in security. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kane Parsons, the 21-year-old director of this summer's hit horror film “Backrooms,” began his career not in film school, but by making short videos on YouTube while attending middle and high school in the North Bay. He stumbled upon an online photo of creepy, yellow-tinted empty rooms being called “the backrooms,” read the accompanying internet lore and contributed to it with his own web series, which garnered him an A24 directing gig at just 17. Now, Parsons' San Jose-set feature film has been credited with revitalizing Hollywood and with capturing existential, generational fears. We'll talk with Parsons about why Silicon Valley is such a rich site for horror, and with film professors about how horror films have long documented the key anxieties of every generation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Built in a matter of weeks on the Fort Bliss military base in Texas, Camp East Montana has become the nation's largest immigrant detention center, housing thousands of people within its sprawling tent complex. In a recent New Yorker investigation, Jonathan Blitzer documents inadequate medical care, prolonged isolation and families suddenly separated after routine ICE appointments or traffic stops. We talk to Blitzer about how Camp East Montana became the centerpiece of the Trump administration's expanded detention system—and what it reveals about the human cost of mass immigration enforcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After recent revelations that President Trump took in more that $2.2 billion during his first year back in the White House, we talk to Democratic Senator Alex Padilla about his new anti-corruption initiative to address Trump's alleged self-dealing and its costs to taxpayers. We'll also ask Padilla about the historically high number of deaths in ICE detention, calls for increased oversight and transparency and what he believes must change as immigration detention continues to expand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie poured almost $9 million of his personal fortune into getting elected. Now, he is finding an extraordinary amount of private money to pour into city government: His administration has secured more than $120 million in philanthropic dollars for homelessness, addiction and downtown revitalization. Meanwhile, a network of donors, many of them longtime supporters of Lurie's former nonprofit Tipping Point, has poured millions into the candidates and ballot measures he favors, winning decisively in June. Supporters call it civic generosity. Critics, particularly progressives, worry that the amount of money is pulling the city rightward. We talk about the impact that money can have on local politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reading used to be the main way Americans got information, but most of us now turn to our phones, the internet, social media or television for news and entertainment. The share of Americans reading an article daily has plunged by about 40 percent, and according to the National Endowment for the Arts, fewer than half of all adults read a book in 2022. In a new article from The Atlantic, staff writer Rose Horowitch considers the consequences of our shortened attention spans and asks whether the age of reading will ultimately prove a short anomaly in human history. She joins us to talk about the “end of reading.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2025 only 14 percent of rape cases in San Francisco were closed, according to an ongoing investigation from the SF Standard. That's half the national rate. While the procedures for administering and processing rape kit tests has improved greatly in San Francisco over the past decade, cuts to the special victims unit and other factors have resulted in fewer investigations into alleged rapists, leaving victims waiting as their cases sit inactive. We talk about the challenges of investigating rape cases, where the SFPD is falling short and whether  the new scrutiny could lead to reforms inside the police department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When investigative journalist Stephen Witt visited Silicon Valley's 1X Technologies to meet a new home robot named Neo, he discovered a device full of contradictions: It was elegantly designed, but often struggled to complete even the simplest of tasks, taking longer than a minute to retrieve a bottle of water. Despite its limitations, more than 10,000 people have placed deposits for the $20,000 android, and Neo is just one of a dozen humanoid robots scheduled for release in the next year. We talk to Witt about the appeal – and challenges – of home robots and how quickly the technology is actually advancing. Guest: Stephen Witt, investigative journalist; author Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angelica Glass started taking long walks as a way to exercise and to relieve the stress from her decades as a social worker trying to help families struggling with poverty. She set a goal to walk every street in Santa Cruz County. While trekking the nearly three thousand miles over severalyears, she found herself gently working through the grief of her own childhood of abuse and neglect, while absorbing the beauty and community of her county. We talk with Glass about her book, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.” Guest: Angelica Glass, author, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans are notoriously bad at taking time off from work. Once entering the workforce, we expect to be devoutly productive for decades on end, awarded with an extended break only upon retirement. In his new book, “Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One,” Harvard Business School's DJ DiDonna urges us to step away from our desks to take an extended break from work – something that for many feels culturally, personally or financially impossible. He argues that taking a break from work can lead to powerful self-transformation by making time for the things we often ignore: learning, rest, play, relationships and reflection. Is there a future where we can all step away from our productivity and into the world? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polls find growing ambivalence in young adults' views towards marriage — even as society continues to grant greater privileges and respect to married people. This comes as the right pushes for a return to “traditional marriage” — an idea which historian Stephanie Coontz says isn't actually based in history, as expectations of marriage, monogamy, gender roles and even the title “Mrs.” have drastically changed over time and across cultures. We'll talk with Coontz about how socioeconomic factors have shaped expectations and laws around gender roles, marriage and love and about her new book, “For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal health officials are eying iceberg lettuce distributed by California-based Taylor Farms as a potential source of the major cyclosporiasis outbreak in the United States. Health authorities tracking 4,173 confirmed and 7,400 likely cases of the infection, which can cause severe diarrhea, cramping and fatigue that lasts up to a month. We talk with food safety and health experts on what it will take to trace and contain the cyclospora outbreak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mandate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has long been to help states and local governments meet the needs of communities after disaster strikes. But since the Trump Administration took office, the agency has been threatened with closure and has suffered massive budget and staff cuts, essentially crippling its ability to respond to catastrophic events. As natural disasters intensify as a result of climate change, who will step in to help our region recover if a huge wildfire or earthquake happens here? We discuss the impacts of a weakened FEMA, the growth of a private disaster relief industry, and talk through what it would take for FEMA to turn things around as an agency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than four months after President Trump predicted a short war with Iran, the conflict is intensifying and broadening. The ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran has collapsed, leaving passage through the Strait of Hormuz restricted and the two nations on a war footing: the United States has carried out days of sustained airstrikes while Iran targets American allies in the Gulf. To many analysts, it's raising the specter of a forever war. We talk about where U.S. policy goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a time when U.S. automakers dominated the global car industry  with their products and innovations. But when it comes to electric vehicles, which accounted for a quarter of global auto sales in 2025, the U.S. is barely a player.  China now builds roughly three-quarters of the world's EVs; the United States about five percent.  We'll talk about how the widening technology gap and lukewarm federal support for clean vehicles threatens the entire U.S. auto industry with obsolescence, and what California is doing about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During World War II, the US government asked the Japanese American citizens it interned two questions: Would you serve in the US armed forces wherever ordered? And would you swear “unqualified allegiance” to the U.S. and forswear any allegiance to Japan's emperor? Those two so-called loyalty questions animate acclaimed novelist Karen Tei Yamashita's latest book, which explores that historical period of state-sanctioned violence against immigrants and citizens alike — and how this notion of “loyalty” divided, antagonized, imprisoned and expelled Japanese Americans during World War II, with long-term ramifications. Following three generations of Japanese Americans before, during and after internment, the novel is formatted as the archived letters, poetry and oral histories of Japanese Americans real and imagined. We'll talk with Yamashita about her own family's story and about the novel's unfortunate relevance today. It's called “Questions 27 & 28.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices