Kqeds Forum

The 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, and event boosters hope that a cast of three female comedic hosts, including Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall, and a reworked format will reinvigorate the award show's flagging popularity. We’ll talk about the nominations – both the critical favorites and the sleepers – and hear your picks for best films and performances.

Journalist Dave Iverson says that there were a lot of things he didn’t know when he made the decision to move in with his 95-year old mother Adelaide in 2004 to take care of her. “I didn’t know that I would be tested in ways I’d never imagined,” he writes in his new memoir, “or rewarded in ways I’d never dreamed.” He also had no idea that Adelaide would live nearly 10 years more, before passing away at age 105. Iverson, a former host of KQED Forum, joins us to talk about the burdens and benefits of caring for a loved one, how America is failing its caregivers, and his new book "Winter Stars: An elderly mother, an aging son, and life’s final journey".

The maternal mortality rate for Black mothers is nearly three times that of white mothers nationwide. These numbers are leading many African-American families to seek the services of doulas, care which has been shown to improve birth outcomes. To mark World Doula Week, we’ll talk with Black doulas about their work, the costs of racism in American healthcare, and about why some are wary of the state of California's efforts to regulate the profession.

During her three days of Senate confirmation hearings this week, Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has fielded a range of questions about her judicial philosophy, her experience as a public defender and what some observers say are not-so-subtle racist attempts to cast her as a radical. If confirmed, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to sit on the high court. We’ll talk about the hearing and what lies ahead in the confirmation process.

Russia and Ukraine supply nearly one-quarter of the world’s wheat which feeds billions of people around the world. The war in Ukraine has not only cut off supply to wheat and other important exports like sunflower oil, barley and fertilizer, it has also raised the price of those products. Wheat prices are now 21% higher than last month. For regions like the Middle East and Africa, which rely on Ukrainian crops, the increase in cost and decrease in supply means many could go hungry. We’ll look at the important role Ukraine plays in the global food supply chain, the impacts the war is having on it, and what is being done to prevent a deepening global hunger crisis.

Confirmation hearings begin on Monday for President Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The first Black woman to be nominated to the high court, Jackson is expected to face questions about her judicial philosophy and her views on issues facing the Court including abortion, voting rights and affirmative action. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has stated that there is “no question” that Jackson, who has previously been confirmed by the Senate as an appellate judge, is qualified for the position. Nevertheless, the Harvard-trained Jackson has faced GOP attacks on topics as disparate as her record on crime to her LSAT score, criticisms which her supporters have noted seem rooted in racism. We’ll look at what to expect during the confirmation hearings.

Cow cheese. Goat cheese. Vegan cheese? From dairy farming and cheesemaking to tours and tastings, there are a world of old traditions and new family businesses making Northern California one of the most magical cheese-scapes on earth. In this recording of a recent Forum Live event at KQED's San Francisco headquarters, we talk about some of California's yummiest cheeses with the people who know them best.

Sandhya Acharya has a window into the COVID-era lives of her child and his classmates through their art.

From closed schools to missed moments like graduation or visiting with family, children have borne an unusually heavy burden during the pandemic. Children were among the last to get vaccinated. They were unable to go to school in person. They have lost caregivers and loved ones. On the educational front, studies report that across the country, early reading skills are at a new low. And kids of all ages are more stressed than ever. But while the pandemic has been hard on children, there have also been lessons learned about grace, kindness and how to do better by kids. We’ll look at the price children have paid in the pandemic, and what parents and others can do to support them.

The Bay Area heads to the Big Dance! The University of San Francisco men’s basketball team makes its first NCAA tournament appearance in 24 years. Saint Mary’s College men’s team is in the mix too, following up on its 2019 bid. And on the women’s side, Stanford University's team will seek to defend its title as the reigning NCAA champions. We’ll talk to former Stanford basketball star Kiana Williams, who helped the team take last year's trophy, about winning in 2021 and the team's road to a championship this year. Then, we'll talk with college reporters about their school’s NCAA tournament bids and hear what teams are making your Final Four brackets.

Last week, a Texas judge temporarily blocked a directive from Governor Greg Abbott calling for child abuse investigations of parents who seek gender-affirming medical care for their transgender children. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton plans to appeal, and more states are considering similar laws: Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill prohibits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity before fourth grade, and the Human Rights Campaign is tracking nearly 300 pieces of legislation it characterizes as anti-LGBTQ+. We want to hear from you: How have recent anti-LGBTQ+ bills affected you? How have you approached talking to your kids about gender and sexuality? Guests: Cathryn Oakley, State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel, Human Rights Campaign Dr. Jack Turban, chief fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine Jo Yurcaba, reporter, NBC Out, the LGBTQ section of NBC News Lizette Trujillo, member, Human Rights Campaign’s Parents for Transgender Equalit

Writer Azar Nafisi says totalitarian regimes pay “too much attention to poets and writers, harassing, jailing and even killing them,” but in America the problem is too little attention, silencing them through “indifference and negligence.” Nafisi’s new book, “Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times,” is written as a series of letters to her late father discussing the writers she turns to when grappling with oppression and injustice, including Salman Rushdie, Plato, Zora Neale Hurston, Ray Bradbury and Margaret Atwood. “I am not talking about literature of resistance but literature as resistance,” she writes, the ways “literature and art resist seats of power – not only that of kings and tyrants, but the tyrant within us as well.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom has introduced a new policy framework to provide community-based mental health and substance use disorder treatment services to Californians, many of whom are experiencing homelessness. The proposal calls for a statewide network of CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Courts to serve as a mental health arm of county civil courts and create court-ordered care plans. The proposal has received support from a number of mayors or city officials across the state, including Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. Critics worry this plan’s court orders perpetuates a history of state control over people with mental illness and disabilities that not ultimately serve them well. Gov. Newsom joins us to discuss his proposal – then we’ll hear expert reactions and unpack what the plan may look like in action.

Silicon Valley employs a lot of highly skilled Ukrainian tech workers. As Ukrainians globally pitch in to resist Russia’s advance, tech workers are banding together to use their skills for Ukrainian resistance and aid. We’ll check in with tech workers in the Bay Area and Ukraine who are fighting Russian propaganda and cyber efforts, handling logistics to marshal supplies and move refugees and carrying other acts of IT resistance.

According to a new Wall Street Journal report, the Russian government has threatened that it will seize assets of companies that withdraw from Russia and also arrest corporate leaders who criticize the government. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Proctor & Gamble, IBM and Kentucky Fried Chicken are among the corporations that have been warned. This move by the government comes after a spate of Western companies announced that they will be rolling back their Russian business or cutting off ties with Russia altogether. We’ll talk about what this means for the future of Western businesses in Russia.

Ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine faltered on Monday while Russia’s devastating attacks on cities in Ukraine continued to intensify. Meanwhile, amid a widening humanitarian crisis that’s forced more than two million Ukrainians to flee, President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to press for more military equipment from NATO member states and will appeal to U.S. lawmakers in a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. As the invasion enters its third week, we take stock of the war’s devastating impact and the further actions the U.S. and its allies may take.

Seventy percent of Bay Area employers are expecting to bring their workers back to the office this month, according to a recent Bay Area Council survey. But many are asking for only three days in person, a major shift from pre-pandemic times. As businesses begin to return to in-person work, employers are looking to find the right balance of time spent remote and face-to-face. Silicon Valley is a case-in-point: Google is telling most workers they need to come into the office at least three days a week starting April 4, but Twitter said its employees can work from home permanently if they want. We’ll talk with experts about the “new normal” of work and what it means for Bay Area companies, employees, and communities.

President Biden joined a retreat with House Democrats in Philadelphia on Friday to strategize about the party's priorities ahead of what many political watchers say could be a bruising midterm election cycle for them. We'll preview some key races and look at Georgia's transition to a battleground state during the 2020 election campaign. Guests: Melanie Mason, national political correspondent, Los Angeles Times Annie Karni, congressional correspondent, New York Times Greg Bluestein, politics reporter, Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His forthcoming book is "FLIPPED: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power."

President Joe Biden issued a long-awaited cryptocurrency executive order Wednesday, directing federal agencies to study a wide range of issues including protecting consumers and businesses, safeguarding national security, and preventing criminal activity. The order also includes a directive to study the possibility of creating a U.S. digital dollar, an idea that other countries like China, which already has government-backed tokens, have embraced. Biden’s order comes as countries around the world have been rushing to catch up on regulating the cryptocurrency market. We’ll talk about the prevalence of crypto, its growing acceptance as a currency and how it should be regulated. Guests: Laura Shin, host, "Unchained" podcast. Shin is the author of "The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies and the Making of the First Cryptocurrency Craze" Nathaniel Popper, author of "Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money" Charlie Warzel, contributing writer, The Atlantic.

Seventy-four percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander women reported having personally experienced racism or discrimination in the last 12 months, according to a new study by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. The news comes as we approach the March 16 anniversary of the murder of eight people, most of them Asian women, at three Atlanta-area spas. We’ll discuss the latest data on harassment and hate crimes against Asian Americans and what civil rights groups and others are doing to fight it Guests: Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American studies, San Francisco State University; co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate R.O. Kwon , author, the novel "The Incendiaries,"; co-editor, the anthology "KINK: Stories," and the Vanity Fair article, "A Letter to My Fellow Asian Women Whose Hearts Are Still Breaking." Nellie Tran, Associate Professor of Counseling and School Psychology, San Diego State University.