KQED's Forum

A lot of ink has been spilled about the outflow of workers from San Francisco and the Bay Area but, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “In the technology world, San Francisco remains the center. It remains the sun on which the planets orbit.” Those planets include places like Portland, Seattle, and Austin, to which companies and workers decamped during the pandemic. This theory of the “meta city” offers a new way to think about our globalized economy. It also suggests that the fear that San Francisco’s best days have passed is misplaced. We’ll talk about this concept and what it might mean for the city’s economic future… and self-esteem.Guests:Richard Florida, professor at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto; author of "The Rise of the Creative Class" and co-author of the recent Harvard Business Review article, "The Rise of the Meta City"Molly Turner, lecturer and expert on technology startups and cities, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a case with potentially monumental legal and political implications, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the 2024 ballot. Late last year, the Colorado Supreme Court issued an opinion removing him from the state’s primary ballot for his effort to overturn the 2020 election and his incitement of the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. Shortly after, Maine’s Secretary of State followed suit. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on February 8, just days before Colorado is set to mail ballots to voters. We’ll talk about the issues before the Court and we’ll hear from you: should the former president be excluded from the ballot for inciting an insurrection?Guests:Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent, Vox; author, "Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted" and "The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America."Andrea Scoseria Katz, associate professor of law, Washington University in St. Louis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could 2024 be the year we start wearing computers on our faces en masse? Might scientists cure sickle cell patients and move to geothermal energy? The answer is yes, according to the MIT Technology Review. Each year, the journal publishes a list of its top 10 predictions of technologies that could make a lasting impact in the year to come. This year’s list focuses on advancements in health, green energy and computing. We’ll talk with editors and reporters from the magazine about what technological advances they expect to change our lives, and what technological promises probably won’t pan out.Guests:Will Douglas Heaven, senior editor for AI, MIT Technology ReviewAntonio Regalado, senior editor for biomedicine, MIT Technology ReviewAmy Nordrum, executive editor, MIT Technology ReviewCasey Crownhart, climate reporter, MIT Technology Review Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poll after poll finds Americans believe the economy is getting worse. Yet, indicators such as low unemployment rates, rising wages and declining inflation tell a different story. Economists agree that the country managed to avoid another recession, but why don’t we feel good about it? Prior to 2020, Americans’ feelings about the economy tracked with objective figures, but more recently perception and reality have diverged, creating a disconnect known as the “vibecession.” We’ll talk about the perception gap, how various populations experience the economy differently and what it all means for the presidential election.Guests:Rachel Siegel, economy reporter, The Washington PostChristian Paz, senior politics reporter, VoxGilad Edelman, senior editor, The Atlantic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If elected to a second term Donald Trump has promised to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” in addition to other harsh approaches to immigration. President Joe Biden, who has long been criticized for continuing many Trump era immigration policies, now faces increasing pressure from both parties to step up enforcement as a record number of migrants are crossing the southern border. We talk with The Atlantic reporter Caitlin Dickerson, who won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her immigration reporting, about global migration pressures and the future of US policy.Guests:Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer, The Atlantic; winner, 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on immigration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 California children are suing the EPA for failing to protect them from climate change. The lawsuit is one of many efforts to hold the fossil fuel industry to account that reporter Dharna Noor highlights in her series for the Guardian US called “Big Oil Uncovered.” We’ll talk to her about the strategies oil and gas companies are using to delay or avoid action on climate change — and the people and policies who are taking them to task.Related link(s):https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/series/big-oil-uncoveredGuests:Dharna Noor, fossil fuels and climate reporter, The Guardian USEthan Elkind, director, the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at UC Berkeley School of Law; host, the Climate Break podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, nearly a quarter of public school students in California were considered “chronically absent” – more than double what it was before the pandemic. Factors such as parent work schedules, poverty, and lack of interest have led millions of students to miss more than 10 percent of the school year. In response, many schools are trying everything from hiring social workers to offering Uber rides and tastier food to bring more kids to the classroom. We’ll talk with experts and school administrators about chronic absenteeism and what they are doing about it.Guests:Carolyn Jones, K-12 education reporter, CalmattersGloria Corral, president and CEO, Parent Institute for Quality EducationHedy Chang, executive director and founder, Attendance Works - a national initiative that works to curb chronic absenteeism in schools.Chien Wu-Fernandez, associate superintendent, Hayward Unified School District Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since China’s annexation of Tibet in the 1950s, more than 100,000 Tibetans have fled the mountainous region, known as the rooftop of the world. Most of those refugees live with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, citizens of what’s considered the Tibetan government in exile. Journalist Amy Yee has been documenting the stories of Tibetans outside Tibet — in Dharamsala, as well as in Australia, Belgium and New York — and their efforts to preserve their culture abroad. We talk to her about the people, places and rituals she chronicles in her new book, “Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels Among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents.”Guests:Amy Yee, Bloomberg journalist and author of the new book, “Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 25% of Americans identify as having no religious affiliation and that number is on the rise according to Pew Research. While atheists –also called freethinkers, humanists or secularists –are defined by their lack of religious faith, many are still seeking community to ponder life’s existential questions. For those wanting the fellowship and soul searching found in churches, synagogues and mosques without the religion, there are groups like Atheist United which offers an adventure program bringing together atheists to revel in the awe and wonder of nature. We talk to atheists about how they seek community.Guests:Evan Clark, executive director, Atheists UnitedDavid Diskin, president, California Freethought Day; co-founder, Sacramento chapter of Sunday AssemblySamantha McGuire, national field director, American Atheists, Inc.Arlene Rios, founder, Secular Latinos of San Gabriel Valley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a recent piece for the New Yorker called “The Year of Ozempic,” journalist and physician Dhruv Khullar writes that “we may look back on new weight-loss drugs as some of the greatest advances in the annals of chronic disease.” But the drugs don’t work for everyone, and there are ongoing questions about side effects, costs and availability. We’ll talk with Khullar about his piece and check in with UCSF weight loss doctor Diana Thiara about what we’ve learned about drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy over the past year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices