KQED's Forum

In 2017 students at Albany High School in the East Bay became aware of a private instagram account created by a student, and followed by just over a dozen more, containing viciously racist posts about fellow classmates. The disputes about why it happened, how to hold the creator and the followers accountable, and what to do about the anger, shame and fear caused by the posts tore through the school and the town. “Whatever you believed about Albany, about America, about teenagers, racism, sexism, social media, punishment and the public discourse on each of these topics, the story of the Instagram account could be marshaled as evidence. It was the incident that explained everything and yet also the incident that couldn’t be explained,” writes Dashka Slater. We talk to her about her five years of reporting on the story and her book, “Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed”.Guests:Dashka Slater, author, "Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed." - Her previous books include "The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you’re a seasoned chef or first-time cook preparing a casual dinner with friends, Thanksgiving can be a stressful time in the kitchen. Many of us are frantically checking the internet for recipes, tips, and fresh ideas on what to eat on Thursday. New York Times Cooking is aware of the stakes — they know their recipes will end up on dinner tables across the country in a few days and have been preparing for this moment since last spring. Not limited to just recipe offerings, their deep-dive videos on green beans, stuffing, and turkey also help us understand why these dishes have become mainstays over the years. They join us to give tips on how to prepare the ultimate feast and answer your last-minute questions.Guests:Eric Kim, chef and food columnist, New York Times Cooking and Food; author of cookbook, "Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home." Website URL: https://erickim.net/Emily Weinstein, editor in chief, New York Times Cooking and Food. She also writes the popular New York Times newsletter "Five Weeknight Dishes." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco is a city of survivors. For all the talk of doom loops, the city has reinvented itself many times, and if it had an architectural mascot, it would be Ferry Building, argues San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King. In his new book “Portal,” King tells the story of the building that once saw 50 million ferry travelers annually and now serves as a popular destination for the food-obsessed and folks who want to take in the spectacular view. We talk to King about his book and how good urban design can revitalize a city.Guests:John King, author, "Portal: San Francisco's Ferry Building and the Revinvention of American Cities"; urban design critic, San Francisco Chronicle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People of all genders have rimmed their eyes with pigment for thousands of years. But as Zahra Hankir explains in her new book on the history of eyeliner, its use goes far beyond aesthetics. Eyeliner has also served as a vehicle for identity, self-expression, empowerment and protest. Bedouin men in the deserts of Arabia have worn it to repel the sun – and attract potential mates. Egyptian Queen Nefertiti’s celebrated beauty centered on her perfectly winged lines. In modern-day Iran, women wear eyeliner as a form of resistance against an oppressive regime. Hankir joins us to discuss “Eyeliner: A Cultural History.”Guests:Zahra Hankir, author, "Eyeliner: A Cultural History," and "Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World" - Hankir is a Lebanese-British journalist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The astronomical price of housing is the root source of so many of the Bay Area’s most pressing problems and bitter battles. A problem so big begs for big ideas. In this show we explore a couple of novel approaches to spur the creation of affordable housing by fundamentally changing the way we think of land and property ownership. We’ll talk about the new popularity of an old idea – taxing the value of land instead of the property on it – and about the growing community land trust movement.Guests:Noni Session, co-founder and executive director, East Bay Permanent Real Estate CooperativeLars Doucet, author, "Land Is a Big Deal: Why Rent Is Too High, Wages Too Low, and What We Can Do about It" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore your inner Goth with Mina's interview with co-founder of The Cure Lol Tolhurst and dive into the Hyphy movement with Pendarvis Harshaw, host of KQED's podcast series Rightnowish Presents: Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Ohio voters approved Issue 1, a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to protect abortion access. The vote was the latest in a string of state-level victories for abortion rights supporters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. But in many states, women are now living with bans and restrictions that make abortions much harder to get since the Dobbs decision. We’ll look at what the Ohio outcome could mean for the future of abortion rights around the country, and how the issue is playing out in the 2024 presidential election.Guests:Michele Goodwin, professor of constitutional law and global health policy, Georgetown Law. Her books include "Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood"Rebecca Traister, writer-at-large for New York magazine and The Cut. Her cover story “Abortion Wins Elections” appeared in the March 2023 edition of New York magazine. Her books include, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the late 1980s, there were more than 200 lesbian bars in the U.S. Today, only a few dozen are still operating. In San Francisco, lesbians, queer women and nonbinary people are still mourning the Lexington Club — and some can remember a time when nearly every neighborhood in the city had a lesbian bar of its own. But can the decline of these places simply be chalked up to rising rents, dating apps and the LGBTQ+ community’s embrace of queer — rather than specifically lesbian — spaces? We’ll hear from three lesbian bar aficionados about what the Bay Area’s lesbian spaces, from the historic Wild Side West to the newest bar, Mother, mean to them. And we’ll hear how the history of lesbian bars and the challenges they’ve faced in trying to keep their doors open can inform their future.Guests:Alex U. Inn, Bay Area drag king; creator of the dance party Unleash! for women over 40; co-founder of the Pride Parade counterpoint known as the People’s MarchCarol Hill, executive director, San Francisco Beacon Initiative; “stewards” El Rio’s queer party Mango once a monthKrista Burton, author, "MOBY DYKE: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America”; creator of the popular blog Effing Dykes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roman emperors have long provided a template for autocrats and a warning for politicians, according to acclaimed historian Mary Beard. But not all emperors were cruel, bloodthirsty and decadent. Beard’s new book “Emperor of Rome” looks at the daily practicalities of their lives, as they managed budgets and troop deployments, headed public banquets and responded to petitions from their subjects. It also examines the ordinary Romans who made the imperial system function, including soldiers, aristocrats and the enslaved. We talk to Beard about what life was like in the corridors of power of ancient Rome and take your questions.Guests:Mary Beard, classicist; scholar of Ancient Rome; author, "Emperor of Rome" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest season of KQED’s podcast Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America examines how Californians are grappling with the concept of home as climate change disrupts where and how people live. Extreme weather causing wildfires and flooding has already forced thousands of people from their homes. Obtaining insurance for a home has become a herculean feat for some owners. Even seemingly simple decisions about what appliances to buy for your home can drastically alter your carbon footprint, but options are not always easy or affordable. For our next episode of Climate Fix, Forum’s regular collaboration with KQED’s Science team, we’ll explore the intersection of climate and housing along with our colleagues from KQED’s housing team.Guests:Ezra David Romero, climate reporter, KQEDErin Baldassari, housing affordability reporter, KQEDDanielle Venton, science reporter, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices