KQED's Forum

Several California school districts, mostly in more conservative pockets of the state, have recently passed policies requiring that schools notify parents if their children identify as transgender. California is suing the first district to pass the policy, Chino Valley Unified School District, by arguing that the rule violates state privacy laws. But that hasn’t stopped other districts from adopting similar rules, even after a judge barred Chino Valley from implementing its own policy until after the legal case plays out. We’ll look into the fight between California and local districts and how it fits into the conservative parents’ rights movement changing how schools are run nationwide.Guests:Carolyn Jones, education reporter, CalMattersNicole Carr, Atlanta-based investigative reporter, PropublicaJordan Darling, city reporter, Inland Valley Daily BulletinRobert Marx, assistant professor of child and adolescent development, San Jose State University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2017, illustrator Wendy McNaughton completed an artist-in-residency at the Zen Hospice Guest House in San Francisco. She got to know families, caregivers, staff, and the dying. What emerged is her new book, “How To Say Goodbye.” Drawn-from-life illustrations are paired with gentle advice on how to let someone go. “The person dying is in charge,” reflects MacNaughton, and her book offers simple ways to be witness to a loved one’s last moments. And when mutual peace and understanding matters the most, she writes, simple declarations like,“I forgive you. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. Goodbye” can offer closure. We’ll talk to MacNaughton and a hospice caregiver.Guests:Wendy MacNaughton, illustrator; artist; graphic journalist - McNaughton's latest book is "How to Say Goodbye." She has illustrated or authored eleven books, including "Salt Fat Acid Heat," and "Meanwhile in San Francisco," and is the creator of DrawTogether, the educational drawing program for kids and adultsLadybird Morgan, co founder Humane Prison Hospice Project - Morgan is a registered nurse and clinical social worker and has worked in end of life care for over 20 years. She is currently a palliative care consultant with Mettle Health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering whether to sign a bill that would change some of the language you see on the referendum portion of your 2024 ballot. AB 421 would ask voters whether they want to “keep the law” or “overturn the law” and eliminate “Yes” or “No” choices. It would also require the top three sponsors of a referendum to appear on the Secretary of State’s voter information guide. But the final legislation is far more modest than its original version, which would have strengthened government oversight of signature collection, mandated more robust disclosures about the funders of referendum campaigns and required unpaid volunteers to obtain at least 10% of petition signatures. Those failed proposals, backed by labor groups, were favored by a majority of likely California voters, according to a June poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. We’ll talk about what you’d like to change about our state’s referendum process and check in on the measures that have already qualified for the 2024 ballot.Guests:Kim Alexander, president and founder, California Voter FoundationGuy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's California Politics and Government DeskMia Bonta, state assemblymember representing the 18th assembly district in the East Bay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, it seems, people have been complaining that Burning Man has sold out, lost touch with its original values, or simply jumped the shark. The annual images of hedonism and drugs and glamping tech billionaires has made the week-long celebration in the Nevada desert an easy target. And social media mockery of the festival came to a head this week when attendees got stuck in the mud after a rainstorm. Yet for many, the Burning Man experience continues to be life-changing and transformative, and the event’s influence on arts and culture in the Bay Area and beyond is undeniable. Still, even some longtime Burners are saying the festival needs to change –to become more inclusive, more sensitive to the environment, and more prepared for an extreme weather future. As attendees finally make their way home from the muddy Playa, we’ll get a report back from this year’s event and assess the future of Burning Man.Guests:Steven T. Jones, journalist and author of the 2011 book "The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture"Favianna Rodriguez, artist and activist; co-lead of a Burning Man camp for people of color, Que Viva camp; co-founder and president, The Center for Cultural PowerDavid Boyer, director of programming, KALW; producer and host of the podcast "The Intersection," which devoted its third season to Burning Man.Anna Vignet, social video producer, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the climate crisis, growing isolation and increasing economic disparities, many of us feel trapped in a doom loop — one where it feels more natural to imagine a dystopian future than a utopian one. But envisioning ways the world could be better can be an antidote to despair, say proponents of utopian thinking. “Depending on what is going on in the world, humanity has always looked to utopias for inspiration,” writes Kristen Ghodsee, author of “Everyday Utopia.” We’ll talk about how past utopian experiments can inspire future social change and hear about the benefits of using utopian thinking in our daily lives and communities.Guests:Kristen R. Ghodsee, professor of Russian and East European Studies, University of Pennsylvania; author, "Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life"William Paris, assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto; author, the forthcoming book “Racial Justice and Forms of Life: Towards a Critical Theory of Utopia” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we march toward another long frenzied election season, we at Forum have launched a new series, Doing Democracy, to step away from the fray and consider what democracy means, how it’s practiced, and other ways it could be done. For our first show, we’ll dive into the Us@250 project, which is urging us to approach the coming semiquincentennial – that’s the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, starting in 2026 – by reimagining the American narrative with pride, reckoning and aspiration. What parts of our democracy should we protect, what should we change, and what do we hope to become in the next 250 years?Guests:Ted R. Johnson, senior adviser, New America, leads the US@250 initiative; contributing columnist, The Washington Post. He's also a retired U.S. Navy commander and the author of "When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a conventional candidate, facing a criminal indictment might preclude a run for public office. But for Donald Trump, at least up until now, litigation, both criminal and civil, has done little to change his political aspirations or his base’s support. But are the cases filed in D.C. and Georgia, which allege interference with the 2020 election and an attempt to subvert the election’s outcome, different and do they place Trump in legal peril? How do the facts in these cases diverge from those brought up in Trump’s second impeachment for conduct related to the January 2020 insurrection? We’ll talk to experts and hear from you.Guests:Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor, Slate - covering the courts and the law. She also hosts the podcast Amicus. Her New York Times Bestseller "Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America" is available in paperback on September 19th.Andrew Prokop, senior politics reporter, Vox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fremont is home to the largest Afghan population in the United States, with over 66,000 people of Afghan descent in the city according to 2019 census figures. That number has likely grown since the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country as tens of thousands fled Taliban rule. In his new feature film ‘Fremont,’ director Babak Jalali tells the story of a refugee and former translator for the U.S. military who recently settled in the Bay Area after fleeing her home. Donya struggles with guilt, insomnia and questions of what to do with her new life. We’ll talk about the film, the limits of a community’s ability to heal and how to move on from a traumatic past.Guests:Joseph Azam, board chair, Afghan-American Foundation - a non-partisan non-profit focused on advocating on behalf of Afghan American communityBabak Jalali, director and co-writer, "Fremont"Anaita Wali Zada, actor, "Fremont"Eddie Tang, actor, "Fremont" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An estimated 172,000 people are homeless in California, according to a study this year by UCSF, and the most visible symbols of the state’s homelessness crisis are its tent encampments. Citing public health and safety issues, cities across the state are increasingly “sweeping” encampments on city sidewalks, forcing campers to move their tents and belongings to other areas if they refuse offers of shelter. But homeless advocates say those shelter options are often inadequate and that sweeps are unconstitutional. Those issues are at play as the Ninth Circuit considers whether San Francisco needs to offer more housing before it can carry out sweeps. San Diego, meanwhile, is starting to enforce a no-camping ordinance on public property. And Los Angeles has approved increased funding for its Inside Safe program, which gives tent dwellers temporary housing. We’ll talk about how California cities are addressing homeless encampments, the controversies at hand and who’s most affected.Guests:Marisa Kendall, reporter covering California's homelessness crisis, CalMattersAldo Toledo, city hall reporter, The San Francisco ChronicleBlake Nelson, reporter covering homelessness, The San Diego Union-Tribune Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is the first state in the country to use federal funding for a controversial approach to reducing drug addiction: paying people to stop using. The state has been testing the strategy, known as the recovery incentives program, in San Francisco and a few other counties, for two years and is now rolling it out more broadly.The program specifically targets people who abuse meth and cocaine at a time when stimulant addictions and fatalities have skyrocketed. We’ll talk about how the program is working and discuss the ethical considerations for policymakers, taxpayers and drug users.Guests:Héctor Hernández-Delgado, staff attorney, National Health Law ProgramNicholas King, associate professor in the Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill UniversityBrad Shapiro, professor of Psychiatry, UCSF School of MedicineJaramiah Fitts, participant in the recovery incentives program, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices