KQED's Forum

A bill moving through the California Legislature would require CalSTERS and CalPERS, the nation’s largest pension funds, to pull billions of dollars they have invested in companies that produce fossil fuels. Some experts say divestment is an effective tool to force some of the largest-scale emitters to reduce emissions and move the economy away from fossil fuels. The movement is gaining momentum and plenty of opposition, including from CalSTERS, CalPERS and labor unions. For our next installment of Climate Fix, our monthly series examining global warming solutions, we’ll talk about how divestment works and what it could mean for California.Guests:Laura Klivans, reporter, KQEDAnaya Sayal, campaign coordinator and lead circle member, Youth Vs Apocalypse, a youth-led climate justice group based in the Bay AreaMarilyn Waite, managing director, Climate Finance Fund - a philanthropic platform that helps to mobilize capital for climate solutions.Marcie Frost, chief executive officer, CalPERS - the retirement system for more than 1.9 million California public sector workers and their families with roughly $160 billion in assets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen,” it’s an ultra-processed food, writes infectious disease doctor Chris Van Tulleken. Your McDonald’s and cardboard freezer meals also fit the bill — and so do your so-called health foods and your splurge on a $20 vegan chicken sandwich. Addictive by design, widely available and relatively cheap, ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, make up to 60 percent of the food Americans eat overall, and Van Tulleken says they’re wreaking havoc on our bodies and the planet. We talk to Van Tulleken about his new book “Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food.”Guests:Chris van Tulleken, scientist, doctor, award-winning BBC broadcaster and author, "Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind the Food That Isn't Food" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a United Nations water conference in March, amid increasing global water conflicts and climate crises, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres sounded an urgent alarm. “All of humanity’s hopes for the future depend, in some way, on charting a new course to sustainably manage and conserve water,” he said. But what would a new course look like? Renowned water expert and scientist Peter Gleick seeks to answer that question in his latest book “The Three Ages of Water”. The book explores the complex relationship between humans and water throughout history, from ancient civilizations to the modern, scientific “Second Age of Water” when we “learned to manipulate the natural hydrologic cycle” but also did great harm to the planet. We’ll talk with Gleick about his call for a revolutionary “Third Age” of responsible water stewardship.Guests:Peter Gleick, senior fellow and co-founder, Pacific Institute; author, "The Three Ages of Water" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court radically changed the country in just three days last June when it eliminated Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion and weakened popular gun laws. That’s according to Brennan Center for Justice president Michael Waldman, who says the Court is poised to do so again this term by employing its own extreme version of originalism. We’ll talk to Waldman about major cases on voting and affirmative action and the political forces that empower the Court’s hard right faction. Waldman’s new book is “The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America.”Guests:Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law; author, "The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“School’s out for the summer!” is a rallying cry for students everywhere. But for working parents, summer poses a whole set of challenges, starting with – who is going to watch the kids during the day? For many, summer camps are the answer. Camps offer the promise of exploration, adventure, and a chance to make new friends and acquire new skills. And if you have a specific hobby or interest – needlework, videography, chess – there is likely a camp for you. But getting a spot in a camp, managing the constellation of choices and conflicting schedules, and, especially, paying for a summer’s worth of camps can present major problems for families. Why is summer camp such a mess? Why aren’t there more affordable options for childcare when school is out? And how can you hack summer to find a spot for your child if you didn’t sign up for one in January? We’ll talk summer camp and hear from you: What’s your child doing this summer?Guests:Lydia Kiesling, journalist and author. Kiesling's most recent piece for Bloomberg is "How Summer Camp Became Such a Hot Mess for Parents"Eduardo Caballero, co-founder and executive director, EDMO, a summer camp in the Bay AreaJessica Calarco, expert on inequalities in education and family life; associate professor of sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With huge layoffs in sectors like tech and media dominating the headlines, it’s easy to think that jobs are becoming scarce and that the “Great Resignation” is over. But in fact, some economists say it’s workers, not employers, who still hold the power — especially as Baby Boomers retire. We’ll check in on California’s labor market across different industries and hear your experiences finding a job in today’s economy.Guests:Aki Ito, senior correspondent covering the workplace and the economy, InsiderSarah Bohn, vice president of Research and Senior Fellow, Public Policy Institute of California Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Martinus Evans began training for marathons, it took “delusional self belief” to keep running. He was over 350 pounds. As a kid, he failed the one-mile physical fitness test. And as a Black man, he didn’t see a lot of people like him training. Even though Evans finished his first marathon at the back of the pack, he says it didn’t bother him one bit. He’s used that mindset to complete eight marathons and to launch a career as a running coach for people of all sizes and skills. In his running club, you can’t ask about weight and you don’t obsess about speed. Evans offers this and other advice in his new book “Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run.” He joins us and we hear from you: Are you a runner who doesn’t fit the mold?Guests:Martinus Evans, author, "Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg transfixed the world in 2019 when she condemned global leaders for their inaction on climate change. She’s one of thousands of teen girls who’ve agitated for social change in the past centuries, from Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Alabama bus to Mabel Ping-Hua Lee who led a march for women’s suffrage. In a new history, writer and editor Mattie Kahn explores how girls have contributed to social and political movements, the qualities they bring to their activism and the dangers they’ve faced in their fights for the greater good. Kahn’s book is “Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions.”Guests:Mattie Kahn, author, "Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions." Kahn is the former culture director at Glamour, where she covered women’s issues and politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this month, amid a sharp rise in book bans across the country, Governor Gavin Newsom called on educators to preserve students’ access to books, including those that “reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of Californians.” Individual book bans in U.S. classrooms and school libraries increased by 28 percent during the first half of this school year compared to the prior six months, according to a report by the free speech group PEN America. The increase is partly due to newly-enacted state laws, and the bans “continue to target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” according to PEN. While rare in California, book battles are percolating in Temecula and Huntington Beach. We talk about the impact of book bans on free expression and students’ access to literature and diverse perspectivesGuests:Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director, American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom - and executive director of the Freedom to Read FoundationJaea Rivera, officer, Vandegrift High School Banned Book Club - in Austin, Texas.George M. Johnson, award-winning author of "All Boys Aren't Blue" and "We Are Not Broken"Jeff Horseman, Riverside County government and regional politics reporter, Southern California News Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nursing is a vocation as old as humankind, once practiced by men and women. But for many the word “nurse” conjures up an image of Florence Nightingale or a woman in a starched white uniform and funny cap who defers to the doctor. In her new book, “Taking Care,”journalist Sarah DiGregorio challenges these myths: “If you imagine that nursing arose only in relatively recent times, as a profession dedicated to assisting physicians within hospitals,” writes DiGregorio, “you have it backward. Nursing came first.” Her book explores how chauvinism, racism, cultural norms and misogyny have inflected the profession and crucial role that nurses play in providing safe, caring and cutting edge medical care. We’ll talk to DiGregorio about her book and hear from you: How have nurses affected your life? Guests:Sarah DiGregorio , Journalist and Author, "Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and Its Power to Change Our World". DiGregorio is also the author of "Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices