KQED's Forum

The public discourse about undocumented immigrants often lacks humanity and complexity according to writers Reyna Grande and Rafael Agustin, who have written acclaimed memoirs about their immigrant experiences. They and many others bring nuanced narratives to the burgeoning genre of undocumented literature. Grande co-edited “Somewhere We Are Human,” an anthology released last year that features work by 41 undocumented or formerly undocumented writers, poets and artists. The editors’ note states, “Opportunities and infrastructure for immigrants to tell their own stories in their own words are few and far between.” In this hour of Forum, we’ll hear some of those stories and discuss the undocumented experience in America.Guests:Reyna Grande, author, "A Ballad of Love and Glory," "The Distance Between Us," "A Dream Called Home," "Across a Hundred Mountains," and "Dancing with Butterflies"Aline Mello, poet and author of the poetry collection, "More Salt Than Diamond," and essay "Fit," which appears in the anthology, "Somewhere We Are Human."Kaveh Bassiri, Iranian poet, translator who is currently a Tusla Artist Fellow in Oklahoma; his poems appeared in the anthology, "Somewhere We Are Human."Rafael Agustin, television writer; CEO, the Latino Film Institute; author, "Illegally Yours" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court this week held oral arguments in a pair of cases that have tech companies, First Amendment advocates and digital rights-watchers on edge. On Tuesday it heard arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that could redefine a decades-old law that protects online platforms from liability for third-party content they host. And on Wednesday it debated Twitter v. Taamneh, which asks whether the social media company violated an anti-terrorism law based on videos its algorithm promoted. We'll talk about how the justices appeared to be leaning and how they might rule.Guests:Sophia Cope, senior staff attorney, Electronic Frontier FoundationDaphne Keller, director, Program on Platform Regulation at the Cyber Policy Center at Stanford Law School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relaxing might not seem like a radical act, but it is for Black women, according to the curators of “Resting Our Eyes,” a new exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Francisco. Pulling together artists from a variety of mediums, the exhibit celebrates how Black women find liberation through rest, leisure, and adornment. Photographs, video, and mixed media works create a visual vocabulary for how Black women have used these forms of self-expression to combat oppression for generations. We’ll talk with the curators as well as contributing artists about the art in the exhibition and why rest is not a luxury, but a necessity. What does rest mean to you?Guests:Tahirah Rasheed, artist and co-curator, "Resting Our Eyes"; founder, “Fresh Made Productions” and “See Black Women”Autumn Breon, artist and co-curator, "Resting Our Eyes"Leila Weefur, writer; curator; featured artist, "Resting Our Eyes"; lecturer, Stanford's Department of Art and Art History.Traci Bartlow, featured artist, "Resting Our Eyes"; entrepreneur; dancer and hip-hop dance scholar; 90's hip-hop photojournalist; Oakland native Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On February 24, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, setting in motion a brutal, bloody war that has left tens of thousands of people dead and millions forcibly displaced. A year later, Ukraine is still standing, defying expectations that it would quickly fall to a more powerful Russian military and reclaiming key portions of territory it lost at the outset of the invasion. But as the war wears on, resolution remains elusive, and a negotiated peace is all but off the table. We’ll look back on the conflict and hear reflections from experts and Ukrainian nationals who joined us on Forum when the war began.Guests:Steven Pifer, affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University; former ambassador to Ukraine and a senior director at the National Security Council in the Clinton administrationOleh Kuzo, trustee, Ukrainian Heritage Club of Northern CaliforniaAlina Polyakova, President and CEO, Center for European Policy Analysis; adjunct professor of European Studies, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International StudiesLuke Harding, foreign correspondent, The Guardian - His recent book is "Invasion: The inside Story of Russia's Bloody War and Ukraine's Fight for Survival" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scientists have warned for decades that due to climate change water levels are rising throughout the Bay Area. The first place excess water will show up is underground. As we saw from recent storms, shallow groundwater can cause flooding in streets and low-lying areas and can overwhelm wastewater systems. Local planners and policy makers are analyzing how the region should adapt to the problem of a rising water table and how to design buildings, freeways and sewer infrastructure in response. In our next installment of “Climate Fix: Rethinking Solutions for California,” a collaboration between the KQED’s Forum and Science teams, we’ll discuss what’s happening with groundwater levels as the Bay Area prepares for sea level rise in the next several decades. Have you experienced flooding in your home and how did you handle it?Guests:Ezra David Romero, climate reporter, KQEDDana Brechwald, assistant planning director for climate adaptation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development CommissionDr. Kris May, CEO and founding principal, Pathways Climate Institute LLC; Engineering Criteria Review Board member, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission; lead author for the Coasts chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trucks are by far the largest source of air pollution from vehicles in California, generating about 80% of carcinogenic diesel soot and 70% of smog-causing pollution, according to the Air Resources Board. And their impacts are unequal: communities of color and low-income communities situated near ports, distribution centers and warehouses -- particularly in the Inland Empire -- are more likely to bear the health costs. As part of Forum's "In Transit" series, we look at the scope of the problem and new efforts by the state to decarbonize its trucking industry.Guests:Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law - host of the podcast, Climate BreakRachel Uranga, reporter covering transportation and mobility, Los Angeles TimesAmparo Muñoz, former policy director, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) - and co-author of the letter urging Gov. Newsom to "Declare a Public Health State of Emergency in the Inland Empire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 1970s, two female professors at Oberlin College coined the phrase “imposter phenomenon” to capture that feeling of intense self doubt and fear of being discovered as a fraud in the workplace. Their published paper on the topic has since spawned an industry of seminars, self-help, and empowerment. And while today, it feels like everyone suffers from “imposter syndrome,” some experts argue that people should not be saddled with a deficit model that labels them as “imposters.” We’ll talk about imposter syndrome and hear from you: Have you ever felt like a fraud?Guests:Jodi-Ann Burey, writer and speaker - Burey is the co-author, of the Harvard Business Review article "Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome"Leslie Jamison, author and essayist - Jamison wrote the recent New Yorker article "Not Fooling Anyone" about imposter syndrome. She is also the author of "The Empathy Exams" and an essay collection, "Make It Scream, Make It Burn," among other books.Dr. Lisa Orbe-Austin, psychologist - Orbe-Austin is the co-author of "Own Your Greatness: Overcome Imposter Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed in Life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dianne Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate, has announced she's not seeking re-election in 2024. Many Californians hail her accomplishments in gun safety, environmental protection and her trailblazing role for women in public office. Yet at a time when her approval rating has hit an all-time low, some say the announcement is coming far too late. We'll hear your reflections on Feinstein's political career.Guests:Scott Shafer, senior editor for KQED’s California Politics and Government desk and co-host of Political Breakdown Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before the pandemic, hospitals and their services were under strain. But throughout the state, some hospitals are now at risk of closing for good, which would leave thousands of Californians without basic access to healthcare. In many rural counties, local community hospitals are the only option for both primary care and life-saving emergency services. The abrupt closure of Madera County’s only such hospital is the first in what could become a string of hospital closures, requiring remaining facilities to pick up more patients at a time when staff and resources are stretched thin. We’ll talk about this vulnerability in California’s healthcare system and what is being done to remedy it.Guests:Kristof Stremikis, director of market analysis and insight, California Health Care FoundationCarmela Coyle, President & CEO, California Hospital Association - CHA represents the interests of more than 400 hospitals and health systems in California.Glenn Melnick, health economist, professor and director, Center for Health Financing, Policy and Management, Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern CaliforniaLuis Abrishamian, attending physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Providence Torrance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 2020, Atlantic senior editor John Hendrickson wrote an article about Joe Biden’s stutter. Like Biden, Hendrickson has a stutter. And while stuttering wasn’t something that Hendrickson hid, it wasn’t something he liked to talk about either. But the viral response to his piece led Hendrickson to reconsider how to talk and think about his stutter. His relationship with stuttering and its impacts, both good and bad, on his life, are the focus of his new book, “Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter.” We talk to Hendrickson, and hear from you: Has your life been affected by a stutter, yours or someone else’s?This segment originally aired Jan. 17, 2023.Guests:John Hendrickson , Author, "Life on Delay: Making Peace with a Stutter" - Hendrickson is a senior editor with Atlantic magazine.Courtney Byrd, Professor, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin - Byrd is also the founder and executive director of the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices