KQED's Forum

Recently elected San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is now at the helm of the largest city in the Bay Area and the 10th largest city in the United States. San Jose faces a lack of affordable housing, struggling local businesses and resident concerns over public safety. Mahan said he plans to use a results-oriented and data-driven approach focused on getting back to basics. But time is not on the mayor’s side: a recent change to San Jose’s election calendar means the mayoral seat will be up for grabs again in 2024. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan joins us to answer our questions and yours.Guests:Matt Mahan, mayor, San Jose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1954, the Comics Code Authority was formed to censor newsstand comic books by banning depictions of violence, negative portrayals of law enforcement and any mention of homosexuality. The ban created the flourishing world of so-called ‘underground comix,’ which approached banned items as a checklist and inspired a generation of LGBTQ cartoonists to draw themselves and their community on the page. A new PBS documentary, “No Straight Lines,” maps the history of LGBTQ comics frame by frame, from Rupert Kinnard’s “Brown Bomber,” to Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For,” to their influence on the next generation of queer comic artists today. We’ll talk about that history and hear from next generation artists Lawrence Lindell and Maia Kobabe, whose graphic memoir “Gender Queer” is now one of the most-banned books in the U.S.Guests:Maia Kobabe, cartoonist; author, “Gender Queer”Lawrence Lindell, cartoonist; author, “Blackward” and “From Truth with Truth”Vivian Kleiman, director, “No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics”Rupert Kinnard, activist; cartoonist; author, “B.B. and the Diva,” and “Cathartic Comics” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bay Area’s outsized contribution to hip-hop has often been overlooked. But this week KQED launched a yearlong project called That’s My Word, an exploration into the history and influence of Bay Area hip-hop. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the genre that started in New York and moved west. The Bay has played a crucial role as a haven for artists including Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Kamaiyah, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, Too Short and E-40 among many others. We’ll listen to some notable tracks and talk with the project creators about how the Bay Area’s music, vibe and culture gave rise to a distinct blend of hip-hop.Guests:Nastia Voynovskaya, associate editor, KQED ArtsPendarvis Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts; host, KQED's "Rightnowish" podcastGabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & CultureEric Arnold, veteran hip-hop journalist; contributor editor for KQED’s That’s My Word series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California is set to end its Covid-19 state of emergency on February 28. But the virus is still very much a part of our lives, driving ongoing concerns about emerging variants, long covid and the vulnerabilities of the immunocompromised. That’s what KQED’s Digital News team discovered when it asked its online audiences to share what they most wanted to know about Covid in 2023. We’ll answer those questions and take yours.Guests:Carly Severn, senior engagement editor, KQED NewsDr. Peter Chin-Hong M.D., infectious disease specialist, UCSF Medical CenterDr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist and deputy director for the Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing seems to unite people more than their hate for TicketMaster. At a recent Senate Judiciary committee hearing convened in response to the ticket selling debacle around Taylor Swift’s latest stadium tour, Republicans and Democrats alike castigated the company for its practices. Fans and artists complain that Live Nation Entertainment, the conglomerate created when Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, keeps ticket prices sky high by tacking on fees that it keeps for itself. Some legal scholars contend that the company is a monopoly which must be broken up. But is the company all to blame? We’ll talk about why concerts are so expensive and hear from you: Are you finding yourself priced out of attending live concerts?Guests:August Brown, staff writer, Los Angeles Times - Brown covers pop music, the music industry, and nightlife policy. He wrote the recent article, "Everyone Hates Ticketmaster. Is Everyone Wrong?"Diana Moss, President, American Antitrust InstituteGreg Saunier, musician, producer and composer; drummer, DeerhoofClyde Lawrence, film score composer and songwriter; co-founder, the band Lawrence - He recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Ticketmaster.Jordan Cohen, tenor saxophonist and tour manager, the band Lawrence Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Internet culture has spawned a new offspring: “Nepo babies”... the children of celebrities who have joined the family business whether that be movies, modeling, music, or sports. But nepotism isn’t limited to celebrities. We see it in small businesses, in college admissions, and political families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Trumps. Nepotism has been around forever, but lately it seems to be bugging everyone. We’ll talk about why, and hear from you: how has nepotism affected your life?Guests:Nate Jones, Senior writer, Vulture - Jones wrote the anchor story "How a Nepo Baby Is Born" for New York Magazine's issue on nepotism in celebrity cultureAlison Schrager, economist and senior fellow, Manhattan Institute - Schrager is also an opinion columnist for Bloomberg and wrote the recent piece "Open Your Mind to the Benefits of Nepotism"Professor Keith Harrison, professor, DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program, University of Central Florida - Harrison is the research leader of the NFL's annual diversity and inclusion report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of years ago, penned in by the pandemic, writer Peggy Orenstein “felt an inexplicable, unquenchable urge to confront a large animal while wielding a razor-sharp, juddering clipper; shear off its fleece; and figure out how to make it into a sweater.” Her new memoir, “Unraveling,” tells the story of that journey – from shearing a sheep named Martha and spinning and dyeing her wool, to designing and knitting that sweater. Woven through, Orenstein reckons with the environmental and cultural toll of the textile industry, the history of women’s work, the evolution of fairy tales and her own midlife change and loss.Guests:Peggy Orenstein, author, "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater," "Boys and Sex," "Girls and Sex" and "Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation: it bans assault-type weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandates background checks and waiting periods for firearm purchases and empowers citizens to ask a court to temporarily remove a gun from someone likely to harm themselves or others. Its firearm violence death rate is also significantly lower than the rest of the country's. Still, laws alone were not enough to prevent the deadly mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We'll learn why and hear about the obstacles California agencies face as they try to enforce the state's gun laws and contend with lax rules in neighboring states.Guests:Garen Wintemute , director, violence prevention research program at UC Davis - He also practices and teaches emergency medicine at the UC-Davis School of Medicine.Steve Lindley, program manager, Brady Campaign - former chief of the Bureau of Firearms, California Department of JusticeAlana Mathews, assistant district attorney, Contra Costa County Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dungeness crab season is a big deal in the bay area. Whether caught from a boat or off a pier, served with crusty bread and butter or over garlic noodles, it seems like everyone has a favorite dungeness crab dish and story. As part of our regular All You Can Eat series, featuring food cultures of the Bay Area, we’ll talk with people who catch, cook and love crabs about the grip the iconic crustacean has on the bay.Guests:Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & CultureRocky Rivera, emcee and writer, part of KQED's "Frisco Foodies" seriesEdward Wooley, chef and owner, Chef Smelly'sCharlie Chang, chef and owner, PPQ Dungeness IslandMatt Juanes, commercial fisherman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Los Angeles Congressmember Adam Schiff announced Thursday that he’s running to be California’s next Senator in 2024, joining Orange County Representative Katie Porter and setting up a rare battle for Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Feinstein, who has served as Senator since 1992, has yet to announce whether she’ll run for re-election. We’ll talk about what the race signals for the Democratic party, who else is likely to run and the downstream effects on elections for the House of Representatives and local positions. We want to hear from you: Who do you want to be California’s next senator? What kind of senator do you think our state needs?Guests:Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown showJeremy White, covers California politics, PoliticoMelanie Mason, national political correspondent, Los Angeles Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices