KQED's Forum

As the drought worsens, Santa Clara County has declared a water shortage emergency, paving the way for mandatory water restrictions for the county's residents. While most individual water usage is drop in the bucket compared with agricultural water use, many residents and businesses want to do something to help. Did you know that you can save approximately 25 gallons of water by taking a five-minute shower instead of a 10-minute shower? We’ll get the latest on how the drought is affecting the Bay Area, and learn some tips for conserving water usage at home and at work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to a recent report published by ProPublica, some of the nation’s richest executives — Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mike Bloomberg, to name a few — pay little to no income tax. This news may come as no surprise to many, but one startling fact stands out: the methods and deductions these billionaires use are all perfectly legal. Using a trove of leaked IRS files, reporters from ProPublica analyzed more than 15 years worth of tax returns to unveil the ways in which the wealthiest among us avoid paying federal income tax. We’ll hear about the report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 40 years since the CDC first reported cases of a deadly, rare lung infection in five previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. The infection came later to be understood as a symptom of HIV-AIDS, the syndrome that has claimed more than 700,000 American lives. We’ll hear reflections from those who knew and cared for the earliest and sickest patients, in an era of scarce public health information and widespread homophobia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of his $12 billion two-year plan to address homelessness, Governor Newsom initially earmarked $7 billion to be used for a variety of housing measures, including Project Homekey, a state-sponsored program that buys existing motels, hotels and office buildings to convert them into housing. Housing advocates say this is a game changer that could create 43,000 units of housing that would help alleviate the suffering of the 161,000 people in California without a home. But some experts say it’s unlikely to be sufficient, as the state’s homeless population grows due to unemployment from the pandemic and the looming end of the statewide eviction moratorium. We’ll talk about how Homekey works, who it serves and whether this ambitious program is a sustainable solution for what has been an intractable problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 2.5 million people in the United States -- the majority of whom are women, immigrants and people of color -- work in what’s known as the care economy. They’re house cleaners, nannies and caregivers for the elderly. During the pandemic, many lost their jobs while others took immense risks to keep working. Ai-Jen Poo, who heads the National Domestic Workers Alliance, joins us to talk about the fight to secure better pay and benefits for workers and why she believes that domestic work should be treated as essential infrastructure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nancy Reagan is one of the most controversial first ladies in U.S. history. She rewrote the role of political spouse first in Sacramento when her husband was governor, then in the White House. In her new biography, “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan,” Washington Post political columnist Karen Tumulty traces Nancy Reagan's personal history and the path that led to her becoming so influential in the Reagan Whitehouse. Tumulty joins us to discuss her in-depth portrayal of the first lady. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Federal judge in San Diego struck down California’s ban on assault-style guns on Friday. The state is appealing the ruling, but how effective is the ban? California has 107 laws on the books aimed at gun control, but it also has the most mass-shootings in the nation. We’ll examine the court decision and the future and effectiveness of gun laws in California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prime coastline property in Los Angeles County known as Bruce’s Beach could be returned to descendants of its early 20th century Black owners if a state senate bill approved this week becomes law. In the 1920s, the Manhattan Beach City Council seized the beachfront land from Willa and Charles Bruce, who endured years of brutal harassment by white neighbors and the KKK. Its return could be a model for reparations in the state and comes as California’s new reparations task force convenes. We’ll talk about the history of Bruce’s Beach and its significance amid broader efforts to compensate Black Californians for historical injustices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his new book “Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients,” Dr. Robert Pearl offers an indictment of physician culture -- a culture he argues leads to doctor burnout and bad patient outcomes. For 18 years, Pearl served as the CEO of the Permanente Medical Group, the largest medical group in the country, and that experience led him to realize that to improve care for patients, doctors needed to re-evaluate the cultural norms they had been trained to accept. We’ll talk to Pearl about how fixing healthcare in America means also fixing its doctors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Travel-deprived Americans are snapping up airline tickets and hotel reservations, heralding a summer 2021 vacation boom. Photos from destinations ranging from campgrounds to Caribbean islands are popping up in social media feeds. But how safe is travel and what do vacationers need to consider as the economy reopens? Many Americans are opting for domestic travel, leading to rental cars and hotels booking up in popular cities. We discuss where people are heading this summer and what’s changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices