KQED's Forum

To date, Miriam Adelson has donated over $200 million to various political campaigns. “She is effectively a queen,” reporter Elizabeth Weil writes in her New York Magazine article about the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the richest Israeli and eighth richest woman in the world. As Trump’s top patron in 2020, Adelson has recently announced her intention to channel more than $100 million to this year’s Trump reelection efforts. But what will she want in return? Some speculate Adelson will begin with insistence on complete support for Israel and a continuation of Trump’s Israel agenda from last term, including backing Israel annexing the West Bank. We’ll talk with Weil about Adelson’s 30 billion dollar worth, and what it could mean for this campaign season and our foreign policy.Guests:Elizabeth Weil, feature writer, New York Magazine; author of the New York Magazine article "Miriam Adelson’s Unfinished Business: What does the eighth richest woman in the world want?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans may lack political power in Sacramento, but in recent years, they’ve made inroads on local school boards. Now, some of those conservative officials are facing recall elections. Temecula voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether or not to recall school board president Joseph Komrosky, who worked to ban critical race theory (which is not taught in the district) and require parental notification if students identify as transgender. A recall of conservative school trustees is also in the works in the Bay Area community of Sunol. We’ll look at what’s behind the recalls and what they say about the volatile politics of public education in the state.Guests:Madison Aument, reporter, KVCRErin Allday, reporter, San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Collins, assistant professor of political science and education, Teachers College, Columbia University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 40% of state legislators have been victims of threats or attacks since 2020, according to a recent survey. Death threats, stalking and relentless harassment of public officials working across local, state and federal government has becoming increasingly common. Experts say intimidation is feeding on political divisiveness and the abuse is pushing people out of government all together. We’ll talk with politicians who have been targeted, and with experts, about why violence against public officials is so pervasive and what can be done about it.Guests:Eric Swalwell, U.S. Representative representing the 14th District of California, including parts of the East Bay; Rep. Swalwell serves on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security CommitteesRachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace studying political violenceGowri Ramachandran, deputy director of elections and government, Brennan Center for JusticeScott Wiener, California state senator representing San Francisco Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki says she learned some of her most effective communication strategies “the hard way.” These techniques were absorbed, refined and stress-tested on her rise to one of the most powerful communication roles in the nation. And as she writes in her new book, they’re “applicable to a wide range of life experiences, whether you’re a parent talking to a teacher about your preschooler, a friend trying to encourage a coworker to take a risk, or a young female staffer trying to convince the most powerful man in the world what he might want to include in his State of the Union address.” We talk to Psaki about how to achieve common understanding and about the importance of knowing your audience, especially in our politically divided nation. Her new book is called “Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World.”Guests:Jen Psaki, host, "Inside With Psaki" on MSNBC; former White House press secretary under President Biden; White House communications director under President Obama Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the newly named Brazil bureau chief for the New York Times, Ernesto Londoño had hit a journalistic zenith. Yet, he had never been more depressed. Contemplating suicide and eager for a way out of his sadness, Londoño signed up for an Amazonian ayahuasca retreat. He was initially skeptical of the drug’s ability to alter his mental health trajectory, but ultimately that experience ended up changing Londoño’s life. That story centers his new book, “Trippy,” which also looks at the promise and peril of medicinal psychedelics.Guests:Ernesto Londoño, author, "Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics"; national correspondent, the New York Times; Londoño has reported from Iraq and Afghanistan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A New York state jury on Thursday found former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records. Those falsified records were to cover up a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. After being the first former U.S. president to stand trial for felony charges, Trump is now the first president to be found guilty in criminal court. His sentencing date is set for July 11 — days before the Republican National Convention. We’ll talk about the verdict, the sentencing and the expected appeals ahead. And we’ll break down the political repercussions within California and the nation.Guests:Shanlon Wu, criminal defense attorney; CNN legal analyst; former federal prosecutor who also served as counsel to Attorney General Janet RenoMelissa Murray, professor of law, NYU School of Law - co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcastAndrea Bernstein, covered five Trump trials in New York for NPR, and the author of "American Oligarchs: the Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power." She is also the co-host of the podcasts "We Don't Talk About Leonard," "Will Be Wild," and "Trump, Inc." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, making him the first current or former president in US history to become a convicted felon. It’s earth shaking news and still, the presidential race, with Trump in it, continues on. We’ll talk about what happens next, how the politics might shake out and we’ll hear from listeners and process all of our reactions.Guests:Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED - Co-host of KQED's Political Breakdown showScott Shafer, senior editor, KQED’s California Politics and Government desk; co-host, Political BreakdownDavid Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent New York Times investigation reveals how violent radical elements in Israel’s settler movement in the West Bank have been allowed to operate with impunity for decades. The report, based in part on accounts by Israeli officials, examines a two-tier system of justice where the authorities systematically ignored or enabled settler violence against Palestinians. Today, leaders of this extremist fringe have gained powerful positions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. We’ll talk with the report’s co-author, Mark Mazzetti, about the rise of Israeli extremism and what it means for the current war and U.S.-Israel relations.Guests:Mark Mazzetti, investigative reporter focusing on national security, New York Times; co-author, the May 16 cover story "The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australian standup comedian Hannah Gadsby took the world by storm with their 2018 show Nanette, which paired punchlines with personal revelations about sexuality, art and gender-based violence. Since then, Gadsby has married, been diagnosed as autistic, and grappled with fame – all subjects of their subsequent standup performances. In June, Gadsby brings their latest show, Woof!, to the Bay Area. We talk with them about their unique brand of feel-good comedy, the searing social commentary that made them famous, and why “woof!” is the only sane reaction to our present reality.Guests:Hannah Gadsby, comedian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, schools and universities were quick to ban the use of the generative artificial intelligence chatbot. Teachers have reported students using the service to cheat and turn in plagiarized and inaccurate essays. But Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, says generative AI can be a force for good in education. Khan Academy now has an educational AI chatbot, Khanmigo, which can guide students while still promoting critical thinking. Khan says developments like these could allow for every student to have a personal AI tutor and every teacher an AI teaching assistant. And Khan thinks incorporating AI in the classroom can allow for exciting new learning opportunities — with the right programming and guardrails. His new book is “Brave New Words.”Guests:Sal Khan, founder and CEO, Khan Academy - an education non-profit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices