KQED's Forum

To USC professor Todd Boyd, hip hop has so permeated American life that what was once a musical subculture now informs entertainment, fashion, sports and politics. In his recent book, “Rapper’s Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made The World,” Professor Boyd – also known as the Notorious PhD – traces the genre over the last 50 years from its humble beginnings in the Bronx, to its west coast ascent in the 1990s and through to the election of President Obama and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. We talk to Boyd and hear from you. What’s a defining moment of hip hop for you?Guests:Dr. Todd Boyd, professor of cinema and media studies, USC; author, "Rapper's Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This November San Francisco voters will get to decide whether to give London Breed another four years as mayor. Polls show voters are dissatisfied with how Breed has handled crime and homelessness, and her political weakness has invited several strong challengers into the race, from the political left, right and middle. Board of Supervisors’ President Aaron Peskin, Supervisor Asha Safaí, philanthropist Daniel Lurie and venture capitalist Mark Farrell are all making a run for the job, among others. We’ll talk about the candidates, San Francisco’s shifting politics and how the city’s ranked choice voting system could affect the dynamics of the race.Guests:Heather Knight, San Francisco bureau chief, New York Times - formerly a San Francisco Chronicle reporter since 1999.Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, reporter and producer covering politics, KQED NewsFormer San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim, California chair, Working Families Party - a progressive advocacy organization Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was a time when being a DJ meant hauling heavy crates of vinyl LPs, sound equipment and lights from one gig to the next. Now with a computer and a portable speaker, you can make any gathering a party. But just because you can make a playlist doesn’t mean you are a real DJ. To actually spin records and put together memorable sets requires skill, practice and talent. We’ll talk to the founder of a DJ school and DJs from around the Bay about what it takes to be a DJ, who in the words of Rihanna, can “pon de replay.”Guests:Nastia Voynovskaya, editor and reporter, KQED ArtsJuan "Wonway Posibul" Amador, DJ and MC - Grammy-nominated DJ Wonway Posibul hosts a daily music show on KALW 91.7 FM that airs from 8-9 PM.Lamont Bransford-Young, DJ and founder of Fingersnaps Media Arts, a DJ school - Bransford-Young hosts "The Fingersnaps Salon" on KPOO.Victoria "Kiki" Fajardo, DJ - DJ Xulaquiles grew up in the East Bay and began her DJ career at 14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polls this month suggest that between 9 and 12 percent of Americans support independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But it’s unclear whether in a general election he and his California-based running mate Nicole Shanahan would draw more votes away from President Biden or Donald Trump. Kennedy, who’s gained political visibility as an anti-vaccine activist and anti-institutionalist, is petitioning to appear on the November ballot in all 50 states; at this point only Utah has confirmed his place. We talk about the impact of RFK’s candidacy and who’s likely to vote for him.Guests:Mike Madrid, Republican strategist; co-founder, The Lincoln Project. His forthcoming book is "The Latino Century: How America's Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy." <br />Michelle Goldberg, op-ed columnist, New York Times. Her books include “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism" and "The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stanford women’s basketball coach, Tara VanDerveer – the winningest coach in the history of college basketball – has announced she’s retiring after 45 years leading the epic team. The news comes after a breakthrough NCAA women’s basketball season in which the women’s championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time. We’ll talk about VanDerveer’s achievements and legacy and her role in the ascension of women’s basketball.Guests:Michelle Smith, WNBA beat writer, The NextJennifer Azzi, chief business development officer, Las Vegas Aces. She was a four-year starter at Stanford from 1987-90, leading the team to its first national championship in 1990.Charmin Smith, head coach, University of California Berkeley's women's basketball team; former player, Stanford women’s basketball team - She was key part of the team's three NCAA Final Four Appearances and three Pac-10 Championships between 1995 to 1997. She is also a former member of the WNBA and ABL.Val Whiting, player, Stanford women's basketball team from 1989-93 - She was part of teams that won two NCAA championships and went to the Final Four three years. She was also named Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Year two years in a row. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The quiet cousin, the rowdy daughter, the bookish aunt, the brash sister. Some are short and busy; others tall, quiet and stately,” writes environmental historian Daniel Lewis. He’s not talking about family members, though. He’s describing trees. In his new book “Twelve Trees,” Lewis urges us to look at trees with empathy and to understand them as beings with history and purpose. We’ll talk to Lewis about the trees he profiles -- including California's coastal redwoods and olive trees -- and why our survival is so closely linked to theirs.Guest:Daniel Lewis, Dibner senior curator for the history of science and technology, Huntington Library; faculty, Caltech; author, "Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Constitutional law professor Maxwell Stearns doesn’t think the U.S. is headed for a constitutional crisis…he thinks we’re already deeply in one. And it’s our constitution itself that’s a big part of the problem. In his new book, Parliamentary America, he maps a way out of the crisis, calling for the country to adopt a parliamentary system of government, like most other democracies in the world. As part of Forum’s Doing Democracy series, we’ll talk to him about his plan, and why he says it would help ease political gridlock and prevent an authoritarian taking power in the U.S.Guest:Maxwell Stearns, professor of law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law; author, "Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means of Radically Repairing Our Broken Democracy" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “unacceptable” during a call last week with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said an immediate ceasefire was essential to protect innocent civilians, according to a White House statement. But the White House also reaffirmed its support for Israel and has not slowed military aid, approving new bomb shipments on the day that Israeli forces struck Gaza aid workers, killing seven. Meanwhile Biden faces mounting pressure from progressive and some mainstream Democrats who are asking for an immediate halt to weapons transfers, and from some voters who say they’ll withhold support for him in the November election unless he changes course. We’ll talk about the Biden Administration’s Israel policy and how it’s evolving. Guests:Erica L. Green, White House correspondent, The New York TimesYasmeen Abutaleb, White House reporter, The Washington PostAlex Ward, national security reporter, Politico; author, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Anne Lamott discusses love, grief, joy, and anger in her new book. She explores the messy aspects of love in life. Lamott reflects on her personal experiences and the inspiration behind her writing. Listeners share stories of meeting Lamott and finding solace in her work.

Reversing pandemic-era admission policies, more universities, including MIT, Yale, Dartmouth and Brown, are again requiring that applicants submit SAT or ACT scores. Research has shown that high scores on the tests are a good predictor of college success, and proponents say that the tests are a more equitable metric than a student’s GPA. In California, public colleges – including the UCs and Cal State schools – remain “test blind” and will not consider a student’s scores, even if submitted. We’ll look at arguments on both sides and get tips for prospective students who are navigating testing issues. Would you like to see the SAT and ACT come back in California? Do you think the tests helped or hurt your college application?Guests:Anna Esaki-Smith, author, “Make College Your Superpower: It's Not Where You Go, It's What You Know;" co-founder, Education Rethink; contributor, ForbesJeff Selingo, author, "Who Gets In &amp; Why: A Year Inside College Admissions," "There is Life After College" and "College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students"Eddie Comeaux, professor and associate dean of graduate education, University of California Riverside Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices