KQED's Forum

A drenching rainy season that isn’t over yet has given California another gift, besides a big snowpack and gnarly skiing: a “superbloom.” A superbloom is not a scientific term according to botanists, but this year’s bloom promises to deliver a spectacular display. Anza-Borrego Desert is already reaching its peak, the park currently awash in a carpet of desert sunflowers, dune primrose and dandelions. For many areas across the state, peak blooms are still ahead. We talk to superbloom explorers, experts and wildflower lovers about what to look out for and the best ways to experience this year’s bonanza.Guests:Radhika Thekkath, co-president, Santa Clara Valley chapter of the California Native Plant SocietyEvan Meyer, botanist and executive director, nonprofit Theodore Payne FoundationDan McCamish, senior environmental scientist, Colorado Desert District, California State Parks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chiura Obata had a promising career when he left Japan for California in 1903. But the pull of this new country was compelling. A long-time arts professor at Berkeley, Obata was a leading figure of the Northern California arts community. His watercolor and ink paintings of the natural world, including vistas of the Sierras and Yosemite, as well as finely wrought and closely observed paintings of flowers, fish and fauna brought him acclaim. But the art schools he opened while incarcerated in concentration camps at Topaz and Tanforan in World War II made him beloved. Reflecting on his career, Obata wrote, “I dedicate my paintings, first, to the grand nature of California, which, over the long years, in sad as well as in delightful times, has always given me great lessons, comfort, and nourishment. Second, to the people who share the same thoughts, as though drawing water from one river under one tree.” We’ll talk about a current exhibit of his work at the SFMOMA with Obata experts, including his granddaughter.Guests:Kimi Kodani Hill, Obata family historian - Kodani Hill is the granddaughter of painter Chiura Obata whose solo exhibition is up at the SF MOMA through July 14.Nancy Lim, associate curator, San Francisco Modern Museum of Art (SF MOMA) - Lim curated the Chiura Obata exhibition currently on display at SFMOMA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, it’s been primarily women and girls who tend to be diagnosed with eating disorders. But recent research shows that adolescent boys are prone to disordered eating as well, though they may exhibit different symptoms from girls. Where disordered eating in girls can focus on thinness, in boys, eating disorders can be complicated by athletic training or a desire for increased muscle mass, making it harder to diagnose under current criteria. We talk about the challenges of diagnosing and treating eating disorders in boys, and we’ll hear from you. Do you have a personal experience with an eating disorder?If you are struggling with an eating disorder and are in need of support, you can find resources and helplines at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/Guests:Dr. Jason Nagata, adolescent medicine specialist, UCSF Benioff Children's HospitalTim Tollefson, professional ultrarunner and race director, Mammoth Trail FestJohn Schu, librarian and writer. He is the author of "Louder Than Hunger." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a report released this week by United Nations-backed food experts. The analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) also finds that half of Gaza’s population, 1.1 million people, , would most likely experience “catastrophic” shortages of food by mid-July. We’ll discuss the IPC report and get the latest on efforts to speed up humanitarian assistance as Israel continues to wage war on Hamas.Guests:Rushdi Abualouf, Gaza correspondent based in Istanbul, BBCAlex DeWaal, executive director, World Peace Foundation; research professor, Tufts UniversityAbby Maxman, president and CEO, Oxfam America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James and Jennifer Crumbley are set to be sentenced next month after separate juries convicted them of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent their son from killing four classmates in a 2021 mass shooting at a Michigan high school. The Crumbleys’ convictions mark the first time in U.S. legal history that the parents of a school shooter have been found criminally liable for their child’s actions. Some legal analysts say the highly specific facts of the case mark it as an outlier. But others say it could set precedent for parental liability — for gun crimes and beyond. We’ll talk about the verdicts and their potential ramifications.Guests:Erik Ortiz, senior reporter focusing on racial injustice and social inequality, NBC NewsEkow Yankah, professor of law and of philosophy and associate dean, University of MichiganAnthony Portantino, state senator, 25th district in Southern California -he authored Senate Bill 53, which would expand existing firearm safe storage laws. Senator Portantino authored California’s safe storage law in 2019 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ninja Loop is a 12-mile trail that starts in the Marin Headlands and climbs 2,000 feet to a crest from which runners can witness the rising sun if they time it right. Since its christening in 2008, the trail has become a popular stalwart among many fabled Bay Area trail runs, like the Dipsea, and 3,500 attempts have been made to break its course record of one hour and six minutes. We’ll talk about the Loop and other popular trail runs in the region. What’s your favorite run?Guests:Victor Diaz, owner, Renegade RunningTed Knudsen, owner, San Francisco Running Company; race director, Quad Dipsea race which he has run 25 timesOlivia Allen-Price, host, KQED's Bay Curious - a podcast that investigates questions asked by local residents about things both profound and peculiar that make the Bay Area unique Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropologist Jason De León has spent a career documenting the stories of migrants making their way across the Sonoran Desert at the Southern US border. But in his new book, “Soldiers And Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling,” De León turns his gaze towards the smugglers. For nearly seven years, he embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Central America and Mexico, following them as they led people north. We’ll talk to him about his book, what he learned from this rare look into this side of the billion-dollar industry and what can be done to address the global migration crisis.Guests:Jason De León, author, “Soldiers And Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling"; director, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; professor of anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies, UCLA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The City of Berkeley will soon return sacred land to an Indigenous trust, in what Berkeley’s mayor has called the largest urban land give-back in California history. After nearly a decade of litigation the city acquired a 2.2 acre parking lot in West Berkeley which sits on the last undeveloped land of the oldest Ohlone shellmound, which was designated as a city landmark in 2000. The city acquired the land for 27 million dollars, mostly with money from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust. We’ll talk about the plans for the site and what it means for Ohlone people, the city of Berkeley and the future of the land back movement.Guests:Sophie Hahn, councilmember, Berkeley District 5Corrina Gould, director, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust; spokeswoman and tribal chair, Confederated Villages of Lisjan/OhloneMelissa Nelson, board president, Sogorea Te' Land Trust; professor of Indigenous Sustainability, Arizona State UniversityFarimah Faiz Brown, City Attorney, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heart disease is by far the leading cause of death for women in the United States. Yet, women with heart conditions are less likely than men to receive aggressive treatment and preventive medication and more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by doctors. It’s one of the many gender inequities that oncologist Elizabeth Comen explores in her new book “All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today.” We talk to Comen about how gender bias is expressed in medicine and the barriers to treating women equitably in a field she describes as created for men, by men. And we’ll hear from you: have you felt dismissed or unfairly treated in the doctor’s office?Guests:Elizabeth Comen M.D., oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; author, "All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The warden of the troubled federal women’s prison in Dublin was ousted last Monday amid an FBI raid of the facility. Art Dulgov was removed just months into his tenure in the wake of allegations of retaliation against an inmate who spoke out about abuse at the prison. Despite prior leadership changes and promises to fix problems, the prison – which has been known as the “rape club” – has remained plagued by abuse cases, with at least eight employees charged since 2021, when an Associated Press investigation exposed the abuse scandal. We’ll talk with one of the Associated Press reporters and get the latest on the FBI raid, the leadership shakeup and conditions at the prison.Guests:Alex Hall, enterprise and accountability reporter, KQEDMichael Balsamo, U.S. law enforcement news editor, Associated PressAmaris Montes, director of west coast litigation and advocacy, Rights Behind Bars - which is representing Dublin prisoners in their class action lawsuitAshley Rolanda, she was incarcerated at FCI Dublin, and has been speaking out about conditions at the prison, where she says she was sexually assaulted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices