KQED's Forum KQED

Summer camping season is around the corner, and California’s parks and recreation areas have something for everyone: secluded sites in the Sierra backcountry, campgrounds with RV hook-ups and a view of the Pacific, yurts, tent cabins and even campsites that float. We’ll get tips on scoring reservations, how to plan for a trip and how to pack. And we’ll hear about your favorite California camping memories.

Guests:

José González, founder, Latino Outdoors; equity officer, East Bay Regional Park District; board member, Parks California (the statutory nonprofit partner to CA State Parks)

Ana Beatriz Cholo, public affairs specialist and spokesperson, Pacific West Region, National Park Service

Peter Ostroskie, staff park and recreation specialist, Bay Area District, California State Parks

Hong Kong’s famed pineapple bun does not contain pineapples. Samosas can be found in many cultures outside of India. And the birria taco owes a lot to indigenous cultures who helped cultivate a love and devotion to chiles. These are some of the surprising food backstories that host Cecilia Phillips and the team behind KQED’s digital program “Beyond the Menu” explore in this new series. We’ll talk to Philips about where our favorite foods come from and hear from you. What dishes do you love that have an intriguing backstory?

Guests:

Cecilia Phillips, host, "Beyond the Menu" a KQED digital production focused on getting the backstory of some of our favorite dishes; coordinating producer and reporter, "Check, Please! Bay Area"

Emmanuel Galvan, founder and owner, Bolita: Masa y Más L.L.C. - makes and sells artisanal masa and other products

Hetal Vasavada, author, "Milk and Cardamom"; former contestant, MasterChef; Vasavada's work can also be found in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and other publications

Across Mexico, clandestine treatment centers for drug addiction – locally referred to as anexos – have been accused of unethical therapeutic practices and even patient abuse. But among Mexico’s working poor, in the absence of government support, they provide hope and protection from the country’s catastrophic drug war. Anthropologist Angela Garcia spent a decade studying anexos, getting to know the people who run them and families that have come to rely on them. She chronicles their stories and her own reflections in her new book, “The Way That Leads Among The Lost: Life, Death, and Hope In Mexico City’s Anexos.”

Guests:

Angela Garcia, associate professor of anthropology, Stanford; author of the new book “The Way That Leads Among The Lost: Life, Death, and Hope In Mexico City’s Anexos”

Protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continue to grow and spread on college campuses in the Bay Area and across the country. The protests gained momentum earlier this month after more than 100 demonstrators were arrested at Columbia University in protests demanding the school divest from companies that do business with Israel. While the actions have been largely peaceful nationwide, there were scuffles between the protesters and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA on Sunday, and hundreds of protesters were arrested over the weekend at other campuses. We’ll check in on what’s happening at UC Berkeley and other Bay Area schools, and talk with a historian about what past movements can teach us about student protests and social change.

Guests:

Malak Afaneh, law student, UC Berkeley; co-president, Law Students for Justice in Palestine

Angus Johnston, professor and historian of American student activism, City University of New York

Noah Cohen, law student, UC Berkeley

Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor of public affairs, UC Berkeley

The United Nations on Friday warned of a “dramatic escalation of tensions” among warring parties near El Fasher, North Darfur. The area is already on the brink of famine, according to the UN, and an attack on the city could have devastating consequences for civilians. The crisis in El Fasher comes as Sudan’s calamitous war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces enters its second year. The war has left more than 15,000 people dead and more than 8 million displaced, according to relief agencies. We look at conditions on the ground, the forces that are driving the conflict and how the global community is responding.

Guests:

Beverly Ochieng, senior journalist and Africa analyst, BBC Monitoring

Ali Ali-Dinar, Sudanese scholar and senior lecturer in the department of Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

Amb. Susan Page, professor of practice in international diplomacy, University of Michigan; former US ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan (2011-2014)

Susan Stigant, director of Africa programs, United States Institute of Peace

When you walk into the historic, beloved City Lights in San Francisco’s North Beach, it’s easy to get lost in the winding shelves packed with thousands of titles from classic literature, poetry and philosophy to contemporary fiction. There’s a legendary man behind the careful curation. Chief book buyer Paul Yamazaki has worked at City Lights since the 1970’s and has dedicated his career to filling the shelves with titles that spark conversations between books and readers. “Any single book has a constellation of conversations, consequences, and causes,” Yamazaki says in his new book “Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale.” We’ll talk to Yamazaki about independent bookstores and what he sees for the future of books.

Guests:

Paul Yamazaki, chief book buyer, City Lights Bookstore - In 2023, Paul won the National Book Foundation's Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community

Melinda Powers, head book buyer, Book Shop Santa Cruz; president, California Independent Booksellers Alliance

Stephen Sparks, owner, Point Reyes Books and Wayfinder Bookshop

Hannah Oliver Depp, owner, Loyalty bookstore