KQED's Forum KQED

When New Yorker staff writer Emily Nussbaum began working on her book about the origins of reality TV, she says that the deeper she looked “the darker things got.” She found reality stars whose lives were wrecked and “methods of production so ugly they’re hard to look at.” But she says reality TV has also elevated the struggles of ordinary people, taken on historically forbidden subjects like queerness and divorce and pioneered new filmmaking techniques. We talk to Nussbaum about her new book “Cue The Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV,” which she calls her attempt “to describe the reality genre through the voices of the people who built it.”

Guests:

Emily Nussbaum, author, "Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV"; staff writer, The New Yorker

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao spoke publicly on Monday for the first time since the FBI raided her home last week. Thao, who faces a recall election in November, said she does not plan to step down or be “threatened out of this office.” Since coming into office in January of 2023, the mayor has dealt with a flood of criticism for her handling of property crime, homicide rates, police staffing levels, and a major budget deficit. We’ll talk about what the FBI raid could mean, the various controversies the mayor is facing, and why she’s being asked to resign.

Guests:

Darwin BondGraham, news editor, Oaklandside

Annelise Finney, reporter, KQED

Dan Lindheim, policy scholar and urban affairs expert, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy; former City Administrator of Oakland under Mayor Ron Dellums

Project 2025, the sweeping right-wing agenda drafted by the Heritage Foundation, calls for expanding presidential powers, eliminating federal agencies and programs and implementing substantial tax cuts. Created by close allies of former President Trump, it mirrors much of his campaign rhetoric. Meanwhile, Democrats are using it as a call to action. We examine the specifics of Project 2025 and how closely it aligns with Trump’s agenda.

Guests:

Philip Bump, national columnist, the Washington Post

Nicholas Wu, congressional reporter, Politico

Michael Hirsh, senior correspondent, Foreign Policy; author, "Inside the Next Republican Revolution" a Politico article on Project 2025

Michael Andor Broudeur is a classical music critic for the Washington Post and he’s also a self-described “meathead” with an relentless desire to make his body bigger. In his book “Swole: The Making of Man and the Meaning of Muscle” Broudeur grapples with the contradictions and complexities of male body image and masculinity. He embraces the gay male gym culture he’s a part of but writes that it would be silly “to try and distance the symbol of the buff male bod from its long and wide lineage of unsavory cultural signifiers. As a mascot for classical beauty, the meathead must also embody white supremacy, hetero-patriarchy, and a vast panoply of nationalisms.” We’ll talk with Brodeur about how weight training has shifted his perspective on what it means to be a man.

Guests:

Michael Andor Brodeur, author, "Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle"; classical music critic, the Washington Post

Immigrants to any country learn to adapt. So it was the case for food writer and cookbook author Khushbu Shah’s family who came to the States from India. Hoping to recreate dishes from home, but not finding the ingredients they needed, Shah’s family like other members of the Indian diaspora, used the ingredients on hand — Bisquick for khoya an ingredient in the dessert Galub Jamun, peanut butter in chutneys, or Cream of Wheat to take the place Upma, a polenta-like dish. What emerged was a distinctly Indian-American cuisine, which is the focus of Shah’s cookbook, “Amrikan.” We talk to Shah about her favorite recipes and her tips for turning pantry staples into Indian comfort meals.

Guests:

Khushbu Shah, author, "Amrikan"; food writer and journalist; She was most recently the restaurant editor at Food and Wine magazine.

Meteorologists are predicting this summer will be one of the hottest on record, and they’re warning we’re likely in for a big wildfire season. Heavy rains in recent years enabled a couple of mild years of fire. But this year’s heat and drier conditions are already fueling blazes. So far, major fires have forced evacuations and singed homes in Sonoma County and Southern California. We’ll talk about the weather, what we can expect the rest of the year and what you can do to prepare for an active fire season.

Guests:

Brian Garcia, warning coordination meteorologist, National Weather Service SF Bay Area/Monterey

Isaac Sanchez, deputy chief of communications, Cal Fire

Daniel Swain, climate scientist, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA

Danielle Venton, science reporter, KQED News