KQED's Forum KQED

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Illia Ponomarenko was a 29-year-old journalist for the newspaper he co-founded, The Kyiv Independent. His daily, on-the-ground reporting quickly captured an international audience: by 2023 the German media organization Der Spiegel called him “likely the best-known Ukrainian after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.” Ponomarenko’s new book, “I Will Show You How It Was,” provides a first-person account of the Battle of Kyiv and its impact on civilians. “Life during the Battle of Kyiv,” he writes, “was a bizarre mixture of inconceivable inspiration, unity, and pride—and at the same time, of dark grief and mourning.” We talk to Ponomarenko about what he’s witnessed over the past two years and his plea for America to “do the right thing.”

Guest:
Illia Ponomarenko, journalist and author, “I Will Show You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv”; former defense and security reporter, The Kyiv Post; co-founder, The Kyiv Independent. He has covered the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict's beginning, as well as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022

The 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting was awarded to the staff of Lookout Santa Cruz on Monday. The prize committee praised the tiny, digital-only media outlet for its “detailed and nimble community-focused coverage” of the catastrophic flooding and mudslides last year that did great damage to the Santa Cruz area. We’ll talk to the staff about the media outlet, which was founded in 2020, its coverage, and the future of local journalism.

Guests:
Ken Doctor, CEO and founder, Lookout Santa Cruz. Doctor writes regularly for Harvard's Nieman Journalism
Tamsin McMahon, managing editor, Lookout Santa Cruz
Christopher Neely, correspondent, Lookout Santa Cruz

Amor Towles says the title of his new book “Table for Two” arose from a subconscious conviction “that our lives can often change materially due to a single conversation.” And it’s the power of a conversation – or a chance encounter or a sudden decision – to force a personal or historical reckoning that animate the characters in his latest work, a collection of six stories and a novella set in in New York and Los Angeles. We talk to Towles, who’s also the bestselling author of “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “The Lincoln Highway,” about finding inspiration for his stories, how history informs his work and what it’s like to see his novels adapted for the screen.

Guests:

Amor Towles, author, "Table for Two." His other books include "The Lincoln Highway," "A Gentleman in Moscow" and "Rules of Civility."

If you go to the SFMOMA right now, it’ll be hard to miss the massive, 32-foot wide mural depicting a utopian, fantastical and hopeful version of San Francisco. The mural is the opening to a historic exhibition, “The House that Art Built,” which showcases eleven artists with developmental disabilities who are associated with Oakland-based nonprofit Creative Growth. In addition to the exhibition, SFMOMA has also permanently acquired more than 100 works created by artists with developmental disabilities. We’ll talk about the stunning exhibition, the acquisition and the future for artists with disabilities in the Bay Area.

Guests:

Joseph Alef, artist, Creative Growth; Alef has a painting in the SFMOMA

Susan Janow, artist, Creative Growth; Janow has a video piece in the SFMOMA; her work was previously acquired by the SFMOMA in 2018

William Scott, artist, Creative Growth; Scott has a mural in the SFMOMA; his work was previously acquired by the SFMOMA in 2017

Chris Bedford, director, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)

Tom Di Maria, executive director, Creative Growth Art Center

As the war between Israel and Hamas enters its eighth month, U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators are awaiting an official response from Hamas on a proposed ceasefire deal that calls for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The latest reports have stated that talks have broken down as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will invade the Palestinian city Rafah – where one million displaced Gazans are seeking refuge – “with or without a deal.” We’ll look at where negotiations stand, what it would take to end the war in Gaza and what the next steps might be.

Guests:

Bel Trew, chief international correspondent, The Independent

Missy Ryan, national security correspondent, Washington Post

Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent, The Economist - author of "How Long Will Israel Survive? The Threat From Within"

What’s next for TikTok? President Biden signed legislation on April 24 that would ban the popular video-sharing app unless its Chinese owner ByteDance sells to a U.S-based company. Supporters of the law say TikTok poses national security risks, warning that the Chinese government could potentially access sensitive user data or spread misinformation on the app. ByteDance says it has no intention of selling and will fight in the courts to stay in business. We’ll look at what it all could mean for TikTok and its 170 million users in the US.

Guests:

Tim Wu, professor of law, science and technology, Columbia Law School - His latest book is "The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age"

Suzy Loftus, Head of Trust and Safety, TikTok USDS

Sapna Maheshwari, business reporter, New York Times - covering TikTok and emerging media

Vivian Xue, TikTok creator; CEO, Pamper Nail Gallery - based in San Francisco