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The Colorado River, which supplies water to much of the western United States, continues to diminish under historic drought conditions. And California is under pressure to reduce the amount of water it takes. The agricultural industry in California’s Imperial Valley alone gets more water than Arizona and Nevada combined – but that’s because under law, those farmers have some of the Colorado River’s oldest water rights. Citing those rights, California rejected a proposal last week from the six other Colorado River-dependent states on how to divide the water and instead put forward its own plan. We’ll take a closer look at the impasse and the impact of the shrinking Colorado River on the Imperial Valley and beyond. Guests: Sammy Roth, energy reporter, Los Angeles Times Janet Wilson, senior environment reporter, The Desert Sun - and Stanford Western Media Fellow

Recently elected San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is now at the helm of the largest city in the Bay Area and the 10th largest city in the United States. San Jose faces a lack of affordable housing, struggling local businesses and resident concerns over public safety. Mahan said he plans to use a results-oriented and data-driven approach focused on getting back to basics. But time is not on the mayor’s side: a recent change to San Jose’s election calendar means the mayoral seat will be up for grabs again in 2024. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan joins us to answer our questions and yours. Guests: Matt Mahan, mayor, San Jose

In 1954, the Comics Code Authority was formed to censor newsstand comic books by banning depictions of violence, negative portrayals of law enforcement and any mention of homosexuality. The ban created the flourishing world of so-called ‘underground comix,’ which approached banned items as a checklist and inspired a generation of LGBTQ cartoonists to draw themselves and their community on the page. A new PBS documentary, “No Straight Lines,” maps the history of LGBTQ comics frame by frame, from Rupert Kinnard’s “Brown Bomber,” to Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For,” to their influence on the next generation of queer comic artists today. We’ll talk about that history and hear from next generation artists Lawrence Lindell and Maia Kobabe, whose graphic memoir “Gender Queer” is now one of the most-banned books in the U.S. Guests: Maia Kobabe, cartoonist; author, “Gender Queer” Lawrence Lindell, cartoonist; author, “Blackward” and “From Truth with Truth” Vivian Kleiman, director, “No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics” Rupert Kinnard, activist; cartoonist; author, “B.B. and the Diva,” and “Cathartic Comics”

The Bay Area’s outsized contribution to hip-hop has often been overlooked. But this week KQED launched a yearlong project called That’s My Word, an exploration into the history and influence of Bay Area hip-hop. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the genre that started in New York and moved west. The Bay has played a crucial role as a haven for artists including Mac Dre, Keak Da Sneak, Kamaiyah, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, Too Short and E-40 among many others. We’ll listen to some notable tracks and talk with the project creators about how the Bay Area’s music, vibe and culture gave rise to a distinct blend of hip-hop. Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, associate editor, KQED Arts Pendarvis Harshaw, columnist, KQED Arts; host, KQED's "Rightnowish" podcast Gabe Meline, senior editor, KQED Arts & Culture Eric Arnold, veteran hip-hop journalist; contributor editor for KQED’s That’s My Word series

California is set to end its Covid-19 state of emergency on February 28. But the virus is still very much a part of our lives, driving ongoing concerns about emerging variants, long covid and the vulnerabilities of the immunocompromised. That’s what KQED’s Digital News team discovered when it asked its online audiences to share what they most wanted to know about Covid in 2023. We’ll answer those questions and take yours. Guests: Carly Severn, senior engagement editor, KQED News Dr. Peter Chin-Hong M.D., infectious disease specialist, UCSF Medical Center Dr. Erica Pan, California State Epidemiologist and deputy director for the Center for Infectious Diseases, California Department of Public Health

Nothing seems to unite people more than their hate for TicketMaster. At a recent Senate Judiciary committee hearing convened in response to the ticket selling debacle around Taylor Swift’s latest stadium tour, Republicans and Democrats alike castigated the company for its practices. Fans and artists complain that Live Nation Entertainment, the conglomerate created when Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, keeps ticket prices sky high by tacking on fees that it keeps for itself. Some legal scholars contend that the company is a monopoly which must be broken up. But is the company all to blame? We’ll talk about why concerts are so expensive and hear from you: Are you finding yourself priced out of attending live concerts? Guests: August Brown, staff writer, Los Angeles Times - Brown covers pop music, the music industry, and nightlife policy. He wrote the recent article, "Everyone Hates Ticketmaster. Is Everyone Wrong?" Diana Moss, President, American Antitrust Institute Greg Saunier, musician, producer and composer; drummer, Deerhoof Clyde Lawrence, film score composer and songwriter; co-founder, the band Lawrence - He recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Ticketmaster. Jordan Cohen, tenor saxophonist and tour manager, the band Lawrence

Internet culture has spawned a new offspring: “Nepo babies”... the children of celebrities who have joined the family business whether that be movies, modeling, music, or sports. But nepotism isn’t limited to celebrities. We see it in small businesses, in college admissions, and political families like the Kennedys, Bushes, and Trumps. Nepotism has been around forever, but lately it seems to be bugging everyone. We’ll talk about why, and hear from you: how has nepotism affected your life? Guests: Nate Jones, Senior writer, Vulture - Jones wrote the anchor story "How a Nepo Baby Is Born" for New York Magazine's issue on nepotism in celebrity culture Alison Schrager, economist and senior fellow, Manhattan Institute - Schrager is also an opinion columnist for Bloomberg and wrote the recent piece "Open Your Mind to the Benefits of Nepotism" Professor Keith Harrison, professor, DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program, University of Central Florida - Harrison is the research leader of the NFL's annual diversity and inclusion report.

A couple of years ago, penned in by the pandemic, writer Peggy Orenstein “felt an inexplicable, unquenchable urge to confront a large animal while wielding a razor-sharp, juddering clipper; shear off its fleece; and figure out how to make it into a sweater.” Her new memoir, “Unraveling,” tells the story of that journey – from shearing a sheep named Martha and spinning and dyeing her wool, to designing and knitting that sweater. Woven through, Orenstein reckons with the environmental and cultural toll of the textile industry, the history of women’s work, the evolution of fairy tales and her own midlife change and loss. Guests: Peggy Orenstein, author, "Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater," "Boys and Sex," "Girls and Sex" and "Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture"

California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation: it bans assault-type weapons and high-capacity magazines, mandates background checks and waiting periods for firearm purchases and empowers citizens to ask a court to temporarily remove a gun from someone likely to harm themselves or others. Its firearm violence death rate is also significantly lower than the rest of the country's. Still, laws alone were not enough to prevent the deadly mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We'll learn why and hear about the obstacles California agencies face as they try to enforce the state's gun laws and contend with lax rules in neighboring states. Guests: Garen Wintemute , director, violence prevention research program at UC Davis - He also practices and teaches emergency medicine at the UC-Davis School of Medicine. Steve Lindley, program manager, Brady Campaign - former chief of the Bureau of Firearms, California Department of Justice Alana Mathews, assistant district attorney, Contra Costa County

Dungeness crab season is a big deal in the bay area. Whether caught from a boat or off a pier, served with crusty bread and butter or over garlic noodles, it seems like everyone has a favorite dungeness crab dish and story. As part of our regular All You Can Eat series, featuring food cultures of the Bay Area, we’ll talk with people who catch, cook and love crabs about the grip the iconic crustacean has on the bay. Guests: Luke Tsai, food editor, KQED Arts & Culture Rocky Rivera, emcee and writer, part of KQED's "Frisco Foodies" series Edward Wooley, chef and owner, Chef Smelly's Charlie Chang, chef and owner, PPQ Dungeness Island Matt Juanes, commercial fisherman

Los Angeles Congressmember Adam Schiff announced Thursday that he’s running to be California’s next Senator in 2024, joining Orange County Representative Katie Porter and setting up a rare battle for Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Feinstein, who has served as Senator since 1992, has yet to announce whether she’ll run for re-election. We’ll talk about what the race signals for the Democratic party, who else is likely to run and the downstream effects on elections for the House of Representatives and local positions. We want to hear from you: Who do you want to be California’s next senator? What kind of senator do you think our state needs? Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's Political Breakdown show Jeremy White, covers California politics, Politico Melanie Mason, national political correspondent, Los Angeles Times

Major Bay Area employers including Salesforce, Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and Facebook parent company Meta have all cut thousands of workers in the last few months. The headlines are startling, but economists say the job market remains in relatively good shape. Unemployment in California hovers near 4 percent down from 16 percent in April 2020, and many industries are still experiencing a worker shortage. Forum talks about layoffs, the job market and what could happen next. Guests: Jennie Brand, professor of sociology and statistics, director of the California Center for Population Research and co-director of the Center for Social Statistics, Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles Kathryn Minshew, CEO and founder, The Muse, a career platform, and Fairygodboss, a career community for women Sinem Buber, lead economist, ZipRecruiter - online employment marketplace Parul Koul, software engineer, Google; executive chair, Alphabet Workers Union

As a girl growing up in Canyon Country, California, Lauren Fleshman could run fast. Really fast. As a high school student and recruited athlete at Stanford, Fleshman won races, set records, and her talent allowed her to go pro. But throughout her career, Fleshman saw many teammates leave the sport or develop physical or mental health problems. So little was known then, and even now, about how young female athletes develop physically and often training regimens were made for men with women being afterthoughts. Today, as a coach, she’s bringing a new eye to how to build a successful career as a woman runner. We’ll talk about her new book, 'Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World,' which challenges the way the sports world treats its female athletes. Guests: Lauren Fleshman, author, "Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World;" distance runner, won five NCAA championships and two national championships as a professional runner

The buoyant protagonist of San Francisco writer Kathryn Ma’s new novel, The Chinese Groove, migrates from China, where he’s part of the outcast branch of his family, to San Francisco, where he is sure his distant relatives will welcome and nurture him and shepherd him along his path. Forum talks to Ma about the comedy of errors that follow, San Francisco through a new immigrant’s eyes and her character’s faith in the “groove,” the kindness and generosity expected from fellow countrymen. Guests: Kathryn Ma, author, "The Chinese Groove," "The Year She Left Us" and "All That Work and Still No Boys"

Aviation is responsible for over two percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and for technological reasons it’s one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize. But California – an early adopter of sustainable aviation fuel and home to 12 international airports – is positioned to guide the nation toward greener air travel, according to UC Berkeley climate and energy expert Ethan Elkind. As part of Forum's new series "In Transit," we’ll talk about the hope and limitations of green aviation technology and how we can reduce our carbon footprint when we fly. Guests: Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; host of the podcast, Climate Break

In her first weeks in office, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has placed the police chief on administrative leave, dealt with a mass shooting and coped with the departure of the city’s homelessness czar. The problems facing Oakland, like other cities in the state, are not for the faint-hearted. Thao, the youngest person to serve as mayor of Oakland, ran on her credentials and her compelling life story as a daughter of Hmong refugees and a formerly unhoused single mother who went from community college to Cal. We’ll talk to Thao about what she hopes to accomplish and take your questions for the mayor. Guests: Sheng Thao, Mayor, Oakland

Described as “a love letter to Korean pop sensation BTS and an ode to fandom,” the new book "On BTS” by Atlantic senior editor Lenika Cruz compiles and expands upon Cruz’s coverage of the band for the Atlantic since 2019. “To cover BTS seriously over time is to engage with many complex issues and phenomena,” she writes, “fandom, authenticity, social media, and taste, as well as artistic ownership, South Korean society, mainstream music’s institutional biases, tensions between commercialism and creativity, and so much more.” We’ll talk with Cruz about the surprising depth of the group’s work and the joys of being a fan, and we’ll play some of your favorite songs by BTS. Guests: Lenika Cruz, senior editor covering culture, The Atlantic - and author, "On BTS: Pop Music, Fandom, Sincerity"

After seven farm workers were killed Monday in a mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, the city’s vice-mayor Joaquin Jimenez said in a press conference, “Many of you come to our community for the pumpkins, and ignore the farm workers. Not today.” Forum discusses the work, lives and struggles of farmworkers on California's central coast, and we get the latest on the investigation and fallout from the massacre. Related article: ALAS: Ayudando Latinos a Soñar Guests: Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent and co-host of Political Breakdown show, KQED Madi Bolanos, co-host of The California Report, KQED Antonio De Loera-Brus, Director of Communications, United Farm Workers Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, executive director and founder, ALAS, a community group in Half Ayudando Latinos A Soñar in Half Moon Bay and licensed clinical social worker Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR; former food and agriculture policy reporter, Politico covering immigration, labor and equity issues

On Saturday night it was Monterey Park, where 11 people died and nine more were injured after a gunman opened fire in a popular ballroom, on the eve of the Lunar New Year. On Monday it was Half Moon Bay, where a gunman claimed the lives of at least seven in the vicinity of a mushroom farm. We'll talk about how the impacts of the shootings are being felt in communities across California. Guests: Cynthia Choi, co-executive director, Chinese for Affirmative Action; co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate Josie Huang, Asian American communities correspondent, KPCC Rep. Judy Chu, U.S. congresswoman representing Monterey Park Sherry Wang, associate professor of counseling psychology, Santa Clara University Guy Marzorati, reporter and producer, KQED's politics and government desk

The Bay Area’s fascination with technology didn’t start with Silicon Valley. In the late 19th century, San Franciscan Eadweard Muybridge, an eccentric, misanthropic murderer became the first person to capture motion on film. At the time, Muybridge was a well-known photographer whose moody images of Yosemite Valley stood out from the conventional landscape photographs of the time. Because Muybridge was known as an inventor and innovator, Leland Stanford approached him about trying to photograph his horse in motion. Those images of a horse galloping at speed revolutionized photography. We’ll talk about Muybridge and how his inventiveness with camera and film laid the groundwork for how we see and record the world today. Guests: Rebecca Solnit, author & essayist - Solnit is the author of "River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West" as well as "Orwell's Roses," "Recollection of My Nonexistence," "Whose Story is This: Old Conflicts, New Chapters," and "Drowned River: The Death and Rebirth of Glen Canyon on the Colorado," among other works. Marc A. Shaffer, Director, "Exposing Muybridge"