Should you throw out your black plastic spatula — and any other cookware made of black plastic? Unfortunately, yes, probably. A new study finds that black plastic contains higher amounts of flame retardants and other toxic materials than other plastics. And health experts say that means we should try to keep it away from heat… and our food. We’ll talk about how concerned we should be about the plastics in our kitchen and how to evaluate the risks.

Guests:

Zoë Schlanger, staff writer at The Atlantic, wrote the piece “Throw Out Your Black Plastic Spatula”

Desiree LaBeaud, associate dean of global health and professor of pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine; Pediatric infectious disease physician who leads the university’s plastic working group.

Running a small business in the Bay Area is not for the faint of heart. A complex regulatory environment, rising costs, crime, and a sluggish post-COVID economy are just some of the challenges. But for small business owners, the chance to be their own boss, create community, and turn a passion into a profitable enterprise keeps them going. Can small business be the engine that supercharges the local economy? We talk to small business owners about what sustains them and what they need to thrive.

Guests:

Katy Tang, executive director, San Francisco Office of Small Business - which offers advice and counseling for small businesses operating in San Francisco.

Nicole Schwieterman, founder and owner, Fleetwood, a shop on Clement street in SF; Schwieterman is co-director of the Clement Street Merchants Association.

Victor Diaz, owner of Renegade Running, a run-specialty store located in downtown Oakland, CA

Angela Tsay, owner, Oaklandish, located in Oakland; Oaklandish, has three brick and mortar stores. It designs, prints and sells clothing and accessories that focus on Oakland spirit and pride.

Tomra Palmer, co-owner, Gravel + Gold, a clothing shop based in the Mission

Are you one of the 20 million people on Bluesky? The social media platform has nearly doubled its user base since the election as more people migrate away from Elon Musk’s X. We talk about what’s drawing people to Bluesky and the pros and cons of the platform, and we’ll hear what you’re looking for in an online social network. We're on Bluesky now! Follow us @kqedforum.bsky.social!

Guests:

Zoe Schiffer, managing editor, Platformer - author of "Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter"

Damon Beres, senior editor, The Atlantic

A conspiracy-theorist and vaccine denier to run the Department of Health and Human Services. A Russia-friendly intelligence chief. And an attorney general pick who has been accused of sexual misconduct. President-elect Donald Trump is appointing cabinet members at a breakneck pace, with one more norm-busting than the next. We’ll get the latest on Trump’s picks–and other recent political news– with journalists Molly Ball of the Wall Street Journal and Philip Bump of the Washington Post

Guests:

Molly Ball, senior political correspondent, Wall Street Journal

Philip Bump, national columnist, Washington Post - Bump is the author of "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America"

President-elect Trump and his team want to end DACA and the Temporary Protected Status program – which could make nearly a million people vulnerable to deportation. They’ve said they’d use the military to carry out mass detentions and deportations. If enacted, these proposals are all but guaranteed to face legal challenges — as they did during the last Trump administration. But some advocates worry that federal courts could prove friendlier to Trump policies than last time. We’ll talk with UCLA law professor Ahilan Arulanantham about the likelihood Trump’s latest proposals will become reality and the impact they’ll have on immigrant communities.

Guests:

Ahilan Arulanantham, Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy, UCLA Law - former Legal Director ACLU of Southern California

Bay Area transit agencies have struggled to recover ever since the pandemic decimated ridership and revenue. Several measures on the ballot aimed to shore up public transportation. In San Francisco, Prop. L, which would have provided more funding for Muni, failed. But in Napa, voters approved Measure U to bring $25 million a year to improve transit. With a Republican administration and Congress set to take power in January, local transit agencies, concerned there may be a lack of federal support, are thinking about long term solutions to their funding shortfalls and looking to the state to do more. We’ll talk about the future of Bay Area transit funding and what it means for you.

Guests:

Dan Brekke, editor and reporter, KQED News

Rebecca Long, Director of Legislation and Public Affairs, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Sebastian Petty, Senior Advisor, Transportation Policy| SPUR

The push to harness renewable energy sources like wind and solar has sparked a massive demand for critical metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium, according to journalist Vince Beiser. To meet this demand, intensive mining operations are underway in regions like China, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), extracting rare metals needed for solar panels, electric vehicles, smartphones, and the infrastructure that supports them. In his new book, “Power Metal: The Race for Resources That Will Shape the Future,” Beiser explores the “terrifying” scale of metal extraction our electro-digital age requires and the global environmental and public health crises it may trigger. Beiser joins us.

Guests:

Vince Beiser, journalist; author of “Power Metal: The Race for Resources That Will Shape the Future”

Are we alone? Really, though, in a cosmic sense. 40 years ago the pioneering radio astronomer Jill Tarter co-founded a Bay Area non profit to support humanity searching for life beyond ourselves. We celebrate the SETI – as in, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence – Institute’s anniversary and all their contributions to science which, sadly, do not yet include finding aliens. What do you hope SETI finds in its next 40 years?

Guests:

Bill Diamond, president and CEO, SETI Institute

Wael Farah, radio astronomer and project scientist on The Allen Telescope Array, SETI Institute

Nathalie Cabrol, astrobiologist and planetary geologist; director of Science, the Carl Sagan Center for Research at the SETI Institute

Simon Steel, astronomer, director of Education and Public Outreach, SETI Institute

We’ll listen back to Mina Kim’s live, on-stage conversation last month at KQED Fest with actor, producer, rapper Daveed Diggs. Diggs won a Tony for his roles in the original “Hamilton” and is known for the TV show “Snowpiercer” and the Oakland-set movie and series “Blindspotting.” We talk about his career, about the “unspoken contract” a live performer makes with an audience and about executive producing a new documentary about Bay Area high schoolers during covid — “The Class.”

Guests:

Daveed Diggs, actor, rapper, writer. executive producer, Blindspotting, co-wrote, co-produced, and costarred in the 2018 film Blindspotting

Art is a mode of expression, a vehicle for processing thoughts and feelings, and a way to connect. Regardless of your political leanings, it’s fair to say we just went through a tumultuous election. These times of uncertainty often prompt us to look for art, create art, or reflect on how it can bring us beauty, reflection and meaning. So, we’ll talk to Bay Area artists about what is on their minds and how to access creativity.

Guests:

Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura, Lyrics Born, rapper, producer and song-writer; author of the e-book “Yes, Bay Area”, a collection of his tweets.

Callan Porter-Romero, artist based in Oakland; One of her paintings is now on exhibit at The de Young Open. She was also included in the 2020 Exhibition.

Matthew Zapruder, poet and author of "I Love Hearing Your Dreams: Poems"; He teaches in the MFA and English Department at Saint Mary’s College of California.

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will nominate Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General. The polarizing MAGA congressman from Florida engineered the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and is the subject of an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. We talk about the implications of Gaetz’s nomination and what the Department of Justice could look like under a second Trump term.

Guests:

Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of Lawfare; senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institute

Claudia Grisales, congressional correspondent, NPR