KQED's Forum

California has the highest poverty rate in the nation, according to new figures released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. We discuss the new data with economist Sarah Bohn from the Public Policy Institute of California.

Last month, Matthew Cate stepped down as the head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. We'll talk to him about what he learned while running -- and attempting to reform -- the state's overcrowded and beleaguered prison system.

California's nonpartisan legislative analyst predicts a "dramatic turnaround" for the state's finances, thanks to the continuing economic recovery, the passage of Prop. 30 and other factors. We'll discuss the new budget projections.

President Barack Obama makes his first post-election trip to Asia this week. It will be the first time a sitting American president goes to Myanmar, also known as Burma, where opposition leaders like Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi have been pushing for democracy. The president's trip also includes stops in Thailand and Cambodia, where he will attend this year's East Asia Summit.

As we await President Obama's news conference -- scheduled for 10:20 AM -- guest host Scott Shafer talks politics with Washington, D.C.-based journalist Marc Sandalow.

Last week, General David Petraeus resigned as director of the CIA after admitting to an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The scandal has resulted in a media firestorm, with politicians asking why the White House wasn't notified sooner and questioning whether Broadwell had access to classified information. Should General Petraeus have stepped down? We'll get the latest on the scandal, and what it means for the Obama administration and the intelligence community.

"Touch has the power to heal." That's what photographer Carolyn Jones says she discovered when she interviewed nurses across the country for her new book, "The American Nurse." She met nurses who worked with prisoners and amputee veterans, who cared for some of the first AIDS patients, and who survived Hurricane Katrina. She spoke with over 70 nurses, including the nurse who changed Carolyn's own life when she battled breast cancer.

California is taking a closely watched step to cut greenhouse gas emissions through a new cap-and-trade program. On Wednesday, the state will open a carbon market that forces its biggest polluters to buy and sell permits to emit carbon dioxide. Some say cap-and-trade here could become either a model or a cautionary tale for others.

When veterans get in trouble with the law, substance abuse and mental health issues stemming from their military service are often contributing factors. A growing number of counties in the U.S., including Santa Clara, have set up special courts for veterans that favor treatment over punishment. How well do such programs work?

Following President Obama's successful re-election despite the weak economy, political observers are asking what lies ahead for the GOP. Some within the party are questioning whether it needs to change its stance on immigration to realign itself with certain voters. Others disagree. We discuss the party's future.

For the first time in almost 80 years, one political party now controls two-thirds of both California legislative houses. This supermajority will allow Democrats to raise taxes, override vetoes by the governor and put constitutional reforms before voters. But as Governor Jerry Brown noted, "desires are endless." So which desires will be fulfilled? Will it be giving back dental care to 3 million poor Californians, or restoring slashed funding to state courts? And can a supermajority fix California's dysfunction?

Emmy Award-winning veteran journalist Belva Davis is retiring as host of KQED Public Television's "This Week in Northern California" after nearly two decades. Davis was the first female African-American television journalist in the West, and has covered many of the biggest stories in the Bay Area over the past half century. She joins guest host Scott Shafer to discuss her trailblazing career.

KQED brings you NPR coverage of President Obama's comments from the East Room of the White House. He is expected to talk about the economy, and to urge Congress to deal with so-called fiscal cliff and U.S. budget deficit. After Obama speaks, Bloomberg Businessweek journalist Peter Coy joins us to discuss the president's comments.

David Foster Wallace once wrote that good fiction should help readers to "become less alone inside." But the acclaimed author of "Infinite Jest" succumbed to his own lengthy battle with depression and committed suicide in 2008. We look back at the life and work of Wallace with his biographer, D.T. Max.

Do vitamins make you healthier? Two recent studies disagree on the answer to that. One says vitamins help prevent cancer. And a new one out Monday says they do not help prevent heart attacks or strokes in men. We discuss whether vitamins are crucial to good health. Are supplement-happy Americans going too far?